Chapter 9: A Drink and a Plan
"And you two say that this happened wile you were training?" The nurse questioned Alistar and Bear as she treated them "Um, yes. Ah" Bear said slowly as she set his broken nose "Well injuries like this don't happen in a sim pod" She said cynically, tightly raping a bandage around Alistar's ribs. He winced at the pressure on his bruised ribs but held as still as he could "To be fair we weren't in a sim pod" He said when she finneshed "Not in a sim pod? I should report the both of you for unsafe training" She replied reaching for a data pad, but before she did they heard "I'll take care of that" It was Gates walking in her usual armor and helmet on "After all they are my pilots" "Uh yes ma'am" The nurse said and walked away. The three of them watched as she did then Gates turned to look at them "Reported for unsafe training" Gates repeated and a second later they all were laughing at the ridiculous idea of the two of them in the brig. Alistar had to stop on account of his ribs giving him grief for the effort "You two are something else" Gates said when she stopped laughing "Oh no here comes that nurse again" Bear said and Alistar turned to see the nurse and a doctor heading over "That sounds like a you problem" Alistar said standing up "What do you mean a you problem?" Bear asked "You're breathing is going to have to be monitored for the next few hours" "What about you then?" "I wasn't punched in the ribs and broke their nose" "You're a real pal, you know that" "Glad to be appreciated" Alistar said bowing slightly as he walked out. Gates chuckled to her self, patted Bear on the arm knowing he would be ok and headed after Alistar to make sure he didn't get in any more trouble. "You know he doesn't like sitting in hospitals" She said when she caught up to him "Nobody dose" He said a smile on his face "So what are you going to do now?" She asked lowering her tone "I don't know, maybe I'll go get some ice cream" He replied off handedly "That's not what I meant and you know it" She said giving him a light punch on the shoulder "Ah, careful I'm injured remember" He acted pained at the impact "Oh the poor injured pilot" She said sarcastically "Perhaps I should check your bio monitor" She continued and he smiled for a second then went serious "I don't know if it could tell you what's wrong" "I don't know if it could, but I think getting out with people you know would help" As she said this she moved a little closer to get a better gage on his reaction. He took a deep breath as he walked saying "I don't know, maybe you're right El maybe a familiar face would help but all the people that I might recognize are gone" "Well I'm here if you need me" She said "I know and I intend to make use of as much of your time as I can. You and Bear are the only friends I have right now, but I think I can make another" "What do you mean?" "I believe that Barker promised me a drink"
Alistar stepped in the door and blinked a couple of times trying to adjust his eyes to the inside of the bar where he was told Barker would be. He took a few steps further in and could see the bar was in a U shape in the center of the room and against one wall with booths around the edges and some tables on the floor and some space to dance. The bar was empty except for Barker sitting at the bar and the bartender "About time you came by" Barker said when he saw Alistar in the door way "I figured I could use that drink now" Alistar replied walking up and sitting next to Barker "I think you could use a bit more than one" He replied as the bartender pored Alistar a glass "I would not argue with you there" Al said grabbing his glass and they both took a drink. Al set his drink down and exhaled slowly as the burning feeling moved down his throat and settled in his lower chest "You good?" Barker asked upon seeing his reaction "I'm good just out of practice" He said and took another drink but this time a little smaller "You know its kind of funny what you're doing" Barker said taking a drink of his own "In what way?" "Most people drink to forget or to dull the pain you, well you are already there" "You have a point, but I don't think anybody wants to forget this bad" "Well you're right but people get that drinking to forget thing wrong all the time. You drink to lesson the pain for a little bit just to stop hurting long enough to feel some thing else not to lose it all completely" "You sound like one who has tried" "And failed, though I didn't think it was possible to completely forget something" "Its not, not technically any way" "Really?" "Ya its on account that as you learn something it makes new neural path ways in your brain and the only way to really forget something is if those pathways are destroyed or that a block is placed on that path. I think that's one of the reasons why I have a computer in my head is so that I couldn't place a block" "That you couldn't place a block?" "Yes with like severe trauma or shock, nothing I could do willingly or unwillingly could block anything it would have to come from an external source" Alistar trailed off with those last words and stared into this glass. "Oh I get what you are saying I- You have an idea don't you?" "I, think I do, thanks for the drink" Al said quickly as he rushed out "You're welcome" Barker said to no one.
"Why are we here again?" Sarah asked as the three of them sat in the command room "I don't know Alistar said he wanted to talk to the three of us" Gates replied from the chair she was sitting in "Well I don't mind sitting here a little just to see what he has to say" Barker said "Yes but you probably don't have anything better to do" Sarah almost snapped back as she leaned on the holo table. It was a few minuets later that Alistar walked in and said "Sorry that took so long my tests went longer than I thaught they would" "What tests?" Gates asked since she had been keeping a close eye on his medical reports "I was doing some special tests with Storm on an idea I got from talking to Barker" He said and placed a small computer on the table and plugged it in "An idea from Barker, well it can't be that good of an idea" Gates said teasing Barker and Barker stood up saying "I never clamed that any of my ideas were good just useful" "What is this idea to begin with" Sarah asked "Well to put it simply, I know how to get my memories back and figure out what this Dr. Tanoge is doing" This peaked Sarah's interest "How would you do that?" She asked "The loss of my memories is not natural, it's from an external source someone hacking into my neural lace. That someone is Dr. Tanoge, Storm and I did some testing to check this and the loss of my memories is an external block on those memories by someone trying accessing them" Alistar said typing on his computer "I see" Sarah said and let Alistar continue "I checked the SRS file on the good doctor and it says he is looking into human enhancement to make the few IMC troops here more effective. And my guess is that he thinks that the secrets of Project Olympus are his ticket, he hoped to learn this when I arrived in the frontier and get me to help him but to his great disappointment Commander Gates decided to take me for the Militia instead" Barker stepped forward and said "Well that explains a lot but how are you going to fix all this?" "Like this" Al said and projected an image to the holo table "When the doctor took my memories by accessing my mind he didn't realize that the data went both ways and I know were he is located. He is here a planet in the Setter system, Setter III to be precise. Now the intel we have on Setter III is less than useable but I did find out that there is only one city on the planet and it has a technical research center run by Hammond so technically it's not military, my plan was to get to Setter III and get a job at the center and work my way into Dr. Tanoge's inner circle and try to remove the block on my memories and shutdown his research." Barker looked at the holo of Setter III and asked "When you shutdown his research what happens to him?" "Well I was planning on killing him" Alistar said "What is preventing Dr. Tanoge from recognizing you?" Sarah asked looking at him and hoping he had an answer "He won't be able to all of the memories he took are mine so they are through my eyes never getting a good look at my face I think" Was his answer "Still it would be nice to give you any help we can" Barker said looking at his own data pad. Gates stood up from her chair and stepped up to the table and said "We can I go with him, if we go together it will help him gain the trust of the others working with him if he has more of a home life to talk about and proof to back it up. Plus Dr. Tanoge won't be looking for a couple he will be expecting just him" Alistar looked over at her and said "You have a good eye for this undercover stuff" She smiled under her helmet and shifted her stance "I have a question, how do you know how to do this stuff?" Barker asked "Well it seams that I had the brains to make backups of some of the info I had in my head that I deemed necessary to survive and Storm held on to it form me" He replied. They sat and discussed the details of how the two of them would get there and what they would do to get in contact if needed and with the kinks ironed out they agreed on the plan "So that is it Gates and Cambel will set out for Setter III tomorrow under the last name of Jackson and try to get in to Dr. Tanoge's facility to fix a few problems, did I miss any thing?" Sarah said and Barker spoke up saying "You did" She looked at him "What?" "That I can go now and get some food" He said standing and she got annoyed throwing a pen at him and Barker docked under it and turned to say something but was cut off by Alistar "I think you should go before she throws a grenade at you" He smiled and walked out. Gates started out saying that she had to tell Bear that he would be in charge of the 64 for a wile.
Alistar laid on a hill just outside the base looking at the moon rising in the sky, it was big and glowing a orange red kind of color, the breeze blew through his cloths and hair and he could feel the grass under him move as he shifted from lying down to sitting up and continued to watch. After a minuet or two he could hear someone walking up the hill to him "Shouldn't you be getting some sleep?" Gates asked walking up and sitting down next to him "I'm having trouble doing that anymore" He said not looking away "Are you stressing out over this?" She asked looking at him "No, ever since the block was placed on my memories I get bits and pieces of them in dreams as my brain is trying to regain control and it can be a little rough" "Oh, how long-" "Until I remember I think" "So apart from not being able to sleep why are you out here?" "I wanted to get away for a little bit" "And just stair at the moon?" "Ya, when I was younger I wanted to go to space and return to the moon. Now that sounds ridicules today but then as a little boy on Earth looking up and seeing a place that at the time a verry short list of people had been to and it had been sevral decades as well, the dreams of small minds can give hope I guess is what I'm getting at." "You've never talked like this before" "There is an answer to that and it is that right now I can't remember most of my adult life and those small dreams are the biggest part right now so I feel a little lost" "Oh. I have only heard stories about Earth is it as good as they say?" "I've heard some of those stories from some of the rifleman since I got here and it's a little better, in my opinion" "I wish I could see it, I know it sounds silly but it is one of the things I want to do" "I don't think it sounds silly" He said finaly looking away from the moon and looking at her "After all I still want to be an Astronaut it doesn't sound that ridicules" She laughed at the comment and he could see the joy in her face from the crinkles next to her eyes to the corners of her mouth lifting as she smiled. "I'm going to enjoy this assignment" He said as she finneshed "Why?" She asked looking at him with a smile still on her face "It will give me a chance to see you're face more, it's a shame that you wear your helmet all the time" As he finneshed she lost her smile and looked away "Don't tell anyone please" She said looking at the grass between her feet "I wasn't going to, it seams that we all have our secrets" He replied reaching his arm around and giving her a one armed hug, she sat for a second then returned his hug "Thanks Al" "No problem El, one of these days I will have to ask you about your secret" "Well I-" "Not any time soon I think it would only be fair if I could return the favor when we get there" "Thanks again Al. I've just had a thaught" "What's that?" "You said when you got here that those mountains over there were the first you had seen since you went into cryo, do you remember being asleep that hole time?" "Yes and no, my neural lace recorded what was happening and some of that went with my other memories so yes and no" "Oh, do you miss your memories?" "Not really in the way you think" She looked at him and began to ask but he explained "I don't miss the memories them selves but what they told me about the people I met knew loved hated, the friends I had the good times and the bad all the things that made me what I am and all the choices I made that lead me here. I miss being me to be honest, now I don't know once I have those back if I'll stand by that statement or not but if the dreams I'm having are any clue it's a no but I'm willing to risk hatting myself to give you and the rest of the Militia an advantage" Elizabeth held her side of their hug a little tighter thanking him for him being willing to go and face his demons again instead of walking away like so many others would given his options, she knew now again he was worth the pin and maybe just knowing him would help her face her own demons maybe one day they could help each other.