Kale held the scanner in his hand. The device was quite familiar to him as he had seen it used a couple of times and after spending the last eight hours with Lenari and Elara trying to teach him how to use it he was at least familiar with basic function. The device itself was about six inches long with the five-and-a-half-inch screen making up most of it. It was fairly lightweight but heavier than you'd expect most likely because it was meant for a Daoran not a human. It only had a button on the side and one on the bottom. Kale laughed a bit when he first held it thinking it reminded him of the latest smartphone that had launched this year back on earth. It was definitely much more powerful though, the processors used in it were microscopic in nature but there were more than two hundred of them present in the device. It gathered information several ways, a large sensor lens that ran across the top of it that would emit different wave types able to penetrate most materials, on the back just below that a rectangular space that resembled a speaker would take information from the air and relay it back through the processors and it could hold up to an exabyte of information if disconnected from the ships computer for an extended period. Elara had left some time ago to get something to eat and to rest a bit as she had been up late with Sashir's doctors back on the Typhonus but he and Lenari had been hard at work.
"So just so that I'm clear, when this turns green and these figures line up it means it's found a life sign?" Kale held the device toward Lenari and pointed to a line of symbols and code. Kale was pretty sure he had gotten a good understanding of the device considering it wasn't in a language he could read; but the most important function he figured he'd be using the scanner for was life signs on this mission as he knew Lenari and Omall would handle anything more complicated than that.
"Yes exactly," said Lenari smiling. "You know Kale I'm surprised you picked this up so quick. When I was learning this, it took me a couple days to be able scan for life signs."
"Well, honestly it's probably because this is super exciting for me. To you it's probably like homework or a job you do because you have to. For me…" said Kale thinking once again about how this was still all beyond his wildest imagination, "It's hard to put into words what it's like." Kale paused in thought briefly. "Think of the craziest thing you would want to do that's outside the realm of what you consider to be possible and then imagine doing it. And that's all this for me."
"I guess I still do not think of the fact that all of this is brand new and so out of the ordinary for you," said Lenari. Kale sat the scanner on the nearby table feeling good about his ability to work the device. He wanted to be as useful as he could be when they boarded the Shironian facility, something he couldn't help but be nervous about.
"The combat drill will now begin." A voice sounded over the communication system and suddenly the lights went down to emergency lighting. Kale and Lenari stood up and Lenari passed Kale the designated weapons they would use for the drill before taking one for himself. This was Kershala's drill and they had no idea what he would have in store for them. Kales eyes were slowly adjusting to the low light when a light flashed behind them. Kale turned and didn't hesitate to fire the weapon twice a beam of light fired from the weapon hitting what turned out to be a Shironian soldier and missing the second shot, there were two of them. Lenari turned to fire his weapon but was disarmed by what they knew was a hologram. Kale watched as Lenari ducked a shot from the soldier's weapon which in reality was harmless but couldn't get a clear shot. They both knew they had to act like this was a real combat situation, Lenari tripped the hologram and as it hit the ground brought his two fists down on its chest. The creature vanished.
"Lucky it was just the little ones," said Kale. "Come on we have to secure the command center." They headed out of the lab and into the main corridor to find Ralu grappling with one of the larger soldiers and Zaree on the ground incapacitated. As they left the lab three more soldiers were teleported in. Kale fired twice once hitting the soldier Ralu grappled with and once hitting one of the new soldiers. Lenari fired at the others as they both dived for cover.
"Ralu, get Zaree we will cover you!" called Lenari, looking from around his cover. The newer soldier fired on him and he managed to duck out of the way of the beam. Kale took a shot but missed before Lenari finished the last one as Ralu got Zaree into cover. The whole ship was suddenly quiet as the last one was dealt with and the two of them rushed to Ralu and Zaree.
"She took a hit, I was too slow," said Ralu frustrated with himself. He sat Zaree into a sitting position against the wall, she was bleeding. Kale wasn't sure how they were doing this, but he knew everything they would see during the drill would be faked somehow. "Lenari see if you can stop the bleeding." Lenari took out his scanner and grabbed a med kit from a nearby emergency station just as four more of the soldiers were teleported in. "We will cover you." Ralu's weapon was a wrist mounted energy weapon. He fired it several times, but the soldiers managed to get into cover before returning fire.
"Be careful, time your shots," said Kale almost having a flashback to his previous fire fight in this very position. He looked beyond his cover but because of the low light he couldn't quite see his target. He knew the second he fired it would give away his position. He only could see movement in the dark. He looked around at his immediate surroundings, Lenari was tending to the wound in Zaree's chest using the medical kit. "Do you need anything else from the kit?" he asked as two more energy beams hit above them.
"No," said Lenari focusing on his job.
"Good." Kale grabbed the kit and threw it at the attackers remembering that the Shironians could see better in the dark then he could. They fired at the movement and as they did both he and Ralu jumped from cover and fired on the soldiers downing two of them. Another beam just managed to miss Kale before he took cover again. "Close call." The beams were now coming at them constant and they were pinned down. Kale wasn't sure how to get through the scenario without retreating into the command center.
"Lenari, give me your weapon," said Ralu. Lenari seemed to have stabilized Zaree but was running scans to make sure. He tossed his weapon to Ralu and went back to what he was doing. "Is she going to be okay?"
"Yes, but this wound is particularly complicated for just a single shot," said Lenari confused. Ralu took the weapon and began to tap away at the interface on it.
"What are you doing?" asked Kale.
"Triggering the weapon to overload, it will explode in a few seconds once I throw it at them." The weapon began beaming and Kale could hear a buzzing sound that got louder and louder as Ralu pressed the buttons signalling what Kale was sure was an energy spike. "Stay in cover," he whispered putting his back to the box he was leaning against. Kale did the same as Ralu threw the weapon overhead, Kale could hear it clang to the ground before there was a flash of light and noise like a flashbang had gone off. Kale tried to look beyond the cover, but the flash blinded him. "They are gone! Let's get into the command center." Kale hesitated when Ralu stood up half expecting him to get hit but nothing happened. Lenari picked up Zaree and held her in his arms as they entered the command center. The command center was fully lit but as they entered Rotabu had just put down one of the larger Shironians. Jelani fired on another that seemed to be trying to access one of the consoles and Atondra came up behind another and broke its neck.
"We have secured the bridge with a dampening field," said Atondra. "Omall needs help in engine room." Atondra walked over and took Zaree from Lenari and sat her down along one of the consoles. "We will take care of Zaree, Rotabu take them and go to the engine room."
"Can you activate a dampening field around the main corridors?" asked Ralu.
"Once main power has been restored Omall can do it once you secure the engine room." Kale thought that Atondra's orders seemed rather scripted but likely because she was playing along knowing the situation was due to the drill. "Now go!" Rotabu stepped back from his console and grabbed a weapon from under his station before heading out the door.
"Come now," he said as he walked by them. They exited the command center and the doors were sealed behind them, they moved quickly toward the lift leaving Kale wondering how it was going to work with no power.
"Is there going to be power on the lift?" he asked.
"Yes, emergency power keeps the lift functioning," said Lenari. Lenari hit the call button and Kale thought it was strange the lift was on the bottom deck in the armory.
"Remember that once we are down there, you must be very careful not to hit the engine core. Exposure to any of our weapons would cause a containment breach," explained Rotabu checking his weapon. Kale wasn't sure if Rotabu meant the weapons they were using or if he meant it should it be a real scenario. He recalled they had used real weapons in the engine room during the last attack. Thinking back had he known he wouldn't have risked it. As the lift doors open two soldiers were present and hoisted their weapons to open fire. "Look out." Rotabu body checked Kale out of the way and Ralu grabbed Lenari throwing him from harms way. Rotabu managed to quickly finish them off firing in quick succession. The weapon he used seemed to be more pulse based allowing for faster fire.
"Close call." Kale coughed and stood up slowly, Rotabu had knocked the wind out of him. "Appreciate the save." Lenari walked over and did a quick scan with the medical scanner.
"Is he okay?" asked Rotabu as they stepped into the lift.
"He is fine, just lost his breath." Lenari patted Kale on the back as his breath seemed to be coming back to him. The lift doors closed, and they were on their way to the engine room. It wasn't a long ride, but Kale noted it was moving slower than normal due to emergency power settings. As they drudged to a stop the four of them slid to the side behind the thin bit of wall that formed the doorway. To their surprise it was clear, and they swiftly stepped off the lift Rotabu took point with Kale and Lenari in tow and Ralu bringing up the rear. As they approached the entrance to the engine room Kale wasn't sure what to expect, the sudden memory of Ashal sprawled on the floor seemed to hit him from nowhere but he shook it off and they kept going.
"Should we even risk the weapons?" he asked.
"Only if you are sure of the shot. They will likely not risk firing their weapons here." Kale held the weapon in hand as the doors opened when suddenly Ralu grunted he seemed to be the only one that heard it. Kale swung around just see Ralu's body fall from the ceiling a heavy thud following.
"What the hell was that?" Kale pointed his weapon and the others had already turned around hearing the thud. Kale could feel his heart racing he knew it was a drill, but it was all way too real for him. Kale had a hard time not rushing to Ralu's side, he wasn't moving, and he figured it would be too dangerous to just go to him. He pointed his weapon at the ceiling since the body had fallen and waited for some type of movement. He could feel the tension in his forearm from holding the weapon tightly.
"We aren't alone," Lenari whispered. The floor creaked and Kale was startled he fired the weapon the light from the beam showing that there was nothing there. Kale felt something move quickly by him and instinctually extended his arm to stop it but seemed to miss it. Rotabu caught whatever it was with his weapon hitting it with the butt of it. It staggered and suddenly became visible, it was a new type of Shironian Kale hadn't seen yet, Lenari seemed to be stunned by the sight of it. Grey skinned with a humanoid shape and face, it was taller than the others but not as large as the biggest ones Kale had already seen, it was dressed in a sleek oil black armor that seemed to reflect even the smallest bit of light, its nose less face and beady eyes seemed to stun even Rotabu before he took to fighting with it. Kale watched as the older Daoran forced the creature into a wall, he could still see the surprise in his face as the creature walked its feet up the wall and repelled itself back sending both of them crashing to the ground. "Rotabu!" Lenari yelled and tried to jump into combat but the Shironian back kicked him from on top of Rotabu. Lenari crashed into the wall telling Kale he had been hit hard. Rotabu managed to throw the creature off of him and get to his feet but made the mistake of going for his weapon, the Shironian soldier was on him before he could raise the weapon up again. Kale ran to Lenari's side to make sure he was alright as Rotabu fought the creature taking hit after hit. Rotabu was managing to get in several hits as well but the attacker was faster than he was. Kale took Lenari's weapon and turned around.
"Rotabu get out of the way!" he yelled. Rotabu jumped away from the creature and Kale fired with both weapons several times landing their mark. Instead of falling to the ground the creature was teleported out. "What the hell was that thing? Why were you so stunned by it?" he asked helping Rotabu to his feet. Lenari had gotten to his feet after recovering from the impact.
"That was a Shironian Wraith, we have not seen them since we fought on the home world. They are thought to be a very small part of the Shironian population," explained Rotabu. "We must proceed to the engine room and then secure the armory." The doors to the engine room hung open as they entered Omall walked over to them.
"I heard the scuffle outside, I'm glad you're okay," he said. "I didn't want to risk losing the engine room, so I sealed the door to anyone but the crew."
"You need to restore main power and activate the dampening field," said Rotabu. Omall walked over to his workstation and began using the interface the power in the room came back on.
"The rest of the ship will take a few more moments, but it should be okay. I have activated the dampening field for the rest of the ship." Omall walked over to another of the stations on the wall. "I am however getting a proximity alert from the armory. They must have been there before we got the field activated."
"Are you okay, Lenari?" Rotabu looked at Lenari who was resting against the wall and bent forward cradling his abdomen.
"I'll be fine, the impact just hit pretty hard." Kale walked over to him and helped him stand up straight, hoping to help him administer medical attention.
"Omall, do you have a med kit?" asked Lenari straining and breathing heavy.
"I think you better stay here; Kale and I can deal with the intruder." Kale looked at Rotabu, caught off guard at the comment, he wondered if he had proven himself enough in combat to warrant the older man's respect. At the same time the simulation was starting to fray at his nerves and the more people around him the better he thought he would feel. He looked at Lenari who was struggling to stay upright and realized it was probable that the two of them would go it alone.
"You are probably right." Lenari put his back against the wall and slid down into a sitting position. "I'm sorry Rotabu."
"It is okay," Rotabu checked his weapon before walking over to him. "Kale come with me." Kale and Rotabu exited the engine room and the door sealed behind them, as they came to the smaller part of the corridor Ralu's body was gone and Kale wasn't sure what that meant. The main power had come back on and the corridors were at least well lit. They entered the lift and Kale couldn't help but think it was a bad idea to use it since whatever was waiting for them would be alerted to them coming when the lift activated. Rotabu activated the lift and after only a few seconds Kale stopped it before it opened. "What are you doing?"
"Is it really a good idea to take the lift down?" he asked. "Anything down there is going to know we are coming." Rotabu smiled at him and sat his weapon on the ground.
"Very good human," Rotabu took a panel from the side of the lift that led to a small crawl space. "We will take the maintenance tunnel." Rotabu attached his weapon to his back and crawled into the tight tunnel. Once able, Kale followed him in, and they crawled for about fifty feet before Rotabu stopped. They had made it to a vent with light coming through the cracks. "This will take us right above the armor modification chamber." Rotabu positioned himself getting ready to dislodge the panel.
"Can you see any of them before you take that off?" asked Kale trying to get close enough to take a look through.
"They are in the far corner looking at the weapon loadout. There are two of them, it should be a simple means of disabling them." Rotabu unlatched the panel almost silently, he unholstered his weapon and dropped down firing on them as he fell. He managed to hit one of them the other diving for cover behind a crate. Kale followed suit and jumped down while opening fire, at the very least he hoped to make himself less of a target by keeping them supressed as he fell. Rotabu bounded from his position getting to a higher position firing his weapon at the soldier. Kale rolled to be behind a crate and positioned himself resting his elbows on the crate trying to get a wide angle of the room. Rotabu walked to the area the soldiers had fallen and the room seemed to be clear. Kale breathed a sigh of relief just as a thud hit the ground behind him. He felt his heart skip a beat as he and Rotabu both whipped around but before he could fire his weapon the Wraith had grabbed him.
"Get away from me!" Kale screamed as he began kicking and fighting. The creature squeezed him tighter and he couldn't get away from it. It wasn't long before a familiar buzzing ran over his body. He could tell he was being teleported. As the teleporter finished taking him to where he was going, he continued to fight, whatever held him was now behind him and there was suddenly a familiarity there. He figured as long as he drew breath he'd fight on. He rammed an elbow into the flesh behind him, but it was like hitting a metal wall.
"Kale!" he thought he heard Lenari's voice, but everything seemed to be muffled he figured it would be the after effect of the teleporter. Kale brought a foot down on his captor's foot as hard as he could before seeming to break from his arms. Kale attempted to draw his weapon, but it was gone as he turned around Kershala was standing there in his full suit.
"Kale it is okay, the drill is over." Kershala took a step toward him and Kale backed off almost not sure what was real anymore.
"I…" Kale was having a hard time processing the scenario, it had been too real, he figured the Daoran crew ran simulations like this frequently to get ready for missions but he couldn't tell the difference as to what was real and what was fake. He didn't have the luxury of an implant to use to scan and tell the difference. "What the fuck?" Kershala's helmet fed into his implant revealing his face and he took another step forward with an empathetic look on his face. He pulled Kale into an embrace and Kale couldn't help but start to hyperventilate.
"I think your simulation might have been too real," Elara said from behind him. Kershala turned them so that Kale would be able to look where her voice came from. Elara was scanning him with a scanner. "Just calm down Kale it was all fake." Kale began to slowly realize that Ralu, Zaree and Lenari were in the room and were not showing any injury.
"How did you make it so real?" he asked as he wiped the tears from his eyes. Lenari walked up to them and hugged them both.
"This was a lot more than a normal drill," Anubis voice came from the com system, "With my integration I am able to project holographic images throughout the ship. Therefore, with a combination of our knowledge of the Shiran, the teleporters and our most recent experience with the Shironian boarding party I was able to create a full extrapolation of how they might attack. The Wraith was Kershala the hole time using a holographic disguise." Kale looked back at Kershala and hugged him as tight as he could not wanting to let go.
"Why couldn't I feel our bond?" With the closeness Kale could feel Kershala's apology and compassion, he was unaware of how much he really needed to feel it until he did.
"It had to be supressed so you would not be able to tell it was me," said Kershala. Kale let out a sigh as he started to collect himself recovering from the shock of what he had experienced. He turned to look at Ralu and Zaree.
"You guys aren't really hurt? Ralu when you went down, I wanted to go to you so bad," he said.
"It is okay. Once I was grabbed, I was teleported here, not even a scratch," Ralu smiled and gestured to his body. "So good as new." Kale felt a rush of relief come over him as he stepped down from the teleporter panel. Atondra and the rest of the crew walked to through the main door.
"You all did very well, though far too many casualties for a successful mission," she said.
"This was a particularly vicious drill though to be fair," Omall laughed. "Kershala this was brutal."
"I want those of you on the boarding party to go get some rest. You will need to be ready for what comes ahead of us," said Atondra. Kale felt more mentally exhausted then physically but more than welcomed the down time. He and Kershala walked from the room, Lenari, Rotabu and Omall followed and retired to the crew quarters. Kale and Kershala walked to their quarters staying silent.
"Kale I am so sorry," Kershala spoke as soon as the door closed.
"It's okay Kershala, really, I just wasn't expecting it to be so intense." Kale walked in and sat on the bed. "It was more intense then the real attack from yesterday." Kershala walked toward the bed and recalled the nanites before sitting down, he was wearing a tight fitted jump suit.
"You will have more protection next time we face them together." Kale was doing his best to shrug off the event he had just been through.
"Kershala are you sure I should go with you? After this I don't know if I'm suited to the type of combat we're going to be dealing with."
"You performed better than most of the crew did Kale. If they are suited for it then you are."
"I'm not really a soldier though." Kale was proud that he ranked so well he figured his reflexes were a combination of his training with Kershala and as a security guard but also after years of gaming his response time had always been good; and the more he thought about it the more he thought he needed to go on the mission. These people were supposed to be watching Kershala's back when they boarded, and he couldn't help but feel like he couldn't trust them to keep him safe. "Forget I said anything, just my nerves getting me, I guess. There's no way I'm letting you go there without me." Kale thought for a minute that he may as well use the time to learn something. "Kershala why is there so many different types of Shiran? I think we've seen four counting that Wraith thing. Have you ever fought one of those before?" he asked. Kershala sat down on the bed next to him.
"I have helped Yailar fight one when I was much younger. But only one. They are very rare, they usually lead the attack units," he explained. "As far as why they all look so different, we have never been able to find out why. We do not know if they originate from the same home world or if the other races were united under the Shironian Empire."
"Is it likely that they evolved on the same planet? That doesn't seem likely." Kale pondered the different Shironian's he had seen. The human sized ones in full plated armor, the same ones Kershala fought as he escaped the planet in the first ever memory Anubis showed him. The large brute sized ones that didn't seem to wear actual armor but had armor plates on their large bodies, their faces were slightly humanoid but more saurian. The fast ones that seemed to resemble something that a dinosaur might evolve into if given the chance, they were the ones Kale had fought the most they seemed to be better with firearms and now the Wraiths.
"We do not know for certain Kale. You might want to converse a bit with Anubis regarding this next time you have a chance," Kershala pressed his lips to Kale's forehead, "You should get some rest. I am going to check and see how the armor construction is coming along. I will wake you in the morning so that we may get you suited up." Kershala stood up and walked to the door caressing Kale's face as he passed.
"Okay. I'll see you after." Kale found it weird that Kershala didn't stay with him but knew he also wanted to make sure that he had protection for the mission ahead of them. He laid down on the bed and tried to take a nap. At one point he woke up to Kershala getting into bed with him he remembered putting his arm around him and pulling him in close to him resting his face firm to the back of Kershala's neck. The next he knew the ship jolted as they dropped out of FTL and he sat up, he was sure a full night's sleep had passed and maybe a little bit more. He wiped the sleep from his eyes and put his feet to the floor, Kershala still slept on the bed and Kale had a rare moment of being the one to wake up first. He stood up and looked through the window, they seemed to be in a small solar system with a large red star at the center of it. There was only a single planet visible to the naked eye and they seemed to be moving through an asteroid field. "Anubis what time is?" he whispered.
"Approximately 10 A.M. by the chronometer you are used to. We will be beginning our approach through the detection grid shortly," Anubis spoke quietly.
"Thank you. Should I get him up?" Kale looked back at Kershala who still slept peacefully.
"Yes." Anubis spoke but soon after Kale could tell that they were alone. He walked over to the bed and sat down next to Kershala and touched his face slowly. It had been a long time since he woke him through the implant, and Kale couldn't help but think back to the first time he woke him on purpose. That first time Kershala opened his eyes and reached up and touched his he knew he was already in love and to think now where it had taken him. The ride of his life and it wasn't over. He touched his for-finger just behind Kershala's ear and sure enough he opened his eyes. Kershala sat up quickly and smiled before kissing him.
"Good morning," said Kale. "Anubis says we're almost at the detection grid. The ship just dropped out of FTL."
"Then we are on schedule, come your armor will be done, we must get you into it," said Kershala. He got up off the bed quickly and took Kale's hand leading him toward the door.