by DJ Morand
RESCUE
Edge of the Quintar Prime System: Kodiak: Command
2972 ESD - Tuesday, October 6th 01:35 hours
The silence of space was something that Abel Cain had become used to, even the relative blackness of it all. Sure there was light, and there were objects, but the whole of space was dark. He preferred Dark Space to any of the systems. No one bothered him and when he needed something he would raid an EXO outpost; sometimes even the Human posts in the Quintar Prime System, although he was more reluctant to prey on his own.
He held no love for the Exodus Fleet, no more than Admiral Shade used to hold for him. Yet, here he was piloting his near derelict ship towards the Admiral’s daughter, to save her no less. Zee had confirmed the coordinates, but space is large - likely why it is called space in the first place. He nearly felt crippled by the stress of time running out.
“Twenty meters Captain. I have visual contact.” Zee called from his station, “Looks like she has no oxygen left, I am still reading life signs on board though sir. Should I scan for EXO influence?”
“I hope she was smart and didn’t open comms, I’ll bring us closer while you do a quick scan, if she is out of oxygen we don’’t have much time.” Abel Cain bit his lower lip, not something he would normally do and the out of character response caught him off guard.
Why did he care so much about rescuing this nuisance?
Echo Shade had blazed in, ordered him to surrender, and then dropped the largest bomb of terrible news he had received since finding out that Quintar V was inhabited with a hostile race of genetically altered beings.
The trip to the Quintar Prime system had cost him everything; his father, his mother, his home, and his future had all been ripped away. He blamed the Earth Coalition for the majority of his hardships. He could not direct any fault to the people of the Exodus Fleet. However, Admiral Shade had been there, he had watched the bombardment on Mars with indifference. He witnessed the same indifference on the video hours ago just before James David Shade blew himself and the Terran Veil to pieces. Not to mention one of Abel’s greatest accomplishments, the EXO Shield. Abel was certain – livid about it even– that Admiral Shade’’s actions led to the result here with the EXOs moving into Dark Space and attacking Echo.
“Scan shows no sign of the EXO virus sir. If she is still alive it is safe to assume she took supplies with her into the pod. Most likely oxygen and proper EVA equipment.” Zee intoned, obviously feeling the need to express reasons why Echo was still alive and clearing any misgivings that she was infected with the EXO virus.
“Thank you Zee. I’m going to head to crew berthing and suit up for EVA, you have flight controls.” He trusted that Zee could handle the flight while not actually needing to ensure weaponry was online. Both felt the danger of being attacked had passed.
Captain Abel Cain descended to the second deck via a short ladder and headed to the crew berthing. He kept his EVA and other boarding equipment in crew berthing since he didn’t have a crew. He quickly located the powered EVA suit and began testing its functionality. The bright orange suit was made mostly of woven metal strands. It was able to generate its own energy by drawing upon the radiation present in space. Abel recalled it as a favorite of military vessels with limited escape pods. The powered EVA suit could help to extend the life of the wearer by hours; usually long enough for pickup. Satisfied that it was still functional and still held a seventy five percent charge he donned the suit and went to the lowest deck. On the bottom deck he headed to the cargo hold and punched in the sequence to begin the airlock flush for the cargo bay.
“Captain, I have the request to flush Airlock C in the cargo bay. Please stand by.” Zee’s voice came over his suit’s communication systems and a display came up over his visor.
It was times like these that his missed the old EFNF military suits. His Lute-Class SATYR armor was far more comfortable and the visor notifications didn’t block his view. Not to mention the SATYR armor was designed for tactical, as well as extreme survival conditions.
The extravehicular activity, or EVA suit on the other hand was a thin protection against the elements of space - save for its inexhaustible energy supply - and a poor substitute for the SATYR armor. The SATYR armor had been designed for extreme survival and space was a place Abel would classify as an extreme survival environment.
“Airlock flush in 3 … 2 ….” The gush of air burst out of the cargo bay and tugged at Abel’s suit. He had engaged his grav-lock boots and waited until he received the signal from Zee. “You are go for departure.” Zee’’s voice sounded muted against the rushing air and the hum of the engines combined with the pounding in his head. His nerves must have been getting the better of him.
At least the sound will be gone once I jump out of the air-lock, he thought.
Captain Abel Cain looked out the open cargo bay and saw a slight glimmer of light - a reflection from the Kodiak - on something moving in the darkness beyond. “I see it. I have a visual on the Darter’s escape pod. Departure in 3 …… 2 … 1” He disengaged the grav-lock on his boots and pushed himself towards the open bay.
He deftly clipped his anchor cord to the edge of the bay as he passed through. He marveled again at the complete silence of space. He could hear his own breathing and his heart beating in his ears as he propelled towards the pod in the dark. Pointing his wrist in the direction of the pod a small beam of light extended from his EVA suit and after a few meters bounced back. “I’’ve got her, targeting anchor attachment now.”
He launched the anchor at the pod and hoped it hit the mark. There was no sound, but a short tug indicated it had. “Zee, reel her in, I’ll hitch a ride back. We have the pod.”
“Roger. Initiating retraction.” The anchor began to tug against the pod and because of the nature of space the pod responded. As it approached Abel waited for the pod to get within range and grasped hold. He checked to see if he could see inside the pod through the Transteel hatch. He was rewarded with the image of a sleeping beauty. He stared for a moment taking in her reddish brown hair and the light blue tone of her skin. He had not noticed how petite she was before.
When Echo was on his ship she somehow carried with her the authority of the EFNF and Admiral Shade. Now she seemed alone in this pod. Running out of air she seemed so small; so fragile. He felt the need to protect her. He crushed that line of thinking as soon as it cropped up. He was not a hero, not anymore. She has more information, he told himself unconvincingly. ““Zee, set the ship to auto and get ready to close that cargo door. Once we restore atmo we need to get her out of this tomb. I can’t see too well, but it looks like she has a tank with her.”
“Understood Captain. Preparing the command deck for auto-pilot. See you on the other side.”
Abel almost chuckled, he had tried to teach Zee some of the nuances of the English language, but the stoic alien often could not grasp the proper pronunciation. ‘Catch you on the flip side’, for instance, had just come out as ‘‘See you on the other side’. The Kodiak came into clearer view and the anchor cable continued to draw them back in. He tried to measure the distance from where they had come, it seemed so much closer on the computer than it did in reality.
He stared at the distance between the Kodiak and the pod. The ship was still drawing them in, but looking at Echo he wondered, has she always been that blue? Shit, she's going to suffocate in there. "Zee, can you hurry this up a bit?" He asked.
"Captain, any acceleration now would prevent a safe de-acceleration upon reaching the cargo bay," Zee said.
"Flak it Zee, she's dying in here. Pull us in," Abel said. "That's an order!"
"Affirmative Captain," came the reply from Zee.
The pod began to move faster. Abel could only tell because the Kodiak grew increasingly larger and at a faster rate. As the pod propelled towards the URSA GS-I he began to panic. Maybe Zee was right, he thought. The pod snapped into the ship with enough force to break the tow cable. Abel was flung from the to
p of the pod as the cable whipped towards him. Oh shit, he thought as he collided with the hangar's outer ceiling. Reaching out desperately he managed to grasp the flailing tow cable. He realized his mistake as he did so. The cable was still retracting at a rapid pace and it dragged him into the cargo bay. He let go of the cable before his hands were pulled into the reel. His momentum took him all the way into the bay and against the inner wall. Once they were aboard the cargo bay sealed. The atmosphere was restored and so was the gravity.
He hit the floor with a thud and worked to tear off the EVA mask. He scrambled up to the pod and punched in a sequence on the side panel - something from his time in the EFNF. The front of the pod blasted off revealing a decidedly bluer Echo.
“Zee! Bring med supplies, I think she’s … Just bring supplies!” Captain Abel Cain stared at the unconscious Echo Shade and something in his mind finally snapped. He grabbed her out of the pod and lay her body down on the cargo floor. Tilting her head back he felt for a pulse. Her pulse was faint, but she had one. He kneeled down and pressed his mouth to hers breathing air into her lungs.
Her chest rose and fell with his breathing. He checked her pulse again in a panic; it was still there. He breathed into her mouth again, trying not to be distracted by her scent. It was an intoxicating scent that gave him a sense of deep homesickness. It was difficult not to be distracted. He breathed for her a few more times, until she began coughing against him. Stumbling back and landing hard on his rear he stared dumbfounded at Echo Shade as she rolled to her side coughing violently for a few moments.
Zee found his way to the cargo bay with medical supplies in hand. He wrapped the coughing Echo in a warm blanket and helped her to sit up and lean against the pod. Abel watched contrasting the petite and now fragile looking Echo, to the large three man escape pod. The pod was not particularly circular in appearance, but it had a sort of square-like shape. Her dark hair was splayed across her face and shoulders slick with condensation generated by her body heat and the coldness of space. The pod sat there, doing nothing of note save for dripping with condensation, like Echo. She stared at Abel, seemingly in a stupor as Zee checked her vitals. Abel stared back astonished she had survived the ordeal and partially relieved he wasn’t so close to her at this particular moment. He had liked being so close to her; smelling her scent, pressing his lips against hers. He had liked it too much.
* * *
Edge of the Quintar Prime System: Kodiak: Command
2972 ESD - Tuesday, October 6th 03:22 hours
Abel made his way back to the command deck of the Kodiak. He was struggling now. He had admitted her beauty to himself when she had first boarded his ship. Now he struggled with the feel of her; the taste of her lips. Her scent was intoxicating and he could still smell it on his own lips. Punching in some sequences on the view screen he tried to distract himself with schematics of the ship. The distraction was less than effective. In fact it allowed his primal mind to return to Echo, cold, seemingly lifeless as she lay on the floor of his cargo bay. He could feel his lips on hers, smell her scent, feel the rise and fall of her breast … he stumbled from his reverie there; he had not felt her breast.
“Damn it Abel. Get a hold of yourself man.” He cursed at himself aloud. He could feel the strain of fighting his own thoughts. He felt something for Echo Shade and it was something he desperately did not want to feel. He couldn’’t help but wonder if she felt something as well.
“Give it up man, you’re a scoundrel and you know it.” He chastised himself again. He felt his head turn towards the cargo bay where he had left Zee and Echo. It was as if he was watching himself through someone else’s eyes and had no control. For that matter it seemed as if someone else was controlling his thoughts too. He knew it was nothing but primal human urges. He guessed it was probably because he had not even seen another human for several Earth years now. He remembered Talia and his brief encounter before the Quintar V mission.
* * *
Quintar Prime System - Terran Veil: Flight Deck
2954 ESD - Monday, September 30th 04:52 hours
The lift came to a halt and the door swung open. The woman entering had a voluptuous figure. Her large breasts coupled with an ample behind brought heat to Abel’s face. He recognized her as Talia Balker. The woman sauntered into the lift and eyed Abel. It was an innocuous look, but even an innocuous look from Talia could set a man’s blood on fire. Being a young man, Abel already had trouble keeping his mind where it needed to be. The subtle scent of her filled the lift and Abel shifted to the side to allow her more room. She smiled and Abel swore he could hear himself guffawing in his mind.
“Crew berthing,” Talia said sweetly in a singsong voice. The computer complied and the door shut. Abel stared, he didn’t mean to, but it happened just the same. The sound of the light whoom whoom whoom as the lift rose past each deck somehow seemed cacophonous to Abel now. He took a deep breath and tried to focus his attention on the door. Talia had other plans. “You’re one of the new pilots?” she asked casually.
Abel gulped almost violently as he realized she was asking him a question, “I … uh … yes that is. I am Pilot First Class A ... Abel Cain … m--Ma’am.” He stumbled through his words. Talia nearly broke him when she laughed a silvery peal of laughter that felt like furnace to his already heated mind.
“You don’t have to call me ma’am,” she began. ““Doctor would be okay though,” She said with a sideways wink, an overt attempt to put him at ease. It didn’t work. He was already thinking thoughts he would rather not think while standing near to her.
“S … sorry. Doctor Balker.” He managed.
“Oh so you know me?” she said with a giggle. “Mr. Pilot First Class Abel Cain. What do pilots do for fun on this ship, hmm?”” she said suggestively.
This simple, innocent, conversation was causing him to panic. Abel didn’t know how to respond to the charm oozing from this woman’s mere presence. He shuddered momentarily. He knew he must look like a roasting steak, sweat beading on his forehead. “Fun?” he inquired. Suddenly at a loss as to what the word even meant.
“Yes, silly. Fun.” She said as she stepped close to him. So close he could feel her bosom brushing against his arm. He was sure she was aware of their close proximity. Alarms blared in his mind. This gorgeous woman had to be toying with him. He tried to step back and felt the lift wall against his back, Talia covered the distance as he moved. She put her face next to his and bit his ear between her incisors. He could smell her, feel her, and he felt like a cornered animal. She laughed, that same peal of laughter as she backed away. He had not noticed the lift had stopped and the door opening.
“You’re fun.” She said simply as she slinked away. Crew berthing had at least four decks, Talia exited at the first. Abel was on the fourth. The door closed again, leaving the excited and nervous young man to contemplate what she had meant.
* * *
Edge of the Quintar Prime System: Kodiak: Cargo Bay
2972 ESD - Tuesday, October 6th 03:22 hours
Echo could feel his hands on her face, but she couldn’t breathe. She knew she had been in Dark Space for too long and her skin felt like ice. She didn’t understand why she was still alive. She had entered the trance, but even with it she had been out of air for too long. Her mother had explained it before, Quintarrans could survive by entering a trance; an ephemeral experience where the host could put themselves into a comatose like state. She didn’’t think that the trance included not breathing though.
She was scared and then she felt his lips on hers, they were fire to her icy skin. Echo welcomed the fire as she felt air fill her lungs. He breathed again and she shared the breath garnering life from it. Something burned in her lungs and she began to cough. While coughing, Echo realized it was her lungs starting again, gasping for all the air she could take in.
She coughed for a couple of more minutes when she felt hands lift her up and lean her against the Darter’s escape pod. Echo was starting to breathe
better now and she searched the hangar, for it was a hangar. Who rescued me? She thought. Her eyes landed on Abel Cain, she felt a warmth surge through her. For a moment she wasn’t sure what it was, until she noticed that Zee had placed a blanket around her which was giving off its own heat comingling with her body heat. She decided it was the blanket that warmed her to her core, but that nagging voice at the back of her mind told her she knew better.
Echo stared at Abel; he stared back. Her blue-green eyes met his gray-green; they shared an understanding. Both of them had felt something while Abel was breathing life into her, something neither was fully willing to admit. She pushed back her bangs, still slick and clinging to her face. Echo lowered her eyes and then turned to Zee.
“Thank you.” She managed to chatter through clenched teeth. She noticed that, while speaking to Zee, Abel stood and removed himself from the cargo bay. She felt a pang of guilt. She should have said something to Abel, but Echo feared she would say something she would regret; if not something reproachable. A single tear mixed with the damp condensation on her face as she watched the proud captain return to the upper decks.
“Zee, the EXOs--” She remembered suddenly.
“Shh. We handled them already, the Darter is still broadcasting though.”
“So my ship is still--” the look on Zee’s face said enough. The EXO Vultures had a habit of tearing into the hull of a ship and depositing their boarding parties. If the RAVEN was still flight worthy it wouldn’t have any atmosphere to speak of. “I see. I suppose you will be dropping me off on the nearest inhabited planet. I don’t recall the URSA GS-I having any pilotable shuttles.”
“No, my dear. I do not think we will be abandoning you, regardless of what you might fear. The Captain would not have come back for you if he intended to just drop you off.”
