“I cannot lose you, any of you. You’re all that I have left. If you are out there with me, I won’t be able to stop worrying about you, or trying to protect you. We can’t fight as a team that way, and the PDF are capable enough to destroy us in a moment of weakness. My battles, up to now, have been won because of the elements of surprise and chaos. Always unleashing a new unexpected attack, or weapon, or strike when the enemy aren’t prepared. Those elements don’t exist anymore because Starkindler is gone and the surprises have all been used up.
Mikkhael almost stopped there, but then kept going, his insecurities getting the best of him. “You can’t go out there, not alone. You won’t come back, and then you will have killed me and everyone else as surely as any PDF weapon or lackey. You came all this way to only find out it was a mistake, and I know that’s hard to accept, but you have to listen to me. It’s over, everything is over. There’s no way that I will let any of you get hurt.”
The crack of the slap echoed throughout the hangar like a gunshot. Everyone in the hangar stopped what they were doing, focusing all of their attention on the strangers who just assaulted their hero. Vera was shaking with rage, holding the right hand she had slapped Mikkhael with in her left, cradling it gently, in obvious pain. The force of the blow and the surprise of it knocked him backwards; he would have fallen if not for the railing. She whispered fiercely, enunciating the syllables of each word, unable to raise her volume anymore or she would be screaming at him. Anger laced her voice, making it carry like a terrible promise.
“You have no right! Have you really fallen so far that you’ve forgotten who you are? Who we are? You are so much better than this, Mikkhael. I am sorry that we did not arrive here sooner, maybe we could have saved you from yourself.”
Mikkhael stood, slowly regaining his composure, embarrassed and humiliated as he turned and walked out of the auxiliary hangar with his tail tucked between his legs, broken. The will to fight was gone; and with it, his world shattered around him.
Vera made to follow, clearly worried that she had taken the matter too far, but Kiryl grabbed her shoulder, stopping her.
“Let him go. He needs this time. That man can overcome anything, and he will, but he needs to realize it on his own. The more we push him right now, the farther away he’ll withdraw, and he needs us now more than ever. He’s had everything he ever held important to him, except us, torn from him twice, and we just showed up and told him from now on we are going to fight next to him. He just found out that he needs to become a force so indomitable that he is able to take on the most powerful military in the galaxy all while protecting his family at the same time. He will rise to the challenge, given time.”
Alyona’s summary was straight to the point. “I hope this world gives him the time he needs.” She looked around at her companions, meeting and holding each of their gazes. “It’s our job to buy him that time.” She stared down the carved hallway at the end of the hangar, leading deeper into the mountain, that had swallowed their brother whole. “Mikkhael, we will wait for you, but don’t keep us waiting so long that it will be too late,” she whispered.
CHAPTER FIVE – FAITH
“What are you going to do?” Commander Ultor asked Eve after her rescue as together they stared at Mikkhael’s broken body upon his being returned to them.
“The only thing I can… I’m going to believe.”
With their Mech armor unloaded and the rest of the materials still being sorted out, the team from Earth split up without needing directions, each heading toward pre-assigned destinations that best fit their skillsets. Based on the merits of their relationships to Mikkhael, and their clear link as the creators of Starkindler, having brought with them a nearly identical Mech armor, Commander Ultor gave them access to most of the base as long as they were escorted by security personnel. They were also given bracelets that tracked their location and served as communicators while inside the mountain. The sheer thickness of the mountain around them, denied them any unapproved outside contact making them unable to circumvent that directive even if they wished. They would almost certainly have more sway over convincing Aurora’s shell to allow them communication capabilities if it came down to a contest of wills. There were also rumors that outside contact was prevented due to external interference of some kind, leaving direct line of sight lasers the only option still available. All of this rendering moot the outside long distance communication ban.
Kiryl left the platform and went straight to greet Chief Engineer Thorsten, head of Mech armor maintenance in the mountain, and assisted him with setting up the maintenance bays and procedures needed to service the new Mech armor, as well as the eventual re-construction of Starkindler. The gruff engineer was too pre-occupied to be bothered with something silly like visitors; so instead, Kiryl went to him as a valuable resource, to prove his worth, and thereby gain his trust. As a sweetener, he would explain and then transfer to him the copious amounts of spare parts they brought with them from Earth that Aurora’s shell would never have given him permission to build, thus ensuring his interest and cooperation.
Vera headed towards the medical wing to find Dr. Hesken. She needed to compound more stimulants for use in upcoming battles. Space travel was not kind to delicate chemicals during transit and everyone’s focus had been on the Mech armor before they left anyway, leaving the Omnos squad members with almost no stimulant reserves. As a peace offering, she brought advanced medical equipment from Earth with her as well as large quantities of stem cell treatments for Mikkhael. The one thing they could all agree on was their desire to see him physically, and mentally, healed to whatever degree possible so he could return to battle as rapidly as possible.
Kurtis went to meet up with Drogdyn to coordinate setting-up the software and machinery Kiryl and Chief Thorsten would need for the fabricators and other repair machinery; after which he would begin the process of combing through Aurora’s original code so that they could stop using her older, less capable, shells. He was searching for the corruption that was crippling Aurora and impairing her judgment. That she deliberately chose not to warn Mikkhael about his friends heading to Mars was as nearly alarming as the fact she failed to notify them of Mikkhael’s condition.
Alyona stayed behind, directing the unloading of the rest of the airship. One last Mech armor still needed to be offloaded as well as a considerable amount of spare parts and machining equipment. As the crowd thinned and nearly everyone moved to their next tasks, she approached the one man in the hangar who intimidated her, one who remained silent and immovable through the dramatic ups and downs of the last hour, watching and evaluating their every move. She could not decide if she was impressed with his intrepid diligence in absorbing every detail of what took place in front of him, or mortified by his stoic responses to allowing the drama to unfold without giving any input.
“Commander,” She dipped her head as she approached him, acknowledging his authority. “You and I both understand the show for everyone is over. You’ll have to excuse me for skipping the pleasantries. Ask your questions Commander, I’m not sure how much time we’ll have before others take matters into their own hands.” His eyes narrowed as he examined her, but Commander Ultor’s demeanor never wavered, leaving her with a deep sense of inadequacy, feeling that she could not move him, let alone shake him. She shuddered briefly as she thought about what Mikkhael could eventually become with a mentor such as the man in front of her.
“Are you our allies?” He asked.
The simplicity of the question belied the weight of the implications of her answer. Needing a moment to choose her reply, she admired the man for summarily cutting through the charade to the only question that truly mattered, and one she did not have a great answer for.
“We have common goals, and while we are here for Mikkhael and the cause he believes in, we also have a common enemy in the PDF and more importantly the Mars Industries government. Beyond that, I cannot say for now.”
Moments passed in nervou
s silence as he assessed her with those piercing eyes of his; she knew, then and there, that she would never lie to the man in front of her, it would do no good, and she would not be given a second opportunity of ever having his trust. Without giving a response, he turned and slowly walked away, leaving her unsure if her answer had been acceptable or disappointing.
She waited for the last of the crowd to disperse and leave the hangar before giving the okay for the last of the four Mech armor to be unloaded. The last machine, named Nighthawk, belonged to Kurtis, and they wanted to keep as many details about it a secret for as long as possible. Covered in a dusky red armor, against the backdrop of the Martian soil his unit would be nearly invisible even without the assistance of active camouflage, although the functionality of metamaterials existed for all of their units thus rendering their abilities all the more potent. Like an insect, an enormous head in proportion to its round, squat body sat atop the smallest of the four machines. The head pieces of Mech armor generally housed sensor arrays with banks of logic processors in them, and this one was no exception. The extra space was packed with a varied array of powerful advanced sensors, a quantum computing system, and a logic based supercomputer, utilizing every bit of space available.
Kurtis had the most unique job among them, serving mostly in the background as the squads’ information technician and cyber-warfare expert as well as the teams’ battle strategist; and therefore required more computing capabilities then the other members. To complement his role, he utilized a personal AI named Argos. Argos, named after the Greek god who had 100 eyes and could see everything, even keeping multiple eyes open as he slept, Nighthawk was tailored to fulfill Kurtis’ specific needs. The advanced computing capabilities of his Mech armor would put it leagues ahead of their enemies on the field of cyber-battle and battle oversight, combining the best of mobility with onsite capabilities similar to Aurora but on an even more capable scale. Furthermore, Nighthawk bristled with an array of small and medium weaponry in both munition and laser classes. The combat style suited Kurtis’ frenetic personality and ability; allowing him to identify and coordinate the flow of battle for his team all while rapidly engaging numerous targets in close quarters combat should the situation call for it. In order to handle enhanced shields, powerful sensors, and the significantly upgraded computing abilities his role required, his unit housed a reactor nearly as powerful as Kiryl’s.
As the leader, Alyona had been left to clean up any loose ends instead of the one thing she wanted to do more than anything else. Her responsibilities meant staying behind while having to force her jealousy down in the process as she watched Eve run off after Mikkhael, Eve’s loyalty to him clear for all to see. Mentally forcing herself to switch gears, Alyona focused on the Commander to distract herself. From the moment their airship arrived in the hangar, Aurora’s shell began keeping tabs on the Commander for her, surreptitiously giving her updates the entire time through a surgically implanted earpiece each of the new arrivals had. She was therefore alerted when he headed to the situation room at the top of the hangar after his conversation with her, as well as what he was up to once there.
As for the Commander, the wisdom of his years taught him to wait for what was inevitable to pass and to act in the right moment, using his energy to influence what he could. His subordinates gathered to him once the chaos died down, asking questions about what to do next. His reply was the same for all of them, simple and cryptic in the form old men tend to take. “You will all give your full assistance to the newcomers. Consider any request from them to be an order. The fate of our world now rests in their hands; let us hope they are strong enough to carry its weight.”
Aurora’s shell notified Alyona of the pleasing turn of events just as a shaking dock master approached her, data slate in hand, not allowing her any time to bask in her small victory. She knew without asking what the problem was by the terrified look on his face, but waited diplomatically for the man to collect himself and speak. In this instance, his station meant that he had to take responsibility for something that she absolutely did not envy, having to fulfill the demands of the base security team along with Commander’s Ultor’s order of full compliance, a difficult balancing act to be sure.
“Excuse me ma’am, we were told to move everything off the airship. In the process of doing that some of the technicians found a false wall and… something behind it. The security detail got involved thinking that it was contraband, but… what would you like done with that last Mech Armor?” He asked her, pleading with his eyes for an answer with how to deal with the unexpected find. It was the look of a man who had realized all too late he grabbed a bull by the horns and had absolutely no ability to deal with the consequences.
She pitied the dock master, forced to take responsibility for a situation the rebels were clearly not expecting. They had been expecting to find something hidden behind the false wall, not mentioned in the manifest because it was a secret. Now, because it was evil incarnate, they had no idea what to do once they realized they were in a situation way over their heads. Alyona and the team from Earth were the ones responsible for its creation, hiding Nemesis behind the false wall in the airship as much to wall it off as to hide its very existence. All of them had the same reaction as the dock master to the monster waiting hidden deep in the blackness of the airship’s belly. Even now as the pair stared at the void where a little while ago Mech armor and supply materials had occupied the space, they were unable to see far enough into the airship as to physically locate Nemesis, but they could nonetheless sense its lurking presence. The very air surrounding it reeked of death. When light struck its armor, it seemed to bend and be sucked in like the warping of space in a bad dream; the effect would make any onlooker physically sick if they did not turn away. Just approaching Nemesis gave one the sense of a voice whispering in the back of the mind, demanding to be let inside and given control. Refusal would mean a slow and cruel death. She was glad Nemesis remained deep in the cargo bay’, the full effect of its power was muted being hidden so far from sight.
“Cover it. Leave it in the airship. No one, under any circumstances, is to go near that Mech armor. Spread the word that if anyone aside from Mikkhael gets too close they will be found dead shortly after, and no, I am not exaggerating that claim. Nemesis itself will kill them. That machine was created just for him and will not accept any other. Nemesis will have to wait until he decides whether to pilot it or something else…”
CHAPTER SIX – FAMILY
“It is not terrifying to know sorrow. Terrifying is to know you cannot go back to happiness you could have.” -- Unknown
The next two days passed quickly, lost in the frenzied pace of unified purpose, urgency, and hope. Chief Thorsten’s engineers and technicians worked around the clock, customizing maintenance bays in the auxiliary hangar to fit the four gigantic new Mech armor, the fifth remaining hidden, entombed in the parked airship. The mountain came alive with rumors as access to the auxiliary hangar was restricted and guards were posted every entrance. Those who had gone to meet the airship knew about the first three new Mech armor, but only those three. Rumors were centered on one in particular, Starkindler’s twin, DawnsLight. The Fury and Justice MARS units in the auxiliary hangar were moved to the primary readiness hangar, empty maintenance bays standing testament that the StormCrow faction had seen better days.
The new arrivals, with their oversized Mech armor and plethora of fabricators, repair equipment, and spare materials they’d brought with them, quickly filled the cavernous space of even the auxiliary hangar. Men, women, and machines of all sizes and shapes hurried around, organizing and stowing as many of the spare supply materials as possible before the next anti-grav trains arrived bringing even more.
Teams of technicians crawled across every surface millimeter of the new Mech armor, prepping them in a sort of careful haste bordering on madness. Urgency and excitement at these changes rippled throughout the base, charging the air with a unique blend of energy and h
ope.
Mikkhael remained closeted in his personal quarters, only allowing Eve to visit him. He was despondent and moody. Once again he seemed entirely lost and unsure of what to do. The future that had so recently appeared so brightly to him was now covered in darkness, infinitely out of reach as despair took hold. Eve stayed with him, mostly spending the time in silence as she attempted to reassure him with her presence alone. Aurora’s shell had remained out of sight until the arrival of the newcomers and then proceeded to make herself as useful as possible, like a dog that was trying to please its master after doing some heinous misdeed.
Alyona continued to oversee the distribution of equipment and materials, organizing and unpacking them, preparing them for use. To put it mildly, the timetable they were going to follow was ambitious at the least. In the auxiliary hangar, they had access to their own launch pad controlled from the operations room behind the glass bubble, allowing them to have complete independence from the rest of the base once they got up and running. After another quick meeting with Commander Ultor where they updated him on their plans, he ordered the operation room to be fully staffed as well as the standby hangar. They would have full functionality from their location, independent of, but assisted by, the rest of the StormCrows, and she intended to be ready to use utilize their resources as completely as possible.
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