Tabitha sat in the back of a glistening, latest edition, Hyperion Galaxy Speeder. Like most things Hyperion, it was painted a shade of bright lemon, zipping through space like a caffeine high yellow jacket. Tabitha could appreciate how well crafted the ship was, despite it's uniform paint job. The ride was smooth, the seats were comfy and even the air circulating through the vents had that crisp new car smell that made her want to just live in the air craft.
However, she knew her time in the ship would be short, she was on a mission. Well, that's what she liked to call it anyways. After Clap-Trap's latest disappearance act, she decided that the quickest way to find the robot would be to simply track him. Of course, the only tracker connected to that robot was somewhere back at her home base. So here she was, flying through space at super sonic speed, on her way home for a brief pop in so she could steal a tracking device. Yup...she was on a mission.
She could feel the engine of the ship slowing to a smooth hum as the sonic blasters cut off, clearly they were nearing her home planet.
“We'll be landing shortly.” The pilot called over the speakers, confirming her assumptions. Tabitha quickly stood, stretching her arms and legs. She wasn't sure how hard it would be to find Clay's old tracking device. In fact, she was't sure what she was in store for. Several thoughts were racing through her brain at a million miles per second. What if she couldn't find the tracking device? What if that Braden guy had it? What would she do if she saw 'A'? Would she be able to restrain herself?
“I have a plan!” She huffed to herself. “And I've got to stick to it. If 'A' is going be free, then it has to be done right.” She grumped, reminding herself that she couldn't just up and kidnap him no matter how badly she may want to.
Of all the crazy scenarios her brain managed to fathom, she was anything but prepared for the mess that awaited her. She could feel the ship jolt as it landed, a little rough in her opinion. She waited by the door, but it never opened. Slightly irritated she moved over to the intercom, calling the pilot.
“What's the hold up? Is the door jammed?” She questioned. The pilot was quick to respond,
“Uh, no...we just aren't in the docking bay yet.” He explained.
“What? I felt the ship land. Why aren't we in the docking bay?” She asked.
“Because...there isn't a docking bay.” He sounded somewhat shocked.
“Wait what?” Tabitha was beyond confused. Before she could ask the pilot what in the world he was talking about, another voice broke over the intercom.
“This is the head of clean up. On what grounds are you landing at this base?” Tabitha blinked at the intercom, slightly bewildered, who was the “head of clean up”? She waited for the pilot to answer but he seemed at a loss.
“Uh,” she pressed the intercom button, “what do you mean?” She was hesitant to respond.
“All business related flights to this base have been permanently terminated. Hyperion no longer houses any operatives here. What is your position with the Hyperion company?” The “head of clean up” grumbled. Tabitha's confusion only grew, she didn't realize it would be so difficult to return home.
“I-I'm a mechanic...” She answered.
“Oh! Why didn't you say so sooner? We've been waiting for them to send us mechanics. There is a heap load of old parts out here that need salvaging. Come on down and help sort them out.” The man's whole tone changed.
“I'll open the door.” The pilot finally came on and Tabitha could hear the ship's door beginning to slide open. As light seeped in through the widening crack, her ears were attacked with waves of echoing sounds; machinery grinding, tools whirring, trucks beeping and honking. And the smell, oh the smell, she quickly pulled her bandana over her nose. At first she thought it was smoke, but it was so thick in the air almost like dust. She squinted as she stepped from the ship, surely the pilot had taken her to the wrong planet. Her eyes shot open wide at the mess around her.
The ship itself was parked on a singed hill overlooking a massive concave dent in the planet's crust. She could tell there used to be some sort of structure there due to the amount of debris littered all over the ground. Giant cranes were hanging over the main part of the mess, dropping down hooks and pulling out huge support beams covered in ash. Hyperion workers were crawling around the site like ants on a block of sugar. They all wore hard hats and thick gloves, doing their best to pile up the trash into huge yellow trucks.
Tabitha wanted to believe she had boarded the ship of an incompetent pilot who had taken her to the wrong Hyperion base. However, the distant rolling hills beyond the heap of what was once a building, were all too familiar to her. The way the pink clouds dusted over the horizon, just bellow the always visible orange moon was more akin to her than life itself. This was her home planet, this was her home base, a destroyed, burning pile of metal shrapnel and broken machinery.
“What...happened.” her voice was lost in the drowning sounds of construction. Although she felt completely petrified, her feet began to carry her through the ruins of the base. She slid around half chipped walls, sparking wires and jagged poles. Carefully she slipped her way down to where the earth seemed to open up and the lower levels of the base could bee seen bellow the crumbling crust. She didn't realize there were tears streaking down her cheeks until a hard hat was abruptly plopped onto her head.
“This is a dangerous worksite, you have got to keep this on your dome. Just yesterday poor Jerry got a goose egg right on his temple after an old lightbulb fell from one of those disconnected hall ways.” A man covered in dust pointed his thumb over to a whole walkway that had been totally severed from the base. Tabitha, not really registering what he said, spoke,
“What happened here?” She sucked back her sorrow, it was time for answers.
“Just yesterday the whole base was blown to smithereens after a Dahl attack. I guess they planted a bomb or something.” He shrugged, looking down into the damaged pit.
“Were there...any survivors?” Her voice caught in her throat, thinking of her darling 'A', had he made it out alive? She wanted to cover her ears and curl up on the ground, not even allowing herself to hear him say “No.” However, those words never came.
“Yeah, quite a lot of them. Most of the workers actually made it out just fine. The soldiers however, yeesh, too many to count.” He clenched his teeth. Tabitha turned to look at him, eyes big and hopeful.
“The survivors, where did they all go?” She begged, placing her trembling hand on his shoulder.
“Well Hyperion protocol states that in the case of a base emergency, all Hyperion personnel are to evacuate to the closest Hyperion owned property. There's a cargo bay on the moon, it's the closest thing to this location. Most the survivors should be there.” He pointed out to the sky where the orange moon drifted lazily behind the pink dusty clouds.
“Thank you!” Tabitha exclaimed, racing back for the bright yellow ship. She wanted to stay, to allow herself to mourn the loss of her home base. But how could she possibly be swept up in the destruction of her home when there was possibly so much more to grieve over? Just the thought that 'A' had perished in the blast was already bringing fresh tears to her eyes. She had to know if he was ok, she had to find him, to see his sweet smiling face and evergreen eyes.
Quickly she tossed the yellow hard hat near a worker as she returned to the ship.
“Take me to the cargo bay on Demophon's moon!” She practically yelled into the intercom.
“O-of course.” The pilot responded, closing the door to the air craft. The flight itself was all but ten minutes with the help of the ships powerful rockets, but it felt like a life time for the mechanic. She tapped her boot impatiently against the metal floor, running her fingers through her hair nervously. Her heart was racing and it was all she could do to keep it from pounding out of her chest completely. When the ship finally landed for the second time that day, she raced for the exit, squeezing out of the doors as soon as it was open wide enough. She didn't wait to give instructions to the pilot, and hurried to search the Cargo Bay.
The amount of ships docked at the bay was overwhelming, Tabitha wondered how her pilot even found a place to park. Each ship had a small huddle of yellow clad workers scrambling around it. Practically everyone was talking on an ECHO or some sort of communication device. Tabitha could catch bits and pieces of conversations as she pressed her way through the crowded bay.
“Yeah ma I'm alright.”
“What do you mean it'll be a week before you can pick me up?”
“The worst part about all this is I'm stuck in work clothes.”
“It blew up...it just...BLAM and everything was gone.”
“I was in the shower when it all happened!”
“No I haven't seen Patterson since the explosion...I hope he's ok.”
“I'm practically starving, the only food here is canned soup.”
The mechanic tried to block out the endless chatter, her eyes ever scanning for the coal black hair of her little 'A'. She desperately listened for his stammery voice in all the commotion, but he was no where in the docking bay. Tabitha didn't give up her search so easily and furthered her expedition inside the Cargo Bay.
The halls were lined with wounded workers stretched out along the floor. Many of them were covered in bloodied bandages and tattered clothes. A few in particular were wrapped head to toe, suffering from severe burns. Tabitha slowed her pace, carefully searching the features of every person. She wanted nothing more than to find the little experiment, but she knew her heart would shatter if she saw him taped over with bandages. As she neared the end of the hall, she caught site of a familiar face and immediately stopped.
“Jenson!” Tabitha exclaimed, stopping by a short bearded man with an equally short beard. His singed clothes were torn in multiple places, showing a pattern of bruised skin underneath. His right arm was wrapped tight in a sling, draped over his stomach limply. Gauze was taped over his brow, no doubt covering a nasty gash. His tired eyes lit up when he heard Tabitha's voice.
“T-tabitha! What...what are you doing out here?” He gave a half smile, glad to see a friendly face despite the circumstances.
“I was stopping by the base to pick up a Clap-Trap tracking unit. I-I had no clue the base had been destroyed. Jenson...what happened to you?” She knelt down beside the fellow mechanic, concern written in her soft eyes.
“Ah...nothing exciting. Not like that guy over there. He saved his best friend from a grenade, got his left hand blown off. It's a real shame but gosh what a story.” Jenson winced as he moved to a more comfortable position.
“Jenson,” Tabitha rolled here eyes but couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. “Don't make me regret stopping to talk with you.” She teased. Jenson sighed, an embarrassed blush flashing across his cheeks.
“I was in my garage when the attack hit. A grenade was set off just outside my work space...I was...welding at the time. The sound scared me so much my hand fumbled and I caught my shirt on fire. Luckily I put it out before completely burning alive.” he chuckled. “After that I went to investigate the noise. By that time the other mechanics were all running down the halls screaming. When I heard everyone evacuating, I quickly followed the crowd. The elevators weren't working so we had to use the stairs. Of course, having been blessed with two left feet, I lost my balance in all the excitement and completely tumbled down the rest of the stairs, breaking my arm and busting my brow.” He pointed up to the gauze on his forehead.
Tabitha rolled her eyes and shook her head with a sigh.
“Really Jenson? You looked like you got caught in a fire or beaten by some rogue soldier. Should have known it was just you being clumsy like always.” Tabitha patted his shoulder encouragingly. She wanted to stay and comfort her ex-co-worker, but she quickly reminded herself why she had even gone to the Cargo Bay in the first place.
“Maybe...maybe you can help me.” Her eyes glossed over with sorrow. “I...there is someone else at the base that I knew.” She knew that Jenson wouldn't understand that she was looking for a young child spawned from a secret experiment. “I've been looking all over the Cargo Bay, but I haven't noticed any of the scientists around here. Do you know... if any of them...” She couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence. Jenson reached a hand out to grab her elbow encouragingly.
“I'm sure whoever you are looking for is around here somewhere. This place is huge, biggest Cargo Bay this side of the galaxy. There's a large set of offices upstairs. Knowing the scientists they probably set up shop there, never a minutes rest.” He told her. Tabitha's face lit up,
“Thank you.” she smiled, “I'll be back for you. I'm not leaving you to wait for the Hyperion medics to arrive, they'll probably be another day or so.” She assured the wounded man before turning and searching for a way to the second floor.
She was embarrassed to admit that it took her much longer than needed to find the stairs. She had never realized how many other workers inhabited her home base until she tried to weave her way through the now packed rooms of the Cargo bay. However, just like the man back at the destroyed base had said, there were no soldiers anywhere. Tabitha shuttered, imagining what could have possibly taken them all out.
The tired mechanic was relieved to find the stairs were mostly void of any workers, making her route to the second floor easy. After that, finding the offices was a breeze. The second floor was a wide room of cubicles and desks, a real work space. Just as Jenson had guessed, the floor was crawling with scientists. Surely 'A' would be with the men from his project.
“If I remember correctly, Braden was the name of the new guy in charge.” She muttered under her breath, not noticing her paling knuckles as she clenched her hands into tight fists. If all the things Clap-Trap had said were true, than she wanted nothing more than to break the man's nose.
Carefully she stepped through the spacious office, very much aware of the staring scientists who wondered why a mechanic was strolling through their space. However, there was one group of men too caught up in their boss' lecture to even notice her.
“One of you twats had to have saved the genetic code...somewhere!” The man yelled. Cautiously Tabitha made her way closer to the group, trying her best not to disrupt them. The man sounded familiar and she quickly recognized him as the one she had spoken with over the ECHO, this was Braden.
“Patterson had all of that.” One of the men spoke up. Braden's face flashed with fury,
“He's not with us anymore, Daren!” he barked angrily.
“No doubt Dr. Clay would have all the information on the project.” Another scientist half muttered. Both Tabitha and Braden caught his snark remark, but Braden wasn't about to let it slide. He stepped towards the scientist, leaning close to his face, brows knitted together.
“He's just as helpful to us as Patterson is now isn't he? You know damn well Clay was exec....” Braden paused, his eyes wandering up and falling on the mechanic standing just feet away. Immediately his mouth snapped shut and he straightened back up, causing all the other scientists to turn, curious as to what had made him stop mid sentence.
“Can I help you?” Braden finally spoke, he seemed hesitant to ask. He could tell right away she was not from their base. Her clothes were clean and crisp, surprisingly so for someone who spent their day around busted robots and heavy tools. There was a recognizable look in her emerald eyes that made the hair on his neck stand, did he know this woman?
“Are you Braden?” She asked, a bitter tone laced her voice. Braden didn't answer at first. He was trying his best not to be obvious as his eyes raked over her well toned arms and her tight fists. The scientist let his hand slip into his lab coat pocket, resting over his gun.
“I am.” He finally answered. There was a noticeable clench in Tabitha's jaw.
“Are you the head of Project 0?” She had to be sure. The fact that she hadn't seen 'A' yet was starting to worry her. She wanted to cry, but she couldn't, not in front of this man.
“Who are you?” Braden hissed, feeling uncomfortable.
“Are you the head of Project 0 or not!?” Tabitha ignored him, demanding her own question be answered instead. She took a step closer and it was then Braden realized how she looked down on him, she was so tall. He frowned, quickly noticing the lack of heels on her work boots, was this woman a soldier in disguise?
“Yes...I am the head of that project. How do you know about it? It's top secret...what base are you from?” His hand twitched over his gun, but he kept it hidden.
“I'm from...” Tabitha paused, she could tell Braden was intimidated by the way he backed away from her, he deserved to be. “Helios.” She decided on. Braden's Adam's apple bobbed as he gulped silently.
“Ah...did they send you to check on the damage taken to the project?” He questioned.
“You could... you could say that.” Tabitha was willing to play games if it meant getting answers.
“Oh, well I'm disappointed to tell you that we lost everything in the blast. Even the back up data, without it we can't continue the project. We'd have to start from scratch.” Braden finally released the gun in his pocket and pinched at his brows instead.
“Everything...?” Tabitha felt her heart drop to her stomach, she was going to be sick. “What about...the experiment?” the words barely slipped from her lips.
“Even the experiment.” Braden nodded. Tabitha felt it, she could feel the unbearable pain of her heart being abruptly ripped apart. Her knees were weak, barely holding her up as she tried to get some grasp on her emotions. First Clay went missing, then Clap-Trap, and now 'A', oh her darling little 'A'.
A mangled sob tore from her as she clasped a hand over her mouth. It was a mistake, all of it. If only she had stayed on Demophons and never went to Helios, she could have stopped it. She could have somehow protected Clay from the CEO's, she could have stopped Clap-Trap from getting lost, she could have rescued 'A' from the bomb. Regret swept over her like a wave, but it wasn't enough to drown the fierce rage that burned within her.
“Why?” She demanded, her voice dripping with hate. Braden seemed startled by her sudden outburst and stepped back until his shoulders pressed against the wall. The other scientists were staring, wide eyed, mouths sealed shut.
“What do you mean? There was a-a bomb.” Braden stammered.
“Why didn't you save him!?” She practically screamed, “There are thousands of you here, practically everyone escaped with their lives!”
“I...I didn't think to...” Braden was cut off.
“You didn't think to save the experiment of your own project? Are you a complete idiot!? He was...he was only a kid.” She stopped, she couldn't take it anymore. Tabitha couldn't stand to be around the man that had caused her so much pain. Trying to hold in her sobs, Tabitha turned and hurried back to the first floor. She had to leave before she completely fell apart. 662Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbL9aovJATB
She held her head high as she marched through the hall lined with the wounded. She kept the tears at bay as she pulled Jenson from the floor and helped him onto her air craft. She bit her trembling lip during the flight to Helios, trying to pay attention to Jenson's pointless babbling. She hugged her arms tight around herself as she walked through the base hours later, finally returning to her small room. She kept it together until her bedroom door was locked behind her. Clay's plaque glistened in the dim light and Tabitha couldn't hold it in any longer. She fell to the floor in a defeated slump against the wall, crying hopelessly into her bandana.
Braden blinked in confusion as the emotional mechanic stormed from the offices. His under-workers all turned, staring at him with just as much bewilderment. He couldn't help the blush of shame that tented his nose and ears. He had messed up, there was no denying it, he should have gone back for the experiment, then he wouldn't be in this predicament. Braden groaned, everything had gone to hell in a hand basket, even his multi device strapped to his wrist had lost battery power. He undid the strap, sliding it off and opening the back, popping out the old battery. By instinct he went to call for his Clap-Trap, and made the sudden realization that he hadn't seen the purple robot for weeks.
“I even lost that stupid bumbling machine.” He hissed, groaning under his breath.
“Daren!” He barked with irritation, chucking the dead battery at the man. “Go find me another battery. This one died. There should be one around here somewhere, this is a Cargo Bay for crying out loud.” He demanded and the scientist was quick to comply.
After Daren left, Braden turned to the other scientists.
“What do we tell the CEOs?” He huffed. They had put him in charge to save the project, and now he had completely blown it.
“Maybe it's not all lost... I mean, we still have the project ideas.” One of the scientists held up a file packed with papers and notes.
“Ideas and instructions are two different things.” Another scientist grumbled. “We need to know the exact steps in the experiment process. We need the genetic makeup.”
“What we need is a DNA sample. Maybe...maybe we can go back to the base.” Braden began to think aloud. “His body is buried in that rubble somewhere, we just got to find it and take a sample, then we can use it to make another embryo.” He sighed, collapsing into one of the office chairs. The other scientists copied his motion, leaning back in their own seats as they racked their brains for ideas. They sat in silence for several minutes until Daren finally returned, battery in hand.
“Here you go sir.” He rolled the small thing across the desk. Braden grunted with approval, snatching it up and sliding it into his wrist piece. He tinkered with it for a few seconds until it gave a small beep, powering on. In a tired, memorized, motion he snapped it back onto his wrist. Suddenly, it began to beep in an obnoxious manner, something akin to the insufferable timer of a microwave.
The other scientists perked up as Braden snapped his gaze down to stare at the tiny screen. His eyes widened and he drew the device closer, holding it right in front of his nose. An excited smile spread over his chapped lips.
“Sir...what is it?” Daren asked expectantly.
“The tracking device we put in the experiment.” He stated, “It's moving...he escaped.”
“What-what does this mean?”
“It means we're still in business.”
Author: This...this was supposed to be longer but I can't do it *boohoo* Also...due to heartbreak and/or death, no other characters will appear at the ending of this chapter. Sorry. It's just me.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Clap-Trap: What you talkin bout?
ns 18.68.41.146da2
