-1Chapter 19- new revelations
"Eureka? EUREKA!!" yelled Talho as she ran towards her. Eureka had just collapsed and fallen to the floor of the ship while she was walking the hallways. When Talho got to her, she was curled up in a ball, wincing from pain.
"Mom! The pain, it hurts. What's wrong with my baby?" she asked worryingly.
"I don't know. Hang on dear, I'll go get help!" Talho then quickly ran up the hall to Mischa's office.
"Talho, what's wrong?" asked Mischa as she burst in.
"It's Eureka! There's something's wrong with her. Come on!"
"Right! Nadia, if you want to help redeem yourself, now's the time to do it!"
"Right behind you! Let's go!" she replied. When they got back to Eureka, she was still curled up laying on the floor with Hilda next to her.
"Eureka, what's wrong?" asked Mischa when they got there.
"I don't know. The pains just started. What's going on with my baby?"
"We'll figure that out soon enough. Nadia, get one of the rolling beds out of the medical room now!"
"Right! I'm on it!" she replied as she ran back up the hallway towards the medical room.
"Hilda, Talho, I want you to help me get her on the bed when Nadia gets back."
"Right, we're on it." said Hilda.
"Alright, I got the bed!" said Nadia a minute later.
"Good job. Ok you two, one, two, three, lift!" and they lifted Eureka onto the bed.
"Talho, Hilda, stay with me please." said Eureka as they rolled her to the medical room.
"Sure sweetie. We'll be in the room with you the entire time ok?" said Hilda.
"Thanks Hilda." Eureka replied quietly.
"Sure. Anytime dear." said Talho as they walked into the medical room.
A couple of hours later, Mischa and Nadia finally got Eureka stabilized.
"Is she ok Mischa?" asked Talho.
"Yeah she is. All she had were premature labor pains. The baby is fine and is progressing well."
"That's good to hear." said Hilda with a tone of relief to her voice. "Anything else?"
"Yes. I'm putting her on Bed rest from now on. It'll be the best thing for her and the baby. She only has a few more months left so I want things to be as quiet and as comfortable as possible for her."
"Wait! That means….." said Talho.
"Yes Talho, I'm afraid so. I'm grounding her, which also possibly means grounding the Nirvash also until further notice."
"But we need them Mischa!!"
"Do you want to risk her losing her baby Talho? Do you want that responsibility?"
"No, I don't."
"Fine. You'll follow my orders if you want what's best for her."
"I know. We will don't worry."
"Good. I'll inform Holland of the situation also. Eureka, how are you feeling now?"
"Better I guess. Thanks for everything. You too Nadia."
"Yeah, you did good Nadia. We couldn't have asked for anything better." said Hilda.
"Thanks everyone. It makes me feel better knowing that I can help out around here."
"No problem Nadia. Hey Mischa, is it ok if we put her with you full time?"
"I don't see why not. I could always use a little help around here."
"Thanks you guys! I really appreciate it!"
"Hey Anytime. Eureka, are you able to move at all?"
"Yeah Hilda, I think so."
"Alright then. Since we don't have any wheelchairs here, do you think you can carry her to her room Hilda?" asked Mischa.
"Sure thing. Come on Eureka, let's get you settled in."
"Ok. Thank you Hilda."
A few minutes later, Hilda arrived at Renton and Eureka's room. Renton was sitting on the bed with the kids going over their study guides.
"Eureka, what happened?" asked Renton as Hilda carried her in.
"Early labor pains Renton. She and the baby are fine. Mischa has her on bed rest from now on other than meals and personal care times."
"But that means the Nirvash could be grounded!"
"I'm afraid so Renton. No more battles for you guys. Just errands and supply runs, which I'm sure you can handle."
"Yeah I can. At least you're ok Eureka."
"Yes dear I am."
"Hey Renton, can you guys move so I can get her in bed? My arms are getting tired."
"Oh, yeah, sorry Hilda. Get out of the way kids."
"Ok papa." they replied. The kids then moved and Hilda set Eureka down on their bed.
"Thanks again Hilda for the help." said Eureka."
"Sure, anytime. You just take it easy ok?"
"Yes Hilda I will."
"Alright, I'll see you later then." and Hilda left the room.
"Are you upset Renton?" asked Eureka.
"No, I'm fine. I'm just glad you and the baby are ok." he replied as he hugged her.
"We are too momma!!" said Maeter as they also hugged their mom.
"Thanks guys. Now how about we get back to work on those study guides ok?"
"Ok." the kids replied.
Back in the medical room, Mischa and Nadia were cleaning up after the incident.
"Nadia, you did well today. I didn't think you knew that much about medicine."
"Yeah I do. I was a nurse at a hospital before I started working at Tresor. I love helping people, but science is my real passion."
"I see. Well , you definitely took a big step in redeeming yourself today. I'm proud of you."
"Thanks Mischa."
"Sure. I'm going to put you in charge of Eureka's care for now, but I will be monitoring things also as things go along."
"Thank you so much!! I won't let you down, I promise!"
"I'll hold you to that promise Nadia. I'm going to report to Holland what's going on. Stay here and finish cleaning up ok?"
"Sounds good. See you in a few."
A little bit later, Mischa found Holland in the cockpit of the ship.
"Hey Mischa. I heard about what happened to Eureka. Is she ok?"
"She's fine Holland. She's resting comfortably in her room. Here's my report." As Holland read the report, he saw what he didn't want to see.
"So you're grounding Eureka. You know what that means right?"
"Yes I do. I know you may not like that idea, but it's best for her and the baby. With the fainting spell and now this, I'm not taking any more chances with either her or the baby."
"I see. We'll, it can't be helped I guess. Good job taking care of her. Hopefully Renton can do things on his own."
"Only time will tell really. I have Nadia watching over Eureka right now as we speak."
"Is that really a good idea Mischa?"
"Don't worry, I'll be watching over her, so she knows she's being watched."
"Good. Have Hilda watch her on the side also just to be safe."
"Sounds good. Anything else?"
"Not at this time. Thanks Mischa."
"Sure Holland. Anytime."
"Eureka! Are you ok?" asked Anemone frantically. She had finally just heard what happened and quickly ran down to her room.
"Relax Anemone, I'm just fine." she replied softly.
"Thank god. I was worried sick." said Anemone as she sat down on their sofa out of breath. "That's why I ran down here." Eureka just giggled softly and said "Thanks for caring sis."
"Sure, anytime." she replied, still out of breath. "Where's Renton by the way?"
"Him and Maurice went to go get lunch for all of us."
"Why didn't you go with him?"
"Mischa put me on bed rest from now on. I'm only allowed to move around to keep my strength up, but that's it."
"But that means no more fighting, which means no more Nirvash."
"Yes I know. I hate the idea myself, but I don't want to endanger our child anymore either, so I'll go with Mischa's orders."
"That's understandable. Why don't you and Renton go back to your place then?"
"That would be nice, but I want to stick around until the last month or so. I want to be with my family as long as I can. I just hope this war is over by that time."
"So do I sis." Just then Renton and Maurice returned with the lunches.
"Oh, hi Anemone. If I knew you were coming I would have gotten you lunch too." said Renton.
"That's alright Renton. I'll get something a little later on."
"That's fine. Is everything ok then?"
"Oh yeah, everything's ok. I was just checking on Eureka since I just heard what happened."
"Well thanks for your concern Anemone. It's really appreciated."
"Sure, anytime. What do you have planned for the rest of the day then?"
"Just helping the kids with their study guides since they've gotten behind a little bit."
"Can I help out too?"
"Sure Anemone. We'll take the boys and you can work with Maeter." said Eureka.
"Sounds great. You don't mind though do you?"
"Of course not. You don't mind do you Maeter?"
"No momma. I don't mind at all."
"Ok. Go over by Anemone then. If we work together, we'll be done faster."
"Ok momma." Maeter replied as she went over by Anemone.
"Alright, let's get to work everyone. We can eat while we do." The group then got to work helping the kids with their study guides.
"Hey Dominic, do you know where Anemone is?" asked Talho.
"No I don't. I haven't seen her all day. Why?"
"Just wondering that's all. What are you up to?"
"More military work. It seems that when we took out that last base, it did more damage to the rebels than we thought it would."
"Why do you say that?"
"Well, come to find out, that was their main supply base after all, which explains why it was so heavily fortified."
"How long will that last though?"
"Don't know. It's really hard to tell at this time. We'll find out as time goes on I guess."
"What's your opinion on this war being over before Renton and Eureka's baby comes?"
"You want the truth?"
"Yeah, I do."
"Chances are we'll be fighting long after it's born."
"Is there any way that can be changed?"
"At this point no, unless there's a miracle out there somewhere."
"Let's just pray there is Dominic."
Back in Renton and Eureka's room, the children along with their parents and Anemone had finally finished helping the kids get caught up.
"Man that was tiring. What time is it anyways?" asked Anemone.
"Ah, the clock says it's six." Eureka replied.
"Oh my, its dinnertime. I'll get everyone's food. Be back in a few."
"I'll go with you!" said Maeter. Anemone just giggled and said "Ok, let's go Maeter."
"She sure gets along great with the kids." said Renton after she and Maeter left.
"Yeah she does." Eureka replied.
"Actually, that reminds me of something. Maurice, I've got something for you."
"What is it Renton?"
"Open the package and find out Maurice." he replied as he handed Maurice a small box. As Maurice opened it, his eyes went wide along with his smile.
"COOL!! My first compact drive!! Thanks Renton!!"
"You're welcome Maurice, you deserve it. I think you're old enough to handle one now."
"Just make sure you take care of it Maurice." said Eureka.
"I will momma."
"Can I have one too momma?" asked Linck.
"When you're older dear ok."
"Oh, ok momma." At that time, Anemone and Maeter returned with everyone's dinner.
"Hey Maurice, what do you have there?" asked Anemone.
"Renton gave me my first compact drive!" he replied.
"Cool! Congrats Maurice!"
"Thanks Anemone."
"You're welcome. Here's dinner everyone!"
"Thanks Anemone for getting it for us. Hey, do you have any plans for tonight?" asked Eureka.
"No, why?"
"Well, would you like to watch a movie with us and the kids?"
"Sure! I can do that."
"Sounds great. Let's eat everyone."
The next morning while eating in the dining hall, Dominic had an upset look on his face.
"What's wrong Dominic?" asked Hilda.
"Oh, Anemone never came to bed last night. In fact, I never saw her at all yesterday."
"That's strange of her. I wonder where she could have gone?"
"The last I saw her, she was with Renton, Eureka, and the kids." said Doggie.
"Well why didn't I think of that?" said Dominic, head hanging down and shaking it. "It's so obvious."
"Lets go check on them anyways. It's about time they got up anyhow." said Holland.
"Oh Holland, let them be." Talho replied. "I'd never wake you up if you were still sleeping."
"Yeah, I guess you're right. How about we all quietly look in on them just to make sure they're ok?"
"Now that we can do."
When everyone arrived at their room, they all quietly looked inside and just about cried at the scene they saw. Renton and Eureka were asleep under their covers while the boys were asleep between them above the covers. Anemone was passed out on the sofa with Maeter stretched out in front of her. It was the perfect family scene.
"They must have fell asleep watching a movie. The TV is still on." whispered Hilda.
"Yeah I think they did. It's so cute though. It almost makes you want to cry." Talho replied quietly.
"I already am." said Gidget. "It's such a happy scene."
"You should be proud of her Dominic." said Holland.
"I am Holland. I have the most wonderful wife in the world."
"Renton might argue otherwise." said Talho with a quiet giggle.
"Yeah I'm sure he would."
"Hey Stoner, can you get some shots of this?" asked Talho.
"Already got them. That's a real family there, just like the rest of us."
"Yeah it is." said Hilda. "Lets let them be now. They'll wake up soon enough I'm sure."
"Alright, lets go everyone. Back to work." said Holland. "Stoner, when can you get those developed?"
"I'll get to them right away. I'll give you those and the other ones I promised you also."
"Sounds good. See you soon then."
"You got it leader."
A little while later, the young family finally began to stir as the morning sun shined into their room.
"Hi Renton." said Eureka.
"Hi dear. Looks like we all fell asleep during the movie last night."
"Yeah it looks that way. Even Anemone did. Look on the sofa." When Renton did, he noticed Anemone and Maeter still asleep stretched out on the sofa. The scene brought a warm feeling to his heart.
"I guess we had better wake them up. We have things to do today."
"Like what Renton?"
"I told Holland I'd help with some of the maintenance for the ship before we get to Tresor."
"Ok that's fine. You wake the boys, I'll get Anemone."
"Works for me." he replied. As he woke up Maurice and Linck, Eureka went over to the sofa to wake up Anemone and Maeter.
"Morning Eureka." said Anemone. "Where am I?"
"You fell asleep with your niece next to you last night."
"My niece?"
"Well, you are my sister, which makes you the aunt of our kids." Anemone's face just lit up with a warm smile. "Yeah, that is true. What time is it?"
"About nine thirty."
"That's fine. What's for breakfast?"
"Don't know yet. We haven't gotten that far."
"Alright. I'll wake Maeter up while you get the boys going."
"Ok sis."
"Maeter dear, time to wake up." said Anemone as she gently shook her.
"Hi Anemone." said Maeter as she slowly woke up.
"Good morning."
"Are we still in momma and papa's room?"
"Yes we are. We all fell asleep in here last night."
"Oh ok. Hi momma and papa!"
"Morning Maeter." said Renton. "Ok, everyone's up. Who's hungry?"
"I think we all are Renton." Anemone replied.
"Alright, let's go eat then. Are you able to come with us Eureka?"
"Sure dear. I'm feeling a lot better today."
"That's good to hear. Let's go everyone."
Back in the meeting room, Holland, Talho, Ken-goh, and Dominic were going over their next plan of action.
"So when we get back to Tresor, what do we do about Nadia?" asked Ken-goh.
"I'd like to keep her around to help rehabilitate her a little bit more. She's been doing great so far, but I'm not sure if she's quite ready to go yet." said Talho.
"That's fine. What about the LFO she stole?"
"That's going back to Tresor for dismantling, unless there's a reason we need it here." said Holland.
"I see no reason to keep it here so far, even though it does have a sad look on it's face. It's almost like it's looking for it's pilot." said Talho.
"Yeah it does, doesn't it? Too bad it'll probably never find it." Holland replied.
"No doubt about that. How many days before we reach Tresor then?" asked Dominic.
"We're not sure yet. We'll probably know within the next day or two."
"Alright, let's go into patrol mode then. We'll send the 606 and the 808 out to scout the area. Put everyone else on regular ship duties."
"Sounds like a plan Ken-goh. I'll go check on Stephen. See you on the bridge Holland." said Talho.
"See you in a few. Let's go Ken-goh." said Holland.
A couple of days later as Maurice was making his bed, he heard the compact drive that Renton had given him go off.
"What's this?" he asked himself as he looked at it. "And who is Ariana?" A little bit later, he found Renton in the lounge talking to Eureka.
"Papa! I think there's something wrong with this compact drive you gave me!"
"Why? What's wrong Maurice?"
"It went off by itself a little bit ago." he replied as he handed it to Renton.
"Well, it seems to be working fine from what I can tell Maurice." Renton replied as he looked at it. "What exactly did it do?"
"Well, when it turned on by itself, a name also came up on it."
"A…..Name?" asked Renton wide eyed and with a worried tone.
"What did it say?" asked Eureka.
"It said "Ariana". who's Ariana?"
"Not sure. But listen Maurice, don't worry about it for now. Just keep an eye on it. If it happens again, let us know."
"Ok papa. Thanks!" and he ran out the door and to his room.
"Renton, you don't think?"
"I don't know Eureka. I sure hope not." Renton replied. That same night as everyone was sleeping, Maurice tossed and turned as a voice rang inside his head. When he finally woke up, he instinctively went down to the hangar, where for some reason, Eureka was there also.
"Momma, what's going on?" asked Maurice.
"I don't know Maurice. Ever since you mentioned that your compact drive went off, I've been able to sense something about this LFO that Nadia had."
"Yeah, me too for some reason. It was like it was calling me as I slept."
"Calling you Maurice?"
"Yes momma. It was the weirdest feeling I've ever had."
"Maurice, do you have your compact drive with you?"
"Yeah, right here momma."
"Can I see it?"
"Ok." he replied. As he handed it to Eureka, it once again glowed brightly with the name "Ariana" inside."
"What's going on? It can't be!" said Eureka as she looked at it and then the LFO.
"Momma, let me try something." said Maurice as he walked up to the LFO.
"NO Maurice!! Don't!" she yelled.
"It'll be ok mom. Trust me." And as he put his right hand on the LFO, it's eyes glowed a soft green.
"Mom, it's talking to me."
"It is? What is it saying?"
"Please save me. Don't let them destroy me."
"It's……. going to be destroyed at Tresor? They can't do that to this child!"
"I know momma! It wants us to save him somehow."
"What else is it saying?"
"Nothing, it's shaking, almost like it's scared."
"Can you talk back to it?"
"I think so. Give me a second." he then closed his eyes and concentrated. As he did, the LFO's eyes grew brighter. "Momma, he trust's us. He knows we'll save him."
"That's good Maurice. Good job. I can sense he's happier now. You did well."
"Thanks mom. Let's go back to bed now ok?"
"Alright. Let's go." And as they left the hangar, the eyes of the lost hope glowed a happy, peaceful green.
A couple of days later, the GekkoState finally limped its way into Tresor. Unfortunately as they landed, a few more parts fell off the battered ship.
"The damaged VRF just fell off! The damaged Engine lost a few parts too!!" said Hap.
"It's ok. We're landed now and everything is normal." said Holland. "Doggie, get us docked up ok?"
"Roger that."
"Talho, check on Eureka and make sure she's ok after that rough landing."
"Alright, I'm on it." she replied as she left the cockpit.
"Everyone else stay on patrol mode. Half of you take a break while the others stay on duty. We'll switch in several hours."
"Roger that!" everyone replied.
A little bit later, Holland and Morita met up once again in one of the hangars.
"You're making a habit of this Holland." Morita chuckled.
"Believe me, we're not trying to."
"It's alright. Do you have the Losthope with you?"
"Yes we do along with Nadia."
"Ok. I'll have security escort her off to a cell right now."
"No, don't do that. We'd actually like to keep her on board the ship. We've been working with her and she has improved greatly, so we would like to continue that."
"Are you sure? Even after all that she has done?"
"Yeah, we're sure."
"Alright then, that'll be acceptable. Let's get the LFO off then. That way we can begin disassembling it right away."
"Ok, let's get it done then."
"No you're not!" Maurice yelled as he ran into the ships hangar.
"Maurice, wait!! What are you doing? Get out of there!" yelled Holland.
"You're not destroying him!!" Maurice replied as he climbed into the Losthope. "Ok Losthope, I believe in you and have trust in you. Lets show them that you're not dangerous." he said while he plugged in his compact drive. When he did, it's eyes lit up an intense green and the instrument panel came alive. "Alright, let's go!" and it shot off the ship and down the runway.
"No way!! Maurice!" yelled Renton as he ran off the ship. "How does he know how to pilot it?"
"I've been showing him over the last couple of days." said Eureka from behind him.
"But why Eureka?"
"Just watch and you'll see dear." As the group of four watched, Maurice took the Losthope to the skies above as the others stared in awe.
"Ok, lets show them your true colors Losthope!" said Maurice happily. And with that said, the LFO reacted to his happy, hopeful spirit, changing his colors but retaining his form.
"No way! It can't be! Impossible!" yelled Morita.
"Maurice? No way! Is there another earth born coralian out there somewhere?" asked Holland.
"Not that we know of. At least we haven't heard any reports of one. If there is, you're going to have to find her right away."
"Yeah no kidding."
"Eureka, it's amazing! Our son an LFO pilot!"
"Yes he is dear. I'm proud of him."
"And so am I." Renton replied as he put his arm around his wife. "The colors are amazing too. The green and white suits him well." And the colors were just that: Green and white. The form of it had never changed. To Renton and Eureka, it looked just like the spec one version of the Nirvash, a memory that made them both smile.
"Eureka, who is that?" asked Anemone as she and the rest of the crew came running out.
"It's Maurice piloting it."
"But how? And why did it change colors? It was as black as the night time sky before. What happened?"
"It reacted to his happy attitude and his hope for a brighter future. It's his LFO now."
"Morita, I think we had better rename this one now." said Talho. "It looks like we have a new ally on our side."
"I guess you're right Talho. No longer will it be called the Losthope. Because of Maurice's spirit, it will now be called the type zero Newhope.
"And it fits. We have a lot of hope on this ship. I guess this just adds to it."
"Yes it does. I'll go change the archetypes name in the system and register it with the NFA. I'll also try to hack into the rebel forces database and see if they have any info on a new humanoid coralian being born."
"Thanks Morita." Holland replied. "Gidget, go run up to the radio and have him land. No more LFO's on this ship also. We've reached our capacity of six now."
"Hey Holland, you got to admit that you're proud of him." said Talho.
"Yeah, I am." he replied with a warm smile.
A little bit later, the Newhope was landed and secured back into the ship. Meanwhile, Morita and Sonia were searching for any new info on another humanoid coralian being born.
"Anything Sonia?" asked Morita.
"No, nothing yet. They made their firewalls really hard to crack, so obviously they're hiding something out there."
"Well, we'll keep trying tomorrow. How is work on the Gekko going?"
"It's progressing well. If the crew works fast enough, they should be done and ready to go in about two to three days."
"Wow, that's good to hear. How about Eureka?"
"Mischa has her on bed rest right now. She got the third degree from her for being up earlier."
Morita laughed at the story. "Yeah, she can be harsh at times. Alright, let's get some rest. We'll continue our search tomorrow."
Back on the Gekko, Renton was in their room eating a late night snack with Eureka, who was still upset about her little spat with Mischa.
"How are you feeling dear?" asked Renton.
"Ok I guess. I still don't think Mischa had any right to yell at me like that."
"I would've helped, but I couldn't get a word in edgewise with her."
"It's alright Renton, thanks for trying though. How's Maurice doing?"
"He's holding up great. I couldn't be prouder of him. He's grown up faster than I thought he would."
"I'm happy to hear that. I just don't want him in any battles yet."
"Don't worry about that. I'll talk to Holland and let him know. Maurice will need a lot of practice before he's ready to do anything with that LFO."
"That's fine. Hey Renton, can I say something?"
"About what?"
"Our baby."
"What about it Eureka?"
"When I'm on my final month, I want to go home."
"At our home or at grandpas?"
"Our home."
"Are you sure? That means leaving the Gekko again."
"Yes, I'm sure. I want to be out of this war before our child arrives."
"Ok, that's fine dear. I'll alert Holland of that also."
"Thank you Renton."
"Anything for my wife. Let's get some sleep now. It's been a very long day and I'm tired. I'll see you in the morning. I love you."
"I love you too Renton. Goodnight dear."
Meanwhile at a rebel military base.
"Isn't she responding to anyone or anything at all?"
"No sir. Other than eating and sleeping, all she does is sit and stare out the window."
"Well, keep working with her. Maybe she'll eventually speak to someone or finally react to something."
"Yes sir, I will."
Meanwhile back on the Gekko.
"Hey Holland, can I ask you something?" asked Talho.
"Sure. What's up?"
"Well, I know Eureka and Anemone are practically adults, but how about we try to legally adopt them into our family?"
"You know what Talho, that's a pretty good idea. Let's do it."
"You really think so?"
"Sure, why not?"
"Thank you Holland! I'll talk to them tomorrow and give them the good news. I hope they don't mind."
"I'm sure they weren't Talho. Goodnight now. I'll see you in the morning."
"Goodnight dear." she replied. She then gave him a gentle kiss and fell into a happy, peaceful slumber.