The Sixth Line of Defense

by Shiva Winters

  * * *

  Devin had been gentle when he told her about her mother, but even though she was happy she was alive for Vala it seemed to be the last straw that broke the determined stubborn wall that had kept her emotions in check for two days. She was honestly glad that it had been Devin who had told her that he had been there to lend her just a little of his strength. Even though she knew that Shiva was trying to be strong for her sake, Vala could easily feel that her resolve was wavering and that she too was pushed nearly to the brink as stress, exhaustion and a lack of sleep had slowly sapped away her remaining strength. Even though she knew her own face must have been a sight to see, Shiva's seemed almost hollow all throughout that morning and afternoon, and her eyes had grown dull. She was trying to deal with problems most full grown adults would never face and she herself had only just learned how to face the world like a human. For as painful as it was to see that, Vala truly couldn't add her own grief on top of what Shiva was dealing with on her own.

  Even more exhausted than she had been at any point since all of it had started, only Shiva's low and dangerous high speed flight across the ground and the thought that she would soon see her mother was keeping her awake as her tortured mind seemed unable to focus on any one thought for more than a heartbeat or two. She could tell that the General wanted very much wanted to question her on the events at their vacation home, and she tried hard to summon up the will to face those memories but it honestly made her heart ache too much to get out the words. Shiva was just as quiet as her, determined to get the two of them into some kind of safety before the last of her strength gave out. Thankfully for both their sakes the General and Devin were discussing some kind of wallet that was being passed back and forth between them on a private channel and gesturing to the plastic wrapped pajamas Shiva had insisted on bringing along what felt like an eternity earlier. Control of their flight was turned over to the designated pilot as they reached the broken foothills of the approaching mountains and they rose just a little higher in the sky while their course became just a little more steady. Her headset crackled just a little as the General touched some of the nearby controls.

  "You two should get some sleep we still have an hour or more before we reach the Jarson outpost." He murmured softly in her ears.

  "Jarson?" Shiva asked with surprise as if it were significant somehow.

  "After it was decommissioned, it was placed under the authority of Huris base." The General told her.

  "General.." Shiva whispered dangerously.

  "Relax, Shiva, it is still a high security facility were confidential research is conducted, it was the only way to keep word from getting out about Rei, and it had the top-notch medical personnel she needed to watch over her." Devin warned in return, rubbing Vala's shoulder.

  "If this is a trap.." Shiva hissed as her hand reached into view to flip off her headphones, leaving the rest unsaid. The General glanced forward into the cockpit to be sure she wouldn't hear them before he chuckled.

  "I'm not exactly sure how much damage she would be able to do in her condition." He murmured to Devin.

  "Don't underestimate her General.. if you really were planning something.. well, I would imagine even if she were in a hospital bed she could still blow out the side of the mountain if it meant saving Vala and Rei. If she hadn't decided to trust me.. you would be her mortal enemy right now." Devin told him without jest.

  "Good to know." The General agreed giving Vala a gentle smile as he realized she was still listening before he again excluded her from the conversation. Vala let her tired burning eyes drift closed as Devin rubbed her arm before hugging her just a little closer to his side and she was probably asleep within minutes.

  Devin's voice whispering in her ear and the arm around her shoulder's shaking her were quite effective in stirring her awake, she opened her eyes to his smiling face as the sense of forward motion slowed to a stop. Vala's eyes scanned the cabin to find the General leaning into the cockpit to gently stir Shiva from her sleep, she was deeply relieved to find that he when shifted backwards none of his limbs were broken. When Devin caught her attention with pat on her back he directed her eyes out to the left windows at a blank stone face of sheer rock. Outside of the fact that it was tremendously tall and supremely flat there didn't seem very much to make it very interesting or offering any clues as to why they were hovering in what seemed like a steep sided gorge of stone deep in the gray stone of the mountains. Before she could think to ask why this sheer face of bare stone was suppose to be so interesting something she could never have expected took place. It was as if one massive piece of the cliff had given under some unknown pressure as it popped outward in what would have been a stupendous avalanche save for the fact that that massive chunk of stone didn't break way so much as split down the middle and heave out to either side. Vala watched in amazement as the rectangular cave mouth behind it was revealed as two massive slab like doors shifted to a stop. As she watched two huge metallic arms extended in stages out into the open air as a large moving platform raised up from within the dark opening and slid out into the light of the sun.

  The pilot brought them down to land dead center of the painted markings, even before the sounds of the engines wound down they were jerked sideways as a new sort of movement was begun, drawing them into the sparsely lit man made tunnel inside. Vala turned to look through the windows to the right to see the arms retreat and the doors shifting inward to slowly cut off the light before a sudden drop sent them falling at an angle farther from the outside and deeper into the mountain carrying the entire vehicle towards some unknown destination. When she looked back towards the others they were taking off their headsets and unstrapping themselves from their seats. Vala hastily did the same even as the direction of the movement shifted a second time and they dropped straight down as the last noise of the thopter died away and only the sound of switches could be heard. Shiva still looked tired and worried when she glanced back to meet Vala's eyes and was the first one to get out of her seat when the light coming into the cabin increased suddenly as an immense hanger facility opened up below and around them. Devin seemed amused by the fact that she stood just outside their doors watching as the large scale elevator finished it's movements and reached the level of the main floor.

  As they unloaded she knew her beloved was still in a state of high agitation when she slipped her fingers into Vala's and her eyes continued to scan their surroundings as she fully expected some form of attack to reach them here. It truly became clear to Vala in those moments that all of Shiva's problems, the quirks of her personality, the emotional issues she suffered through were a direct result of the military training she had endured. While it might have been obvious to her for all that time, she had never really made the connection since Shiva had really only seemed a bit eccentric for all the months before. The attack had brought all of it back to the surface and for a few horrified moments she was desperately afraid that her beautiful, happy, and calm girlfriend would ever really return. Shiva's agitation only grew worse as many moments ticked by with Devin and the General standing some distance away have many long conversations with the dozens of men that had gathered to greet them. And as Vala watched them her own impatience began to bubble up, she wanted to get Shiva away from that space that seemed to bother her so very much and to see her mother so very badly. All of that gathering tension seemed to shatter as Shiva's fingers tightened around her own and she was pulled into motion. One of the armed guards lingering nearby stepped forward and reached out to try and stop them and there was sharp burning rise of anger from Shiva as she swept her arm through the air. He was sent skidding backwards more that 15 meters with his boots squealing horribly against the metal deck plating.

  "Do that again and I will snap you in half!" She yelled as she quickened her steps just a little. Vala saw the General move as if he might try to stop them, but Devin grabbed his arm and shook his head slowly at the
General's sideways glare. Devin caught her eyes in the next moment and nodded her towards Shiva telling her silently that she perhaps the only one of them who could safely stay in her vicinity, Vala nodded back to him and quickened her steps to pull Shiva against her side doing whatever she could to try and keep her calm. Almost as if she had been there before, Shiva's course lead them straight to the nearest elevator that dropped them even deeper into the dense stone. By the time the doors opened once again Shiva's anger had faded just a little and they stepped out into the small unimpressive space beyond. Immediately outside the doors, Shiva spun around and Vala half turned to find two armed men standing at ease on either side of the elevator doors.

  "Do I have to tell you to leave us alone?" Shiva growled at them sounding even more dangerous than when she was yelling.

  "No, ma'am." One of them stated as neither of them looked anywhere other than straight ahead. Shiva turned away and moved to a nearby computer easily calling up what looked like a diagram of the facility spreading out all around them. Shiva took more than 10 minutes to study the complex design, much longer than it took Vala to locate the corridors marked as the hospital wing. It seemed likely that she was notating every possible escape route inside her head during those extra moments. When she was done she nodded Vala off to their right and they moved away a fairly quick pace with the two armed men following at a distance almost as if they merely going in the same direction. Two floors down through the stairwell and through a dozen or more corridors to reach the hospital wing, before their pace slowed and they looked around for someone who looked like they worked there. But they spotted a familiar face long before they saw someone they could hunt down for answers. Gregor gave them a sad smile at their approach and soundlessly reached back to push open the door he sat next to. Shiva's hand left hers as they reached the door and they looked into the empty room and the occupied hospital bed inside.

  "Gregor?" Her mother called turning her unseeing eyes towards the door.

  "Mom.." Vala managed to choke out as everything came rushing back and this time there was no way to lock those memories away. Her mother held out her arms and that was the last thing she really cared about as a sob forced itself up to the surface and sent her fleeing across the room. Her mother started crying almost the moment Vala was in her arms and it was a very, very long time before either of them managed to calm down. She was not truly aware of dozing off, but when her mind started to stir her mother made a soft sound for silence allowing her to catch the words drifting in through the partially open door.

  "You are talking like you are the one who is going after them.." Gregor was murmuring.

  "What makes you think any of you can stop me." Shiva whispered back. "I.. can't bring Raymond back, I.. can't give back Rei's sight, and I might not be able to make Vala happy again. But I can kill every last one of them.. I can send them to hell where they belong and give his spirit peace.. I don't care what it takes.." Her mother's arms drew away from her even before Vala moved to hurry towards the door unable to remain silent any longer. Shiva's words cut short as she threw open the door and quickly ducked down in front of her as she sat in Gregor's lap.

  "You DO make me happy.. even now.. even when the world ends, you will make me happy!" Vala told her urgently grabbing Shiva's hands into her own. "Yes, I want to see them pay for what they have done! BUT I Don't EVER want to hear you talk like that again, like you aren't coming back to me.." Vala thrust up to her feet and pulled Shiva to hers grabbing her tightly in her arms. For just a few heartbeats it seemed like Shiva might fight her before all at once the tension seemed to break and she was burying herself in Vala's arms. "You have to swear to me that you'll come back, or I won't ever let you go.. you mean everything to me.. I won't ever be happy again if you aren't there right next to me.." Vala whispered against her hair, Shiva gave a gut wrenching sob as she nodded against her. She shifted just enough to scoop her off her feet to carried her inside as Gregor quietly closed the door in their wake. Shiva finally let out all her built up misery as the two of them held her close.