“Echo, wake up. We’re almost there.” Vikta shakes Echo’s shoulder in the chair next to him.
Echo wakes with a yawn and stretches across the back of his chair inside the train engine cabin. As he sits back down, Echo sleepily looks over at Vikta and says, “Must be nice to drive the train all the time. That sure was relaxing this morning.”
Vikta smiles as he looks over at Echo, “It is nice. It’s the best time to think alone and daydream. I’ve come up with some pretty good stories in my head as I sit here. Do you want to hear one?”
Echo sits back in his chair as he looks out the front window, “Sure, why not. I don’t see the launch tower yet, you big liar. We’re nowhere near Launch Central. You just don’t like it when I sleep on the job.”
Vikta chuckles, “Exactly right, boy. It’s a work day after all, and we’re on our way to see Felix too. Now if my memory serves me right, I just may be able to do this story some justice.”
Echo scoffs, “Your memory could use some justice.”
Vikta lets loose a hearty laugh before he asks, “Alright then, smartass, what about a true story then? One in which your father fought in the Quadrant Blitz and clashed with a hundred muscular reptilian Skeras?”
Echo’s eyes opened wide as he turned his head to ask, “You never talk about the war, dad. Why now?”
Vikta’s breath choked up in his throat. He clenched the armrests of his chair and the leather squealed under his enormous strength as he said, “You’re right.”
Vikta hung his head and let out a choked breath before he continued, “It’s a dark past that I really don’t want to visit ever again. It’s no use digging up a past that has every intention to remain buried. Look kiddo… War is a terrible thing. Filled full of innocent lives fighting for any number of reasons. War can be worse than that of hell.”
Echo’s eyebrows furrowed as he watched his father break down in front of him after asking, “How is war worse than hell?”
Vikta let go of the armrests as he folded his hands together in his lap, squeezing them together so tightly that his knuckles turned white. As he nervously clutched his hands together a few of his knuckles cracked loudly in the quiet train cabin. The electric train chugged silently along as he spoke with soft words. He remained still as he stared down at his hands, and each sentence seems to cut deep into him emotionally, “Everyone, except for maybe the war generals and the leaders of civilizations, seems innocent enough, up until the point that they’re forced to do something horrible. Soldiers do the bidding of their commanders because that is their duty. If they fail, then they lose more than just their life. They lose what they love most and hold dearest to them. A soldier’s duty is to that of their home and their family. A soldier’s duty forces them to sacrifice their livelihood and sanity for the sake of others. Unfortunately, that obligation also forces them to do unspeakable things, and some get comfortable with their wrong choices over time. Women and children of all races and species are caught in the crossfire of those taking care of their personal and military duties. It’s also the reason why I left the Imperial Military shortly after the Quadrant Blitz. It’s just… The things I’ve seen and done. They’re too difficult to talk about. I’m not sure that you would ever understand what I did… What I had to do.”
Echo sighed as he sat back in the seat, placed one hand on his cheek and rested as he stared out the window towards the storm. They both sat in silence as the train headed for its destination. The storm was looming larger than ever, and light particles of misty rain could be seen on the windshield.
Echo turned back towards his father, pointed at the window, and quickly said, “It’s already raining. Are we too late?”
Vikta snapped out of his stupor and craned his neck to look past Echo at the storm, “No. We’re just getting some light rain from the outer bands. The storm doesn’t look like it’ll be here until after we leave Launch Central. We might be getting back home just as soon as it starts to get bad.”
Vikta looks forward out the windshield as he continues talking, “We’ll have to focus on delivering the shipment and heading back home with haste. I don’t think we’ll have much time to talk to Felix, if at all. I can see the launch tower now, but I don’t see Felix’s ship. He must’ve not landed yet.”
Echo gazed out the train’s windshield searching for Felix’s ship on the horizon against the view of the enormous launch tower. The launch tower was an elongated inward curved spire that crested at a singular point. Its rounded spire design was engineered to withstand the harsh winds of the rocket engines during launch and that of the planet’s immense storms. Out of four different sides, the ground outside of the tower was separated into four different launch pads by support beams that were also curved inwards with a similar design to that of the tower. Sitting atop two of the launch pads were two enormous shipping cruisers. Both ships had four launch booster rockets attached to each corner of the plus-shaped design of the ships.
Echo turned to his father and said, “I don’t see it, either. Speaking of which, the shipping cruisers always look the same.”
Vikta chuckled, “No they don’t, and that’s probably because you’ve never seen Felix’s ship before. He really went out of his way to be different. It’s got big white letters plastered across the side saying, ‘The Zealot’. It’s a bit presumptuous, but he loves his ship. He’s been piloting it for a long time now. His ship has taken quite a beating over the years though. That box of bolts and radiation isn’t what it once was. We’re coming into the station now. Echo, go to the back and get ready to detach the containers.”
Echo swiftly got up from his seat and proceeded to leave the train cabin out the back door and along the side walkway on the train engine. He continued walking towards the back of the train while grasping a thick yellow railing attached to the side. The rain particles whipping him across the back made him slightly wet, but not drenched. He would dry off soon enough.
As he reached the back of the train engine, Echo could see the plains of crops finally end, and small townhouses started to pop up in his peripheral vision as he focused on his job. The little wooden houses were shortly replaced by concrete work centers as they neared the station. Echo was unable to make out the features of any of the buildings because of the rapid speed of the train.
Grasping tightly onto the railing, Echo patiently waited as the train made its way into the station. The train passed various concrete buildings before finally entering a tunnel. The rails started to angle downwards, and the train dipped below ground for about a couple of meters before leveling out again. Echo was shrouded in darkness and wind for a few moments before emerging into a brightly lit room that was large enough to fit a small city inside. Small electric carts and people bustled about all over the place. Some were waiting for the train that Echo and Vikta were riding upon to pass by so that they could go about their responsibilities once again.
The train slowed to a crawl as it reached the center of the large circular room. The railway ended at a circular moving platform with one rail upon it. The platform was surrounded by eight other rails going out toward eight different cardinal directions resembling a spider web made of steel. Each rail that had spread out from the center leads to eight different tunnels. The platform was currently rotating to fit the railway aboard it neatly against the rails that Vikta’s train was traveling upon. Once they reached the platform, the train went slightly past and onto the opposing rail. The train finally stopped when the first shipment container behind it rested on the rotating platform.
Vikta stuck his head out of the doorway to yell in Echo’s direction, “Alright, disconnect the containers. I got a notice on the radio that Felix is coming in for a landing now. The workers will take care of the rest of the heavy lifting for us. Come on and hurry up if you don’t want to miss the landing.”
Echo reached down to a space between the train engine and the carts behind it and pulled a single pin out before jumping down to the station floor to join his father. They strode over to the nearest wall of the room, which took more time than one would expect. The room was massive, covering about a kilometer of flooring in diameter. The thick white tiles of the train station floor contrasted heavily against the rusting metal of the railways. The overhead fluorescent lights added to the white buzz of the reflective flooring. The bright sight was almost painful to stare at.
On their way to the wall, the duo stepped over a few railways and past a couple of workers in hardhats on their way to go collect the new shipment. As they approached a wall on one side of the room, a silvery elevator door could be seen in stark contrast against the white wall. The elevator door opens as they approached and out flooded various people in business suits and construction gear.
Echo was nearly knocked over by a businessman in a black suit who looked as if he was in a rush to get somewhere. “Ow, watch where you’re walking!” Growled Echo as he was nearly knocked to the floor when the businessman’s shoulder bumped against his. Turning in surprise at the man in a rush, Echo noticed something peculiar about him.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
The man wore an all-black suit and slacks with a fedora upon his head. Lining the outside of the slick black fedora was a thin metallic band. Underneath his hat, the businessman was bald. Apparently taken by surprise by bumping into Echo and being yelled at, the bald man also turned to face Echo while only about a meter away. They were practically staring each other down, face to face, in silence.
“What the hell!?” Echo yelped.
The man had no eyebrows, no beard, and his eyes were wholly inhuman. Deep blues and purples shifted across his eyes in smoky clouds of dust that seemed to envelop everything. The only white showing through were sparkles of light that resembled thousands of stars deep in space. Echo’s jaw began to gape open as he stared directly into the bald man's eyes. The starry eyes of the man lured Echo’s to stare even deeper into them. Echo had been utterly stunned and was now unable to look away. The bald man stood there unblinking for what felt like an eternity as engineers and corporate workers bustled about around them. None of the workers bothered paying any attention to the two men just standing there in silence by the elevators. The eyes of the various employees seemed to glaze over them as they walked by but did not seem to notice anything odd.
Echo and the bald businessman both finally blinked once, and then the businessman glanced up at Vikta who was still paying attention to the multitudes of people walking out of the elevator. Panic quickly spread across the odd businessman's face. Blinking multiple times in rapid succession, the man’s eyes changed into a standard human form with light green eyes. Turning quickly and sprinting away from Echo, the man hurriedly disappeared into the crowd. Echo did not bother to chase him but just stood there with his mouth gaping open.
“Echo. Echo, come on. The elevator door is going to close.” Vikta grabbed Echo’s arm and nearly dragged him to the elevator.
Echo turned to face his father as they stepped into the elevator together which was now packed full of people again. Echo still had a perplexed expression on his face as he asked his dad, “Did you see that odd man in the black business suit come out of the elevator with those really freaky eyes?”
Vikta just turns, glares at Echo, and then looks back up at the inside of the elevator door, “No, and that isn’t something you should run around saying anyways. It’s quite judgmental and ignorant of other people’s feelings. I just saw a bunch of workers come out. Nothing weird. We’re arriving at our floor anyways. Come on.”
As the elevator doors open once again, Vikta and Echo make their way out past the people crammed into the elevator and into a long circular hallway lined with windows. The corridors reached out to the left and right and curved away from them. Vikta takes a left and Echo follows. As they continue walking down the hallway, Vikta says, “We’re up near the top of the launch tower. You should be able to get the best view of Felix’s landing from up here.”
Echo turned his head to stare out the windows as they walked in silence down the long-curved hallway. A misty rain fell from the sky and lightly coated the windows. Out the window, he could see one of the ships in extremely close detail that was upright and ready for launch. They were high enough up on the tower to be looking down at the ship slightly, and it was absolutely massive in scale. Sitting upright, the ship was about 120 meters tall. The four launch boosters strapped next to it were each 90 meters tall. Bulky, but capable, this rocket combination could launch nearly any shipment that could fit within the shipping cruiser from just about any terrestrial planet.
Vikta and Echo stopped walking when they reached a set of doors that were set into the inner wall of the hallway. Vikta called back towards Echo as he pulled out a keycard and pressed it gently up next to a tiny black box near the doors, “Stay here. I’ll go ask when Felix is landing.”
Echo continued to gaze out the window for a few moments at the approaching storm. There was an overcast of clouds, so it was unlikely that he would be able to see Felix’s atmospheric entry above the clouds. As he was patiently waiting for his father to return, a booming sound smashed into the building, shaking the frames and floors. Echo could feel the boom in his chest and beneath his feet as he stood there. He could hear random items throughout the building shake and shiver from the boom. Pressing his hands firmly against the windows, Echo looked in every direction for the source of the sound. No fire or smoke was to be seen anywhere in the buildings below. All was quiet below and the workers bustled about without running. The rain peacefully ran down the windows and created small vertical rivers as they collided with other drops of water on the window. Echo could feel the cold from the window seeping into his palms as watched for any sign of where the sound originated.
Vikta exited out the set of doors behind Echo with a short, portly looking man with balding hair and a big grin plastered across his face. He wore a bright white collared shirt with an emblazoned company logo titled, ‘Takeda Inc.’ on his sleeves.
The stocky man walked up to Echo and said, “It’s nice to see you again, Echo. You’ve grown up quite a bit.”
Echo turned and gave him a hefty handshake, “Heya, boss.”
The plump man chuckled, “Call me Jacob.”
Jacob returns Echo’s handshake with a robust grip as he continues talking, ”I’m not actually the boss, and you know that already. The Takeda’s are the ones who call the shots around here. I’m just the messenger. Anyways, that sonic boom you just felt should be the best indication that your uncle is about to arrive any moment.”
The three of them keenly gawked at the clouds above the tower. Each of them patiently waiting for something different. Jacob was waiting to get his next shipment off the ground. Echo wanted to see his uncle. Vikta was after something that he had thought was lost long ago.
The Zealot burst out through the bottom of the clouds with a swirl of misty rain in its wake. The bold white letters on the side were immediately recognizable in contrast to the other ships on the ground which had nothing like that on them. Each one had a simple serial number near the back of the ship with the cruiser's ID number painted on in small letters and numbers. The plus-shaped design of the ship had wings that had already been extended from the sides for atmospheric flight and would usually be retracted when in space. It also has several landing wheels which were currently protracted downwards out of the bottom of the ship’s underbelly. This ship circled the launch tower twice before touching down neatly on a runway near the base of the tower.
Echo turned to run down the hallway, but Jacob stopped him by putting a hand up, “Stop right there. You’ll probably want to see this, and Felix will be heading up here soon enough. I don’t really want you wandering on your own around here anyways. Too much sensitive equipment and you’re not even qualified to be in here. You’re likely to get hurt if you end up in the wrong place at the wrong time. The next shipment is about to launch. Watch that rocket over there.”
Jacob pointed out a rocket on one of the launch platforms. A few moments after Jacob put his hands down to rest by his side, the building started to rumble once more. A siren wailed from around them as the building began to shake even more violently. An intercom clicked on, and an unemotional voice came through the loudspeakers, “Launch in thirty seconds on platform two. Please remain indoors. I repeat. Please remain indoors as the launch is taking place. Launch in approximately twenty seconds…”
A heavy stream of water flows down the tower from the top, shrouding their view of the ship that was about to lift off. Jacob attempts shouting over the intercom, "This water deluge will protect the building from any damage that the rocket engines might cause. It will also keep us from getting fried to a crisp from the heat". In reaction to his view being shrouded by the stream of water flowing down the building, Echo presses his face up against the glass to attempt to see through the thick current of water.
The intercom clicks off as the rumble gets boisterous and the building trembles violently. White smoke can be seen billowing up around the shipping cruiser. The siren is now piercing as the unemotional voice returns over the intercom and begins counting down, “10… 9… 8… 7… 6… 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… Shipping cruiser Vex is cleared for take-off. I repeat. Vex is cleared for take-off.”
As the intercom clicks off with a loud buzz and the siren continues to howl, the launch tower began to shake so violently, that it felt as if the entire building was going to rip itself apart. The roar of the four rocket engines nearly drowns out the sound of the siren. The smoke outside billowed upwards and shrouded the shipping cruiser in a white fog of rocket fuel exhaust. The ship’s features were barely visible through the thick smoke as it began to ascend. Slowly the ship rose into the air, and the light from the booster engines burned brightly as they lifted the heavy load off of the launch platform. The three men watching the spectacle had to shield their eyes as the ship started to pick up the pace, and the bottom of the engines reached eye level with them. At this point, the building now shook so violently, that it felt as if it was going to shatter under the enormous pressure of the rocket engines.
As the ship reached the clouds and disappeared into the murky mist of the overcast, the siren clicked off, and Jacob turned to Vikta with a delighted expression. Putting out one hand, palm up, Jacob pointed down the hallway. Jacob addressed the two men, “If you don’t mind gentlemen, can you please wait in the mess hall downstairs. I’ll be sure to send Felix your way as soon as I’m done speaking with him. It looks as if they are going to taxi his ship off the runway and into one of the hangers.” Jacob pulled a keycard out of a pocket on his slacks and opened the door of the control center, disappearing inside.
Vikta patted Echo on the shoulder as they walked back towards the direction of the elevator, “I’m glad you got to see a good launch before we left. I’m surprised that they are still launching ships with the storm so close.”
Echo’s heart was beating rapidly in his chest, and he could still remember the feeling of the building shaking to its very core as the shipping cruiser had launched into space. He turned his head to Vikta as they walked and excitedly stated, “That was amazing. I’ve been here on the planet all this time, and you’ve never shown me that!?”
Vikta gives a light chuckle as he responds, “It’s not often that I get to bring you here. What’s more is that you were either too young or too busy for me to bring you along. I had to make sure you got your education while I was working.”
Echo sighed, “Yeah, I know...B-but that was still one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen! A real launch is nothing like what it looks like in books or on the Infonet. The power of those rocket engines is incredible.”
Echo and Vikta continued talking excitedly about the launch as they made their way to the mess hall downstairs. After seeing the launch, Echo had forgotten the strange man he had seen at the train station and continued to babble on about the rocket engines and their functions. The young man had apparently done his homework. Vikta silently listened as his son started to ramble on about rocket engineering and wondered what news Felix had for him. Bad news or good news, it did not matter. Vikta was unsure if he would enjoy hearing the results of Felix's travels.