Look here, the ship’s AI did manage to get control and land in the canyon with only minor damage. It never revoked my command of the craft either, because once the emergency overrides initiated, there is no actual way to turn that off, not without drydocking it and doing a full system factory rebooting. Also, because she was in a combat situation, she will not accept any override codes sent via radio and whatnot, she’s essentially gone radio silent in that department, this is to prevent quantum hacking into her control systems as a safety precaution. So, for the time being, Sundown is mine until I hand it over to Hope Systems personally and relinquish command, and that’s not going to happen, believe you me.
Forsaken rises high in the day, casting its reddish light upon us in the dusty canyon. Jo and I are basically camped out here in about twenty clicks outside the outskirts of Thunderbird, hoping to avoid detection by enemy patrols and we aren’t sure if the Ajax Hammer is still searching for us from orbit. We finally have time to talk about what happened up there. “It wasn’t the RCF that hit the Delta Icon in that first explosion, I saw a supply shuttle out there, I think it had a bomb on board, or had a catastrophic engine failure? I didn’t think they could go up like that though, aren't there all kinds of safety protocols and such in place to prevent stuff like that from ever happening?”
Up until now, Jo has been fairly quiet, lost in reflection and contemplation, clearly still disturbed over the RCF firing on the escape ships, “It’s nearly impossible for an explosive engine/reactor malfunction to occur, I calculate it was a highly shielded and scan-resistant tactical thermonuclear explosive device. Most likely supplied by the RCF, since they were likely waiting in Photonic Space, circling the area until the detonation, this was likely a coordinated and planned attack. The Ajax Hammer was no strategic match for the Delta Icon, using subterfuge and sabotage was the only way they could assault the Delta and have a victorious outcome.”
“So, I’m figurin’ them rebels that we’ve been hearing whispers about have been doing big things while we was hidin’ out and on the run.”
Jo slowly paces back and forth, “Your assessment seems likely, Black Crow, they could have possibly formed some type of alliance with the RCF.”
“But at what cost, the RCF wants something, I’ll wager?”
Jo looks at me then, “I do not know, I could make an intuitive guess, more importantly and personally, I’m glad to see you’re back.”
“Whatchu mean?”
Jo puts their hand on my shoulder, “I’ll try to make this tactful, but after your near-fatal accident in the racing circuit, you haven’t been the same, I believe the trauma of the catastrophic crash affected you greatly. A lot of people thought you could not ride anymore because of the traumatic experience. But in the past few weeks, I’ve seen you ride better than you have ever ridden in your whole life, and then piloting the Sundown, it was remarkable.”
I let out a sigh, because I know the truth; I did lose my nerve after that accident and I blamed everyone and everything, not wanting to face the truth.
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About then, I see and hear some hoverbikes approaching out the dust and mist, so I grab my rifle and get ready for the worst and take aim, waiting to see who these clowns could be.
Eleven hoverbikes in total, five flanking a smaller middle rider on each side, they rollin’ like some hoverbike club or gang, but I could see from far enough away that it’s not troopers. It’s way too many to be bounty hunters, they are a greedy lot and don’t like sharing the prize. They pull up slowly, not being aggressive but they are heavily armed with highly regulated military assault weapons, the middle rider takes their helmet off, it’s Dahlia.
She waits a good thirty seconds to say anything, “nice ship you got here, Blacky. You know, it’s probably worth more than the entire city of Bigville?”
Not being one for a lot of talking, I remain silent. She’s pretty as ever, but she seems different now, not very warm and friendly like she used to be. I know a lot of her lower internal organs have been replaced with high-grade synthetics, she’s basically a cyborg now, like a lot of folks in these parts are, like me. All I do is nod in acknowledgement. Her men are all trying to look tough, but I can see they are trying not to look at each other, they look nervous, like fangirls waiting to meet their favorite music performer. They are looking at me with some kinda reverence.
She continues, “I bet you’re wondering why we are here. We were sent out to this area on info supplied by the RCF, about a starfighter that evaded them from the Delta Icon. But once we scanned you at long range, we came here to see if you need any help… and we want you to join us… my uncle wanted you to join us too, if we ever found you.” As she makes a sign of the holy trinity on her head and shoulders, her men all do the same at the mention of it. “He sacrificed himself for all of us.”
“So that was you guys?” While I gesture to the sky.
She looks at me with a burning seriousness, “yes, and I wanted to do it, but he absolutely forbade me, I didn’t know you and Jo were on it, I don’t think my uncle knew either but even if I did know, I would still do it the same way. Losing you would be a great loss to the cause, but a necessary sacrifice. Everyone is expendable to the greater cause, even me.”
Who the hell is this lady now, someone very different? “Not only do you sound like some kind of batshit crazy fanatic; but if you live by the sword, you’ll die by the sword, hon. So, you and your nutcase friends here, all cozy-like with the RCF, and are good buddies with them now, or some shit?”
Her eyes are still locked on my eyes, “Something like that, yeah. Blacky, you have a big heart, but you never could make the really hard choices, but I can. Now, c’mon, let’s go. Fire up that fancy starfighter and follow us, stay low as you can, we will make a distraction on the other side of Thunderbird to lure away the troopers and their resources, our base of operations is nearby. It’s practically right under their noses.”
Base of operations? What the hell even? I simply nod in agreement, seeing how I don’t have much choice, because I can’t stay out here and if I do, I’ll lose the ship and my life when troopers find me. Sundown still needs some repairs, the AI couldn’t exactly do a gentle landing after I blacked out, and I don’t have the parts or equipment to fix it in the field.
Maybe it can’t be so terrible, these rebels think I’m some kind of hero or some such, and my ex-girlfriend is the new leader of these crazy sons-a-bitches. I guess she defaulted to the leadership role after her uncle did the suicide bombing of the Delta Icon, nearly killing me and Jo in the process, ‘what could possibly go wrong?’ I think to myself as I shake my head slowly.