by DJ Morand
Still it did not move, what the flak? Abel thought.
He tried to maneuver and found that he was still fully secured to the cockpit of the scout fighter. His head caught up with him and he pulled the ejection release. The canopy hissed and clicked. He pushed again and the Transteel viewer fell away. Abel extricated himself from the wreckage and turned back to look at it. He had landed in a field - crashed was more like it. He was alive and he had no right to be, just like when the Kodiak had wrecked.
My luck is going to run out sooner or later, he said to himself.
Thoughts of Zee, brought back memories of his death, and subsequently the loss of the Kodiak. The memories pained him and he stepped away from the wreckage. The stomping sounds of his suit reminded him he was still wearing the SATYR armor. Abel disengaged the connection to it. When the control rods pulled away from his spine, he nearly screamed.
I must have crashed away from civilization, he thought. I’ve been sitting in that cockpit for more than a day.
The control nodes pulled away at his skin as they retracted. His nanites had time to repair the skin around the nodes, which in turn meant he'd been unconscious for at least forty-eight hours.
Two days, he corrected.
At first he attributed his unconscious state to the crash, but as thought about it, he began to realize what had happened. When the connection between his nanites and the RAVEN-F was lost his mind snapped back too quickly. The mental trauma had been too much to process at the time so his mind shut down.
Probably happened to Echo too, he worried.
His mind shut down instead of handling the pain. His nanites would have withdrawn and put him into a medical coma. The coma had probably saved his life. His body would have been in a relaxed state and wouldn't have seized up during the crash. It was the same concept behind the sedation first time passengers were given aboard a starship.
Abel stumbled his way back towards the spaceport. He figured that Aurora would be waiting on him. He still didn't trust the woman, but she was easy on the eyes and she had connections. The resources of the Vald alone saved him months of mechanical repair.
The insectile aliens had designed a sentient sort of Nano-mechanic, similar to the gremlins he had purchased on Eden the previous year albeit far more powerful. As he considered the Vald designed gremlins he could see the spaceport appear in the distance.
So I’m not all that far from civilization, Abel mused.
If he had a guess, communications were still down due to the EXO virus from the URSA vessel. As he thought about the gunship he focused. Thoughts of revenge and restitution were bubbling to the surface already. He trudged forward. Moments later a land vehicle approached. It was not an expensive vehicle, but it hovered just slightly off the ground and sped towards him.
A speedcar? He thought. No one knows I'm out here.
Abel reached to his hip and drew one of his pistols. His vision was still a bit blurry from the nanite induced coma. He took aim and a threatening stance. His legs felt like jelly and he struggled to focus on the speedcar.
As the speedcar grew nearer, his vision began to clear and he stood a bit steadier than before. He had the plasma pistol up and aimed by the time he realized he recognized the pilot.
“Hey, Aurora!” Abel called. “Came all the way out here to get me huh?”
Aurora looked very angry. Abel watched as she approached and he could see the frown lines forming on her face. Her brow narrowed at Abel's weapon and he put it away.
“Are you a flakking idiot!?” Aurora called. “What the flak were you doing taking on an URSA gunship with just that scout ship!?””
She's definitely angry, Abel thought.
“Well, that RAVEN-F was there too,” he offered sheepishly. He had been dressed down before, but Aurora was so pretty it made him blush.
“Oh! That makes it so much better,” Aurora quipped sarcastically. “Two fighters against a gunship. A gunship big enough that you could dock the RAVEN-F in it!””
“I thought about doing that once,” Abel said, deflecting her anger. The quip tugged a bit at his own conscience, though. He remembered Echo’s modified RAVEN-F and subsequently the half-Quintarran.
“Don't change the subject!”
“I wasn't,” Abel bowed his head. “Not really.”
“Men!” Aurora huffed. “Get in.”
Aurora opened the door to the speedcar. Abel preferred the term speeder, speedcar just sounded stupid to hm. The woman to his left accelerated again, they easily topped two hundred kilometers per hour as the vehicle hovered quickly over the terrain. Abel watched as the spaceport grew closer.
“It was the EXO Prime,” Abel said.
“What was?” Aurora asked.
“The URSA, he may not have been onboard, but it was his doing,” Abel was sure of it.
“How do you know?” She asked.
“I just do. He wanted me and the Kodiak, chased us right up to the asteroid belt,” he motioned to the image of the fading asteroids in the sky. ““When the Kodiak crashed I hoped he thought us dead. I think that was a pipe dream now.”
Abel sat there, riding in the vehicle beside Aurora. He contemplated what he'd been doing for the past year, the work on the Atlas and his feelings about Echo. He knew that the Atlas was a needed distraction and he needed to finish it, now more than ever.
However, he still wasn't sure how he felt about the EFNF. Leaving the organization, and his commission, should have made the matter clear, but it did not. He was mostly conflicted about the impact leaving the EFNF had on his relationship with Echo and what it would mean for humanity in the Quintar Prime systems.
He enjoyed Aurora's company, however little he felt he could trust her. Abel wasn't entirely certain he fully trusted Echo either. Her stunts with the EFNF and maneuvering with the Fleet Admiral had disenamored him greatly. Despite it all, he thought he might love her. That was the most infuriating thing for him. His confusion when it came to Echo caused him to do things he wouldn't otherwise do. Most recently the stunt with the RAVEN-S and the URSA class ship.
Abel knew where Echo's apartment was and he knew the URSA had been close to her. Like a fool he had charged in hoping to be the hero to save the day. He might say it was for the Quintarrans, but in the end it was always about Echo.
“I have to go after it, which means I need to get the Atlas up and running soon.” Abel said.
Aurora nodded, but said nothing.
“Can the Vald give me more resources? Maybe a few helping hands, or more of those machines?” Abel hoped.
Aurora drove in silence. She heard Abel, but she was thinking. This is what the Vald wanted, it is what she wanted too, but she feared Abel running off half-cocked.
“We can. I am not sure it is wise to draw too much attention. The Vald take great pride in their anonymity and I am not sure they are willing to risk it to speed up production,” Aurora deflected him.
“They can move under cover of night. The spaceport is a busy and loud place, no one would suspect ship supplies to be brought to a hangar,” Abel tried to convince her. “It's why we're working in the hangars in the first place. There'll be more traffic to the hangars now than before. That URSA ship destroyed half the production facilities.” Abel pushed.
Aurora smiled. It was a patronizing smile. A smile reserved for a child. Abel didn't like it.
“I don't care if you think you are dealing with an over-eager child Aurora Rigel,” Abel felt his anger rising. “I'll remind you, you came to me! What is it you are getting out of this? Besides off this rock!? And furthermore, what are the Vald getting out of this!?” Abel knew he was overstepping, but he needed answers. His trust could only be stretched so far.
“Calm down,” Aurora said lightly. Her voice was barely a whisper, but it caught his attention.
“Alright,” he huffed. “What about the resources?”
“When we get Atlas in the air, we'll go after that URSA, but not before. Rushing the timetable results in mistakes.” A
urora was the image of calm.
Abel nodded, but he disagreed. Somewhere in the back of his mind he wondered what it was the Vald and Aurora wanted from him. Abel’s days as a hero were over, but he did not want to alienate his only real ally on Quintar IV.
That stunt to save Echo was heroic, his thoughts argued. Well, except for that.
* * * *
Quintar IV - EFNF Alpha Base: Medical ICU
2973 ESD - Sunday, May 30th 06:00 hours
Echo’s own insecurities coupled with her grief led her to make brash decisions. Decisions she now regretted.
“Why, Echo?” Abel's face was pained. “You know what I said, I told to you in confidence, right?”
Abel was speaking of his complaints regarding being left out of the design of the TP-D and its ridiculous designation. Echo knew that he had spoken in confidence. Her own desire to help and her own frustration caused her to speak to the Fleet Admiral on his behalf. The conversation with the Fleet Admiral had been less than optimal and Echo found herself caught between Andromeda Clark and Abel Cain. It was a position she had hoped to avoid. Now she sat in a room with Abel as he paced.
“I ...” what could she say to explain. “I was only trying to help.” Echo knew it was a pathetic excuse, she had betrayed his confidence and he had a right to be upset about it. However, he was carrying on.
“Trying to help? Well flakking shit, why didn't you say so?” Abel raised his voice sarcastically. “I suppose you were trying to help too when you came and found Zee and I. I suppose you were just trying to help when you got him killed!”
Even Abel knew he had gone too far. Echo's eyes welled up and she stood up. Her back was rigid and her head high, “Abel Cain, you are a child. You know as well as I that Zee gave his life to save both of us. If you think I am going to sit around and listen to this you have another thing coming.”
Echo stormed out of the room and knew it would be the last she saw of Abel. She would need time to cool off, but he would take it personally. There was a beeping coming from somewhere as she walked out of the room.
* * * *
Echo stirred. She could hear the monitors beeping. The beeps kept rhythm with the pounding in her chest. She sat up. Echo knew she had been dreaming and she did not immediately recognize where she was. She felt displaced like there was a second Echo just centimeters behind her. She felt tingly like when an arm or leg falls asleep and is just waking up.
Her mouth felt dry and parched. Echo sat up and the pain in her spine arched up and radiated between her shoulders. She started to cry out, but no sound came. She choked and gasped. Her blood ran cold. Echo began to calm as her vision became clearer.
She was in Alpha Base, the medical center specifically. She could feel the nanites itching beneath her skin. She knew they were extracting dead or dying cells and replacing them with new healthy ones. She was hyper-aware of them. The coolness passed and she began to sweat. It wasn’t the kind of sweat that comes with warmth, but instead the kind that comes with fear.
Echo was afraid.
Lying in bed with wires hooked into her and an IV drip scared her. She looked around to find no one was there. She was alone. It was not a new sensation for her. For most of her life, she had more or less been alone.
Echo tried not to dwell in her thoughts too much. Sometimes her thoughts were too dark and brooding. She told herself she did not belong because she saw it on people’s faces. She was half human and half Quintarran, a pariah to both species. Even Abel had scoffed at her appearance at first, although his reasons had more to do with her father’’s hypocrisy than anything else.
Echo’s parents had meant for her to be a bridge between the species. Yet, Echo felt more like a wedge, the constant reminder of Admiral Shade and his Quintarran wife.
God E, get out of your head! She chided herself. This is pathetic. Get up and get moving. Find out what the flak is happening.
Echo did get up then. Slowly she withdrew the IV from her arm and found her clothes in a nearby locker. She removed the flimsy gown the medical station had clothed her in. For a brief moment she blushed at the thought of who had undressed her and clothed her in the gown.
Ignoring her embarrassment, she pulled on her military pants and felt the magnetic clasp close snuggly against her abdomen. Standing half naked in the room she thought of Abel again.
He saved you, she told herself.
The thought brought a smile to her face. Abel still cared. For all of his detachment and gruff attitude, Abel still cared. It was a warming thought.
What did he help me do though? The thought came unbidden, but she couldn’t shake it.
Echo felt disconnected from herself, like she was both present and standing beside herself. Abel had said it was the nanites. She shook the thought from her head and finished donning her clothes. She still felt a bit on the groggy side, but the nanites were doing their job. She could feel them crawling through her repairing the damage.
Had they crashed? Echo couldn’t remember. The last thing she remembered was the lasers firing. Abel had control of the navigation and propulsion though. They shouldn’t have crashed unless Abel had lost control.
Had he? She thought. I need answers.
Echo stepped out of the recovery room and made her way down the hall. She ignored the enlisted men saluting her. That was against protocol, but she didn’t care at the moment. After walking vigorously down the hall she began to feel light-headed and she slowed her pace. Echo made her way to the Fleet Admiral’’s office and announced herself to the holo-reader.
“Captain Echo Shade.” She said. “Voiceprint ID: Echo Sierra Niner Four Oh One Delta.”
The door opened and quietly announced over the office speakers, “Captain E. Shade reporting.”
“Come in Captain,” the Fleet Admiral’s voice said from the back of the offices.
Echo stepped in and the door closed behind her. The metallic swish and clink would never cease to unnerve her. Doors aboard the Darter - her modified RAVEN-F from before her run in with Abel Cain - were quieter and did not clink when they closed.
“Medical is quite concerned at your disappearing act,” Andromeda said.
“I’m well enough to be up, well enough for duty,” Echo said.
“Good. Because I’m sending the Justice after that gunship,” Andromeda began. “Do you think it was the Kodiak? Our forces were not able to recover the wreckage before someone else did.” Andromeda looked concerned. She stood up and walked around the desk to face Echo. The Fleet Admiral scrutinized the young woman.
“Echo, I need you and the crew of the Justice to start what we’ve been training you for all these months. I don’t have a good feeling about the state of the EFNF or this new gunship threat,” Andromeda said.
The tone of her voice was pained and manipulative. Echo was beginning to understand why Abel and the Fleet Admiral did not get along. He was too much of a rebel and disliked being manipulated. Echo hated it too, but she could turn it to her advantage.
“We’re ready Fleet Admiral. After the attack last night--” Echo said before Andromeda cut her off.
“Last night Echo? You’ve been unconscious for a week. What happened in the firefight with that gunship?” Andromeda asked.
“A week? God … The gunship. At first I thought it was the Kodiak, but it was not. Abel helped us fight it.” Echo bit her tongue. She had not meant to mention Abel’s involvement.
“Abel Cain? How can you know?”
“He was in the RAVEN-S.” Echo left out the part where Abel had connected with her nanites. She felt it was something that the Fleet Admiral did not need to know about.
“How can you be sure? Master Chief Petty Officer Remington said you asked him to slave the RAVEN-F to the RAVEN-S during the fight. Why?” Andromeda was bearing down on Echo now, her face and tone taking a decidedly menacing turn.
“We received communication from the RAVEN-S vessel. He said he was Abel Cain.”
“MCPO Remington menti
ons no such communication. He said there was a brief communication after the gunship left orbit. It was Abel, or at least he believes so,” Andromeda said. “I want to know how you knew it was him.”
“It is the way he flies,” Echo lied.
What the flak E!? She scolded herself.
“It is unmistakable, I knew it was Abel. I figured he’d know what to do once we slaved the RAVEN-F to his vessel.” She compounded the lie.
“I see,” Andromeda said. The Fleet Admiral was not convinced, but Echo planned to stick to the story. She felt it would be better to let the Fleet Admiral believe it was instinct rather than something not even Echo could explain yet.
“See the doctor Echo, make sure he clears you for mission capability, then report to the hangar. The TP-D is waiting.”
“Yes. Ma’am.” Echo said, saluting.
16: JUSTICE
Quintar IV - EFNF Alpha Base: City Populace
2973 ESD - Monday, May 31st 08:00 hours
Echo didn’t know where she was going except that it was not to the ready hangar for the Justice. The conversation with Fleet Admiral Clark the day prior had not been that much of a surprise, but Echo had other things on her mind now. Today she needed to clear her head.
The city grew up around her as she continued her pace, steady and unwavering. Once she was away from the production facilities, the inner city seemed less damaged. The attack had been focused on their starship production facilities. The facilities had sustained massive damage. The quick response of the EFNF pilots and Abel had been the only thing to prevent their total destruction. Echo considered the attack. It was too well coordinated to be a random occurrence. It had been a surprise and it had drawn Abel from hiding. If the purpose was to draw Abel out it had to be someone who knew he was on Quintar IV. The Fleet Admiral had made sure to keep his celebrity quiet. Echo wasn’t sure if that was the best course of action.
Echo considered the buildings as they grew less and less damaged. She wandered the streets thinking and worrying.
