Providence
Zara sighed heavily, as she found herself doing often, strapping a rifle to her back and a pistol to her leg. She sincerely wished she was staying, that this wasn't happening, but there was nothing she could do. She had to do what was needed, even at the cost of her own life.
What really bothered her was that they weren't even taking in troops with them, or backup of any kind. But that could not be helped, either.
In the last few seconds, Mainframe had received thousands of refugees from other systems, fleeing Daemon's wrath. Among them, there were pitifully few that were trained in any fighting techniques, and those who were did not make themselves known. Several refugees had informed them that before Daemon decided devastated a system, she deleted any who could up any resistance. Mainframe's troops were few in number also, and were under strict order to remain in the system to defend from the supervirus's armada, should the plan to defeat Daemon fail.
Only seven sprites were journeying to the Super Computer: Bob, Matrix, Zara, Mouse, and Ray. Each had been equipped with a suit of armor - with the exception of the Surfer - formatted into their icons. Zara hated her with a vengeance; it was bulky, prevented movement, and the smell of dead web creatures sickened her slightly.
Even with the system in relatively good condition, that would not stop games from landing. So, AndrAIa was to stay behind to defend Mainframe from the game cubes. Dot could not leave her post as Command.com, and Michael was to stay to help her. No one liked the setup, but the matter had been discussed at length and the decisions made.
The former virus Hexadecimal was also remaining in Mainframe for the majority of the campaign, to the relief of some, and the dread of others. She was, of course, all for facing the supervirus for sending the web creature through her mirror and causing, as she put it, "that whole dreadful business with the ." However, she was needed, with her finite power limits, as a second line of defense should the armada still attack Mainframe. She was quite disappointed at not going.
Zara glanced up the immense ship floating majestically in the harbor. The Aurora, the reincarnation of the Saucy Mare, was one of the most impressive ships she had seen in her short lifetime. Long and sleek, it was built for speed, beauty, and if necessary, battle. Dot had graciously supplied the funds, materials, and labor to build the ship, asking nothing in return from the Captain, whom she fondly addressed as Gavin, but a few business propositions. Gavin himself had been quite pleased with the offer and the result of the ship itself, so in the Command.com's honor, he had had the figurehead fashioned to an astonishing likeness of the woman. The Aurora's armor glittered dully in light of early morning.
Ready as she could be, Zara pulled out Presario and attached it to one of her metal arm guards. The keytool whirred and chirped, as if reassuring her; she gave a small smile in response.
Seeing the others were still busy with last nanosecond preparations, Zara stepped off to one side where Michael was examining some equipment. She plunked herself down on a nearby barrel, careful no to disturb his work. "That the viral hardware?" she asked, though she already knew the answer.
"Yep," he replied, checking off another item on his list.
The antiviral weaponry, AVs for short, was a relatively new concept. Since they were to be up against infected Guardians and troops, Dot, Michael, and Mouse had been working together to create hardware to aid the Resistance. There was no hope in fighting the infection directly, but a single AV shot could temporarily block the viral agents in a sprite's system for a maximum of ten nanoseconds.
"It should keep them out of service for a little while," Mouse had reminded them. They had had only once chance to test the AVs when she and Ray had returned from a scouting mission with an off-line Guardian. After the effects of the AV had worn off, the Guardian of gotten hold of a rifle and shot himself, leaving the Resistance still almost nowhere.
"Better you have some hope than none," Phong had said, quoting some long deleted philosopher.
Zara looked at Michael for a moment, and feeling her eyes upon him, he glanced up at her. He opened his mouth as if to speak, then looked away, his heart choking him into silence. There was so much he wanted, he needed to say to her, and time was fading before his eyes. Even after the night they had shared together, both of them did not know what to say to the other. She looked at him once more, then slid off the barrel and walked away.
She spied the younger Enzo perched on a crate, with the ever faithful Frisket at his side. The boy sat with a hand idly scratching his friend's head, as he watched the doings about the docks with an wary eye. It still amazed her that one with the innocence of an angel and the energy output of a tear could have become a huge, brooding warrior who all but hated what he had once been.
"What's processing?" she asked, sitting down next to him.
He started at the sound of her voice, then relaxed as he recognized the small Guardian. "Oh, nothin'…" His clear violet eyes fleetingly darted to where the older Enzo and their mentor were quietly talking, their backs to Zara and Enzo.
Matrix felt the boy's gaze. He turned, gave him a wan smile, then turned back to Bob, his usual frown reasserting itself.
Zara watched Enzo carefully. "Worried?"
"Yeah…especially about Dot."
"She's not going."
"I know…but if the- Matrix, or Mouse…or Bob…" He sighed. "If any of them didn't make it back, she'd start crying again. She doesn't deserve to hafta anymore." He grinned, the grave expression that little boys should never have to wear melting away, replaced by his regular smirk. "I know how much she likes Bob, and I don't think she wants him to leave."
She laughed softly, trying not to disturb the other Guardians. "I think everyone around here knows that."
"Zara!" She looked up to see Bob motioning to her. "I think everything's just about ready," he said.
"Duty calls, kid." Zara hopped off the crate. "You take good care of your sister, okay?" She playfully spun the boy's red cap around and walked over to join Bob where he now stood with the Command.com.
"Are we ready to go?" Zara asked.
Bob sighed. "Yep. The ship's loaded, and the Captain is ready to pull out, but we're just waiting for one more thing."
She and Dot grimaced. "I doubt she's being held back," Zara muttered.
Bob rolled his eyes. "She'll be here soon, don't worry," he reassured them.
"Soon, my AS-" Dot stopped in mid-sentence as she felt a presence emerge out of nothing behind her, and the Command.com slowly turned around to face the ex-virus, fighting down the urge to cringe.
"How delightful to see you again, Dot!" Hexadecimal exclaimed. She smiled and brushed past the other two women, coming to a stop next to the only blue-skinned sprite present. "Charged and ready, Bob," she said, giving him a sly smile that could mean any number of things.
Bob carefully stepped back, trying to put some distance between him and Hexadecimal. "Uhhh…"
Dot leaned over and hit him on his chest with the back of her hand. "Oh, um, you can go ahead and get on the Aurora now."
"Of course, Bob." The ruby lips spread in a wider grin.
Zara jumped as a hand fell on her shoulder. "I guess this…means goodbye," Michael said quietly. She shook for a moment, struggling to control herself. Then she turned and threw her arms around his neck. "Michael, I don't want go," she whispered fervently into his hair, her breath and tears hot on his neck. He was momentarily started by her sudden outburst of public affection, but quickly recovered and wrapped his arms about her. He held onto her as though he would never let go, as if this one moment in time would never end.
Dot had agreed that she wouldn't make her lover's leaving a big affair. She had known this moment would come, and it had gnawed at her megacycle after megacycle. But, as both of them suspected, it didn't work out that way.
Pulling him close, she twined her arms around his neck tangled her fingers into his thick hair. Then she stiffened in his embrace as she felt Hexadecimal peering at them.
"Do you mind?" Dot said coldly, pumping venom into her voice, as she glared at the other woman.
"Not at all."
Dot glared at her once more, then smiled slightly as a thought entered her processor. She roughly grabbed Bob and pressed her lips to his. Mahogany eyes widened for moment, with the force of the kiss and the jealous intentions behind it. But frankly, he didn't care, and meet Dot with the same intensity.
The viral women narrowed her eyes, but discretely turned her back on the couple, and floated over to the ship, where she proceeded to speak with the Captain and throw his crew into a wild panic.
Not wanting to make a public display, AndrAIa and Matrix had said their good-byes in the intimate privacy of their apartment. He planted a single kiss lovingly on her forehead, then boarded the ship, joining Mouse and Ray at the helm. He didn't say a good-bye to his sister, seeing how she was occupied with her lover.
Finally, Bob puled away. "I'll come back," he said quietly.
"Promise?"
"I promise." He stepped back, gripping her hand for a moment, then released it. He walked to where Zara and Michael were still wrapped in an embrace, and gently touched her arm. "It's time."
Zara lifted her head from Michael's shoulder, and stepped away, staring into his green eyes. He reached up and tenderly touched the side of face, then dropped his hand as Bob walked her to the ship and they boarded, neither looking back.
Four sprites watched with heavy hearts as the Aurora pulled away on its maiden voyage.
