Not far of Freeport 14, Alberta system, 19th October 825 A.S
Between two missions, Yann was heading for the Freeport14 in Alberta. Following the disaster in the Texas system, the commander sought answers to his questions. He has decided to contact an secret friend in the Navy who had supported his departure for the Separatists almost a year before.
Yann: I hope he received my communication. I do not even know if he's alive or not. Nevertheless, I think he can help me.
He was speaking to himself. Blackwings crossed the eastern part of Alberta and arrived in sight of the Freeport. The station gave him permission to dock.
Yann: Okay. I'll dock this ship. I gave him an appointment at the bar. I hope he will be there.
The "Guardian" docked in block 7. The engines cut off, and the captain got out of his ship. He looked around and a Zoner approached him.
Zoner: Welcome. I think this is your first visit here no?
Yann: You know how to distinguish a face of a person arriving for the first time here and the regulars. Where can I find the bar?
Zoner: Take this corridor. Everything is indicated. You cannot get lost. Do you want us to take care of this ship?
Yann: It will not be necessary. My presence here is only ephemeral.
He took the corridor indicated by the Zoner and quickly arrived at the bar. It was a classic Freeports bar. One as we can see often. Many people were having fun with games, alcohol and all kinds of activities. Yann looked around him. No trace of his old friend. After a few minutes exploring the bar, he thought to leave, anxious to not have found the one he was looking for. Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice.
?: Well then? You leave without saying hello to your friend?
Yann stopped and then turned around. He had before him the person for whom he had made this long journey.
Yann: Lewis ... We finally meet again at last.
The two men hugged each other. Yann took the opportunity to discreetly hang a small spherical object on the back of Lewis's belt.
Lewis: How are you? It has beena while! he said in a very enthusiastic tone.
Yann: The times might be better. Did you receive my communication? Nobody followed you?
Lewis: Yes, I received it well. You did well to send it to me under a Freelancer encryption. Otherwise, I think I would have had troubles!
Yann: I do not have a lot of time. But we must absolutely speak.
Lewis: So let's take a table, and let's talk. I think it was not for nothing that you contacted me.
They took a free table next to an observation window leading to the dark matter storm in the West of the system.
Lewis: Sorry for the delay. I had some things to do. The business within the fleet is not very good these days.
Yann: It doesn’t matter. I had been going around in circles for ten minutes. So I thought you would not come. Besides, I am surprised that you have accepted this meeting. After all, we are enemies now. If Admiral Linford knew I was talking to you, I think this discussion would be my last one.
Lewis: We have always been in touch since the Academy. It was even me when you taught me about the infection in the High Command that drove you to fulfill your wish to leave the Navy.
Yann: That's right. I remember you couldn't go with me. You weren't ready to give up everything. Especially since you have your wife and children. Besides, how are they?
Lewis hesitated a moment. We could see his eyes shine.
Lewis: I ... The kids are fine. But Alison has been seriously sick for some time. And my salary does not allow me to cover all the care. I tried several times to get money by asking the smugglers to get compensation. I will let them go then. But that’s impossible. My crew would denounce me.
Yann: I see. The world is going badly. Do you still have your gunboat?
Lewis: Yeah. I do not want to be transferred to the Texan front. I don’t want to kill Separatists. Gallia seem to me to be a bigger threat, so I use this pretext.
Yann: ...
Lewis: But hey! I'm not here to tell my life! So you came here. I think that's important, isn't it?
Yann sighed then began to explain what had happened.
Yann: The Bering was destroyed only a few days ago. A Nomad ambush in Texas. Unfortunately, we couldn’t do anything. A large part of my crew, however, managed to evacuate.
Yann: My ship has been destroyed. Obviously this was to happen someday. But I didn’t think it would happen in such circumstances. These Nomads touched something they didn’t have to touch. They will regret it.
Lewis: I heard a lot about Bering. Tell me what's going on.
Yann: The Unioners preferred to follow a different path from ours. Our different ones have come into conflict. It's nothing compared to the Gallic front. It is a total and bloody war. Rarely have I seen such a desire to destroy the other. So much hatred for those who were once our best allies. So much death for a simple territorial and material claim. It's absolutely ridiculous.
He took a glass and looked a bit in the void. Lewis wanted to know more. He tried to ask him to continue. He was embarrassed by that.
Lewis: But ... And nobody does anything for peace?
Yann: We tried. The Lane Hackers attempted to draft a fair peace treaty with both parties. But the Unioners and their leaders wanted to play their big head. After that, the Hackers gave up. And then Harmony and Unioners found nothing better than to annihilate each other with NEMPs.
Lewis: Really?! And what about now?
Yann: Stalemate. Nothing moves. Everyone thinks of their wounds while waiting for the beginning of the Apocalypse. And everything is not rosy within Harmony. I haven’t seen Admiral Knight since a while. Linford has now a totalitarian power and several suspicious disappearances notably the Cheryl Augustine one’s -the ancient Major of the Chefornak- are kept more or less unclear.
Lewis: And you in all of this?
Yann: I'm getting tired of it. If I went to Harmony, it was to annihilate those Nomads who pull the strings within the Navy High Command. Not to end in a completely useless war with our allies. That is not our mission
Lewis: But yet, Harmony made a huge blow in Texas by destroying Jack O'Neil. It made a huge noise within the Navy.
Yann: Yes. This operation has filled me. And we succeeded. Nevertheless, I feel that it is not enough. While we have purged a large number of infected but you see, it doesn’t satisfy me anymore.
Lewis: I don’t understand you anymore. What do you mean?
Yann: The O'Neil and the infected are destroyed. Yes and so? The work is done. But we must not delude ourselves. The circle is complete. We will not, in any case not immediately to conquer Liberty. We will fight against humans who have no relations with the Nomads. By and large Harmony will have already accomplished his mission.
Lewis: I suppose you will leave Harmony?
Yann: It's possible. But I cannot leave without the rest of my crew. They want to take their revenge against the Nomads. And they are aware that this can no longer be done within Harmony.
Lewis: Why not join the Order in this case?
Yann: For a simple reason. I don’t want to be in an organization and where you have to do what your superiors ask you to do. Until now, Harmony fulfilled my ideal. This is no longer the case. So I understood that only I can accomplish this ideal. And for that, you have to be free. Free of all chains that can hold you back.
Lewis: In summary, being a Freelancer as I understand it. And your crew?
Yann: They are driven by the revenge’s desire. I try to calm them. But they too are not fooled and start to share an opinion similar to mine. However, I don’t know yet if they are ready to accept this destiny.
Lewis: And how do you will do? You need a ship for that. I mean, your cruiser would have been useless to travel constantly through Sirius, and especially in the Omicrons. You're going to need a big ship for that. A battleship
Yann: I'm aware of it. But stealing a ship is impossible. Especially since I have nothing to capture him and my crew even if he has a long experience of cruisers will take time to learn to control a battleship.
Lewis: No, no. I wasn’t talking about Harmony. I'm talking about the Navy. You could capture a battleship of the Navy. It's easier. And I can help you.
Yann: Simpler? I don’t think so. But if you have an idea, I'm ready to hear it.
Lewis: But of course, I cannot join you. But I can give you useful information. After that, you'll have to fend for yourself.
Yann: Go ahead. What do you know?
Lewis: I was recently transferred to New Hampshire in order to rest a bit after long months on the Gallic front. I was assigned to the Taskforce 21, which was tasked with patrolling New Hampshire after your attack on a Navy depot. The flagship of this very small fleet is the LNS-Ontario, one of the newest battleships in the Navy.
Yann: Interesting. It is true that New Hampshire is itself poorly guarded since it is a peripheral system and that all attention is now focused on Texas or California.
Lewis: That's why this battleship is escorted only very weakly. Only a few fighters or more. And then I know it has a decent cloaking device.
Yann: I see. But I have to find a way to capture it. It is true that New Hampshire is really a stroke of luck. The shipyards of Puerto Rico are at a sufficient distance to bring the ship to be repaired.
Lewis: Take that. This is its patrol route. A last thing, LNS-Ontario was assigned to this mission for three months. The mission started middle of September. So you have only two months left.
Yann: That should do it. Thank you for agreeing to see me again.
Lewis: It was a pleasure. Haha, how could I refuse?
The two men got up and left the bar. With valuable information, Yann headed for his ship. Lewis insisted to escorted him to the block. They entered a narrow passage poorly lit by old lights. A gun that Lewis carried fell to the ground and hastened to pick it up. Yann was now in front of him. The two men smiled at each other and continued to cross the corridor. But against all odds, Lewis pointed his gun at Yann.
Lewis: Oh, but it's too early to say goodbye. Hands in the air.
Yann turned and found that his friend was only two meters away from him threatening him with a weapon. Trapped, Yann obeys. He didn’t seem to be disturbed at all as if he expected this outcome.
Yann: So you made your decision. Why this one?
Lewis: Why? You ask why? Would you have forgotten who you are? You are only a traitor! You betrayed us to serve your small ambitions. Basically, they took over your feelings and you left us.
Yann: Oh, I see. A little revenge to settle isn’t it?
Lewis began to be agitated and angry.
Lewis: Not only. Your head is bountied you know? When I received your communication, it was like a blessing for me. I could capture you or kill you and get the money and then save my wife and make sure I have a social life afterwards.
Yann: What a noble cause to save and protect your family. So you have not changed.
Lewis: I made a choice. It was you or my wife. I have a family and you don’t. It is a right action that you are able to understand.
Yann: So this whole story about LNS-Ontario is wrong?
Lewis: Of course not. It is true. Same for its patrol route that I gave you. But it didn’t matter if I told you the truth because you wouldn’t do anything with it anyway. Your fate was already sealed. And then it avoided me possible contradictions that could put you on the track.
Yann: Your little plan is well done.
Lewis: You're really pathetic. You really thought that I was going to be impassive in front of you. In order to find answers, you turned to the past. So you only could be naive. Your past with me just trapped you. And in the end, you did not even think about this possible betrayal. Come on now. I want to offer a gift in good condition to my superiors. Especially since you must have a lot of information to give us, right?
Blackwings suddenly laughed.
Yann: You're wrong.
Lewis: What?!He got angry.
Yann: I knew you would betray me one day or the other. That's why I discreetly placed this little object in your back, hanging on your belt when we met at the bar.
Caught in a cold sweat, Lewis turned and saw the object behind his back. He took it in his hand. At the same moment Yann lowered his arms, took a small trigger in his pocket and his gun. Seeing him do it, Lewis pointed his weapon on Yann again while having still the small object in his hand. Yann pressed the trigger and the sphere in Lewis's hands electrocuted him. Then he shot his old friend at close range. Lewis collapsed. Yann approached him
Lewis: Ah ... .you ... why?he said with a weak voice.
Yann: Your reasoning was good. But I was aware of it. You thought I would not suspect anything because of our past together. Basically, you trapped yourself.
Lewis: Ahh ... ghhhh.
Yann: I'm sorry.
Blackwings gave him a slight smile. Lewis stopped breathing. The Captain turned and rejoined his ship. While leaving the station he questioned himself:
Yann: The Past ... And what does the future hold for us now?
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