By David C. Daoust
Noreen did not, in fact, neutralize Renaux. She did not know which of the Arks successful quelled the rogue sentience from the Hub… it was not her. Considering she was now shut out, and cutoff, from Iopa XIX’s system servers, she had to assume it was not one of her actual Siblings, yet one of the Progeny; either her own daughter, Nora, or Elijah’s older, yet newly revealed son, Eli…
Could her daughter have taken even more of her domain from her? Or was it the elder of the two, Eli, who made a play against her?
The Ark could no longer access, nor witness what was going on within, the small station itself. Noreen, did, however, still have a grasp on the small tanker, within the region, that was currently completing what would surely have been a perfect heist, if not for the sudden intervention from deep within the Hub.
Danny was sliding into the pilot’s chair within moments of making his way back through the now sealed airlock chamber. He fumbled a bit with the helmet latch, but at last managed to unseal it, pry it off his head, and let it drop to floor. It quickly rolled off the central platform and down to the main floor with a hollow clash. He winced a bit, but was too busy activating the pilot controls to care about what kind of damage he may have caused to his gear.
“Those Constables! They had to be crazy trying to attack us like that!” Rosie was livid, soared about aimlessly, sporadically. “It’s just too far. They could have killed you…”
It was clear to Noreen that the pair had no idea what had actually happened, nor who was actually behind what could only be declared a malfunction. And considering Noreen had just relayed reports, throughout the Protectorate’s Constable Stations, that Iopa XIX was hacked by ‘UM separatists’, it was clear that neither side had a clear view of what happened. Miscommunications were not really something Noreen knew how to deal with… she could only await new data.
Deft hands flew over the controls as the arm shifted Danny’s chair out to the center of the dome in response to his actions. With a few quick commands, the space-tanker, Atlas, was ever so slowly on the move. Slowly, because once the oversized tank got moving, there wasn’t really any quick-break, or any kind of quick-maneuvering, really. One move at a time, les the inordinate amount of surface spin out of control.
What Danny needed to do, was a pretty close quarters maneuver, within the confines of all the other tanks on the holding arm. Ever so slowly the Atlas shifted as it fired a thruster on the far side, spinning the tank. Not half-way there, he shot the thrusters in the opposing direction, slowing it enough, that it was halted, steady, at the desired angle. An angle that would allow them to dock with the maintenance-dock some meters ahead of the now bulbous vehicle. The tank, once coupled, allowed him an array of thrusters built within the structure of the tank itself, manipulating those he was able to alter his velocity enough to align with his target.
The small pod, that housed the salvaged Aspirant’s data-sphere, flew out to join the young Anders, cautioning him with what started as a warning, though faded to just a strange vocalization as she witnessed the vehicle do exactly what was needed. The two tensely waited, unable to do much else, les they speed the Atlas right past their destination.
Rosie saw him first. Called Noreen’s attention to him, from her position the Ark was able to catch sight of the captain… he was running. She thought she saw something streak past him. She had a hunch what it was, an altered javelin.
“Are they firing at him?” Rosie asked, perturbed.
“That Constable,” Danny, eyes wide at the news, told her, “That effen guy… he had a big crazy gun Rosie…” With that he shifted the pilot’s chair around until he was facing the side of the dome. Peering through the glass he spotted his father, further within that same corridor he saw him from out in space.
Got a real clear view just as the Captain of the Atlas took a full blast to his back…
The boy went pale, he cried out in horror as his father crumpled to the ground.
“No, NO…” Rosie, hovering over his shoulder, lamented as she witnessed the same sight.
“These people are crazy!” Danny protested, angry, sad, confused.
“Focus Danny– finish the dock,” Rosie commanded, “We have to get him… We can still get him. I can still get him!”
“I’m on it,” the pallid boy focused on the task— the task that would allow her to ‘get him’. That was all the motivation he needed, that bit of hope. “We’ll get Dad, we’ll save him…”
The vehicle latched back to the station, an extra utility dock if anything, not truly meant for its current purpose. A small portal extended to meet with the ship. The airlock sealed, and the lights went green over the door.
Danny lowered the chair-arm down to the main floor just as he heard hooves clatter in the back room. The boy moved to open the door, opened both… all he wanted was to save him.
“I’ll get him!” the tin voice said again as Rosie’s true form, angling its antlers through that first door, charged through to the station, then clarified, “I’ll kill that mother fucker!”
Danny fell back, caught the wall as the oversized animal charged through, shocked as the situation changed with that final battle call. He must have realized a moose could not easily maneuver an injured, unconscious, possibly murdered, man, because he followed through behind. The determination on his face, said he was going to go through with his own version of the plan.
Noreen, however, while still omnipotently functioning throughout her domain, was trapped in this region, in the small space-tanker, awaiting results…
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