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« I-Islay! It's Douglas, r-returning from patrol! Let me in! »
« Understood Grian. Make your way over to bay seven, it'll be cleared shortly. Everything alright? »
« Yes! Y-Yes, everything's alright! Now please let me in already! »

The Panther launched itself through the docking bay and slammed the manoeuvring thrusters array only seconds before reaching her landing zone, breaking the vessel's considerable momentum and forcing the upper jets to push her down onto the pad; the noise of metal slamming into metal and creaking filled the cockpit, and soon after the entire bay, as the gravity suspender slowly kicked in and floated the bomber back in place.
A hasty and uncharacteristically reckless act, under normal circumstances - but right about now, all she wanted to do is put as much distance, armour and rock between her and the Interdictor.

« Douglas! What the hell's going on?! »

The gruff voice of the XO called out to her as she was climbing, or rather almost falling, down from her craft; marching down the hallway to her pad, wearing his worn military overalls and a stern look in his eyes, he had the kind of urgency in his step that demanded immediate and clear answers to whatever the situation was, and that he was certain he wasn't going to get that.
She shot him a terrified, wild-eyed look in response.

« T-the Vice Admiral! It's the Vice A-Admiral! It's, he thought, I heard-- »
« Stars above, Douglas, you're not making any sense! », he growled as he grabbed her shoulders, as if he wanted to physically stop her fretting. « What IS it? »
"H-HE'S ONE OF THEM!", she cried out, pressured and frightened beyond herself, feeling her eyes welling up.
"What?"

She nodded forcefully and let her head down, shaking, trying to hold back the tears.
Sean relented his grip somewhat. The girl just isn't in a state to give him any real answer, he thought; maybe she herself doesn't know much of anything, maybe she's just scared witless.

« Look, Douglas, it's clear you had a pretty rough one out there. Go get some shut-eye. You're not injured, are you? »
« I-I am FINE! I am NOT making this up, he- »
« No you're not. Come on, listen to yourself - you're shaking like a leaf, you can't even talk straight! »

Amy opened her mouth to protest, to insist she really is fine and that she is absolutely certain that the man really did speak to her like the monster in Roussillon did - but gave up, seeing her superior's disbelief and dimly realising she must be sounding like a madwoman, and breathed out a deep sigh.

« But I... »
« You'll explain later, once you've had some rest and calmed down. Okay? Let's get you to the sickbay in the meantime, see if you're all right. »
« But, the captain... I should tell the captain... »
« I'll tell her, don't worry. Now let's go. »

He patted her on the shoulder, reassuringly, and started walking back into the station.
She trailed behind, not looking particularly comforted, and stared up at him.

« You don't believe me, do you...? »
« Of course I do », he lied, « but you're too shaken right now, see? The captain will want to hear whatever happened, but she'll want to hear it loud and clear. »
« Ugh... »
« Listen, while you're lying down, I'll go ahead and check the comms, okay? The rest comes later. Now, the sickbay. »

The girl sighed again and nodded, defeated.
She would've had to wait, no matter what. Stars knew if she'd still remember it later - or if she'd ever manage to forget, she glumly wondered as she settled inside and waited for her mandatory check-up.

(Maybe Sean's right... maybe I am just really tired and not thinking straight, maybe I got spooked for nothing... imagined it... or something.
Yeah. If only...)

Sean shut off the recording.
The captain bit her thumb, nervously.

« This is... most concerning », she said, as she stared pensively out of Islay's viewports. « How is she now? »
« Sleeping uneasy. Physically she's alright though - no sickness, no radiations, no drugs, no nothing. »

The ice cloud remained obstinately dense, that evening; no shift in the currents or solar winds that would regale them a glimpse of Gaia.

« That's a relief. But, this would also mean... »
« You believe her, captain? »
« I believe her in that I'm sure she's not lying to us », she replied after a brief pause. « Whether or not I believe the vice admiral is a Nomad, which I assume she meant an infested, that's another matter entirely. »
« You're not ruling it out, then? », he asked, furrowing his brow.
« Would that truly be the oddest we've seen? », she flashed him a brief, mirthless smile. « No, I don't think I can. »

He sunk into his chair at the deserted bar.

« Bloody hell. First Gaia, then Leeds, then the sodding frogs, and now our 'friend' turns out to be in bed with space squids. Can't ever catch a goddamn break. »
« Now now, XO, let us not be hasty. Keep a stiff upper lip, chap. »

He blinked at the choice of words. BAF exhortations sound odd on the lips of Gaians, ironic or not.

« Let us consider the facts. The logs.
Three things stand out to me... one, the way he has adamantly dodged questions about groups or individuals; two, the implications about Amy; third, the fact he told her to keep quiet about the incident. »
« He bribed her », he growled.
« He did », she nodded, echoing his displeasure. « Now, I wonder if he wanted her to withhold information from third parties, or us. »
« Probably the former. I mean, not like anyone's gonna believe us even if we go and tattle anyway. Just about the only ones who would give it more than a second's thought could be those shady blokes from Liberty, and I doubt they're gonna take us seriously either. »
« And telepathy is not recorded by any known instrument, at any rate. Even then, it appears only those who it is meant for can hear it... »
« Yeah, don't like that either. Not one single bit. »

He glanced outside the windows. The banks of astral, frozen mist still blocked the visual beyond the immediate distance, and barring the occasional crystal flittering about.

« What do the squids want with the girl? Or hell, what is it that they want to accomplish anyway? »
« Very fair question. One that needs answering posthaste. »
« Right. And in the meantime? »
« In the meantime », she paused for a few moments. « we stay the course. Aid the BAF and BPA where appropriate, ward off threats to Gaia. »
« What? Really? »

The captain turned around, a grave expression hardening her otherwise soft features.

« We tread on thin ice, Sean. Our Armed Forces 'friend' wishes to support us still, infested or no, and given our current situation we can't afford the luxury of making enemies - especially not ones a stone's throw away from Gaia herself.
As far as we know, this may still be an opportunity for us. »
« And if it turns out whatever the squids are plotting is no better than the Forces' orders? », he rebutted, sceptical. « What then? »
« Then », she sharply remarked, « it will be fortunate the Artio had been strengthened. It shall prove useful as we seek new comrades. »

He stared at her for a few seconds.
New comrades, she said. But if her overtures to the lawfuls won't work...

« Does that mean- »
« I pray it needn't come to that and that we can indeed come to an understanding, either with the kingdom or these mysterious forces, but we must be prepared. », she declared, resolute in her tone as much as her fiery gaze.
« We WILL protect Gaia this time, one way or the other. »

A grin, in part surprised and in part enthusiastic, crossed his face.
Finally, he thought, a course of action he could get behind immediately. Bless her heart, but he's ever been a fighter rather than a talker - and fight he will, even better if with actual old allies.

« I'll get looking for those old encryption codes! »

Captain Lefina Elwyn stopped beside the dorm door, closed her eyes and leant against the wall, taking a few long, deep breaths away from expectant eyes.
She felt terrible.

Sean may have been looking the most galvanised he's been ever since they returned, either because of her confidence - one she didn't really have, but had become adequately capable at feigning over time - or because he was itching to get back to the bad old days of constant skirmishing with the Forces, but she just couldn't share in that excitement.
It came, albeit unwillingly on his part, as an indictment of her efforts to bridge that gap - to try, in earnest, to prove Gaians can and should be reasoned with and that doing so is in everyone's interest.

(And then came the news...), she thought, with a glance to the door.

No significant inroads had yet been made, admittedly, but it still came as a cold shower.

(Dealing with the BAF isn't easy, stars know, but dealing with a potential alien threat? At least with the former you know where they stand... I have to figure out what they want, as soon as possible.
And if it gets really bad, find 'those blokes' as well... )

She sighed, pushed herself off the wall and went inside, greeted on the doorstep by the sweet smell of hyacinths and the sight of the tiny inner garden.
Islay was no Torshavn, much less Gaia, and what accommodations could be made for flora were limited by necessity - but living quarters devoid of flowers, plants and sunlight are unworthy of the name, and despite everything, this unwritten tenet of theirs was still upheld.

Amy Douglas shifted in her bed, hearing the door slide open, and groggily looked in her direction.
She blinked a few times, as if she'd just woke up - though her slightly sunken eyes suggested that what little rest she may have had, it had to be tumultuous.

« Ah, captain... it's you. »
« Hi, Amy », she smiled. « How are you feeling? »
« A mess. Couldn't sleep straight for so long, thinking and worrying, and eventually I'd just kind of... flopped down. »
« Still thinking about your encounter, hm? »

The girl nodded.
She walked over to her bedside, pulled up a chair, and sat down.

« Sorry, ma'am. It's just... it wears on my mind a lot, and it's hard to forget that feeling... »
« Do not apologise. There's nothing to apologise for, don't worry, and if you'd rather talk later, just say the word. »
« No, no, it's fine. I wanted to tell you the moment I arrived actually, but the XO sent me away for check-ups and rest... I guess I really must've looked like I was insane there, haha », she chuckled, with little amusement.
« Well then, Amy. I'm listening. »

The pilot pulled herself up, stuck the pillow behind her back, and took a deep breath - figuring out where to start.

« Well... I'm guessing you saw the logs, right? Sean said he'd look at them. »
She nodded. She also felt a little uncomfortable, prying into her mind like that, but it was for a good cause; and she couldn't help but smile, albeit melancholically, at some of the things she'd said - her yearning for peace foremost among those.
« And I guess it didn't include the part that made me freak out, right? Since it's, well, psychic stuff... »
She nodded again. « What is it he said? »
« It was... when I asked him to show me where's the peace, he thought, er, he said... "yours shall find peace at the right moment, ours revealed this information to yours"... »

She frowned.
Added to the man's reticence on naming who his supposed allies are, the already ominous message managed to sound even more worrying.

« And when he was saying that, I felt like it was speaking directly into my mind, echoing, and... the thoughts they were like, creeping in, like I could feel them, and... »
« That's enough », she said, holding up her hand as to stop her; Amy looked down and quietened up. « I can see why you are so shaken... and tell me, was it like this with the Nomad warform as well? »
« Yeah... I think so. It's been a while, but now I'm thinking back, it felt more or less the same way... maybe stronger? I-I don't really know. Sorry. »

(Two clues do not a proof make), she thought, (but it's reason enough to wonder...)

« Captain... what do those things want from me? Why are they talking to me? I wondered if I was... psychic or something but the vice admiral said it's just that they want to talk to me, and I don't get why! », pleaded the girl, worry once more settling on her features; the captain took her hand in hers, as to reassure her.
« I'm sorry, Amy, I wish I knew myself. But we will figure it out, once you're back up on your feet. Okay? »

The girl remained silent for a few seconds, then looked up, her bright green eyes shimmering with a spirited, defiant light, and moved her bedsheets away - as well as the captain's hand, albeit more gently.

« I'm fine, I can get back to it straight away. Really. I'm not gonna learn anything by staying in here anyway. »

She scoffed.
(Stubborn, beset by adversity, and ultimately undaunted... how familiar do those traits ring. I wish they did not.)

« Perhaps not, but I still want you at your best. » she retorted, shaking her head. « Now rest, tomorrow you'll be very busy. Understood? »
« ... I'll hold you to that, captain. And thanks. »

Lefina gave a little, dismissive wave of the hand and stood up, as Amy pulled the pillow down and slipped back beneath the sheets; not long afterwards, the girl fell asleep again.
She took her leave then, taking care not to make noise, only stopping for a moment to look back at the young pilot.

(There won't be any need for that, my dear girl. Sirius will see to it.)

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Karmotrine Dream

Karmotrine Dream

Karmotrine Dream