Carpathia IV: Episode 28 - Getting Underway
Space, Centaurus Void, NCCS Shadowdancer
While Aire was off receiving Ryuu's memories, Adell remained in conference with Keiichi while Phobos looked on.
Adell: We don't know the full extent of Lazmaedia's abilities. The dragons said she's more secretive than most. Wishmaster could control the elements. Stone, fire, wind, water, that sort of thing, and he was powerful with just that.
Keiichi: I suppose a better question is what do we know?
Adell paused, pursing his lips, thinking back to his meetings with Ksenva.
Adell: Ksenva said she's looking for another ship that she claimed was lost, but I doubt that it is lost. You come into the Void if you don't want to be found. Aire and I suspect runaways.
Keiichi: If that's true, it would be good if we could find them first. They could surely provide us with much more information.
Adell thought more, considering some of the slightly less explicit details.
Adell: There's definitely a strict hierarchy of some kind. Women on top, men lower. Ksenva also seems obsessed with skin color. She was very disdainful of Aire, definitely because he is a man, but also probably because he's light-skinned.
Keiichi: I think we need to consider deploying a sensor net across the Void so we can see what's going in and out.
Adell: That's an idea worth considering. In the meantime, I should tend to my ship.
Keiichi: Let me know if you need anything.
Adell: Will do. Shadowdancer out.
Adell tapped the close button on his communicator and rose from his chair. For a moment, he thought he should check on Aire and Ryuu, but then remembered that Ryuu did not like interruptions while he was in memory contact with another. For now, he thought a quick conversation with Phobos would be fruitful and returned to his seat.
Adell: I know Artemis doesn't want you to be a war machine, and I agree with that, but I think it's a good idea to give you some upgrades to defend yourself better in case something happens.
Phobos became giddy with this suggestion, rubbing his hands together gleefully.
Phobos: Oh! Oh! I want to be stronger!
Adell: Yes, that's the idea...
Phobos: Arm canons!
Adell: Well...
Phobos: And I want machine guns in my butt!
Adell scrunched up his face and leaned across his desk.
Adell: Phobos, have you been watching Astro Boy again?
Phobos slumped in his chair, his eyes darting in every direction.
Phobos: Um... No?
It was a discussion that would need having at another time, for the ship needed tending. Figuring that Aire would find him on the bridge later, Adell rose from his chair and strode to the door.
Adell: Anyway, let's see if Minnie needs any help.
Before Adell and Phobos could reach the door, Ryuu interrupted them.
Ryuu: We're done. I'm going to go help the others.
Without waiting for a reply, Ryuu galloped out of Adell's ready room while a visibly-shaken Aire approached.
Adell: You doing okay?
Aire looked at Adell blankly, and then around at the rest of the room, as though he didn't know where he was.
Aire: I'll be fine. It's a lot to process. You were absolutely right to take the action that you did in regards to the Vashta ship.
Aire's head lowered and he took an uncomfortably long look at Adell's crotch.
Adell: Um... anything else?
Aire: You really do have the mole, don't you?
Adell turned and rolled his eyes along with his entire head.
Adell: Oh my god, that's what everyone says. I wish Prince Riven hadn't put that in his books. Let's just see how the ship is faring.
Adell turned and took a step toward the door, but noticed right away that Aire made no effort to follow him. Stopping in his tracks, Adell noticed Aire smiling softly at Phobos.
Aire: Phobos, you were there too. Such a brave and generous young man, you are.
Phobos stepped back, immediately beginning to make a litany of faces, all the way from surprise to embarrassment. Like a confused pre-teen, he looked to Adell for guidance.
Phobos: Dad, did he already know that I'm an android before this?
Adell shook his head.
Adell: I doubt it. I didn't tell him.
Phobos whipped his head back around to face Aire, wide-eyed, lip quivering and wringing his hands close to his chest.
Phobos: You called me "young man!"
Aire's eyes darted to Adell several times before he responded.
Aire: Well, yes, I suppose I did. I hope that isn't a problem.
Suddenly, Phobos lunged at Aire, wrapping his arms around him in a tight hug.
Phobos: Nobody has ever called me that after finding out I'm an android!
As suddenly as he had lunged in, Phobos released Aire and jumped backward, tip-tapping between his two feet.
Phobos: I'm going to find Minnie and see if she needs help!
Phobos trotted cheerfully out of the ready room. Adell patted Aire heartily on the back.
Adell: That's why I chose you.
Running his fingers through his hair, Adell glanced at the door, his smile now turning to a grave grimace.
Adell: Of course I trust my crew can handle anything when I'm away for a bit, but I guess it's time we find out the bad news from Teren before we handle Engineering.
Aire sighed in agreement.
Aire: Let's go, then.
Adell and Aire entered the bridge to find a cacophony of activity. Everywhere they looked people were hunched over consoles, digging out damaged systems from the walls, or consulting over data. Aire spotted Teren's prodigious, fuzzy paw suddenly come poking out of one of the subfloor access panels, patting the bridge deck in search of a nearby tool.
Aire: There he is.
Adell followed Aire's finger with his eyes and spotted Teren's paw.
Adell: Teren!
*Thunk*
Teren: Captain!
Teren slowly emerged from the subfloor hatch, cringing and rubbing his head while Adell and Aire approached.
Adell: Status update.
Teren quickly composed himself after giving a hearty shake.
Teren: Yes, Captain. Last casualty report was 157 injured, 28 seriously. Six people are dead. Most of them were in Stellar Cartography when the outer hull in that section was compromised.
Adell sighed and rubbed his temple.
Adell: Considering how outmatched we were, I expected worse, but that won't be any comfort to the families of those six. Get their names to me as soon as you can. What about repairs?
Teren: We're still assessing the damage. The main quantum core is shot. Minnie is working on bringing the emergency engine core online. Current hull damage means that we're limited to sub-light speeds until we can shore up structural integrity. We might be floating out here for a few days before we're able to make any decent speed.
Adell let forth an exasperated sigh while Aire verbalized exactly what he was thinking.
Aire: Could be worse, Captain?
Adell: I have a feeling we're going to be using that sentence a lot over the next few days.
Without prompting, Teren interjected with one more curious fact.
Teren: One more thing, Captain. There seems to be several large boxes of rocks down here.
Adell: You can just leave those be. Thanks for the update, Teren. You can return to what you were doing. Aire, let's get down to Engineering.
Both Adell and Aire only made it a few steps toward the lift doors before they opened with Kit stepping onto the bridge holding an armload of tablets and a piece of damaged circuitry.
Kit: Captain!
By the time Aire looked up, Kit was already rushing from the lift and around the bannister. After hastily dumping his tablets into his chair, he ran to Adell and Aire. At first, Aire expected that Kit would be unnerved by the recent battle, but as he was about to comfort him, Aire noticed Kit's clenched teeth and white-knuckled grip on the bundle of circuitry he was holding. Kit wasn't unnerved. He was pissed.
Kit: Captain, we're going to get those bastards, right?
Taken aback, both Adell and Arie glanced at each other. Adell responded with a typical restraint that Aire expected from him.
Adell: Not with this ship, no, Kit. Besides, we need to get the ship fixed first.
Kit looked to be near tears, angry tears, and at that moment, another thought occurred to Aire. Those attacking them were elves too, Vashta, as they called themselves. Might the crew see Aire differently?
Aire: Kit, I'm sorry that my people have turned out to be...
Kit thrust out his hand forcefully.
Kit: No, Commander. No. I know monsters. You are not a monster.
At this point, Adell took over.
Adell: Let's just focused on getting this ship back to the way it should be, Kit. I suppose those tablets are for someone. Go deliver them.
Kit nodded and gathered up the tablets from his chair and proceeded to pass them out to various bridge crew.
Adell: Let's get on to Engineering.
Commissioned art in this episode from:
Jenova87
Zelbunnii
Less_End
Thatwildmary
Colourbrand
