'What have I gotten meself into?' the man thinks to himself, cursing the previous encounter with three NLH ships, as he hesitatingly puts off his helmet, replaces it with a black cap and unstraps himself from the seat of the Eagle'¦
'I could've stayed up there in space instead of this hellhole'¦At least out there, there wasnae anyoon' ta sell me inta slavery'¦' he sighs with a light chuckle. He hears a few voices on the other side, they are apparently waiting for him to leave the ship.
'I bet they're aimin' guns at th' ship, so I'd best not make any sudden movements'¦Yes, as if'¦ Them blokes ARE Gaians'¦They must be holdin' at least some answers valuable fer my current state'¦ Furthermore, that lad mentioned names'¦ his knees bend a little as another wave of headaches soar through cranium, too many, in fact'¦He must know somethin''¦'
'Well, here goes'¦', he takes one last deep breath from the self-sustained air inside his ship and hits the button to open the door. He slowly steps out of his ship, walking towards the people who could help him in some way'¦ or shoot him without hesitation'¦
![[Image: 33z8nj7.jpg]](http://i56.tinypic.com/33z8nj7.jpg)
The man stands, without any movement, like a deer caught in headlights...
Jonah slowly maneuvered the Breath into Islay's main hangar,following the detritus Eagle carefully. The ship was indeed a sad sight, armed with decaying guns, the back wing was half-torn off, and the cockpit seemed cracked in several spots. Jonah saw a figure exit the Eagle as he landed his Claymore, but he hadn't gotten a close look. As the Claymore hugged the landing pad with love, the side door opened, and the stairs lowered to the ground. Jonah walked down the stairs, and towards the stranger, hand on his kukri, sharp as anger itself.
As he came closer, it hit him like a ten ton hammer to the head. He was, in fact, looking at a lost friend, one he was starting to lose all hope for. He started to dash for the figure, a tear caught in the side of his eye. He hugged the man, striking him so hard with his body almost to have knocked him flat on the ground.
He pushed the bedazzled man away and almost screamed;
"DRUCE!!! Yah rotten bastard, where yah been? I almost lost mah god damn mind tryn'a find yah on dat bloody jungle planet! Oh mon, oh mon, wait till da otha's hear about dis..."
He looked upwards then, and said; "Yah got a weird sense of humour, yah know dat?"
“All these people, lookin‘ at me as if I was some kind of weirdo...What gives?” he says to himself, feeling indescribably nervous and anxious… Suddenly he sees a dark-skinned, muscular man with long black dreadlocks approaching him…he certainly didn’t like his hand being place on top of a very suspicious object. Suddenly, the dreadlocked man’s facial expression changed and the man rapidly accelerated. “Oh no oh no, this isnae goin’ ta end well…” he whimpers quietly as the man keeps getting closer. Before he manages to turn his head for any prospective escape routes that would give him at least a few minutes of survival, the man grabs him.
“Uhh…can’t..breathe…ribs…So this is it? Death by crushin’…eh…wait…is this man…huggin’ me??”
As the dark-skinned man releases him, he stumbles and falls backwards on to his back. The man’s familiar voice has triggered another wave of headaches and fragments firing by in his head, but he manages to shake it off for now and slowly stands up. “You…yer…voice…is familiar…we knew each-other, didnn’ we?” he looks at the dark-skinned with a puzzled look. “I remember…something…but only parts…I…” he lowers his eyes to the ground…So this was it? This is where he left off? At Islay, the secret Gaian base? Was he a Gaian? A terrorist? Now that he thinks about it, does he really want to know what his past was? What if his past was written in blood? Then again…He has to start somewhere…Does he really have a choice? He NEEDS to know who he is…
He raised his head back at the dark-skinned man: “What did ya say my name was again?”
Jonah looked at Druce, slightly confused.
"Uh, da name be Druce. Druce Faolan, callsigned Nauticus. Dat was da name o' yah Claymore. So yah don't remember anythin'... Damnit. I was hopin' yah was jus' yankin' mah chain dere in space. Urmm... ah,dis sure be awkward... Um. I gunna show ya ta' yah room, maybe yah find sumthin' dat jog yah memory dere."
As Jonah slowly started walking towards the inner sphere of Islay, he motioned over to Druce to follow him.
"So, I dun suppose yah remember me den, do ya? Name be Jonah, an' I been kickin' arses an' takin' manes since ah' joined da movement. Tell me, whatcha need ta' know, I gunna explain da best I can."
He tossed the best smile he could muster to Druce.
'Druce'¦Faolan'¦' he repeats Jonah's words'¦So now he at least knows his name'¦Although it's his, he has a feeling he'll need to get his mind to get used to reacting to it again'¦Druce follows Jonah, maintaining his pace to walk beside him. Looking around the old-new halls, he sees many people waving him, probably having heard the quickly spreading news of his return. He throws a few faint smiles around and concentrates on whatever Jonah is telling him, afraid of missing even a slight piece of information'¦
'Jonah'¦', he looks at his companion. He meant to ask him if they had known each-other for long, but questions of insecurity began to emerge. Should he ask him how long had he known him, whether they were friends, or mere 'colleagues'? Can he trust him at all?? '¦ Those questions were gradually washed away by a small fragment of a lost thought that blinked in his mind, somehow assuring him that they seem to have known each-other long enough and they have perhaps been good friends'¦ He realizes he has been gazing a bit because of being lost in his thoughts, so he shakes his head a bit, and continues on: 'I think I'll need ta know th' skeletal pieces fer starters, th' rest will come on its oo'wn hopefully'¦Stuff like'¦What was my main duty? Anythin' specific I was involved in? What ship did I fly?...'
Then he slows down his pace as the head-ache hits him again'¦ 'on second thought'¦What booze did I use ta wash down headaches?', he grins a bit at him.
"Booze? I dunno, really. I tink da bartenda' got some green stuff yah used ta' drink... No idea what it be, really. Made me crash down ta' da floor an' pass out fah' some half an hour."
He seemed to be thinking a bit, looked around a bit, and started to walk again.
"Da skeleton...? Well, I dunno how ta' tell ya dis... but yah was da second in command, an' yah was da security officer fah' all our bases." -he chuckled- "It'll come back ta' yah, I be sure. Yah ship... yah. Da Nauticus. A Claymore - class gunship, jus' like mine. 'Course, yah also zipped around here an' dere in yah bomber, a Mamoru. Yah called it... Samonios, if I ain't mistaken. Da Nauticus be parked on Glendale in Lewis, an' Samonios... it be in da storage hangar here on Islay. Specifics... well, last we heard o' yah, yah left fah' Gran Canaria fah' some reason a while ago, left some weird message ta' Sequoia on her neural transponder... an' yah jus'... vanished. Any ideas on what happened down dere? I went ta' look fah' ya, but found nuthin'."
Druce enters a small, quiet bar in a less-busy corridor. He's not quite sure how he knew that it is there, since he doesn't recall ever being there, so he reckons he must have known the route somewhat subconsciously. Jonah walks inside right behind him, answering all his questions. He doesn't answer or react just yet, as he's trying to force his brain into unlocking whatever there's secluded upon hearing each piece of Jonah's information, storing it into some kind of mental buffer, going through each piece one at a time...
"Th' usual...", he utters to the barkeep, not sure if he has had any usual beverage, apart from the green liquid Jonah mentioned...He starts regretting it inside slightly since he can't really remember what it was, but the barkeep brings 2 flagons with something golden-coloured inside them. He takes a sip from his flagon...it was mead, he remembers, and realizes how much he has missed the taste of it. They both take their flagons and sit down at the table near the less-lit corner of the bar.
"Second in command? ... Security officer? Well...that's gonna need some time ta get used ta...", he ponders quietly, ...a gunboat an' a bomber? Hmm, goin' ta need someone ta help me remember how ta fly those buggers properly, I nearly dove into th' two suns on my way inta Edinborough...", he chuckles and looks at Jonah sitting opposite to him with a semi-amused, semi-worried face. He looks into his flagon, the lights from the roof of the bar dancing in the tiny waves on the surface of the mead ...Jonah, how long was I gone? I dinnae remember anythin' except fer some --- "
=====
The dripping rain gently carresses the leaves of the trees, its mother-clouds concealing the starlight, keeping it all for themselves... An occasional noise of a distant animal can be heard, but it's the only sound daring to interrupt the melody of the raindrops dancing on the leaves and the wet soil... Druce looks around, searching for any movement amidst the infinite darkness he's part of. He pulls out a communicator, its light blinding at first, but becoming more comfortable as his eyes slowly accomodate and focus on the sole source of artificial light. The screen shows a map of the surrounding area, portraying an endless forest area... He stares at the screen for a few minutes without movement, barely breathing. As he is putting it back into the pocket...
*BEEP!* One motion source detected. Location northward. Estimated distance nine hundred meters, and decreasing rapidly...
*BEEP!* seven hundred and fifty meters... It's moving in fast... Druce puts the communicator back into his pocket...
*BEEP!* six hundred meters. Druce pulls out a small device from his pocket and presses a button. The device flashes a dark-violet light into his eyes, immediately accomodating them to the dark environment.
*BEEP!* four hundred *BEEP!* two hundred and fifty meters. Druce puts the device back and places his right arm on the handle of his blade clipped to his suit.
*BEEP!* One hundred meters. It's almost here!
...
The radar stops beeping. It has stopped. Druce remains motionless, standing in a defensive position, staring into the dark void in front of him. He waits for one minute...two...three...he knows it's there...
*BEEP!* Alert! Two additional motion sources detected. *BEEP!* Locations north, southwest, east. Distance fifty meters
*BEEP!*
*BEEP!*
*BEEP!*
*BEEP!*
=====
AAAAARGH!!!!!!, Druce cries out as he grabs his head-ache tormented head. He tries standing up, but blinded by the pain, he stumbles to the side and falls off of his chair. He tries opening his eyes, but all he can see through the pulsating pain is the side of the floor he is lying on and a glimpse of Jonah terrified and standing above him. He can barely make out the words of Jonah calling for help as he slowly drifts out of consciousness.
[color=#99FF99][font=Book Antiqua]..........Druce...........time to wake up...........