Chapter 2: Action and Reaction

The KLF crouched and slowed down. When it got the right momentum, it jumped off the board and landed. The last foot off quickly pressed down and kicked the tip up. Konner pulled back another lever and the KLF reached out and grabbed the board.

"Showing off are we?" A female voice came over the comm...

"Wellll, you know how it is Klera." He said charmingly. A sigh came from the other, and Kon laughed.

"What ever Konner, Irik wants you back at the lab. He'd like to take some more tests on how everything turned." She laughed from the other end. "According to this, you're having some hallucinations of Renton Thurston and Eureka." She said mockingly. Kon unhooked his helmet, giving away to the satisfaction on his face.

"Not in the lease, in fact, their standing right next to me." Kon said and pressed a button. The cockpit door opened up and Kon jumped out first.

"This man seems very energetic?" Eureka said while looking out the door uneasily. Renton laughed and started for the door.

"Ladies and gentle men let me introduce you to the hero's of our world. Renton Thurston and Eureka!" He turned and motioned his hand to the door. Renton stepped out first into a strange site. It was a large room, with a few people wearing lab coats. They were all looking at Konner and then at Renton. A girl walked forward her eyes wide.

"You weren't being a jokester this time Kon…" She said shaking her head. Eureka stepped out as well and looked around at the many people. Every ones eyes immediately turned to her. Her cheeks felt hot as they turned red. The sudden attention caught her off guard. Renton reached down and grabbed her hand with reassurance. Another man walked up and pulled off his glasses. Mostly every one in the room looked to be above their thirties, except for the girl and the other man.

"Wow Kon, I figured you were just pulling another of your stupid jokes. But this time you surprise even me. Encore my good friend." He clapped his hands together. Kon laughing again, something he did alot. The people started to gather around them. It was only a matter of time before they started to bust out the many questions they've been holding in. This didn't escape Konners attention.

"Hey Renton, Eureka, I imagine that you haven't eaten yet?" Konner said and turned around. "Would you like to accompany me and my friends, Klera and Jake here." Renton looked at Eureka. She looked back, the answer was clear.

"Sure." Renton replied simply and stepped down. They followed Kon and his friends to smaller room, what seemed to be the lunch hall. Renton was starting to miss the chance of just being alone with Eureka. He was around people he wasn't sure he could trust. Eureka was looking down at the ground with tired eyes.

"You alright Eureka?" Renton asked. Eureka looked up to see he was uneasy as well. She smiled and shook her head.

"It's just a bit… much." She replied.

"Well guys, there's plenty of food you can get your hands on here." He looked about until his eyes fell on a person walking towards them.

"Oh, there's Irik." Kon said with his usual smile. The guy looked to be around more of Eureka and Renton's age. The young man stopped in front of them.

"Hey Kon, you didn't come to the records center. I wasn't really surprised when I heard about what happened. Where are the two any way?" He asked curiously himself. There was a strange calm all about him that Renton and Eureka both noticed.

"Well, their right here." Kon said and stepped aside. Irik looked up and raised his eye brows.

"Incredible, so you're the pilots of the famous Nirvash. The ones who unlocked the full capacity of the Amita drive?" He asked and took a step forward. Eureka took a step back, finding the question a little strange. Kon put a hand on Irik's shoulder and turned him around.

"For a few seconds just at ease your mind and rest Irik. You've been working too much." Kon said and started to walk forward. Irik nodded and sighed. They started to move toward a table, the place being filled with them. They chose one next to a wall filled with bright windows. The outside revealed a large and green forest, flushing with life. Eureka kept her eyes on the window as they sat down, Renton couldn't help but admire the beauty as well.

"Well, you two can chat for a little. The four of us will grab something for you." Kon said and left Eureka and Renton finally by themselves. It felt like the world was spinning around them.

"I can't totally grasp everything that's going on. I mean, a whole year?" Renton said looking at Eureka, she only shook her head.

"I'm not sure what could have happened after Nirvash sent us back to earth. It doesn't make any sense." She mumbled and leaned against him. He smiled and held her close. "I want to see them again, our children." Renton nodded.

"Me too, I wonder how much they've grown." Eureka suddenly sat up with worried eyes.

"What if they hate us for being away for so long? They'll probably blame us for everything… Do you think their alright?" The way she sounded even made Renton worried, but he shook his head and gave her a confident grin.

"I know Holland would take care of them, and I'm sure they'll understand." Renton's voice calmed Eureka down.

"Thank you Renton, thank you." She said and leaned against him again. He always said the right words to her. The ones to help her realize that everything will be ok. Just being around him gave an unseen strength.

"I wonder how the Gekko-Go is doing… Grandpa… everything. How much has really changed?" Eureka gave no answer, but she wanted to know too. After all that happened, Renton started to feel the suppressed fatigue.

"Hey guys!" A voice yelled really loud in Renton's ears. He jumped up almost knocking Eureka over. His head darted around until he spotted Kon rolling on the ground laughing.

"Man you guys are great. There's too many scientist around that would rather work then sleep. I've always wanted to do something like that." He stood up wiping some tears from his eyes. Renton was still breathing hard, and eureka was rubbing the side of her head in pain. Reason being that Renton's shoulder hit it accidentally.

"Sorry Eureka." Renton said in his guilt. Eureka shook his head.

"It wasn't your fault." She looked at Kon who was still chuckling.

"I'm sorry you guys, but there really isn't that many exciting people around here. Except for Klera and Jake, they have their moments." He folded his arm and nodded towards the group holding food.

"Kon, you could have helped us out, what in the world did you need to so urgently d-." She cut off and rolled her eyes. It wasn't hard to notice Eureka and Renton's energized looks. "You really need to grow up Kon." She only received his satisfied smile. He reached up and handed the food to Eureka and Renton. They all sat down and got comfortable.

"You'll have to excuse our friend here. I guess you could call him the jokester of the class. Except… this is a science facility." Jake said and scratched his head. Renton laughed but Eureka didn't get the joke. They all continued to eat for a while, random chatter going around.

'I guess Konner is the only military personnel here. But he also said that he was a test pilot.' Renton thought to himself. Eureka eventually stopped eating, not being that hungry in the first place. She let out a sigh. A man with grayish hair walked up to the table. Like mostly every one else in the building, he was wearing a lab coat.

"Ah, Eureka and Renton Thurston right?" The elderly man asked with a grin. "The Izumo has finally arrived, they've been told about your appearance. Captain Jurgens is anxiously waiting to meet with you two. When you two are done eating I'll bring you to him." Renton garbled down a few more bites and stood up. Eureka had already beat him to the chase.

"We're ready to leave now." Eureka said before Renton could finish swallowing. The man nodded and led them through the halls. Kon, Klera, Jake, and Irik were left to finish eating. It didn't take long tell they ran into Captain Jurgens himself. There were two girls following right behind him who stopped immediately. Renton thought he recognized the girls from some where. They looked to be a few years younger then him self.

"Renton, well this is a surprise?" The man gave way to no smile. Instead he just raised an eyebrow and waited for a response.

"I'm sorry, I don't believe we've met. But we did hear that you just dropped off Dominic and Anemone at the Gekko-Go." Renton was sure he'd seen his face before. It felt

strange for him to be talking with a military man. From what he could remember, this was the Captain who convinced his crew to help the Gekko-Go.

"I don't suspect you to. We joined up with the Gekko-Go while you two were under the planet shell. Though we would have come by sooner if we had known of your appearance. Which brings me to one question, where have you two been these past two years?" The man didn't seem untruthful, but there was no way that they could really tell. Renton and Eureka looked at each other and then back at the man.

'Could this all be a joke or a trap? To fool us into thinking that a year has really passed. But if that's so, then what would they gain?' Renton couldn't figure out what would benefit them in this lie.

"We're not sure at the moment. It's something we would rather discuss with Holland." He said in an apologetic voice. The captain shrugged and nodded.

"Very well, we've already set up a small shuttle to where we can meet the Gekko-go. We're having a small problem communicating with them. Don't worry, we should have the communication link momentarily. It's probably just the massive amount of trapar passing through." He finished and turned around to the two girls. "Please return to the ship and see if you can establish the communication with the Gekko-Go

"Yes father."

"Yes Captain."

The two spoke different things. It didn't seem to matter, because they just walked off down the hall.

"Those poor kids Dewey picked up. I'm just glad that some of them are cooperating." He laughed and shook his head. Renton and Eureka were still just plainly confused.

"Captain Jurgens, how is the Gekko-Go doing, and do you know what happened to three children names Maurice, Maeter, and Linck?" Eureka asked hopefully. Jurgens took a second and shook his head.

"I'm sorry, I don't know much of crew except for Holland himself." Eureka let out a sigh of disappointment. Renton took her hand gently, which helped her relax.

"Captain Jurgens, what is the P.O.F. force?" Renton had the thought cross his mind. It was nagging him ever sense Konner spoke about it.

"You don't know? Very well, it started about two weeks after the second summer of love. A lot of the U.F. force learned what Dewey was planning. About half of the U.F. force broke off and followed me. We formed the P.O.F., or in other words, Pacific Operations Force. The U.F. force is still going. I don't know whose leading it now. I assume it might be some of the higher ranks of the army. It could also be some one else, but there have been no reports… at least not yet." He lifted his hand and motioned them to follow him. Renton and Eureka both complied. They walked down the hall for a long while with out much talk. "You two wouldn't mind if I asked what happened inside that… tree … would you?" He asked and shared a look behind him. Renton and Eureka looked at each other, not very sure they wanted to answer. The man gave a short laugh and looked forward.

"Don't worry, it's my business." And they continued walking. It didn't take long until they were outside the facility and walking towards the large ship. The runway was huge, making it compatible for any ship that might come. A girl turned her head at the sight of them. She had short blond hair and blue eyes. Quickly she ran over to Jurgens and bowed.

"I told you, you don't need to do that." Jurgens said and rolled his eyes. The girl ignored his comment.

"Captain, we've received an urgent call from the Gekko-Go. They say that there's a large force of U.F. forces heading this way." Captain Jurgens grunted.

"I figured they would make the first Idiotic move. Very well, anything else?"

"Yes, they say they need Irik Livings found and ready for them to pick up. They also suggest that we evacuate all the people here." The girl was young, but she acted as if she had been doing this all her life. Except there was a strange playful nature about it. Jurgens nodded and paused to think.

"Very well, I'll make contact with the manager of this science facility. In the mean time, keep in contact with the Gekko-Go for more notice. And for Irik Liv-"

"We know where he is." Eureka spoke up. Jurgens looked over in mild surprise.

"Go find him and bring him to the Izumo." He pointed his hand at the large red ship. Both Eureka and Renton nodded, and then headed off. They were back in the building and moving quickly.

"Its strange, so much has changed sense we've been gone." Eureka spoke. Renton could tell that she was uncomfortable with the whole situation. Even though he wasn't exactly up beat with it either.

"I'm hoping that Holland will be able to help us some how." Eureka looked over at Renton. She then turned her attention back to running. Finally they broke out into the table scattered room. Renton looked over at the table where they once sat. All they found was Jake talking to Kon, who was just fiddling around with his fork.

"Konner!" Renton yelled and ran forward. At the same moment the room started to flash a bright red. An alarm sounded every where in the building.

"Attention colleagues, there is report of an attack advancing on this facility. Please remain calm and report to the Izumo. There P.O.F. personnel will help you aboard. That is all, please follow usual evacuation precautions." The comm. cut off and every one stood up walking out calmly as if everything was normal. Konner and Jake on the other hand walked over to Renton and Eureka.

"Whats up Renton, do you guys know what's going on?" He asked looked at the two.

"Well, they said it on the radio. At the moment, we really need to find out where Irik is. We need him for some thing." Konner looked confused, but he just shrugged.

"Well, knowing him… He's probably in his office gathering as much of his stuff as he can. Now that I think about it, probably every one is doing it." At that moment Jake coughed on something.

"Your right, my things!" He said and started running towards the door. Konner shook his head.

"Come on, his office is this way." With that they all started towards the door and down the halls. They made it a good ways until they stopped at a random door. Kon reached down and pulled the door open. Inside was messy room, filled with scattered papers. Irik was desperately scrambling around trying to pick the papers up and shoving it into a case. He barely even noticed them coming in.

"Come on Irik, we got to go man." Kon said and started for him. Irik closde the case and stood up.

"You right, we need to go." He turned for the door and walked out. Kon rubbed his head, surprised.

"Ok…" Shrugging he followed him out, and so did Eureka and Renton. They ran down the hall until they reached the outside. The minute they did so, a bright red and blinding light soared across the sky. It was a red beam that originated some where in the distance. The first thing that Renton noticed was the swarming amounts of black that looked to be U.F. forces. Several more beams shot out from them and blazed above them. The last thing he noticed caught Eureka's attention as well. A green and white ship flew their way. One of its wings releasing smoke into the now darkening sky.

"The Gekko-Go…" She whispered next to Renton.