CHAPTER SIX: Dim the Lights/Transition

Bonnie sat in a chair around the briefing table sadly. She would've hung her head, but it'd hurt too much. Now that the death of Tekkaman Blade was common knowledge among the higher ranks of the Space Knights and Military, she wasn't the only one sad.

Practically the entire world was melancholy.

"What happened, Bonnie?" Maggie asked as she took a seat beside her. "Your neck looks really bad…"

Bonnie just moved her head from side to side slightly.

"Where's Ringo?" Tina asked as she came into the room and sat down.

"I'm afraid Ringo is no longer with us." Commander Jamison said as he made his way to the front of the room.

Aki's eyes nearly fell out of her head. "What happened to him? Is he gone, too?" Aki could cry about Blade all she wanted when she was by herself—but so long as she was on duty, she was to keep a straight face. Emotions were not allowed to interfere with anything. Space Knights came first, above all else.

Bonnie swallowed, and ignored the pain in her throat. "They've…turned him into…one of them…"

Various gasps spread throughout the room.

"Don't let your personal feelings get in the way of dealing with him—mercy will only bring about the destruction of our planet." Commander interjected.

"What are we going to do, Commander?" Bonnie asked, with worry in her voice.

Commander Jamison nodded slightly. "Well, we are to relocate, for one thing. The enemy surely knows the Command Center inside and out now. I've spoken with General Pablochiva…"

Maggie clenched her fist. "The military, sir? You can't be serious!"

Bonnie swung her head around. "Don't be an idiot, Maggie." She snapped. "This is no time for petty differences. United the human race stands; divided we fall."

"There is a research facility two thousand kilometers off the coast of Brazil—built into one of the Atlantic Oceans many underwater mountains…" CJ continued. "And that is where we will remain unnoticed until we can come up with counter plans…"

"The human race is hopeless without Blade." Aki sighed.

Bonnie stood up out of her chair. "No it's not! How dare you say that?! It's attitudes like yours that will get us all killed! Look around you! We still have our Commanding officer, our head mechanics and engineers—"

"All the mechanics in the world aren't gonna stop them. If starvation doesn't pick us off first, you know who will come to finish the job." Aki replied bitterly.

Bonnie narrowed her eyes. "Saber and his pack of lap dogs aren't gonna get within ten miles of us…or I'll tear them apart myself."

Aki snickered. "And how are you going to do that? Run them all over with the Blue Earth? You know you couldn't even if you tried—you aren't half the pilot Ringo was."

Bonnie flopped back down in her seat. The recent rash of trauma had toyed and pushed everyone's psyches to their limits—most everyone was acting out of character. "No, I'll tek-set and beat all their asses into submission."

The room fell silent and all eyes fell upon her, Commander Jamison included. "Bonnie," He began. "Is there something you forgot to tell us?"

Bonnie nodded carefully, trying to avoid stretching the muscles in her throat. "Yes. I'm sorry, Sir. When I was run-through, I was devoured by an aquatic teknopod. I completed the process, and when I emerged, that's when Andrea found me, Sir."

"But why are you still with us?" Tina asked with a hint of sudden suspicion in her voice.

Bonnie shut her eyes. "I fought off the parasite. I managed to beat it…my body rejected it; it had no other choice but to detach and die on its own."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Aki exclaimed.

"Because I was afraid of all the tests everyone would perform on me." Bonnie replied flatly. She looked up at CJ for a moment. "I'm sorry, Sir…it was selfish on my part."

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"I'm sorry. This is a restricted area—I need to see some ID before I can let you speak to the Commander."

Vitani snarled and tried to push passed the guard standing watch by the Space Knight's Command Center's entrance. "I already TOLD you who we are! Look, if you're so afraid, then call up the man and have him come here."

He shook his head. "Commander Jamison is a very busy person…I'm afraid I just can't do that. If I were to let everyone who came to me singing your song, then he would never have any work done."

Vitani threw her hands up into the air. "Look, bitch! We came too far to just be turned away at the door!"

The guard readied his rifle. "Leave now, or I'll be forced to shoot."

Previously silent, Marlow stood beside her and piped up, "Oh. Here it is…"

The security guard turned his head to look at him. As his attention was diverted to his left, Vitani took that opportunity to catch him off guard on his right. She tapped him on his shoulder. He turned his head to look at her and was greeted with a fist between his eyes.

"There's your ID, ya bastard." She spat, kicking the fallen man in the ribs as she passed.

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"…Not that it matters, anyway—all our scientists perished in the attack. So I guess you won't have to worry about any of those tests." Aki growled.

Bonnie remained looking at the Commander.

"Well! Aren't you all in luck! I just happen to have one on me." A voice said from the door.

Everyone turned to look.

"Vitani." Commander Jamison replied.

Vitani bowed dramatically. "The one and only. You know, the base was totaled…and everything else along with it—"

"—So, we're both unemployed at the moment—" Marlow continued.

"—And hungry," she finished.

Aki glared at them viciously. "How do we know we can trust you?"

Vitani grinned and started to laugh. "Because you don't have a choice."

"Besides." Marlow spoke up beside her. "If we went back, we'd both be killed for insubordination."

Vitani nodded. "You guys can't say no—you need us."

Bonnie scratched her head. "Um. Yeah, I've heard he's really smart, but—"

"—What can you do?" Aki interrupted.

Vitani looked over at the Commander. "Anything you can find for me. At this point, I'm not picky."

Commander Jamison thought about it for a moment. "All right. Welcome aboard, you two. Dr. Marlow, you are hereby named head of our Science Department."

"Thank you, Sir." Marlow replied.

"And as for you, Vitani…" CJ continued.

Vitani looked up at him hopefully. "Not the computers, not the computers, not the computers…" She prayed in her mind.

"Your first task is to get our computers back online."

Vitani's head sunk in defeat.

Figures.

Sure, she loved computers—but using them was one thing; repairing them was something completely different. She HATED computer maintenance. It made her want to hurl herself off a cliff. "Yes…Sir…" She answered.

"Bonnie," Bonnie looked back over towards CJ. "Yes, Sir?"

"You are not to engage in combat as a Tekkaman until you are fully healed. You are also declared Head Pilot of the Blue Earth. Aki, you are her copilot. Tina, your job is the same as always. Mac, Maggie—the same goes for you. Andrea,"

Andrea looked up from the table. "You are forbidden to enter the battle field until your condition is ameliorated. Until then, you are Assistant Head Scientist. I'm sure the two of you can come up with numerous ways to save mankind…"

Commander Jamison paused. "Well, any questions?"

Silence was his answer.

"All right, dismissed."

Everyone got up and started to leave. "Bonnie, Aki," He called.

"Yes, Sir?" They both responded.

"I have a job for you. The military has set up sanctuaries to harbor any survivors of yesterday's incident. They also have numerous carriers to transport the survivors there. What you are to do, is scout around with the Blue Earth…if you locate anyone, relay their locations to the military—they'll take it from there. If you run into trouble, return to base immediately."

They nodded, and left the room.

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A cold shiver traveled down Bonnie's spine as she sat down in the pilot's seat. It felt funny—normally this was a sacred place—she was forbidden to sit here. She cringed as Aki sat in Bonnie's original place.

"It's okay, just pretend that Ringo's sick and you're replacing him for the time being.." Bonnie said to herself under her breath. She fired up the engines and took to the sky. It was as dark as night outside.

"Pull up the infrared sensors, Aki." Bonnie commanded.

"I've got it." Aki replied. "It's getting colder…"

Bonnie nodded in silent agreement.

Closing her eyes, she could hear it…that voice from her reoccurring nightmare. It was faint, but… Bonnie squeezed her eyes shut tighter as she tried to focus on it in the back of her mind. The sound was like a whisper on the wind—almost impossible to understand.

Fleeting.

She concentrated harder. "Don't leave me…hang on…" Sifting through all the thoughts in her mind was difficult. Bonnie tried as hard as she could to tap into whatever force that was invading her head. Focus.

In the darkest corner of her mind, she found a small 'blinking orb of light' so to speak. "What's this?" Bonnie wondered. Walking towards it, she carefully reached out to touch it. It was slightly warm. Placing her hand in it completely, she was bathed in a gentle blue light. The faint, slurred voice slowly started to come into focus.

"Bonnie…?" The voice asked.

Bonnie knew that voice anywhere. "Ringo…?" She returned. "What—"

"—I don't have much time. Listen, I need you to—" His voice cut off and Bonnie was washed over with a sudden surge of sharp pain.

"Hey? What's that?" Aki asked suddenly.

Bonnie was taken out of her thoughts abruptly as her eyes shot open. "Huh?"

"Here, look—I'm getting an enormous heat reading…"

Bonnie eyed the shape made of reds and yellows with interest. "That shape…it looks familiar…"

"But it's out in the middle of nowhere; what is it?"

"It's too small to be a Tekkaman," Bonnie's voice drifted as she thought. With a snap of her fingers she proclaimed, "You know, that looks an awful lot like the Sol Tekkaman Suit Ringo 'borrowed' from the military."

Aki peered at her from over her shoulder. "Why would it be all the way out here?"

Bonnie scratched her head. "I'm not sure…hmm. Maybe it's not it." Narrowing her eyes, she declared, "I'm not sure, but I'm gonna go down and take a look…if it IS a Tekkaman Suit, we could use it…"

Aki shook her head. "We can't. Commander Jamison would have a fit. Besides, wasn't there only two? And Suit #1 burned up in the atmosphere…maybe it's a trap."

Bonnie landed the ship anyway and hopped out to take a look, saying, "It'll only take a second."

She heard coughing in the distance. Pulling out her flashlight, she covered her nose with her sleeve, and walked towards the sound she heard.

"Dammit! At least it still turns on…" Someone coughed in a curse.

"Hey!" She called. "What are you doing outside? It's dangerous!" She kept walking in a straight line, in hopes that she didn't lose the Blue Earth in all the dust.

The dust filled air started to thin out; she could see the silhouette of a man standing beside the shape of a Tekkaman suit.

"Well, well. If it isn't little Bunny-girl."

Bonnie walked closer, and shined her light onto the figure. "Huh? Who the HELL-er you?" She asked, suspiciously eying the pale blonde man with piercing jade green eyes.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "That's right—you weren't there, were you? What's the matter? Don't you recognize me without a camera?" He asked, while raising his hands to his eyes and mimicking the gesture one makes while shooting pictures.

Bonnie recognized the platinum band around his left ring finger—it was exactly like the one Vitani wore around hers. "No. Way. YOU'RE Balzac Saint Jacques? YOU? You bastard! You're supposed to be DEAD!"

He frowned. "Sorry to disappoint you."

Bonnie moved the light out of his eyes. "What are you doing all the way out here?" She asked.

"What are YOU doing out here?" He returned.

"I'M relaying survivor coordination to the Military so they can pick them up and take them to shelters. The heat generated from that thing caught my attention and I came down to see what it was."

He nodded slightly in acknowledgement. "There's a woman and little boy just a few acres down that way."

"You still haven't answered MY question, Saint Jacques." Bonnie growled. "Ya arrogant bitch. How the hell she was EVER able to put up with you, is totally beyond me."

His eyes glinted with hope. "How is she?"

Bonnie threw her hands in the air. "Oh, she's just FINE. She got thrown into the slammer for attacking General Fatso for…" She paused. "Why the hell am I…" She paused again. Reaching out she snatched him by the wrist and yanked him back towards the Blue Earth.

"What are you doing? Let me go." He snarled in return.

"Just shut the hell up and wait and see." She growled back.

"Hey, Aki! Lookie what I found!"

Aki nearly fainted when she took note of the tall man Bonnie dragged onto the bridge. "Oh my god! It's Balzac! You're alive!"

Bonnie went straight to her control panel and contacted the military. Once they got the location of the two people, she hailed the Command Center. "Tina, patch me in to the Science Departmen…oh wait, we don't have one anymore…"

Tina scratched her head. "It's okay, Bonnie. I know what you mean. Here, hang on a sec."

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"The things I do for you…" Vitani sighed as she hung herself over the keyboard of the main server for the Space Knight's computer network.

"For me?" Marlow scoffed as he waited in the background. He couldn't begin to work until the computers were back up—he needed to go over the research archives first.

Vitani nodded. "Yeah. For you. I figured that if I couldn't convince CJ into giving us jobs, I'd be stuck listening to you whine about not having anything to do."

He rolled his eyes with an exasperated sigh. "Uh-huh. You're the one who said you were hungry."

"Don't roll your eyes at me." She replied, never once turning her head to look at him.

"How did you know?"

"Don't give me that crap." She answered as she inserted a disk into the computer.

"Hey, Vitani…" Andrea called from the other side of the room. "You've got a call from the Blue Earth."

"?" She replied as she got out of her seat.

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Bonnie turned around and yanked on Balzac's wrist. "Here. I want you to meet the two new members of the Space Knights." She told him and pulled him towards the screen.

"Yeah? What do you want, Bunny—I'm sorta busy right now." Vitani asked as she leaned over the video communications screen on the other end.

Bonnie squinted happy-cat like and began, "Well—" Before she could finish her statement, however, Balzac had pushed her out the way.

"Vitani…!" He called. After three long months, he was enthralled by the sound of her voice.

Bonnie got up off the floor and dusted off her uniform with a few coughs.

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Marlow and Andrea both turned their heads as Vitani's knees gave out from under her; she collapsed to the floor with a loud THUNK. "Oh my god…!" She exclaimed as she scrambled to get back up. "You're…" She lost her balance midway through the motion and fell down again, catching the desk by the tips of her fingers.

"Vitani? Are you…okay?" Marlow asked as he went over to help her up. His eyes widened as he noticed the face on the screen.

Balzac smiled. "Hey, guys…how's it goin?"

Vitani's lower lip trembled as she tried her best to smile and not burst into tears. "I-I'm just…lost for words…I'm so…" Her voice cracked and she broke into a sob. "Oh god, I'm so happy that you're alright…"

Marlow nodded slightly and placed a hand on her shoulder while bonking the top of her head with the other. "You see? I told you he'd be back."

Vitani tried to give the screen an enormous hug.

"Lookin' pretty good, my man. See you're still alive!"

Marlow pushed Vitani's head out of the way to smirk back at his best friend. "I couldn't die and let you have all the fun, now, could I?"

"I was scared…" Vitani said in a small voice.

………

Back on the Blue Earth, Bonnie pointed to her wrist as a gesture to wrap things up. "The sooner ya shut up, the sooner you can see them in person!" She hissed.

Balzac narrowed his eyes at her slightly, and then turned back to the screen. "I've got to go—"

Bonnie leapt up and pushed his head down and out of the way. "—But don't worry! Since the jerk means so much to you, 'Tani, I guess I'll bring him with us! So as soon as we finish up this mission, you can have your big jerk back, I promise."

Vitani nodded shakily.

Bonnie waved, and then closed the channel, saying, "See you in a few."

………

As soon as the screen became blank, Vitani went back over to finish restoring the computers, wiping the tears from her eyes. That's when she noticed the disk she'd inserted was rejected. Plopping back down into her chair, her cries returned and then broke out into a wail. As if trying to go back to work when her mind was everywhere else at once wasn't bad enough…

"Now I have to re-program this thing by ha-ha-haannnd!!!"

Andrea's head sunk into her shoulders and sighed.

Marlow looked up at the ceiling and scratched his head.

Something told the both of them: it was going to be a very long day.

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A/N: I tried to bring out more of the camaraderie b/w Balzac, Marlow and Vitani. Bonnie's dislike for Balzac stems from his reporter days…