AF: Shatai owns nuthin!
Shatai: Nope... read. Please. Okay.
Chapter Three
He sat in the glow of holo-screens fluently displaying data of the status all around him. The dull green stretched upon his shadowy face, eyes closed, relaxing, contemplating what had happened and what must be done. Bandages were wrapped wherever his skin had been exposed while aboard Jehuty. They were numb with special ointment used for burns of the plasma and metatron ingrained in the frame's system. His face was half covered in wrappings that were at a time red. But the bleeding had stopped long ago, before he had come to consciousness. All he could remember was initializing the docking sequence and then he'd been hit in the head.
The computer tones rang, the doorbell of the future. The specific sound told Rock who was there, "Come in Elena,"
The door opened with the rustling of air. The tall thin blonde haired woman stepped in formally, back straight, steps deliberate, hands behind her back, "How are you doing?"
Rock was in his favorite chair facing a closed window, how she knew she'd find him, "Lights," he said roughly and the room brightened after a comply from the computer. The soldier turned slowly in his chair to face the doorway, brushing his nose with a bandaged thumb, "As well as can be expected. What about the boy?"
"Leo's just fine, he should be in his quarters now."
"Does the whole crew know?" he asked bluntly.
She couldn't help but smirk, "I only told the guard on watch to let him through. The team that got you out surely saw him run in."
Rock huffed, "Great, the entire ship knows by now. The mighty Rock Thunderheart, their rough commander was outdone by a child of fourteen."
"That's actually what I came to talk to you about," Elena pulled a hand from behind her back, displaying a tiny one inch compact disc.
Rock raised an eyebrow amusedly and flicked a finger to the display panel. Elena walked over and pushed the disk into a reader, pressed several access codes quickly and selected the desired image. Jehuty appeared from one of The Atlantis' outer cameras battling with the intruding army.
"I've seen him fight before, I know he's better than me," Rock spoke after watching the frame destroy three raptors and two mummy heads within a matter of seconds.
"You never saw from a tactical camera."
"What is a tactical program doing on an outer camera?" Rock asked.
Tactical cameras were used in training camps for runners. They gave the speed, reaction time, and attack power sufficiency of any selected frames one the monitor.
"I downloaded it before he launched, I had to check something, look at his data."
Rock squinted at the tiny constant green print in a corner, "Reaction time point one three?" he asked startled, "Elena, Jehuty doesn't have reaction time point one three..."
"I'm well aware. Watch him move, not even the best can learn that in training. Now look at this," she leaned over and selected a new file.
A map of the section of the meteor belt they were treading through came up. A green silhouette of The Atlantis appeared just at the inner layer. A group of dots was heading away towards a highlighted section of the belt.
"I intercepted this from one of the retreating raptors," she explained, "It's coordinates for a destination."
"I know what it is," Rock interrupted, "why are you showing it to me? We're just going to avoid it and any other conflict like mission orders say aren't we?"
"It's an area rich in resources," she explained, "I think this may be one of the BAHRAM's key sources of metatron."
"Are you talking about Talron? No one's been able to discover it's location."
"Why else would there be so many frames in this sector? Our side hasn't explored the belt since BAHRAM destroyed the belt colony after Antilia was built. The field is nearly impossible to navigate through properly, all anyone does is slice their way through. If someone comes across Talron, BAHRAM destroys them, it's simply chance that lets one find such a place. We're lucky we had Jehuty with us."
"You're saying we disobey orders and invade a heavily armed base with one war frame and some cannons? This ship wasn't designed for combat Elena and you know it. There's something else you want."
There was a pause in vocal communication. The two stared at one another. They'd been friends for years, even since Elena was assigned to The Atlantis, more could be said silently in three seconds than three hours.
"It's about Alan isn't it?"
"Alan died for something only to be destroyed a month later." The captain said coldly. The warm, friendly expression in her voice was gone, her eyes determined and unmoving from Rock's questioning gaze. "They're going to find us eventually anyway and kill us off. They know we could have easily intercepted the retreat signal, those frames were low leveled and knew no better. The one flaw in their system. They depend too much on their field."
The monitor switched back to Jehuty slaughtering the other frames, untouched by anything but the blade to its victim. The stats were highlighted and expanded for better observation.
"Jehuty was created for missions like this," Elena started again, "its soul purpose in this universe is to save and maintain civilization."
"You're just talking about the outcome of the loss of this war," Rock said harshly, this was turning into nonsense.
"How else do you explain these readings? It's exceeding top expectations under Leo's influences."
"The boy won't kill," said Rock, trying to keep to one subject, "better to let them come at us and have him defend the ship."
"You're not talking like a man of war Thunderheart."
"There's more to this damn it Elena and you won't tell me!"
"Leo can save Jehuty. I want to prove it."
"You did it Leo!" Celvice's cheerful voice rang throughout the room as the once again runner entered.
"You know about this?" he asked, blushing a bit.
"Are you kidding? The entire ship knows! I heard the nurses talking about a young boy piloting Jehuty after Thunderheart was injured and had to come back in. Of course I knew it was you."
"I'm not sure I want people to know I saved the colony, or about this. I did what had to be done then, and I did the same now."
"And I'm proud of you for that. And I admire your modesty," she smiled and patted the chair, encouraging him to sit.
"Did you tell anyone it was me?" he asked.
"The nurses already knew when I came in with my wound. I'm surprised you haven't already gotten any special attention since we've been on board."
"I think Elena asked everyone to leave me alone."
"Yes, that must be it, she's so considerate."
There was an awkward silence. Neither knew quite what to talk about. Leo piloting Jehuty was a touchy subject. There had been no announcements to him of any mission plans, Jehuty would still self destruct on Mars.
"The nurses tell me I'll be able to move about the ship soon." Celvice started again.
"That's great, you look much better. Will you be able to walk on your own?"
"I'll need crutches for a week. I'm so excited! I haven't seen anything of The Atlantis except these four walls and whatever might be outside my little window-"
"Leo, would you please come meet me in Rock's quarters?" Elena's voice cut the girl off. Leo had been given a private wrist communicator like Elena's after his fight outside the ship. The captain had said she'd be contacting him soon after.
"Is it important? I just got to Celvice," he said, lifting his arm the way Elena had and pressing the button how he'd been shown. He let go and waited for a response.
"Finish up when you can, there's little time. I can't tell you what over air, it has to be done in private."
"Roger,"
"I'm out, be here soon."
Leo was a bit disturbed by Elena's tone. It wasn't like her.
"I guess I better go, another visit cut short..." he gave an apologetic stare, "Sorry."
"It's fine. There are things more important to be done."
He nodded and walked out as subtly as he had entered.
"Welcome Leo," Rock sounded. He was sitting in his chair, Elena standing to one side.
"Hi," he responded nervously.
"Sorry I had to cut your private time short," said the woman with a smile.
Leo sighed with relief. She was the same as she'd always been, "What do you need?"
"We need you to fight again." said Rock.
"Are there raptors nearby?" he asked worried.
"No, but there will be soon if we don't act fast," he brought up a display, the same one Elena had showed himself earlier. "There is a mining facility very near here owned by BAHRAM. They're very dependent on the minerals they find in that section and are even more protective of it. No one's been able to locate it until now."
"You want me to invade and destroy something?" he was disgusted by the thought, to do the same thing that had happened to him to another. It was unimaginable in his mind.
"Hold on now, let me finish. I know you'll ask for someone else to do it and if I had it my way I'd call for a proper squad to go in and infiltrate it. But it's a question of time and tactics. They already have the message that a ship's cruising through this area and are collecting frames to attack us as we speak. Probably five times as many as we saw earlier, too many for even you to handle all at once.
"However, if we're on the attack we'll also have the element of surprise. We should be able to get a bomb big enough to destroy the estimated size of such a place," he stopped, leaving free air for any questions.
"A bomb? Won't people be killed?"
"We knew you'd be concerned with that subject," Elena spoke up, "and we think we've devised a plan that'll bypass that. You see, we can first have Jehuty drop a false bomb that gives off the same signal as a regular one. Sensors will pick it up and begin evacuation sequences. We'll let you know, and so will ADA for your approval, when all vital life forms have fled letting you plant the real bomb and destroy the mine," she smiled as she saw the boy's face relax, "we have to tell you that this plan puts you at greater risk. As you know you're not an official runner and we cannot order you to do anything. The chances of us attacking the base has a much greater chance of The Atlantis' survival rather than waiting for them to make an organized attack. We can only ask."
Leo nodded. He wasn't sure about the plan, he knew from experience evacuations didn't always work the way they should. But there was no other choice. If the mission were successful there would be far less casualties. Then again, if something went wrong the numbers could double...
A sudden twinge in the air caught his attention. His head jerked, his ear facing open space. Something was calling for him, he longed to call back, but felt he couldn't from where he stood. And it was then he felt the void deep within himself. The void he now knew had always been there but was only noticeable after being filled and then emptied again. He had been whole in Jehuty with ADA. ADA had exceeded her programming with his influence. Together they were something neither had ever been.
Rock looked at Elena as she watched him in silence listening for something.
"Leo? Leo are you all right boy?"
He blinked, realizing he was still with the two. "All right," he said, "I'll do it."
Shatai: Nope... read. Please. Okay.
Chapter Three
He sat in the glow of holo-screens fluently displaying data of the status all around him. The dull green stretched upon his shadowy face, eyes closed, relaxing, contemplating what had happened and what must be done. Bandages were wrapped wherever his skin had been exposed while aboard Jehuty. They were numb with special ointment used for burns of the plasma and metatron ingrained in the frame's system. His face was half covered in wrappings that were at a time red. But the bleeding had stopped long ago, before he had come to consciousness. All he could remember was initializing the docking sequence and then he'd been hit in the head.
The computer tones rang, the doorbell of the future. The specific sound told Rock who was there, "Come in Elena,"
The door opened with the rustling of air. The tall thin blonde haired woman stepped in formally, back straight, steps deliberate, hands behind her back, "How are you doing?"
Rock was in his favorite chair facing a closed window, how she knew she'd find him, "Lights," he said roughly and the room brightened after a comply from the computer. The soldier turned slowly in his chair to face the doorway, brushing his nose with a bandaged thumb, "As well as can be expected. What about the boy?"
"Leo's just fine, he should be in his quarters now."
"Does the whole crew know?" he asked bluntly.
She couldn't help but smirk, "I only told the guard on watch to let him through. The team that got you out surely saw him run in."
Rock huffed, "Great, the entire ship knows by now. The mighty Rock Thunderheart, their rough commander was outdone by a child of fourteen."
"That's actually what I came to talk to you about," Elena pulled a hand from behind her back, displaying a tiny one inch compact disc.
Rock raised an eyebrow amusedly and flicked a finger to the display panel. Elena walked over and pushed the disk into a reader, pressed several access codes quickly and selected the desired image. Jehuty appeared from one of The Atlantis' outer cameras battling with the intruding army.
"I've seen him fight before, I know he's better than me," Rock spoke after watching the frame destroy three raptors and two mummy heads within a matter of seconds.
"You never saw from a tactical camera."
"What is a tactical program doing on an outer camera?" Rock asked.
Tactical cameras were used in training camps for runners. They gave the speed, reaction time, and attack power sufficiency of any selected frames one the monitor.
"I downloaded it before he launched, I had to check something, look at his data."
Rock squinted at the tiny constant green print in a corner, "Reaction time point one three?" he asked startled, "Elena, Jehuty doesn't have reaction time point one three..."
"I'm well aware. Watch him move, not even the best can learn that in training. Now look at this," she leaned over and selected a new file.
A map of the section of the meteor belt they were treading through came up. A green silhouette of The Atlantis appeared just at the inner layer. A group of dots was heading away towards a highlighted section of the belt.
"I intercepted this from one of the retreating raptors," she explained, "It's coordinates for a destination."
"I know what it is," Rock interrupted, "why are you showing it to me? We're just going to avoid it and any other conflict like mission orders say aren't we?"
"It's an area rich in resources," she explained, "I think this may be one of the BAHRAM's key sources of metatron."
"Are you talking about Talron? No one's been able to discover it's location."
"Why else would there be so many frames in this sector? Our side hasn't explored the belt since BAHRAM destroyed the belt colony after Antilia was built. The field is nearly impossible to navigate through properly, all anyone does is slice their way through. If someone comes across Talron, BAHRAM destroys them, it's simply chance that lets one find such a place. We're lucky we had Jehuty with us."
"You're saying we disobey orders and invade a heavily armed base with one war frame and some cannons? This ship wasn't designed for combat Elena and you know it. There's something else you want."
There was a pause in vocal communication. The two stared at one another. They'd been friends for years, even since Elena was assigned to The Atlantis, more could be said silently in three seconds than three hours.
"It's about Alan isn't it?"
"Alan died for something only to be destroyed a month later." The captain said coldly. The warm, friendly expression in her voice was gone, her eyes determined and unmoving from Rock's questioning gaze. "They're going to find us eventually anyway and kill us off. They know we could have easily intercepted the retreat signal, those frames were low leveled and knew no better. The one flaw in their system. They depend too much on their field."
The monitor switched back to Jehuty slaughtering the other frames, untouched by anything but the blade to its victim. The stats were highlighted and expanded for better observation.
"Jehuty was created for missions like this," Elena started again, "its soul purpose in this universe is to save and maintain civilization."
"You're just talking about the outcome of the loss of this war," Rock said harshly, this was turning into nonsense.
"How else do you explain these readings? It's exceeding top expectations under Leo's influences."
"The boy won't kill," said Rock, trying to keep to one subject, "better to let them come at us and have him defend the ship."
"You're not talking like a man of war Thunderheart."
"There's more to this damn it Elena and you won't tell me!"
"Leo can save Jehuty. I want to prove it."
"You did it Leo!" Celvice's cheerful voice rang throughout the room as the once again runner entered.
"You know about this?" he asked, blushing a bit.
"Are you kidding? The entire ship knows! I heard the nurses talking about a young boy piloting Jehuty after Thunderheart was injured and had to come back in. Of course I knew it was you."
"I'm not sure I want people to know I saved the colony, or about this. I did what had to be done then, and I did the same now."
"And I'm proud of you for that. And I admire your modesty," she smiled and patted the chair, encouraging him to sit.
"Did you tell anyone it was me?" he asked.
"The nurses already knew when I came in with my wound. I'm surprised you haven't already gotten any special attention since we've been on board."
"I think Elena asked everyone to leave me alone."
"Yes, that must be it, she's so considerate."
There was an awkward silence. Neither knew quite what to talk about. Leo piloting Jehuty was a touchy subject. There had been no announcements to him of any mission plans, Jehuty would still self destruct on Mars.
"The nurses tell me I'll be able to move about the ship soon." Celvice started again.
"That's great, you look much better. Will you be able to walk on your own?"
"I'll need crutches for a week. I'm so excited! I haven't seen anything of The Atlantis except these four walls and whatever might be outside my little window-"
"Leo, would you please come meet me in Rock's quarters?" Elena's voice cut the girl off. Leo had been given a private wrist communicator like Elena's after his fight outside the ship. The captain had said she'd be contacting him soon after.
"Is it important? I just got to Celvice," he said, lifting his arm the way Elena had and pressing the button how he'd been shown. He let go and waited for a response.
"Finish up when you can, there's little time. I can't tell you what over air, it has to be done in private."
"Roger,"
"I'm out, be here soon."
Leo was a bit disturbed by Elena's tone. It wasn't like her.
"I guess I better go, another visit cut short..." he gave an apologetic stare, "Sorry."
"It's fine. There are things more important to be done."
He nodded and walked out as subtly as he had entered.
"Welcome Leo," Rock sounded. He was sitting in his chair, Elena standing to one side.
"Hi," he responded nervously.
"Sorry I had to cut your private time short," said the woman with a smile.
Leo sighed with relief. She was the same as she'd always been, "What do you need?"
"We need you to fight again." said Rock.
"Are there raptors nearby?" he asked worried.
"No, but there will be soon if we don't act fast," he brought up a display, the same one Elena had showed himself earlier. "There is a mining facility very near here owned by BAHRAM. They're very dependent on the minerals they find in that section and are even more protective of it. No one's been able to locate it until now."
"You want me to invade and destroy something?" he was disgusted by the thought, to do the same thing that had happened to him to another. It was unimaginable in his mind.
"Hold on now, let me finish. I know you'll ask for someone else to do it and if I had it my way I'd call for a proper squad to go in and infiltrate it. But it's a question of time and tactics. They already have the message that a ship's cruising through this area and are collecting frames to attack us as we speak. Probably five times as many as we saw earlier, too many for even you to handle all at once.
"However, if we're on the attack we'll also have the element of surprise. We should be able to get a bomb big enough to destroy the estimated size of such a place," he stopped, leaving free air for any questions.
"A bomb? Won't people be killed?"
"We knew you'd be concerned with that subject," Elena spoke up, "and we think we've devised a plan that'll bypass that. You see, we can first have Jehuty drop a false bomb that gives off the same signal as a regular one. Sensors will pick it up and begin evacuation sequences. We'll let you know, and so will ADA for your approval, when all vital life forms have fled letting you plant the real bomb and destroy the mine," she smiled as she saw the boy's face relax, "we have to tell you that this plan puts you at greater risk. As you know you're not an official runner and we cannot order you to do anything. The chances of us attacking the base has a much greater chance of The Atlantis' survival rather than waiting for them to make an organized attack. We can only ask."
Leo nodded. He wasn't sure about the plan, he knew from experience evacuations didn't always work the way they should. But there was no other choice. If the mission were successful there would be far less casualties. Then again, if something went wrong the numbers could double...
A sudden twinge in the air caught his attention. His head jerked, his ear facing open space. Something was calling for him, he longed to call back, but felt he couldn't from where he stood. And it was then he felt the void deep within himself. The void he now knew had always been there but was only noticeable after being filled and then emptied again. He had been whole in Jehuty with ADA. ADA had exceeded her programming with his influence. Together they were something neither had ever been.
Rock looked at Elena as she watched him in silence listening for something.
"Leo? Leo are you all right boy?"
He blinked, realizing he was still with the two. "All right," he said, "I'll do it."
