Atlas: Infinity Verge Trilogy: Book II (17 page)

“It is not technically an URSA class, it uses the same frame, but the vessel no longer uses radio-graphics,” Aurora said.

Echo couldn’t stand the sound of her perfect melodic voice. It had the deep husky quality that drove men mad. Echo’s own voice was higher in pitch, she felt it drove men mad too, but for different reasons.

Aurora continued, “Abel termed it an ATLAS-V class, the Aluminum-Titanium Laser Assisted Superluminal Vessel. The plating is lighter and the magnetic field output has been increased by seventy percent,” Aurora pursed her lips.

Echo wanted to hit her. She wanted to shut Aurora up, but the woman still spoke as if Echo wasn’t there.

“It far outstrips the
Kodiak
, or any URSA model. Including the one that showed up a few days ago.” Aurora said.

Aurora’s voice was melodic, but her tone was decidedly cold. Echo hated her already. She could not deny the assessment of the ship and she couldn’t deny how the way Aurora said Abel’s name made her blood boil. The woman said his name like it was something delicate and dear to her.

The whole exchange angered Echo, she could feel the rage festering in her gut, threatening to spill over. However, there was something about Aurora she couldn’t catch - something elusive. The woman infuriated Echo and she began to fantasize about smashing her face into the ground.

Echo took a deep breath, “Is Abel here?”

Aurora nodded towards the ATLAS-V, “He’s in there. Abel is working to integrate the computer system as I understand it. He’s worried that the loss of his co-pilot will affect her ability to fly.”

Echo nearly lost herself. Something about the offhand way Aurora mentioned Zee’s death stiffened Echo’s back. She found herself clenching her fists and new images of stuffing Aurora into the exhaust port of the
Justice
mid-flight sprung to mind. Echo disliked this woman and she was starting to get the sense that Abel was more a fool than she thought. Echo nodded to Aurora and started to walk over to the ATLAS-V when she heard Aurora mutter something.

“What?” Echo said.

“I said,” Aurora raised her voice slightly. “He didn’t do it for you. The Quintarrans were in trouble, he went to save them. You were just a footnote.” Aurora turned and walked away.

Echo watched the seductive sway of her hips and ground her teeth. She couldn’t understand why men couldn’t see past an attractive body and to the heart of a person.

You didn’t see past Abel’s façade at first,
she chided.
That woman is proof it wasn’’t a façade,
she barked.

Echo huffed at herself and knocked on the starboard docking door. The door opened spiraling out from the center. She heard something from the command deck. It sounded like Abel telling Aurora to come aboard and that she didn’t need to knock. Echo felt the heat in her face and she wasn’t sure if she was seeing red or if the emergency lights were on.

Abel looked up to see Echo and his body froze, “Echo.” The tone of his voice was filled with wonder, surprise, and pain.

Echo could tell her presence was painful for him, it had been ever since Zee saved them. Echo stared too. Her heart fluttered in his presence, despite her anger. She tried to steel herself. Then she tried to yell at him. Echo couldn’t bring herself to say anything.

She took a step forward and noticed that the chairs were not quantum locked. That saddened her a bit. It was another sign that the boyishness of Abel was dying, that he had left that part of himself with Zee on the funeral pyre.

Didn’t you hate that he was a boy?
She asked herself.

“So,
Atlas
. Just like you said.” Echo had her hands behind her back and she looked at the floor.

“Yeah. Aluminum-Titanium--”

“Aurora told me,” Echo interrupted. She didn’t want to bring the woman up. Her feelings were still too raw for that. “Have you flown her yet?”

Abel gave her an odd look and Echo backtracked quickly, “The
Atlas
I mean, not … not--” Echo’s face flushed.

“No, I haven’t,” Abel said. “Either one.”” He added with a mischievous grin.

Echo’s face flushed more.

“That’s a good color for you,” Abel said with a chuckle.

Echo could hear the pain in his voice, but there was a hint of his old self there. She hoped that Abel wasn’t all lost. Losing Zee had been painful, but losing Abel seemed cruel.

“Abel,” Echo said.

“Don’t.”

“But--” she started.

“I said don’t,” Abel said more firmly.

“Fine,” Her tone was ice.

“Don’t do that either Echo,” he said. “Why are you here?”” The fire crept into his voice again.

Echo couldn’t help but correlate his fire and the ice in her.

How did we ever get along?
She thought.

“I wanted to say goodbye, in case …” She couldn’t finish.

“In case what?”

“In case I don’t make it back. The
Justice
is going after that URSA. I think it is the EXO Prime’s doing, maybe even Mercury Frinz if he is still alive,” Echo let it all spill out. She wanted to express her love, to grasp a hold of him and melt into his arms, but she dared not.

“You’ll make it back,” Abel said. What he couldn’t say was goodbye. He refused to believe he could lose Echo, she was stronger now than before. Abel knew he had interrupted Echo’s assault on the URSA vessel, but he understood now, it had not been necessary. Echo would have found the weaknesses eventually; she was a fully capable commander.

“If I don’t--” she said before Abel interrupted her. He put his hand on her shoulder and leaned in. She thought he might kiss her, then he shook his head.

“Don’t say it. You’ll make it back.”

Echo nodded. His proximity had stolen her voice again. She could smell him, the musky odor of manliness that she loved and hated. He did not smell terrible, but it struck her as odd. A part of her wanted to breathe him in and the other more logical part wanted him to take a bath.

“Be safe,” Echo said and turned to walk away.

“You know me,” Abel said.

“Yes, I do. That’s why I said it,” Echo said.

17:
SPACE ELEVATOR

Quintar IV - EFNF Alpha Base: Production Facility

2973 ESD - Monday, May 31st 12:00 hours

Echo had left Abel in the civilian port hangar. They hadn’t said anything more. Abel watched her go. Echo turned back once, but Abel had already gone back to tinkering with the computers. She hoped he would be safe. Her feelings for him were real, but Abel wasn’t the man she had fallen for - something had changed in him.

Echo did not see Aurora as she left and she was glad for it. Her mission was all that mattered now. She had lost Zee and she felt like she was losing Abel as well. Echo’s heart knew that killing the EXO Prime would not bring Zee back, but she hoped it would save Abel.

The civilian port was beginning to bustle with activity. Echo ignored them. The cargo trucks carried supplies to various hangars and for a moment she wondered if any were bound for Abel’s hangar.

Drop it, E. God you have to stop obsessing over him,
she scolded herself. Echo nodded and closed her eyes. Something small ran into her. She opened her eyes, but nothing was there. Echo turned and looked behind her, but she saw no one.

She shook her head and continued. Behind her, a few feet away, a small insectile creature depressed a button on a hand held device. It looked at the device and then disappeared into the shadows.

* * * *

Quintar IV - EFNF Alpha Base: Production Facility

2973 ESD - Monday, May 31st 12:45 hours

The trip back to the EFNF facilities had been uneventful. Echo stopped by the apartments and dressed into her military uniform. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail before wrapping it into a bun. The silver nameplate on her left breast read Cpt. E. Shade. She polished the surface and donned her shoulder holster. The plasma pistol felt cool against the side of her thin uniform. The material was made for maneuverability and to allow the body to breathe. It did little to shelter against external elements though.

The weather was beginning to warm on Quintar IV so accompanying cool weather clothing was not something she wanted to wear. If she needed it aboard the
Justice
it could be made. She exited her apartment and scratched at her elbow. The spot had a small red bump. She assumed she’d been bitten by something indigenous.

If it gets worse I’ll have the medic take a look,
she thought.

Echo entered the main floor for the elevator transport to the orbital station. The station, where the TP-D
Justice
had been manufactured was the only vessel in space at the moment. The majority of the production facilities on the ground had been severely damaged and the wreckage was still being cleared. The small number of smaller fighters - RAVEN-F and RAVEN-S - that were intended to be aboard the TP-D would be cut in half. Echo was not sure how she felt about this development. On the one hand fewer fighters meant less mass and thus easier transitions at power. On the other hand it meant they were less prepared for carrier assaults.

She decided that the number of missiles and turrets should protect against a carrier like the
Infinity
. The URSA gunship they were to pursue would likely not be alone once they found it. The TP-D
Justice
and her crew had prepared for that eventuality and Echo thought their chances were good. Just in case, she kept a copy of her modified DINA artificial intelligence program. DINA should be able to handle any exfiltration or emergency landing with minimal casualties. She kept it only as a last resort.

Echo had purposely not mentioned the AI to either Abel or the Fleet Admiral. Both of them had an unnatural hatred of AI. She feared disapproval from Abel, but she feared reprimand from the Fleet Admiral. Andromeda Clark could be forgiving of failure in a training sim, but she would not risk the same in a live operation.

She itched at her elbow again and walked up to the safety scanners. The scanners prevented anyone from bringing unauthorized tech or weapons onboard military vessels. The practice had been implemented to prevent EXO spies from blending with crew members. Echo had designed a small micro transmitter to mask the tech in her left pocket. She drew her plasma pistol and placed it in the bin to her right and entered the scanners. The scanner beeped once like it always did. Echo was about to move through when it beeped again in three rapid pulses.

“Hold on Ma’am,” the guard said. “Something is pinging. Please open your left palm.”

Echo complied and the guard seemed perplexed, “did you fully empty your pockets ma’am?”

“I did,” Echo looked at his rank. “Engineer Tosk.”

Echo reached into her pockets and turned them out. The micro transmitter remained hidden in the pocket lining. The guard looked at Echo and her pockets then checked the scanner again. He reran the scan and the machine beeped once.

“System’s just being a bit odd Captain,” Engineer Tosk replied. “Proceed.”

Echo nodded and walked to the other side. She stuffed her hands back into her pockets and smoothed them out. She retrieved her plasma pistol and re-holstered it. As she made her way towards the elevator entrance the door behind her exploded.

The shrapnel shredded through the guards and she caught a piece of it in her right leg, just above the knee. With lightning precision she drew her plasma pistol and aimed it at the smoking doorway. The smoke began to clear and several figures emerged. She could tell they were EXO because of the sections of missing skin and revealed mechanics beneath.

The EXOs were abominations of the Quintarrans they had previously been. A strange sort of green-yellow viscous covered their bodies causing them to glisten. The odd combination of mechanical and organic parts brought bile to Echo’s throat. She clicked off the safety on her pistol and began opening fire.

The first of the EXOs fell back. Its face was seared through the front to the back of its head. Echo knew she couldn’t keep this up, but she knew she needed to try. She scrambled back, but the pain in her leg made her stumble. The shrapnel dug a bit deeper and she could feel fresh warm blood stain her lower leg. She grabbed the shrapnel and pulled. It dug into her fingers, but it came free.

Her vision went blurry for a second. She continued to fire despite the blood flowing down her leg. The plasma pistol whined and coughed as the weapon heated up. Two more EXOs fell to the ground and two more moved in on her. She could feel the itching of the nanites trying to repair the damage in her hand and the wound above her knee. Echo stood up again and stumbled again.

She hit her bottom hard as she tripped over the body of one of the guards. The plasma pistol in her hand grew too hot and overheated. The small weapon’s alarm beeped repeatedly and she tossed it aside. Echo stumbled back away from the EXOs.

The EXOs advanced, attempting to flank her. She didn’t understand why they weren’t firing back. The first reached her and took hold of her arm. Realization dawned on her and she frantically grabbed for one of the guards’ plasma weapons. Her right hand grasped the butt of a plasma rifle and she pulled hard. The EXO lifted her off the ground and tried to restrain her. Echo kicked at its face and tore part of its face.