by Nathan Ward
Surely no one would expect it, they’d be mad enough to enter the cloud let alone search the ruins of a UNA facility. This was the perfect hiding place...
He held that thought burning brightly like a beacon of hope as he turned away from the doors and prepared himself for the climb ahead which Joy and Enrique had already begun to tackle, giving one another a helping hand up on to the upper rubble ledge.
Murdock pulled away a grapple from his artillery belt and started to swing it, the power of the swing building momentum on every rotation. Once Joy and Enrique were safely on the level above, he released the grapple from his grasp and it launched up on to the rooftop – hooking itself to the front leg of the wasp. Murdock gave the cord a quick yank to make sure it was firmly in place then began pull his weight off the ground, ascending up to the higher level where Joy and Enrique were waiting.
Joy had never felt so confident and comfortable under the control of a man, during the whole, ugly ordeal with Captain Jordan she had thought only of escape, and had vowed never to be under the power of a man again – until Murdock. He had wiped out her decision from the moment she had seen the battered and damaged man who had fought back from the brink, the man who lived with his scars with dignity, the man who was firm in his resolve to save his people. Murdock was the only man she felt sure she could ever completely trust in a time of war – she was confident to place her life in his hands and follow his orders.
She would follow him anywhere, if she was honest with herself about it – he was the exception to the rule. He was a man who she could happily obey and do so with confidence... That thought made her smile as other possibilities briefly danced through her imagination, lighting up an other wise serious situation with a dash of thoughts far from here and somewhere in the realms of wishful thinking and the kind of dreams she would have before sleeping, in the dark, with her eyes closed and her mind wandering to thoughts of all things warm as an embrace and soft as a shared pillow... Such dreams were wonderful to summon in times like these...
She cast aside fleeting daydreams and watched on as Murdock effortlessly rose up on to the rooftop, he knocked away the rubble and dust from his brand new uniform then proceeded to unhook the grapple from around the leg of the wasp, which was only faintly visible glistening in the moonlight.
“You learned all this serving with the UNA?” Joy asked out of pure curiosity. “You know what? I don’t know… I remember some of it, but that…that was one of my own, I used to love climbing trees as a kid,” Murdock replied, untangling the cord and reeling it back firmly into his holster, then he looked to his loyal companions.
“Before we all set off…I want to give both of you one last chance, a chance to reconsider. Call me what you like, but I can’t help but feel we aren’t going to find them roaming down the railway - there’s something looming, something that’s been calling since we first set foot on this journey and I don’t want to be held responsible if it doesn’t end the way we want it to,” he told them, opening his heart for Joy and Enrique to catch an honest grasp at how he truthfully felt. They both knew the dangers, the possibilities that could be lurking up ahead, and none of them would be without threat, there could certainly be nothing optimistic or enticing about staying put.
“This is not our home, Captain. My home is by your side. As Sasha said, we have come too far to let you now go on alone…We're meant to remain together,” Enrique replied, matching Joys every thought on the subject as she acknowledged agreement with a subtle nod.
Murdock knew he had no other way to put them off and if anything it confirmed just how much he could rely on them, with everything now on the line.
“If there’s no possible way I can convince you to stay and there is nothing you’ve grown to fear, I will not argue- but I will thank you, because the reason I care so much, is due to the fact people like you are now ever so rare in this world, you’re both loyal and that loyalty extends to this – you are so willing to stand at my side you will even follow me in to whatever new hell may follow and I respect that, I’m proud to call you both my friends.”
“The honors ours, Murdock,” Joy replied softly, caught in the warmth beneath the glow of the moon, casting the three of them in its silver shine.
“Let’s bring the big man home!” Murdock commanded, breaking that moment with the order to move out.
As the three began to load themselves in to the stationary Wasp, the Captain made his way to the front of the vehicle and pulled open the cockpit, then climbed aboard while Joy and Enrique quickly strapped themselves in to the cargo hold just a few feet behind the pilots’ chair.
“Where are we headed first?” Joy asked, leaning out of her seat trying to get a visual on Murdock.
“The railway, we’ll follow that…If we have no luck, I have a plan B, you’ll like plan B,” Murdock replied, flicking twitches and turning dials, preparing for take off.
“What about plan C, Captain?” Enrique asked.
“Plan C? It doesn’t exist…”
The Wasps engines suddenly ignited with a burst of jet stream energy, kicking up a cloud of dust and propelling the aircraft high up in to the sky, into the inky dark of what looked to be a sea of never ending darkness.
Meanwhile forty miles west amid the pure green land, the thunderous rumble of a vehicles engines roared in to life, descending down the grassy hillside and coming to a slippery halt at the foot of the old UNA fortress, where its drawbridge still rested on either side of the land, wide open to all wanderers.
The doors of the vehicle sprung open and the ramp at the back of carrier fell to the ground with a ground-shaking crash releasing the robotic UNA soldiers from the rear hold, each welding firearms and equipped with enough weaponry to take out a small horde of Howlers.
While the infantry squad proceeded to cross the drawbridge lit up by moon glow, the Captain began to wander - turning its attention towards the nearby tree line. Its neon blue eyes illuminated a misty path towards the forest, as each drifting spec of H20 pulsated and danced in the projection of light. The robotic Captain had begun to sense a very human feeling – the feeling of being watched, drawing its attention completely, and the unseen force registered to the robotic mind as compelling.
This was becoming quite a frequent occurrence, an experience encountered by all of the android units, to be flooded with a plethora of foreign ideas that none could comprehend - except one:
Unit designation Williams, she had become the only unit to grasp an understanding of the new found senses. If it were to be within their capability it would be almost certain that by now the UNA forces would have amounted quite a sizable spell of jealousy, but it all still remained a shrouded mystery as the squad Captain shook off the glitch and returned to its duty.
The group of robotic soldiers advanced within the fortress grounds, emerging in to the moonlight once more, stood upon the courtyard soil that remained an ugly mess. The units scanned the surroundings for life signs, specifically Murdock's who they had been sent to detain, but nothing seemed to show up. Even the extensive observations down below in to medical came back with a negative response - which would have agitated the soldiers if it was possible, but they remained determined. After each failed attempt to identify Murdock they reverted to the first step of the sequence, repeating their scans, over and over.
The beams of white light continuously danced from left to right, top to bottom of the courtyard while the Captain proceeded to step aside of the search, initiating contact with the command tower through its hive mind link.
“I believe the subject is no longer here, scans are revealing nothing of importance,” the Captain stated in its robotic, singular leveled tone.
A short moment of static passed before a reply sounded through the droids internal output unit, “He was last tracked heading east of your position, squadron three. Pursue and detain at co-ordinates now transferring.”
“Understood,” the Captain replied as information integrated itself from the hive
network into its automated mind.
The squad of eight disembarked from the fortress, once again crossing the drawbridge in the dead of night and reloading themselves in to their monstrous V8 engine vehicle, slamming the doors behind them and firing up on all cylinders, emitting a burst of raw flames from the rear exhausts as the carriers wheels spun, ripping in to the hardened soil and hurtling away from the fortress along the distant forest edge in the direction that Murdock had originally flown his wasp air craft and then, as it cleared the forest reaching speeds in excess of eighty miles per hour, a black mass suddenly crawled from behind the cloak of darkness at the foot of the tree line, a long, familiar looking vehicle sporting a matt black paint job and sensor disrupting panels on either side of the hull. The vehicle roared in to life and began to pursue the UNA carrier up ahead, sticking to the shadows presumably not wanting to be detected - and it hadn’t, as overhead a wasp soared past, it was the craft of Murdock heading towards the fortress, coming in for its final descent.
“There was an energy impulse just a moment ago, Captain,” Enrique stated, analyzing his wrist computer.
“Any life signs, Enrique?”
“None, I’d assume a UNA scout group…”
“Highly likely,” Murdock confirmed, keeping a tight grasp of the controls as the Wasp dropped altitude through the clouds and emerged into the fortresses air space.
“Why have you brought us here? Is this plan B?” asked Joy, once again leaning out of her seat, resisting the safety belts wrapped around her.
“This is plan B, and as I said…You’re going to love it!”
Murdock activated a command on his wrist computer and the courtyard down below began to open up, revealing the shiny white hangar beneath it. The Wasp slowly descended, allowing time for the ground to open fully before finally taking its final plunge below ground level, uniting with the tiled flooring of the hangar.
“Not bad at all!” Murdock claimed, unfastening his safety belt and shutting down the navigational controls of the aircraft, sounding clearly proud of his landing. “Did you leave something behind?” Joy asked, still in a state of anticipation, she was almost excited as her heart raced at the frantic thoughts and ideas of what could be happening.
“You could say that,” Murdock replied, unhinging the cockpit and jumping overboard leaving Joy and Enrique to their own devices, but they soon pulled aside the hatch and sprung out of the side compartment of the Wasp, hurrying to join Murdock, who had already wandered across to the far side of the hangar where the powerful War bird still resided, sporting its menacing matt black tone and its empty spaces awaiting missile placement under each wing.
“Enrique, my man... I’m going to need you to load her up…you reckon homing missiles will do?” Murdock asked, approaching the war bird.
“That would depend on what you plan to be fighting, Captain,” Enrique responded, sprinting over to Murdock's position with Joy in tow.
“The UNA, my friend…The UNA,” Murdock replied, looking up at the dazzling sight of the magnificent aircraft, built for both air and space travel but never tested in the field.
“Homing would seem the appropriate choice, Captain. But it would all depend on what we are faced with…” Enrique added as he arrived at Murdock's side.
“I suspect everything they’ve got, wouldn’t you?”
“They would be foolish to underestimate you, Captain!”
“I’ll drink to that, when we’ve got our friends back. Can I leave you to it? I need to use the workshop, there’s something I need to adjust that’s been playing on my mind since we left…”
“Certainly,” Enrique replied.
“Then we vanish in thirty minutes time…Joy! With me…” Murdock ordered, taking his leave and making way for the armory workshop positioned beside what was once Connors room during their last stay.
Joy didn’t question the command, she was excited enough to simply be there, but now she had been invited to be alone with Murdock, it was almost as if she had lost the capability to talk – Joy gave no reply, just followed with a look in her eyes that she had allowed to shine through as she followed on like a devoted puppy.
“I hope you don’t mind me borrowing you, Joy… I thought it would be a good opportunity to reminisce, if that’s the right word,” Murdock said as he approached the entrance to the workshop.
Joy raised her hand to the switch beside her neck and pressed her gloved finger against it, which instantly triggered her helmet to collapse back into the storage compartment of the uniform, revealing her flustered rosy face and bleach blonde spikes standing tall and sharp.
“You can borrow me as much as you like, Captain,” she swiftly replied, trying her best not to sound too eager.
“You saved my life,” Murdock replied, “And I have no idea who you are or where you came from, so as much as I am very grateful for what you did, now’s the time when we decide if you’re going to become part of the team…”
Then he passed under the arch of the workshop entrance, leaving Joy feeling somewhat alarmed by what she had just been told and also wondering if she should also feel ever so slightly betrayed... She had expected Murdock to have granted her trust by now, after allowing her to travel with his closest of allies. In truth, she wasn't sure how she ought to take it - the thing with Murdock was, sometimes no one could really tell whether he was being serious - or not...
Chapter 27: The Green Light
Joy cautiously entered the workshop, remaining observant but following Murdock closely. He led her to one of the tidy workbenches - which looked unusually new and pristine, which was to be expected as the facility had hardly been used. Even the last occupants didn’t look as if they had explored the entirety of the complex, especially down there, it was way too clean to ever have been used.
The workshop itself was rather small, with benches positioned along the three walls and a squared table-like working area at the centre - this table was not bare like the others, it had components scattered across it, screw heads, wires and servos with an assortment of tools lined up along the edge of the work space.
Murdock seemed far too familiar with the tools as he approached the centre piece, he hovered his hand over them before picking out one in particular: It was a cross headed Phillips screwdriver with a thick patch of rust spread along the steel shaft that extended and formed the nib of the tool.
As Joy watched Murdock grasp on to it with his right hand and then draw it close to his chest almost lovingly, she looked on, comparing the ancient tool with the rest of the stuff on the table, it seemed so out of place, a thought hit her that summed up just how out of place that old screwdriver looked amid the modern tools: It looked old enough to have been made centuries ago...
Murdock looked down upon the tool as he entered a moment of deep thought, a thought that seconds later he voiced aloud.
“After the long exhausting years that have passed, someone who I would adore to meet just couldn’t help themselves. Bringing what I could only describe as what it is, a screwdriver, in to a world where they’re no longer required - but they did it anyway. Left to live among the youngsters so to speak- and what’s so beautiful about it? Is it the fact that even though time has gone by and things have changed the look of it has never appeared so captivating, so elegant or perhaps it’s just the memories making me feel like I’m back home when I was a kid...”
Joy began to once again compare the relic against the other tools in the compartments which alternated between soldering irons and laser screwdrivers, far superior tools in comparison but it was still fascinating how they worked, a single beam of light that projected from the nib of the tool and contracted the screws to turn in a direction of the welders choice by the tiniest of rotation.
The rusty screwdriver didn’t look out of place though, an item out of time still remaining one with the modern versions of its kind and that thought left Joy slightly stunned, to see old and new fitting so well together despite their differences. She had
never taken much notice of what she had always considered to be boys toys, she couldn’t even remember their relevance when she had been growing up, until she caught a glimpse of Murdock's expression as he reluctantly deactivated his headgear, giving his skin some time to breathe.
She could see the effect the sight of that screwdriver was having on him, the look in his eyes, and she wondered, am I missing something? As she cast her mind back to childhood memories of her family and life growing up, as Murdock continued to recall the fond memories evoked by the sight of the old fashioned tool.
“Something as small as this has really made my day, for a moment just then I felt as if I was stood in my father's shed about to have a tinker with some toys. Our family loved our gadgets, couldn’t stop buying them until we eventually had no where to put them,” Murdock explained while Joy searched deep in her own memories, trying to hook something to pull to the surface that Murdock would like to hear about, but before she could, the subject of conversation had already changed as Murdock turned to face Joy.
“I never got the chance to ask, how you became quite the surgeon. Please don’t think I’m sexist saying this, but I’d never have guessed.”
Joy smiled taking no offense, just feeling glad that he had decided to delve into her past so she had a chance to prove herself - knowing how uncertain he must have been of her, she was happy to answer his question.
“This might come as a bit of a shock but I used to work in an old corner shop selling newspapers and sweets. I had to have a little first aid training in case of any emergencies, last thing I wanted was for someone to have an accident inside the store and I couldn’t do anything to help them…”Joy explained, sparking lots of fond memories in the process, “When I travelled with Jordan, I was thrown in at the deep end. Mistakes were made, many people died but they didn’t seem to batter an eyelid. They just wanted me trained and prepared in case one day it really mattered who I treated…that’s why there was no room for error when I worked my magic on you but I cant take all the credit, the treatment you received was something out of this world and as you said, in the wrong or right hands it could be dangerous…”
