-1Chapter 15- Abandon ship
'The war has been getting tougher and tougher on everyone these days. Battles are most of the time two to three a day. Fatigue and tiredness are starting to show their ugly faces on the crew. Nerves are frazzled and tempers have been on edge. Saying the wrong thing at the wrong time could spark an all out fight these days. Sleep has been little and far between sometimes and it shows. I'm not sure if the GekkoState can handle working like this for much longer. I hope we get some sort of break or reprieve soon.'
"Hey Renton, are you done with all those battle reports yet?
"I'm working on them Talho! We just got back from another battle for gods sake. Give me some time will you?"
"Well hurry up with them anyways. I'm not expecting perfection out of them you know."
"I'm almost halfway done with them alright. I'll give them to you or Holland when they're done ok?"
"Fine. Just make it snappy with them will you? I need them so I can finish my paperwork." she said rudely. She then turned around and left the cockpit.
"Man what's her problem?" Renton asked himself after she left. Meanwhile, Eureka was getting into it with Mischa in her office.
"Eureka, you need to start taking it easier these days. You're almost three months in now with your pregnancy. You have to slow down a bit."
"I can't right now Mischa! You know that Renton, the Nirvash, and the rest of the crew need me right now."
"But you're pushing your limits Eureka! You are going to end up hurting your baby if you don't stop this madness."
"But I feel fine right now."
"Yeah you do right now, but all this stress and all the battles are going to catch up with you in the end if you don't slow down a bit."
"Well, unless there's orders from either Holland or Talho to quit fighting, I'm going to continue to fight to protect everyone." She then turned around and left Mischa's office.
"Here Talho, here are all of your battle reports you needed. If you need anything else, I'll be in our room trying to get some rest." said Renton as he dropped the reports on the table, sending other papers flying off of it.
"Hey, I was working on those!" she yelled as he walked out of their room.
Before he went to their room, Renton stopped in the dining hall for a quick snack. After grabbing a piece of cake from the fridge, he went to their room and found Eureka laying there on the bed obviously looking upset.
"Hi Eureka." he said as he sat down next to her.
"Hi dear." she replied. She let out a small smile afterwards, letting him know she was ok.
"How are you feeling? I haven't seen much of you lately other than in battle in the Nirvash."
"Tired, worn out, exhausted really." she replied. "Mischa said I should slow down a bit, but I can't because everyone is relying on us right now."
"It's understandable though. She just worries about you and the baby that's all."
"Yeah I know. I worry too. But there's only so much I can do right now."
"I know how you're feeling Eureka. I really do." Renton replied as he set his empty plate down. He then laid down next to her and held her in his arms. As the two were about to fall asleep, Holland and Talho walked into their room.
"Don't you guys know how to knock? Geez, I'm going to have to start locking that door." said Renton.
"That's enough Renton." Holland replied. "What was up with your attitude towards Talho earlier today? She thought you were kind of rude to her."
"Well she was being rude to me also, rushing me to get those darn battle reports done. I'm up to my eyeballs in reports! One more and I'll be going insane!"
"It's part of the job Renton. Why can't you get used to it?"
"I am used to them. But why can't you get someone else to do them for once?"
"Because there is no one else Renton!" said Talho.
"Yes there is." Eureka replied. "There's Dominic, Anemone, Hilda, Matthieu, and you Holland. So you can give Renton a break you know."
"Well they have things to do also Eureka. You should know that."
"And we don't? Me and Renton have hardly seen each other lately because of how busy we've been around here. We need a break from all this sometime."
"There's no time for that." said Holland. "We have too much to do at this point in time."
"Like what Holland?" asked Renton. "All we've done is fight, eat, sometimes sleep, do massive amounts of reports, and fight again! We need to stop sometime so we can all rest!"
"If you're so worried about rest then, why don't you just leave then?"
"Holland that's enough!!" said Talho. "Don't you dare chase them off this ship again."
"Well if you don't like the way we feel, maybe we will leave then." said Renton.
"That's enough out of you too Renton. Holland, you go to the bridge and cool off before I cool you off myself. You two stay here and get some sleep. We'll see you in the morning." After Talho said that, they finally left the room.
"Hey Renton, why did you threaten to leave the ship?"
"Because they don't care about how anyone feels anymore. All they're worried about is fighting this war right now. They really don't care if we all need rest or not. We all deserve better than that. I don't care if we are in a war or not."
"I'm sure they care Renton, but I do agree that we all need a break from this war. I know we just got back from our honeymoon, but we aren't used to getting this little rest or sleep like this, and we never will be at this pace."
"Well with the way things are going Eureka and with the way they're running things, we'll be passed out from exhaustion before we're done."
"That's true. I just hope things on the ship get better before too much longer or else we'll all suffer in the end."
"I don't think they will Eureka. I really don't."
"You aren't still thinking of leaving still are you?"
"Yeah I am. I know of a place we could go for the time being. There's an old abandoned cabin on the far edge of the forest outside of home. It's well hidden by trees on a hill near the lake and it'll be easy to hide the Nirvash there."
"Does anyone know about it?"
"Only me that I know of. I found it one day when I was still living there and had my motorcycle. It was still there the last I checked."
"Is it ok to stay there though?"
"It should be with a little bit of work of which I can handle easily."
"What about the children? We can't leave them behind."
"We won't dear. There's three bedrooms in the place so there's plenty of room for them to stay with us."
"If we did leave, when would we go?"
"We'll go tonight when everyone's in bed. That way they won't see or hear us."
"Ok Renton, let's go there then."
"Are you sure Eureka? I know how you hate leaving everyone in the middle of everything, especially this war."
"Yes I'm sure Renton. You, me, and our family come first over everything, and we need a break."
"Alright, we're leaving tonight then, so let's get ready."
"Morning everyone!" said Holland as he walked into the dining hall. "I hope everyone got a good nights rest."
"Yeah I know we did." Anemone replied. "It sure was a nice change of pace."
"Yeah but don't get used to it." said Hilda.
"We won't don't worry."
"Hey by the way, has anyone seen Eureka, Renton, and the kids yet?" asked Talho. "Usually they're the first ones up with everyone."
"No not yet." said Gidget. "That is kind of odd of them."
"I'll go check on them." said Anemone. "I'll be back in a few minutes."
"Report back when you find them." Talho replied. "Me and Holland owe them an apology. We've been kind of hard on them lately."
"Ok I will." said Anemone as she left the room. The first room she checked was Renton and Eureka's to make sure they still weren't sleeping and didn't find them there, even though she did find it strange that the bed hadn't been slept in that night, otherwise she thought nothing of it. When she checked the kid's room and both of the ships lounge areas and didn't see them there, she started to get a little worried at that point, but she continued her search. The last place she looked was the hangar, where she noticed the Nirvash was missing from it's dock. "Oh no!" she yelled as she ran to the nearest intercom. "Holland, Talho, someone! Please, answer quick!!"
"Anemone calm down. What's wrong?" asked Holland.
"The Nirvash! It's gone! I think they all jumped ship last night!"
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah I am considering the Nirvash isn't in the hangar!"
"Crap! Alright, I'm sending Dominic, Hilda, and Matthieu down. I want all of you to go out in the 606, 808, and the Venturion to see if we can find them, so get ready!"
"Roger that!"
"I want everyone else in the cockpit now! Let's get moving!"
"Right!" they all replied as they got up and ran to their stations.
"I'll get on the radio to Jurgens and let him know of the situation. That way they can help aid in their search."
"I warned you not to chase them off the ship Holland. Now look at what you've done." said Talho.
"Hey, you didn't help out much either Talho. You've been just as rough on them too." he replied as they walked towards the cockpit.
"Do you think they'll go to Bellforest then? It's the only place they know that they can call home."
"No that would be too obvious to them or us. Let's just hope we find them soon. We can't fight this war without them.
"Yeah you're right. We do owe them a major apology if we ever do find them though."
"We'll find them, not to worry about that. It should be pretty easy considering they have the Nirvash, which is easy to spot."
"I sure hope so."
"Hey momma, where are we?" asked Linck. The young family had just landed in the middle of the forest where the cabin Renton had found years ago was still sitting there in pretty good condition, even after being left alone for many years.
"It's our temporary home Linck." Eureka replied as they climbed out of the Nirvash. "We needed to take a break from the Gekko, so your father brought us here."
"How long will we be here momma?" asked Maeter.
"I'm not sure Maeter. We'll see how things go ok?"
"Ok momma."
"It should be ok with a little bit of work. All the trees around this area have kept it pretty well protected from the elements. Do you want to help fix it up Maurice?" asked Renton.
"Sure! Is it ok with you momma?"
"Of course Maurice. Go on and help your father anytime you want."
"Awesome!" he yelled as he ran ahead to the house.
"Linck, Maeter, you two and your mom can help out by cleaning the house while me and Maurice get things fixed around here." said Renton as they walked inside the cabin. "If we work hard enough, we'll have a real nice home within a few days time."
"Sounds great dear." Eureka replied as they set their stuff down. "I wonder if there's any power in here."
"Well find out in a second. Let me check the breaker box." As Renton started flipping the switches to the fuse box, the cabin luckily lit up with light. "Well, at least we know the electricity still works. I'll check the water in a few minutes."
"That's fine Renton. Why are there white sheets on the furniture?"
"To help keep any dust off. See?" and as he pulled the cover off the sofa, a plume of dust went flying into the air, causing them all to cough uncontrollably. "Well, I sure ain't doing that again."
"No we'll be more careful with the rest of them." Eureka replied.
"Hey papa, why is there three bedrooms back here?" asked Maeter.
"By the way it looks Maeter, you get your own bedroom."
"Cool!" she yelled.
"Hey, why does Maeter get her own room?" asked Linck.
"Well, your sister is getting older now. So she needs her privacy." Eureka replied gently.
"Oh, ok momma." after he said that, he ran into the room that he and Maurice would be sharing.
"Well, let's get to work shall we?" said Renton. And so for the next four or so days, the young family cleaned and repaired the older cabin, making it look like new again. Renton went through all the electrical, water, and heating systems with Maurice, showing him how to make sure things were working right and how to fix them if they weren't. They also went through all the windows and the roof to make sure they weren't leaking. Since they were all in good shape, they didn't have to work on them.
Eureka, Maeter, and Linck were put in charge of cleaning and dusting the home, which turned out to be a tedious job with all the years of dust that had collected. They also took care of the outside of the home, cleaning out the years of weeds that had grown all around it. By the time they were all done, the cabin looked like a brand new home, inside and out.
"Good job everyone, it looks great." said Renton. "I'll check into the place tomorrow to see if it's actually registered to anyone, even though I don't think it was as long as it's been sitting here."
"That's fine. It does look wonderful though." Eureka replied. "Hey Renton, if it doesn't belong to anyone, do you think there's a possibility we can own it?"
"Sure why not. With some convincing downtown, I'm sure we can do it."
"That would be wonderful Renton. It would be our first home together."
"Yeah it would be." he said as he put his arm around his wife. "Do you like that idea kids?"
"I like it! I finally have my own room!" said Maeter. Renton and Eureka laughed at her comment since they both thought it was cute.
"It's cool papa!" said Maurice. "I'm glad you showed me how to work on it."
"Anytime Maurice. What about you Linck? Do you like it?"
"Yeah I do!" he yelled happily.
"That's great to hear kids. I want to thank you all for helping out cleaning and fixing it up. Now let's go inside and relax for the rest of the night in our new home." Renton then took Eureka's hand as they followed the kids inside for the night.
The next day, Renton went to downtown Bellforest to check on the property. When they couldn't find any record of it or of anyone owning it, they gladly made out a deed for them making them the proud new owners of it. Renton was as excited as could be when he returned to their new home. Eureka was outside doing some more gardening and weeding when he got home.
"Eureka! You have to look at this! We just became the luckiest people in the world!"
"Why is that Renton?"
"Well look at this."
"What is it?" she asked while looking at the piece of paper.
"It's a deed."
"What's a deed?"
"A form showing ownership to a home or property."
"Then why is our names on it?"
"I checked into this place and they couldn't find any record of anyone owning it, so they made one up for us, making us the new owners of it.!"
"You mean this house is ours now?"
"Yes it is Eureka."
"That's wonderful Renton!" she said happily as she kissed and hugged her husband. "Kids, did you hear that? We own this now!"
"Yay!" they all replied cheerfully.
"Renton, our dream came true! We own our own home now! We are the luckiest family in the world!"
"Yes we are Eureka. Yes we are."
Two weeks later after three weeks of the young family being gone, the GekkoState still hadn't had any luck finding them, and they knew why they hadn't come back. It was due to Holland and Talho's pushing them around, and the crew constantly let them know that. Morale on the ship was again at an all time low, and Holland and Talho knew that in order to bring it back up, they would have to find them their selves and apologize personally.
"Ken-Goh, watch the ship for us while we're gone. Hilda is in charge of the LFO units along with Axel. The rest of you know what to do."
"Roger that. Just make sure you keep them home this time instead of chasing them off like you did Holland."
"Alright already! You guys have already made that point to us. We'll be staying at Axels place which has a radio in it, so we'll be staying in contact with you at all times. If anything comes up, we'll let you know."
"Ok, good luck you two. I'm sure it'll be a long shot in Bellforest and all, but maybe you'll finally get lucky down there."
"Thanks Ken-Goh. I'm sure we'll need all the luck we can get after what we did to them." Talho replied. "Let's go Holland. Let's find our kids."
"Alright. We're off then. See all of you soon." They then walked towards the hangar, hopped into the 606, and headed towards Bellforest.
When they arrived, Holland and Talho first stopped at Axels to unpack their and their sons things. When they walked into Eureka and Renton's room, Talho started to cry. She missed her only daughter and wanted them back with her.
"Come on Talho, be strong ok? I'm going to go check with the local authorities and city hall to find out if they've been in the area. If they have, they'll be the first to know. You stay here with Stephen and keep an eye on him while I'm gone. If I find anything I'll let you know."
"Ok Holland. Hurry back ok?"
"Don't worry, I will." He then gave Talho a gentle kiss and headed out to find their kids.
"I'm sorry sir, but we haven't seen him at all." said the officer at the desk. Holland's first stop was at the local police station. "But we do know the name and he is the hero of this city. We will keep an eye out for him. If we find him, we'll let you know."
"Ok officer, thank you."
"No problem sir. Have a good day now." Holland then walked out of the police station with a loud sigh and a heavy heart. "Well, scratch that idea. Now to check with city hall." Ten minutes later, he arrived at the small office building hoping he would have some luck there.
"Lets see, Thurston, Thurston. Ah ha! Here we go!" said the clerk at the counter. "Yes, we signed a cabin to him and his wife just three weeks ago."
"You mean he's been here?"
"That was the only time sir. Since he was the hero of this world, we didn't even think of charging him for it."
"I see. Do you know where it is by any chance?"
"No I don't sir. All I know is that it's somewhere in the mountain forest area outside of town. I guess they like how quiet and serene it is up there."
"Ok, thank you very much for your help ma'am. It's greatly appreciated."
"Anytime sir. Good luck on your search."
"Thanks." Holland replied and he left the building. Twenty minutes later, he arrived back at Axels and gave Talho the good news.
"So you're saying that they own their own home now?"
"That's what the lady said. They just signed it over to them about three weeks ago."
"Did they say where it was?"
"All they told me was that it was in the mountain forest region somewhere outside of town."
"That's a huge area though. How will we find them?"
"We'll track the Nirvash's movements with the 606 and maybe the Gekko if they don't spot that first."
"I'd only use the 606 Holland. If they see the Gekko, they may run again."
"That's true. Ok, I'll only use the 606 then. They'll have to come into town sooner or later for supplies and food. I'll track them at that time and get their coordinates. We'll go there after that and hopefully they'll talk to us."
"I sure hope they do Holland."
"So do I Talho. I'm going to go let the Gekko know of the situation. We'll go from there and see what happens."
"Alright Holland." Talho replied. He then went to the radio room and alerted the Gekko of the situation. He also told them to stay back out of radar range so that they wouldn't be seen since they didn't want them to run again. He also told them he'd give them an update as soon as anything else came up.
For the next few days, nothing was seen or heard on the 606's radar. For a moment they were ready to give up and go home, until something finally came up on the radar.
"Hey Talho I think we got them!" yelled Holland.
"Do you think so?"
"Give me a second to confirm it." As the moments ticked on, they almost felt like hours as they waited. "Yes it's them!"
"Great Holland! Where are they going?"
"They're coming into town. Probably for food and supplies. I'll track them when they are on their way home carefully so I don't get noticed. We should be able to see them tonight."
"Good job Holland. We never doubted you."
Two hours later, the Nirvash came back up on the 606's radar as they headed for home. Holland then followed them at a safe distance as not to be seen on their radar. Soon enough, he had the coordinates to where they lived. "Man, talk about living in the middle of nowhere." said Holland to himself as he headed back towards Axels.
"Did you get their location Holland?" asked Talho when he arrived home.
"Yeah I did, and man do they live way out into the woods."
"I guess they really didn't want to be found."
"Probably not. But we need them with us right now. The question is will they come home."
"I hope they do. I miss having them around."
"So do I Talho."
"Ok kids, let's get the groceries put away and then you can go play ok?"
"Ok papa!" they all replied. The life that they had all been living for the past month had been wonderful for them. No battles, fights, arguments, or anything of the sort were in their way. Instead they enjoyed quiet nights in front of the fireplace, time with their kids, quiet walks in the woods, and time to their selves when the kids were in bed. And all of that was enjoyed in their new home. While they were unloading the groceries, Eureka had a worried expression on her face.
"What's the matter Eureka?" asked Renton.
"I thought we were being followed earlier."
"I don't think we were Eureka. If we were, they would've shown up on the radar."
"True. Must be me I guess."
"It's alright. It happens to everyone sometimes. Let's go inside and put our things away. We can all relax by the fireplace afterwards."
"Ok dear." she replied.
"Hey Holland, are we sure about this?" asked Talho as they were flying towards Renton and Eureka's new home. "I don't want them to think we're following them."
"We have to be. We were wrong in the way we treated them, and they need to know that. We also need them with us so we can win this war. It's can't be done without them."
"But what if they refuse Holland? We can't force them to come back you know."
"Yes I realize that. We'll just have to show them that we need them more than anything else in this world, and we do."
"Yeah we do. I just hope they realize that."
"So do I. Well, there they are. Look down towards your left."
"Wow, that's a nice looking place they have there. No wonder no one could find it. It's almost buried by trees."
"Yeah it is, and there's the Nirvash. Looks like we should be able to land next to it."
"Are you ready then Holland?"
"Not really, but we know what we have to do, so let's get it over with."
"Ok, let's do this then." Talho replied as they landed.
At the same time, Renton and Eureka were laying cuddled up on their sofa watching the kids play on the floor when someone knocked on their door.
"Who would be way out here?" asked Renton to himself as he got up and answered the door. When he opened it, he didn't like who he saw.
"Holland. How did you find us? And what do you want?" he asked in an angry tone.
"Relax Renton. We only want to talk."
"Sure you do."
"We do Renton." said Talho. "Can we come in please?"
"Well, I guess you can. Kids, go on outside and play so we can talk ok?"
"Ok papa!" they replied and they ran outside.
"Hi Eureka." said Talho.
"Talho." she replied in a cold, firm tone. It was not a tone that Talho was used to, and it made her a little sad how she said it.
"You two have a nice place set up here." said Holland, trying to break the ice.
"So what do you two want?"
"For all of you to come home Renton."
"We are home Holland." said Eureka. "We aren't going to go back with the way you treated us."
"That's one of the things we wanted to talk to you about." Talho replied. "We want to apologize for all that we did to you. We didn't realize what we had done to you until after you had all left us. The entire crew let us know that everyday that we looked for you."
"They did eh? You deserved it." said Renton.
"And you're right about that, even though I hate to admit it to myself." Holland replied. "I just have a hard time believing we chased you away again."
"Yeah, well, you did. You let your so called job get the best of you again."
"Yes we did, and we're sorry for that. It's one mistake we'll probably never live down again."
"So what makes you think we'll come back with you to the Gekko?" asked Eureka.
"Because we need you two more than anything to help win this war. Without you two and the Nirvash, it can't be done." said Talho. "I know it sounds lame, but it's true. Everyone else is relying on you two also. They need you there with them."
"That may be Talho, but we can't work in those kinds of conditions. They're driving us apart up there."
"And we can't have that." Renton continued as he put his arm around Eureka. "We love each other too much to lose each other to a war."
"Were we driving that much of a wedge between you two?" Holland asked.
"Yes you were, which is why we're here now. It helped us avoid that problem before it happened."
"Wow, I didn't think we made it that bad."
"Yes you did. That's why we're afraid to go back."
"And we can't say we blame you at all you two." said Talho. "But our family just isn't complete without you guys being with us. I guess this is the first time we're saying it, but we love you guys. It's like you two are our own kids. We miss all of you."
"We miss you guys too." Eureka replied. "We're just not sure if we're ready to come back yet."
"Well, we're staying at Axel's place right now. We'll be there for a few more days yet, so it'll give you guys time to make your decision. You can contact us anytime while we're there."
"Ok, thank you mom for understanding us." said Eureka as she walked over and gave her a hug.
"Thank you dear. You have no idea how much I needed that."
"Renton, I'm glad we could talk tonight. We'll be at Axel's if you need anything."
"Thanks Holland. We'll let you know what our decision is when the time comes. We'll keep in contact so don't worry."
"Anytime son. Just let us know soon ok?"
"We will don't worry." Renton replied as Holland, Talho, and Stephen climbed into the 606.
"We'll see you guys later then ok?" said Holland. They then started up the 606 and took off into the early evening sky.
"Do you think they'll come back Holland?" asked Talho as they flew home.
"I hope so dear, for everyone's sake."
"What should we do Renton?" asked Eureka as they watched them take off.
"I don't know Eureka. I really don't know."
Two days later, Holland received a call from Renton early in the afternoon.
"What did he want Holland?" asked Talho.
"They just invited us over for dinner. They said they made their decision."
Later on in the afternoon, Holland, Talho, and Stephen arrived at Renton and Eureka's home. Eureka was the first one to greet them.
"Hi mom!" she yelled.
"Well hey you!" said Talho as they climbed down. "I can tell you're in a better mood."
"Yes I am." she replied as she gave her a hug. "Come on inside. Renton's been cooking almost all afternoon."
"Sounds like another huge meal. I hope I can stomach it."
"Oh Holland, come on now." Talho replied as they walked inside.
"Hey everyone!" said Renton when they walked in. "Suppers ready!"
"Smells good Renton. You didn't have to cook this long for us."
"I know. Force of habit I guess." he replied as they all sat down at the table. "Anyways, you know what we called you here for."
"Yes we do. You two made your decision."
"Yes we did."
"What did you two decide?" asked Holland.
"We're coming back to the Gekko, but only under certain terms."
"What terms are those?"
"We're only there to help with the war, and nothing else. No more of just me doing battle reports. We also want more time off, especially as far along as Eureka is getting in her pregnancy. We'll of course help with the regular ship duties, but that's it. My time with Eureka and the kids comes first before anything."
"I don't know if I can work with those terms Renton."
"If you don't, then we don't come back. That's all there is to it Holland."
"We'll do it." said Talho. "I can relate to where they're coming from. I'll agree with them."
"But Talho," Holland replied. "We need them for more than they're asking for."
"No we don't. The rest of the crew can help cover for them. If Renton and Eureka want more time together since she's getting farther along, then they can have it. Family comes first before anything to them, and you know that."
"Ok, fine. We'll do it. But I'm not happy about it."
"Too bad. You'll get over it Holland. I'll make sure of it. Welcome back you two."
"Thanks Talho." Renton replied. "One more thing though."
"And what's that Renton."
"We want to also come back here and stay occasionally whenever possible since this is our new home."
"That's perfectly fine Renton. You guys put a lot of work into this place from what I can tell, so you can come back at any time that you feel the need to."
"Thank you Talho." Eureka replied. "We really appreciate everything that you're doing for us."
"Anytime dear. We're just glad to have you back with us."
"Us too. When do we go back then?"
"Tomorrow Eureka. So all of you had better get ready tonight."
"Ok we will then." said Eureka as they finished dinner. "Thank you for coming over tonight. I guess we'll see you tomorrow then?"
"Plan on it. Thanks for dinner you guys."
"Anytime Talho. See you tomorrow!" said Renton as they were leaving.
"See you later!" yelled Talho as they took off in the 606.
"Well, they agreed to what we wanted. Now lets see if they keep that promise."
"I'm sure they will Renton." said Eureka as she took her husbands hand. "I know Talho will make sure of it. We had better go get ready then."
"Yeah we better. It's time to go finish this war, but on our terms now."