CHAPTER FOUR: NIGHTMARE VISIT
The mood around the Nirvana had lifted considerably following the spectacular victory against the Harvester capital ship and the advent of the Red Guardian. When Ed and Jura landed, it was to rapturous applause and cheering. Even Barnett had to confess, the two men did a great job. Jura was still ranting about a baby, but Ed always seemed to be on the other side of the universe when she opened her mouth. Meia looked at the newbie, laughing amongst the pit crews and gesturing with his arms. While he looked like a ten-year old reenacting a cartoon show, his actions in the field had already spoken for him. She remembered the gigantic flash of light that was the capital ship's destruction with the Red Guardian emerging from the smoke , a knight in scarlet armor with its shield and sword. The look on everyone's faces was unforgettable. Ed and Jura were screaming in joy while Dita and Hibiki' s eyes were wide open.
Avoiding the ruckus, she quietly slipped away towards her quarters, lonely footsteps fading down the hallway. She looked back at the hangar and a small feeling of relief came over her. A capital ship was near untouchable before all this, with even the extra power provided by Hibiki' s Vanguard. And this blue-streaked newcomer destroyed one first time out.
" Maybe we have a chance after all." she muttered as her quarter doors slid open.
She simply lay on the bed, soaking up the vast amounts of silence in the dark room. It seemed an impromptu party had broken out in the hangar and everyone was invited, judging by the deathly lack of sound in the hallways. She prayed that the klaxon would ring, boredom seeping into her mind was the minutes rolled by. She closed her eyes, trying to fall asleep to no avail. By the time she quit trying to fall asleep, the blanket was a wrinkled mess and she ended up being more tense than when she came in. A reprieve of sorts came when he heard Jura and Ed outside his room, which by chance was opposite hers. There was a lot of squealing and drawl (from Jura, naturally) before Ed said goodnight with her banging on his door begging to be let in. Meia turned away from the door, trying to shut out her memories from the Double Dread post-mortem. She could still feel the bastard's breath on her lip and her nose twitched every time she thought of him. Those eyes, so different yet both gazing at her identically. She didn't know what any of it meant, cursing herself for even thinking about an alien. Of course he was different. Of course men had different rules. What was it about him and Hibiki that made her feel odd?
She felt her muscles slowly relaxing and her eyelids were finally feeling heavy, her mind tired of the sudden outburst of thought. As the world slowly became a blur, loud screams jolted her back up. At first she thought it was Ed playing a practical joke, but those were unmistakably his screams. From the sound of it, he was in pain rather than enjoying himself. An untapped reflex sprung in her, noticing that everyone else was still very much at the party or fast asleep. Sure he spooked her, but she was unwilling to lose a pilot to sheer negligence. She opened the door to his quarters and found him curled up in a corner shivering. Several items were on the floor, including a table lamp and a box of food pills Bart had given him, the condiments scattered on the floor in a rainbow of pharmaceuticals.
"No! No! What is all this!? What is it? WHAT IS ALL THIS?" he cried, trashing around like a fish out of water.
"Ed, get a hold of yourself!" Meia called out, kneeling beside him. She moved his arms aside and saw his face. Tears were streaming from his face, even from his cyborg eye. He gripped his hair and turned away from her, looking down at the floor. His hands trembled with fear as he refused to even notice her. He convulsed a few times, coughing up loads of blood.
"Ed! Wake up!" she shook him.
"These ships, these dead bodies.who are you people?!!? What are you?!"
"ED!" she slapped him to bring him back.
"Meia...it was horrible.the pain.I saw things.horrible things.they were all dead.men, women, kids.explosions everywhere.blood.my body feels like its been dragged through hell..," he grabbed her, his hands still shaking before he jerked back as if he was struck by lightning. He screamed again, the life draining out of his eyes.
"Ed."
"I-I think I was right.I don't have pretty memories at all.all I see.all I hear.guns, crying.shots ringing through the air.I saw people shoot the air out of ships.God, what was I before? Where am I in this picture? Why can't I remember?.why?" he sobbed.
"I'll get Duerro!"
"No!" he gripped her arm, "You can't! He can't do anything. no one can.I can feel it.please.please don't..please." he begged.
"Bullshit, Ed! Let go of my arm!"
"This pain.it comes from my old memories.my past.I don't want anyone reminding me of it.please.don't tell anyone.please."
The tears were flowing down his face, stopped only by his hands. He looked nothing like the super-confident hero from the day before, a pale shadow of his shadow. Despite their differences Meia pitied him, having emerged from stasis only to learn that everyone he knew was gone , possibly too far out of reach. His memories, the only link he had to those people turned out to be painful, hurtful memories that tore at his very soul and from the looks of it his physical body as well, judging by the numerous cuts across his body. She knew what it was like to have bad memories, remembering the situation with her mother and her mate. She embraced the trembling Ed, letting his tears flow down her shoulder. He eased up and leaned on the corner, falling asleep soon after.
"Promise. I promise nobody else will know.we'll soundproof your room tomorrow. I'll say that you want privacy or something...Edward van Dyke. I know what it's like to have bad memories."
She lifted him and placed him on his bed , looking at him one last time before shutting his door. She stared at the closed doors, hoping that no more screaming would come from the room. She slowly crept into her own bed and willed herself to sleep.
"Hey Ed, did you hear? The engineers just announced it! We're getting close to a big deal with Talark and Mejale!"
"Really, Dana? That's great! I can't wait to fly the new systems.maybe they'll even put us on a carrier. Then we'll get to see our clients for once!"
Dana laughed. " I doubt they'd like you on Mejale. They even freak me out, those girls."
Ed hopped off his perch on the crate he was sitting on, putting his arms around Dana.
"You freak me out, woman," he whispered before kissing her softly on the lips. Before she could follow up, a powerful shock threw both of them to the ground, sending tools flying all over the place. Sirens rang out as personnel scurried around hurriedly. Dana groggily got up, rubbing her head.
"Man, what now?!"
"Raiders!!! Raiders from the Techno Guild!" someone shouted.
Before he could get up, a powerful blast hit the wall behind him and Dana. They ran for the door, knowing what was on the other side of the wall. The air in the compartment rushed out with tremendous force, sending boxes and equipment out the hole. Nails and bolts were also unhinging from fixtures , breaking and sending some poor soul into the vacuum of space. Some of the techs helplessly stood behind the main door, pinning themselves against the walls while the closest to the archway reached out to those close enough .
"DANA!!!" Ed called out .
"Ed!!" she screamed as she held on to his outstretched hand.
He slowly pulled her in , fighting the g-force and pleas to shut the door. As it seemed like he was making progress, a rack came loose and knocked his wrist. He was still calling out her name when his loosened grip gave way, sending her screaming as her body was hurtled towards outer space. The last thing he saw before the door shut on him was her desperate face, crying and screaming out his name. The last thing he heard before passing out was the sirens stopping and someone saying that the raiders had been contained.
"NOOOOOOO!!!!" Ed jerked forwards as his nightmare came to an end, with him in the Nirvana, all alone in his quarters with sweat dripping down his forehead. Meia helplessly put her hands to her ears and shut her eyes tightly.
Sorry, Ed.
The mood around the Nirvana had lifted considerably following the spectacular victory against the Harvester capital ship and the advent of the Red Guardian. When Ed and Jura landed, it was to rapturous applause and cheering. Even Barnett had to confess, the two men did a great job. Jura was still ranting about a baby, but Ed always seemed to be on the other side of the universe when she opened her mouth. Meia looked at the newbie, laughing amongst the pit crews and gesturing with his arms. While he looked like a ten-year old reenacting a cartoon show, his actions in the field had already spoken for him. She remembered the gigantic flash of light that was the capital ship's destruction with the Red Guardian emerging from the smoke , a knight in scarlet armor with its shield and sword. The look on everyone's faces was unforgettable. Ed and Jura were screaming in joy while Dita and Hibiki' s eyes were wide open.
Avoiding the ruckus, she quietly slipped away towards her quarters, lonely footsteps fading down the hallway. She looked back at the hangar and a small feeling of relief came over her. A capital ship was near untouchable before all this, with even the extra power provided by Hibiki' s Vanguard. And this blue-streaked newcomer destroyed one first time out.
" Maybe we have a chance after all." she muttered as her quarter doors slid open.
She simply lay on the bed, soaking up the vast amounts of silence in the dark room. It seemed an impromptu party had broken out in the hangar and everyone was invited, judging by the deathly lack of sound in the hallways. She prayed that the klaxon would ring, boredom seeping into her mind was the minutes rolled by. She closed her eyes, trying to fall asleep to no avail. By the time she quit trying to fall asleep, the blanket was a wrinkled mess and she ended up being more tense than when she came in. A reprieve of sorts came when he heard Jura and Ed outside his room, which by chance was opposite hers. There was a lot of squealing and drawl (from Jura, naturally) before Ed said goodnight with her banging on his door begging to be let in. Meia turned away from the door, trying to shut out her memories from the Double Dread post-mortem. She could still feel the bastard's breath on her lip and her nose twitched every time she thought of him. Those eyes, so different yet both gazing at her identically. She didn't know what any of it meant, cursing herself for even thinking about an alien. Of course he was different. Of course men had different rules. What was it about him and Hibiki that made her feel odd?
She felt her muscles slowly relaxing and her eyelids were finally feeling heavy, her mind tired of the sudden outburst of thought. As the world slowly became a blur, loud screams jolted her back up. At first she thought it was Ed playing a practical joke, but those were unmistakably his screams. From the sound of it, he was in pain rather than enjoying himself. An untapped reflex sprung in her, noticing that everyone else was still very much at the party or fast asleep. Sure he spooked her, but she was unwilling to lose a pilot to sheer negligence. She opened the door to his quarters and found him curled up in a corner shivering. Several items were on the floor, including a table lamp and a box of food pills Bart had given him, the condiments scattered on the floor in a rainbow of pharmaceuticals.
"No! No! What is all this!? What is it? WHAT IS ALL THIS?" he cried, trashing around like a fish out of water.
"Ed, get a hold of yourself!" Meia called out, kneeling beside him. She moved his arms aside and saw his face. Tears were streaming from his face, even from his cyborg eye. He gripped his hair and turned away from her, looking down at the floor. His hands trembled with fear as he refused to even notice her. He convulsed a few times, coughing up loads of blood.
"Ed! Wake up!" she shook him.
"These ships, these dead bodies.who are you people?!!? What are you?!"
"ED!" she slapped him to bring him back.
"Meia...it was horrible.the pain.I saw things.horrible things.they were all dead.men, women, kids.explosions everywhere.blood.my body feels like its been dragged through hell..," he grabbed her, his hands still shaking before he jerked back as if he was struck by lightning. He screamed again, the life draining out of his eyes.
"Ed."
"I-I think I was right.I don't have pretty memories at all.all I see.all I hear.guns, crying.shots ringing through the air.I saw people shoot the air out of ships.God, what was I before? Where am I in this picture? Why can't I remember?.why?" he sobbed.
"I'll get Duerro!"
"No!" he gripped her arm, "You can't! He can't do anything. no one can.I can feel it.please.please don't..please." he begged.
"Bullshit, Ed! Let go of my arm!"
"This pain.it comes from my old memories.my past.I don't want anyone reminding me of it.please.don't tell anyone.please."
The tears were flowing down his face, stopped only by his hands. He looked nothing like the super-confident hero from the day before, a pale shadow of his shadow. Despite their differences Meia pitied him, having emerged from stasis only to learn that everyone he knew was gone , possibly too far out of reach. His memories, the only link he had to those people turned out to be painful, hurtful memories that tore at his very soul and from the looks of it his physical body as well, judging by the numerous cuts across his body. She knew what it was like to have bad memories, remembering the situation with her mother and her mate. She embraced the trembling Ed, letting his tears flow down her shoulder. He eased up and leaned on the corner, falling asleep soon after.
"Promise. I promise nobody else will know.we'll soundproof your room tomorrow. I'll say that you want privacy or something...Edward van Dyke. I know what it's like to have bad memories."
She lifted him and placed him on his bed , looking at him one last time before shutting his door. She stared at the closed doors, hoping that no more screaming would come from the room. She slowly crept into her own bed and willed herself to sleep.
"Hey Ed, did you hear? The engineers just announced it! We're getting close to a big deal with Talark and Mejale!"
"Really, Dana? That's great! I can't wait to fly the new systems.maybe they'll even put us on a carrier. Then we'll get to see our clients for once!"
Dana laughed. " I doubt they'd like you on Mejale. They even freak me out, those girls."
Ed hopped off his perch on the crate he was sitting on, putting his arms around Dana.
"You freak me out, woman," he whispered before kissing her softly on the lips. Before she could follow up, a powerful shock threw both of them to the ground, sending tools flying all over the place. Sirens rang out as personnel scurried around hurriedly. Dana groggily got up, rubbing her head.
"Man, what now?!"
"Raiders!!! Raiders from the Techno Guild!" someone shouted.
Before he could get up, a powerful blast hit the wall behind him and Dana. They ran for the door, knowing what was on the other side of the wall. The air in the compartment rushed out with tremendous force, sending boxes and equipment out the hole. Nails and bolts were also unhinging from fixtures , breaking and sending some poor soul into the vacuum of space. Some of the techs helplessly stood behind the main door, pinning themselves against the walls while the closest to the archway reached out to those close enough .
"DANA!!!" Ed called out .
"Ed!!" she screamed as she held on to his outstretched hand.
He slowly pulled her in , fighting the g-force and pleas to shut the door. As it seemed like he was making progress, a rack came loose and knocked his wrist. He was still calling out her name when his loosened grip gave way, sending her screaming as her body was hurtled towards outer space. The last thing he saw before the door shut on him was her desperate face, crying and screaming out his name. The last thing he heard before passing out was the sirens stopping and someone saying that the raiders had been contained.
"NOOOOOOO!!!!" Ed jerked forwards as his nightmare came to an end, with him in the Nirvana, all alone in his quarters with sweat dripping down his forehead. Meia helplessly put her hands to her ears and shut her eyes tightly.
Sorry, Ed.