Chapter 11

The minutes passed slowly. They watched the blue sky, not knowing what kind of ship she was flying.

Finally, a shape descended. The ship looked battered, it had clearly seen its fair share of war.

Vinnie gritted his teeth with uncertainty. "Woah! That's seen better days!" he cried.

Modo put his hands on his hips, "Oh Mama, last time I saw one of those in the air was when, well, when I had both arms!"

Throttle watched dubiously. "Surprising it made the journey."

Charley watched with raised eyebrows as the ship landed on the beach with a creak. The sand whipped up and blew around as the engines calmed. The scene was reminiscent of the sandy landscape of Mars. The door opened and Carbine stood in the doorway in her usual green and yellow uniform, her long black hair down, as always.

She smiled. "Hey," she greeted softly, "it's been a while."

Throttle stepped forward, smiling. "It's good to see you, Carbine."

She walked down the ship's ramp and stood, acknowledging him momentarily, before hugging him affectionately. "You too, Throttle." She stepped back, studying his clothes with amusement. "I see you've not been doing much fighting recently."

Throttle looked down at himself. It was easy to forget they'd been in beach wear most of the time. "Er, yeah, it's kinda turned into an unplanned vacation," he admitted.

Carbine nodded, intrigued. But she had bigger things to discuss. She addressed the other mice, then turned to Charley, her face serious. "Charley, I wanna thank you for all the information you sent to us, it was…invaluable."

Charley smiled excitedly. "You decrypted it?"

Carbine nodded, her expression impassive. "We need to talk," she stated anxiously.

"OK, let's go sit down," Throttle nodded, turning to walk.

Carbine hesitated. "Oh, first, you might wanna see my cargo," she smiled, turning back to the ship. She walked back into the doorway for a second, before returning with another mouse in tow.

Modo's real eye lit up. "Rimfire!" he exclaimed with delight. The other mice greeted him loudly.

"Uncle Modo!" he waved enthusiastically, running down the ramp. Modo hugged his nephew, who was now almost as tall as him, but still had his ginger streak of hair. He greeted the other mice and Charley. "How'd you get a ticket on this trip?" Modo asked happily.

Rimfire smiled. "I've come to help, besides, this old thing needed two pilots at times," he gestured to the ship.

"Help?" Throttle asked, puzzled. Rimfire looked at him, then to carbine, his face hesitant.

Carbine spoke. "There's a lot to talk about, let's go and sit down." They all walked to the main area and took a seat around the table. Carbine looked around, "Nice place."

Rimfire gawped at the surroundings, he'd never seen anything like it before. "This place is amazing!" he cried in awe.

"Sure is," Modo agreed, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Later on, I'll give you the whole tour."

Rimfire smiled, sitting down, his face becoming more serious as they looked to Carbine. Vinnie and Charley exchanged nervous looks.

Carbine sighed, she'd been thinking about this talk on the journey there. She looked at the mice and Charley. "OK. I guess the first thing you should know is, a few days ago, word got to me that a Freedom fighter happened to see a transporter device appear in the middle of the desert. Guess who the two grotesque beings that got out were." She raised her eyebrows.

Charley was shocked. "Limburger and Karbunkle were sent to Mars?! I had no idea!"

Carbine smirked. "What are the odds? Anyway, with some backup, they were captured and taken to moon base one for trial."

The mice shook their heads, disbelieving what they were hearing.

"They've got what was comin' to them," Modo stated.

"Finally," Vinnie added.

Throttle thought. "What about the transporter? Would've been a lot quicker than that old tin can, babe," he chucked quietly.

Carbine shot him a sarcastic look. "You think I came in that out of choice? The transporter was damaged during the capture, it's being sent to scrap for parts."

Throttle shook his head, still confused. "That's great you managed to capture them Carbine, that's two down, and Chi-town safe, at least. But why are you really here?" His voice was wary.

Carbine looked at them all. She licked her lips nervously. "Like I said, Charley's information was invaluable to us, more so than we ever expected."

Charley looked at her with anticipation. Carbine met her eyes, taking a breath, and smiled softly. "After decrypting the files, we realised they contained vital sensitive information-of the highest kind."

The mice looked at each other, listening to every word. "It told us everything we needed to know about the Plutarkian empire. Plans, past, present and future. Coordinates, maps, strategies, spies, weapons, contacts, I could go on," she explained with cautious optimism. The mice and Charley were astonished at her news. They sat in silence, as she continued. "It changed everything. Once we shared the information with our ally planets, the Plutarkians had nowhere to hide. That one action, Charley, saved so many lives, and changed the course for all of us. Once the Plutarkians realised their information had been revealed, they fled. Every planet they occupied." Carbine spoke slowly, letting her words sink in. They all exchanged looks once again.

Throttle spoke. "You mean, they're all gone? From Earth?"

Carbine nodded. "All of them, from our entire solar system."

Vinnie was trying to process the information. Disappointment fell over his face. "The fight's over and we weren't even part of it?"

Charley turned to him, "Vinnie, you helped me get that information to Mars, you were part of it."

Vinnie frowned. "Not in the way I wanted. In the end, you saved the day, Sweetheart."

Modo agreed. "In the end we were just livin' the high life here whilst this was all goin' on."

Carbine cut in. "It doesn't matter now. What matters is that they're defeated. You all played your part in that, long term, and you should all be proud." Rimfire nodded in agreement. She sighed, getting to her point, and realising the others had not yet grasped the upshot of her words. "So now it's time to go home, finally, and indefinitely."

Carbine's face was filled with nervous hope. She knew what this meant for them. Vinnie's face dropped, the realisation sinking in. He felt like he'd been punched. He looked to Charley, her face much the same. She turned to him with tears in her eyes. For a second, no one spoke.

"Home? For good?" Throttle's soft voice broke the silence.

Carbine nodded, her voice calm. "That's why we're here, a one off mission to bring you back." She reached her fingers out, touching his hand.

Modo looked at Rimfire, he couldn't hide the joy in his face at the thought of being reunited with the rest of his family again. Rimfire smiled knowingly.

Vinnie had heard enough. He stood up quickly, the chair scraping backwards as he angrily walked away. They all jumped a little in surprise. Charley watched him go, turning back to the others, her eyes threatening to spill the tears. She wanted to speak, but had no words. She stood, looking at them all, her face fraught. She turned and walked quickly in Vinnie's direction.

Carbine and Rimfire were clearly taken aback by their strong reactions. Throttle and Modo exchanged pained reactions.

Throttle sighed heavily, dropping his head into his hand, before lifting it, dragging the hand down his face. "Oh, man."

Modo tilted his head back with a sigh, looking back to the table in angst.

Carbine and Rimfire exchanged a look. "I take it there's something I should know?" Carbine asked, guessing exactly what it was.

Throttle placed his intertwined hands on the table, dropping his head before looking up. "This is all new to us too, but, Vinnie and Charley have got… real close."

Rimfire raised his eyebrows and looked from one to the other.

Carbine nodded sympathetically. "I thought you'd say that. They'll need their space."

Modo nodded. "This ain't gonna be easy for them."

"No," Carbine agreed. "It won't. Let's all just take a break, get our heads together. Plus Rimfire and I could really do with a shower."

Rimfire sighed in agreement. "Yeah, that'd be good."

Modo chuckled. "C'mon Rimfire, I'll show you where you can get one, and some clean clothes. Then I'll give you that tour."

Rimfire's eyes lit up, "That'd be awesome Uncle Modo, this place looks unreal."

Modo started walking with him. "Yeah, and wait until you see the fishing boat!"

Throttle turned to Carbine. "Wanna use my shower?" he smirked, "there's a ton of clothes too."

Carbine smiled at him knowingly. "How can I refuse?" She let him lead the way.

Vinnie stormed along the walkway, kicking a pot plant into the water. He threw his door open, pacing the floor before running his hands down his face and sitting on the edge of the bed. His arms were stiff, pressing into the mattress behind him. He tilted his head back before bringing it forward as Charley followed him into the room. He looked at her, his eyes misty this time. Charley shut the door and walked over to him, some tears now escaping down her face. He stood, putting his arms around her as she folded hers around his waist.

"I don't believe it," he stated simply.

Charley stepped back to look at him. "I don't regret it." She told him with certainty, tears still seeping out of the corner of her eyes.

He pulled her to him again. "Me neither," he said quietly.

After a minute they stepped back. "Why did it have to be now?" Vinnie asked bitterly.

Charley wiped her face with her hand. "I guess, better now than further down the line, right?"

Vinnie shrugged. "I guess so," he replied, dejected. He looked her in the eye. "You know I'd stay if I could."

She nodded. "I know," her voice was quiet. She looked down, letting out a small breath in sorrow before looking back to him. "If things were simpler, maybe I could've… worked out a way to…" she trailed off, seeing the look on Vinnie's face.

He smiled sadly and shook his head. "You're way too good for a war torn planet like that. You've got a chance to really do something with your life now."

Charley didn't say anything, she looked away, the odd tear still streaking down her face. Vinnie watched her, before lifting up her chin. "Promise you will, Sweetheart. You need to start thinkin' what's best for you."

She smiled a little. "Maybe it's all fate, who knows, right?" Her face fell again.

Vinnie gave a small shrug. "Maybe."

Charley thought for a moment and tried to be more positive through her tears. "Well this is a new start for you and your whole planet! You can all start rebuilding your lives without the constant threat to the solar system, and all the scum on Mars would've fled the first chance they got."

Vinnie nodded, his smile weak. "Funny, now it's finally happened, I don't really care any more."

Charley sighed, looking pained. "All I ever wanted was Limburger to get the hell out of Chicago and leave me alone. But after I met you guys, I knew that would always come at a price. And now it's happened, I wish it hadn't." With an ironic dry laugh she added, "And it was my doing."

"Guess we have to look at the bigger picture here, right?" Vinnie sighed.

"You're right. It's a great thing for Earth and the solar system." Charley tried to muster some enthusiasm.

"I wish… we'd had more time, maybe we could've figured somethin' out," Vinnie mused with exasperation.

"I know," Charley agreed soothingly. "They were always risky odds. Guess we shouldn't be surprised."

Vinnie looked at her. "So what're you gonna do Sweetheart?"

Charley shook her head and sighed heavily. "I guess, I'll talk to Jack, see what we can do."

Vinnie nodded. "Good. You deserve a life better than Chicago. What about the Last Chance?"

Charley sadly contemplated. "I'll never sell it. But I can rent it out, earn a little and still keep it going."

Vinnie smiled, glad she was thinking about the future. "Good idea. Sure McCyber will look after ya."

Charley looked at him thoughtfully for a moment. "You know me and Jack would never get-" she started.

"-I know," Vinnie acknowledged. "But it's good to know someone's lookin' out for ya."

She smiled sadly.

Carbine pulled on jeans and a vest top. Dresses simply weren't an option where she came from, even if she liked the look of them. Throttle showed her round briefly before they got a drink and sat by the pool, talking over what needed to be done. Carbine certainly wasn't going to let the free supplies get left behind. They wrote up a list of all the useful things they could take back to Mars. When Modo and Rimfire returned, they started packing and loading up. Vinnie and Charley walked back to the main area, quiet and subdued.

Carbine looked up, giving Throttle a quick glance before standing and stepping forwards. "Charley, can I talk to you?" she called.

Charley looked at Vinnie, then back to Carbine. "Sure," she replied softly. Carbine led her down the steps to the beach.

Vinnie watched her go, looking down bitterly. Throttle approached him, not knowing what to say for the best. He started to say something, but Vinnie cut him off. "Don't," he stated, sitting on a chair. Throttle simply laid a hand on his shoulder, before getting back to work, Modo looking on sadly before getting back to helping Rimfire carry supplies.

Carbine and Charley sat on the soft, warm sand, the glistening sea in front of them. A small breeze caused their hair to dance around their faces.

Charley looked down to her knees, then out towards the horizon. "Guess you've heard the gossip?" she asked flatly, still looking ahead.

Carbine looked at her and nodded, joining her gaze out towards the blue expanse. "I heard you and Vinnie have gotten pretty close lately. Can't say I'm that surprised," she replied softly.

Charley looked at her. "Oh?"

Carbine shrugged, turning to her, smiling sadly. "A girl senses these things."

Charley was a little surprised. She didn't think it was ever that obvious, especially as Carbine was never around them much. "Well, it's come to an abrupt end now," she muttered tearfully, staring at the sand.

Carbine watched her sympathetically. "I'm so sorry things happened this way. But I want you to know your actions won't ever be forgotten." She placed a hand on Charley's shoulder.

Charley nodded, happy for what she managed to do, despite the sacrifice.

They continued to talk as Vinnie sat with his thoughts. Modo passed by, setting his box down when he saw him. He walked over. "How you doin' Vinnie?" he asked gently, taking a seat nearby.

"Not so good," Vinnie replied without looking up.

"Sometimes things just ain't fair Bro, believe me I know," Modo sighed.

"Yeah," Vinnie muttered.

"It's like my dear old gray furred Mamma used to say, the road's filled with twists and turns," Modo told him. "But you never know what's waitin' around the next corner."

Vinnie nodded as Modo got up, patting him on the shoulder. Vinnie looked up to him in acknowledgement as Modo walked back to his box.

Charley and Carbine soon came back up to the poolside. Carbine set off to help with the loading, leaving Charley and Vinnie to gather their thoughts.

"I should go get my stuff together, and talk to Jack," Charley told him solemnly.

Vinnie nodded, getting up. "Yeah, guess I should too."

They walked back along the walkway towards the huts, the mood considerably darker than the last few days of carefree indulgence. He held her hand, the sombre silence wrapping itself around them as they approached the buildings.

She smiled at him weakly as they stopped at his door. She placed a hand on his upper arm. "I'll be out in a bit," her voice was quiet and shaky.

Vinnie nodded, opening his door as she walked to hers. He didn't watch her, closing the door behind him. He sighed, sitting on the bed, his elbows resting on his knees. He was angry, confused and utterly devastated. Why now, of all times? If only they'd left the computers alone. That was selfish, he knew. Greater things would come out of this, there was no denying that, and Charley had earned the recognition of Mars that would always be remembered. To him though, that would be a constant reminder of what he'd lost. But she had opportunity now, to move on and become what she should've always been. Maybe this had to happen, maybe it was all part of a bigger plan in the long term, and maybe things wouldn't have worked out between them, he reasoned. He numbly started emptying the closet, tossing clothes into an empty suitcase that had stood in there.

Charley closed the door, her eyes welling up with tears as she struggled to think straight. She sat on her bed, wiping her cheeks. This was so typical of her life. She was jinxed when it came to men, that much was clear. She was stupid to let things get so out of control, so fast, with him. How could she have ever believed it could work, long term? This would've happened at some point. She had initiated things, and now look what it'd caused. She had been so insistent on sending those damn files, but she couldn't feel angry about the good it had done. She was proud, and happy for all those it affected, but it had been at the cost of her and Vinnie. She pondered if things would have worked if they had been able to stay together. But there was no point dwelling on that, it wasn't going to happen, she needed to look forward and try to build a future for herself, and so did Vinnie. She held her phone in her hand, swiping down her contacts list, until she got to Jack. She took a deep breath and dialled.

Vinnie threw the last of the toiletries into a bag. He had pretty much cleared the room. He took the contents to the main area and dumped it with the other boxes. Every room was in the process of being cleared, by the look of it. Mars was in need of basics like clothes, food and medical supplies. Anything else was a bonus. The mice had enlisted the help of the bikes, which carried and pulled heavy and large crates. Vinnie took back an empty box to help Charley with the rest of her things. He knocked on her door. She opened it, her eyes red.

"Hey," she greeted quietly.

"Hey. You talk to McCyber?" Vinnie asked.

Charley nodded. "Yeah. He's on business in Indianapolis, luckily, he'll get a helicopter to Chicago once he's done, in a day or so."

Vinnie looked down and sighed. "At least you can talk things through and make some decisions, I'm glad you won't be alone, Sweetheart."

Charley nodded, hugging him. Vinnie hugged her back, neither of them spoke. When they stepped back, Charley took a breath. "Well, we need to get this stuff moved." She turned to the case she'd packed, and a pile sitting on the bed.

Vinnie picked up his box. "I'll get that." He walked to the bed, throwing it in. "You keeping all this?"

Charley shook her head. "Not most of it. The memories will make me sad." She tried to smile, her eyes becoming watery once again. She grabbed the case and turned, walking out. Vinnie followed.

Over the next few hours, the mice and Charley helped to load the ship, stopping only to eat. Vinnie had picked at his food, and Charley had barely eaten. The mood was strange. Of course Modo and Throttle were happy to be getting home and being with those they missed so dearly, and Rimfire and Carbine were no doubt overjoyed. But everyone knew they were leaving Charley behind, their friend, their sister, even. That was a hard pill to swallow, and for Vinnie of course, it was heartbreaking. Everyone felt for them, this wasn't how they wanted it to end.

They carried the last of the supplies onto the ship. Modo set down a crate of alcohol. For medical purposes. That was the official use anyway. He wondered how much of it would actually be used for that. One thing was for sure, they'd have enough food for the three day journey home, all be it simpler than they'd been used to. The mice drove their bikes into the cargo bay, amongst the various boxes, cases, bags and crates.

Charley stood at the base of the ship's ramp, looking out at the ocean. The sun was starting to set, colouring the sky like it had done all the previous evenings. This evening was different. This was the last time she'd watch the sun lower over the water. The vacation was over. This whole chapter of her life was over. Vinnie stood in the ship's doorway, the orange glow blanketing the ship and himself. He walked down the ramp, stopping behind her.

He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Carbine says Chicago will only take a few minutes," he told her solemnly. "You OK?"

Charley looked at him, her face pained. "No. Are you?"

"No," he told her honestly. They embraced, looking out to the sun, melting into the horizon one last time.

Carbine appeared at the doorway. She bit her lip and took a breath. "It's er, time to go," she called softly. They looked up at her walking inside, then at each other.

"Ready?" Vinnie asked her, knowing she wasn't. She sighed, giving a quick nod. They turned and walked up the ramp, the last warm rays of the sun hitting their backs, leaving it to its solitary decent.