Suspicion
#8 of Fallen Sky Tales
"Get moving! Now!" Dante yelled over the explosions. The rest of Zero Unit fired at the enemies as they fled the building. Dante shot a few more bullets and ran after them. The mission was odd from the start. Storm a major office building to find a secret lab which was performing strange experiments, described only as "alchemy."
Now, the whole thing was coming down. They found something which could be considered a lab, but no finished, or partly finished, experiments. The door was equipped with a sensor, which triggered a series of bombs and an alarm. Now they were fighting to get out with no actual results, "Dante! Door!"
"Go faster!"
Most of Zero Unit got out, but Angel's foot got caught, "Commander, go on ahead."
Dante had no plans on leaving anyone behind. He reached out, grabbed Angel's arm, and with a mighty roar threw her out the front door. He began to run, but as soon as he reached the threshold a massive blast erupted.
"Dante!" Ratchet screamed as he flew in the air.
Jill was frantically trying to get in contact with Rachel onboard the Albatross. Chey and Titus ran to the expected landing point. Angel was stunned, as though she was trying to analyze the situation.
A thump behind some brush, "Jill! Angel! Get over... "
Jill ran over, "Hold on! I'm coming!" She saw Chey bend over and vomit, "Hey! What's wrong?" Chey tackled her to the ground, "What are you doing?! He needs help!" Chey didn't respond. Angel walked by though, silent. But strangely rigid, "Let go!"
Titus was shivering, unsure of how to react. The Albatross came into view, but stopped just short of their location. Titus yelled out when the hatch opened, "Sere! Look away!" Rachel looked into the ship, then hopped out. She froze next to Titus, "I... I don't..."
Rachel was at a loss for words. Dante was alive, yes. But she wasn't sure how. Most of his left side was gone. And yet he was still breathing, "He does not wish to die, and I will not let him." Angel broke her silence, "Please, after I am done take Dante to the medical bay. Allow him to rest, and do not move the ship. The change will upset the melding process."
Angel quickly removed her clothes, then laid on top of Dante's missing side, "What are you, what's going on?!"
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About five hours later on the Albatross, Sere was understandably asking questions, as was Jill. Titus was technically next in command, but he wasn't sure what to say, "I... it's good you two didn't see. And if Miss Star was still here... I can't even imagine." Miss Star had some previous obligations, so she had to temporarily leave the Albatross before the mission.
Sere was looking around, "Where's Angel? She didn't come back... she didn't die, did she?"
Rachet was rocking back and forth on the couch, not saying a word. Chey was still sick from the sight, and Jill had no answers of her own. Titus stood up, "She's not dead, I think. Well... she won't be around anymore though. What they hell happened back there?"
Chey looked around, like something was watching her, "She just melted onto him... and he... I'm scared."
Rachel walked into the lounge, and was just as shaky and nervous as everyone else, "Dante is stable, but I don't know why. That man just won't die, even when he should have. And Angel... she was a Cyclipion right? I don't know what she was made of but... she regenerated," She looked at Sere, "She healed Dante. Nanobots maybe? I can't explain it. He needs rest though."
Ratchet was still rocking back and forth, "Can I.... can I see him?" Rachel nodded, so she slowly walked off.
Jill was smart enough to know that something horrible had happened, and she was a little more unnerved by how rough everyone who saw was taking it. Death was part of the job, and while Dante was a big part of their lives by now something was just wrong. Chey was right to tackle here, "Hey... thanks Chey. I don't know what you all saw but I'm glad you stopped me from seeing it." Chey nodded in return to the statement.
Sere smacked her brother, "What happened out there?!"
Titus yelled back, "I don't know okay! There was an explosion, Dante got caught in it, and here we are!" He stormed off towards the shooting range.
Sere ran off to the med bay.
Jill was hugging Chey on the couch, while Rachel sat on a chair, "That man is a walking miracle. He should be dead. Humans aren't that different from other species, this makes no sense. I saw him with my own eyes, and now he's fine. Asleep, but fine. Dante can't be mortal."
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Sere opened the door and looked into the room. Dante was asleep on the bed, a blanket covering his lower half, and only the right side of his armor was on the floor. It had to be removed for treatment. Ratchet was on a chair next to his right side, holding his hand and weeping, "Ratchet..."
"He's... he's still alive..." She wiped tears from her eyes, "Oh, don't mind me. Here, there's another seat. He looks so relaxed, right? Like he's not in pain?"
Sere sat on a seat on the opposite side of Dante, "Yeah. He's usually a little angry or tense, but now he looks alright. I've never seen him without his eyepatch." She was on his left side, and she noticed that his left eye was uncovered. Shut, but uncovered, "And I see no injuries."
Ratcher was shaking from crying so much, "Y-yeah... Angel is a part of him now. She did something, but Dante is still with us." Sere looked sad for a moment, "And since... since she healed him with her body, she's still here, right? With Dante." A weak smile crossed Sere's face.
Dante twitched a muscle, and his right eye opened slightly, "DANTE!!!" They both screamed.
"Lights... too bright." Sere hopped over and killed the lights as fast as she could, "Good." His other eye began to open, and they both jumped, "What is this... I see grass? A bush?"
Sere pointed at the eye, "It's... it's... Angel's eye!" For some reason, what used to be nothing was now a red eye, just like Angel's, "Wait! Angel's gun! Where is it?!"
Ratchet was just thrilled that Dante was awake, "I don't care! Dante, just relax. I'll hurt those that did this to you!"
Dante stared at the ceiling, "Can't... do that. I have a theory. But I need to sleep some. Also... note in my pocket... on armor... for Sere."
Ratchet nodded and wiped more tears from her eyes, "Alright, I'll let them all know you're awake and get her the note, then I'll be back. Oh and uh... I want to tell you something if you want, since we are alone."
Dante whispered, "Go ahead."
"You were actually my first. Titus is pretty stupid, he only watched me. But you... you were special. I mean it, now sleep well." His eyes shut, and she kissed him on the cheek.
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Ratchet saw Chey and Rachel in the lounge, "He's awake! Well, sorta. He's asleep now, but he was awake!" She took another look around, "Where is everyone else?"
"Oh, Sere and Jill went outside to look for Angel's gun. I don't know why, Sere wasn't clear on that topic. So how is he?" Chey sounded a little better.
"Alive. Exhausted, but alive."
A sound came from the hall, the hatch opened and two sets of feet ran towards them, "We got it!" Sere set the gun down, "Oh, and while I was out there, I took a little scan of the building. I don't think this was just an alarm, not anyone could afford that type of bomb."
Jill sat down, "As Sere was telling me, it's one of those anti-matter bombs. They only have at most a 100 yard diameter, but they are ridiculously expensive. Fallen Sky is a big organization, and they could only afford maybe five without going broke. And since there are maybe six other organizations with a similar amount of cash, well, it doesn't look good. I hate to say it, but this may have been a trap."
Ratchet didn't know what to say, "You've got to be kidding, I mean, we're the best unit they have, and they wanted us dead?"
Chey shook her head, "It might not have been Fallen Sky. Dante hasn't kept a low profile you know. Still, this isn't good news. Fallen Sky was involved somehow, they gave us the job with almost no intel save for the location."
Rachel began to walk away, "I'll go check on Dante's vitals. When he appears stable enough for travel, I'll let you all know."
"I'm going too, I said I would. Sere, Dante told me to get this note, I don't know how it survived, but I can't make heads or tails of it." Ratchet handed over a few pieces of paper, then ran off.
Sere scanned through them, "So Sere, what is it?"
"It's uh... hm. That goes there, and these two have a reaction like this... energy is no problem. I'm not sure, but it looks interesting. I'll work on this, make it in time for Dante to wake up. Someone tell my brother to stop being stupid and get ready for take-off."
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Dante was sitting up on the bed, alone in a dark room. He kept his left eye closed to avoid the two visions which caused headaches, yet he couldn't help but feel sad. Even if Angel had done what the crew said she did, that means she is no longer with them, "I lost a member of my crew... Angel. I doubt you can hear me anymore, but I'm going to find who did this. I don't care if I need to slaughter an army, your death will not be in vain."
The doors opened, all Dante saw was two rabbit ears and two fox ears, "Get ready for take-off." They were shocked at how solemn his voice was.
Rachel rushed over, "You need to lie down, your body hasn't fully recovered."
Instead, Dante stood up, "I'm fine. Vision will return on it's own. Check out everyone else Rachel, they may have took a few hits without knowing it. Ratchet, make sure we have a good stockpile of ammunition ready to use, and bring me some pants. AI, I know you can hear me. When we begin to leave, ready your cannons. Scorch the land. Leave no survivors."
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The Albatross took off shortly, and Dante was sitting on the bridge watching the destruction of the remainder of the facility. Jill walked in the room, "Dante, we have a new mission. Don't you think that's odd? Usually after losing a member of a crew they give us a week to mourn."
Dante smiled, "I don't know about you, but I need to blow off some steam. First things first, I need to pick up the 'replacement' armor. If Fallen Sky was behind this, it'll be crap. Hey, go get Sere for me, I want to ask about that little project."
Jill walked away, "Oh, hi Ratchet!"
Ratchet nodded, "Uh, Dante. I brought you that hooded thick shirt you like. And I have a request. Can we, maybe, stop by my home planet? Just for a little bit. I'd like to pick up some things." Dante nodded, "Okay, good. I may need some help, so I'd like you to come along."
"Sure thing. Give the coordinates to the AI, she'll get us there."
Sere skipped into the room, "ALL DONE! Dante you must be a genius!"
Ratchet looked over, "Uh... what?"
"I asked Sere to look at those notes. It was an idea I thought of long ago, but lacked any sort of knowledge or resources to do it. So," He turned his attention to Sere, "Let's go test a few out."
She nodded, "Okay! I want to see what it's like too."
A few moments later at the shooting range....
"Alright, let's give it a little test." He tossed a small, metallic hockey puck-like object down the range. A wall of blue light erupted from the far end. It was about 20 yards wide, 10 yards tall, "So it senses where the user is before it goes off, good, but not necessary. Now then..." He pulled out his modifiend pistol and shot at an angle. As soon as the rounds hit they reflected back (but since he shot at an angle, Dante and Sere were safe from harm), "Good. I'm impressed Sere."
"Heehee, does that mean I get a kiss?"
Dante looked around, "Almost. Let's test something a little bigger." He lifted up a beam cannon that he brought down from the armory, "Since this has about the capacity of a small ship's cannon, it'll be the perfect test." He took aim, and fired. Just as before, it reflected at an angle, and made a massive dent in the wall.
Sere smiled very smugly, "I knew it, plus there's a surprise at the end. These little bombs have a limited lifespan, since we didn't have many long-life small batteries. All it took was a few more minutes, some shrapnel, and a bomb core. Watch." After a few more seconds, the wall began to fizzle and wavy. Sere hit the rebound shields on the shooting range, then, it exploded, throwing flames and shrapnel into the air. The barrier kept them safe, but Dante was impressed.
"You earned a kiss." He gave her a peck on the lips, "I think these would come in handy later on. I had a few more ideas, if you were interested. They may not be feasible, but if you could try and get them to work I could obtain some materials."
Sere was rocking back and forth on her feet, blushing, "Okay..."
Dante shrugged, "Well, the energy use seems constant, even with more firepower. What if we could implement this technology in place of the Albatross' shields?"
Sere stopped moving, "We could... and that... YES! With the energy powering the usual shields we could easily do that, minus the exploding part that is. I can make up a parts list while working on some figures. Wow! This is what I was hoping I could do!"
Dante smiled, "Calm down, I have another idea too. Same technology, but implemented on a cannon. Think like... it shoots the reflective beam, augmented with a penetrating effect from our usual cannon to pierce armor and shield. Then the beam would expand, cutting the target in two. I admit, it would only be effective against other ships-"
"GENIUS! WE CAN TOTALLY DO THAT! That would be even easier, since we can just work with existing cannon protocols and energy usage. Well... that might use less energy. Wow! I'll uh... I'll, so much to do! I'm going to get to work!" Sere dashed off.
Dante sighed and looked at his computer, "So, into another fire eh? Fine, we'll show them what we are capable... an e-mail from a Chief Cratis. Been a while since I heard that name." He looked around, and made sure the door was sealed, "Open live communication."
A thin light screen popped up, with a waiting symbol. Soon after, "Ah, Commander Dante, nice you could respond."
"You wanted to talk, right?"
She looked upset, "Yeah. Listen, I got promoted to another organization. More pay, better hours, all of that. So I quit."
Dante laughed, "You? Quit? Doesn't sound like something an officer with honor and pride would do."
"I don't do paperwork. If I'm not in the field, it isn't worth it. Some of my loyal men quit with me. So I thought of you."
"You want on Zero Unit, don't you? Well, that depends on how many men you have, or if you have your own ship."
She looked around, "We don't have a ship, we didn't have much of a salary here. We have our own armor and weapons though. My men are of the highest quality, you won't be disappointed. As for our number, eight including me. Thing is, we aren't so happy about signing up with Fallen Sky."
"Cratis, I don't blame you on that. We just finished up a mission, lost a crew member. I won't tell you the details on here, but we have our suspicions. The Albatross holds twenty people, we currently have nine rooms filled. We can pick you up, but you don't have to sign up with Fallen Sky. Be loyal to me, and you'll get food and shelter as long as you're on my crew."
She leaned back in a chair, "No pay huh... "
"Depending on how this situation turns out, you will get pay eventually. Just not immediately."
"I'm not complaining really. We don't have families. Besides, we didn't become officers for the money. Food, shelter, ammo, good work, that's all we need. Besides, we each have some cash saved up if we need anything specific."
Dante nodded, "Alright. We're stopping by a planet at the request of one of our crew, then we'll swing by to pick you and your men up. Then, a suicide mission. No tricks, alright? If I suspect any foul play, I won't hesitate to kill all of you."
Cratis nodded, "We have honor, though you said you lost someone so I understand. We'll sign anything, say any oath. Just let us know when you are close. We'll be ready."