Against All Odds: Part 1 - The Proposition
#1 of Against All Odds Universe
Premise: Nathan and Alexei, two long-time friends living in distant lands, are spending another virtual evening chatting and playing games together. One will make a seemingly innocent proposition, 'come visit me', that has the other facing a tough decision for reasons other than distance. Does he stay, or does he go?
-
So, here's the first part of a story I've been working on for more than a year now, the planning for which started while I was still finishing up the final part of FaD. I've finally torn myself away from writing it to come back, re-edit and post this up. I'll hopefully come back later today to do the same for Part 2 :)
Against All Odds
Part 1 - The Proposition
"Left, left! They're coming from the left!" A desperate cry rang out amidst chaotic scenes of intense explosions and missile fire. Hundreds of fighter-craft darted swiftly through the black, starry expanse of space. The sight of the cobalt blue planet of Iona eclipsing its distant sun provided a stunning backdrop to the latest in a long line of intense battles between two resolute, long-warring factions. For generations, 'The Dark Union', an oppressive coalition of militaristic worlds, had waged a seemingly unending war upon 'The Liberation Front', a rag-tag band of rebels who stood against them as one of the few remaining bastions of freedom in the galaxy. "Quick, Nate, use your laser cannons to take them out," a deep, thickly accented voice called out in response, with 'quick' sounding out more like 'qvick' and 'them' as 'zem'. "I will cover you." Two metallic ships, decked out in 'The Front's' silver and blue livery, split away from their squadron. "Do it!" Without hesitation, the pair unleashed a torrent of laser fire on the half dozen-strong formation of red and black Union fighter-craft approaching their position.
A series of fireballs flashed spectacularly amid the darkness of deep space, the opposing squadron annihilated by the two rampaging ships. "Got 'em, yeah! Come on!" the first pilot, Nathan, yelled passionately, "there's no stopping us now, Alex!" "Do not get carried away. Still many more to go," the second fighter, Alexei, grumbled gruffly in reply, "we cannot let-- battlecruiser incoming!" Alexei barely had time to sound his alarm by the time a huge enemy craft, easily fifty times larger than anything else in sight, uncloaked itself suddenly at the edge of the battlefield. "What do we do?" Nathan asked anxiously. The Union craft didn't wait around, firing up its propulsion systems before lurching ominously towards the conflict. "I... do not know." Without warning, the enormous ship began firing its cannons on anything and everything donning the markings of the resistance. The sprightly single-seater spacecraft, previously holding their own against their rival counterparts, proved no match for the giant cruiser's powerful arsenal. Even with their greater speed and manoeuvrability, most were eventually pinned down and blasted out of existence in a glittering haze of laser and flame.
"Nate?" "Just... damnit, we're getting killed. Lets take it!" The two fighters accelerated quickly, negotiating the remnants of their fallen brethren while picking off the odd enemy ship that tried to stand in their way. It didn't take long however for their offensive exploits to attract the attentions of their target. "It has a lock--" Alexei stopped mid-sentence, a hail of laser fire from the battleship forcing him and Nathan into panicked attempts at evasion. "Alex, fire everything you've got! Missiles, laser cannons, all of it! I'll try and flank it." The two small fighters launched their desperate counter-attack, doing all they could to resist the enemy ship's onslaught. "It has an energy shield!" Alexei yelped in despair at the green barrier flickering with each strike of his weaponry, causing the payload to dissipate a safe distance from the huge enemy craft. "I can't get close to it... what now?" Nathan murmured, all out of ideas, "what the hell are we--" "I'm hit!" "Alex, quick, head back to--" before he could finish, his comrade's craft exploded in an intense fireball. Nathan stood all alone now, the last rebel standing in this increasingly hopeless battle for freedom. All that was left was to continue his desperate attempts at evasion, barely surviving against the still relentless storm of laser fire raining down upon him. "No, this can't be! How can we overcome this? How--" Total defeat followed soon after, his ship blasted to the heavens in a cloud of smoke and flame. In just a few short minutes, the entire faction's battle force, every single one of their pilots, had been wiped out of existence.
"Oh, by the gods! Just how are you supposed to defeat that!?" A white-furred fist slammed into the top of a wooden desk, sending an empty cola can clanking to the deep red carpeting below. "An energy shield too!? In know this is supposed to be a real hard game but... damn this overpowered crap!" Nathan, a snow-white and brown husky, sat slouched at his computer, scowling at the monitor as it faded to black and flashed up a short message, 'Your faction has succumbed to the might of the Dark Union. The concept of freedom shall become no more than a footnote in the annals of history - Thank you for playing "Against All Odds".' "Is the challenge not why we play?" a familiar, thickly-accented voice muttered through the his headset. Alexei, Nathan's virtual brother in arms, did what he could to calm his friend's obvious annoyance. "It is okay. We will look for new tactics. We will win next time." "Ever the optimist, Alex."
The two chattered on about their game, time racing on by while they passionately discussed who did what wrong and what they could have done differently to succeed. Nathan had spent many an evening after work like this in recent months; playing, socialising with Alexei through his computer. Despite the fact they lived in two distant countries and had never met in person, they'd succeeded in growing very close to one another. "Well, Nate." The canine's earphones sparked to life once more. "I must go in a moment. It is almost 1am here and I must open up the shop in the morning. "Okay," Nathan moaned, regarding the digital clock beside his screen. Its display read '20:47' in bright green numbers. "I really do hate the fact you're four hours ahead in Velika." "Me too," Alexei chuckled, his low baritone voice rumbling in the husky's brown-furred ears. "Timezones, they are annoying. They limit our speaking time."
Nathan sighed, leaning down to retrieve the fallen drink container from the floor. "Never mind. I could really do with an early night anyways." "So early?" "Unfortunately, yeah." He sat back upright, adjusting the microphone of his headset. "I'll go in little while at least. Need to head into work a couple of hours early again." "Why? Are they making you?" "No, but it's the only way I'll be able to finish my damn report by the end of the week!" the husky barked, anger slipping into his words. "If I don't finish it, well, the world'll end if the panicked jabberings of my boss are anything to go by." "Oh my, I am sorry to hear," Alexei responded softly. "You dislike your job, do you not?" "Wow, how could you tell?" Nathan scoffed with a resigned smile. "It's... alright, or was at least. It's just so manic and stressful right now. I can't remember the last time I worked my normal hours." He sat the empty cola can back on his desktop to join the empty burger boxes and plastic ready-meal trays already amassed there. "I definitely can't remember the last time I didn't come home too exhausted to do anything, even cook properly." "To just relax after work, this is not always a bad thing I am thinking." Nathan slumped in his chair, glumly rubbing at the slight paunch his stomach had developed in the past year. "Not always a good thing either, I'd wager." "I hope things will be better soon, Nate. Maybe... a vacation could help you to be happier. Get you away from the craziness." "I guess... I dunno." He puffed out his cheeks, straightening his posture. "Look, there's no use in me moaning. I'll let you get some rest."
A moment of silence followed, one that Nathan would have filled by repeating his statement if not for the strangled muffle that exited his headset. "Alex, you okay?" "I am fine." The reply came tinged with anxiety. "You sure? I don't think I've ever heard anyone so unsettled about heading to bed before." Another pause, again leaving him waiting patiently for a response. "-Chert poberi!-" Alexei growled throatily in his mother tongue, before falling quiet once more. While unintelligible to him, Nathan deduced the short, sharp utterance as unlikely to be anything positive. "Hey, come on. What's up?" "I... wanted to ask something, before I go." His friend spoke slowly, considered, even more so than when he usually conversed in his second language. "I do not know if..." "Well, go for it Alex." Nathan kept his tone level, reassuring. "All the things we've spoken about: work, ex-partners, family drama. I'm sure this'll be no worse." The sound of a strong sigh crackled through his headset, "I wanted to say that... we have known each other for a long time now, yes?" "We have. Almost two years now by my reckoning." "Yes okay, well I... I wished to ask something of you." "Name it." "I wished to ask if you would want... sometime next month if possible, to come visit for two weeks, perhaps three?" Nathan sat perfectly still, his jaw hanging open while he tried hard to process the words. "You--" "It will be okay!" Alexei's speech quickened, trepidation clear in his voice following the delayed response to his proposal. "I know it is long trip, but it is much easier, more affordable to travel here now from your continent, ever since government start new trade programme." "I do have vacation time owed to me, but--" "I know it is true." Nathan's words were cut short again. "Please, come here from Polcia. You can stay with me. It... I would love to meet you, be more than just a voice on other side of computer."
The husky pulled opened his desk drawer, deep in consideration as doubt circled his mind. Travelling to Velika would not be a straightforward task. He'd often contemplated the notion, but venturing across the Sovereign Ocean involved far more than just the average plane journey. It certainly put things like the simple three-hour drive back north to visit his parents back home into perspective. What's more, this trek wasn't one that his kind, Polcians, often undertook, at least not until recent years. He rubbed at the brown patch on his left cheek with a thoughtful paw, retrieving his mobile phone from the drawer with the other. His headset had fallen silent, Alexei's pleading having reached its conclusion. Nathan skilfully worked the device's touchscreen, his pale blue eyes fixed to it as his swift prodding called up the image of a light grey wolf sitting upon a bench among a backdrop of trees, plants and greenery. "Nate, what do you think?" The kind smile on Alexei's face as he stared back from the photograph with soft, orange eyes warmed the husky's heart. His toned physique, clearly visible in the picture, also succeeded in giving Nathan an expression to match. "Nate?" the headset buzzed, "would you... like to come?" He ran a finger-pad down the screen slowly, a caressing touch, his doubts gradually fading. "I'd..." he muffled gently. "...Yes, I'd like to come and visit you."
"Oh, this is wonderful!" the wolf's joyful voice boomed through the headset's earpiece. "It will be so much fun, so good to meet, to spend time!" "Alex--" "I will prepare apartment for you. I can have it ready by next month, easy. " "Alex!" Nathan cried out, grinning, "it's not definite yet! I do want to come, but I need to check with my boss, book the time off. We're so busy right now, and he's likely to be the one who'll scupper something like this." "Yes sure, okay, sorry. Well, I will hope, cross my fingers for it!" He could practically picture the grey wolf bouncing up and down excitedly, almost bursting with delight like a child at festival time. That thought stretched his grin even wider, "I'll keep them crossed too. I'll ask him tomorrow afternoon when he's done with his meetings." "Great, I will wait to hear news tomorrow!" Alexei's contentment showed no signs of abating, even with the warning that nothing had been confirmed for definite. "But for now, I must go." "Okay, Alex. Goodnight, take care." "Goodnight, Nate. Have a good day tomorrow, and do not forget to book vacation!" A short jingle from Nathan's chat program indicated his link to the wolf had closed. He looked back down to the picture on his phone, his heart skipping a beat while joy and warmth filled his entire body once more.
A contented sigh left the husky's muzzle as he stood up from his chair, flipping the phone closed and pushing it into his pocket. He felt light-headed, Alexei's words, 'I would love to meet you,' repeating in his mind. Suddenly, the notion of meeting his friend in person, one he'd always hoped but never believed would happen, seemed to be unfolding into reality. "Friend," Nathan muffled to himself, mulling the word over, "I... naw." He snickered, shaking his head while collecting up the discarded plates and food cartons littering his desk. "Just friends." With his arms full, Nathan turned away from his workspace and began to pace through his lounge. The room was small, with plush red carpeting complementing beige walls. A mahogany coffee table stood in front of a striped, cream and chocolate-coloured two-seater sofa while a small, flatscreen television sat adjacent to the wall opposite. Though modestly sized and decorated, Nathan's apartment met his needs well enough. It had all your typical Polcian mod-cons, voice-activated lighting, automatic doors and automated climate control to name a few. Even if it weren't all that spacious, living in the highly desirable city of Arlone came at a high cost, what with it being the capital of Linvendia, one of the most advanced and prosperous nations of Polcia. This meant that even this small, one-bedroom residence managed to eat a considerable hole in Nathan's wages. 'It'd never work anyway, would it?' he thought to himself, mind still on Alexei. 'No, just... too different, on so many levels.' The husky padded onto the cool chequered linoleum of the adjoining, equally compact kitchen, strolling over to place the dishes into the sink and dump the garbage into the compactor below. With a tired groan, he stood back up, gaze turning to the window in the back wall that looked out from the twelfth-floor of his building. From this vantage, Nathan was offered a striking view of the bright, busy metropolis beneath the veil of night. Specs of light, numbering in the thousands, shone back from the windows of neighbouring buildings, the lampposts and the traffic that filled the still-bustling streets below. Neon of various vibrant designs also accompanied them in a grand display of colour sat beneath the dim stars in the heavens above.
It took the sight of the cityscape to pull Nathan's thoughts away from Alexei, from his potential journey to Velika and back to the here and now. "Well," he mumbled, scratching his scalp through his sandy blond head fur, "best to bed, up at five." He padded off back through the kitchen, into the lounge and towards the doorway of his bedroom. "Off!" he roared, causing the lights in the room to dim before going out completely. The prospect of yet another trek to work in the early hours wasn't one that he relished, nor was the need to carry his exhausted self off to bed before nine in the evening. Placing his footpaws in front of the handle-less, wooden doorway saw it slide open, allowing Nathan access to his room. He paced in, waiting for it to close again behind him before a gruff, "On!" passed his lips, illuminating his sleeping quarters and en-suite. After a few minutes, Nathan had readied himself for bed. Striped down to his boxer-briefs to expose the brown fur of his back and sides, he clambered beneath his bed-sheets and got comfortable. Before turning out the lights, the husky took one last look at the image of Alexei on his phone, prompting a pleasantly familiar comforting glow to course through him all over again. "Can't wait to meet you, Alex."