Chapter 1: "A Haven Remade"
The smell of oil, scorched metal, and fresh welding filled the air in the reconstructed racing garage. It was surprisingly small for a city's major racing garage, but the mechanic didn't need any more space. It was one large, rectangular room with two lifts for machine work, and a more private project room on the side, only divided (if desired) by a green curtain. At the moment, the curtain was closed, and a rather large contraption was resting on the construction table there, a pair of overall-covered legs idly shifting from beneath as their owner tinkered with the undercarriage of what looked like a large Zoomer with an actual cockpit rather than just a saddle and handle-bars. It was little more than a skeleton of gray metal with a long, narrow design, but the idea was clear.
"Honestly… it's… always… a single… bolt!" a young woman's voice strained around obvious exertion until finally gasping with relief. Apparently the offending bolt had at last given way. "Finally!"
Sliding herself out on a back-board, Keira sat up, wiping her brow with a sleeve of her pale blue jump-suit. Her usual white shirt was visible near the open collar, and her leather, strap 'boots' (shoes with extremely tall tops strapped around the shin) still covered her slender feet. Her dark blue hair with green hints was in the same style as ever, two mildly loose locks on either side of her face, tugged behind her ears, and the rest smoothly flowing down into the nape of her neck, to puff out lightly just below around the back. Her large, bright green eyes were both soft, innocent, and intelligent, and fit her soft, tapered (one might say 'pinched') features very well. The dark blue work-goggles were, as usual, loose around her neck as well.
Picking herself up, the young, genius mechanic walked around her little project, busily mumbling to herself. "I've fixed that exhaust problem, but the power level is still too low for harsh weather conditions… Maybe if I rerouted the thrust vectoring along the flanks…" she turned around to eye the right side of the craft, standing near its nose, opposite the entrance to the little side-chamber, and promptly stopped short, looking up at the curtains with her mouth mildly agape.
Standing there, with an awkward, faint smile on his sharp, firm façade, blue eyes half-lidded, yet glimmering with a boyish innocence very like Keira's own, was a young man in what appeared to be battle armor. It was coppery, glistening, obviously similar to Seem's own attire, and it covered his legs, lower arms, middle, and shoulders. He wore a blue tunic beneath the armor, sleeves torn off, and a long, red scarf wrapped around his shoulders, torso, and trailing down his back from the right shoulder. His goatee and the roots of his hair were a bright green, fading to golden blonde near the tips of his longish, spiky mane.
"…Hi, Keira…" his low, almost rasping voice managed quietly, his left hand still holding the curtain back.
"J-Jak… hi… Um… What's up?" the young woman managed back, obviously caught between excitement and painful awkwardness.
Each was blustering enough to miss the other doing so. Jak cleared his throat, finally stepping into the room, and waved the same hand dismissively. "Oh, just… Uh… Well, it's good to see you, first," he forced with a faint nod, "and it looks like there's something your father, Ashelin, and Torn would like to have your input on after the race today. I-I would like your input too! I'll be there, so, uh…" His left ear was itching… He did his best to scratch it nonchalantly, but the incredibly long, sharpened part of his body was hard to miss, especially being scratched.
Keira flashed a big smile. "Of course. I'll be happy to help out if I can. Oh! And good luck on the race today! I know you're the best, but please be careful out there, alright?"
He gave a thumbs up, able to handle the new topic much more easily. "Always, Keira." Then he seemed to notice the large contraption on the work-table. "…New project?"
Keira flushed, scratching the back of her head. "Yeah. I've had the idea in my head since…" her expression fell, "well nevermind, I just had the idea since before the city got rebuilt, and during the reconstruction of the stadium sector, I found some good materials, so I got started."
Jak stepped up to the table, and rested his hands on the frame. "Looks good, but you always build 'em tough," he offered with a mild smirk.
The young woman found it easy to grin back bashfully. "Thanks, Jak. Yeah, it's a new Zoomer. …Designed for desert flying, long range."
The young hero's expression slackened abruptly. "Desert… flying? But I thought the sand-storms tore Zoomer engines to pieces in a few seconds?"
Keira grinned, and hopped in front of it, tapping the nose with her knuckles. "That's exactly the problem this baby is going to fix! Safety sealed cockpit for the pilot, emergency oxygen supply tanks," she pointed through the cockpit area itself, "for complete atmospheric seal in a severe storm, and modified vents that filter and resist sand moving up to three hundred miles an hour! If I ever get the poor thing finished, it should make desert travel a whole lot faster and safer."
Jak was smiling almost wistfully as he looked the frame over himself. "Sig is going to love this, Keira… And it might tie Spargus and Haven city together like never before!" He grinned at her. "You're a genius."
She just blushed again, giggling a bit. "I'm really glad to you like it, Jak." Her eyes opened down at the ground. "…So… how's Ashelin?"
The young man blinked at her, as if the question came out of nowhere to him. "Uh… I think she's good. You can ask her after the race, I guess," he finished with a mild laugh, obviously awkward again.
Keira managed a smile. "Of course, right. Thanks for the info, Jak."
If she was going to say more, she stopped when a tone sounded over the loudspeakers. "Attention citizens, the reconstruction celebration race is about to start. Please takes your seats. Racers, please report to the starting line as soon as possible," the monotone, female computer voice for the city's PA system finished.
Jak jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "Gotta go. Good to see you, Keira. Good luck on the new Zoomer. And don't worry, I'll come back in one piece. Always do," he finished with a confident smile.
Keira set her wrench down. "You better, but I'll come watch."
He grinned. "I'll try to give you a good show then." He quickly ran off.
Just as she was leaving the garage, Keira looked down the hall, to the open arches of the stadium entrance, and saw Daxter, in his special pants and orange and yellow fur, scurry after Jak and leap onto his shoulder, Tess giggling as she trotted after them on her own furry little legs. The two ottsels were, in fact, planning on getting married soon.
Keira sighed easily, and moved along after them, to the other side of the arena, where she could get to the seats. "Amazing progress for just six months of work on a ruined city… I shouldn't be so down." She put on a smile, which grew more sincere, and hurried into the stadium.
"Keira! Over here!" a very familiar, gravely old voice shouted animatedly to her as she came out of the short ingress hall.
She looked over to her right, and saw Samos the Sage, her father, with his tall, log sandals, white hair wrapped around the trunk of a small tree on his head, and the little bird that always fluttered around it. "Daddy!" she called happily, and ran over, dropping down beside him and giving him a big hug.
The old sage was a bit startled, but laughed easily. "That's my girl. I was worried you weren't coming…" His multi-lensed glasses focused his magnified eyes on her with some concern.
Keira blinked. "Why wouldn't I?"
He smirked in a knowing way. "Fair enough, sorry then, sweetie. And did Jak tell you about the meeting?"
She smiled again. "Yep. Don't worry, I'll be there." Then she looked down to the starting line. Spotting Jak, she waved, and he and Daxter both waved back, giving a thumbs up. Keira giggled. "Those two never change."
Samos eyed her sidelong, seeming amused mischievously by something. "Indeed, not."
"So where are Ashelin and Torn? I thought they, at least, would be here?" Keira continued simply, her eyes scanning the other racers as they lined up.
"Some last minute business kept us busy."
Even Samos was a bit startled, he and his daughter staring to the left abruptly to see the red-haired governor in her tightly fitting, old Krimzon Guard uniform, and the tall, lanky resistance leader in her wake. Ashelin smiled, setting one hand on her notoriously obvious hip. "Did you really think we'd miss one of the biggest public events since the city's reconstruction got under way?"
Keira giggled. "Sorry, should've known."
Ashelin smiled easily, and gave Torn a dry nod to the bench. He smirked a bit, and sat down with her. Torn's hair was a bit more faded than Ashelin's, and they both had the KG tattoos patterned over their faces, almost like battle-paint. His blue eyes were always sharp, but hid a nobility and loyalty that Keira found difficult to match, possibly only to the same extent in Jak. His blue tunic and pants were almost hidden by red scarves, the comm.-system rig on his collar with the thick piping leading back over his shoulders, and the layered armor running down his right arm, two blaster pistols on his hips. He was just such a street-fighter Keira couldn't really picture him in another role.
"Jak's never too busy for a race. Can't say I'm surprised," Torn spoke finally, crossing his arms with a faint smirk, belying the true degree of his happiness. His gravely, low voice, surprisingly rasped for such a young man, helped him maintain the harsh image quite well.
Keira just smiled, and Samos nodded. "Even as a child he was always up for a thrill."
The last Zoomer pulled up on Jak's right, and Keira's brow creased. "A Freedom League guard?"
Ashelin and Torn both focused down where she was looking. Indeed, the blue, armored uniform of a city guard hid the slender, tall frame of the last driver. Ashelin finally shrugged. "Not a big deal. Most of the guard got the day off in recognition of their hard work, I'm not surprised one of them wanted to race, and the armor is good for any… accidents."
Keira frowned thoughtfully, and let the issue fade.
Daxter, as always, was on his best friend's shoulder, and looked over at the latest driver. "Well if it isn't the city guard. Get tired of driving those gun-boats, kiddo?"
Jak finally looked over to see the guard just stare at Daxter for a moment, his face completely hidden. Jak shook his shoulder to get the ottsel's attention. "Just leave 'im alone, Dax. Those guards have had a hard enough time as it is." He looked ahead seriously. Though it wasn't really his fault, he did feel responsible for all the suffering the city had gone through since he took down Metal Kor just over a year and a half ago now.
"Right, right. Sorry," Daxter quickly moved on, his rare bit of sincerity coming through.
The starting timer began, and Jak smirked, leaning back into his seat on the racing Zoomer. It was just the class 1 track, but a race was a race. He'd floor it from the green light.
The buzzer and light changed, and he shot off, leaping the Zoomer just over the guard's head, causing an exclamation of shock, and shot around the first turn, nabbing a booster activation sphere. "Hold on, Dax!"
"Always!" the little rodent squealed, his fingers clawing to the hero's shoulder as they rushed down around the curves and into the first tunnel.
Jak boosted the moment they hit the booster-sphere in the tunnel, and shot off even harder, but instead of taking the sharp right, he shot clear across the gap, threading the needle, and landing into a turn. He saved the remaining boost he had, but then he heard it.
A loud scraping roar, and then a blast of wind as another Zoomer shot right past him. Jak blinked in shock for a half-second, and then grinned. "Now we're racing. Hold ON!"
Boom. He boosted after the other Zoomer, leaping the second gap in the road, and snapped around the next curves in the tunnel, just catching up to his rival as they both leapt free of the tunnel, slamming onto the open track again, swerving into the next curve.
It was the city guard. Jak watched him as they took the turn in unison. Whoa… he knows what he's doing alright. Total control. His smile only grew. He hadn't been expecting a real challenge, but it was more than welcome.
Finishing the first lap of five, Jak swerved in the wake of the guard, and slipped through the booster-sphere closest to the wall, the guard taking the middle. They flowed down into the big arc leading into the tunnel, and Jak boosted a bit earlier this time, shooting ahead of the guard, and leaping the gap once more. He heard the guard shoot across the gap after him as he landed, and hit another boost-sphere. Jak laughed. "Hold on, Dax! We're goin' for it!"
Daxter swallowed. "You mean? Oh no…"
Instead of taking the ramp into the jump, Jak boosted, and jumped the Zoomer itself, clearing the gap in half the air time. To his shock, however, the guard shot in on his left. He'd taken the same jump and boost on the other side of the ramp! Now they were neck and neck.
"You do know how to race!" Jak shouted.
"Why thank you!" the other driver shouted back as they swerved around the tight left, snaking into the immediate right.
"Gotta go!" Jak called back with a laugh, and boosted immediately out of the right turn, shooting and decelerating just right to avoid flying off the track from the ascent onto the open track again.
He was airborne for a few seconds even so, and the guard caught up to his thruster trail, the two swerving into the next curve.
"Likewise!" the guard shouted, and abruptly boosted, shooting down the straightaway.
Jak's brow creased. "Time to get serious, this guy really knows what he's doing, Dax."
"Just so long as you do, too!" his friend wailed as they shot around the corner after the guard, lap two finished.
Keira and the others watched in surprise. "That guard is one heck of a driver!" Keira herself exclaimed as the two leaders of the race finished the second lap. "I haven't seen Jak work this hard for a win since he faced Errol in the class 3 championship."
"Me neither," Ashelin admitted with a faint shake of her head. "They just keep trading first and second place with their boosts."
Torn leaned onto his knees gravely. "I respect Jak's ability, but isn't he pushing that Zoomer a little fast into those turns?"
Keira nodded. "Yeah, but he can handle it. He's had plenty of practice hitting marks at high speed," she giggled at last, remembering all the cooling balloons she'd released for him to used her heat-shielded Zoomer to get to Gol and Maia's citadel back in the past.
Ashelin had pulled up a data-board. "I want to know who that League guard is… I didn't know we had any pilots that good."
As Jak and the guard continued to race, the crowd was getting more and more excited. He and the mysterious racer were neck and neck most of the time, or trading for the lead with dangerously timed boosts. They were already on the fourth lap when Ashelin gawked down at the data-board. "Torn, look at this…"
He took the offered board, and slowly started to chuckle. "That makes a lot of sense. That meeting might be a little awkward later, though."
Keira looked over. "Who is it?"
Ashelin answered, "Commander Frost. He joined the League guard after the palace collapsed, and steadily worked his way up through the ranks. He's now head of our Metal-Head defense battalion, and it's mostly thanks to his work that we can rebuild the city now. He's also the one who called for the meeting."
Keira blinked. "Goodness… and he's a great racer, too? I guess Jak's not the only talented warrior in Haven City."
"Mmm, fascinating…" Samos muttered, watching the race just as the two shot past the finish of the fourth lap.
Jak's heart was pounding, and while he was having fun, the race was getting hard enough to worry him, too. The guard was right on him, constantly, and they were driving too hard and fast to make any mistakes, even mild slips. They had practically lapped the other racers already.
They burnt down the starting turns, and shot into the tunnel. Rocketing across the jumps at insanely high speed, they slipped around the snake-turns, waited until they each crested the rise back onto the open track, and both boosted at once, accelerating into it even so.
Keira's eyes widened. "That's way too fast for that turn! Jak!" she cried out in spite of herself.
The mood abruptly turned from excitement to horror for all of Jak's friends as they watched, fractions of a second drawing out impossibly. The two Zoomers were locked, nose-to-nose, accelerating to the max, straight for a right-angle turn. The guard started to pull wide slowly, hoping to keep his speed through the turn, but Jak just charged the turn, his eyes sharpening.
"Jak…?" Daxter moaned warily, already streaming back behind his friend, barely clinging to his shoulder. "JAAAK!"
In a flash, it was done. Jak swerved and braked as hard as he could into the turn, the guard scraping high into the guarding wall, almost upside-down, and greatly slowed by the grinding of metal on metal. Jak boosted down the straightaway, his rival boosting down after him, but they both knew it was already over.
Jak shot over the line, swerving to a halt as the guard slowed to an easy stop, and set his feet on the ground on either side of the Zoomer. Keira folded over herself with relief, Ashelin patting her back, but realizing with some surprise how serious the relief on the other woman's face was. "…You were really worried…?"
Keira just nodded quietly. He never pushed it that hard before… he knows better…
Down on the track, as the other racers slowed to a stop, the guard finally pulled his helmet off and tugged the comm-mask down. He was quite young, around Jak's age, with spiky, short, black hair, and bright blue eyes. His features were sharper than Jak's, but when he smiled the hero was already well-disposed to trust him. Jak walked over, Daxter kissing the track lovingly back near their own Zoomer, and offered his hand. "One heck of a race. What's your name?"
Slipping off his own Zoomer, the guard shook his hand firmly. "Frost. It's an honor to meet you, sir."
Jak smiled. "I haven't been called 'sir' before. Why honored?"
Frost shrugged a bit. "Might consider it a family thing. Ever since you took out Metal Kor, we've considered you the savior of the city. And I'd like you to know there were people here in Haven who never believed you were the cause of the more recent problems."
Jak was more affected than he would have preferred to admit, so he calmly smiled and tipped his head. "Thanks… I appreciate it. I didn't know the guard had such talented drivers, though. How long have you been in the force?"
Daxter finally trotted up, his tail swishing in his wake. "Next time, think you could avoid making him drive even more like a maniac than usual?" he challenged Frost directly with his old, mocking tone.
Frost just crouched down and offered his hand. "Sorry, sir. An honor to meet you, too."
Daxter wasn't used to such a response to his manner, and so he blinked, caught, before sheepishly offering his little furry hand. "Ah… sure… no problem, kid…"
Frost stood back up. "Sorry. I joined a little after the palace collapsed, actually."
Jak turned grave. "…That was brave of you. That was a hard time…" he looked down. "Sorry I wasn't there."
"It's foolish to depend on one person, however powerful, for all our hopes and dreams," Frost replied calmly. "I learned that mistake for myself. If more people had joined the guard initially, maybe we could have helped stop these problems before they destroyed half the city." He abruptly looked down, his throat catching. "Sorry… Anyway, I'm actually the one who called for the meeting after the race, so I hope to see you there?"
Jak's brow creased at the hidden emotion in the young man's voice, but nodded easily. "I'm on my way now, actually."
Frost grinned. "Me, too."
They shared a light laugh, Daxter finally doing so as well, and started off together. Once they were out of the track area proper, Samos and the others came down to meet them. Jak smiled back at them, and when they came together, Frost stood to attention and saluted Ashelin and Torn.
"At ease," Torn replied with a calm salute of his own. "We didn't know you could drive like that, Frost. We'll keep it in mind."
Frost allowed himself a smile. "I'll be ready, sir."
Keira did smile, but her worry was still obvious. "Jak?"
He focused on her. "Yeah, Keira?" He was still high on the exhilaration of victory, and didn't quite realize what her expression might mean.
"I wish you'd be a little more careful. You know the race Zoomer can't handle sharp turns at high speed very well. You never pushed it that far before."
Jak's expression turned firm. "Well, what'd you want me to do, lose the race?"
Keira winced, the others watching awkwardly. "No, that's not what I… I just want you to be careful. I know you push the limits to get things done, and you've always pulled through before, but that's no reason to risk your life just for one exhibition race."
Frost's calm eyes shifted from one to the other along with everyone else, Daxter cringing back a bit. Jak was obviously fuming at the idea of doing less than his best, and though he'd never met her, Frost knew Keira by reputation, and could see how sincerely worried she had been. So he quickly spoke. "Forgive the interruption, Keira, but that was really my fault. I pushed it to the limits as well, and Jak really didn't have another way to beat me. I apologize for putting your friend in danger."
She wasn't expecting such an abrupt change of speaker, and so Keira was stuck for a heart-beat, looking at Frost in a mixture of awkwardness, sadness, and confusion. Jak almost rounded on the guard Commander before his more clear-headed thinking came through. He raised his hand between them. "I appreciate it, Frost, but actually, she's right. I was just a little hot-blooded from the race." He looked to Keira sincerely. "I didn't mean to worry you, but I knew I could handle the turn. I know you trust me, Keira, so please…"
Dizzy from her emotions, Keira just looked down with a soft nod, practically scarlet. She felt like she'd only just noticed the others all around them. Why did I bring this up like this? "…Yeah, of course. Thanks, Jak. I'm sorry…"
Samos spoke instantly. "Now let's get to that meeting in the new League Headquarters. It took this long to get it built, may as well put it to good use."
Ashelin shook her head free of the distracting mood. "Yeah, of course. Commander Frost, Torn, come on."
Samos fell in behind them, leaving Keira with Jak and Daxter. She kept her eyes down, a blush staying on her cheeks. Jak didn't speak either, guilt weighing heavily on his mind for snapping at her. Daxter was stuck walking along between them, his eyes dismal until Tess shot through, barreling him over with a loud grunt.
Jak and Keira both giggled, caught themselves with an awkward look into each other's eyes, and quickly walked on as Daxter warred with Tess over walking and hugging at the same time.
(A short time later…)
The slums, bazaar, and stadium sectors of Haven City had been steadily rebuilt over the past few months. In fact, only the remaining Metal-Heads holding the old botanical garden area remained as a force against the city looking fully restored, even a new fortress waiting at the heart of the city. Not so monolithic as the Baron's old palace, this practical training facility, shelter, and stronghold was built low to the ground, only twice the height of the general buildings around the city, and was a pale gray hue instead of the domineering red scheme of the old palace.
At the top of the central tower was an expansive control center with a holo-table in the center. Torn, Ashelin, Frost, Keira, Samos, Jak, and Daxter were organized around the table. Frost had his helmet off still, but cut quite the figure in his pale blue and silver armor.
Ashelin spoke first. "We've called this meeting to hear Commander Frost's plans for the Metal-Head nest in the west part of the city. He's been the master-mind behind keeping them in check since Jak took out the main hive tower and the Dark Maker threat. I'd say a fair amount of our current success is due to him and Jak each. Commander?" she turned it over to him with a casual glance.
Frost was blushing a bit, but coughed and smiled. "Though I think the governor makes me sound more than I am, I do have a plan I wish to run by all of you. I believe we can clear out the Metal-Heads permanently, and start reconstructing the gardens within the month."
"So soon?" Samos asked first.
The young Commander nodded, touching a few controls on the table's edge. The red holograms shifted into a topographical map of the city, which then zoomed in on the Metal-Head nest area. "I've had one of the R&D sections working on a way of neutralizing the compounds the Metal-Heads use to corrupt an environment, and their most recent prototypes have proved ninety-eight percent effective." He pushed another button, and the nest area began to shift, the details of the Metal-Head structures fading away. "We've already produced enough to neutralize what's in the old garden area. What we need," he started as he focused up through the hologram on Keira, who raised her eyebrows, "is a delivery system for the chemicals. Fast-acting, and easily installed."
Before anyone could response, he continued, "If one can be developed, I've worked on a tactical strategy that should end this problem in one operation. We prepare forces in Haven Forest and the dock access, and storm the nest from two fronts. The first wave clears the area, so the second can back them up, and the third can start installing the delivery system. This will push the Metal-Heads back to the remains of the old hive tower, where some properly placed explosives will bring that sucker right down into the same chemicals we're using to clean the rest of the area. It all melts, drained into the sewers, in which I've prepared a special waste-tank to keep this muck out of the water supply."
The map shifted again, completely empty. "Construction can begin within days of the assault."
Everyone was silent at first. Torn finally managed. "Quite a plan, Frost… You've been working on this for a while…"
The commander nodded faintly. "The gardens were my sister's favorite part of the city. I'd like to bring them back."
Jak's brow creased. "Were?"
Frost didn't look away from the hologram. "She died when the palace fell. Along with her husband and two children."
Keira, Samos, even Torn eased back faintly, shocked at the revelation from the calm young man's voice. Finally, he looked over at Keira again. "I was hoping you could help with this part, Keira. Your technical genius is famous in Haven City. Have any ideas?"
Keira took a moment to collect herself, but when she finally focused back on the hologram, her expression creased with focus. "…Actually, yes. What's the timeline you have set for this assault?" she asked, pointing at the dock-side of the invasion.
"Hopefully no more than an hour from storming the gate to beginning pumping of the chemicals. Then, we need them pumped fast enough from both entry paths to fill the central channel within an hour more. Asking our guards to hold those openings for more than two hours is just… not going to work."
Ashelin pointed at it. "This is a full-scale invasion, Frost. You'd need every guard in the city."
He nodded. "Yes, ma'am."
Keira was troubled. "And to fill the central channel completely, you would need hundreds of tons of these chemicals you've produced. Where have you stored them?"
"In the same tank that's going to hold all the muck when it's done. We used the old palace support cables as pipes."
Keira's eyes lit up, the others were simply shocked. "It's already rigged?"
Frost tipped his head. "Yes, ma'am. It takes nearly ten hellcat cruisers to pull a section of the pipe at low speed, but we've already placed half of them at the dock side."
Keira pointed to the dock entrance. "Move them all there, and I'll work on something to fill the whole channel from here in less than an hour. I'll need exact numbers on how much you have, and your calculations on what's needed, and how much and what density of material will be produced when the corrosion is done. That way, you can send a force to the Haven Forest entrance as a distraction, keeping their forces divided."
Frost raised an eyebrow, the others just as surprised as her plan. "And an excellent tactician…" the young woman blushed a bit. "If you can make us that kind of device, those pipes will be there when you need them."
Keira smiled. "Can you give me two weeks?"
"I can, certainly…" He looked to Ashelin. "It's up to you governor."
She had her arms crossed, but was thoughtful, not troubled. "…And how are you going to bring the tower down?"
Frost touched the controls again, and a modified hellcat appeared, sporting rather large missiles under the two wing-like extensions on the sides. "I'll pilot this heavy-assault cruiser in, and blow out the nest-side base of the tower. I've had specialists programming the targeting rig and everything. It'll be precise."
"Alone?" Torn checked gravely.
"It's the most dangerous part of the mission, and it's my plan. I'm also the most eligible pilot, sir." He glanced to Jak. "…Under your command, anyway."
Jak smirked, crossing his arms. "I wouldn't mind it."
Ashelin was smiling, about to respond, when Frost raised his hand, obviously anxious. They focused on him again.
"I don't mean to seem arrogant, but I was hoping you," he was looking at Jak, "would be part of the defense for the pumps. The Metal-Heads will be all over them, especially if they only come from one entry point." He saw Keira's expression turn anxious again as well, and it started to tie a knot in his stomach.
Torn nodded to Frost. "He's got a point, Jak. You're the best fighter we have… for obvious reasons."
"True…" Jak looked over to the governor. "Ashelin?"
She nodded, looking down at the hologram. "They're both right. It's a good plan, Commander Frost. Make it happen. Keira, please get to work."
The other young woman grinned. "Right away!"
Frost exhaled with a faint smile. "Thank you all."
Ashelin clapped his shoulder. "Believe me, if this works, we'll all be thanking you."
