Act 1 – Part 1 – Encounter
ERROR!...ERROR!...ERROR!…
Access Denied!
Please re-enter the authorization credentials provided by the GDI Staff Bureau…
Further unauthorized entries will result in the termination of the current terminal…
...
The echo of a faint pinging and heavy blows landed on Conroy's eardrums… At first he didn't knew what it meant… Then it came… Cold… Pain… Dizziness… The back of his head was hurting… "What happened?", his groggy mind slowly awakened. Steadily, Conroy's vision came back from the never ending darkness and as he tried to breathe, the pilot felt his throat ache, it was dry, breathing felt like he was inhaling dust. "How long was I out?", a confused thought raced through his brain. Conroy tried to move but his body felt stiff. He clearly was on the floor, but he couldn't move. Turning his head towards one of his arms, he saw that it was tied up to one of the shelves...along with his legs and his other arm...
"The hell? What's going…", his muttering stopped when he saw the cloaked figure working hard at the terminal. It sounded frustrated, punching the terminal viewscreen with what Conroy assumed it was a staff in a clear example of exasperation. It was trying to gain access to the terminal, for what purpose though, that was unknown.
Hearing the faint mutter, it turned to the pilot. Even though the cloak covered what Conroy assumed it was his face, he couldn't help but notice a glimmer of green under the cloak.
His throat protested, but he managed to choke out a few words: "You…You're one of them… A mutant… A Forgotten…". To his surprise, a feminine voice answered in a very broken English:
"Mutant?… Forgoten?… Uitat... Da... Who…you? What…doing…here?", she asked clearly wanting a quick answer from the pilot. Before Cornoy could respond, she suddenly tensed, and slowly, while raising her staff towards him, muttered: "You...scorpion?".
Now it was his turn to tense… She clearly assumed he was a Noddie. Conroy had to answer quickly or he'll most likely face the wrath of a clearly NOD-hating Forgotten mutant. The fact that she had what appeared to be big knife dangling from her belt did not help the situation either. Mustering his strength he started talking:
"No", a laboured reply came. "I'm GDI, a pilot. I crashed my Orca a few kilometers away.". Her face showed confusion. Clearly she did not understand everything he said. Conroy tried again: "I'm a pilot… Uh, an airman… I fly aircraft… planes?… Aviator…".
That she knew. "Pailot? Ah! Aviator... Da… haine… clothes… Pilot... Gi-Di-Ai? Gi-Di-Ai… Gi-Di-Ai... What...that?". She didn't knew about GDI. How could she, here in a God-forsaken place where only NOD forces were from time to time coming and harvesting tiberium. Obviously she wouldn't cut off his ties to the shelves.
Conroy suddenly coughed, his throat clearly not happy with all the talking. He needed water. But where from? An idea formed in his mind, not the best, but obviously close enough. The secret deposit! It had GDI emblems all over the supplies. His head turned towards it: "Can I have some water? My throat hurts like hell…" he muttered in pain.
The mutant at first confused, wondered what the pilot wanted, but she then understood: "Water?… Water… Apă?… Da… Imediat… Wait…". Lifting herself up, she walked towards the supplies, grabbing what appeared to be a canteen of water. Coming back towards Conroy, she unscrewed the cap, and approaced the pilot, clearly with the intention of giving him the desperately needed liquid. The cold canteen touched his dry lips, the water, albeit quite old, was a godsend, slowly going down his throat and relieving the pain.
As he patiently drinked from the canteen, Conroy noticed that the mutant was in a clear state of shock. She saw the GDI emblem on the water canteen, and then the emblem on his flight suit. She finally put two and two together:
"You… You… Them…Națiunile Unite… United… Nations…", a surprised whisper escaped her lips.
"But you… You…. Plecat… Gone…Demult…". The mutant slowly sobbed. "Noi… We… Rămași singuri… Left alone… Scorpion… Here… Bad… Very Bad…". Wiping what he assumed were tears, she remained silent for a brief moment. Her shaking hands slowly went to her cloak and in a very unceremoniously fashion, lifted the cloak off her head.
Conroy was astonished. He remembered all the training and all the videos about the mutants, about the Forgotten. They were all deformed, and all mutated. No visible marks of humanity left on them. But seeing her face… broke the training and propaganda instilled in him. She had a few crystals poking from under her skin, but… she was human. "How?… You look almost completely normal." his trembling voice could be barely heard.
ERROR!...ERROR!...ERROR!…
Please re-enter your authorization credentials…
The old EVA voice from the terminal awoke both of them from their shock state. She grabbed her knife and started cutting the binds. Conroy finally felt his body free, albeit a bit weakened. The mutant grabbed one of his arms and slowly helped the pilot raise off the floor. She then waded with him towards the terminal, hoping that somehow he'll manage to get it up and running again.
Reaching the display, Conroy slowly typed on the on-screen keyboard.
ERROR!...ERR…
... Authorization #612A/NEAC/GDI... Permission Granted…
The pinging on his eardrums finally stopped. Looking at the mutant, he asked her: "When was the last time you saw any of us around here?". Receiving no response, he then opened a numpad on the terminal, and after pointing towards it, he repeated the question: "When… we… gone?". Gingerly, she closed in on the keyboard and typed in a date… 2020… 22 years ago...
Conroy's brain went into overdrive… 2020… What could've possibly happened that year?
Then he remembered. The peace talks breaking down. The evacuations all around the world. The ion storms getting worse and worse. The 60000 men who volunteered to ensure the safe evacuation of hundreds of thousands of civilians from Europe to the Arctic regions. Looking at her, he finally realized. "She's part of those we left behind". Looking right into her eyes, he said: "I… Conroy". Looking at him as if he was an alien, she suddenly looked away.
Thinking he said something wrong, the pilot stopped from saying anything more. Until he heard a mumble from the mutant: "Eu… Me… Elena…".
The crack of a thunder could be heard inside the former outpost, but right now, both of them didn't care. He found survivors. She found one of the saviours.
END OF ENCOUNTER