Whenever Noel was left alone the memories washed up like waves on the beach front. He was staying at the station and the following day he will be leaving for base.
His brief rest was up and next mission had to come in before they were all collectively hauled to the Gala few months ahead.
Lieutenant Commander Alisson wasn't the party type. At least not anymore. Especially these pretentious folks. Yes, one day he may join Federation or the ultimate Union Of Galactic Independence forum. It had been what NASA once planned to happen if Earth never became past. Inter-Galaxy Enterprise and Homeland Security already been dealing under the table for ages. Years before anyone believed a possibility to loose a whole planet to some freak incident every powerful and super secret government particle along with majority of futuristic scientists had been accumulating plans and diagrams of how to save the people.
All it took was to sneeze in the open space to find out seventeen million folks already were anticipating signal to sprint.
Couldn't they just told?
Afterwards basically a whole planet of civilization got removed from their habitats and voile- New Earth was announced as the ultimate sanctuary.
Under one condition- never leave Alliance.
Little they knew that actual foundation came from Federation.
In any case Noel was operative of military and it was his job to comply. He was just a masterful pilot. And he had just returned to duty after terrifying injury. Second one in his life.
Pilots were lucky in a way, he decided. They rarely needed to exercise actual combat. All was dealt with from the cabin and by firing bunch of missiles.
Partly why his program had been this handy. Fourty thousand flight hours on simulator and fifteen on a real plane. Eleven thousand chopper hours. Five F16 and M42 raptor. He'd been military since four years old. A whole decade of all kinds of NATO and NASA data engraved into his brain. Every single Navy Seal op and Air Force tactical rep practically cut through his bones.
It was a pay of being different from birth. He could do something as a baby that led him be sent to a secret facility and suffer loads of shit. But then he discovered Nate and together they were strong. Both tough as nails and annoying pain in someone's ass. Yet they did consider themselves orphans. And to their hearts they believed to be in a camp.
Or it was what they told themselves to survive.
However, he couldn't complain too loud. His skills gave an edge to the badass persona everyone believed their Lt Commander was. His name meant Badass in someplace important. And he did pose his medals on festivities.
Nonetheless there existed a reason why a man who's been through grater and came out alive to botch endless war attempts and nether alien attacks carried so much attitude and respect from others the way he did.
Everything had a reason.
Noel had more than just one.
He pulled himself up and towards the shower. Time to get ready.
None ever realized he didn't possess a mirror. Nate kept pulling his leg for that and there happened whole lot of pranks. However the man never stepped over that thin line between joke and insult. He knew Noel never looked at any reflective surface nor possessed anything like that. What for though he didn't know yet. Alisson planned it to stay that way.
However he did not need a mirror to tell him how much his body had suffered. There already was horrific loss of body that made the man easily loose balance and when seated to lean on one side. His missing shoulder made his body confused and led to disbalance between phantom feel and actual nerve signal jump. Sometimes it became dizzying experience.
But more than physical distortion there hid mental distortions.
Like Nate he shared fantastic tactical ability. Reason their past jobs always ended splendidly on their side. Possibly why Nate still did what he did.
The guy hated military with such venom he preferred thieving instead. Well, nothing to blame the guy for. He ended up almost charred after the major bolt of clean electricity went through his body while he hit the ground on the other side. Samara got dissolved into the pure energy load. They never found her body. Something Noel blamed himself for. Nothing would ever convince him otherwise. He lived with it for decade or so now. So he will keep on living.