This is a story of a girls life in sirrius. It is strange in its telling because it will be written kinda backwards, her early years have yet to fall into place and as such will be revealed as time goes by and the time is right.
Chapter one : A new life ??
Anna McCarthy woke from her sleep, A wall a simple wall and viewed from her lying position was all she needed to remind her she no longer slept in her ship.
A smile crept onto her face and she threw the covers back far, kicking her feet up and hammering the mattress with her fists and heels.. she sat up dizzy from the sudden burst of energy, glanced around the room and bounded off the bed.
Her flight suit lay in a crumpled mess on the floor.. she stepped over it pulling her face and walked to the bedroom door. She opened it a crack barely enough to let light through and squinted to look through the slight gap. Empty.. and why would it not be she rebuked herself this was her room.. Jack had given it to her... Relaxing she opened the door wide and stepped into the living quarters.. Oh! she remarked to herself.. suddenly reminded of the treasure that lay beyond the room on her left....
A good 40 minutes later red and steaming she exited the bathroom.. Blonde hair straggled across her face and a towel around her body. She looked happy content as if the bath had cleansed her of the previous days troubles... and troubles there where. She didn't think about the agents .. that was buried under a different emotion one she felt stronger than the hate that so obviously resided within her.... She had been taken in and accepted by these people, it was a trust she did not want to let down.
Patting herself down she flipped on the comms unit and played with the room settings... browsed the IMG neural net for the latest news and finally dry warm and feeling a little more at home.. sat down and thought about her present situation.
"Security Services" she smiled recalling the badge, her badge. It had been given to her by jack ... she mused " jack or mr henderson" smiling she already knew mr henderson sounded stuffy and that was not how there relationship was. Jack seemed to read her knew what to say to calm the spirit or fire it into action and he had taken it on himself to look after this mess of a girl and her strange twisted past.
Clothes!!! whatever was coming next in her head was forgotten when she remembered the promise made the night before.. jumping up she let the towel fall and padded softly to the rooms exit. Carefully as not to expose herself she poked her head around the door.. hung on the wall next to her room was the new flight suit.. Jack your a star she muttered and grabbed it quickly before anyone came by.
Dressed in her new clothes hair gleaming and brushed she looked in the mirror... Was this the same girl she had looked at yesterday ?? she smiled admiring the cut of the suit and her polished appearance.. nodded to herself and collected her old suit from the bedroom.. elevator she mused that was left. Checking she wore her badge... grinning at the name on it she picked up her keycard and left the room......
I have many enemies in the dark. So i stand in the light so i can see them..
Reaching the elevator she checked the door on the right .. sure enough it was the laundry room and after dumping her flight suit in the hopper, made her way down in the elevator to the flight deck. Technicians where milling about busy at there work preparing the craft that called the hood there home. 'Wonder where jack is -- she thought and quietly, feeling a little out of place picked her way through the ships to launch control.
Upon reaching the door to control anna glanced at the badge.. that was all she needed and entered the room with all the bravado she could muster. "Security detail Anna McCarthy requesting launch clearance... and the location of Jack Henderson... please" The room was a large array of consoles tables and screens and the few men who worked there looked up from there tasks and smiled at this young woman who had just burst in on there world. "Miss McCarthy how very pleased to meet you my name is Johnson" he gestures to the others "Symes, Wilcox and Edwards" The others in the room give a nod at the mentioning of there names .." Jack has told us to be expecting you .. please take a seat we are preping that ship of yours as we speak... and as for jack .. Well lets just say miss slept in some"
Fifteen minutes later and anna is strapped into her beloved ship and sitting a few clicks off the hood. "Mccarthy to henderson Jack are you in range ...." static and some bleedover from the hood but no jack .. Control had said there was an operation going on but didn't know where as jack kept the location secret to cut down risks of ship to shore comms being intercepted . "Ok.. lets go take a look .." She flipped the afterburners on her sabre to max and waited for the cruise engines to come online.
Taking a route that went past the molly base Arrenmore down to Omicron 49 jump hole she expected to find the IMG mining crew hard at work in this area .. but no .. nothing but rocks and space. "Phooey.." she exclaimed to noone in particular flipped open the system comms and with as much authority as her young voice could muster.. "IMG craft in Dublin space this is Anna McCarthy from the battleship Hood .. Please upload your vector details if you need security services.. out" Smiling she plugged her personal comms unit into the ship and hit the play button.... set course for the essex and relaxed.
With no workers from IMG seemingly needing her services it seemed prudent to anna to carry on the work started by jack and some of the other img employees the day before to "fix" her standings with the various factions that called sirrius there home. "McCarthy to Essex upload mission plans and waypoints for this sector please..." a few seconds later her comm screen lit up with various missions the Armed Forces needed doing that day and set off to complete them.
A couple of rouge corsair installations left in twisted wrecks and several small skirmishes later anna was feeling better about her standings -- things where starting to come around. Time for a patrol she thought and kicked in the cruise engines.. Nearing the leeds jumphole a familiar signal pinged up on her scanner.. " Jack!! Hiyyaa!~"
.."Good day anna nice to see you out of bed" jack laughed "Set course for the hood anna will meet you there". Smiling happy to have her employer nearby she changed course.
"Sorry for not being around anna .. escort to new york.. Form up we have a job for you" anna hit the autopilot and settled back as the sabre glided smoothly into formation with the four IMG ships. "Heading set sector D6 ..lets go people.. anna security net if you would please start tight take it out to nine clicks" ... Anna loving the responsibilty " Aye aye jack ... mind if i play my music ?" Jack chuckled "By all means go ahead anna but keep your eyes open ok." .. "yes boss~" The small group reached there destination and the Hegamon pilot started work.
Anna flew her patterns watching intently on her scanner .. "Jack contact fourteen clicks... twelve, ten.. ship identified ..... Kaufmann, Outcast gunboat class vessel ..orders ?" ... before jack could reply the outcast vessel opened a private comm channel "You for hire.." the wheezy voice crawled into her cockpit ... feeling revulsion at the noise she keyed up "Sorry suga you couldn't afford me .. and im already employed thank you"....." Jack he's trying to poach me over private comms" .. " did he say to what end anna ??" came jacks reply .. "didn't give him chance jack turned him down and cut the feed" .... "ok anna sit back two clicks and await instructions." Jack ever the diplomat had words with the outcast the conversation lasting a few minutes before the cardimine addled pilot finally decided to go his own way and be no bother.
"Good work anna.. i don't like the fact these people see you as a ship for hire...." a few seconds silence "After todays work i want you to come and see me in my office.. i have a proposition for you ..ok?" " Roger that jack" her mind raced over what it could possibly be.
The rest of the operation passed without incident and the small group headed back to the hood. Upon reaching the hood the mining ship unloaded its cargo and jack ordered a new sector heading "F3 please ladies and gentlemen.. quick as you like . anna the usuall please." "Copy that boss.." anna already feeling comfortable in her role reached the sector first and took up position. All was well the miner mined, the escorts milled about chatting small talk and telling jokes when ... "Jack contact multiple signals coming in high and fast!!." "Number and ship types please anna.." she waited for them to move into scanning range. "Oh crap!" she exclaimed " 3 outcast ships 2 very heavys and a gunboat.. This could get ugly jack we are slightly outgunned here"... "Let me do the talking anna stand easy. The three ships pulled up and sat themselves between the hood and the mining group. Jack as usuall put his head to work instead of his trigger finger.. "Easy outcasts this aint the tau systems lets keep this tidy." ZaZa the outcast lead engaged jack for some length, the conversation moving from trade attacks to compensation to finally a demand for credits.
"Anna you think you can get that miner out of here, with him gone they have no leverage here ....?" .. "Keep them talking jack ill slip him away." slowly she moved her ship to the miner opened up a private comm "Ok buddy were going to make a break for it on my signal ok... stay at max speed head for the hood direct route .. You get cd'd we stop and resume negotiations ok .. loosing that ore is not an option." the pilot of the hegemon nodded in agreement.
She waited till all three outcast ships where engaged in a debate over just how much money they should extort from our operation "Heg GO! i got your six.." The two ships moved off slowly at first while the hegemon gathered cruise speed. Anna piloted her craft directly behind the mining ship in the hopes any cd missiles would hit her ship first. Swoosh the cruise engines kicked in both ships sped off heading straight to the hood...... The outcasts too engrossed in amounts and greed didn't even notice... amatures anna grinned to herself and keyed up the comms "jack heg safe .. returning to you." "Good job anna hurry please this is going to get nasty i fear".
Anna adrenaline now pumping rocketed back to the two IMG defence fighters.. "five million credits mr henderson that is our wish" jack laughed " this situation has changed outcast where is your leverage on us ??.. Our miner is safe back at base you have no hold over us" ... clearly not happy at being hoodwinked the outcasts where getting ready for combat. "Anna charge weapons this is going to kick off" .. "Already done jack capacitors to max targetting systems online."
The tense standoff seemed to go on forever both groups of ships staring at each other scanning weapons loadouts, making mental plans, selecting primary targets. The gunboat was going down first there was no other choice it was clear. "Jack full on assault on the gunboat maximum evasion patterns please. If we leave that it will destroy us.. dont worry about the fighters just stay out of trouble." "Agreed anna... good look little lady." Anna grinnned "This is what i do suga.. you just keep your six clean."
The scene was set ... two IMG NYX class fighters and the adorable Anna in her pride and joy Sabre versus two outcast sabres and a gunboat. Just about even thought anna knowing full well the precious weaponry she had installed on her ship and its massive destructive power. "Contact fourteen clicks !!! ......." annas voice trailed as she reconized the transponder signals callsign "Anna we have trouble its another outcast gunboat.. this is not going well" jacks voice filled with reluctance floated over her head as she double checked the signal as it came closer. "Jack you trust me right..." "So far you have given me no reason not to anna" "Then power down your weapons and slowly move away i have this situation under control." jack sounded confused "Anna ... are you sure.. i dont und..." anna cut him off "Jack its maximus the outcast i told you about the man i tried to save that day.. he has honour jack he wouldnt hurt me im sure of it."
Her mind cast itself back to the events concerning this man.... The fight in leeds when she was a freelancer just starting out the, BAF forces she was helping and the outcast maximus who aided them and helped win the day. He had been courtious and a gentleman she found him charming and friendly.. Then to find him in the position she did the day after surrounded by no less than five IAB agents and the spiteful BAF captain clay... oh how she tried to make them see what she had seen she pleaded for his life explained he was an ally not a enemy retold the events of the previous day .. put herself in the firing line........ They destroyed his ship anyway like a pack of dogs teeth sunk into the last piece of meat .. savage .. brutal .. barbaric..... She had failed him and even as the last splitter shots ripped into his hull he had sent her a message "Thank you anna you truly are a friend to have tried to help me so .. now go save yourself they will turn on you next...." He was right..........
She shook here head not wanting to remember any further she had someone else to save now and this time she knew she could do it. "Max suga we have a little situation here i could really use your help on.." "Ahh miss anna truly a sight for my tired eyes.. i see the situation anna i will deal with it." she smiled that dazzling smile at him "Max your a love and i owe ya one.. drinks later ??" "You owe me nothing anna and i will take you up on that another day perhaps .. for now i will deal with this. Go now please."
Anna set course for the Hood " ANNA! are you ok" jacks voice was full of worry "im fine jack situation dealt with..." she flipped the comms unit off took a deep breath and relaxed in her chair.
Returning to the hood anna docks to find jack waiting for her. "Anna follow me please." he leads her to her ship and waiting for them is Donald the chief engineer "this your ship maam?" pointing at the sabre. Anna walks over lovingly stroking her sabres wing tip .. "more than just a ship suga she is me i am her.." Donald looks quizzicaly at jack who nods "Keep her happy donald .. she is working for IMG now... if you would install the new transponder id donald i would be very gratefull." Anna looks puzzled for a moment until the realisation hits her .... " jack are you sure .." her head is racing first a room now this ... " I .. wont let you down jack" jack smiles "I didn't think for a second you would... this should keep any -bad- influences from trying to hire you anna .. its as much to keep you from trouble as anything else... now then you work for IMG you fly an IMG ship i think we had better draw up your contract little lady." he gestures to the hanger elevator " After you miss.."
Bouncing into the elevator anna waits for jack. he selects the flight crew quarters deck and turns to anna. "Anna i need you to tell me if there is anything amiss with your age.. you say your 17 but you look... younger." anna smiles a knowing smile she has been here before it seems. "Ha i always get that reaction mom always said it was good genes." giggling she adds " It got you too jack.. please upload my files from my ship they will verify i am what and who i say i am." anna gives jack the codes for her commlink "I would have checked anna i just wanted to hear it from you." He seems content with her, maybe himself its hard to read.
Arriving at the flight deck the elevator AI sarah reminds jack for the hundreth time to take the right turn ... jack sighs anna giggles and tickles sarahs grill " Thank you sarah~~ ... so erm that would be a right then jack huh" the mood is light as she spins and dances down the corridor laughing at her own joke. The pair arrive at jacks quarters he opens the door and gestures her inside.. she slips in and takes the room in... neat, tidy same size as hers just more decorations mostly corperate .. "drink anna ?" jack quips as he goes to the kitchen and motions to the couch. "Soda please jack..." she looks around the room and finally sits on the couch.. jack arrives with two glasses and hands anna her soda.
Sitting opposite her he reaches for a datapad "Ok to buisness i know you have had a hard day and need some rest so i wont keep you long.. these are contracts for you to sign anna they stipulate a two million per day credit as long as you proove you do work for IMG." Anna takes the pad scans the contract .. all is well there is even a good bonus scheme "Perfect jack i like the bonus scheme" ... she taps in her code hesitating on the last keypress a smile forms that grows into her trademark dazzling smile .. she taps the key...........
I have many enemies in the dark. So i stand in the light so i can see them..
Anna stretched .. the faint flicker of a dream playing in her mind.. she pondered over it for a moment trying to remember what it was before shaking her head and climbing out of bed. Bath followed by breakfast, she got dressed and was in the middle of checking the news when a call came in on the comm unit.... She flipped the screen up and there was jack smiling "Good morning anna i trust you slept well..." ... "Like a log jack.. that beds soooo comfy~" ... "Well the night shift has been busy anna got a heg and a transport ready... meet me in the hanger in 10." .. "Yes boss!...." anna saluted and doubled over giggling, jack smiled and ended the call.
Down in the hanger jack was waiting " Ah here she is .. ready for a -full- day today anna" he joked anna pulled a face and stuck out her tongue as she walked past and climbed into her sabre. Power up, guidance on, comms on "Control this is anna mccarthy requesting comms check and launch clearance." ... "Morning anna.. " came johnsons now familiar voice "Comms 5 by 5 you are cleared for launch... have a good one 'officer' " she smiled at the remark officer indeed the img lads where getting to like her professionalism and flight capabilities on escort runs such as these.
The hanger bays opened and anna was "dropped" into space beneath the Hood. The transports where waiting not 2 clicks from the Hood and jack was on annas wing in a matter of minutes. "anna standard route please if you would take the lead..." .. "Copy that jack .. course set leeds jump hole in 23 clicks..engaging cruise" she selected the route from her now growing personal list and hit the cruise control.
"Leeds clear guys bring em in .. course magellan jumphole." she took the trade lane to leeds and then vectored to the jumphole "Jumping jack." knowing this was a tricky part of the route she was ready for anything. "Jack .. we are clear to go no contacts. On route to freeport 4." ... "Good! right behind you anna." Freeport 4, the jumpgate to california, trade lane to minor, and the lane to mojave all passed with no incidents bar an overexcited pilot in the hegamon forgetting to wait for jump orders from the escorts. "Ok guys last tricky bit before new york.. jumping now.." anna took the trade lane... Swoosh .. swoosh .. swoosh .. swoosh went the lanes as she passed them then the coms unit spat into life "Trade Lane Disrupted." Anna quicky scanned the area "Hold convoy.. disrupted contact 4 clicks scanning." sat just off the trade lane ahgead was a lone rogue pilot in his gunboat... "Jack might want to get up here single rogue in a GB." seconds later jack was on annas wing "Liberty rogue gunboat alpha 6 niner i trust you are not going to be trouble and let my transports past..." the rogue sat there and replied " Aw i aint going to mess with you guys go ahead..." with that said anna boosted ahead to the gate and docked with it to continue on. "Easy one.. nice, Jump gate clear jack docking now see ya on the other side." a quick blast through the hyper portal later and she sat in new york the last troublesome part of the journey. "All clear boys ! gogogo..." moments later the transports arrived and set course for detroit munitions station.
Happy at a nearly perfect run with no problems anna put her music on and relaxed while the heg and transport were unloaded. 15 minutes later the 4 ships were set for the return journey. Thankfully that particular journey was uneventful, taking the same route back the 4 arrived back in the leeds system.... "Convoy we have trouble in dublin .. seems some corsairs have entered system and are engaged with BAF and there allies... we cannot risk the transports.." anna piped in "jack dock them at leeds lets go help..?" " affimative anna good idea .. you heard the lady boys .. get going." the transports wheeled off and set course for planet leeds.
The pair reached dublins jumphole annas comm unit flickered into life as a fleet channel appeared, Accepting the call she scanned the small fleet.. the group consisted of a few BAF officers under the charge of Lt Evyn a couple of outcasts including zaza who the IMG crew had had a run in with the day before and a couple of other freelancers.
"With us that's eight jack.. i wonder what were up against..." the pair jumped into dublin.....
Laser fire was everywhere anna checked the scanner quickly... 7-9 targets she didn't do a full head count that took too long "McCarthy to Feya.. hiya suga IMG defence wing engaging corairs.." "Nice anna!... all on my target weapons free." Feya was chasing down a corsair fighter followed by most of the small fleet. anna closed her eyes for a second composed herself and powered up the ships weaponry.. It was chaos ships everwhere laser fire lighting up the area.. reds blues greens, missile trails and the chatter of the comms units as pilots reported hits, shield statuses and strategy. Anna concentrated on her target who was no rookie pilot she fired slowly methodically each shot a snap shot at the now weaving and bobbing ship, She hit shields a good number of times, managed a full salvo on the hull which was quickly repaired "Jack status report..." jack was in trouble he had a good few fighters on his tail.. "Anna im going to have to pull out soon they are chipping away i cant dodge all this fire... please get out of there before it gets too hot..." anna checked her repair systems, bots full batts down to 3 quarters "Im fine jack im only taking minor hits from stray shots.. get yourself to the hood.." "Roger anna be careful please.. " Jack at full thrust broke fromm the fight and set off with a ship or two in tow towards the hood.
The allied forces took a loss then another it was not looking good anna guessed at this point it was maybe 9 v 6 in favour of the black sails "Feya to wing change target drop that bomber we need to lessen there numbers." anna quicky targetted the bomber it was easy prey.... shields dropped fast the bomber pilot was in full evasion mode anna was right on its tail its hull slowy being eaten away his supply of nanobots dwindling fast... Boom the ship exploded a salvo from one of the chasing ships ripped it apart and the pilot and pod went spinning off into space.. anna retargetted the first ship dodged through the mass of ships and saw ... a sails gunboat .. reactions took over
that ship needed downing fast ... Its shields went down in seconds under annas fire the 2 other ships that were engaging it started to work on its hull.. anna by now relaxed and in her element waited for the capacitors to fully charge flew a tight loop around the gunboat to come up behind it and opened fire 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% the hull was ripped to shreds by the massive destructive power of annas top secret weaponry .... the explosion that followed was huge the gunboat unable to maintain hull integrity imploded in a fireball as its remaining ammo and powercore ignited.. "kill confirmed chimed her comm unit" anna smiled and gave a shout "Yeeehaaa!" she targetted another ship and set off in persuit.... The comms unit crackled into life and anna froze her mind went blank her ship stopped ... "Clay to feya need assistance?" she was a sitting duck sat there motionless unable to do anything "cl..ay" she whispered hands limp on the controls... Feya must have heard the whisper and seen anna sat there not moving "Anna!! now is not the time pull yourself together we can talk about this later!" anna snarled knowing feya was right she was in danger anger coursed through her and she set off after a lone sail.. noticing annas fire around him he EK'd and span his ship round.. anna face now contorted in rage pulled the trigger his shield dissapeared in the first pass.. there was no second he ran... anna chased him to the london jumpgate and he docked " AND STAY OUT!!" she screamed. By now the allied forces had the upper hand and anna chased down another sail ship to the leeds jump hole, Sighing in relief anna keyed up "McCarthy to fleet gunboat down two forced to flee.. Im going for a rest..." she set course for the hood killed the comm unit and sobbed.....
On returning to the hood anna checked in with jack, who was at this point with donald going over the damage to his ship "You ok anna you look ... emotional ??" "Fine jack just something and nothing.." she lied and forced it back deep inside.. jack looked at her he knew her better than she thought and made a mental note... "Well derri needs a escort if your up to it anna ?... this is going to take a while to fix up and ill join you when its ready.." not really wanting to be left alone with her thoughts anna jumped at the chance to play her role again.. "Sure jack thats what im here for.." She winked and returned to her ship.
15 minutes later the pair are sat at the magellan jumphole " Ok derri lets hope its a good one.. jumping" "roger anna good luck.." she smiled knowing her ship would keep her from any trouble and entered the jumphole.... "Hold derri we have contacts ..scanning.. **** two hackers .... gimme a sec ill turn on the charm."
"hello anna" came an unfamiliar voice "how are you today" anna replied "All good so far thank you im hoping it will stay that way--" the voice again "what brings you here" ... "I am IMG security services escort on scout duties i believe IMG and the hackers have an arrangment ?" ... "anna relax bring your ships through we will cause you no bother.." ... "thank you suga.." she keyed up the fleet comms "Derri they say were good to go you have more dealings with hackers than me it's your call" ... "Ok anna i'll take the chance they usually leave us alone..." Derri jumped through and set off for the freeport.... the hackers true to there word exchanged hello's and let them be on there way.
"Contacts at the freeport derri two junkers." thinking nothing of the junker ships anna docks at the trade lane. "anna there pirating me at the freeport." derri cut in. Quick as she could anna hit the lane abort and set off back to the freeport.. "problems guys " she questioned as she arrived at the scene. a gruff voice came over the comms " No problems here miss" Derri smart as he is docked up on the freeport and laughed in fleet comms " 5 mill they wanted anna cheek to try and pirate me outside our own station..." anna giggled yet another set of pirates thwarted.. or where they ?
The two junker ships set off down the trade lane towards california, at this point a calm voice fills the air "Anna .. ships fixed eta your position 5 minutes any problems ??"
" i think so jack im just going to check now... hurry please.." anna set off down the california lane almost knowing what she would find there.. 4 lanes down "Trade Lane Disrupted" anna sighed her fears acknowledged the two junkers ships sat on the trade lane .... "jack derri we got a problem.. there sat mid lane." "Almost there anna stay out of trouble" Jack arrives in a matter of seconds and engages the two junkers in conversation.. "there pissed derri they want 5 mill for us to pass" "Fek that i got a plan boss ... can you keep them busy for 5 minutes. i dont need no lane ill slowboat over them at 20k" anna smiles this may just work knowing full well jacks diplomatic prowess.. Talks proceed jack is as usuall amazing talking to the junkers while derri slips quietly by above us "California jumpgate ahead jack well done..." anna smiles jack smiles they have succefully foiled another pirate trap "Well it seems you have won lads .. our ship will stay docked at the station .. and we will be on our way" .. "cya boys~" anna chimes as she docks with the gate. As you can imagine the fleet comms is full of laughter at the trick the small group just played on the would be pirates.
The rest of the journey is clear and easy .. thankfully .. ore is sold anna is paid and the group set off back to dublin... "jumping to magellan guys" anna in her usuall forward role takes the jumpgate .. "**** !!!! do not jump i repeat do not jump" the area is thick with ships anna quickly scans them 3 hackers 2 rogues and the 2 junkers all sat on the jumpgate " cortez guys we have to go round this.. ill cruise to the jumphole and see you there." anna slips past the ships .. there not interested in a lone sabre .. she takes the jumphole and meets up with the fleet at the jumpgate from california "Eventfull run jack .. got anything else up your sleeve for us .." she smiles and leads the group back to the safety of dublin ....
Upon returning to the Hood as she is docking anna gets a call from jack "Anna our company lawyer is here to see you...get cleaned up and meet me in my room as soon as possible please... and dont worry he is here to help you.." "o....okay jack." a lawyer ... this must be about the IAB incident. Anna suddenly feels scared and helpless
she closes her eyes * they are going to ask you anna * the thought revrberates around her head for she dare not think of what is to come.........
When jack had left anna last night .. after the door had closed .. she sank to the floor back against the door staring at nothing ... * how could this be .. the officers had done wrong yet she would be made to pay even further while they escaped free from any justice* " This is not the end " she vowed to herself.. It was the first time she had told anybody about her time at newgate and even though the memories of the place cut as deeply as any razor she could hold right now .. the pain seemed duller. Her hand with a will of its own moved instinctivly to the barcode on her neck and she cried.... until she slept.
Jack had a rough night after the talk with Anna and the lawyer. He was dreaming of standing behind the darkened, bulletproof glass of a interrogation cell, watching her being mistreated by interrogators. Her description of them strapping her on the interrogration stretcher made him whince in his dream. The dream was intertwined with another story, because Anna sometimes was another person, her screams replaced by Melfina's... another person he tried to save but failed. In his dream, he also failed to save Anna. In the morning he is wet from perspiration, and he feels like not having slept for a minute. He takes a cold shower to wake up, but the mood would not go away. Too clear were the pictures... he exits his room, hesitating shortly in front of her door, then pushes the buzzer.
The buzzer rang shrill and sharp n annas head and woke her from her exhausted sleep... " oh **** " she realized she had slept on the floor all night and was still dressed in her civilian clothes.. " jack give me 10 minutes will you ...."
Jack is standing in front of the door, waiting for a second, then he hears her voice. "Sure... are you allright, Anna?" he asks through the door, thus drawing a strange look from a security staff who was routine checking the quarters... in his dream, the last scene before he had woken up was, that Anna was found hanging from a towel in her cell. He was pretty sure that she would not hurt herself now, that there was light on the horizon, but the dream had been brutally realistic. Melfina had died too. From the hands of an execution squad...
Anna gathered herself shaking away the thoughts of yesterday .. she had a job to do and people where relying on her to do it well. Slipping herself back under the mask she wears to hide the world from her pain her swallow like voice lilted out "Of course im sure suga .. just got out of the bath is all" she rushes to the bathroom and quickly washes sticks her hair in a pony tail and looks at herself in the mirror.. *hmm passable* she grabs her key card and opens the door her usuall dazzling smile playing on her face....
Jack looks at her and even though she looks fine, there is that note of caution that tells him that something is not. His dream was a warning, warning enough to look closer. And there are the signs, small pieces of evidence of a night that hasn't been spent well... he also sees what could only be the white, salty rest of dried tears where the fast splash of water hadn't done the intended effect. He doesn't clear the door, just looks at her and his features express worry: "No, it's not alright, Anna.... I can see it." he says in a calm voice.
She pushes past not in a violent way it is clear she does not want to dwell on the subject "now is not the time jack we got work to do... last thing i need is your judgment being clouded with my problems.... peoples lives are in our hands .."
Jack smiles to himself .. she will be ok he knows she is strong but makes a mental note to keep an eye on her today her words ring true but it is not himself he is worried about.
The pair make there way down the elevator and to there ships. "Control anna here am i good to go guys" you can tell she is getting used to the crew now, her professionalism being replaced by familiarity and comfort.. "All clear for launch anna.. good luck out there." The launch mechanism swings into action holding annas ship over the dropbay the huge doors open beneath the hood and with a shriek of delight from anna the sabre is dropped into the void below...
Jack soon follows and as the pair complete flight checks he keys up the fleet channel "Anna different day today than usuall our outpost in Orkney has been having trouble with some outcast gangs .. we are to go and help theta wing in its defence." "Never been there jack .. maybe get some sight seeing in along the way huh.." she smiles glad for the change of pace.
The journey to orkney is uneventfull anna taking in each new system as she goes marvelling at the sights this universe had to offer. "Dounby base 14 clicks anna.. check transponder signal we don't want them firing at -your- sabre... sadly the outcasts fly those as well." "Copy that jack signal clean and green" ... she switches from fleet comms to local "Dounby base this is Security wing alpha one .. are we clear for landing over." an womans voice is heard back from the station "Roger that alpha one .. please proceed to docking bays 1 and 2 .. glad to have you on board."
When docking is complete anna and jack meet up in the briefing room along with the members of theta wing.
A large man some would say fat but not to his face stands on the plinth. "Good day pilots as you are no doubt aware a large force of outcast ships has been making life difficult for us recently... Trade runs have been intercepted and patrols ambushed with no warning ... However yesterday the crew of the trade ship Stanley spotted a large installation over in sector E6.. We believe this is where they striking from..."
He punches up the holovid and an image appears of the grid sectors zooming in on that sector he outlines the plan for the mission. "Theta wing are to split into 3 squads and station themselves here, here and here" He tags 3 sectors nearby the station "Aplha one i want you to be the bait.. think you can handle that jack ?" jack cool as ever replies "Should't be a problem sir .. i'll just stick anna out front she's always saying nothing hits her..." the last part is met with smiles from anna and jack himself.. "Excellent we roll in 30.. dismissed"
Anna is excited a proper mission and with her in a vital role... knowing this is going to be a tough fight she goes over the modifications she has made to the sabre. "anna.." jack is walking over ... she closes the access hatch and locks it up tight not wanting even jack to get a peek at her work.. "sup jack.." "Are you ok with spearheading this .. i was just joking.." anna smiles that dazzling smile "Wouldn't have it any other way suga.. now lets get out there i'm itching to get on with it.
The medium sized fleet of ships are launched and theta wing heads off for its designated ambush spots.. "Coordinates locked in all is green aplha one on route to station.. oh jack .." before jack can reply "Race ya !!" anna hits thrust and charges cruise engines in one motion sending her sabre rocketting into the void. Smiling at her exuberance jack just activates autopilot and forms on annas wing.
"Jack contact 14 clicks multiple signals fast count 13.." "Roger that anna forward shields to max go in hot and hard" anna lines up the lead ship "10, 7, 4 jack watch this..." she kills he engines and slews the ship round 90 degrees " ANNA! what are you doing ??" anna cuts comms she needs to concentrate and jacks worry is not what she needs right now.
Hitting the underside thruster her ship slowly moves off vector from the oncoming ships... the ships open fire shots flying by annas ship as she continues to scream through space sideways engines off thrusters down "Cant hit meeee~~" she sings to herself and unleashes 4 salvos at the lead ship ... The pilot didnt know what hit him shields were down in the first salvo and the other 3 tore his ship to pieces. as she passes the small fleet of outcasts she engages engines and hits thrust to come up behind them. What she sees next nearly makes her heart stop she flips the comms back on "JACK!!! dont take them head on !!!" jacks nyx is looking bad his shield is down and his hull is loosing integrity fast .. he pulls up sharply and thrusts over the top of the ships. "Damnit jack i can see your better at talking than you are fighting... Thats it from now on regular training sessions for you... and stop spraying jack lead your target and take careful aim keep your capacitors up. She makes a mental note of jacks flying style and carries on with the fight.
"Theta wing coming in hot.. clear the road" anna smiles as she see the faint flicker of cruise engines coming from 3 directions. Anna quickly finishes the ship in front of her and checks for jack.
Jack is having a hard time the nyx class img ship just hasn't got the manouverability of the nimble sabres and he is sweating hard as he struggles to keep the outcasts ships in his firing line. "Theta wing take that station out before any more can launch..." anna is in her element she knows exactly what must be done she dispatches 2 hapless ships in the time it takes theta wing to close on the station.
The trap is sprung the three squads of theta wing converge on the station "Weapons free .. take that station out theta" 72 guns fire in unison anna watches in awe as the laser fire trails across the sky lighting up the station in flashes of yellow.. it does not take long the station cannot withstand the onslaught of the img ships and soon explosions send out shockwaves that buffet anna's ship " Its gonna blow get out of there!.. jack finish that fighter and return to Dounby" anna hits cruise engines and sets course for the IMG base.. with that set she flips to rear cam and watches the station tear itself apart in a nova like explosion that rocks the sabre as the shockwave hits. "Yeeeeha mission acomplished good job pilots they wont be building that again in a hurry."
"Anna we have a small problem ... i am getting reports of smugglers in tau 23 a CR ship needs backup fast.." "Copy that jack." she scans her console all is well full bots full bats "jack how is your ship holding up you took a beating back there ??" "not good anna repair systems are down and im loosing power to the engines." anna thinks for a moment "Jack scrap that nyx see if dounby has anything you can use." "Roger anna good thinking dounby ahead 4 clicks." Jack docks and heads straight to launch control ... "I need a ship and fast !!" "Sir all we have spare is a civilian eagle fighter will that be sufficiant ? jack not caring just wanting a ship right now agrees and runs to the hanger..
As the pair head off to the jumphole anna relaxes and toys with jack some "So civilian hows the new ship.." "funny anna very funny .. actually i think it handles better than the nyx im looking forward to seeing what this can do..." anna giggles and hits play on her compod music fills the airwaves and the pair jump into tau23.
"Anna cut the music please game face on." anna hears the tone in jacks voice and knows this is not the time for play "Form on my wing anna situation is as follows .. A CR ship is trailing a smuggler and his escort we are to provide backup and fire support .. he reports a gunship and a fighter .. gunship is primary ..ok." ... "Copy that jack gunship is target." .... the pair cruise across the system and rendevous with a lone nyx fighter callsign CR-****** "Follow me you two" the three ships set off for the jumpgate "Contact 14k and closing.." the CR pilot is a rough man used to fighting in these harsh conditions "No mercy take that gunship down fast"
The small group close on the ships "Oh no" exclaims jack as the realisation hits of what is ahead "maximus!"
Anna cant believe it of all the ships in all the systems and her orders are to destroy max she stops her ship dead. "No No No i will not fire on that gunship." jack closes his eyes and sighs this can not be happening he is stuck between a rock and a hard place and the gap is getting smaller. "Open fire now lady that is an ORDER!" screams the CR pilot "No! i will not fire on maximus" she keys up local comms "Max i will not shoot you ship .. i am not here." max is surprised to see the three img ships and even more surprised to see anna. "Anna seniorita what are you doing here and what you mean you are not here..?" "max my orders are to destroy you .. i will not do it NO!" the CR pilot is angry and dives to attack "Coward i shall see you hang for this girl"
Jack mind racing evaluates the situation .. it's bad real bad "Anna engage the fighter NOW" he kicks his thruster in and sets off after the CR pilot.
Putting her ship into a steady loop anna pulls up behind the outcast fighter Del who is busy trying to get a bead on the CR pilot she squeezes of shots slowly draining the crafts shields with each hit she cannot know it but the CR pilot and jack are in full argument about the situation " She will not fire on maximus ***** they have a history." "Damn her jack i gave an order he is an outcast!" .. the fight was not going well for the CR pilot he was being slowly hammered by the combined fire of the two outcast ships and the fighter anna was trying to hit was not going down fast enough. They circled a BMM construction site which was sending out waves of fighters to repel the 5 ships who were all hostile to them it was a bad situation ... the CR pilot tried on last plea to anna "Girl if you do not engage that gunship i am going down." anna stood fast to her decision "Then i suggest you break pilot i will not fire on that ship." snarling and swearing the pilot made a break for the jumpgate nearby ... he didnt make it ...
"Del power down weapons and break from combat." max wanted this to end now he knew both of the remaining pilots from his dublin encounters and knew in a different situation this fight would not be happening.. after some time del finally broke and powered down.. "Jack take your protector and leave this is over.."
Anna was a mess .. destroy a friend or loose an ally this was not her fight it never had been she boosted to the jumpgate and jumped. "Jack PLEASE lets go !" she waited for what seemed an eternity before jack finally appeared through the gate. Not saying a word she set off for home.
"Jack im in trouble arent i .. im sorry it follows me wherever i go" jack was still stuck in that gap he knew the reasons why she hadn't open up on max and also the duty he was bound to perform against the outcast. "i .. will deal with it anna lets just get home."
The pair reached the safety of the Hood and silence filled annas cockpit she didn't know of the conversations going on with jack and his superiors. She felt sick she had caused the destruction of a CR officer it was her fault and noone else and now she had got jack into her mess as well.
"Contact 14k" came the call from the Hood ........ it was max "We have unfinished buisness henderson" Anna had had enough she couldn't take any more the last two days had been too much she punched the comms button and killed it flat .. tears rolling down her face she rammed the thruster to max and sped off destination unknown she didn't care she just wanted to get away from it all ...............
I have many enemies in the dark. So i stand in the light so i can see them..
Red flashing red .. anna woke. It seemed like every panel was telling her bad things .. Fuel low .. life support low .. Proximity alert .. She double checked that last one. Outside in the cold harshness of space sat an Outcast tridente Callsign Kauffman how long he had been there anna did not know .. heck she didnt even know what time it was .. but she did know she was in a bad way ships systems were going crazy she didnt have much time left. "Anna are you ok.." .. " Sorry kauf had a bad night, need to get back to the hood but ahhh no fuel... care to give me a push ??" .. Kauffman laughed and tractored the ship. "I set course for the hood anna ill let go once we reach some speed.. " Thank you kauf i owe ya one." The 2 ships slowly build up speed and kauffman disengages the tractor.. "Take care anna, ill see you around" "Roger that kauf hope i dont have to return the favour some day" she said smiling.
As she floated along anna took stock .. the fight the arguments, max, jack her running off.. and run off she had hitting cruise in a blind rage until she had run out of fuel then crying herself to sleep. She silently vowed to make it up to jack he must have gone half mad with worry.
"Anna! what the hell are you playing at i have been up all night searching for you" it was jack anna had finally made it close enough to the hood for its scanners to pick her up.. "Jack i wont say i'm sorry im sick of saying im sorry.. can we finish this when i can breath properly please.. im in a bad way lifesupport is nearly out." "damnit anna you could have been killed .. i keep telling you your not invincible.. Sending a retriever now."
Back on the hood anna is given a medical and sent to jacks quarters. She knocks.. "Come in anna" anna cautiously opens the door she knows she is in for a tongue lashing. Jack is sat in his chair by his desk he looks tired and weary and anna feels bad yet more things to add to her list of troubles. "Anna you cant keep running away when a incident occurs your heart cant handle." she looks at the floor feeling sheepish and sillly "I know jack i guess i still have a lot of growing up to do.. but i have nowhere to go when things get to much for me." "Be that as it may anna you cause more problems when you run .. you have to face your problems and deal with them.. there isnt just you to think about anymore..." she looks up realising this man cares for her as much as a father does to his child.. "Jack i....." Jack cuts her off "Enough talk anna i am tired and we have a long day ahead .. i think you need some responsibility in your life .. your too ... " "Flakey ??" anna cuts in "Flakey will do, Now when that ship of yours is resupplied we have a major convoy today... and i want you to lead it.."
Anna scans the convoy charter .. Two trade ship flown by derrion moore and cowboy bebop a hegemon piloted by carsten miller a nyx pilot ian desari and then jack and herself. "Jack i want a bomber for this if somethings hitting this convoy its going to have to be big." "If that is your wish anna the hood has more than enough take your pick.." "ok get everyone into space we leave in ten" Anna makes her way to control "Johnson i need a bomber thats fueled and prepped .. what ya got for me suga" johnson doesnt even look up "Bay six anna Roc ready to roll ..." anna spins neatly on her heel and half runs down to the hanger.
Out in space she greets the pilots "McCarthy to IMG convoy delta six .. Transports stick with jack bring up the rear.. Ian your up front with me, Usuall route unless we have trouble then we play it by ear ok .. any questions.." silence follows "Good then lets get this show on the road, Ian Leeds hole and dont spare the horses.."
"Jumphole clear off to magellan .." "Roger ian right on your six" anna forgets about the ships behind her thats jacks problem to herd them in a fashion ... "Magellan jumphole ahead anna going in" anna pauses to let ian get through the wormhole.
"Crap!! its a bloody warzone in here.. 5 contacts anna multiple factions and a bloody rogue destroyer!" "Convoy hold up .. Ian how many on our side.." "Enough anna get in here and get on that destroyer!" she docks with the jumphole not quiet knowing whats on the other side but ready for anything..
Ships fly about her vision, fire arcs across the sky, from first glance it looks like its 4 v 3 she ignores that and concentrates on the job at hand.. The destroyer. Powering up the nova cannon she takes off away from the crowd of ships wanting to get distance between them hits retro boosters and pulls the bomber into the tightest turn it can make.. The targetting computer makes this first shot look easy the destoyer is just sitting there almost laughing at the 3 fighters buzzing around its hull .. she can imagine the look on the captains face as half his shield dissapears under the power of the nova cannon.
Anna flies a well rehearsed routine switching from evasion flying when the cannon is charging to tactical attack when its ready she scores another hit and another. The destroyers shields are down up and down again
the 3 fighters doing there bit and ignoring the small craft attacking them keeping the shield as low as they can .. Anna pulls a sneaky move killing her engine and spinning in space firing as she turns ... The super energized packet of energy ripps through space and slams into the hull, from the distance and the strange motion of her craft anna is pleased with the shot it was quiet a difficult one to pull off. Missing her next shot anna rakes the body of the destroyer with her cannons to bring its shields down again she knows from the now repaired hull that the destoyer is almost out of options.
"Anna keep it up your doing great." jack had entered the fray some minutes ago but anna hadnt even noticed she never did in these situations all that existed was her, her ship and her target.. nothing else mattered.
Three more shots into the hull of the now stricken destroyer and the internal explosions started "Ian sit rep on the fighters.." "they left moments ago anna seems they wasnt up to the fight once the dessie was going down.." anna doesnt even watch the rogue ship explode she has already set course for freeport 4 .. "convoy magellan clear .. en route to freeport 4." Thankfully the rest of the run was clear and uneventfull and the group reached detroit in good spirits.
Convoy duties over anna and jack headed back to the hood.
I have many enemies in the dark. So i stand in the light so i can see them..
Today we find the intrepid pair sat outside the dublin jumphole in leeds it is there day off and together with Tobi Reaper a VPS agent they are enjoying a quiet time and pass the time just talking..
"I had the whole of IAB and BAF after me one day " Remarks tobi after a lull in the conversation "Tobi ... what happened i remember you taunting them in dublin a few weeks back .. same thing ?" .. "Can't tell you anna top secret, but lets just say its big enough to start a war" .. "oh great more wars just what we need right now" anna frowns then a thought hits her.
"Tobi... IAB .. Top secret... did they threaten you ?" .. "Kinda.. wiped my logs my guncams the lot and swore me to secrecy.." ... "Jack ... this sounds a lot like what happened to me while you was away..." "Oh anna not more more trouble ..." "Well this was a strange one jack i was going to south shields in newcastle to pick up some supplies, When i see this .. well city in the distance, I couldn't not go over right ?" she carries on "Two IAB agents showed up as i was making my way back, wiped my nav computer for the newcastle and told me to keep my mouth shut and i had never been here.." .. "very similar wouldnt you say?"
Jack has been there he knows the place "Nomad anna, that is an old nomad city.. Tobi where you near to something nomad ?" .. tobi has a little think before he replies " So you know about them too jack .. and yes we encountered a nomad battle ship in chester one day but the IAB covered it up for fears it could start something big..." jack groans "Not chester thats where my encounters with them where Chester has a hole anna a massive big plate with faces on it .. and its larger than a planet..." jack can see the look on annas face over the comms unit " No anna you are not to go there i is dangerous Ian lost his mind to that place and i am not going to risk you .. Got it young lady ..."
20 minutes later Jack and anna are sat at the chester jumphole in dublin ... "Anna im only doing this because i know you will only go by yourself if i dont..".. Relax jack im with you right .. i cant get into trouble " she grins and hits the jumphole dock.
"Anna lock the dublin hole on and form on my wing drop power to weapons and divert to shields .. where were going has a natural lightning storm that is -very- dangerous ok ... now listen anna this plate is guarded by the little ones do not try and engage them they are impossible to hit an...." anna cuts in half laughing "Something i can't hit jack .. yeah right" .. "just do as i ask anna this is no time to proove yourself."
Jack heads off to the distant cloud anna in tow "Anna disable guncams drop the nav computer and disable com log i want no evidence of this .. okay" .. " Done done and done..thats a scary nebula jack looks harsh in there." .. " It is anna just watch the lightning ok and keep those shields up.."
Heading into the cloud annas sensors go mad she gets false readings then nothing, the storm is incredible huge bolts of electrical energy shoot about at random and she cant see a thing.. "Flying blind here jack i hope you know what your doing.." "Keep your eyes peeled anna it's in here somwhere and when you see it you will be right on top of it.
The pair fly around the nebula for what seems like hours before anna gets a solid lock on her scanner "Jack got something and its staying strong on my scanns.." .. "I have nothing anna are you sure.." .. "Your flying civilian tech jack go figure" she retorts "ok anna forming on you take us in slow."
The pair make way towards the signal " 6k,4,2 Crap! Pull up jack pull up" the disk suddenly appears out of the foggy cloud the two climb as fast as there ships will allow to avoid a collision " Anna the little ones 2 oclock ignore them make for the fountain .. they wont follow us there." anna looks about and spots the huge plumes of .. energy ? spouting out from the center of the disk and steers her craft towards it "Not to close anna dont touch it dont touch anything..." Anna stares at the beauty of the massive constrution it is unlike anything she has ever seen before, so alien the faces jack mentions are not human .. not even close "This place gives me the creeps jack i dont like it.. lets get out of here"
They set off back towards the dublin hole "The smalls anna there on your tail hit cruise and go!!" " i cant jack there locking the drive somehow .. going evasive" as anna pulls her manouvers she spots a small group of the smalls heading for jack ... she wrenches the ship around and dives straight at them "Jack six on your tail ill split them up -keep moving- !!" her targeting computer is no use in this cloud she flys off instinct lining up a small she pulls the trigger its shield dissapears and it breaks formation "oh crap.. " they all break formation and start turning towards anna who now has a small fleet on her .. anna has time to smile as she sees jack dissapearing into the soup.
She wrestles with the controls as a bolt of energy from the cloud hits her sabre .. 52% shields not good she thinks another one of those and im exposed. With screaming smalls swarming around her she trails the one she hit earlier and follows it intently.. it levels out for just a second giving anna enough time to line it up again a burst of fire from the smalls behind her rips her shield open and a few shots bounce off her hull plating .. flicking the repair systems she re enables her shield and hull in one go .. i better make this quick she thinks and darts off after the damaged small forgoing her usuall shooting style anna jamms down the trigger and a hail of fire erupts from the sabre she "walks" the trail of energy up to and over the small .. it explodes as it's hull is penetrated letting the cold void into the ship.
On pure instinct anna hits the tractor and checks the scanner "ANNA! what are you doing your miles behind ANNA!!!" the fear and worry in jacks voice is all too evident "Jack you had a wing on you i had to split them up keep going im right behind you.." hitting her booster anna cartwheels through the cloud the smalls rageing behind her trying hard to hit her weaving ship.. But this is anna mccarthy and nothing hits her ship if she doesn't want it too..
Breaking from the nebula the noises stop the fire ceases all is silent bar the noise from her tortured sabre, jack is up ahead waiting for her "jack ... i have one in my hold jack oh my god .. what should i do .." .. "come closer anna i want to see it.." anna steers her ship to jacks and jack scans the hold "Yes anna that is a nomad
if the IAB catch you with that your in trouble anna hand it over to me.." .. "The hell i will jack noones getting in trouble today anna lines up with the white dwarf star in the center of the system and ejects the nomad on a collision course "Ill give you something to scream at you freak.." "Jack lets get back to the hood i need a soda.."
As they near the hood jacks ship starts to rock violently jack is shaking in his seat convulsions contorting his body .. the com link goes dead and the ship starts to spin and spiral towards the battleship.. "Anna can you hear me .. ANNA! .." jacks voice is panicked "Anna .. Melfina NO Melfina don't please NO NOOOOO!!" .. "Hood this is Anna tractor jacks ship, immediate dock and prep med lab" "Hood to McCarthy we have the ship miss .. situation please." "Jack blacked out hood get him to sick bay i'll be there asap." The hood pulls jacks ship in and with a worried face and heart anna docks....
Heading straight to jacks ship anna fears for jack .. was this nomad caused .. is he "mad" like ian. The medic rushes Jack on a automatic stretcher towards sickbay, Anna is right next to him. "Vital signs are okay... it's nothing physical... no injuries... heart frequency is fast..." the medic analyses and Jack looks at Anna, grabs her hand suddenly and presses it with surprising strength. "Jack im here .. what's up ... what's happened?"
Jack's eyes focus... all of a sudden. He looks up, sees Anna, sees the medic... seems confused and sits up straight like a person who has fallen, was embarrassed by that and got up in a hurry, pretending nothing has happened: "I'm... okay... I'm okay..." he stammers.
The stretcher bearing jack reaches its destination and the medics transfer jack to a med lab bed. "Just lie down mr henderson i need to run a CTF scan." jack complies and the medic passes the scanner over his body.
"I'll need to run the analysis jack wont be long" the medic walks over to the control of med lab and gets to work.
Anna stares for a moment "jack follow my finger" she slowly moves it in front of his eyes.. He follows her finger, but too slow... much too slow for a person who can command a fighter craft. "What happened, Miss?" the medic asks, . "He seems as if he was in a shock..."
Jack looks at Anna... and shakes his head... with widened eyes, not saying anything. "Doctor would you give me a few moments with jack please.." .. "As you wish anna i need to get these readings up to the main computer anyway.. he will be fine." Once they are alone she fixes jack with a stare .. its clear she isn't messing about.. "Ok you have something to tell me ..."
"Melfina... they mustn't know... don't tell them..." he says, relaxing somewhat after they are alone. "And... you must get me out of here... they will have seen you... manipulate the hole. They... will have your signature.... you must... and Ian... he's following... and.... why was he shooting you? And why were you shooting me? And..." tears beging to fill his eyes and the rest of the words is just sobs.... "I thought, I'd die..." is the only thing she can understand...
Annas mind acts fast she understands little of what is going on here but something big is happening, has happened.... she takes jack by the shoulders "Jack look at me i need you to focus..... i need you here and now with me.. "
Jack has visible problems focussing, but then he looks her in the face and his eyes focus and all of a sudden, after a few too long seconds, he seems to recognize her: "Anna? You?" and he seems completely confused, turns his head, touches his left arm as if to find out that everything was okay (and he seems surpirsed about that).
"Jack i need to know whats going on that was bloody scary.... how can i look after you if i dont have all the facts.... you do remember keeping your ass alive is my job right !.... i cant do this if i dont know what im dealing with ... " she sits on the bed and rolls up the sleeve on jacks arm ... The arm is perfectly okay... except lots of scars, perhaps 30 of them. Not old, perhaps some weeks old. It looks like a complicated operation... he stares at her... "I'll explain to you... but get me out of here. Because if they... know. I will never be flying again, you understand? Anna... be a good girl... take me to my room. I'll... tell you, okay?" and he adds a "Please..." in a whisper...
"Sure jack let's get you to your room.. " she covers up his arm and helps him off the bed .. look just use me as a support you have to look ok or they will know something up .. can you be strong for five minutes .."
Jack gathers some strength and does as she says... "Okay, we tell them, you where teaching me some high speed manouvers. And I must have blacked... does that sound okay? It was near Hood... I was drifting towards it, you caught my ship...." ... "On it jack don't worry just follow my lead ok." the pair head off out of sick bay as the medic is about to enter.
"And next time you pull a 6g turn jack stabilize pressure for gods sake .. didnt they teach you anything at flight school." She smiles and giggles " Sorry doc he blacked out i panicked he was spinning towards the hood .. the crash would have wrecked him" The Medic looks at her, and seems sceptical "Really? He...." and he looks at Jack, who smiles and tries to look as if everything was alright... "I wanted to show off... sorry... can, we just go? Nothing happened... and I'll not risk things again... like this." and he adds... "Sorry, just dizzy. Stupid me".
"Well the readings are good jack nothing unusual" he turns to anna "Anna make him comfy let him rest .." ... "Course i will suga .. sorry for ushering you out but looking after him is my job too -I- had to be sure he was ok after you had given me his vitals .. you get the body doc i get his head " She grins and ushers jack off to his quarters..
A good deal of his "Okay..." might be attributed to her smile and he nods... "Call me, if..." and then Anna has ushered Jack into the elevator. He slowly seems to regain his senses completely... and when the door closes, he slides down the elevator wall: "Thank you Anna... for... a moment, I was back in there... the pod. I was going insane... I thought. The pain... my arm was shattered by the secondary explosions of 30 nuclear mines... I was losing blood and the painkillers ran out after 3 days." he begins telling, his voice trembling but he keeps going.
"I... reduced... the dose. But I couldn't bear it. I stopped the bleeding, dropped unconscious for I don't know how long. And the whole time I saw Melfina... kill me. Then Ian... who shot her ship. Melfina, not ejecting. Ian heading into the lightning cloud... and then... days... days... of anguish and mortal fear."
"Jack, melfina .. who is she you keep mentioning her .. she shot you .. i .. i dont understand.." They reach lv 41 " To the right jack" sarah chimed putting his arm around her the slight build of a girl half carries jack to this quarters... when the door is closed and jack is placed on the sofa she says "right jack from the top this broken tale is getting us nowhere.. i need to know what we are dealing with here..."
Jack slumps into the sofa... sighs and nods. "Okay... Anna... you must keep it a secret, okay? You must... or I can't say a word." .. Anna looks to the ceiling and mutters to herself... the universe maybe who knows "I'll add it to the rest."
"Okay... Melfina... beautiful.... headstrong.. adorable. I think I loved her... I hardly know her. But she had something. She told me to follow. She went into Bretonian Space, I didn't know the route... we flew and talked... and all of a sudden she was at the Jumphole to Poole to New london... and she sabotaged the hole to just... destroy everything by reversing the transport matrix." Jack swallows hard...
"I was all... out of myself. We ran... I was shouting at her. I was... furious... she was cool as ice. Told me, she was a Kusari spy... she hated Bretonia... I love Bretonia. I fancied her... and I knew, she would kill me. She had to silence me. She realized I was not with her... when she attacked BMM miners from pure rage... I escaped. She followed, wanted me dead. I escaped again and sent a call to Bretonian Authorities. They closed the hole... only 163 people died. Only..." he shakes his head.
"We covered up everything. The IMG... me... we buried it. Decided, it had never happened. To cover us... to protect the Guild against espionage allegations. So... we carried on. Until Melfina found out where I was."
"She waited... and caught me. In Leeds. She was crazy again... she chased me, then suddenly announced she would attack Bretonia and challenged me to keep her from it... like the first time. I chased her... to Chester. Ian followed from Dublin... We flew into the cloud, I already knew it and backed off... Ian followed her.
"I tried to keep Ian from follwoing her into the cloud. He wouldn't listen. I deceided to kill Melfina... I knew of the Nomad thing that we saw today. She wanted to do something with it, so I attacked her. We fought in the clouds... and lightning."
"You know I have no chance against a Kusari special agent. She slaughtered me, my Nyx was hit badly, drifted outside of the cloud..." Jack seems now back to his normal state, just his voice is a bit weaker, lost in thoughts....
"She wanted to finish me off... I kept talking, begging for my life. She just shot the wreckage... I saw Ian approaching, he shot Melfina in a surprise attack... she exploded before my Nyx broke apart. My ejection worked... I was injured, and you know the rest... Melfina did not. She died there... and Ian flew away. And did not search for me. Did not file a report. He sentenced me to death out there. I say... on purpose."
Anna looks concerned this is bigger than she thought - damnit wheres theres one theres more - she thought drawing upon past experiance.. "jack go on i know this is hard but please i need to know..."
"It's... not over... here." he nods, keeps telling her... "I was found by a Junker. It took weeks to get me out of a coma, weeks to regenerate. I was back on duty, perhaps a few weeks before we met." he says, smiles a little... then falls serious again: "... I met Melfina. She was alive. She was on a shooting spree... killing random BMM in Dublin... I tried to protect IMG - we were in the progress of cleaning relations up... she wanted to ruin everything, plunge us into a war against BAF. She wanted Kusari to win... I ordered her arrested... she fled. I chased. I..." he swallows hard...
"I managed to let her escape and follow. We talked... I could not kill her. I kissed her at Holman... and then I let her go. I've... never seen her again. She..." and he shakes his head... "She led me down that path that made the secret agreements with the terrorist NLH possible... our contracts with the Reavers. She taught me that... she was right in some parts. And I lost her twice... she died twice." he sighs and looks at the floor "That's... all. And... I felt guilty. And horrible. And then I saw you. And I decided to do good... to outweigh the bad I had done. Now you know."
Anna with her head in her hands looks up "Jack you bloody fool.." kusari agents, ties with terrorists, the reavers not shooting IMG it all started to make sence now.. "She's still alive jack and still wants you dead..." this aint going to happen i wont let it happen .. on this you can trust me. Who else knows about this jack."
"Nobody. You... I... Ian I think, because he must have been covering Melfina's first death in Jester... and Melfina. And all Kusari agents in the IMG..."
"What!!" anna exclaims shocked "Kusari spies in IMG... who jack and dont lie to me or withhold any from me this is important i have to know who i can and canot trust..." " Ian i can deal with what i dont know i cant.."
"Anna.." he says, shaking his head... "IMG assets are split across the borders... we have Kusari holdings in Holman and Tau 23... we have Bretonians... Bretonian IMG spy in Kusari space... they in our space. We are the only party that can move freely.... Anna... IMG is full of informants and spies, don't you see?" .. after a few long seconds he adds "No one... can know who is who." and sighs heavily.
"Oh god .. what have i got myself into now" she looks up as if to have an answer from the universe and closes her eyes, when she opens her eyes she is relaxed calm and something jack hasnt seen yet... There is a steely set in her eyes the way she holds her face... " Jack i want you to listen and listen good... this conversation never took place.. i am just anna who knows nothg but how to get herself into trouble.. -they- must think that if they get even the slightest inkling i know too much .. WE are finished .. do you understand this." ?
Jack looks at her, realizes the strength that she has now, exactly that strength that he is missing at the moment after his traumatic flashback. "Yes, Anna. You must be the surpirse... the unknown factor if they try it." he agrees...
"Now you know. And now you can prepare... as I am prepared..." and he reaches under the sofa, pulls a military, Bretonian infantry rifle from it... then moves it back. "Sorry to drag you into this... but when I saw, how good you are... I had to."
"Jesus jack you really know how to show a girl a good time you know" She smiles then laughs finally settling for just amusment "Let them come suga .... out there.. there in my territory."
Jack tries to smile and succeeds... "Hey... little Anna..." he says, looking at her for a moment too long... "... thank you. And... don't think I', weak. I will bounce back... this... Chester, it was just too much. I wanted so much to protect you, I put everything aside. And then it struck back, the moment I realized we were safe and the adrenaline was gone... I can remember some more bits. And it just hurt... so... just all I can do is say Thank you for not letting me crash into Hood."... "Getting me out of sickbay... and up here."
"Think nothing of it partner .. if i have to drop IMG from the bottom to the damn top to save you i will .. i owe you that much for giving me all this.... " she looks around and sighs "Even this isn't safe anymore jack.. your battleship is a metal box run by these people..." she thinks for a moment and nods to herself..
Jack nods, smiles for a second, takes a long breath... "We'll work through it... my issues, yours..." he nods, seems to believe it at that moment. Her strength - even if it's only the one of a girl who doesn't understand fully the implications - helps him to get back to find his own strength, at least partially now.
Anna stands "Ok mr henderson rest .. for us both its been a hard day and i have something in mind ... i think i will be safer elsewhere .." its clear the hood is no longer the safe haven she once thought it was she sees it differently now like a cage a box with eyes round every corner.... she crosss the room to the door "And jack on the floor your the strong one .. out there .. thats my job .. lets do our jobs well and we will come through this mess.." .. "Yes go to your room and sleep anna things will look different in the morning.."
Anna stands in the doorway, inside she feels trapped .. not by jack but by knowing the weight of the situation she is now wrapped up in "My room jack .. not anymore jack .. not anymore." Tomorrow she will setup a meeting with Doc and see if she can secure a deal on the ship she has in mind .. big enough to take on a small army but inconspicuous enough as to not cause too much alarm.... this will be her base her fortress her guardian angel....... and let the damned kusari come they will find her ready...
I have many enemies in the dark. So i stand in the light so i can see them..
// I feel after being away for so long and finally coming back that the "hidden" side of Anna's story needs to be told. Many people know (and some love) anna but don't quiet know just what has been going on with this crazy girl. So i shall attempt to put the record straight and tell her more secret side. I would ask you please keep an open mind and remember anna is young and takes things and people at face value.
Chapter 1a: Its life jim .. but not as we know it..
Anna sits in her room on the hood her mind racing with thoughts .. aliens .. what the hell is going on .. nobody ever told her these things existed nobody told her life other than humans lived so close to her home.. She closes her eyes remembering the encounter in chester .. the floating city in newcastle, How could this be covered up .. why was this being covered up and who was covering this up.. She needed to learn more and not from some stuffy IAB officer who refused to tell her anything and made her curiosity peak even more. Finally unable to gather any more information from her recollections of the events she sleeps ..
Weeks pass the usuall routines of IMG work, Escorts, guard duties and the odd tussle with the Mollys go by as normal. Anna is practicing on the race track by the hood, nothing spectacular about that she often uses her spare time to sharpen her flying skills on the track, When *ping* contact 14 clicks unknown contact. Anna slams the sabre into a halt and scans the surrounding space for the telltale comtrail. No trails to be found but a feint glimmer in the distance catches her eye ."ahh there you are .. lets see who we have here then." deftly she flips the cruise drive on and heads for the craft 12k 10k 9k, anna scans the vessel .. no transponder signal .. no data ..
5k 4k, Closer now she can just make out a small blue shape in the distance "oh my god! its one of those" she stops the craft in a heartbeat locking target and charging the weapons.. *** (fear/pain) 'ours' hurt ~help us~ *** ... shaking her head and blinking heavily anna struggles to understand the voice in her head.. IN HER HEAD the thought hits her like a laser bolt she cant help but mutter "what the hell are you.. how are you in my head" *** (fear) not .. 'ours' speak 'yours' mind .. it is our way***
The voice in her head is calm almost like a song with a undertone of feeling .. anna moves closer carefully wary to stay to the side of the .. creature ?. She sees the reason for the aliens distress. It is trapped, caught fast by cables from the wreckage of a ship, the cable is dug deep into the creatures side, It is plain to see it has been struggling to free itself for some time .. but the struggle has only ensnared it further. *** (curiosity) 'ours' observe ~broken~ metal shell.. stuck (pain/exhaustion) 'yours' help ~this light~ free (?) ***
Anna does't think about the fact this is an alien .. that everyone she has met has been fearful of these creatures or the warnings she has been given about there nature. She sees a life in distress someone needing her help and anna being anna..... "just hold still little one .. this wont take a minute" She scans the wreck identifying the tethering point on the ship and powering her turret laser down to 5% sends a weak bolt into the tangled cable. *ping* like a rubber band stretched to its limit the cable snaps free of the wreckage.. the alien darts away rolling and twisting freeing itself from the now limp cable.
*** (warmth) freedom (!) .. 'ours' swim ~this light~ (exctasy) .. 'anna-named' help 'anna-named' save *** came the melodic words and feelings as the little blue morph zipped and darted about as if swimming for the first time. Anna smiles, delight on her face as she sees and feels the obvious pleasure in being freed the creature has. The morph stops abruptly and turns to the ship *** (interest) 'anna-named' free 'ours' (curiosity) reason (?) *** Anna smiles wide "Because you needed help... I couldn't just leave you there now could i". *** others 'dark minded ones' (ignore).. ~spitfire~ 'ours' *** Anna shakes her head, not in pain but in concentration as she tries to understand the message "wait wait i . .i don't understand. Who are the dark minded ones ones, and what is spitfire ?. Bobbing about in front of the cockpit the little morph sends another message.
*** 'yours' ~dark minded ones~ .. 'anna-named' ~dark minded one~ .. ~spitfire~ { a picture forms in annas head. It is a simple picture of anna's sabre shooting the nomad } *** Her eyes widen in understanding "Oh! i get it, thats because they are scared of you, From what i hear you blue aliens kill people, heck you even shot at me in chester!". Calm and cool the words form *** ~chester-named~ home 'ours' defend 'anna-named' trespass ~temple~ .. 'ours' ~human-kin~ cleanse.. remove ***
Realization hits anna like a shockwave "I...i.. was the one in the wrong .. not your friends they was just doing what we all do .. defending our homes.." She feels sad knowing she had accused them and in her mind thought of them as monsters.. "Oh small i'm sorry i didn't know". The little morph seemingly happy with itself for making anna understand continues *** 'yours' ~spitfire~ kin (anger) ... 'ours' ~spitfire~ metal shells .. same ***
The words are forming easier in annas head as she tries to decipher the message "i understand hunny.. we shoot you, you shoot us.. perhaps were not so different after all." Anna's com unit splutters into life "Anna .. you have fallen off short range scans.. having problems miss ?" The pair have drifted far below the battleship by now and anna is glad of that. "No no i thought i saw something below the track. Must have caught a refelection off this old wreck down here, all is well johnson thank you." She has seen enough of the IAB and there strongarm tactics to understand knowledge of this meeting would not be a good thing. "small i have to go, they are expecting me. Do you feel well enough to return home ?" The morph flashes back a message *** 'ours' well ~this light~ bright (pain) small .. 'ours' seek rest *** Smiling anna waves "Okay hunny, you take care now ok" She spins the craft in place lines up with the hood and engages the cruise engines *** { a picture bright and dazzling enters her head it is off a little girl smiling and waving } *** she cant help but look back, but the little blue alien is already out of sight ...
I have many enemies in the dark. So i stand in the light so i can see them..
Anna wakes .. the softness of her bed .. the covers half draped on the floor. It was a restless night sleep her dreams blurred now fading from her mind but blue unmistakenly blue.. she shakes her head clearing the remanants of the fitless sleep and with a push bounds off the bed and trots towards the shower. Thirty minutes later she is showered dressed and looking fit for duty .. her mind is clear and her mood light. "Johnson hot drop in five" she calls over the hanger.. There is no responce she already knows the boys in the control room are busy trying to match that time. It is a game she has been playing with them for some time now. Once round the sabre she darts eyes flicking about making sure the craft is all as it should be. She jumps into the cockpit canopy closing .. lights flicker on as she commands it, The sabre comes alive .. Anna yelps as the craft is dropped ..no warning no radio contact.. When the surprise has left her She keys up "Ahh that was better !! im going for four later" The only sound heard from the hood is a slight chuckle..
Anna kicks in the cruise and sets off on her patrol route .. With a smile and a wave to some nearby IMG miners she screams past the fields just waiting for the omnious ping of a contact. Not this time around, Dublin for a change is rather quiet. With jack away on a convoy and nothing bothering the miners anna relaxes "Essex McCarthy .. upload mission coordinates please." Moments later her screen is filled with information on a band of outcasts stiring up trouble in one of the fields. Punching in the coordinates she sets off to do battle.
Six targets face this young girl .. she isn't worried, she knows what her ship can do and calmly goes about her job. One fighter is down in no time hardly even knew what hit him.. now it gets intense there are ships all over and anna weaves and dodges her way through the hail of fire bringing herself up on another target. Two full salvos later the shield is gone stripped leaving the fighter bare she grins switches weapon groups to save power and opens up on the hull. It doesnt last long.. the power of the four archangel energy weapons tears the ship to pieces.
Slamming the ship into a complete stop three hapless outcasts not ready for the move fly by "thank you boys.." she mutters to herself and takes aim on one. He dodges and weaves ducks and dives but anna stays with it chipping away at it's shield. Once down the ship tries to spin sliding in space in a desperate attempt to get anna in its sights.. It doesnt even see the sabre .. it cant the ship no longer exists, Blown to pieces in a silent fireball.. Three to go .. anna keys up " Cmon fellas.. can't we talk about this.. you're obviously outmatched here." she smiles as the radio crackles into life " This ones too tough let's get out of here."
With the job done and the small gang routed or shot down anna sets off for the hood. *** 'ours' seeks 'yours' ... knowledge ~this light~ yearns .. provide of -learning- *** Anna blinks the words ringing in her head. "What the.. where are you ??" she checks the scanner.. nothing .. but the words come again. *** ~location~ unimportant .. method of ~communication~ 'yours' mind key.. distance -immaterial- of fact.. *** So strange such a wierd jumble of words the messages are indeed alien. "You mean you .. you talk to my head my brain .. so how do you hear me ?" *** 'ours' scratch surface of ~mind~ observe -patterns- decipher meaning.. ***
This time she does not speak the words .. she thinks them "So you can read my mind .. you know exactly what im thinking about ?"
Surprised to get an answer this revalation hits her pretty hard.. *** -correct- 'dark minded' words devoid of ~use~ *** Her mind races *oh my god .. no dont think ! humm yes humm la laaal alaaalalaa alaa* *** 'yours' make of ~song~ .. ~this light~ (amusment) .. be not (fear) knowledge is ~purpose~ ***
The news does little to make her feel at ease. Here is a being that can read her very thoughts like a book. "O.o.okay This won't affect me in any way will it .. i mean you are playing with my mind ..?" *** (negativity) 'ours' of ~time~ young .. lack -knowledge- of ~higher functions~ *** anna sighs in relief. "Phew that's ok then kinda had me worried there for a moment" *** 'yours' converge ~this light~ .. place of -begining- (?) *** She pauses.. "Oh you mean meet you where we met first right. Sure i can do that." Altering her course she cruises below the hood and sets course for the old wreck. *ping ping* annas scanner chimes as it picks up the trace of the nomad, "I see you on scanner little one, Be there in a moment." *** (warmth) ~this light~ of -patience- .. feel 'yours' presence ***
Anna guides the sabre smoothly over to the wreck and can clearly see the small blue shape circling around the dead ship. "so pretty" she mutters. The candesant blues and purples of the nomad morph shining in the darkness. *** (curious) words of "pretty" .. explanation of ~meaning~ (?) *** "Oh that's easy .. when we look at something we decide individualy if it is pleasing to us .. pretty is something nice .. something beautiful." She smiles genuinly in appreciation for the morphs colours and form. *** (realization) 'ours' store "pretty" knowledge (warmth) *** Anna grins and gives her head a little shake .. She is talking to an alien .. a real live alien *ping ping* Her train of thought breaks instantly, Her head snaps to the scanner "Damnit! Corsair 13k and closing..
I have many enemies in the dark. So i stand in the light so i can see them..