Sorry about the long break and the rest is coming but I thaught that you all would like a little bit to read for now
Chapter 10: The First Step
"Ahh that's bright" Al opened his eyes and shut them again at the white light all around him, he then tried again slower letting his eyes adjust to the light. He was in a white room with the ceiling, floor and all the walls producing the light that was still bright, Alistar looked around squinting taking in his surroundings there was nothing in the room with him and he walked up to one of the walls placing a hand on it. As he did he heard a noise behind him and he turned looking for the source asking "Who's there?" The words echoed in the room, which was a little surprising on acount of how small the room was. Slowly another figure came into focus "Al?" "Storm?" As the man stepped closer he could see a face he knew but couldn't place "Ya it's me" The man said "But how?" Al stood in shock as he looked at a human version of his titan "Give me a minuet to explain" Al was more than willing to listen to Storm's explanation as he had no idea what was going on "A little back story to help, When I was built and you where in training the nural link that modern pilots and titans use wasn't invented. So the creative people at Olympus used a different system, they implanted a small piece of a larger computer in your head as a nural lace connecting your brain to a computer based in a titan letting the pilot link to the titan when in it to control it. When not linked the pilots nural lace and the titans data core are quantum entangled to provide communication at any distance, now the instant comms this way get less and less instant the further apart the two get but there is another bonus. If both the pilot and titan focus on the link when their conscious they can enter this room." "So this room acts like a hub of sorts between us at any distant?" Al asked looking around once more "Yes" "Well is it always this-" "Horrible" "I was looking for a better word but ya" "No it's not, the pilot that's you has control over the look but since you memory loss this room has reset" "Oh well I'll work on changing it, you said when both are conscious how are we here now if I didn't remember?" "When you are unconscious I can pull you in here to check on you in emergences, or it lets us discuss things wile you let your body rest" "I glad you didn't just tell me about it but you showed it to me and I can imagine you would like me to give you updates with this wile I'm gone?" "That was the main idea" Storm said chuckling a little "It's a little weird seeing you like this, again now that I focus" As Al thaught harder and harder the room began to shake and the lights dimed "Careful Al, remember that this in our heads and with your problem trying to use this place to remember could cause one or both of us to die" Storm said to him shacking his shoulder a little to get him to stop "Sorry, I'll keep that in mind from now on" Al said watching the lights flash a few more times. "Storm how long have we been in here?" Al asked with a sudden thaught "Not that long and yes it can be what you are thinking, it also can speed up your view of time to help pass long times of doing nothing in addition to slowing it down" Storm said "Oh I just remembered that some computers proses data faster than the human brain so I wanted to ask you but you answered before I could ask" "It seems that some things are all ready coming back to you that is a good sign" The two of them stood there for a minuet or two saying nothing and after a wile Storm spoke up "You should return to normal sleep this place lets your body rest but it can put a strain on your brain" Alistar said nothing but nodded and let his focus slip and the room faded. 'What were you thinking?' 'He was slowing me down I couldn't do what you told me with him dragging himself around' 'That dosen't cut it we are a team and there is no "I" in team' 'No but there is a me and if I want to go anywhere in this program I need to look out for my self' 'But you abandoned him gut shot and shattered knee with a golf ball sized hole in his shoulder, how would you feel if your were in Alistar's place' 'I would feel-' 'The two of you shut it or continue it else where' 'Yes captain, will you require anything else sir' 'Kiss ass' 'Shut it Tom' 'Yes captain Alistar' 'I am fine Jack you and tom can go' 'Yes sir' 'Those two were no help I see' 'Neither are you Be-' "AAAAHH" Alistar sat up sharply in a cold sweat "Damn it, I hate these blasted drea-" 'won't trust you' Alistar grabbed his head with both hands "I need to solve this fast or my own past is going to kill me"
"I never knew that civilian transport could be so boring" Gates said trying unsuccessfully to not stair at the seat infront of her "Did I forget to mention that?" Alistar asked a little amused "It seems you did, now I haven't desided if it was on purpose or not" "Purely accidental I promise and El try not to sound so military you could say public transport" "Sorry its been I don't know how many years since I was a civilian" "Well when was the last time you didn't do any thing military" She stopped and thaught about it for a few seconds then said "I was fifteen my last summer before I went to a military academy to finish school" "I think I did something similar when I was sixteen" "You might have joined Olympus then" "Maybe, this is so weird I feel like a sixteen year old in a thirty five year old's body" "That make sence in a weird way, what happens when we get to the Setter systom again?" "I called ahead applying for a job opening in the lab that Dr. Tanoge works in. A Hammond shuttle will pick us up at the port at the end of this jump and take us to the Setter systom and dock at the orbital station where I will have the final interview and see if I get the job, then if I get the job they will take us planet side and set us up in on site housing and I get to work" "A lot of this plan depends on you getting that job" "True but I'm the only applicant and it is a critical postion and needs filling so my chances are high, plus I am technically over qualified for the postion and might even be offered a better job" "Makes sence when you put it that way" As she finneshed the ship decelerated and dropped out of the jump and a voice came over the intercom "Ladies and Gentlemen we have arrived in systom and will be docking at the Ortrevtian space port in five minuets please make sure you have all your luggage and other personal items with you when you debark the craft thank you for flying with us today and we hope you enjoy the rest of your trip" "Well that was interesting" Elizabeth said as she started to gather her things. The transport was mostly quite wile it docked at the space port finaly shuddering to a stop as it rested on the docking clamps and the door opened. Some people stood up and started to leave but the crew asked them to sit back down and wait just a few more minuets as two men in Hammond uniforms boarded and walked over to Alistar and Elizabeth "Mr. and Mrs. Jackson?" One of them asked looking at them "That's us" Al said and stood up "We are here to take you to the Setter systom" "Well thank you" Al said extending his hand to shake and the one man excepted "This way" He motioned and lead them off the transport as they walk off the transport El said to herself "Here goes nothing"
The world flew past as they drove to what would be the place they were going to be staying in for a wile or at least until Al got his memory back "Like the view?" the driver of the car asked her seeing her stair out the window "Yes I do" She said remembering the back story they had "It has been a wile since I've been off of an industrial world and seen a green world" "I hear you there I once worked at one of those places, they are necessary but my god they suck to live on" The driver said looking at her in his rear view mirror "You will like this place then lots of green" She laughed a little at the mans sence of humor. Alistar had been taken strait to the lab to be shown around and told what he would be doing and she was being taken to their house to get settled in. Her mind wandered as she watched the streets and houses go by eventually her thaughts were interrupted by the driver saying "Ah here we are" As he pulled into a drive way of the house. "There you go Mister Jackson that is the facility, what do you think?" The man showing Al around said "I'm impressed with it, especially with it being all the way out here" Al said not having to fake any of it "Yes it is quite the accomplishment, but now I think you would like to see your new house" "Yes I would like that" "Well then right this way" As the car pulled up to the house Al got a good look at the place it was a decent size building half of it was on the ground and the other half was a two part raised up part in the ground basement with a two car garage attached to the other side "Wow" Was all he could say "Damn right wow, its one of the best places here" The driver said "Your wife is all ready here Mr. Jackson will there be anything else that I can help you with?" "Uh, oh a no I'm fine thanks" Al said finaly as he closed the car door "Right then I'll leave you to it then" The driver said and got back in and pulled away. Al walked up to the one step porch stepped up and pushed the door open and looked in for a minuet just standing there, after a little bit Elizabeth walked into the entry way and looked at him "Are you ok?" She asked "Uh, I don't know" He said she had let her hair down and it hung lose around her face framing it adding to her natural beauty and it was longer than he thaught it would be "Its been a long time since I have lived in a normal house, I don't know what to do" She stepped closer stopping in the door frame and leaned on it "Me to, want to try?" "Yes I do" Memories played in his mind and for once they had nothing to do with Olympus they were the few memories he from before when he had a normal enough life mom, dad, sister. He stepped over the threshold and into the house with more memories coming happy one sad ones and old wants from before that day, that one day that was supposed to be a happy one but fate had other ideas. "Al?" "Yes El?" He said coming back to the here and now "Is it just me or dose this feel a little weird?" "In what way?" He asked stepping closer to her "I don't know" She said as she stopped leaning on the door frame and stood up strait "I can't really describe what" She looked him strait in the eyes searching for something but stopped and said "never mind don't worry about it" And walked back into the bedroom. They spent the rest of the day getting settled in and find a way for the two of them to live a non military life for the immediate future, after sevral hours and a meal Elizabeth said "We should get some sleep you have a big day tomorrow stating your search" "Yah go into the bed room I'll clean up my mess once I finnesh my last minuet study's" Al said looking up from the pile of papers and his data pad in front of him "Sure" She said and went in and got ready then went to bed.
"Not again" Al said sitting up on the couch as more dreams of lost memories came back he stood up and walked over to the sliding door that leads to the back porch and opened it and stepped out stopping at the railing and leaning on it. Normally he slept in his under armor an old habit from field work but now he just had some soft pants on and the cool night air chilled him a little. He stood there for a bit before "What are you doing out here?" El said from the door way wearing similar pants and a tank top "Couldn't sleep" "More dreams?" "Ya" "Can I ask you something?" "Sure" "Why are you sleeping on the couch?" "I didn't want to, well I- You know all my answers sound kind of stupid now" "You didn't want to be rude? Wanted to be a gentlemen" "Yes" "That's nice of you but we need to sell this cover I.D." "Your right, I wasn't thinking sorry" "No its fine it's kind of sweet actually" "Thanks El, I don't think I would have gotten that reaction two hundred years ago" She stepped out next to him and asked "Why?" "When I was growing up their was a big push for total equality between all races and genders which is fine but a lot of the girls and women around me at the time took it to far. What was me just trying to be polite and nice they took the wrong way and assumed I was doing it for other reasons which was always different, but it was hard trying to be nice to anybody after a wile which was hard in it self as my mom raised me old school" "Old school?" "Yes, like be polite say yes and no yes ma'am and no sir to respect others, and I took and old school approach to other things as well" "Oh I see, and they didn't like that then" "Yes it was hard trying to be a gentleman when dating back then" "I'm sorry" "Don't be it didn't last long enough to matter because I joined Olympus" "From what I read you didn't really join" Al stopped and looked down at the rail and actually could remember that day "What do you know exactly?" "I know that all Olympus members were take from pre selected groups and trained for years in secret" "One of the things I remember is that day my sixteenth birthday, it was going to be a good day I had family coming and the few friends I had but some people had other ideas" "Sorry" was all she said as she stepped closer and hugged him. He returned the hug and the two of them just stood there for a minuet until she shivered in his arms "We should go inside" He said letting go a little to look at her "Yes we should, how are you doing?" She asked looking back at him "I'm ok, why?" "It just seems like you have always had it rough with the problems when you were younger and then the Olympus stuff then all of the trouble you had trying to join the militia and now losing most of your memories, how are you doing?" "When I was younger I had family and the rest comes under the not remembering thing and I am surviving for now, you being here helps some how I cant explain" "Ok just let me know if you need anything ok" "I will, come on lets get some sleep" She nodded and they walked in and he grabbed his stuff and went and laid down in the bed trying once more for sleep, he felt a hand an his back calming him as he didn't know he was psyching himself up to sleep he rolled over to look at her and she had a smile on her face "I'm here when you need me" She said "I know El, I know"