Chapter 4: Guilt to Guilt
Renton slowly opened his eyes and looked around him. They were back on the cold hard floor again.
'I wonder how long we've been asleep.' He thought to himself and looked down at Eureka. She was still holding onto him. Her face was relaxed and at peace. The last thing he wanted to do was wake her up. Slowly he stood up and looked out the window to see where they were. The Gekko-Go was back on the ground, not to far away he could see the Izumo next to it. People were scattered across the ground. There were a few workers and engineers scattered about the Izumo doing repairs.
"I guess they decided to stop and repair." Renton said quietly to himself. The door slid open behind him. Quickly he looked down at the sleeping Eureka, and then up to see Talho. She was still the same as before in her clothing, but her hair was a little more grown out. Her eyes quickly fell on Eureka, and smile gently crossed her lips.
"You guys have been gone a long time." She said and looked up at Renton. He broke his gaze and looked out the window.
"We didn't know…And it looks like there was nothing we could do. It was just strange. we woke up in the middle of a forest. We thought no time had passed at all." For a moment he paused and sighed. It was then that he noticed something in Talho's arms. A small sleeping baby lay there in its cradle. Renton stepped forward and looked at it closer. He couldn't help but smile at the innocent face.
"He's almost a year old now." Talho whispered while smiling down at her child. Renton bent down over Eureka, and gently he shook her awake. Her eyes slowly opened and she looked up at Renton.
"What is it?" She asked with a tired voice. Renton smiled and nodded towards Talho. "Talho?" She got up and spotted the baby in her arms. The drowsy state she was in instantly evaporated. Eureka reached out and stroked its smooth head.
"I wish I could say this is why I'm here… but its not." Talho's tone became more serious.
"That move we pulled earlier was risky, and we faced the consequences. There's a lot of people outside right now who are being treated. Most of the KLF's from the Izumo where badly damaged, the rest were utterly destroyed. Right now, Holland wants to speak with you two. He wants to know everything that's happened." She stopped and looked out the window. Her eyes gave away to her lack of sleep. "You should go meet with him now. The baby's asleep; I should go put him back in his crib." She smiled and gazed at the two. With small laugh she shook her head and started walking away.
Eureka and Renton didn't talk much as they walked towards the command room. When they got there they found Holland talking to Irik. It was too far away to hear exactly what the two were saying. It mostly came out in short mumbles to them, but Irik just kept nodding grimly for some reason.
"Holland?" Eureka spoke from the side of Renton. Holland turned his head and looked at the two.
"Morning you two." He said and motioned them to come down. They walked down the hard steps and stood at the side of them.
"I know you two have met up with Irik. He's one of the chief engineers." Holland turned his gaze back to Irik. Renton moved his head back slightly in surprise. Irik seemed like such an unlikely person. "There's really no point in hiding the Final Beginning. It's an LFO that was build under the same idea as the Nirvash. Although it looks nothing like the Nirvash, it does have a lot of inside aspect. We are thinking about repainting it actually." Holland suggested and nodded.
"What? You can do that!" Irik said standing up urgently. Holland shrugged and leaned back in his seat.
"We'll see." Hollan said with a satisfied smile. Renton frowned slightly and scratched his head.
"How do you know so much about the Final Beginning?" Renton asked Holland. He looked up and nodded at Irik.
"It's a project that was commissioned under the P.O.F. They couldn't hide very much from us. Irik told us pretty much everything we didn't already know." Renton nodded and Holland then let out a yawn. "Irik, I have to talk to Renton and Eureka now. If you want, you can go gather you things before we take off." Eureka looked up in slight surprise.
"What do you mean? Is he not staying with the Izumo?" Eureka asked him.
"He was the one leading over the Final Beginning production. We're going to be the ones keeping the Final Beginning for more tests. So he's staying with us. And that makes you and Renton the official test pilots." He said with a short smile. Renton and Eureka shared another look at each other. Irik stood up and left the three alone, finding it the right time to do so. After that every one was silent for a while. No one made eye contact. Finally Holland nodded to himself.
"So… You really have no memory of this past year. You don't know anything at all?" He asked.
"No, all we remember was being on that strange place. The Nivash said it was leaving the planet with the rest of the Coralians. After that we were sent back down… or sent back down to Earth." Renton finished. Holland didn't respond. He was looking down at the ground, deep in thought.
"I see… and then you just landed back down on Earth?" He asked and looked between the two. Eureka replied with a short few nods. "Hmmm… then I guess there isn't much more then that. Though, I bet you guys have a lot of questions yourselves." Holland stood up and stretched. He walked over to the railing and stared out at the Izumo.
"Yurgus said that he told you of the P.O.F." Turning around he leaned on the railing and rested his elbows on both ends. "There is no war… at least not yet. The truth is we have no reason for war. The P.O.F. and the U.F. are working under the same circumstances. It's just the U.F. leaders were too secretive, and had too much authority. Jurgens was able to convince many of the soldiers to come with him and split away from the military. It started a chain reaction that eventually dragged half of the U.F. itself to come with him. This made the top leaders angry. But sense so many left, there really wasn't anything they could do. So they just shut up and both went their ways. We're still not forgiven for the people we've killed. But some have, they saw what we were really trying to do." Ending his lasts words with a sigh, he stood up. "After what happened there is no way the U.F. are going to hold back. They want something, and we have it…" Renton and Eureka both reacted to his last words.
"We have what?" Renton asked. Holland grunted and shook his head.
"Nothing to worry about. Just know that we're glad to have you back. I almost thought you guys really did leave us… for good." He moved forward and put an arm on each of their shoulders. His eyes were soft with kindness. He gave the same look he gave Renton before, when he wanted to help save Eureka. With another small moment of silence he left them alone.
"It feels like everything's speeding by. We're being left behind in all that is happening." Eureka spoke softly. Renton nodded, not really sure what to say next. "What are we going to do now?" Renton looked over at her and shook his head.
"I'm not sure…" He said quietly.
"Wow… this will make a big hit on Ray Out." A familiar voice sounded behind them. They both turned around to see Stoner on the upper railing looking down at them. Renton opened his mouth to say something but Stoner held up his hand.
"Long enough to know about everything that is going on." Stoner looked between the two. "Of course, I can't really post anything with out your permission." He raised an eyebrow just slightly.
"Well…" Renton mumbled and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Its ok Renton, I'll keep out the other stuff. I'll just be mentioning the fact that your back… and what a lovely couple you make." He joked and turned around. "By the way, I think there was this guy looking for you. His name is Konner, he seemed really freaked out about something." He did a short wave and left.
"We should go find him… but where would he be?" Eureka asked and looked over at Renton. He shrugged and started for the door.
"I guess we start by looking out side." They both headed outside the Gekko-Go. The Gekko-Go was empty, and they were surprised that they ran into no one.
"What do you think Holland meant when he said that they want something and we have it?" Renton asked Eureka while they searched the outside area.
"I don't know, and I don't think Holland will tell us." Eureka said while looking at the ground. She wasn't hiding the fact that she was worried about something. Renton could see it in her eyes. He wanted to change the subject, to do something to stop her from thinking about the world and how much it's changed.
"Eure-" Renton was cut off by some one yelling at them in the distance. They turned around to see Kon running towards them. Shortly he stopped before trampling them over. He leaned over and put his hands on his knees. Every breath he took was heavy.
"I… heard what happened to Irik. I've been searching every where for you guys just to see for myself. I'm just glad that you guys are alright." He took another gulp of air and exhaled it. "Do you know where Irik is? I haven't seen him yet."
"The best place to search would be in the infirmary." Eureka said with a nod. "Follow us." Kon nodded as well and followed them into the Gekko-Go. His face turned to awe as he entered.
"Never actually thought I'd get the chance to step aboard this thing." He said slowly looking around at everything. Eureka frowned at his comment.
"Konner… I… Don't you hate the Gekko State?" She asked him suddenly. "I mean, you are military, and they've done so mu…" She stopped wishing she hadn't said anything at all. Kon on the other hands seemed to loose his interest in the ship.
"I wasn't apart of the military before you guys disappeared. I joined the P.O.F. directly. Though I've heard from many of the soldier that use to be apart of the U.F. Their always criticizing the Gekko State. Some of them really hate you guys. I've heard some pretty horrible stories. Though I couldn't blame you, you've really done nothing to me. If anything it was the U.F. I hated… I knew you guys were fighting for the right reasons." He finished as they stopped and Renton hesitated to open the door, it slid open. They walked into the room to see Mischa checking Irik's arm.
"So far it looks okay. You hit it pretty hard, so I suggest you don't lift anything heavy. For now you're free to leave and gather you stuff." Mischa stood up and looked over at the three. Silently she walked over to her computer and said nothing more.
"How are you buddy?" Kon asked and walked over to Irik.
"I'm alright, I just fractured the bone." He said and rubbed it gingerly. For a while they were all silent. The only sound that could be heard was the beeping of the computer.
"Guess I should be a little jealous. You guys got to ride on the Finale Beginning." Kon said trying to spark up a conversation.
"We actually gave the child a name." Eureka spoke out. Every one suddenly turned their head towards Eureka, even Mischa.
"The child?" Irik said tilting his head. Kon shrugged his shoulders.
"Yes, we gave it the name Xellien." Eureka said with a smile. Irik's eyes went wide. He looked down in anger and stood up.
"I see…" Quickly he walked out of the room. Eureka looked at Kon and Renton then back at the door.
"What did I say?" She asked in confusion. Kon looked at the door and then back at Eureka.
"Where did you get that name?" He asked her.
"It was a name that just came to me suddenly. I knew I heard it from some where before." She stopped to think for a second. "Yes, I remember why now. Xellien was one of the scientists that helped me and Renton's father." She turned to Renton and looked down at the ground. "He was a good friend of your father Renton."
"Well that explains it." Kon laughed and shook his head. Eureka and Renton both at looked at him strangely. "Xellien, that man you're thinking of, is Irik's father." Eureka and Renton both shared a look of surprise. "Yeah, he died a long time ago, not to long after your own father Renton. He was obsessing of the Amita Drive. From what I've heard the U.F. tried to get him to build them another one. But he resisted and ran off. One day he was found laying in the snow, and a gun in his hand. It was official that the man killed himself. Irik always hated his father for that. But most just assumed that his father was trying to keep the information he had away from the U.F… it really wasn't fair for to him." Kon finished and shook his head gently.
"If I had know…" Eureka spoke in a bare whisper. Renton moved over and took her hand.
"It's not you fault, you didn't know." He said to her in confidence. Though she didn't seem to believe him. "I guess we better rename the LFO…"
"Maybe not… This might actually be good for Irik." Kon said and walked over to the door. Both Eureka and Renton shared a look of surprise.
"How so?" Renton asked him.
"Irik works on his own strange wave length. Sometime the best way for him to heal is to push the truth at him." Renton found that theory a little weird. Konner stepped outside the door and faced the two. "The point is he needs to heal at one point. Might as well be now." With a short shrug the door closed. Once again, Eureka and Renton were left… by them selves.