Part 4
Krystal looked at her nav map, the drones on Fortune's Prospect had updated it with the nearby human systems. She looked at the coin shaped transponder in her hand as she arrived in the Lylat system. Even at full speed it would take several days to get to the nearest human system, Alpha. She sat there drifting in space wondering which way to go. She thought about Fox and the others, the team she left behind, what were they doing now? Then she remembered Wolf and his speech on the Prospect, she was wanted, not to mention she was still traveling around in a stolen Cornerian fighter. A crackling voice broke her thoughts.
"Cornerian fighter, identify yourself." The voice was oddly familiar. "You are using an outdated transponder code, respond." Those repair drones must have reset her ship's transponder to the old CDF configuration and they had picked her up as soon as she entered the system.
"This is Krystal. My transponder is malfunctioning."
"Krystal, is that really you?" Now she recognized the voice. It was General Pepper.
"General Pepper? What are you doing out here?"
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you the same thing. We picked up a massive energy signature out here, was that you? We need to bring you and your ship aboard." his voice was stern.
"Understood." She had picked a terrible day to stop running. The CDF carrier grappled her ship and towed it into the hangar as fighters swarmed around her. Krystal climbed out of the cockpit and was greeted by a dozen armed guards, guns drawn on her. The General walked slowly toward her.
"Stand down men, there is no danger here." he looked at her and frowned, "At least there better not be."
"No General, I know what I've done. I am ready to face punishment." she stood up, head high.
"It's Ambassador now." he smiled. "I've been wondering about you for you for a long time, glad to see you're still in one piece. After I retired from the CDF I was given an interesting job offer. Cornerian Ambassador, who would have thought an old soldier like me could be privileged enough to represent our people to another race."
"They picked an excellent candidate sir." Krystal smiled at him.
"It's done wonders for my health, I don't know if the humans have a cure for old age but what they taught our guys about medicine is pretty close to it. I haven't felt this good in years." Pepper stood at ease, his hands behind his back. "There is the matter of your recent criminal activity. I'm afraid I can't let that go unanswered."
"Of course General, er Ambassador." He handed her a report, detailing her activities as Kursed, most of them anyway, there was a lump forming in the back of her throat as she read on. She had gotten the majority of them from a reliable contact that turned out to be working for Wolf. The CDF had no idea Wolf was the one that contracted her.
"Is this information accurate?" Pepper asked.
"I'm afraid it is." she hung her head down. "I won't run from the truth anymore. I did those things and I am ready to pay for what I have done."
"There's quite a bit there," Pepper said with a frown. "I'm not looking forward to bringing this to the Cornerian government." Pepper was interrupted by a crew member with a high priority message. It was a report sent directly to the ship from the HSF, outlining the incident in Beta system and Krystal's activities there. At the end of the report was an addendum outlining Wolf's own activities and the fraudulent information he provided to Krystal. Included in those activities was Wolf's attempt to blackmail Krystal into working for him again and his attempt to start a war with the humans. The document was signed on the bottom, Orion.
"Well this is unexpected." The Ambassador said, "This Agent Orion has outlined Captain O'Donnell's activities in great detail. I can't believe Wolf would attack a human ship in their own system, a conflict with the humans would end badly for us all. While I'm ashamed to learn you did these things, it was based on information given to you by one of our own, and since you are no longer part of the CDF, I can't hold you accountable for bad information. These were after all, criminals of one kind or another. You will have to turn over your fighter I'm afraid."
"Thank you Ambassador." she looked up at Pepper, "What will I do for a ship?"
"In a couple of days we're to rendezvous with a human ship and do a joint patrol of the Lylat Alpha system, the human's largest settled colonies are there. It's more of a diplomatic effort by them to get their ships into our system. They want us to see how they operate. Our government doesn't fully trust the humans, they complain there are too many mixed signals."
"What kind of signals are the humans sending?" Krystal asked.
"I probably shouldn't be telling you any of this." The Ambassador looked around, "But it's clear from the report you've already been in contact with the humans. They keep telling us they are peaceful and that they don't want any kind of conflict with our people, but at the same time, every ship they have is heavily armored and armed to the teeth and they seem to be perpetually ready for conflict. To make matters worse, they are getting restless about their aid ships being attacked as soon as they enter the system. That's how we tracked you out here, we know they use some kind of portal technology to move the aid ships in and out of Lylat, it was odd to see one open in this part of the system though. We won't let the human patrols escort the aid ships inside the system and the humans are threatening to stop the shipments if we can't keep the ships safe. We are still recovering from the last two wars and need the supplies to rebuild."
"Before I came back to Lylat," Krystal began. "I was rescued by a human calling himself Orion, on his ship I saw a map of all the systems the humans control, there are hundreds. If the humans wanted to take over Lylat by force, they could do it at any time. If they really wanted a conflict, they could start one and win it easily. If the human government you're working with is anything like the human I met, they are peaceful, but very dangerous when provoked."
"It's something to consider," Pepper said. "They've been a great help to us despite our efforts to drive them away. Truthfully, alot of the problems in the surrounding systems come from Lylat, I'm surprised they haven't moved into the system. I haven't seen any of their ships first hand, only heard stories and seen video footage from our scouts. To be honest, I haven't seen a human either."
"They're about this tall." Krystal raised her hand over her head and stood on her toes. "But they're very calm and collected, they don't have a threatening presence about them at all. The human I met had a crushing grip and tossed Wolf around with ease, they are stronger than they look."
"I see," Pepper said, "I'll know soon enough. During our patrol I can have one of our fighters drop you off at any place of your choosing. I'll let you keep your ship's nav chip so you can find your way back"
"Thank you Ambassador." Krystal remembered the news report on Prospect, "I think I'd like to go to Io station, if that's possible."
"That's as good a place as any, we'll probably stop there on our rounds through the system. Io station is the humans regional trade hub and houses alot of our people that work for the humans. You're likely to find many Cornerians there, ones that want to be able to go back and forth between the systems. Don't go planetside in a human system, we have a treaty with the humans and once you set foot in one of their colonies, you can't go planetside in Lylat again. There's quite a few ships going into and out of that station, you're sure to find something that can take you back. I wouldn't recommend taking a transport, they run to Corneria from time to time to help with the rebuilding, but there's a chance you won't make it."
Several days later, as Pepper had promised they entered the Alpha system to meet with the human ship. Krystal stood on the bridge as the human ship announced it's approach.
"This is Ambassador Pepper of the Cornerian carrier Aquas. We're in position awaiting your arrival." Pepper said into the com.
"Aquas," a female voice replied. "This is Admiral Constance Miller of the HSF Third Fleet Command, DSC Ardennes is on approach, please stand by." A small human ship appeared out of a vortex similar to what Krystal had used to get back to Lylat, then a handful of smaller fighters came out and screened the area before the carrier itself emerged. At 5 kilometers long, it dwarfed the Cornerian carrier, there were numerous turrets perched along it's dark gray hull, they moved their barrels and rotated, constantly testing their motor systems.
"Jump complete." the Admiral said, "Ready to begin operations, glad to have you along Aquas. We'll be dispatching an away party shortly." Pepper stepped up and prepared to address the crew.
"Today." He began. "We begin an important chapter in the history of the CDF. The Human Systems Federation has granted us an opportunity to see how they patrol one of their systems in the hopes that they will be able to aid us in patrolling our own and help us to eliminate threats to mutual security. What you see behind me is what the humans call a light carrier, it is a mid sized capital ship used for scouting and policing actions and for carrying reserves during major fleet operations. Our fighter wings will deploy mixed in with the human wings to scout for and eliminate hostile ships in this system. I cannot stress the importance of setting a good example for the humans, they are a peaceful, but powerful ally. I will take a few questions, since I'm sure you have some concerns about this operation."
The crewmen and pilots were speechless, they looked at each other and at the massive ship outside. Pepper looked on, a bit discouraged.
"Very well, if there are no questions, I will now take volunteers to go over to the human ship. I will have 5, and I will select them if necessary." Two pilots raised their hands and stepped forward, then another. Pepper was two short and decided to pick based on flight performance. The handpicked pilots stepped forward, visibly nervous.
"Ladies and gentlemen, you now represent the CDF to the humans. Their commanding officer has told me you will be treated as equals while on board and I look forward to hearing about your experience. The frequency of the Ardennes fighter com network has been set on your ships and you should be able to follow their carrier landing procedures. I wish you all the very best." Pepper saluted the pilots as they walked out to the hangar and launched toward the human ship. The smaller Cornerian fighters mixed with the larger human ships and, after a few joint maneuvers in formation, landed on the carriers flat upper deck where they were lowered into the ship.
A shuttle had been sent from the human ship to the Cornerian carrier with several officers onboard. The human entourage mingled with the Cornerian crew, talking patrol routes and recent events. Krystal looked at the Cornerians expressions, she may have been one of the only people onboard that had seen a human before. The humans kept the conversation light, laughing, shaking hands, and swapping war stories.
Once the patrol got underway, the two ships started at the innermost planets and worked their way out, stopping at Alpha III to resupply. Pepper had given Krystal a salute and a handshake, after that she was flown out to the station and dropped off. The station itself was a massive, crowded, maze of cavernous chambers, there were Cornerians, but the humans outnumbered them greatly. She decided to start looking for a ship, hopefully her credits were good out here. There weren't any vendors with Cornerian ships, and she couldn't go back to Lylat with a human ship. She finally settled on what appeared to be a human version of an Airwing called the ADF. Endorsed by Falco Lombardi? It looked like they had reverse engineered the ship and used it to compare to their own. The price was right, they took Cornerian credits, and her new ship was now docked in bay 43, deck 12.
As Krystal started walking toward her ship her mind raced, could Miri still be somewhere on this station? How would she find her? She started inspecting her ship, not bad. The humans didn't copy the ship exactly, but it was close enough to fly through Lylat and her nav chip hooked right up. The biggest difference was the humans had removed the weapons and swapped the standard g-diffuser drives with their own powerplants, though they looked almost identical. Krystal began looking for something to eat while on the station, it was a long trip back and she needed time to think. She asked around and found there were 2 places that served Cornerian meals. She made her way up to the lounge and sat down at a table.
"I'm actually sitting in a bar and no one is coming over to offer to buy me a drink." She was almost disappointed. She looked around, most of the patrons were human or Cornerians talking to humans.
"What will you have miss?" a voice came from behind her. She turned around to see a young Cornerian girl dressed in a white shirt and black trousers with a pen and paper in hand.
"Just a glass of water right now."
"Right away." The girl walked off, she seemed so upbeat. For the most part, the station was pretty upbeat. After all the war and misery in Lylat this was probably a change of pace for the Cornerians here. The girl had come back with her water.
"Anything else?" she said with a smile. Krystal thought a moment, then stopped the waitress from walking away.
"What do you think of it here? How do the humans treat you?"
"Well." she said. "It's ok here, there are alot of humans and most of them are really nice. My parents brought my brother and I out here after the war with the Anglars, we lost everything we had in the fighting and dad was given a chance to start over here. Mom and dad are doing well working on the station and my brother is enrolled in some kind of joint operations team or something. Me, I just bus tables and go to school. What about you?"
"The first time I met a human," Krystal hesitated. "He saved my life."
"Really?" the waitress said. "I completely freaked when I met one, he just walked up and said hello like it was nothing. I still kind of jump when one gets too close."
"I'm looking for someone on this station. Have you seen a gray wolf with a scar over her eye?" The waitress paused for a moment, then spoke.
"I have. She's works at the other Cornerian place down on one of the lower decks. I can't remember the name. There aren't many bad parts of the station, the humans keep it pretty nice, but that place is one of them. She worked here for awhile, but I think management asked her to go. She was really quiet and shy, I think it made the customers uncomfortable."
"Thank you." Krystal nodded and smiled. She slipped away from the table and out the door. The other place, called Anglar's Dive, was just as the waitress described it. It was all Cornerian, full of filthy crewmen, lowlifes, and some stench she didn't recognize. It was something the humans called whiskey. She sat down at a table and surveyed the room. Two glasses of foul smelling whiskey slid across the table, she looked over to see a couple of men at the next table waving and blowing kisses, just like old times. She continued to look around. Standing infront of a booth in the corner was a gray wolf. She was dressed in white button down shirt that was stained and tore in several places, a very short skirt and black knee high boots. The pigs at the table were giving her a hard time, whistling and grabbing at her backside. She turned around, her arms folded holding the tray across her chest. She didn't look anything like the picture Jack had, she was hunched over slightly and walked with a limp, her long black hair was a tangled mess, her fur ragged and unkempt. She had one piercing blue eye, the other was missing, just a lump of pink flesh and what looked like the head of a rivet in the socket. She limped away from the table and back toward the kitchen.
"Well aren't you a pretty young thing?" an old woman's voice said. "Not the best place for a gal like you to sit down if you're looking for peace and quiet. This bunch is a bit too rowdy." It was one of the other waitresses.
"I was looking for someone, a gray wolf with a scar over one eye." Krystal told the woman, "I think that was her over there."
"Miri?" the woman said, "She's been here for a couple of months now, good kid but she's got a terrible past. You can look at her and see it, not just the scars but in the way she carries herself. It's like she's broken and dead inside. The owner makes the younger girls dress like that to try and get more of the spacing crewmen to drink here, she's the only one that's put up with it so far. I don't know what she's done to put herself through all this. She doesn't talk to anyone, just goes home after work and locks the door. I don't think she has any friends or family."
"I need to sit down and talk with her. I've found someone who's worried about her and looking for her."
"I don't think she wants to be found dearie," The woman shook her head. "She's buried herself in the deepest pit on this station for a reason. But I hate seeing a young girl waste away like that, so if you think you can get her living life again, I'll tell her you're out here."
"Please do." Krystal watched as the old woman stumbled through the tightly packed tables and back toward the kitchen. A few minutes later Miri came out again carrying food for the booth in the corner. The crewmen went back to grabbing at her as soon as she was within arm's reach. She struggled to put the plates on the table and back away, as she turned around one of the patrons grabbed her tail and pulled her back into his lap. She gasped and struggled to get back to her feet, the man's arms wrapping tightly around her torso. Krystal had seen enough and went to draw her blaster. Just then a gruff voice yelled from the back of the kitchen and the men released her. She walked over to Krystal's table and sat down, her body shaking.
"Look, I know I'm behind on the payments." she spoke with her head down. "My rent keeps going up and my pay isn't, nobody tips down here. I'm scraping leftovers off the plates to stay alive, I am making as much as I can without selling organs or worse. I can't come up with the payments any faster."
"I'm not here to collect Miri." Krystal held out her hand. "I just wanted to talk to you."
"I'm on break for another 10 minutes." she said, "So say whatever it is you're going to say. I don't tell scar stories, and I'm not interested in joining your church."
"What happened to you?" Krystal reached out with her other hand. "I talked with a girl at the other restaurant."
"I don't talk about, with anyone." Miri put her head down again. "I'm sorry. I'd get off this station and go somewhere else but I'm afraid too fly. Last transport I was attacked, I can't even set foot in a ship now."
"I'm sorry." Krystal looked in her eye. "I could take you anywhere you wanted to go." Krystal reached in her pocket, pulled out the coin Jack had given her, and placed it on the table. Miri looked at the coin, it's green gem, the flashing red light inside and the image of the ship etched on one side. Her eyes widened and her hand started to shake. She dropped the coin on the table and put her head down.
"I don't know how you got that, but I know that ship." she mumbled into the table and reached into her shirt, pulling out a small pendant and putting it on the table. "It was the last message I took from him, that picture of a wreck floating in space. Before I walked out. I thought he had lost his mind. Did he actually get it working again?" Krystal took the pendant and examined it. She pressed a button on the side and it projected a flickering image on the table. It scrolled through several dozen pictures of Jack and Miri together before stopping on the wreck of the Prospect and going out again.
"He gave it to me so I could find him again." Krystal said, Miri had lifted her head again, looking at the coin, she clenched it tightly. "He saved my life. He did something for me I didn't think could be done. He's a good soul, more than anyone who crosses paths with him would realize."
"I know." Miri shook her head, "I can't let him know I'm here living like this. I stepped out of his home thinking there was this world waiting for me and I could be part of it again if I just stopped waiting for him. But there's nothing, and I don't want him to know that."
"He misses you deeply." Krystal held Miri's hand, "But he understands why you left."
"He could have come for me, he said if I was in trouble he'd come and help. I've been in trouble since I left and he never came."
"He didn't want to keep you down. He knew you deserved better." Krystal had sat back in her chair. "I saw the rings, Cerinian aren't they?"
"I think that's what the guy called them." she answered. "I got them from someone that lived in the colony Jack took me to after he found me. How did you know?"
"I'm Cerinian," Krystal leaned forward in her chair. "I can't believe you'd just up and walk out after all you've been through."
"I know, I didn't want to, but he was gone all the time, and I didn't like alone on that planet. I walked out on the one good thing that's happened in my life, the only person I have ever met that really cared about me." Miri stared at the floor.
"I saw the news report," Krystal said. "The hijacked transport ship and the list of passengers with your name, and a last name I couldn't read. It's his last name isn't it?"
"It's not what you think." Miri shook her head, "I needed a place to stay while I waited to get on a transport back to Corneria, so I took his last name and used it to rent out an apartment. He didn't know about it, I was wrong to do that and I'm getting what I deserve." she handed the coin back to Krystal. "I can't go anyway, station security won't let me go until my debts are paid up. Even if I could leave, I breakdown as soon as I get near the airlock of a ship."
"What kind of debts do you have?" Krystal said, "Maybe I can clear them up for you."
"7500 credits for bills and past due rent on my previous apartment. I can't expect anyone to get me out of this. I'm paying it off slowly but I'm not making enough money for it to mean anything, I have to have a place to live and they keep raising my rent." Miri shook her head, "It all went bad when I lost the other waitress job. The pay and the environment were so much better there. I just couldn't be the person they wanted me to, they said I made the customers uncomfortable." Krystal looked at her finances, she had just bought that ship and there wasn't enough to cover Miri's debt.
"I can't help you right now." Krystal took her hand again, "I just don't have enough. I think I can get you out of here if you'll let me."
"What are you planning? I'm not going to break the law." Miri looked up, "I don't need anymore trouble."
"No, I'm going back to my ship and calling out to Jack."
"Don't call him here!" Miri stood up from the table. "I have to go now. I told you I don't want him seeing me like this." she stormed back toward the kitchen. Krystal got up and started walking toward the door. She couldn't let Miri go on like this, she won't last here. She headed back to her ship and flipped on the com system, pulling the coin from her pocket as it powered up. The light inside the coin's green gem glowed brightly, she clicked it once. Her nav computer came up with a star map, the Prospect was not in Alpha system. She clicked the gem five times as instructed, the light inside glowed brightly and began to pulse. It took the ship several days to reach her, but Jack had let her know when he entered the system. Krystal decided to undock and meet the Prospect in space. It jumped out of warp and slowly made it's way into orbit around the Io station, a trail of debris following in it's wake.
"That didn't take long." Jack's voice came over her com. "I wasn't expecting you to call at all to be honest."
"We need to talk." Krystal said.