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Fathom's Phantoms Safe at Home

The Sigma-Echo space station was in the shadow of the planet it orbited as the shuttle closed in, which meant that the crew received a transmission well before they could get a visual confirmation. Ely Four recognized the voice of the Comms Attendant immediately. "Apercu, we have you on scanner-- please confirm your entry vector."

With Itchy taking downtime after being at the helm for almost twenty hours Alton was assigned the controls. Ely realized that having him hail the station just wouldn't do. The Neo-Human intercepted the shuttle's comm before the substitute pilot could pick it up, "Jenelle, this is Ely Four. We're in pretty bad shape here."

The woman's response was unread-ably professional, "Hello, Commander. I still need your entry vector."

Without another word, Ely handed the mic over to the Donkey who was at the controls, he repeated the request for Alton's benefit despite the fact that the Gen's large ears probably picked it up just fine. "Entry vector."

The Engineer took over from there. "Sigma-Echo, this is the DCS Apercu. We're approaching at one-eight-three. Please confirm."

Jenelle responded, "Negative, Apercu. Please re-confirm your approach."

The request obviously flustered the Donkey. He turned off the mic's broadcast and he noted aside to the Commander. "That's what the gauge says."

Tirzsark walked up to the command console and interjected. "You're looking at the wrong gauge, Burger."

"Huh?"

The Cytkus reached over the Gen's shoulder to point, "THIS one."

Alton murmured and turned the comm on again, "Approach is at two-nine-five. Repeat: two-nine-five."

He then switched the mic off and glanced back to the Cytkus, "That first one was for planetary approach, wasn't it?"

The Gunner nodded, and Ely Four simply sighed. After a short pause the Comm Officer on board Sigma Echo responded. "Approach confirmed, Apercu. Proceed with four point in twenty followed by a reverse of two point in thirty. Your system will be placed into auto-dock."

Ely crossed his arms. "I hope to god you know what she's talking about."

Alton's fingers began dancing across the command console, flipping switches and pressing buttons, "A four second burn in twenty seconds."

The Neo-Human let out a 'hmmm'. "So what was the rest of it?"

The Donkey paused, and then started a second round of activity, "Then a two second reverse thrust ten seconds later."

The Commander silently appreciated the fact that the Donkey at least knew that much because it was certainly beyond the Neo-Human's applicable knowledge. Once the shuttle's substitute pilot had the directions inputted the Apercu took care of the rest. In time with the countdown, the ship's computer ran the required maneuvers, but it became readily apparent that they weren't headed EXACTLY for the opening bay... they were off... just a little.

Ely questioned that fact, gripping the chair he stood behind. "Alton?"

The Donkey objected. "Those were the directions she gave!"

Tirzsark spoke up again. "Did you have the ship wait ten seconds after the first burn, or six seconds?"

"Ten. Why would I wait six?"

The Cytkus hissed gruffly. "Because, Burger... the first firing was four seconds--" the shuttle vibrated, a loud, metal-on-metal sound echoing through the interior, "--long."

Although Ely was on the border of concerned, the station's auto docking device quickly took over and set the shuttle down much more pleasantly than he would have expected from the Donkey. "Good enough. We're back and we're alive."

The Cytkus patted the Gen on the head with the tip of his tail. "And if anyone asks, we can say it's Burger's fault."

One of their passengers, the Human technician, came running from down the hall leading to the cargo bay, "What happened? Did we hit some--" but he paused when he caught sight of the interior of the station's hangar through the cockpit window. "We're here?"

Ely Four nodded. "That's what it looks like. Where's your--"

He paused, turning around to see the only other active survivor of the survey team lumber into the now-cramped command deck; the Bull was up and about while their overseer was resting without a caretaker in the shuttle's unmanned sick bay. He quickly changed his question into something more pertinent, "Are you both ready for your transfer back to Sigma-Echo?"

The Gen Bull said nothing but gave his head a single, definitive nod. Technician LaGriss on the other hand did have something to say, "Yes, Commander. Thank you. Do you know what the station has planned for Overseer Schultz? Is she going to be--"

Commander Ely acknowledged the question before the Technician could fully speak it. "We'll let the station worry about that; for now it's my job to see you transferred in good order. Go grab your gear. I want you ready if a 'welcome squad' comes out to greet you."

Nobody on the shuttle confused the term for anything other than what it was; a 'welcome squad' on Sigma-Echo was a debriefing unit that showed up whenever a job turned out to be exceptionally bad. The Technician murmured quietly to the Bull as they headed back down the hall, "Don't worry... I'll handle it."

The Neo-Human also didn't miss the Gen leaning down so the two could share a kiss. While the Commander hadn't received the full story of how long they had been without the unconscious Overseer's guidance the isolation apparently had quite an effect on them. Ely Four refocused his attention on Alton who was in the process of powering down the ship... and Tirzsark, who seemed quite interested in pointing out what the Donkey was doing wrong each step of the way.

Ely barked out the Cytkus' rank class to get his attention. "G-One-C!"

Tirzsark was at attention a moment later, facing the Neo Human. "Sir?"

"I recall something about you not volunteering to pilot."

The Cytkus stood at attention. "I'm not a shuttle pilot, Commander."

Ely nodded. "Then if you're not a pilot you shouldn't be trying to give our engineer pointers."

It was enough for Tirzsark to get the point, "I'm going to go secure the turret, Sir."

The Commander nodded, "Good idea Gunner First Class Tirzsark... good idea."

Only once he and Alton were the last people on the bridge did the Donkey bother to speak up, "If command asks us about the sabotage what should--"

Ely Four interrupted the question. "I'll be filing my report by the end of the cycle. If anyone with clearance asks you then you tell them what you know."

Burger blinked. "So... I don't say anything?"

The Neo-Human smoothed out his uniform. "If they ask you questions then you answer them as truthfully as possible."

The Donkey fidgeted. "But, I don't know anything, Commander."

Ely Four turned to regard Burger, who had just stood up. "You know more about the ship than anyone, and, as for the saboteur you just tell them as much as you can about your experience with Dr Ibrin Nlosk."

The Neo-Human, now finished with his own uniform, turned his attention to Alton's and began checking it for presentation readiness. The Donkey held still for the inspection, but objected. "But, the Survey Team knows more about--"

"Just tell them what you know, Alton. Don't guess or propose or make assumptions... just give them facts."

"Yes, sir."

The Neo-Human nodded, "Good. Now go check in."

The Donkey's ears raised. "Are you coming, Commander?"

Despite Ely's interest in remaining aloof, impersonal, and unattached, he couldn't help but notice that the Gen had become increasingly reliant on him during the last few days... and that would have to change, "No, Alton. I have a few more things to complete here on the ship. The survey team's Overseer needs to be moved to sickbay, I need to finish with the power-down, then go through the engineering check-off list. If a 'welcome squad' greets you then you go with them and I'll see you later."

Alton nodded and quickly flipped off the console. "Yes, Sir."

The Donkey headed down the hall toward the back of the shuttle. A few moments later, Tirzsark returned. "So...someone's gonna file a report about that Gray, right?"

Ely let out a breath. "You can handle the informal one. I'll prepare a formal one after I finish up here... and I'm sure they'll have Overseer Schultz deal with the rest of it once she's up and about."

The Cytkus lingered on the bridge. "See you on rec deck tonight? I'm thinking about getting some drinks and then try to get some Ghouls to fight for our entertainment."

It was not an abnormal suggestion from Tirzsark and Ely had heard the invitation often enough from the Gunner 1st Class to know that it was mostly in jest... mostly. The Commander responded without commitment. "We'll see. I still don't know how bad the Captain is going to be breathing down my neck over this. Besides... you were caught in the periphery of that cargo bay blast... you should be focused more on healing. Dismissed."

He pulled up the memo function on his PCD and the Cytkus exited without another word but Ely Four noticed that Tirzsark was trying not to limp. Putting the thought out of his mind he focused his attention to his write-up. The Neo-Human had never much cared for reports but they were an important part of his job. The distraction of Kyle and Sherman entering the hall on their way to the airlock however was enough to give him a reason to pause in his record keeping activities.

The Bull spoke so rarely that the sudden use of his voice almost caught Ely by surprise. "Are we working together again soon?"

The Neo Human looked up and watched the reflection of the two that shone on the cockpit window. Technician LaGriss ran his hand across Gen's chest "With the Overseer on recovery they'll probably reassign us. I'll see what I can do to get a transfer to a lower deck."

"...alright."

The Technician gripped the collar of Sherman's uniform and pulled his head down to give the Bull a kiss, "They always need team leads down where you are anyway so hopefully it'll be a really quick approval."

Sherman grunted in response, "No... you should stay mid-Station. It's nicer there."

The Human Technician smiled, "Well... no matter how nice my current quarters are, they don't have you so moving would be an improvement."

The two shared another kiss, which was probably meant to silence any further objection. When it appeared that the discussion was going to continue regardless the Commander interjected. "If you two are done--"

The two disembarked quickly at the implied dismissal. Ely didn't bother watching them go as they were likely heading off to their separate debriefings; the Commander wasn't familiar with survey teams but he knew that the laborers and management didn't log out together so it stood to reason that they didn't file reports to the same executives. Sometimes he envied the simple chain of command that most corporate employees followed-- shuttle crew command ranking wasn't exactly as straight-forward.

Five minutes later a medical crew came to relieve him of the still unconscious Overseer. It was a start, but that's when he learned that the health professionals aboard the station were backlogged-- had there really been an attempted assault by the VAC? Ely growled to himself as the workers left him alone in the shuttle; nothing was straight forward anymore and the shit was piling up faster than he could shovel it.

Tossing the negative thoughts from his mind the Neo-Human stood and reactivated his PCD; he still had a job to do. Ely made his way toward the back of the shuttle, inputting several notes as he reviewed the case of the sabotage; he would need to be familiar with it before he filed the report. The Neo-Human revisited the sites of tampering one by one then paused when he realized that the ship engine was still humming faintly. Essentially done with his review of the 'crime scenes', the Commander decided to finish up with a trip to the ship's engineering room.

The small access hatch led to a short ladder. At the bottom of the ladder was a walkway directly adjacent to the shuttle's ample-sized engine. Strangely, although Ely had seen Burger turn the systems off, the engine did appear to be in auxiliary mode. Kneeling down, the Neo-Human peered into the engine room. "Hello?"

He was no engine specialist and he didn't claim to be a mechanic but something seemed off about the metal walkway at the bottom of the ladder. Leaning forward, he opted for a better look but a moment later a firm bump behind him and sent Ely Four falling the five feet down to the catwalk. It wasn't until he landed and the weakened supports of the walkway fell apart that he realized what it was he had seen: more sabotage.

The metal catwalk with the Neo-Human atop it landed squarely on one of the engine power relays. The shuttle bay emergency response team would need hours to get the fire under control. By that time there wouldn't be much for the cleaning crew to recover of Commander Ely Four. The incident report would list the cause of death to be an accident... after all, according to notes left by the deceased commander the saboteur was already dead.

* * * * * *

It wasn't anything out of the ordinary for Jeremiah Fowler to be assigned to new recruit orientation but the Pointer couldn't remember ever having done so in the middle of an already established work cycle... or, for that matter, to instruct just a single recruit. Kyle LaGriss, however, turned out to be a very special case... and not just because he transferred in by request.

To start, the Human had more qualifications than anyone the Dog had ever met aboard a space frigate and actually trumped the Pointer's own education... though not his experience-- definitely not his experience. From the roster profile supplied by Central, Jeremiah learned that Technician LaGriss held numerous positions ranging from Engineering to Operations, but little-to-no applied time working on Environmental Control Systems.

"So..." the Dog broke the silence as the two walked down the stair case leading to the physical components of the water filtration system, "...I read yer file..."

Kyle looked his way. "Which one?"

The Human had been polite and responsive during the few hours Jeremiah had spent with him but didn't appear exceedingly outgoing. Then again, the Pointer reasoned, if he'd just returned from a mission where almost everyone died he probably would have been much the same.

The Dog clarified, glancing sidelong at the Human. "Yer transfer application. Ya never worked in a Mechanical Technician capacity on even a shuttle, let alone a space station... Why start now?"

Kyle shrugged, "Sigma-Echo still needed one and it got me closer to... ah... more familiar surroundings."

Jeremiah continued on down the stairs, a step ahead of Kyle, "Do those 'surroundins' have somethin' ta do Overseer Schultz approving ya t' share joint quarters with a member a th' acquired staff?"

The Pointer hated the term 'Ghoul'... in fact, many of the best people he'd had the chance to work with on Sigma-Echo were in orange suits. True, DRC had purchased them from the prisons and criminal institutions but that did not automatically mean they were ALL bad people. If things had been different and if DRC hadn't wanted him badly enough to meet his demands he just as easily could have been one of them. The Dog shook the thought from his mind. "I can't think a th' last time they put a Commissioned Officer in with th' orange suits."

The Human responded both calmly and diplomatically. "I was commissioned for survey work. Now that I transferred to the station I don't think--"

Jeremiah turned around and interrupted him. "They still woulda put ya in with th' officers. Yer work history's-- well... let's just say that we both know they woulda given ya a finer place t' stay..."

He hadn't encountered many mysteries while on board the space station and, frankly, his mind had grown bored; the Human had an unknown element to him and the middle-aged Pointer really wanted to say he'd solved it... especially if he'd be working with the man.

Kyle shrugged. "I really don't mind them. They're fine."

The Dog crossed his arms, looking the Human up and down. "I would still think at th' very least they woulda put ya in on an upper level closer t' where I'm stationed insteada down here."

The Human's next words came across blandly... resigned... tired. "Is there a specific answer you're looking for, Mr. Fowler?"

Despite his curiosity, one thing Jeremiah knew was when to leave things alone. "Never mind. Ah know everyone's been on edge these past few days, and ah guess ah came on a little strong."

Kyle shrugged, "It's okay... if you're my supervisor you have a right to ask questions... I'd just rather they be direct."

The Dog glanced to the human and offered a reassuring smile, "Ah wasn't trying t' pry... really ah just wanted t' get t' know ya a little better if we're gonna to be workin' t'gether."

The quiet reigned supreme as they continued descending the stairs. It wasn't until they reached the bottom that Kyle spoke again, "Only one other team member survived our last sortie and he was assigned to the station's maintenance team."

Jeremiah nodded in thought, "Ah've had my share a close calls.. and lost my fair share a friends. How long'd ya worked t'gether?"

The Human continued following him as they talked. "Awhile. All except Sherman... he was the newest addition and, other than our Overseer, only the two of us made it out."

The Dog nodded in thought, trying in vain to avoid the memories of life on Mars during the insurrection. No-- he promised himself... he wasn't going to think about it. "Ah can see why you'd feel more comfortable down here then."

Kyle leaned against the wall as Jeremiah unlocked a door, "Actually, he's the only reason I'm here at all... he saved my life... at least twice."

The Pointer offered the Human a reassuring smile. "An' that also explains a lot too."

The new recruit nodded. "I guess I was hoping for something familiar in my life... even if everything else had to change at least I could have Sherman around."

Since arriving on Sigma-Echo Jeremiah had been focused on his own projects and his own obligations; he hadn't had an opportunity to do much beyond his assigned duties... there just wasn't much of a call for that sort of thing. Suddenly faced with one however, the Dog wasn't about to pass it up. He pulled his paw-sized PCD out of his coveralls and began punching away on it. "Well alright then."

Kyle glanced around the room then looked back to the Dog. "Alright what?"

Jeremiah offered him an encouraging smile. "My team has an openin' fer an assigned laborer an' now it's filled."

The Human gave him a quizzical look. "Your team?"

The Pointer held out a paw to the young man. "This 'Sherman' guy'll be reportin' t' me in about an' hour, an' ah'll send 'im down t' help."

Kyle shook the offered paw. "Thank you, Mr Fowler. I can't even begin to say what this means to me."

Jeremiah smirked, "Then don't say it... just show me that the two a ya were a good choice fer the Environmental Control System team."

The Human nodded vigorously. "I will. WE will."

The Dog cracked a grin. "Ah believe it."

It was the start of a working relationship that would slowly develop into a friendship.