*A communicator flies across the room, hitting the wall and breaking into two pieces*
"DAMN IT!"
Druce sits down on a wooden chair in front of his work-desk. He opens a bottle of mead, pours half a pint into a wooden jug and drinks it down, as if it was ordinary lemonade.
"Goodness, Bret! The moment you get you and Vixen a safe place t stay, ya get captured" he murmurs to himself. He closes his eyes and rests his head on his hands propped in his desk.
"Well, I cant go there with m ClaymoreTh others wont like that, an I shouldnt bring any dirt t usIiiii think I should put some of m old connections t good use"
He stands up, goes to the wall, pick up pieces of the trashed communicator and puts them back together. Strangely enough, the communicator worked almost flawlessly.
FirstlyI need t get t lawful space
* * * * * * * * * *
>> Outgoing transmittion <<
Greets, Vixen!
I want t help you fetch Bret from that hellhole. I cant go with any of th Gaian ships, though, so Ill need somethin less suspicious. Can ya give me a ride to lawful Bretonian space t Leeds? I'd be grateful if ya could.
Please reply when ya can, lass. See ya soon, I hope.
>> Transmittion finished <<
* * * * * * * * * *
Ive got t stop throwing this aroundhe chuckles a bitNow, wheres that guy's commID?
Vixen sat in her commanding chair, in a half-sleep as she trawled the masses of information that assaulted her almost constantly. A slight bump against her mind caught her attention, and she found a message, from Druce, no less. Her eyes snapped open as she finished the message, and she tensed, the engines roaring into life. Heading away from Gran canaria, she set a course straight for Islay.
A million dollars isn't cool. You know what is cool? A basilisk.
“Leeds…I never would’ve imagined I’d come back to this hellhole…I almost forgot about th’ warm an’ cozy feeling of having yer lungs eaten by smog…”he thinks to himself, as he tries hard not to cough every five seconds. It’s gotten even worse than what he remembers. Factories have been replaced by bigger factories. The visibility distance used to be farther than what it is now because of the bigger amount of exhaust fumes eating away the last rays of the stars. Even the last few square inches of dirt are now replaced by cold pavement.
He turns around and waves again at Vixen’s ship taking off back into space… “Thank ye, lass… We shall succeed, dun’ worry.“he thinks to himself… Time is short, and there’s not a second to waste, if Bret is to be saved with his fur still intact…Still, his face should stay concealed beneath his cape as well, just in case…
After buying a map and spending several hours in various transport shuttles, passing both industrial and residential zones, and, to his dismay, with not a sign of fauna or flora in sight, he reaches his destination: a small pub in a quiet, smelly alley on the outskirts of a waste reprocessing zone. He looks on his communicator once more, to assure it’s the place he is supposed to meet. Immediately upon entering, his nose is struck by the smell of tobacco and ale. He looks around the place, trying to find a familiar face, but to no avail, so he goes to the front.
“Oh well, might as well try the local ale…"he thinks to himself and turns to the barmaid:“Nata uimpi, curmi da!”he tells her with a smile, only to receive a surprised look by her and a few glares by the others.
“Still trying the Gaulish charms on the ladies, Drucocu?”he hears a warm, familiar voice. He turns right and sees a tall, middle-aged man with not a hair on his head. “Helena, the usual please. One more for my friend over here.”
“Simon? Well I’ll be! It’s been years.” Druce greets his old friend happily.“How are ya holdin’ up? I hear ye have recently joined th’ Green F…”
“Shh! Not so loud, mate! There are too many Planetform workers and miners in this pub for us to get out of here with our hides, should we get unwanted attention…” and he points to the pub’s Wanted board. Between a few Outcasts, Corsairs and Mollys, there are even a few Gaian pilots, including his ship, Nauticus.
“…So for the time being, you’d better use this” he gives Druce an identification card, already with his photograph, fake name and address.
“Thinkin’ about all details beforehand, I see,” Druce smiles.“Thank you, friend. But I think ya know that I didn’t come t’ this hellhole just fer a fake ID card”
“Yes, I believe you mentioned something about a ship?”
“Aye. I’m going t’ need a ship which doesn’t have SHOOT MEH ARSE written all over it, with as much firepower an’ armor as possible.” he grins.
“Hey hey hey now, I COULD try to find something for unnoticed movement, but what makes you think I’ll get you a war-machine?”
“It’s because I like to save arses,” Druce chuckles “just like I saved yours from the wolves back in th’ days when were used t’ race through th’ forests of Cambridge. Besize, Sim, yer th’ only one in lawful space I can fully trust.”
“I guess I do still owe you one for that”Simon chuckles.“So you need this for a rescue mission?”
“Aye, but I’ll rather tell ya th’ details somewhere with less ears…”
“Agreed! Finish up your beer and I’ll get my ship ready.”
“Ugh…No thank ye. Th’ stuff tastes like dog piss!”he pushes the jug aside, and as he passes around the wanted board, he leaves a small note just under the wanted bulletin of Nauticus, saying: “Extremely important to donate mead before attempting contact!”
“Druce, you surprise me more each time I hear about you…Not only have you dedicated your life to preserving nature, you want to save someone whom you know only for a shorter time, and it’s from a place few people returned sane…Is it worth it, my friend?”says Simon, with a surprised look in his eyes, after hearing out Druce’s story.
“People change, ya know that very well. Fortunately fer me, it was in th’ good direction, knowin’ what a bugger I used t’ be… But still…I just have a feeling I can’t let ‘im there. Dun’ worry, though. I won’t be th’ only one. I’ll be joinin’ a few peeps. I guess I’ll get t’ see what it’s like in that Gallia of theirs an’d hopefully live t’ tell th’ tale”Druce laughs.
“Your parents would be proud of you, Druce. To them, their son becoming a Gaian was one of the most honorable things that could have happened to them.”
Druce pauses a bit at the memory of his mother and father…He has not seen them for years. Are they still even alive? Now that he thinks of it, he owns it all to them…If they hadn’t put their foot down and hadn’t moved to Cambridge, his life would have been different…He probably would have ended up as a worker in BMM and several cancers…
“Are you okay, lad?”
Druce realizes a tear is sliding down his cheek.
“No, ‘tis alright, dun’ worry. I really should visit ‘em, if they’re still alive, that is…It’s too risky now." he sighsHopefully, when th’ perils end and th’ rays of morning light blind th’ government’s eyes enough…”
He pauses for a while again, staring outside the window, but his train of thought gets interrupted by a woman walking into the room. She was fine looking, half-Kusarian, had long, black hair, and her face…The scar on her left eye…Could it be…
“Oh, good evening! I didn’t know we had a guest, dear.”
“Akane? Is that…you?”
She looked a bit puzzled, trying to dig out her memories…But as soon as she swept into the correct corner, her facial expression turned from uncertainty to extreme happiness.
“Druce? OH MY GOODNESS!!! What are you doing here? WOW, you’ve changed! How are you? I didn’t know…”the woman shouted out in amazement and joy, almost forgetting to inhale regularly and doing what she can not to start jumping all around the living room.“Simie, why didn’t you tell me he’s here? I would’ve come back earlier.”
“Sorry, honey, I wanted to make it a surprise”Simon explained as he can’t help but smile, as he realizes all three of them have not been together like this for many years.
“Well I certainly hope you’ll be staying for a while with us.”
“I’d fancy that more than anythin’, Akane, but I’m afraid I’m planetside only fer a short while. It’s still dangerous. But th’ evening’s young, so we can catch up on ol’ times, aye?”He grinned at them both“So, gettin’ married without my blessin’, you two? I always knew you’ve always had th’ ticker for her, ya tiger, hahahahah!”he gives Simon a friendly punch in his arm as he starts to blush.
As the last rays of the star surrendered to the fume-ridden clouds and the star itself hid behind the chimneys, the night grew quiet outside, but only mildly, for the humming sound of the ships and factories was always there, polluting even the last atoms of air yet not conducting noise…This did not stop the three, enjoying the moment of reunion, remembering the past, the green forests where the three spent their youths…until the clock struck twelve.
“Darn, look at the time. It's getting late. You should rest now, Druce. Your room is prepared upstairs. We’ll sort out something tomorrow.”he grins mischeviously.
“Thank you a lot, ol’ friend…Good night to you both. It was great seeing you after such a long time. I’ll be seeing you in the morning."
“Unfortunately, I’ll be leaving even earlier than you. I’m leading a demonstration half a thousand miles from here, so I have to be fresh.”She hugs Druce, almost breaking his ribs.“Take care of yourself, promise me?”
“I promise, lass. And you promise me ye’ll take care of the bugger here, kay?”he winks at her, pointing with one eye on Simon.
“Don’t worry, I’ll do my best.”she giggles.
Returning to a fragment of his past, witnessing how Leeds had gone from bad to worse, meeting old friends, the feeling of guilt about not being able to see visit his parents…Oh how can things keep one from getting a good night’s sleep so easily…
The next day…The serenity of the darkness is distorted by the first ragged star rays, slowly driving away the twilight and slowly warming up the cold morning air and giving the metallic roofs of factories a reddish hue.
*yawn*“Where are we goin’?”asks Druce, having slept only for a few hours and his senses still not fully awaken.
“You shall see soon enough…”Simon grins. They get into Simon’s compact shuttle and Set off the other way from which they came yesterday. Passing one industrial zone after another, separated only by occasional dead lands, polluted rivers and leftovers of half-dying vegetation, approximately after an hour, they arrive to what it seems as a hangar zone. From the view of Simon’s small shuttle, the hangars seem to go on for miles…
“Now where is it…583, 584, 585, just a few more…”Simon murmurs to himself “…ah! Here we are! Let’s go.” He pulls his shuttle over.
The hangar in front of which they were standing looks seriously neglected, when compared to other hangars. “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover,” he winks at Druce,”and come see what the inside awaits you.”
They entered the hangar, the interior of which looked even more horrible than its exterior. Many old boxes, crates, a few rusty pieces of machinery, and in the corner, something big covered with a large sheet. Simon went next to it, and pressed a button on the wall, which triggered the sheet removal…
“You like?” Simon asked, amused by the surprised look on Druce’s face.
“Hey! That’s your old Waran! I remember this baby very well."
“It’s been here for years. I didn’t even bother to unmount its weaponry. It had a few holes in it after a few minor incidents, so I repaired it a bit, and hey, it’s in operable condition. I’ve never had the guts to fly it again, though, and I probably never will. I’m getting too old for flying, so I’ve been saving it for a rainy day…which is today.”
“Y…Ya want me to take it, Simon?”Druce looked at Simon with a half-surprised, half-grateful look.
“Yes, Druce. I’m sure you will put it to better use. Feel free to keep it in your possession once the whole jig is up, I'll be glad to hear about an arse-ugly ship striking fear into the hearts of Planetform ships.”He smiles.
“Simon, I…I don’t know what t' say…Thank you!! For this I owe you big time!”
“No thanks are necessary, lad. Just look out for yourself, and stay out of trouble, kay? It just needs a new callsign. What will it be, Druce?”
“Hmm…Samonios.”Druce says after a while
“Ah, I see you haven’t changed your ancient habits, Drucocu.” he grins. “Hopefully this seed will produce its fruit…So, to your mission, lad!”he passes Druce a jug of mead.
“An’ I see yer still a mead-lover, Simon, just like I am.”Druce chuckles.“I’ve gotta tell ya, though, it’s contagious. Nothin’ beats havin’ a jug of good ol’ Cambridge mead before a nice flight, aye?”
“Then I guess I’m a good teacher.”He shrugs his shoulders
After initiating the ship’s systems and a couple of last-minute checks to make sure the ship won’t die in mid-space, the newly christened Samonios flew off through the acidic clouds of Leeds…As it broke through the last toxic particles, a flashback of yesternight struck him. He finally saw two of his best friends. Married together! He never would've imagined he would feel so happy dor them. In a corner of his soul though, he envied them both a bit. The two of them managed to settle down, a blessing he has not even come close to. Will he ever manage to reach this point of life? Or is he destined to be a lone fighter? On one hand, a relationship would mean dividing his current commitment to Gaia. On the other hand, he feels like he can't be doing this forever.
"Still, it would be too dangerous fer any girl t'…"his thought is interrupted by a sudden influx of pain…The familiar pain which brings him fear every time he feels it…He feels as if his whole body is being torn apart from the inside…His vision is forcefully changing from colorful to blood-red…Every inch of his skin feels like on fire, as if a thousand needles were about to inject out of it from the subcutaneous layer…While he still has control over his body and his actions, he desperately tries to find…pain…increasing…no, not here…losing…*panting*…uurgh…*growling* At last, he pulls out a vial filled with silvery liquid, quickly opens it and pours its content into his mouth. After a few seconds, the pain goes away, and his senses return back to normal, revealing the sound of the ship’s alarm systems, warning the pilot about the rapidly decreasing altitude. He quickly grabs the controls of the ship and pulls it up, seconds before it would hit solid ground.
“This is why! DAMN IT!”he shouts at himself and mashes the control panel in front of him with his fist.“Why did I have t' crawl into that damn den? I cannot put anyone into danger! Not until I get rid of this…”he looks towards the clear skies, and a tear slides down one cheek“Hopefully, if I survive th’ hellhole that awaits me…Perhaps Bret and Vixen can further shed some light into this…”
Next stop, Orkney. The gate to Gallia…
![[Image: ok7dc6.jpg]](http://i51.tinypic.com/ok7dc6.jpg)
