The comfort of the bed felt kept it's occupant sleeping for quite some time. A shuffle from Cruz caused the Starflier to wake up. With everything feeling a little too similar, the thought crossed Rex's mind that what we went through must have been a dream. Pain struck his right arm as he tries to lift himself up to sit on the mattress. The hole in his jacket arm shows a bandage between it and his own arm. Lifting the sleeve, the bandage is felt to be tightly wrapped with a strange dressing applied throughout. Once Rex was done examining his own arm, he locks eyes with a familiar face. Struggling to accept what happened, Rex repositions himself to be comfortable and proceeds to gently massage his arm.
"Cruz, was it? Can you explain to me what just happened? I didn't ask to be shot at."
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Godspeed, Pilots.
The nervous and friendly Outcast awkwardly smiled upon Rex, trying to catch the adequate words for what happened and, after a short silence, he said:
“I am afraid I do not have all the answers for you. But…I can respond several questions, and even rumors, too. This isolated facility, the Antártida complex, was created centuries ago by a powerful Don. Its original purpose is shrouded by mystery, but as you can see, this is not an ordinary place.”
Alberto Cruz sweated a bit, his composure was firm but he seemed stressed by trying to remember all the details, as he followed precise orders regarding the treatment with the outsider:
“Julia got the idea to use this installation as a recruitment spot for certain elements that had transgressed the ways of the Maltese, but fortuitous enough to survive the wrath of their judges. She knew the elder before Malta Hyperspace Starfleet was fully operational. We refer him as the warden; she did not want to reveal us his name, I wonder why, and the old man obeys to this, too. He is a savant in many areas, but he has lost some of his sanity and memory, due to reasons I do not know and I doubt that Julia would tell us so freely. In any case, the warden is a cheap support for the base maintenance, and we intend to keep it in this approach. As an exception to this, there are a couple of main reasons that justify why you are here.”
Cruz pointed his breather on his nose, with his index finger, reflecting its supposedly obvious purpose:
“First, this is Cardamine-free zone, artificially configured in this way; the special Outcasts who come here are stripped out of their implements of necessity, making this a challenge against time, and probably a no-return point for those who cannot endure the training and psychological struggle imposed by the warden. Whether you are a Cardamine user or not, Alpha Command decided to not impose you anything on this regard, trying to give you a comfortable experience throughout the courses, as you came by. Maybe the warden thought of you as the last prey because you had no problems walking or suffering symptoms due lack of Cardamine consumption, an apex predator who was coming for him. It is intriguing, though; we just arrived approximately 2 hours after your arrival. We synchronized with Julia’s crew and we expected to rendezvous with them, but we got delayed due to a logistic emergency with certain supplies we delivered in our headquarters. I would consider this a slight oversight, but Julia is not a careless person. Did she tell you something before coming here? Mmm…”
Unsure of what he was saying, Cruz resumed the main talk:
"Second, there are plenty of Outcast training areas that can certainly teach you what you want, but most of them are highly restricted or for Maltese-only, with our own proper environment conditions. If you go outside of this facility, you would be mostly flooded by the different flora that Malta provides and it is quite aggressive...and pointy. For that, Julia made sure that you arrived without changes, probably she commanded her men to bring you in a pod or something like that, before entering. Even if the old man does not give a clean impression of the place, Artártida has top-notch equipment and fully functional devices and simulations you could require for training and more. Additional to that, as you can see, it is not quite a populated base, if there were more Maltese here, many could consider you as an unwanted interloper, and we did not want that unnecessary hassle.”
Taking a soft breath, Cruz decided to give the word to Rex with the following:
“If you have any more questions, ask away. I will be here to assist you and we can begin whenever you want. Also, you are free to roam around the complex. Near the Librerija there is a mess hall where you can get some food and, if you are curious enough, the exit is beyond the Awditorju. An elevator can lower you to the ground; the main entrance is filled with orange meadows and swamps, it is a wonder to see them…if you are brave enough. Check the map for further indications.”
Cruz chuckled a bit:
“Oh and next time, call us through this console, you can contact Malta Hyperspace Starfleet directly through here. Stupid old man does not always intercept the messages, especially those that are sent from here; he knows that those who train could die in any minute, so he is more laxative about that, willing to allow the testaments and such. Well, now that Starfleet people are here, you will have no problems at all.”
Everything Cruz had explained reinforced what Rex struggled to accept. It wasn't a dream, he was trapped, a hole was blasted through his arm and he almost died. Nodding along to every word, Rex slowly pieces together the sequence of events. The why and how of it all. He understood that this place was the best place for him to get trained, but under the management he encountered, he was put into a violent situation. Once Cruz finished, Rex inhaled for a long time, then breathed out his mouth in a short explosive manner.
"Before we get to the reason why I'm here, I think I'll take a couple hours to myself. Walk around and see it all for myself. This time, without an old insane Don watching me. All of this is quite a lot to absorb...
He motions to the console and rests his injured arm on his leg.
When I'm finished I'll contact you from the console. I... just need time to set myself straight after all this."
The shocking pain of his injury has been calmed down since it happened. It's only been a few hours and Rex could feel a minute degree of movement returning while attempting to rotate his forearm. He was met with another wince when he went too far. Once it settled, Rex gets out of bed to stretch out his uninjured appendages. Once he was ready to head out, he faces Cruz.
"Thanks for dressing my wound, still hurts like hell. Once I return I'll just get stuck into training. That is, of course if my arm heals enough."
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Godspeed, Pilots.
Alberto Cruz considered the backlash that Rex suffered by the warden and tried to empathize with the visitor. Rex’s injuries could have been much more severe, as the old man was a capable fighter, even for his age. However, the warden was mentally incapable of focus at that moment and Cruz believed that if he was not in that state, Rex would have died in the dome.
During the conversation, the rest of the Starfleet team secured the facility, checking any additional traps that the warden could have left behind. The corridors were quickly cleaned up, the stench in the dormitories was no more, and the lights returned to a normal operation. Cruz, as most of Starfleet there, did not appreciate doing part of the warden’s job, as the old man was specifically tolerated because of that. Nevertheless, it was necessary so the complex could fulfill its current main function as a center of learning.
Cruz finished the chat with the Starflier, giving him space so he can wander around the facility:
“No problem, Rex. Most of the Maltese around are working on the heavy maintenance that this place needed, they will not bother you unless you need something. Nos vemos.”
"Nos vemos... huh, I gotta look that one up. Maybe it won't be a bad idea to learn a few Maltese phrases while I'm here."
The giant map on the wall remained as it was when Rex first arrived at the facility, albeit polished and straightened out. The mess hall was located not far from the Liberia. After having a handful of words spoken to him, it looked like the word read as "Library", which Rex thought wouldn't be a bad place to start having a wander. Having examined the map for a few minutes, plotting each area he'd like to visit before returning, he heads off towards the mess hall. Seeing as he's spent an unknown amount of time here since he's first awakening, the Starfliers' stride was quicker than normal, even with an empty stomach. Two taps on the top on the door frame and he was off.
The doors slide open as the first few steps were taken into the mess hall. A few rooms were recessed into the wall furthest from the entrance. Starfleet members were around, most sitting down and laughs were heard from one of the tables. On one side was a long table full of all sorts of unidentifiable foods with crockery and cutlery piled on one end. Rex grabs a shallow bowl with a three-piece set of cutlery and tries to figure out what he'd like to eat. One group of Starfleet members walked by Rex and gave him a nod. Perhaps more members outside of who has been in contact with Starfliers know about Rex and the group he works for. With a selection of foods slopped into his bowl, Rex finds an empty seat and starts eating. A little while later, Rex finds himself kneeling over the toilet. The only comfort offered to him from the mess hall was a glass of water.
Bookcases filled with audio-books, recordings, parchments and books were spread across the library. One area was filled with computers that were connected to multiple server racks. One of the consoles displayed imagery, text and logos somewhat similar to regular civilian dashboards. With his eyes on the screen, hands on the console's peripherals and his back leaning further into the chair, Rex decides to learn a few Maltese phrases, educate himself to he can be seen more favorably by Starfleet's leaders. Maybe weasel his way out of a piracy attempt from an independent Maltese pilot by saying a few words. To Rex, this was a way to learn more about the Outcasts in general.After a handful of hours in front of the screen, Rex decides that it's time to stretch his legs a bit.
From inside, the windows on the ground level show the swamps Cruz talked about. The button that would open the main entrance tempts Rex, though the thought of getting lost or hurt even further stops him from taking those steps. The Starflier instead chooses to return to his bedroom where it was vacant of Cruz's presence. The console in the room was setup with the message "Message this field here when you're ready, it'll ping me to come over and we'll get started". Rex gives his arm another twist, this time feeling a lot better. A message gets sent out to Cruz.
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Godspeed, Pilots.
As promised, after a couple of minutes Cruz attended to the dormitory where Rex was located. Cruz, well-rested and ready for the next job, looked upon the Starflier, like a teacher contemplating a promising student. Of course, Alberto Cruz was not even a high-ranked member in Starfleet to show that kind of demeanor in front of others, but he wanted to take advantage of the situation; trying to give his best to fulfill the task. Even with an outsider, Cruz genuinely wanted to go amicable with Rex so everything could proceed fluently:
“Hola! Ready for the training, do I presume? Fortunately for you, the impasse occurred with the warden will have him incapacitated for a while. After I gave the report to my superiors, they have enough confidence on me to take care of your request and training. Maybe I am just minor member, but I am sufficiently knowledgeable to supervise and even complement your lessons with some of my input.”
Contrary to Julia López, every bit of Alberto Cruz was dripping on sweat. He knew that his performance in this matter will be evaluated by Alpha Command; giving him plenty of anxiety. Expecting to not disappoint his family, the whole organization and all Outcasts in this endeavor, failure was unacceptable for Cruz. Alberto put a serious face when he reminded the response on his report:
“By the way, during your rest, the report made passed through Julia Lopez; as it was initially intended. Let’s just say that Julia was…not satisfied with the outcome. She expected you to do “something” to the warden. Moreover, she implicitly told me that she wanted you to break the old man, not helping him psychologically with the “forgiveness” you provided. This is most unsettling; from all people, I did not think that Julia could try to impose her own agenda, maybe she thought of you as a convenient wildcard. Anyhow, the good part is that she is completely loyal to Alpha Command, so I do not think something bad will happen to you…but do not expect a hug from her, if she sees you personally. Well, she is not precisely a warm person either.”
Alberto indicated the doorway, trying to lower the sudden concern with a worried, unsecure grin:
“Shall we go to the Awditorju? Time for you to get accustomed to the simulators.”
Rex's forearm was fully healed. There still was a weird feeling whenever he tried to turn it. Probably something leftover from getting a hole blasted through it. Nevertheless, Rex was convinced that he's good to go without needing confirmation by a medical professional.
"My arm feels pretty good. Awditorju, here we come!"
Julia didn't tell him to break the man, though perhaps the twenty eight day long sleep Rex took left him with a couple gaps in his memory. Despite this, letting Cruz know could cause more problems. However, being on the same page with the Outcasts could strengthen the relationship between them and the Starfliers. With this in mind, Rex goes ahead to explain his side of the story.
"I don't recall being asked to break the Don. When Julia met with me in Tau-37, she brought guards, gave me a pill and asked me a question. Are you afraid of darkness? Didn't have an answer at the time, thought by coming out here I'd find it. After what happened, I feel like I'm coming close. If you say that I won't be hurt over what transpired, I believe you. But I'm going to be careful around Julia if I see her in space. Anyways, we're almost there."
The two walked down the hallways from the dormitory to the Awditorju. The blood, stains and smell was, like Cruz said, all cleaned up. Pristine halls laid along their journey to the simulators. The half hanging sign has now been hung up properly and the opening to the Awditorju looks completely different. All the hardware Rex saw from his previous visit has now been rearranged to assemble a mass of servers and processing units all connected to a giant sphere. Walking around the structure, Cruz motions to Rex for him to stop as he walks around to the opposite side of the exterior console. With a press of a button, one section of the sphere opens up...
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Godspeed, Pilots.
Inside the gigantic structure, it contained nothing worthy of mention, at first glance. It was opaque and mostly empty, no signs of systems at all. Alberto, confused of what Rex told him, tried to think upon what happened, during the encounter in the shadows. The old man reflected frightening thoughts towards Rex, before he was convinced forcefully to stand down. However, there was a pattern that he always followed:
“The warden tried to stay in the dark as long as he could. He seems to be always like that, at least since we know of him. His behavior pointed towards self-preservation instincts at all times, always trying to hide; except when dealing about Julia: All the gloomy rooms that he wanted to leave them as it is, no willingness for making improvements on that regard; the charred consoles intentionally disabled where light ran before; the terrible speech about your presence was just the cherry on the top. Maybe in his proudness, he wanted to test himself.”
Cruz looked all over the dome, a scenario of pure technological wonders ready to be used. He contemplated the sphere one more time and reached a reasonable conclusion for him:
“No…I think that Julia told you that question as some sort of riddle for you to decipher. I believe it was not a question for you exactly, but for him. As far as I know, something particularly terrible occurred between him and Julia. Did you get close enough to him to see his face? Distinct marks of severe burns. Perhaps, she wanted to use you as a catalyst for a triggering response, making it to look like an accident. Most likely, she did not tell you about it explicitly to avoid a blatantly obvious trap or trust you too much on this; the warden is a clever man, after all…favorably for you, Alpha Command desired you to have your training, compromising your status would be unacceptable. An outsider that would unintentionally cripple the old man, a person coming for training without any apparent problems or guilt, capable of disrupting the mind of the warden exclusively; as he fears no other Maltese, especially those who come here. Yes, that must be…if I knew Julia better, I would say that she would had been more than glad with that triumph.”
Cruz shrugged to the final words and ended his convoluted theories to focus on the console and what was going to happen in the sphere. After a couple of minutes setting up different types of configurations, he acknowledged to himself; expecting that the training was suitable enough for the Starflier. He scratched his head a bit, looking the noticeable injury of Baker, wondering if Rex would be up to the task after all what happened, but hoping for the best in the end. Cruz tried to change the subject to the main purpose that gathered both men:
“Do not take my comments so seriously, I am just speculating here; maybe the truth is more complex than that. To be honest, I just prefer the numbers and the solitude given by some of my tasks. I am lucky enough to stay away from the predatory sights of Julia and her schemes. She can be a good cold friend and all…but sometimes, she is just a wall. For many of us. Here and here, there you go. Let’s proceed to the simulation.”
A couple of buttons pressed and the sphere inside shined itself with an allegory of sounds and colors. Haptic and conventional interfaces of different systems emerged in a white and sudden blink; the software verified each of its algorithms to make the training the most accurate experience as possible. The database loaded the configuration for the Kujira-class, as it was promised; and the hardware changed physically its initial configuration to the one that resembled the transport ship. Holography, mechanical constructions behind the sphere or apparent magic; the sphere just hatched a whole transport bridge in seconds, set for training and more.
"The simulation is prepared and ready for deployment."
A surprised face from one, and a slight nod from another were directed at the unit. Rex didn't expect verbal feedback from a training suite.
"Oooohh, I wish I had a voice like that speaking to me during my trading! Would make my flights a little more interesting."
Without delay, Rex climbs into the pilot's seat and takes a good look at the flight control layout in front of him. Being that the Starflier is familiar with Civilian and Border World technologies, sitting inside a simulated Kusarian transport bridge throws Rex through a loop. The flight stick is located on the left hand side with all the toggles, switches and all other interfaces on the right hand side. Before Rex was allowed to fly the transport ship within a simulation, Cruz walked him through the layout of the dashboard so he could become accustomed to the Kujira-Class' flight controls.
Left hand controls the roll, pitch and yaw of the vessel all with the flight stick with a couple dials located close by to where the thumb would usually sit. Right hand would run the vessel's speed, input commands to initiate cruise speed, requesting docking permissions, formation manoeuvres, enable short distance communications. Over time, Rex had to break out his habit of leaving his left hand at the centre of the flight controls, as the civilian vessels Rex was familiar with had their main flight stick located in that area of the dashboard. With the Kujira-Class, to fly it efficiently, both hands had to be at their respective places at all times. A duplicated holographic display lit up each area Rex interacted with. When the voice would ask for a docking request, the right button would have to be pressed. So on and so forth until the Starflier got used to the layout, button and control placements and the flight stick's sensitivity and steering.
The next logical step was learning the procedure to take off, land fly a waypointed journey to get used to the increased mass over the Retrofit-Class Rex flew previously. WIth all stations docking rings, any vessel goes through the same process of embarking and disembarking. The Kujira-Class was no different, so not a lot of catch up was needed on that area of training. However, to make sure Rex got the best experience and the highest level of training, Cruz took it upon himself to design a race course that accommodated transports. When Rex became confident enough using both of his hands to fly the ship, he was brought into the racing course to put it to the test. Multiple attempts were made to pass the course, and with every one, Rex had to repeat the standard flight plan. After a couple days of constantly replaying the same journey, Rex finally passes the race course, only having missed one of the rings out of the 23 Cruz placed for the course.
Not only do ships use docking rings and station mooring points, they frequently use trade lanes and jump gates. A few sparks were set off when attempting to use a trade lane. Both Rex and Cruz weren't sure if that was the hardware hiccuping whilst processing the live simulation, or if the Kujira-Class genuinely has issues flying through the lanes. In any case, Rex masters getting pulled through lanes by docking at an earlier time and letting the autopilot take him in, rather than rushing the lane and pressing the necessary request at the last moment. The tests with Jump Gates resulted in an opposite approach compared to the lanes. Placing the nose of the vessel right up against the gate initiated the sequence at a quickened rate and ended up on the other side of the test gate in record time. To Rex, this was no different than the Fomalhaut.
During the training, Cruz was recording all the data from the exterior console onto a datapad. Looking through all the information and how Rex performed in all the tests to determine if he was capable of flying the real deal. With a few meal and bathroom breaks, with some visits from other Starfleet members who wanted to spectate, Rex feels as though he's accomplished what he came here to do. Stretching his arms out far, he then relaxes and then faces Cruz for some feedback on his performance so far.
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Godspeed, Pilots.
As the days passed, the Outcast got candidly impressed by the performance of the Starflier. From what Alberto saw, Rex seemed more than capable to handle a ship of this size; demonstrating his experience and knowledge. It was quite clear that the training was going to be short, as the pilot effectively managed to solve the challenges that the courses involved. During each sequence, the scenery changed to its proper context. Screens vividly reflected trade lanes, stations, planets docking rings and mooring fixtures; colorfully embedded with the according interface to each maneuver. As the systems shined one by one, each command that Rex inputted received a response in adequate time to his requirements. Initially unbeknownst to him, Cruz was completely fascinated by the new possibilities that the transport could offer, another fountain of understanding for a better empowerment of his capabilities; but he was there to supervise and not to straightforwardly learn, so he needed to accomplish with what he was tasked for.
Once again, in the Awditorju and the sphere, both men were gathered in the sophisticated system. Cruz reviewed each step of the training process made by Rex, carefully checking the decisions taken during the simulated flight and he tried to be as concise as possible:
“Muy bien, Rex. After the different sessions that you took, we can say that you have excelled our expectations. Except on the ring course, obviously; twenty two of twenty three rings could be considered lackluster to a Maltese, but I guess it is not that bad for an outsider. I could also blame the inefficient design of the Kujira-class, as it does not bring the necessary comfort like other ships for the best pilot performance. I still wonder why would you choose such an unworthy ship to train, none of us here would invest time to control it.”
Cruz looked around the multiple controls and configurations set on the transport panels. Out of curiosity, Cruz put his left hand of the left stick, but after a couple of seconds he decided to remove it from there, sweating intensively on the process.
“Si, it is better this way. Not that I wanted to test...If we are done here, let me know if you want to participate in a more intensive course; if you want to comprehend more complex aspects of its design, for maintenance and more efficient procedures. Well, this is not a cruiser we are talking about; it is quite easy to handle it as an individual or implementing a little crew. Also, if you feel that we are finished here, let me know so you can leave this facility safely; I would do the proper moves to do that.”
Calmly, Alberto Cruz waited Rex’s response, revealing pleasantness with the mission that did not include dangerous, life-threatening scenarios at every second of it. The outburst made by the warden of Antártida was already in the long past memories of his mind, as his peaceful demeanor did not show apparent worries at all. What’s more, he started to sweat even less as his encounter with Rex progressed, even if it was reaching its inevitable conclusion.
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