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Chapter 1 - Time To Leave The Shadows
A lone Eagle drifts in the Cambridge system roughly 30 kilometers behind Planet Cambridge. Most of the systems are offline. Only the life support is switched on, as well as a small enough amount of power to give the internal lighting and a small video feed are powered. On the video feed, a very sickly looking Melissa Jones sits infront of the camera, with the small amount of lighting available, it's obvious the internals of the cargo hold have been "redecorated" with a large amount of dents. All the amenities in a terrible state. The once beautiful carpet of the floor now stained with blood and drink stains. The fridge that used to be bolted onto the hull of the ship now forcefully removed and without power.
"It was less than three weeks since I dropped everything. That old saying “You don't know what you've got until you don't have it” really makes more and more sense as it becomes the only wave in my brain. I thought originally dropping the LSF was the worst thing I'd done, but now, since my position within the Zoners, leader of a private military within their banners, running a station and also having the respect that I've been looking for my entire life..."
Melissa sighs, as the recording carries on. She takes another shot of whiskey and fills up her shot glass, one of the cheaper bottles. A good reflection of how quickly the "mighty" have fallen. Her eyes become misty with the emotion of what's happened after the past couple of weeks.
"So, I guess it's time to look back, reflect. Make the decision of if I return to my positions. Or to truly pack my bags, and really disappear into the shadows. My main two reasons for emerging, Velvet and Freeport 11, the same reasons I had to pack up... It all became too much. This conundrum must be resolved first in my head, then to the relevant people."
She takes a few more shots of the whiskey and she coughs heavily for a few seconds. It wasn't clear if it was the alcohol or something else that was causing the coughing. She rubs away a tear that starts trickling down her right cheek and she looks round at the cargo hold in ruins and she looks down in shame.
"Beyond the stresses of running Velvet, it gave me a purpose and above all, I can't sit back after everything that happened with it and watch it from the distance. However, with Onyx's leadership, and my return to the Omicrons inbound, I'm going to have to rethink on how I want to see it going through. Then again, me leading is ultimately down to the team. There's not much that matters other than their opinion. From what little I've watched from the shadows, me leaving was going to be their destruction. I know Onyx is a competent pilot, and above all is a loyal friend. But, in retrospect, was she the correct person to hand it to, given her previous temper. That remains to be seen."
"Now, the kicker, and ultimate killer for what happened. Freeport 11... Yes, that strange station that for some reason, I fell in love with. The people there deserved better than what had happened in the past, and to me, that doesn't change. But am I truly the person for the job. Is it really my fate to be a pen pusher. Either way, out of the two, I can definitely see this as my returning point. I wonder if Paul will give me the position back after just dropping and leaving everything. I guess the “personal” business with how much time I dedicated to Velvet instead of the station truly showed were my heart lay. I never knew returning to a place would be such a mental conflict."
"So, during my leave of absence, there's been a lot to reflect. Not just what I left, but what I also now have. I have a portfolio of previous experience, and nothing to do with it. But now my question to myself... 'Do I want to return to the scene of my crimes.' Do I want to go back to what I was doing. Going forward in life is all anyone can ever ask to do, but sometimes, when you drop everything, going forward and going back are one in the same."
She looks around at the cargo bay where the recording is being done. She looks down at her hands as an infernal rage is in her head. She punches the table, leaving a dent in it.
"I'm done with living like this. Time to take back what's mine."
The whiskey bottle that was now empty is thrown across the cargo bay and smashes against the back wall.
"Anyway, enough of this mindless rambling. I'm going to set flight back to the Delta system. I'm going to reclaim my team, reclaim my station. Re-earn my people. There is no plan B. This is do or die. I'm returning for one last night on Cambridge. Then there will be nothing in my way."
The last few frames show Melissa, who it looked like had not eaten properly if at all the past 2 weeks, get up and head to the cockpit. The engines are heard being brought into action. The video feed dies.
Chapter 2 – The final preparations before leaving Cambridge for the last time.
The video camera goes live, with Melissa standing in an apartment. Despite her still looking very sickly, she looks a lot more like a functional human being. She looks around the apartment and lets out a deep and heavy sigh. In the apartment, much like the cargo hold of Eagle, it could best be described a bomb site, rather than a place someone lives. The oak furniture is all debris, the metalic frame on the bed is twisted and the mattress can best be described as rags. Melissa looks to the camera and smiles faintly.
“This is it. My do or die moment..”
She chuckles, her voice sounds more like a soldier speaking rather than the broken individual that was in front of the camera yesterday. She closes her eyes for a few seconds and then slowly opens them, taking in a deep breath.
“I had a night to reflect on what had happened before my... Catastrophe and melt down... I guess the by-product of that is slowly fading. And now, it's time to pick up the pieces of what I left behind. It's time to reclaim what I spent the hardest but best three months of my life doing... I can't stop thinking about this now.”
She pauses again for a few seconds, looking out the window she chuckles.
“It's funny, not even a month ago... I was the leader of a new organisation that was up and coming. A station administrator who's people had been through hell and back. I encounter a small slip up and abandon it all. And for what...”
She fixes her gaze on the camera, her facial expression is clear that what she's about to say is from the heart, almost like a vow, a pledge, a prayer.
“I'm reclaiming it... All of it. A single slip up, and I as an administrator and above all a leader should have acted differently. Running away from the problems... God, what kind of person does that. Like hell am I going to let that crap get to me again. It's time to be a leader, not a coward. I'll be in the Delta system in a few days. All I pray now, is that I can see my promise through. But know this, hell won't stop me now. I will be the best... I will be the best. Now it's time to become the best. And I can only do that with my old team behind me. The people that made me the great administrator and leader for Velvet. Nothing will stop me... Nothing.”
She looks in the camera, a bold and determined look on her face as she goes to turn off the camera, just before the video feed cuts out, she chuckles and mutters under her breath.
“My time was never up.”
The video feed crackles as it closes, static plays for a couple of seconds and the recording stops.
Chapter 3 – The Slow Journey Home
After finally ditching the house and the old battered Eagle, Melissa made her way to one of the main space ports on Planet Cambridge. The hustle and bustle of the city made for a journey that was pleasant. Melissa knew deep down, that with the vow she made, this would probably be the last time walking in a city like this. Although it had only been a few hours since she made the last recording she had a much more brisk step as the walked down the crowded streets. Members of the BAF, civilians and many other walks of life in between would be going about their days, heading to and from work. As she made her way past the vast crowds, she eventually got to the door of the spaceport, one of the smaller ones which at most serviced vessels no larger than the Pelicans that had been retrofitted as small passenger liners. Melissa made her way through the glass doors and into the main auditorium, she made her way to where the information kiosk sat so that she could peruse the flight information. On the screen there were departures to many destinations, but there was only one she was interested in. Despite the hundreds of inbound and outbound flights, she saw “Freeport 11, departing in 12 hours and 26 minutes from Wing B-3. Cost of travel is 2,000,000SC.” She smiled and looked at the board with hope. The only money she had left was that of a specific funding that was tucked deep away. Stored on a couple of very personal chits. She looked at them and nodded to herself.
“Which flight are you looking to attend, ma'am?” A young male clerk, in his mid teens asked in a shaky voice. He looked at her as she stood there looking down at the credit chits and she smiled up to him.
“Flight B-267 to the Delta System, Freeport 11.” Her voice still relatively weak, but she maintained her composure and smiled with what little energy she had. “I don't care how I get there, just need to be there as soon as possible. Two million, isn't it?” As she asked this, she got a second wind of energy. As if her adrenaline was keeping her going.
“Yeah, the flight will only take 2 days. It's one of the quickest ways to get there, unless you have your own method of transport...” The clerk sighed as he saw that Melissa wasn't overly interested. “So, that's one ticket... Yeah, that will be two million..” Before the clerk can finish what he was saying, Melissa just hands him the money and makes her way to Wing B-3, stuffing the ticket into her pocket.
As she finally gets there, she sets a timer on her watch for when the ship will arrive and grabs a bottle of water and a chicken salad. During the long wait time, she doesn't move from the landing pad, just waiting for the ship to come in.
10 hours pass as Melissa carries on waiting, a bold and determined look in her face. A fire in her heart, aching to return to earn her way back to her old positions. After a while, she met a person who one would not have expected in a place like this. A familiar face. Melissa looked at the person who seemed to flicker in and out of existence. She shook her head. It must have been an optical illusion. The figure resembled that of Onyx. As she looked away and looked back, the figure had changed to Joshua Graham, and then as she looked back again, this time to C... She knew she was either day dreaming or was just seeing things, but it was obvious to her what was going on. She was reminiscing the memories of the people who had helped get her to the positions she once had. She sighed as her vision faded to darkness.
She awoke on the seat of the cafe next to Wing B-3 which was slowly taking passengers. She took in a deep breath and slowly got out of the chair, making her way to the back of the queue. The loading process took a few moments, but she eventually got to the check in. Despite there not being any dialogue between either Melissa or the lady at the checkout, she stamped Melissa's ticket and smiled at her. Melissa who returned the smile also gave a courteous nod.
The passenger bay of the Pelican vessel had 60 passenger seats as well as a few other areas of accommodation for the long journey. The décor was that of a low budget transporter but that was fine. It wasn't the important thing. It only mattered where it was heading.
Melissa sighs and mutters to herself, “I would have travelled in the cargo pod of a Whale if it means getting there...” She goes to her seat, leans it back slightly and falls asleep.
Chapter 4 – Point Of No Return.
The vibration of the ships movement out of the atmosphere was relaxing, but was also a heavy reminder that Melissa was on the way back to her real life. Now that she was on her way back, this was the crossing of the Rubicon. It was finally happening, the hopeful return. Everything of the past two weeks would wash away, but be a reminder of why she can never let the people of Velvet and Freeport 11 down ever again. The phrase 'Under promise, over deliver' repeats in her mind over and over again. As the ship finally leaves the atmosphere Melissa gets up out of her chair and makes her way to the bar. With what little money she had remaining, she bought herself a bottle of water and a full Bretonian fry up. The first time that there was a plate of actual food in front of her instead of the cheap quick ready meals that she had been eating cold. It was refreshing to finally get on the up and up.
Melissa looks down at the food, and before she takes a mouthful, she shuts her eyes and in speaks internally to herself. “This is going to be a lot harder than when I did this first time... I'm coming back after building up the best team in Sirius, dropping them all, and now expecting them to take me back with open arms...” She sighs heavily, looking down at the fry up and starts eating. As she gets about 3 mouthfuls in, there's a retching pain in her stomach, as she continued to eat, the pain got worse but it didn't stop her from finishing her food. It took her a good thirty or so minutes to actually finish the meal. As she did so, a sigh of relief leaving her lips and for a few moment Melissa just sat there, sipping at the bottle of water every so often. She smiled looking down at the empty plate and the table. For the first time in a couple of weeks, she felt content. Not with herself, or the journey she'd have to retake. But with the possibilities. Velvet, Freeport 11, hell, even the never ending danger. When the only danger you have to face is yourself after 4 months of constantly watching your back... You really do get complicit and forget what you know.
Seeing as the journey would take a long time, as well as there being a wealth of small and lower end facilities available, Melissa made use of what was available on the ship. A small gym was enough for her to get back into training again, she set up a small dojo in there to get back into the swing of martial arts. She spent the next 2 days of travel getting herself back into the mindset as well as burying her head in the books available in the very small library.
With the books available, she took explicit interest in two specific books. 'The Dichotomy Of Leadership' and 'Finding Inner Peace.' She spent the two days of travel analyzing the books as well as getting back into training as if she was back in the LSF again.
Before she went to sleep for the last time. Before the final trip to the Omicron systems and beyond, she went to the bathroom and began a monologue in front of the mirror. She finally started to seem in much better health after just a couple of days. Her voice was back to being the strong voice of the leader she had been before. “I just hope now that I can prove my worth to everyone again. Everything has probably gotten so big, I know Onyx and Grey would have done their best for the faction, better than I ever did... And that's not even pity. Onyx had grown so well into the role of second in command. She must be an excellent first in command by now. Grey was always the calm and collected individual that no matter what happened, nothing seemed to ever really phase him. A good contrast. And ultimately, what the Velvet Organisation needed.” She chuckles and shakes her head. “My main concern above anything else is Paul's position on giving me back the administration I just so candidly dropped. Given the past of the Freeport and the security and the commerce that the station had seen in increasing quantities.” Melissa chuckles again, she looks down at the sink and splashes some water on her face to keep herself awake. “I just need to prove to them all I'm capable of doing this permanently. Actions speak louder than words. No amount of kissing arse will work, everything has to come from the heart. I miss them all so much.”
As she finishes her monologue in the mirror, she leaves the bathroom and heads back to her seat. She takes a seat and rests her head against the headrest. Her eyes begin to close and she slowly drifts off into a deep dreamless sleep.
Chapter 5 – Lost and Found
Melissa had been awake the past two hours watching out the window through most of the journey through the jump hole. It wasn't long ago since the announcement that they would be emerging to the Delta system. The joy of her returning was slowly becoming overwhelming as her heart started to race. The ship eventually emerged from the jump hole passage. There it was... Home. Omicron Delta. Standing on the port side, she could see Nauru, a place she had spent a small amount of time at as both an ambassador and leader of the Freeport and the Velvet organisation. It was strange, being back at the place were it had really it had really all started. Cambridge was her place of birth, the LSF was her first time proving what she was worth, and Freelancing was very lucrative. But, this was home. This was the only place that the void in Melissa's life could be filled. It was the only place she has ever wanted to be. As the cruise engines started spooling, Melissa made her way back to her seat, and started thinking on how she would start making it up to everyone who she had let down.
How would everyone react to her coming back, that would be the major factor in what will happen. Her mind starts racing with what could happen. But before she can over think anything, an announcement is made on the ships speakers, an announcement from the captain. “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Delta system. The time is currently 17:00 on the 15th of June, 826AS. We will be arriving at our final destination, Freeport Eleven in about ten minutes. We're currently undergoing scans from Core to ensure our safe passage to the Freeport. Thank you for flying with Orbital Spa And Cruise.” As the announcement ended, Melissa started getting butterflies in her stomach as the excitement of returning was still overwhelming. As they got slightly closer to Nauru, Melissa saw a familiar sight and smiled. The Caesar was definitely a welcome sight, as she remembers first fighting alongside it not too long after the Core's acquisition of the vessel. She carried on looking out the window looking at Planet Tuvalu, a gas giant that emanated a strange beauty. She watched the passing of the Caesar as the Pelican began making it's way to Freeport Eleven. Despite it only really being a short distance in the grand scheme of the vast distances covered already, this last part seemed to last a lifetime. Every minute felt like an hour of clock watching. Nerves were at an all time high...
“This is the final announcement from the captain of the Orbital Spa and Cruise Armoured Transport Dandy Lion, we are initiating landing sequence and will be landed on Freeport 11 shortly. We are pleased to say that the security forces here have granted us priority clearance. As soon as we touch down on the station, please remember to take care when departing the ship and as always have a safe and pleasant day.” The announcement ended just as the landing sequences initiated. This was the do or die moment now. Everything of the past 3 days had been leading up to this. As the ship landed and settled, the rest of the passengers got off. Melissa waited until all the other passengers had left the ship before she got up a bit tentatively at first. But as she got out the chair she took in a deep breath and stretched backwards before starting to make her way off the ship. As she got there, there was one of the older members of the station security, who watched as Melissa emerged from the ship onto the deck of the station, he nodded and smiled warmly at her. The sort of warm smile that would be given from an old friend.
“Administrator Jones... Sorry... Miss Jones, old habits die hard. How are you, ma'am?” The security guard was the Sargent and head of the station security, Matthew Keyes, who was also her old XO on The Omega and on the Cryolite, Melissa's Aquilon class carrier. Despite him being in his fifties, he was well built and had short thick grey hair. A few scars ran down his right cheek from a fight he had a few years ago with a criminal he had with a criminal on one of the Freeports. He had always kept his past a secrete though. “Must admit, wasn't expecting to see you around, it's not really been the same the past two weeks...”
Before he could carry on, Melissa chuckles and smiles at him, responding in a soft and happy tone. “Trust me... There wasn't a moment go by where I didn't regret just leaving... I can't do it. The people here on both the station and Velvet mean too much for me to not come back. I would rather die than not be here, Matt... Truly.” As she says this she smiles, it was clear from the way she spoke, it wasn't pity that she wanted, but it was words from the heart. She rests her hand on his shoulder in a friendly manner and she smiles at him. “It's good to be home.”
The security guard just stood there wordless and just nods. As she goes to leave he quickly speaks up. “You know, Mel, you forgot something when you left. The paperwork you filed to leave the administration of the station, although it was submitted the original is still on your desk. You'll have to submit the hard copy to OSI as well to cement you leaving...” He stops himself from carrying on and both of them chuckle. Matt had been around Melissa long enough to know her next moves and he just stepped aside, allowing her to go to her old office.
As Melissa started walking to her old office, she was stopped every so often by a few of the residents of the station who welcomed her back. Every time this happened, she would stop for a few minutes and talk to them. The 200 metre walk from were the Pelican landed to her old office seemed to take almost an hour with the people she would speak to. Most of them asking about what she was doing back, if she was returning to Velvet or for the Freeport and a couple of people even unaware that she had even gone asking about future plans for the stations.
When she eventually got to the administration office, she shuts the door behind her, and quickly goes to the transmission terminal. As she does, she notices several letters on the desk. She opens them and skims through them. As she does, she sighs. All of them are regarding Velvet members stepping down and the group no longer having an official leader. She puts them to one side, closes her eyes for a few minutes and rubs a tear that had formed in her left eye. She whispers to herself a couple of times to keep her mind on the tasks at hand. “First the transmission, then the bar.”
As she finishes the last few steps to the transmission terminal she quickly runs into the bathroom and splashes some water on her face and quickly wipes her face down. As she moves the towel away from her face, she looks at her reflection and in a weak voice, mutters to herself. “This won't take long, then I can go to the team... I miss them so much.”
She goes to her desk and pulls out a document reading 'Freeport 11 and Velvet - New Beginnings' which she takes with her to the transmission terminal and holds in her hands as she starts the video feed.
Chapter 6 – A surprise encounter
After returning from the Titanium Bar, Melissa made her way back to the landing pads. Again, it took a while to get there. She spent a bit of time talking to the residents of the station and making sure people on the station were in a good position before heading to one of her ships that was still on the station. And old faithful Eagle, it was the same ship she had when she first got to the Omicron systems after leaving Bretonia the first time.
As she made her way to the Eagle, some of Ian's words repeated in her mind a few times. 'Work is fine and all but you can't make your life consist just from that.' Was she really just a work-a-holic who had just hit a wall so hard that everything spun out of control. It's interesting that someone like Ian would be so willing to look out for her.
She started muttering to herself, not really paying too much attention to what was going on in Freeport 11's docking bays. “So, Ian's already back to calling me boss. Guess he was the one Onyx appointed to be in charge. He was already moaning about responsibilities... Will be speaking to him and Elyssa, someone else who else is apparently in charge now as well. Find out what's been going on. Then go and speak to the team, spend some time getting to meet them all. It's good to be back...” As she muttered this to herself, she finally made her way to the ship's cargo pod. As the cargo bay open she looks inside. It was the same as ever. A lot of people had basic amenities in their ships these days given the vast amounts of travelling that people do, but everything in here, despite being basic had some form of sentimental value to her. As she walked into the cargo bay and turned on the lights. At the entrance was her trusted weapons locker from her time in the LSF, long since being empty of the weapons she was used to, and now only containing a side arm and carbine rifle. She looked just to the right of it, a clothes drawer from her first apartment when she left the LSF and started contracting as a Freelancer. It was empty seeing as it wasn't ever used. Just at the end of the cargo bay and near the hatch to the pilot seat was a small bed, fridge, brew station and a picture of her parents and Alex... Something that she would always have in the cockpit when this ship was flown. A good reminder of where you come from...
She got to the pilot seat of the ship. “This is Melissa Jones, requesting clearance to leave the station. Destination Livadia. Will be returning with 'The Cryolite' to station it outside the station again. Will be back soon.” As she said this a green light pops up on the dash to indicate that it was safe to initiate take off. Before she turned on the engines though, she looked down at the control and smiled. Was she really back already so soon? A brief encounter in the bar with a couple of members and she was back to leading? Either way, the Cryolite should be back here. Regardless of what Paul replies with.
As she launches her ship, the entire system feels eerily quiet as she makes her way to the Kappa jump hole. The entire journey is uneventful. She disables her IFF transponder so that she wouldn't risk getting any messages or any hold ups. Getting The Cryolite should be number one priority. After all, what's a space faring organisation without it's flagship. She didn't want to get distracted on her journey. It wouldn't take long to get to Livadia. The thick Peloponnese Edge Nebula began to slowly give way to reveal the impressive sized Livadia shipyard. A true engineering marvel given it's location.
![[Image: yNQZ9Bu.jpg]](https://imgur.com/yNQZ9Bu.jpg)
The dock commander coughs lightly and sighs. “Ah. I see. Either way, you got priority clearance. Your ship is in good order and your crew will be ready shortly, Miss Jones.” As the dock commander finishes speaking, the docking light shows green and she proceeds to engage the automatic docking procedure onto the Cryolite.
As she docks on the Aquilon the bridge crew are there waiting for her. Their expressions were half that of confusion and the other half excited in some way. As Melissa's Eagle landed in the docking bay of the ship and she got out, the crew all looked at her in shock, almost as if seeing as ghost. The first person to say anything was the Navigator, John Cormack. He was small in stature, with short black hair and thin build. His voice although usually quite rough was well spoken. “And here we were thinking you were dead... Or worse. How's it going, Mel?” As he asked, he chuckled, as did the other members of the bridge crew.
Melissa smiled and sighed. “Yeah, I owe you all an apology. I upped and left because the stresses of the job took over. But while I was gone, it made me realize that those stresses were what have been keeping me sane all this time. Rest assured though. I am back. And there's nothing that will ever change that. We're heading back to Freeport 11 soon. Christina, ensure we have the correct IFF system, John, make sure our route to Freeport 11 is secure. Tom, Connor and Phil, head up to the bridge and be ready to launch within the next 30 minutes...” She stops for a minute, smiling at everyone who has just stopped watching in amazement for a minute before all nodding. Just before they leave there are a few loud voices exclaiming 'She's back. About bloody time.'
As the bridge crew dispersed she looked down at the last person who was on the bridge. Kelly Stadia, the chief medical officer. Melissa smiled at her and nodded, before Kelly turned round to her and in a slightly confused tone asks. “So... Mel... What happened? You just... Ran off. As far as everyone knew... You were gone. Forever...” Her voice although soft seems concerned that something else was the cause of her leaving. “And now you turn up... Don't get me wrong, we wouldn't want anyone else to be here... But, you owe at least me an explanation.”
Melissa nodded and sighed, looking down, a bit upset with what had happened to make her leave. As she spoke, her voice was full of emotion, but she kept level headed. “I owe you at the very least... It all got a bit too much. I took every small problem personally instead of doing what I should have done and just fixed it. But now... The past two weeks... Was all I needed to realise that every member of Velvet, citizen of Freeport 11 and everyone on this ship... I would rather be dead that leave you guys. This is where I belong.” With that Melissa smiled and put her hand on Kelly's shoulder in a friendly manner. “This time, it's until I die or you find someone better.” With that Mel chuckles. And nods to her. “
Also, for everyone's clarity. Get me screened for infection. Don't want anyone thinking this isn't me. We'll do it at Freeport 11. But make sure we give everyone 100% clarity.”
Kelly unsure of why she'd ask this just nods, making her way to the bridge to assume position for their departure in the next 27 minutes. Mel stood by her Eagle as the crew readied their positions. Melissa made her way slowly up to the Bridge as well, meeting the members of the crew as she went up, many of them surprised to see her back.