Telling the Aegis’ crew that the purpose for their existence had – nearly to a man – been wiped out that afternoon, and that their home would have to be taken out of service, was a blow that left no small number of them devastated. Seth had at least managed to find his brother before the notifications started going out from the First.
“It gives me no pleasure to detail to you that most of the Fafnir Knights will not be coming home today.” Rylen’s voice spoke to them all at once, “An entity that had originally been in Kitez had managed to find its way here, and after diffusing itself into the bodies of the Warp Magi from the SSCF Sterling Rose, launched into a killing-spree that claimed the lives of: Wing Commander Two, Donivan Parker. Dame Annashi Dessow. Sir Michael Remmy. Sir Sammy Einhardt. Sir Gareth Fitzroy. Dame Michelle Napple. Dame Xandra Cephyr. And Sir Alexander Rogers. We owe much and more to their sacrifice today, and they will be properly honored.”
Those who survived – save Furion, who already knew – were left feeling hollow and broken by the reading of each name. None could bear to leave the docking-hangar, seeing those empty pods, waiting for armor that would never return.
“Unfortunately, in the effort to take down the entity, the Aegis’ forward cannon was pushed beyond its breaking point, and as a consequence, the ship will need to be decommissioned. I will have more information for you on that front in the coming days…but for the time being, please anticipate being transferred to any of the other Sixth Wing ships in the fleet.
“In light of the devastation that was visited unto us today, the Aegis will continue to be on communications lockdown until further notice. The details of the mission will be marked as classified and it will not be permitted to discuss them outside the walls of this ship.”
“What does that mean for us…?” Ravan wondered, looking around the circle of survivors; still clad in their armor, but at least with their helmets off, “Without the Aegis, we’re…”
“You’ll be assigned to other ships as well.” Furion answered, struggling against the growing pain in his ribs, “Whether you all go together or are going to split up, however…I’m not sure yet.”
“…You’re talking about us like you’re not included, sir.”
He lowered his gaze a little, “I’m a Captain without a ship. I’ll have other duties to attend to while Lord Rylen figures out if he even wants to rebuild the unit.”
“How could he not?” Jense wondered, “It took damn near all of us – er…you - to kill that thing. If we don’t have a Fafnir contingent next time…”
Furion could only nod in agreement, and he looked down to where his brother had leaned against his side, still hiccupping his breaths and staring ahead vacantly in shock. He pet the teen’s shoulder reassuringly, “He may try to go in a different direction. The Fafnir Knights were never designed to combat whatever that presence was.”
“Scyrexian.” Ren corrected, “That’s what it called itself. In Kitez, when it…was still mostly Ianori…”
“…Yeah.” Furion acknowledged, and looked around the group again, “We were purpose-built for taking on afflicted people. Scyrexian battered us like a bug trapped behind a kitchen curtain. I…can’t even fathom the kind of re-engineering program he’d have to put together to develop a Knight that could take that on.”
All eyes turned to Ren, “…You were able to.”
She looked back at them, “It wanted me to get to Gabriel. Even at the very end, when it could’ve killed me, it implied that doing so would’ve made that process a big hassle. It…says that I can move him, whatever that means.”
“Are you going to tell him...?” Ravan wondered.
Ren looked to Furion, but shrugged, “I’m not sure. I think it’ll depend on what Lord Rylen says about it when we debrief. Gabe may be an Eidolon in his own Wing now, but if Lord Rylen says to keep it quiet, his word comes first.”
“I wonder what it wants him for?” Corbin asked idly, one arm wrapped around his core as the other tapped against his jaw in thought, “The way that it went right for the Magi, and ditched Ianori’s body…seems to me it would rather have a dead afflicted than a living normal person as a host.”
“I was thinking the same…especially after it referred to Gabe as a Prime Mover. The only difference between him and every other afflicted is the fact that he arrived in the world with that curse.” Ren added, “Maybe that changes how it can behave. Still…if it needed me specifically in that acquisition, it’s probably less to do with the fact that I have him on speed-dial and more to do with the fact that he’d probably actually do what it said if it threatened me somehow.”
“You think so?” Jense wondered.
“It’s the only reason I can think of.” She shrugged, brow furrowed, “I mean, other than Seth…I’m the only person who’s been at every place that Scyrexian manifested, and it hasn’t made any overtures towards going after him instead.”
“You think Lord Gabriel would refuse if it threatened Seth instead?” Furion was surprised, “He’s just a kid. If anything, those situations should be reversed, since you’re a trained fighter, and Seth’s an innocent.”
“Yeah, but…”
.
“I kissed you back, didn’t I?”
.
“…Well, it doesn’t matter. With any luck, it won’t come back at all. I crushed that last bubble-thing it had, and it fell apart after that.” Ren said, and pulled out of the group to go towards her docking-pod. The others all watched her go, getting out of her armor and restoring her blues – as well as manufacturing some temporary boots – as she headed for the exit.
All eyes went to Furion after that, and gave them a casual glance back as he understood he should probably go after her. He lifted an arm to pat his brother’s head, and Seth let go for a moment so the man could step out of his armor as well. He gathered-up his own boots from where he’d kicked them aside earlier, and manifested his Captain’s regalia over his uniform-base – even if it would only last until he got to his quarters. He reached an arm out to Seth to summon him forward again, and looked to the remaining three, “I recommend you all take some time to decompress. I’ll go-“
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
He hadn’t even made it to the door to the lift before Rylen turned up.
“…Sir?”
“I need you to bring Dame Felipe back.” The Eidolon said simply, “She’s still on the move.”
That made a knot grow in the Captain’s stomach, “Yessir.” He said anyway, and he bent to look at his brother, “Go keep Ren company. She probably went back to the room. You can stay with us tonight if you want.”
“Th-thanks…” He hiccupped, and hopped-off to catch up with the woman. Though the fast-travel chutes were mostly intended for the Fafnir to get around the ship in a hurry, it was the quickest way from their launch-bay to the bridge-level, and Seth took-off, not quite understanding what the Eidolon had just asked his older brother to do.
Rylen watched the teen go, and stepped out of the way for the Captain to leave as well, “We’ve already tried to establish contact. She’s ignoring us. Shame, really.”
“Yessir…” Furion bowed his head and stepped off to head for the bridge-level chute as well.
The trio of Knights watched him go as the chute returned and the door opened, and they glanced at each other warily, then to the First. Rylen just gave them a quiet nod, and dissolved shortly after.
Ravan was the one who broke the silence, “…The things we didn’t know a Captain could do before Ren had it done to her.”
Corbin stepped off and put his armor away, “I’m going to go punch something for a while. I didn’t get a chance to lift a goddamn finger against anything else today.”
Jense followed suit; the sentiment was mutual, and it was easy to yearn for the same relief.
Ravan could only watch them, “…It’s not your fault that it ended up this way.” She tried to say, and the pair paused to glance back at her, “I… When the Captain and I were about to start picking things up, he told me the bridge team was using targeted messaging with us so no one would know what was going on with anyone else. We needed to focus on helping the people who were helpless. I know there’s not much solace in being told you were just following orders to protect the staff, and it was just happenstance that it took you from the frontline. I know that, in the end, it just boils down to a sentiment that says ‘you walked away from the fight really well’ but… He wouldn’t even let me into the room where Commander Parker went down. He…said it was brutal, and violent. If it was the same for the others, then…maybe it wouldn’t have made a difference if we were all there.”
“You actually got to fire a shot though.” Corbin countered, a hint of bitterness in his voice, “You actually got to see the enemy. Look it in the eyes. You walked away from that fight knowing you contributed to ending it.”
“That’s not what I meant… I’d give anything to get the image of that thing out of my head…”
“If you’re trying to say that we should count ourselves lucky to not have been involved, then don’t bother.” The older Knight countered, “You get to say that you wished you hadn’t been there. The both of us get to live with knowing we weren’t able to help anyone. That our family fell, one by one, to an enemy we never even got to engage. We all woke up together this morning, and only five of us are left. The others just…disappeared. Evaporated from existence. And…we can’t even put a face to the reason why.”
Jense just grabbed the man by the back of his shoulders and shoved him to a different fast-travel chute. Corbin shrugged him off and threw his hands up in a ‘don’t touch me’ sort of gesture, and went towards the doors on his own. Jense glanced back, “…Survivor’s guilt is gonna be a bitch. Sorry, Ravan.”
“…It’s okay…”
Once Jense was also gone, and Ravan was there on her own, there was nothing left to do except listen to the sound of the ship around her. She held her helmet against her chest with both arms, and looked down into the visor. Her own reflection looked back at her in that black, one-way face-plate, and Ravan could feel the gnawing, raw pain in her throat starting to return. It migrated up into her sinuses, and put pressure behind her eyes and brow. Her vision started to blur as she felt the tears starting to form in her eyes. She refused to just cry though; she was a Fafnir Knight of the Sixth Wing. She was tougher than that. But…the tears fell anyway, pattering against the visor with little splashes before following the curve to disappear in the crook of her arms.
.
Furion stepped out into the long hall towards the bridge just in time to catch-sight of his brother disappearing through the door to his quarters. He hoped Ren was already in there, and hadn’t just wandered off to who-knows-where-else on the ship. Still, he made his way up to the bridge, a hand against his ribs as they ached with every breath and step.
The bridge-crew wasn’t sure how to react when they saw the doors open, and their Captain – battered but alive – walked in. There were some dark patches on the floor near some of their workstations where they’d tried to clean-up after their unfortunate reactions to Donivan’s broadcasted demise, but there was still a sour sort of smell in the air. They just turned to watch him come onto the deck instead, and quietly waited for him to issue the coming order.
“Bring up Bianca’s P.O.V. on the main-screen, please.”
“Yessir.”
He sat back in the Captain’s chair, and drew in a breath as he readied himself for what he was about to do. The imagery appeared ahead of him, and he watched the sky and clouds blaze by as Bianca continued to flee, having gone into hypersonic some time ago. He tapped his fingers against a few buttons on the arm-rest of his seat, and a panel on the side of it opened with a click. He withdrew from that compartment a crown-like apparatus that – unbeknownst to anyone present – was identical to that of the ones used in the Eidolon System. As he lifted it to put it in place, he nodded to the communications officer nearby, “Open a direct channel. I don’t want her to find out this is coming by surprise.”
“Yessir. Line’s open.”
“Dame.” Furion started stiffly, though he received no response; only the panicked breaths of someone who’d been sobbing in fear, “I can only give you one last chance to come back to the Aegis voluntarily. If you don’t, I’ll seize command of your armor and pilot you back myself.”
“Y-You can’t make me face that thing!” She wept, “This isn’t what I trained for! I didn’t sign-up to fight monsters!”
The Captain held a finger over the trigger, “Dame Bianca Felipe… You are under arrest for desertion, in violation of the Luminary Protocols of Behavior, Article 72. You have the right to your silence, the right to a mediator, and the right to have your plea heard by your commanding officer. Under Article 15 of the Sixth Wing Uniform Code, I, Furion Rydell - in accordance with my authority as your Captain, and with the acknowledgment of the Eidolon of the First and Sixth, Rylen Vor’antiss - will take command of your armor and bring you back to your home-ship. Do you understand your rights, and what is about to happen?”
She could only whimper in fear.
“Overriding personal controls now.” He said with finality, and set his finger to the touch-screen panel. There was a bit of a jolt as the cerebral interface took effect, and the man immediately slumped in his chair. The main-screen overlay showed the activation of remote-command, and the skies began to slow-down. Clouds regained their shapes – from quickly-passing streaks to the cotton-like mounds and wisps they were known to be – and Bianca began to cry-out in panic. Furion’s brow furrowed with guilt, “The fight’s over, Dame. The enemy is gone. Please try to breathe normally so you don’t pass-out when I bring you back up to hypersonic in the other direction.”
.
When Seth found Ren, she was praying to the porcelain gods. The grief he himself felt seemed a second-thought when he saw her, and he quickly rushed into the bathroom, “Miss Ren!”
She just groaned; her voice echoed into the bowl.
Seth grabbed for a small towel and waited for the water in the sink to warm before wetting it under the faucet, then went down to his knees beside her, “…Miss Ren… Please don’t call me stupid right now for asking if you’re okay…”
She lifted her head up and glanced over a shoulder at him, hair messy and stuck to her tear-soaked cheeks. She saw the towel and accepted it, burying her whole face into the warmth without a word. It was all she could do to not scream into it right there, though she did finally let out a half-contained sob as she felt Seth’s hand go up and down her back.
Seth watched quietly as she started to lean towards him, and quickly shifted to sit cross-legged instead as she pressed her shoulder into his chest. Hearing her crying only made it harder for him not to (keep) crying, so he just held her and joined in her sorrows.