Atlas: Infinity Verge Trilogy: Book II (16 page)

He saved you,
she told herself.

The thought brought a smile to her face. Abel still cared. For all of his detachment and gruff attitude, Abel still cared. It was a warming thought.

What did he help me do though?
The thought came unbidden, but she couldn’t shake it.

Echo felt disconnected from herself, like she was both present and standing beside herself. Abel had said it was the nanites. She shook the thought from her head and finished donning her clothes. She still felt a bit on the groggy side, but the nanites were doing their job. She could feel them crawling through her repairing the damage.

Had they crashed? Echo couldn’t remember. The last thing she remembered was the lasers firing. Abel had control of the navigation and propulsion though. They shouldn’t have crashed unless Abel had lost control.

Had he?
She thought.
I need answers.

Echo stepped out of the recovery room and made her way down the hall. She ignored the enlisted men saluting her. That was against protocol, but she didn’t care at the moment. After walking vigorously down the hall she began to feel light-headed and she slowed her pace. Echo made her way to the Fleet Admiral’’s office and announced herself to the holo-reader.

“Captain Echo Shade.” She said. “Voiceprint ID: Echo Sierra Niner Four Oh One Delta.”

The door opened and quietly announced over the office speakers, “Captain E. Shade reporting.”

“Come in Captain,” the Fleet Admiral’s voice said from the back of the offices.

Echo stepped in and the door closed behind her. The metallic swish and clink would never cease to unnerve her. Doors aboard the Darter - her modified RAVEN-F from before her run in with Abel Cain - were quieter and did not clink when they closed.

“Medical is quite concerned at your disappearing act,” Andromeda said.

“I’m well enough to be up, well enough for duty,” Echo said.

“Good. Because I’m sending the Justice after that gunship,” Andromeda began. “Do you think it was the
Kodiak
? Our forces were not able to recover the wreckage before someone else did.” Andromeda looked concerned. She stood up and walked around the desk to face Echo. The Fleet Admiral scrutinized the young woman.

“Echo, I need you and the crew of the
Justice
to start what we’ve been training you for all these months. I don’t have a good feeling about the state of the EFNF or this new gunship threat,” Andromeda said.

The tone of her voice was pained and manipulative. Echo was beginning to understand why Abel and the Fleet Admiral did not get along. He was too much of a rebel and disliked being manipulated. Echo hated it too, but she could turn it to her advantage.

“We’re ready Fleet Admiral. After the attack last night--” Echo said before Andromeda cut her off.

“Last night Echo? You’ve been unconscious for a week. What happened in the firefight with that gunship?” Andromeda asked.

“A week? God … The gunship. At first I thought it was the
Kodiak
, but it was not. Abel helped us fight it.” Echo bit her tongue. She had not meant to mention Abel’s involvement.

“Abel Cain? How can you know?”

“He was in the RAVEN-S.” Echo left out the part where Abel had connected with her nanites. She felt it was something that the Fleet Admiral did not need to know about.

“How can you be sure? Master Chief Petty Officer Remington said you asked him to slave the RAVEN-F to the RAVEN-S during the fight. Why?” Andromeda was bearing down on Echo now, her face and tone taking a decidedly menacing turn.

“We received communication from the RAVEN-S vessel. He said he was Abel Cain.”

“MCPO Remington mentions no such communication. He said there was a brief communication after the gunship left orbit. It was Abel, or at least he believes so,” Andromeda said. “I want to know how
you
knew it was him.”

“It is the way he flies,” Echo lied.

What the flak E!?
She scolded herself.

“It is unmistakable, I knew it was Abel. I figured he’d know what to do once we slaved the RAVEN-F to his vessel.” She compounded the lie.

“I see,” Andromeda said. The Fleet Admiral was not convinced, but Echo planned to stick to the story. She felt it would be better to let the Fleet Admiral believe it was instinct rather than something not even Echo could explain yet.

“See the doctor Echo, make sure he clears you for mission capability, then report to the hangar. The TP-D is waiting.”

“Yes. Ma’am.” Echo said, saluting.

16:
JUSTICE

Quintar IV - EFNF Alpha Base: City Populace

2973 ESD - Monday, May 31st 08:00 hours

Echo didn’t know where she was going except that it was not to the ready hangar for the
Justice
. The conversation with Fleet Admiral Clark the day prior had not been that much of a surprise, but Echo had other things on her mind now. Today she needed to clear her head.

The city grew up around her as she continued her pace, steady and unwavering. Once she was away from the production facilities, the inner city seemed less damaged. The attack had been focused on their starship production facilities. The facilities had sustained massive damage. The quick response of the EFNF pilots and Abel had been the only thing to prevent their total destruction. Echo considered the attack. It was too well coordinated to be a random occurrence. It had been a surprise and it had drawn Abel from hiding. If the purpose was to draw Abel out it had to be someone who knew he was on Quintar IV. The Fleet Admiral had made sure to keep his celebrity quiet. Echo wasn’t sure if that was the best course of action.

Echo considered the buildings as they grew less and less damaged. She wandered the streets thinking and worrying.

It must be the EXO Prime,
she thought.

“Come on E, you know it is.” She said aloud.

Despite what she felt to be true, Echo didn’t have proof the EXO Prime was involved. In a time like this she wanted the attack to be the EXO Prime. If it were she would at least be hunting for Zee’s killer when the
Justice
took off. She rarely discounted her feelings, they were almost always right. The attack on Quintar IV by the URSA gunship was not the only thing that unnerved her. Abel had come the moment someone attacked the city,attacked the EFNF base to be precise. She looked back at the base. It was in the distance now, she had wandered far enough away that she could no longer see the rubble.

Standing out from the base was the sky elevator. The structure reached into the sky like a lone tower. She followed the line into the clouds where it disappeared. The
Justice
would be in the facility at the end of that line. She suspected this was part of the reason she and her crew were being sent out. The TP-D
Justice
was the only vessel capable of launch right now. The civilian port was still functioning, but they couldn’t handle anything much bigger than a gunship.

A gunship?
Echo thought.
Did it come from the civilian port?

The thought disturbed her and she couldn’t help but draw the correlation. She wondered if Abel had known about the attack, or had staged it. Echo knew Abel was prone to brash action. In the attack he had come to save only her. His recklessness unnerved Echo. He was foolish enough to do anything for her. It was why she had sided with the Fleet Admiral and alienated him. His dedication had frightened her.

Abel would not have planned the attack
, she decided.

The thought startled her as she realized she was considering that he had. She felt a connection to him. Every time he stepped in to her life he impacted her. Part of her loved it, and part of her loathed him for it. As an officer of the Exodus Fleet Naval Force, Echo Shade knew her limitations, but she knew her strengths as well. Abel on the other hand continually proved he would act to save her whether she believed she needed it or not.

“Are you mad because he helped you? Or are you mad because he’s better than you?” Echo asked herself.

Neither,
she barked internally.

If she was honest with herself she would come to the realization that it was both. Echo loved Abel, for all of her attempts to do otherwise, she loved him. His reticence for order and his snap judgments worried her. However, for all of his flaws he would always be more skilled than she. It infuriated her. Echo had trained for years to get as good as she was. It seemed that Abel hardly had to try.

He’s older than you,
the pragmatic voice in her mind offered.

“That’s another problem,” she grumped.

Echo stopped and looked up. She had been walking for the better part of an hour and she was now in the civilian port, at the edge of it anyway. Something possessed her then. She knew Abel had flown out of the civilian port, which meant he either had made his way there very quickly or he was staying nearby. He was likely in the port itself. Echo ducked into the cantina she was about to pass and sought out the first Quintarran she saw.

If anyone knows where Abel is hiding the Quintarrans will
, she reasoned.

“Esucxe em,”
Excuse me,
she said tapping a Quintarran man on the shoulder.

“Olleh. Yam E pleh ouy?”
Hello, May I help you.
The Quintarran said. He was short for one of her mother’s people, nearly as short as her. His skin had a sky blue tone to it and his eyes were nearly all white.

“Sey. E ma Edahs Ohce,”
Yes, I am Echo Shade,
Echo said. “E ma gnikool rof Naic Leba.”
I am looking for Abel Cain,
she used the Quintarran form of address although most would have tried to pronounce his name properly.

“Sey! Ew was mih ni eht kcatta, sih pihs dehsarc. A namow thguorb mih kcab a wef syad oga.”
Yes! We saw him in the attack, his ship crashed. A woman brought him back a few days ago.
The Quintarran smiled and told her where Abel had been staying.

The Quintarrans had been keeping a close eye on their hero. They had seen him suit up in the SATYR armor and take a RAVEN-S to fight the URSA gunship. The man had also told her of the fights that had broken out in the cantinas and warned her away from any others. He had explained that some claimed it was the
Kodiak
that attacked the city, humans mostly. When it was said within hearing of a Quintarran a fight broke out.

Maybe I’m wrong, maybe the attack was more than a stunt to draw out Abel,
Echo thought.
If the EXO Prime wanted to cause this kind of dissention with the EFNF and the Remnant the suspicious nature of the ship and the attack makes sense.

Echo proceeded to seek out the hangar number given to her by the Quintarran. She was nervous. Echo had not expected that Abel was involved with another woman. The Quintarran’s description of a fiery redhead made her blood boil just a bit.

Jealous E?
She asked herself.

She ignored her own question. As she rounded the corner she saw the Kodiak, at least it looked like the Kodiak. As she drew nearer it became apparent it was a different ship entirely. The Quantum plating was broken into smaller parts, instead of four plates there were now eight. The ship was very similar, but subtle differences continued to catch her attention. The main anti-matter cannon had been replaced with two Gatling style turrets. Forward and rear nacelles she noticed winged protrusions had been added.

That should aid with atmospheric maneuvers,
she assessed, understanding Abel’s design.

She did not need to see the missile bays to know where they were. The
Justice
had hard-points just like it. However, she had not expected them alongside the nose of the ship. It still resembled an URSA class gunship, but it was not the same, this bird was meant for war. The
Kodiak
had relied on precision technique. This gunship was a war-bird, a blunt instrument of destruction. She feared for any one that got between Abel and his prey. He was going on the hunt for vengeance.

Who is his prey now, though? The EXO Prime? The EFNF? Maybe both,
Echo thought.

“She is a beauty,” a soft, hard voice said from behind her.

Echo turned around and saw the woman that had been described to her. Echo felt plain next to this woman. She was keenly aware of her own shortcomings as she sized up Aurora Rigel. The woman was an attractive redheaded bombshell. Next to herself, Echo could only recognize their differences. Aurora was tall while Echo was shorter. The woman had a light tan and very human skin. Echo frowned at the blue tinge of her own skin. She immediately felt out of place, like she often did around humans - or Quintarrans for that matter. Echo could see the appeal of Aurora Rigel and she did not measure up.

If he has her,
Echo started.
What would he want with me?

“It is.” Echo said pointing up at the gunship. “URSA class, Modified.””