Echo Station - Upper Levels Alleyways

Aden reached for the wall behind and tried to stand up. His feet wobbled as he got a sense of his bearings.

They were in some alley in what looked like the backspace between stores. The only light came from two meager light bulbs hanging from the ceiling. The dirty grey metal walls was stained with something that Aden did not even want to think about. Dark water pooled in different spots on the ground. And that smell. It was smelled like compost and ammonia. Not the first place Aden had expected to end up but at least he didn’t end up as a stain on the floor.

Julian was still sitting on an overturned trash can typing away at the terminal he carried. He looked over his shoulder while typing and saw that Aden had finally got his bearings.

“Hell of a move you pulled off there. Remind me not to get on your bad side again” said Julian smiling.

Aden looked down at his left arm. He was sure he hadn’t done anything - or had he? He didn’t remember pressing any of the buttons on his palm. Maybe the arm worked solely by thought? He was scared before but he was pretty sure they don’t program weapons to just go off when the user doesn’t know. It couldn’t have been him.

“Jules. That wasn’t me.”

“Huh? I saw you bend down. Pretend to tie your shoes or something and then boom! Everyone went flying.”

“It wasn’t me. I was looking down at the ground because of the white lights. And then-”

“And then?”

Aden remembered the glint off the metal on the floor.

“And then I saw my terminal on the ground” said Aden. Even though the events just happened he struggled to put them together. Like an old slide show he could only remember images. He remembered the glint off the metal and then something else. A crowd of people just out of sight.

“My terminal! Jules! The girl I met! Cass or something. She’s the one who stole my terminal! When I was looking down at the ground I saw my terminal on the ground not too far from me. I looked up and I think I caught her for a half second before everything exploded.” Aden said, “I think she’s the one who set off that bomb.”

“Mhmm. Probably overloaded the circuitry behind it. Glad she didn’t steal this one eh?” said Julian holding up the terminal in his hand. Julian was old school and preferred the tablets to the handheld wrist mounted one. And even for tablets Julian’s terminal was massive. Aden shuttered at the thought of what would’ve happened if she had overloaded that one. Both of them probably wouldn’t be here talking. Would’ve made some awkward conversations with KhazorCorps.

“This girl. Who was she? What was she like?” said Julian. He was typing even faster now and Aden could see that he was getting messages from that same (XY28D- ERROR - YRT&8) person that had contacted them on the ship.

“I dunno. Early 20s I think. Pickpocket - obviously. She wasn’t a refugee, said she had been to Echo Station multiple times and no matter how many times they kick her out she kept coming back.”

It must’ve been her thought Aden. But why? Had she tried to kill him? Not leave any witnesses?

“Oh you talked that much?” said Julian. A smile forming in the corners of his mouth.

“C’mon.” Aden groaned. He knew exactly where Julian was going with this. Best to nip this in the bud early before he really got going.

“I’m just saying” said Julian shrugging, “I’m a little surprised is all. I thought I taught you to be a little smarter than that.”

“I don’t remember you giving us love lessons in between firing practice” said Aden.

“I didn’t? Well maybe I should now? Here’s a tip: Stay away from strange women who steal and blow stuff up” laughed Julian, “And, if you still can’t help yourself, at least have the decency to keep your eye on them”. Finished with his typing he turned off his terminal and put it underneath his shirt. He must’ve left everything behind in the commotion thought Aden.

Aden looked down at his own clothes. The already cheap blue synthetic clothes that he wore had been charred in multiple places. The pants were damp from sitting in the puddles on the floor and he could tell that the smell of smoke came from him. It really completed the poor traveler look but even Aden knew they couldn’t show up at to their mutual benefactors looking like this. They couldn’t even walk down the streets like this. What if some guard recognized them and wanted to finish their security check. No they needed a new look and fast.

But another thought also filled his mind and when it did Aden forgot about any other worries.

The guards? Had they made it out alright? Aden had made it out of there without any injuries but then again he was further away. The guards were between him and the explosion. He hoped they were alright. Convenient or not he couldn’t handle know he got away while letting the poor guards just rot there. They were only doing their jobs.

“Are they OK? The guards I mean?” asked Aden.

“Mhmm? Oh I think so. They got knocked down same as you but I think most of them saw your girl and ran after her.” Said Julian.

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He felt the huge weight off his shoulders for the moment. Once he got this arm off and they got their new tickets back he had to remind himself to check up on them. Just an anonymous question to the hospital from a concerned citizen. Just to ease his mind in the future. He didn’t need another battle scene to keep him up on the trip to his new life.

“Ok so we look like shit” said Julian patting the dust from the trash can off his pants, “So we stand out like a sore thumb. And there’s just been an explosion so everybody’s gonna be on high alert. Good news is they’re looking for a girl. Better news is that our contact knows the stake and has loaned us some money and agreed to meet up after we’re done.” Said Julian.

“I think we’re on the upper level of the station. Let’s head out, see what shops there are and try to at least look like locals” said Julian.

Julian was right but Aden had to take a deep breath. Shopping with Julian was like shopping with a parent. He knew he was in for it now.

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As it turned out their contact had given them quite the budget. Julian had already bought his new clothes and was now taking the time to buy some ‘tech knick- knacks’ as he called them. Aden didn’t bother going with him. His mentor knew best what they needed.

For himself Aden had bought basic cotton shirt and denim pants but they had each splurged on a design worn leather jacket. Leather was rare outside of planets and would normally be out of Aden’s reach but Julian had urged him to take it. “My gift to you for all the shit you’ve been through” said Julian. With that all done he had chosen to wander the shopping square of the Upper Levels of Echo Station. Without all the chaos outside the ship he finally got a chance to really take in the grandeur of the station.

Aden had already known Echo Station was big, but being in the middle of it showed him what that word really meant. It was massive. Easily two or three times larger than any other station he had been on. On the one hand it made sense. Echo Station was the last major gateway between the Galactic Union incorporated space and the Frontier. Beyond Echo Station everything was wild and uncertain. Things like abandoned pre-war colonies, newly discovered habitable worlds, mining stations, and even reports of pirate stations that moved around from system to system. It was an exciting time to be alive.

And it wasn’t just Humans either. Xenos from all across the Galaxy came to seek their fortune. With all the different ships from different parts of the world coming and going this place was a Galactic Hub. If someone made it here they could go anywhere in the Galaxy.

Of course with all this traffic the station had be built to accommodate them all. Not just in size but in style as well. Human corporations had brought on Xeno architects into their crew to decorate the station in an aesthetically pleasing way for all. Aden guessed they had succeeded.

Everything was made of metal but of different qualities. The floors in the Upper Station were a polished white metal that looked clean no matter how many people stepped on it. The walls and structures were shiny silver that reflected everything almost like glass. There were very few of the bright neon signs here as you might see in a Human city. Instead colorful flowers and large trees decorated the landscape. It had been a long time since he had been to a place as peaceful as this. The shopkeepers had told them that it was only the Upper Levels that were like this. A testament to the wealth that their mutual benefactor had Aden supposed.

Aden had wandered into a large open area that he had guessed was a park. He had been drawn here by the sight of a fountain with a monument at the center of it. It was ship of black stone painted with gold set to look as if it was flying off. At the bottom was a plaque listing some names.

To the individuals, Human & Xeno, who gave their lives to protect this station in the First Galactic War.

We remember you.

Echo station was one of the first human settlements to get hit. At one point the survivors had to evacuate on a single ship while the rest stayed back to buy them time. It was a grim reminder. Aden had almost wished Julian was here to break the mood.

“Grand isn’t it?” said a peculiar voice behind him.

Aden turned his head toward the speaker. It was a Xeno, a member of the Krynau species to be exact.

Aden was always wary about the Krynau. They were a weird mix of contradictions. Externally they were tall humanoid looking aliens with scaly green skin and large black eyes. They weren’t scary as much as they were unsettling, like the old stone gargoyles that hung on famous castles. But when they spoke, it captured the imagination. Krynau had deep voices and an uncanny knack for picking up new languages. Aden knew in Human space they were mostly employed as spokespeople.

“Yeah I suppose it is” said Aden.

“I was here when they built it. It received quite the reception at first. I believe the residents at the time even cheered. Over the years however opinion has soured on it for some reason. I regularly see petitions to remove it or at least replace it with something else.”

“Yeah. I can see that- fat chance of that ever happening.” Said Aden. He knew what the discussions were saying on the net.

“Do you understand why that is? Can you explain it to one who is searching for an explanation?” said the Krynau. Aden tried to read his face but of course the problem with Xeno faces and those large eyes is you end up using Human instinct - which more often than not is just flat out wrong. Did the alien really want to know why or was he just testing him?

“It’s because it mentions Humans. They don’t like the honoring the war as it pertains to humans” said Aden.

“Ah I see. Is it because of Halenyx? Because you bombed the Beryon brood planet?” said the Krynau

Aden stared at him. He was a blunt one that was for sure.

“I meant no offense. My curiosity got the best of me. I apologize.”

“Don’t. It’s alright. We already did it.” Aden said “You’re more or less right though, but that’s only half the reason. I doubt anyone gives a shit about the Beryons.”

He took a deep breath and looked up at the monument. Memories he tried to forget coming back into his mind.

“Halenyx and what happened afterward opened up a lot of thoughts in Xeno’s mind. They were grateful for help but they also think we took our time to help them.” Said Aden “Because of the recent expansion they think we purposefully withheld fighting the Beryons until some species were already wiped out so that we could take over their planets. They think that when we bombed Halenyx it was just a way of flexing our muscle, and not just to the Beryons but to the entire galaxy.”

“I see. And do you believe them?”

“No.” Said Aden. “I don’t. I was there, we did the best we could.”

“Do you think that Humans should be considered heroes?” said the Khrynau.

The tenacity of this guy puts even Julian to shame Aden thought.

“No. I don’t think we were heroes” said Aden with as little emotion as he could put into it.

The Khrynau opened his mouth to speak but was cut off from the sound of another voice.

“Aden! Hey our contact said to meet his guy here. He’s a Khrynau and - oh” said Julian who had appeared behind him. Aden noticed the suspicious lack of bags, whatever it was that Julian had bought was concealed on his person.

“Looks like you already found him” said Julian.

The Khrynau opened his hands out wide and gave a small bow as if he was presenting a show. “It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Meren. Please allow me to guide you to my boss. He has been expecting you for some time now.”