It was early morning, just before sunrise. The eastern horizon beyond the rooftops of New Haven was already glowing with a dim red radiance, heralding the coming day, while in the west, the cooler green sun hovered tentatively behind the mountains, its light slowly fading.
In a chair amid the flowers of his rooftop garden, Samos was taking a quiet moment to himself. He remained still and patient, breathing slowly and calmly with his fingers intertwined, and his eyes closed in concentration. Even from here on this rooftop, in the concrete heart of Haven City and several storeys above ground level, he could still feel the powers of the earth and the plants. All were interconnected as if by invisible roots, from the tiniest saplings that he himself had nurtured in this rooftop garden, to their brethren the great trees out in the forest that were many times older than he. He communed with them every morning, immersing himself in the strange, spiritual realm they inhabited, seeking the sentient knowledge that they possessed, for they knew much about all things in the world of which they were a part — past, present and future. But they spoke a silent language of mysterious riddles that were sometimes difficult to interpret, even for a sage of his experienced wisdom, and there was so much more that lay even deeper than any human thought could ever penetrate, inaccessible and enigmatic.
However, one thing that Samos could be sure of was that Jak, though missing in action, still had an important part of his destiny to fulfil. He could feel in the plants and in the earth that he was still alive somewhere, a faint, residual energy that could be sensed from far away like a vapour trail, but one that was impossible to follow. They could not give up on him. There was still hope, somewhere, somehow, for Haven's hero.
Samos opened his eyes, and the transcendent spell was broken. He felt the ethereal consciousness of earth that was around him dissipating, drifting away over the rooftops towards the grey mountains that loomed outside the city wall just a few short miles away. Upon their lowest slopes there flourished a lush nest of greenery, visible from here in the pre-dawn light. That was Haven Forest, the place where he had learned to speak with the plants, an ancient sanctuary that still bore a strong, pure connection with nature and held deep pools of energy. And situated very near to it were the bronze towers of the Precursor Mountain Temple, just starting to glow. Such history there was there, so many hidden secrets from a lost age. He wished he could return there one day soon, where he could truly think and connect with the earth, to get away from the noises of machines and the smothering, unhealthy taste of the city air…
But that day would have to wait. There was so much to do here in the city right now, so much that demanded all of his attention, and it was exhausting. As soon as he had broken his connection with the forest, Samos felt the pressures of his position return in full force. Being a central figure of the city council in the Freedom League was already taking its toll on him, just a few days in, but it was a necessary burden, one that he had to take. He never doubted his own aptitude for it, not even for a moment, but he was not as young as he used to be, and his energy reserves were dwindling. How much longer could he keep going like this?
These solitary moments of recuperation were a much-needed but rare blessing, times when he could really let his mind breathe in the outdoors, an escape from the metal walls of Freedom HQ and the convoluted politics of city life. But before the inevitable council meetings and difficult decisions that this long day had in store for him, he returned his gaze to the sky, which had now evolved into a nebulous, cloudless painting of mauves melting into a molten gold. The moment was almost here.
Watching the sunrise was an old habit he had begun back in Sandover Village, and though it was always beautiful when he had the time to witness, it paled in comparison to his memories of how it used to be, before light pollution had stolen the sky. Back in Sandover, he could look out over the open ocean from the tower of his hut and observe the vast event for miles in all directions, unobstructed by buildings and unfiltered by the permanent glow of the city lights. The world had changed too much, he thought sadly, in some ways for the better of course, but in others not. Still, some things never changed; the progression of time marked by the rise and fall of the sun was as reliable as it always was. The same sky. The same seasons. The same planet of wonders.
A golden light now touched the rugged peaks of the mountains, setting them aflame in the first sunbeams of a new day. With the patience that only his old age could provide, Samos settled himself down comfortably to watch the spectacle unfold. The light spread down the mountainsides in a slow, liquid amber cascade, ever encroaching upon the city walls. The burnt orange textures in the sky became a twilit ocean of cerulean, and soon the upper windows of the Freedom Building shone in the young daylight. Then at last it descended upon the rooftop of the house, a bright, warm blanket that banished the shadows and chills of the night. The small garden rustled in the morning breeze, almost in joyful response as the flowers were fed by its warmth. Samos absorbed it all, remembering more peaceful times, and soon Haven was in full light. Footsteps and the hum of zoomers could now be heard coming to the streets below, accompanied by other gentle stirring noises in the distance as the rest of city began to wake.
The day was begun, and the moment had passed.
Samos remained where he was for a few moments more, before feeling the unavoidable pull of duty once again. The time had come to leave this rooftop sanctuary and start making his way to Freedom HQ, to do what must be done to ensure the city's continued operation. The first of the search and rescue teams would have returned by now with whatever findings they had recovered, be they material or human. He needed to be there for that, to decide on the next steps.
With the day unfolding all around him, he rose from his seat and slowly made his way back down into the house.
A couple of short hours later, while the morning was still relatively young, Keira arrived in the Freedom HQ hangar again, successfully using her new access pass to gain entry, and this time equipped with her own toolbelt. She was eager and ready to continue the momentum she had started the previous day, and as she walked back down the corridor towards the main work area, she could hear voices from up ahead. It sounded like many of the other mechanics were already here, and when she heard her own name amid their chatter, she paused just around the corner to listen, and could identify the excited voice of Mex.
"I'm telling you, she's amazing. She even got my old racer working again!"
Keira broke into an instant broad smile, and it made her feel so great to be spoken of in this way, so respected and admired. She hung back by the doorway for as long as she could resist, continuing to listen to the praise she was being afforded.
"Yeah, she helped me out too," said another voice. "But did you see the way she handled that first cruiser? The way she just punched the engine out? Man, that's still got me flummoxed. I've got to get her to teach me how to do that!"
"Wish I could have seen it," said a new voice that Keira didn't remember hearing last night. "I sure picked the wrong day to clock out early, huh?"
"But what does she look like?" asked another new voice. "Is she cute?"
Keira stifled an excited giggle before deciding that now was probably a good time to make her appearance. She took in a deep breath, levelled her smile to one of restrained confidence, and rounded the corner. Sure enough there was a large crowd of mechanics waiting there, all deeply engaged in gossip. Mex was on the edge of the group, and as Keira took a few steps further in, he looked around.
"Hey, it's Keira!" he said gladly, his face lighting up, and then everyone else's head turned towards her as well, their chatter silenced. There were about twenty of them altogether, and Keira recognised many of them from the previous evening, but there were a fair few new faces among them as well, others who she had not yet met.
"Hi guys, I'm back!" she said, smiling herself in the spotlight of attention. "Guess what? Vis made me part of the team! I officially work here now!"
"Yeah, we heard," said Mex jovially, "And that's great! Welcome aboard, Keira! We're really happy to have you."
"Thanks," said Keira, approaching the group properly. "So what have we got to do today?"
"Well actually, we've been told just to wait around and be on standby right now," Mex explained. "The commander said they'll be bringing in the first finds soon and they want us to take a look at them."
Keira understood at once, and thought back to the meeting she had attended yesterday in the control room. "Of course, the search team!" she said thoughtfully, and she felt her hopes hovering on a precarious ridge, wondering what, or who, they might see today. Had they found Jak? She was afraid to find out.
"Yeah, but anyway, now you're officially one of us, let me introduce you to everyone," said Mex.
For the next few minutes Keira found herself shaking hands with everyone in the room, including all of those who had been here last night and their colleagues who she was meeting for the first time. She found that they had already heard much that was very positive about her from Mex and his group. Evidently her unplanned arrival in the workshop had been one of the most interesting things to have happened here in recent time. Keira, who was quite flattered and even a little overwhelmed by all the attention, returned their greetings mutually and did her best to remember all their names.
But not long after all the introductions were out of the way, a high hatch in the ceiling slid open with a loud hiss above them. Everyone stopped their socialising and looked up. A long metal tray was being lowered into the workshop on chains, descending slowly onto one of the inspection tables.
"This must be it," said someone, and Keira felt her heart start to pick up its pace again.
Before the tray even touched down, everyone was moving towards it, and then more people came hurrying into the room. Samos was there, followed by Vis and a small crowd of city officials and Freedom Guards.
"The first finds..." the old sage muttered quietly to himself.
Finally, the tray hit the table with a dull, resounding thud, and both mechanics and city officials gathered around it with interest. A grave silence fell. Keira made her way to the front, and also found herself momentarily lost for words as the excitement, anticipation and happiness of just a few moments ago began to drain from her. She had been expecting something substantial at least, but what lay before her was a shocking mess of twisted debris. It looked like a massive, insolvable jigsaw puzzle, or even several puzzles all muddled together, the largest piece of which was no bigger than her welding mask. She felt a small twinge of hurt take seed in her stomach, and quickly searched around with her eyes, seeking out anything that she could recognise or identify.
Some people began to mutter to each other and sift through it all, and Mex who stood at Keira's side reached out and picked up a jagged shard of metal. "Take a look at this, Keira," he said quietly to her, holding it between them.
Keira took it in her own hands gingerly, careful not to cut herself on its sharp edges. She couldn't tell what it might be, but when she turned it over, she saw that its underside bore a vivid blue coat of paint. Now she knew exactly what it was; this was a piece of one of their Hellcat cruisers, torn apart in the battle, but exactly which part of the vehicle it came from was impossible to tell. Keira suddenly felt herself struck by the harrowing reality of the battle, and touching this one dark relic made her feel as if she had actually been there, like she had been wounded by its violence.
Then she looked across the table again and she began to notice more patches of blue paintwork scattered among the debris, more remnants of the doomed fleet. Standing on the other side of the table directly opposite her was Vis, who really had been a part of that battle, and the expression on his face was haunted. Keira remembered what he had said to her yesterday, how many men he had lost. These pieces of wreckage may as well be their bones. The people either side of him also bore similar expressions, clearly pained by the knowledge that the pilots of these vehicles were very likely people they had known and spoken with... people who they may never see again.
Thoughts of Jak immediately injected themselves back into Keira's mind as she stood there, and a crashing realisation struck her hard. What if these pieces, the very piece she now held in her hands, were the remains of the cruiser that Jak had been flying? There was no way she could know, but it was a poignant thought. Then that familiar heavy feeling of loss fell into her stomach again, back with a terrible vengeance. Seeing these broken pieces reignited the tragedy, a fresh reminder that her closest and oldest friend was still out there, still lost. She forced the tears to stay inside, not wanting to be seen crying among so many people.
"Did the rescue team find any survivors?" asked someone further down the line, asking the question that Keira most wanted to put forward herself but was too afraid to. She paid full attention.
Samos pushed his spectacles further up on his nose, looking grim, and shook his head. "I am afraid not. Not yet. This was all they could find drifting with the tides. But another group set off not too long ago to take their place. Let us hope that they shall find someone soon."
His thoughtful eyes briefly met Keira's across the inspection table, but he said nothing directly to her yet. Keira somehow felt that he knew that she was thinking about Jak.
"Are these pieces of any use to you?" one of the officials asked the mechanics hopefully.
"Not really," answered one of them. "Everything's too damaged to be of any more use. This is basically scrap."
Keira silently accepted that he was right. She doubted that even she would be able to fix or re-use any of these leftovers, and it felt futile and wrong even to attempt to do so, like trying to recycle someone's gravestone. Sadly, she returned the piece she held to the pile, laying it to rest.
Eventually, the crowd slowly dispersed like mourners at a funeral, understanding that there was nothing more that could be done with this salvaged debris. It was a crushing disappointment that their first finds should be so demoralising and inconclusive, and the excitement and hope that had been born of their arrival were now both extinguished, lying in pieces among these sad fragments. City officials left the room to return to their work and duties upstairs, and mechanics headed back to their own worktables. But once there was a little more space, Samos and Keira found their way to each other and shared a quick word.
"Are you alright today, Keira?" Samos asked his daughter quietly.
Keira managed a little smile. "Yeah, it's going OK," she answered. "Thanks for getting me this pass, Daddy. Everyone here's really nice, and we've got lots of work done already."
Samos smiled, remembering how aimless and lonely his daughter said she had felt throughout the war, and how important it was for her to know that she was contributing. It sounded like she was making new friends as well, and that would be good for her, because she had never had many friends past Jak and Daxter. Their loss had struck her cruelly and painfully, more so than it had him.
As if she sensed that same thought, she cast her eyes back upon the table of salvage, and spoke with tinges of defeat and misery in her voice. "I just hope it's going to be worth it..."
Samos sympathised with her understandingly. "I know this does not bode well, Keira," he admitted, "But the teams will keep looking, and I am sure we will find Jak and the others. Do not worry yourself, my girl. You are doing all that you can, and I am so proud that you are working so well here."
These words helped Keira to find a part of her pride and enthusiasm again. "Thanks, Daddy," she said, and she gave him a little hug, unconcerned if anyone else saw.
"There is still a lot to do," Samos said finally. "I need to go now, Keira, but I'll see you again later tonight and inform you of any more updates. Until then, keep up the good work."
After he was gone, Keira reconvened with the other mechanics and they tried to get back into the flow of work, but the mood in the workshop had dramatically changed. There was a haunting feeling in the room now, as if a ghost had just joined their company, brought on by the sight of what had been recovered of their lost airmen. As a result, their motivation and sense of progress felt like it had hit a wall. Everyone found it difficult to find the same sense of enjoyment again, even Keira, no matter what they tried.
Eventually, Mex and some of his friends came together with Keira and shared an idea, sensing that they needed something fresh to do, a change of scenery, maybe even a bit of an adventure. "Hey Keira," he said, "Do you fancy coming up to the drill platform with us?"
"The drill platform?" Keira asked, curious.
"Yeah, they set up another work area up there, and they've got the only bomber that made it back from the battle. What do you say we go take a look at it?"
"Are we allowed?" asked Keira.
"Yeah, they linked us up ages ago. There's a warp gate in the back room."
Keira was interested, and it didn't take her long to decide. She had heard of the drill platform, a massive mining apparatus built high in the mountains far from the city limits, but she had never been up there for herself yet. She had always wondered what it was like, but now it seemed that she was being granted the opportunity, and the possibility of there being something new and a bit more complicated to work on up there was the extra incentive.
"Sure, let's go!" she said.
Feeling like they were getting somewhere now, she and the small group set off. The circular warp gate was just through a set of doors in the back of the room, and it glimmered with a gentle blue light.
"Ladies first," offered the leading mechanic politely, extending his hand towards it.
"Oh, thank you," said Keira, and without further delay, she readied herself and jumped through.
Her vision flashed, there was a momentary feeling of falling through a deep void, but then there was solid, metal ground beneath her feet again as she materialised in a new place. She at once became aware of a cold, crispness in the air around her, cleansing her lungs of the underground staleness of the hangar workshop. A chilly wind ruffled its way through her hair, blowing strands of it into her eyes, and she had to raise her goggles onto her forehead to keep it out of her face. Then she stood up straight again to get a proper look at where she had ended up... and her surroundings took her breath away.
She had arrived on the drill platform for the first time, and its edge was just a few metres ahead of her, looking out upon a stunning vista. A broad, sloping wall of stone took up most of her immediate view, a great ridge that spanned an icy basin deep in the rocky heart of the mountains. Immense faces of granite rose up in thick chunks and points, their frozen peaks crested with permanent snow that twinkled in the sunlight, and the winding gorges and channels between them were filled by a misty, rolling sea of cloud.
Keira was mesmerised, and the lofty atmosphere struck her with a sublime feeling of wonder and isolation, robbing her of all sense of orientation. Where was the city? In what direction did it lie? How far away was she and how high up? She took a few steps closer to the edge, drawn in by the alpine beauty, but she drew back when she looked down and felt the sheer height of the drop. It made her stomach lurch, for the earth far below was invisible, obscured by the drifting layers of cloud. It gave the impression of being afloat on the air.
"Wow..." she said in an amazed breath that fluttered away on the wind.
"It's cool, huh?" said someone behind her. It was Mex, and behind him the warp gate continuously flashed as the other mechanics came through one by one. He too was taking a moment to admire the scenery with her. "Best office view I've ever had. We're lucky today; it's usually cold and foggy up here. But come on, the bomber's this way. Let's go take a look at it."
Keira tore herself away from the view and followed the rest of the group, around a corner and into a new area away from the edge. Now her eyes met yet another wonder, and though this one was man-made, it was just as incredible as the mountain backdrop. The industrial titan that was the drill platform stretched out ahead of them, and Keira's first impression was of a mini-city. Tall towers and smokestacks of concrete and steel dominated the way ahead, the spaces in between spanned by ladders, lifts and high, multi-tiered bridges and catwalks. Rusted cranes creaked in the wind, ugly and weathered but still functional, and the whole structure was interconnected by complex networks of pipes, scaffolds and supporting struts that held it all together.
Keira found herself momentarily arrested in place by the awe of it, and then she saw the workforce. During the war, the Freedom League had reoccupied, repaired and repurposed this platform into a secondary base, and already it had become an industrious hotbed of production. Nearly every available flat space ahead of her had been converted into a work area, with tables, crates of tools and spare parts lying all around. She saw another Hellcat cruiser propped up on supports, tended to by no less than three busy mechanics. Others seemed to be working on the platform itself, riveting sheets of reinforced metal to damaged sections of the floor and walls, and checking the integrity of their structural repairs.
As they continued on their way through, Keira took in more of this industrial heaven, this stronghold amid cloud and stone. She really wanted to just wander off like a child and explore. She passed monstrous generators and ravenous furnaces that had once been used to smelt raw eco, now cold and bare. Over in one far corner she saw one of the platform's four giant, supporting buttresses that anchored it to its icy plateau. It reared upwards like a huge spider's leg, each joint held with gears larger than millstones, and then it plunged downwards over the platform's rim, down into the sea of cloud far below. On either side of it were defensive gun batteries set on rails, perched right on the brim of the platform. They were unmanned but soldiers stood by each of them, always alert and watching the skies, and when Keira saw them, she knew that if there was anywhere they could have a hidden back-up base, this would be it.
"Just how big is this platform?" Keira asked the mechanic nearest to her.
"Oh, we haven't even crossed half-way yet," he answered. "Look, it's the drill. Check it out."
Keira looked right, where a large section of the platform opened up. She looked down into the sheer void, and there was the titanic centrepiece of the whole platform, the enormous drill which all else on the platform existed to bear. Keira had never seen a device so staggeringly, impossibly massive. It easily dwarfed the tower of the Freedom HQ Building itself, a dynamic monster of engineering, and its tip was plunged deep into a great, carven crater in the mountainside far below. It had once been its purpose to extract raw eco, heavy metals and other hard materials from the frozen bowels of the mountains, vital resources to keep the city alive. It was deactivated and silent now, but Keira wished she could see it running. What noise it must make, and its vibrations must tremble the entire platform! She struggled to comprehend just how much power such a colossal machine would require, nearly as much eco as it could dig up.
"Careful!" said someone, and Keira felt herself pulled backwards quickly. "You fall down there and there's no coming back."
Keira realised with embarrassment that her marvelling had attracted her unwittingly a little too close to the drop, and she had nearly gone over. "Oh, thanks a lot!" she gasped to her saviour.
From then on she stuck close to the others, leaving the view of the great drill behind, but it wasn't long before she had forgotten her close call. She felt smaller than ever among all these giant machines, but she considered herself truly lucky to get a chance to be up here, a place where few ordinary citizens had ever been granted access to. The drill platform was unquestionably the largest piece of machinery she had ever laid eyes on, an incredible feat of engineering. She was astonished that such a thing could have been built and placed here in this hard and difficult mountain terrain, let alone designed and even conceived of. It must have been a truly great mind to have dreamed this up, very likely the city's legendary founder Mar himself. In sheer scale and mechanical complexity, the only other thing in her memory that came close in comparison was the Baron's giant, offensively ostentatious palace, which had not survived the city's long wars.
The walk across it felt like it lasted forever, but then finally around the next corner, Keira saw what they had come to investigate. In a wide cleared area, away from the busiest parts of the platform, lay the single surviving bomber like a giant wounded bird. Both of its wings had been removed and lay beside it, all of the unused ammunition carefully taken out, and the last of its fuel had been drained away and put into storage tanks. Its fuselage bore the angry burns and damage of battle, black marks in its blue mantle, and parts of the engines were exposed.
Keira and her group all stood there and looked up at it, and one of the mechanics whistled long and slowly. "This'll be a tough fix!"
"No point standing around though," said Mex, pulling on his gloves. "Let's see what we can do. What do you think, Keira? You up for it?"
Keira smiled and adjusted the goggles on her head. "I'm always up for a challenge. Let's get started!" she said eagerly, taking the first steps forward into the vehicle's immense shadow, and the others followed in her wake.