1808/AC02-13EVENTLOG

Ω CHAPTER THIRTEEN: The Pit

“Will they listen?” KT couldn't draw her eyes from the view beyond the bulkhead. The monorail system was fast, but it still gave them the chance to see the stunning engineering of Mercurial Eye. They had broken to the surface not long ago after what seemed as an age in absolute darkness. The fleet was suspended above their heads, like the fleet was a rain frozen mid fall towards them. The glows of their engines lit their dark sky like torches held in the hands of gods, penetrating the night as stars all of their own…

This world crafted by man was something never seen before. Even the Gaia Equatorial Arcology was rivalled by it. Alas the scale of the two megastructures couldn't compare, but the scope of Mercurial Eye was magnitudes more impressive.

The cityscape the monorail charged through was glorious. The finest arrangement of engineering ever crafted by their civilisation. It was one of the few cases when the rule of form follows function was forgotten, rather both styles went hand in hand. Each tower rose as a stunning pinnacle of metal, glass woven into it’s surface as patterns only visible from ways away. As they passed by they lined up with their neighbours like a fluid sculpture, ever changing from every angle witnessed. They were half sheathed by a metal jacket which rotated slowly, providing the inhabitants with a day-night cycle that more accurately followed Gaia’s own. Monorails and tubes ran into each, connecting the upper levels together in a dense web, yet they passed through the metal sheets without breaking.

On their mortal plane, the light grey hull of the station was broken by tower after tower, and cut into by trench after trench. Rovers roamed it’s surface, Shuttles and jumpships flew gentle hops from place to place. It was a world born by man.

“We all die if they don’t.” Skip answered, he had his doubts, as any would. His crew had shown signs of the weight they carried for too long now. He was certain they both had the same fear. It had aged them all. KT looked sleepless, her once neatly tied hair was loose, with many locks hanging free. They were all dirtied by the journey, nothing else had mattered but the moments to come. The corruption of their mission had rapidly taken over every part of their existence. The weight could be seen on all of them.

“Tell me there's a plan if this doesn't work.” She begged. Skip was silent for awhile, then shook his head.

“All this will be over in the blink of an eye…” He took a deep, strained breath. “That’s a familiar feeling now.”

The monorail broke free of the unnatural darkness, entering into one truly comforting. The station’s spin brought the molten and scorched world into view. They could actually see pastels of green and lakes of blue still clinging on. Barely visible beneath the smoke stained sky.

However every moment that passed, the gardens of Eden grew smaller. They were burning. They were all burning.

"What was the old world like?" KT asked, and she did so gently. It wasn't the first time she'd asked about it, but neither Skip nor French had ever spoken of it.

They clung to that memory though, she knew that much.

"Corrupt. Harsh, cruel at times." He answered, his eyes still on the stars, like he could see it reflected from them. "But beautiful. Glorious. You were your own master. If you could get a ship, there weren't any commissions, there weren't any regulations, you just flew. If you were planetbound, your work made your way in life. French didn’t become the best engineer on Anthar for nothing."

“You mean there was a time you worked for yourselves?” KT was dumbstruck, skip said nothing, only nodded mournfully. "I can’t even imagine what that would’ve been like…”

“Absolutely. Free to live, travel, explore, work. There were no limits. It was beautiful. It was a world worth fighting for, but even now today this world still needs just as much work to protect it.” He gestured to her. “People like you, Jax have only known this. You’ve made your lives work in this. We need to protect those who have made a life, and those who couldn't. In this fraggin’ darkness people have made a home. That home is under threat…”

“And we must stand and protect it I know.” She cut him off at first chance. She didnt need to know the stakes, she knew more than anyone. KT’s hand tightened around the datadrive. She would not fail now, this was her moment. “What was your home like?”

"Every time I came off rotation I'd call my son when I landed planetside. It was two hours from the spaceport to home so he’d leave work, forage and hunt all the way home… He was a cook, a bloody good one. His mum would go out for booze and invite everyone she could. Guarantee ye that shortly after I arrived, French would rock up with his family in their rusted out jumpship."

KT blanched. "Hard to think he's ever let something go rusty."

"Yeah, but he stuck the biggest set of drive coils in he could." Skip smiled at the memory. It was a beautiful one. He let out a hoot of laughter. "It was so quiet in that village you'd hear it even from over the mountains. Damn thing could be heard even with a battlecruiser going trans-orbital overhead!"

They both now laughed, yet when KT looked back at her captain, he was laughing with the beginnings of tears glistening in his eyes. Then it all made sense why they never spoke of it. The memory of home was so wonderful to them, it was painful.

"Your people drove a destroyer into my village…” His voice was unsettled, trembling. “...at interplanetary velocity, just because the three people from it that became COBRAs had killed a leader who sacrificed ‘heretics’."

For a brief moment she had the red mark on her, the one reserved only for his enemies.

And KT knew that. She knew that from the moment she boarded that ship. On the Phoenix she was the unwelcome one, yet nonetheless, from day one she was one of them.

“Look out there…” She said, turning to the viewport, the ceiling of stars and darkness had come unnoticed, yet at their awareness of its presence, the weight eased a little more.

“That is the Abyss.” She explained simply. “Dagniri believe that upon our death our ancestors reach down and bring you into the Abyss, whereupon they are rewarded with being born as a new star. You then take their place, watching your loved ones from above, waiting for the time you can reach down from the Abyss to guide those that die to the afterlife.”

She looked up at Skip, he actually seemed to listen. That was something she had never seen from anyone but her own people. He was listening… “The heroes of our past stand side by side with our loved ones.”

“Shame they can’t come down and help us.” Skip muttered. KT laughed again. The notion was seemingly an amusing reverence.

“They do.” She pointed at the two of them, she waited for a moment as the hiss of an opening bulkhead sounded out. “We’re the avatars of the ancient warriors… That kick you get when you’ve got nothing left. That is them...”

“You're very brave.” His voice was distant, still on the stars, the window of the memory faded back into its special place.

KT scoffed, finding such a semblance amusing. “Brave? I’m the only one who has repeatedly broken down throughout this whole thing.”

“I’m not on about the attack. Being brave isn't about standing unbroken infront of insurmountable odds.” Skip donned a smirk, she frowned though, more out of confusion. “Walking willingly into the presence of someone that used you and hurt you. That's bravery.”

“We’re facing extinction and you want to talk about that?” She was so surprised she actually chuckled. A chuckle that quickly faded.

“That is more terrifying than anything we could face with the barrel of a gun.” he placed himself conveniently beside her. “They attack your body, and you can heal from it. That shiv attacked your soul, that don’t heal even after a lifetime.”

“Since when did you become spiritual?” She mused, trying again to push the topic away.

“As you would say, your Ancestors have her now KT, and I'm sure your mother and father are there with her. The price of being free was to give her to them, ain’t your fault. It’s the cards life deals you.” Skip had his doubts that the glare he was getting from her was out of any malice. “Besides you can’t go missing her too badly, you got a lot further to fly before we end up in the Abyss.”

The officers leaned upon the rail as well as upon each other, their gazes matched into the darkness beyond the commotion of the battle to come. The black of space was dimmer here, drowned by the glow of the station, the stars were fewer than ever.

Then, as unwelcome as conceivably possible, the monorail came to a halt. The time had come. The mission’s closing acts were upon them. They smacked eachother’s shoulder, psyching eachother up for the coming moments.

But the moment those doors opened, their presence was immediately made unwelcoming...

“The hangers are the other way Captain.” A group of higher-ups looked at them with a mix of surprise and frustration. Clearly they had been interrupted. They seamed like scrawny scientists and officials, bar one. “Return to your ship immediately.”

“Yeah, well spotted, it's certainly big enough.” KT snarked as Skip pushed them aside like they were no more than overgrowth, yet the one that had spoken up stood still. Skip’s shove might as well have just been a gentle lean. There was suspicion when their eyes met. The man pointed back to the monorail, yet with a shake of his head Skip followed KT onto the command deck. The man offered little resistance, his expression had turned from concern to intrigue in the blink of an eye.

The two spacers were immediately set upon by a thousand unwelcome glares the minute they crossed the threshold. The command center was large, and was the pinnacle of technological advancement. It was like stepping onto a new world. Images hovered suspended above terminals. Operators used their hands alone to work their stations, there were no buttons nore levers. Everything had a potent blue glow that drew out nearly all other colours. The men and women had stern faces, they weren't tired. They were ready.

“Captain I must insist you head to the hangar and ready your ship immediately.” The man insisted once again, but with no authority. He wasn't OSFC, his uniform said otherwise.

“Sorry, who are you?” KT asked almost aggressively as Skip scanned the room. He couldn't spot the admiral anywhere.

“I am the Chancellor of Mercurial Eye, I am in command and I order you to return to the hangar and prepare for combat.” The man held very little air of authority. His lack of armament or even guards betrayed his apparent air of power. The situation at hand had turned his title into exactly that.

“Yeah but you answer to Wolf while his fleet is here. So where is he?” Skip insisted. His gaze locked firmly on the man’s. His intentions remained unknown, he played a game here. “You really are a pathetic excuse for a station head aren’t you? Tell me where my commanding officer is or I will plug my wrist computer into your synapses and have a careful look through every memory you have until I find what I’m lookin’ for, Sir.”

Skip drew a long wire from the device as soon as he stopped speaking. It whipped out with enough force to make an audible twang.

“Where do you expect to find an admiral? The command pit.” The councillor scoffed. As the spacers walked away, he followed a fair few paces behind, like it was his business as well what was to be said.

“I never knew it could do that?” KT asked with an eyebrow raised in curiosity.

“It can't. But he thought it could so that's what's important.” Skip was smirking so hard his face looked like it was going to shatter. He spoke loud enough the councillor could hear him, but with their constant pace through the command center he never got a chance to respond.

They reached the command pit moments later, and the smirks faded. Both spacers became tense, their movements stiffened.

It was show time.

“Admiral.” Skip alone quickly dispensed a sharp salute, it was barely even noticed. KT just glared, even when another officer gave her one. Her hands stayed firmly behind her back, albeit her grip on the datadrive could’ve broken it.

“You went off your patch Captain.” Wulf pursed his lips. Only giving the spacers a sideways glance in recognition. He flicked his hand upwards. With a small flash, a white square appeared beside him, he began writing on it with a finger. “Take into account your travel time, location, and the time of the general rally call, you left your region over a week early.”

“With good reason… Arcaeus.” Even Skip was surprised at the snarl that escaped KT’s lips. Wulf took a lasting look at her, yet her back straightened even more. “We have intel vital to destroying this thing sir.”

“That wench can wait in the cells or on your ship Spacer." The Admiral returned to his work, Watching the various signals detailing every aspect of the assembled battlegroup. He frowned. “Commstat! Send word to Colonel Dask that his fleet is moving out of position.”

“Sir, KT has spent more time going over our intelligence than any of us. She has enough of an understanding of it to guide you through what we have." Skip frowned, surprised once again at the path of this rather urgent conversation.

The Admiral’s voice filled with authority immediately. "She leaves. Now."

Skip ran his hand down his face, almost shocked in fact. He looked back at his Nav officer, all she could offer was a shrug and a smile.

“Wulf.” She growled his name, a twitch formed over her eye. A tremble ran down her spine. That same tremble shook the datadrive as she held it out. “The enemy ships have no inbuilt reactor system, they run silent and invisible to all passive thermal scans. Their armour is energy tempering, using the impact of weaponsfire to stiffen and harden, rendering it impenetrable to kinetic assault weaponry. Their flight systems are millenia more advanced than anything we have, they fly like an aircraft in space, and that is only one of their weaker vessels.”

Wulf raised an eyebrow and looked her way. His gaze hardened overtime. “Off deck Private.”

“This fleet overwhelms us with a single vessel. We have no chance, we have no hope and any attempt to fight them is flawed!” Her voice raised as she spoke, quickly gaining the attention of those nearby. She stepped forward even when Skip warned her to stop. “This fight will wipe out an entire fleet! We need to run! We need to hide, retreat and run until we find a way to kill these fraggin-”

She was cut off with the impact of a firm backhand across her face. It had been dealt almost effortlessly, with Wulf immediately returning to his admiral duties.

She went to swing back.

“Go back to the ship, KT. That's enough courage for today.” Skip had caught her fist midswing. His voice held a deep set authority. It had gone too far. He could feel her shaking.

"Ok Captain." She quickly pressed the datadrive into his hands and left without a word more, vanishing into the commotion of the command center.

“I warned you about her Skipper. She is dangerous, although if I recall correctly she was fun.” He finally made eye contact with the spacer. The battle of wills began again. "You are aware that by leaving your patch you are subject to summary execution, which while I may decide to overlook it for now given the circumstances, I will take great pleasure in passing your sentence when we have won."

"Admiral Sir, we have a datacore filled with intel from the nav beacon at Briar’s Cross and from the datacore of survey station indigo alpha regarding the approaching enemy fleet, as well as passive battlefield scans from the engagement at Hodges Moon." He held out the datadrive. “This is a sample of the best we’ve got.”

"Very good. Pass it onto the Chancellor, he can deal with it. Now, fuel up and get your vessel to the front of the line, Colonel Dower needs a fast attack craft with a heavy hit to it in his battlegroup, and your Chariot is kitted out for just such a role." Wulf waved over the man loitering nearby. Skip’s expression turned dumbfounded as the Chancellor took the device and tucked it away. He stared in utter shock at his commanding officer. When the Admiral realised his subordinate hadn’t moved, he looked up. “Dismissed Captain.”

“Sir as you said I found it pertinent to venture off patch to deliver you this information. What KT gave you is just the highlights. It is vital for our survival that it gets examined immediately, we have no idea how to fight this thing. This is the clue we need to win.” Skip pushed harder, still the admiral remained disinterested.

“You have your orders. I expect them to be followed regardless of the beliefs of you and your crew. This force has destroyed the response fleets we have sent at it; it will not withstand a stationhold.” The Admiral was woefully overconfident, yet he sounded bored, this conversation was unnecessary. “Go back to your ship. Now.”

"Sir, as you said this has taken out everything that's gotten in its way and not even been scratched. I don’t think a station hold will cut it..." Skip appealed as best as he could, trying to convince the man desperately. “This force has won every engagement and has technology that makes us look like we’re fighting with spears! We need to process the data on the Phoenix so we can figure out how to kill this!”

"Know your place, Spacer, it is beneath me.” Wulf hissed, his frown deepened. “We will hold this station until the Fleet Carriers arrive with the full force of the OSFC."

"How long will that be, Sir?"

"None of your business Spacer. Dismissed." Wulf gestured now to a few guards nearby, the message was clear; remove the man at once.

"An hour? Two? Or is it three? Because that's all we got. Sir!" Skip’s voice gradually rose. He followed KT’s method now. More and more officers rapidly began watching the display. The desperation in his voice was clear, but it never proceeded into shouting. The guards had an arm each but they could not move him.

"Fighting this thing with what we have is pointless and it's a quick way to a slow death. I’ll even tell you what we need to do, funnily enough its as my Nav officer said before you cut her down! We need to get every lab we have on this data, and then we need as a collective to retreat. We scatter our forces into the void at the edge of the system until we can be rescued. We have already lost this battle, and if we stay and fight it will be far more than Prokhyon we will lose!'' When Skip finished his rant he knew he had crossed the line, but it was a necessity. As he was already past no return he carried on further. They needed to run. It was the only way. “Your fraggin’ overconfidence can’t see past the fact that this battle is already over!”

Wulf was glaring at him with a look that said exactly as the man thought. He turned without a word, tearing the datadrive from the chancellor’s hands. He didn't look it over, only throwing it to the floor and hitting it before it landed with a blast from his sidearm.

That same weapon rose to point at Skip’s chest.

"Get off of this command deck COBRA…” The Chancellor’s gaze rose, and his eyes narrowed. “...before I execute you for sowing dissolution at a time of war."

Skip stepped towards the man, leaning on his firearm. He growled his parting words, there was no need for anyone else to know them. “Wouldn’t wanna give ye’ a head start, y’er gunna be pretty busy killing everyone else.”

The COBRA left without another word, and Wulf never thought anything more of it. The spacer’s hadn't been the first to try this act. In Fact he’d just ordered the destruction of a ship fleeing the fight. They would stand, and they would win. This would be his finest hour.

He wasn’t best impressed though when he spotted the concerned looks from his subordinates. His voice built in his chest, the confidence flooded it. The honour charged it. And he bellowed; “Return to your stations!”

Seeing her wounds treated was never a pleasant sight. Repair facilities never treated her with care, nor any other vessels. They’d tear the broken pieces off, they wouldn’t spend hours banging them back into shape like her crew would.

When KT approached the Phoenix’s landing pad, she was glad the overhead repair facilities weren’t operating, rather it seemed to have come to a sudden halt a short while ago. There were a few new crates scattered around and a group of scrubbers, clearly allocated to them, that were trying to avoid the piercing and dangerous gaze of the vessel’s engineer, or probably more realistically his brandished ARC cutter.

The repairs had begun, although it seemed the dock workers were hoping for a patch-job rather than fully restoring the Phoenix’s combat effectiveness. Structural patches had been welded over her damaged armour, but would never match her previous strength. She was wounded, and it seemed the dock teams were just getting her to minimum combat readiness

“Hey blondie you’re back early.” French hooted at her as she approached. She stopped in her tracks as one of the Phoenix’s turrets turned to track her. It was a fearful sight.

“Why ain’t you with Skip?” Jax’s voice spoke through the Phoenix’s loudspeaker. French started laughing nearly uncontrollably.

“I pissed off Wulf.” She pointed to one side. “Can you turn that thing that way?”

“Whey Hey! Good on ye’ girl!” French bounced on her, giving KT a massive bear hug. She relaxed a bit when the quad-cannon turret rotated away, yet she made sure to keep her bruised cheek from view. “I don't see ye’ wearing his testes though. Couldn't get that close to him eh?”

“I needed your welding clamps, I wouldn’t touch that bastard again.” She said with a smirk once he’d released her. She pointed at the Phoenix. “She nearly good?”

“Nowhere near. We have a new gyroscope but the flight system ain’t respondin’ to it… The system is too old. Reaction systems are good to go but there's still a crossed circuit somewhere firing them unexpectedly.” He gave a glare to the various scrubbers working away quietly. “Though them fraggers aren't focusin’ on fixin’ that. I swear if they try and bring another load of ion-grilles for our thrusters I woul-”

“Do you think they’ll buy it?” KT cut off his inevitable engineering rant. French wasn’t bothered, he thought for a moment.

“Don’t know. Eitherway, we will find a way to survive this.” His response was reassuring. KT nodded, she glanced past him at their home.

“After what we’ve done, Do you honestly think any of us deserve to survive this?”

“Guy’s you there?” Skip’s voice chirped over their wrist computers. Jax darted from the open airlock shortly after, waving an arm up in the air as the other redid the zipper of her flight jacket.

“He’s on the horn!” She shouted, coming to a halt and quickly doubled over. She looked far more exhausted than the quick run to her crewmates should’ve made her.

“He called us all you dipshiv.” KT snarked, she pointed at each word in turn. “Crew. Wide. Comm. Channel.”

“Can you stop bickering and respond to comms!” Skip barked, through all three of their computers his voice was notably amplified.

“We’re all here Boss, what's the call?” French replied as his crewmates turned their devices off, they all gathered around him.

Skip had not entered the monorail yet; he loitered just beyond the command center, hunkered down on the balls of his feet. “He shot the datadrive.”

“He did what!” KT shouted, from the sounds of shuffling she’d clearly surprised her crewmates.

“He shot it.” Skip was in just as much disbelief as they were. He noticed someone else start to loiter with him. “My fault. I might’ve insisted it needed immediate action.,, and taken a shot at his ego.”

“You were only doing what was right to any normal human being mate.” French’s voice was reassuring. “Wulf aint human. Look what he did to us.”

“Aye…” Skip sighed. “I.. I don’t know what to do... guys. I... don't know if we should stay and fight or should we run? Rendezvous with any survivors when the battle is over?”

“I have a better idea Major.” Skip’s back stiffened. He looked up.

“Who's that Skip?”

“I’ve got to go. Hold tight. Be ready for war.” Skip closed down the channel with haste, finally he acknowledged the interloper. “Chancellor.”

“Major, is what you said true?” The bureaucrat asked, slightly uneasy.

“Captain. I ain’t a Major anymore.” Skip didn’t stand, merely he looked up at the man with almost disinterest.

“I think that is irrelevant right now.” The man countered. He straightened. “You have data on the enemy force, is what your officer said accurate?”

“That was just from a few hours swatting over the data. We’ve got everything. Spectographical, technical, potentially structural. Tactical scans aswell...” Skip worked through the list. “There's more but I can’t remember it.”

“What’s your ship?” The man seemed to recognise the urgency of the situation. He pulled up his sleeve, his wrist computer displayed a hovering image like the ones in the command center.

“SX05A Phoenix.” Skip answered, eyeing up a familiar mark on his arm. The image changed to a display of his dear ship. It rotated slowly. Both men observed it, Skip did so with his usual admiration, The Chancellor did it with curiosity.

“Chariot?”

“Yeah.”

“Type?” He knew the answer he wanted. He begged for it to be the right one.

“Five.”

The Chancellor frowned, then ran his hand down his face in disbelief. He took a quick glance over his shoulder, making sure they weren’t being listened into.

“Come with me. Right now.” The man insisted in a hushed tone. He activated his own comm unit. “Marx, get the SX05A Phoenix in the hangar deck to the blacksite immediately.”

Skip grasped the man’s collar very suddenly, charging them at the wall, just out of sight of the command deck. The Chancellor looked at him firmly.

“You are not taking my ship and my crew anywhere until you tell me what’s going on!” He growled. Skip moved a hand to the man’s collarbone. All it would take is a short journey to crumple the man’s neck.

“I believe you, Captain.” The man insisted. He maintained eye contact. He actually did… “And I am going to help you get your data and more to fleet command. You just have to trust me.”

“I don't trust people very easily, Chancellor. Why would you go against Wulf’s orders when you couldn't even keep me out of the command deck?” Skip wanted to believe him. But there was no telling for his resolve at the moment. The man needed to be pushed.

“Because you are our only chance to save us from extinction…”

“Try again.” Skip’s hand went menacingly for his throat.

The man swallowed, then grasped the spacer’s wrist firmly. Skip felt his hand pull away from the Chancellor’s neck, eventually being held out beside them. He was matched. It was a sensation that was almost missed…

Skip smiled.

“Maybe this act of rebellion could redeem the both of us...”