Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 23:11:39 -0400 From: Jered Baker Subject: Unexpected #1 All rights reserved. Follow me on tumblr for updates when the next chapter should be out on nifty. : omgorangesattack : This is my third(?) story on here... But it's been at least two years since then. Those are Letters from Home, which is completed, and Back to December, not completed and not sure if it will be anytime soon... Idk, if I get encouragement to keep writing then I'll keep up with it or try to as much as possible. Background on me, I'm 17, senior in highschool, completely out, happily in a relationship with my boyfriend. Disney is my shit. I'm busy so I'm going to write when I can but I'm going to try to get a new chapter out once a week... hopefully, do not quote me. But if I don't get at least 10 emails, from each chapter I won't write if people aren't intrigued. I edit my own stuff so don't expect great things when it comes to grammar and punctuation with (;) crap. Donate to Nifty since it allows this free reading source. If you have any questions, comments, or just want to ask me something, email me at orangesattack70@gmail.com. yes, weird email address I know. Now lay back, cuddle, drink your tea or coffee... or beer if that doesn't make you vomit, and enjoy the first chapter of Unexpected! Part 1: Long Lost... "Whoever is in that lab got damn lucky." Opal said. We were all standing in the communications room watching the footage of the attack on this secret lab out on Europa, a moon on Jupiter. The first Mombasa Corp. cruiser exited slip space and almost immediately opened fire on the lab. The main plasma cannons broke through the center point of the lab. Pieces of the lab blew off like there was no blast-shield plating; probably just asteroid grade. Then again, since this lab has been a complete secret for the past six years, they probably didn't think it was necessary to have. They never thought they would be discovered. "That blast probably depressurized a majority of the lab." I said as we continued watching. "Looking at the blueprint for the lab..." Skeeter, the mechanics guy on the squad, "... that blast depressurized the main hub, which was the section hit, Labs D and C, communications, and the loading bay." He was still flipping through pages of info on his Paper Pal Tablet. "They didn't have mechanisms to block of depressurized sections on the station in case of a leak or, you know..." she asked appalled, waved her hand at the wall sized screen. Skeeter looked up from the tablet with and eyebrow raised. "Let's just say they weren't too concerned about safety." He clicked a few buttons and the blueprints popped up on the screen. "They only had two sections of the lab that had any form of protection. This lab here is like a fortress; retractable window shielding, nuclear weapon grade, 6-foot thick nuclear blast doors and walls. This is also where our target is. My guess is that they are still alive if they had the proper supplies. The other room is questionable. It was the supply room. It had blast shielding and wasn't damaged too badly in the raid. There were no signs that it was broken into either." "So they weren't looking for wasn't there." Opal said. Skeeter nodded. "So what was it then?" I asked. "Watch the video." The group of soldiers that went in after the explosion were trying to break into the castle of a lab. "Now watch what happens when they try and open the door." Skeeter said. Several of the soldiers tried prying the door off its hinges when the entire corridor exploded launching their bodies and debris into space. "Damn." Opal and I said in unison. A red light flashed in the room. It was Parker, the pilot of the Savannah, warning us we were exiting slip space. He rarely talked, in fact, I could count on one hand how many times the man has said anything in the past 3 years. No one knows much about him and he won't answer questions, but he's a damn good pilot so no one ever questions his actions. The video ended after the explosion and the lights turned back on in the room. "Guys, lets suit up. I want to be down on that station in five minutes." I ordered. "Yes Commander." They both said and jogged out of the room. I took another moment and pulled a picture from the footage of the station again, looking right at the lab. "What are you hiding?" I whispered to myself. How they could keep this whole thing a secret is beyond me but then again, it's government. I walked out of the room into the blue walled and white metal paneled floor hallway, glancing out the windows at the little moon. The station looked like a black scar plastered onto the side of the satellite. I feared for the dead that we would find but it was like almost every mission, there were going to casualties. I sighed and continued to the armory to suit up. The lights were dimmed in the hallway casting a shadow on any of its occupants. People that passed you were darkened blue figures thanks to the blue paneled metal on the walls. The door slid open to the armory; Opal and Skeeter were already in the black mech armor. Most of it was a form fitting indestructible exoskin with armor plating on the shoulders, kneecaps, groin, butt, hip, chest plates, and the helmet with a blue and yellow polarized visor that hid the face. They both looked at me briefly before going back to getting prepared. I walked over to my locker, retrieving my armor. Once I was dressed, I looked at my helmet in my hands. "You ready to go Commander?" Opal asked. I turned and looked at the two of them; both of them had their helmets on. I looked at it once more, flipped it around and locked the air-seal when I put it on. "Let's do this." I said. We walked as a team to the drop pods on the other side of the armory. It was all in one room with the engine room behind it, which was separate. The drop pods were in three rows; three on the left wall, three in the center, and three on the right wall. "Parker, set the drop pods to land in the main hub. I want to get at as close as possible." I said through the communications system. A blip on the right top corner of my visor showed the coordinates that Parker had set. The drop pods were 6 foot tall black trapezoids with a chair and three windows; one that covered most of the front, and two small ones up at eyes level. We all opened up the front and sat down inside of them, the front closing and sealing behind up. The small control panel on the armrest near my left hand came up form under a sliding cover. "One my mark." I said. My finger was on the red launch button. I was watching the map on the screen on my visor as the Savannah moved over the drop point. "Launch." The air boosters blasted each of the pods down the launch tubes giving us speed before entering space. "We're in the gravitational pull of Europa. Here we go." I gripped the handle bars as we flew closer and closer to the icy surface. The jets on the pod started directing itself to its landing point. The damage on the station became clearer as we approached. "They blasted right through the roof of the place." Skeeter said. "They didn't stand a chance." "What do you think the target is, a computer chip maybe?" Opal asked. I looked out the window into the vastness of space. Out of so much darkness, the light from the sun mixed with the asteroids, the enormity of Jupiter, and the stars twinkling in the distance made the scene absolutely stunning. The caution light caught my attention as it flashed. The landing zone was within 500 feet. I could hear the boosters on the bottom of my pod slowing me down for a safe landing. As we slowed, Opal's pod and mine faced each other as a body of a dead scientist floated aimlessly past us. "Christ." She whispered. "Skeeter, put in the report that we have casualties." Not like it was unexpected. As we descended, other bodies and scraps from the building past us, all caught in the gravity and slowly moving and bouncing around carelessly. The pods past through the dismantled roof and into the main hub, at least 50 bodies were floating about aimlessly, dead and cold. Once we landed, the door unlatched and we each stepped out. The main hole we flew in was one of the largest of 5 in the roof. All of the ridges where the holes were, were scorched. Dangling pieces bobbed up and down with the weak gravity keeping it in check. Not much of the roof remained but enough to show what it once was. Some broken signs hanging from the ceiling or walls gave vague directions of where things were and how to get to them. "Let's move." I said sternly, not wanting to stay in the area. "But what about..." Opal started. "Just say heavy casualties." I cut her off. I didn't want to talk about the dead. With the gravity being light enough, we floated partially through the station gliding across the floor. Only every so often did we have to take another step. The main hub connected to the hallway with the lab. Some of the windows were shattered but mainly cracks appeared within them. The tiled floor was tattered and torn from the attack. It was distinct where the white walls quickly went from white to black from the explosion in the video. The dead soldiers floated a throughout the hall making us push them aside as we made our way through. Some of them were caught on pieces of the broken windows and others were floating right outside. The only thing that seemed to look unfazed from all of this was the lab door. It was still flawlessly white and almost pristine. "So how do we get in?" asked Skeeter. As if right on cue, a small flap on the door opened and a green light seemed to scan us from head to toe. It beeped three times once it finished before the flap closed. The white door slid open, if not a little slowly. "Well we didn't blow up." Skeeter said lightheartedly. Opal smacked the back of his helmet. The three of us entered the white room and the door closed behind us. A red light flashed and spun above us as a loud hissing sound came from all around us. DECOMPRESSION DECOMPRESSION DECOMPRESSION played on replay until the hissing and the light stopped. DECOMPRESSION COMPLETE, OXYGEN LEVELS NORMAL. Each of us turned off out air reserves as the oxygen levels reached a livable level. The door at the other end of the chamber slowly slid open to a darkened room with some type of light composite wooden flooring. I walked through the opening first. The lab was askew with Paper-Pal tablets thrown all over the counters and computer screens that were half operational running endless amounts of data, all of it flying off the screen like end of movie credits on steroids. The wooden floor had some shattered glass and other items scattered among it; a pair of glasses, more Paper-Pals, water bottles... The other side of the large lab was down a small set of spiral stairs, dark with very little light filtering through from the deeply tempered windows. "This place is a mess." Skeeter said. We filed into the room, Opal walking over to the computer screens. "Commander, come look at this." She said. I walked over and looked at the screen that she was now pointing at. The words that flew across the screen were for explosives; a bomb, a really really big bomb. "Some research center." I said as I crossed my arms taking the area in a bit more. "Thank you." I voice said in the darkness in front of us. The person's voice made me freeze. I knew that voice. "Who's there?" Skeeter called. A figure in the darkness started to walk into the light so only their frame could be seen. He was short, around 5'5'' and slim. No, it couldn't be him, it can't be. "I'm the one who sent out the distress beacon two days ago." He stepped into the light and my heart stopped. "Peter..." I whispered in near disbelief. Opal looked at me curiously. The lump in the back of my throat was growing bigger by the second and I broke into a cold sweat. "My name is Dr. Peter Savannah. I'm... I mean, I was lead researcher and developer here at this laboratory." He said. I couldn't take it. "Six... DAMN years!" I nearly yelled. Everyone looked at me. "Commander?" Skeeter asked. I was beginning to shake. "Six god damned years they told me you were dead." I was yelling now, pointing my finger at him. Peter stepped back slightly even though I was behind a computer module. I wasn't sure if I was becoming pissed or happy. "Do I know you?" Dr. Savannah asked me with a troubled curiosity to his voice. I laughed, I laughed DAMN hard. I laughed so hard that my stomach hurt. The pain and irony from the situation killed me. I took of my helmet and his eyes grew as big as his head. "Yeah, you could say I know you Peter." I said gruffly. Everyone was silent. Peter's jaw was shaking. "Oh my god." He mouthed. Opal and Skeeter looked at each other and back between us several times. Peter looked like he wanted to say so much but every time he tried to form words, his voice failed him. I just shook my head in disbelief. "I never thought I'd ever see you again Peter." I said trying to make eye contact with him but he avoided my gaze at all cost. He hadn't changed much except look a little bit older. He hadn't grown any more. His hair that once was always spiked was now neatly combed over on his head, flaming red hair and even more freckles on his face. His jaw had become more pronounced and his eyes no longer had the joy they did so long ago. The happy green no longer shimmered but sat there like algae infested water. He held himself like he was cold and looked up at me. "I... I never expected this either." He said softly. I could see the pain in his face and I knew I wasn't hiding my emotions very well either. I couldn't see Skeeter or Opal's faces because of the helmets but I knew they were probably shocked at my open display of emotions. "You two... um, know each other?" Skeeter asked awkwardly. I looked directly at Peter, the man who had taken my heart. The man I was told had been "killed" in a lab raid on the moon six years ago while I was on deployment for six months in the Keplar Solar System. The man who I grieved over for the past SIX GOD DAMN YEARS! The man... I had bought a ring for... "At one time, Skeeter, I knew him very well. Now I'm not sure I know Dr. Savannah much anymore." I said through partially gritted teeth. I could feel the heat from my face growing into my cheeks. His eyebrows raised and the hurt on his face made me feel bad. "Dr. Savannah, get suited up and get whatever you need from here. We're leaving." I ordered. I put my helmet back on my head and took a deep breath. Out of everyone in the galaxy that could have been in here, it had to be him. The ex-boyfriend that was supposed to have been dead for the past six years suddenly appears. Skeeter lead Peter back down into the darker side of the lab to grab his things leaving Opal with me. I put my hands on the counter and leaned on it, my head looking at the floor. "Are you okay?" Opal asked cautiously. "I'm fine." I said through my teeth. Obviously I wasn't and I'm pretty sure she knew it as well. "Hey Commander, Opal, we need your help down here!" Skeeter called from the lower level. Opal looked at me one last time and started toward the stairs. I followed reluctantly, not wanting to see Peter again. "Over here." Skeeter said once we were both down the stairs. The helmet's flashlight illuminated the darkened lower area of the lab. Spotting the two, they were bent over an octagon shaped hole. "What's that?" Opal asked as we approached. "The kill switch." Peter said as he stood up. "What do you mean kill switch?" I asked. He looked at me with a pained expression for the slightest second before wiping it away back to seriousness. "In the event that something like this was to occur, I was supposed to blow the station up upon my departure." He said as almost as if he was reciting something. "So it's a bomb." I said. He nodded. "The elevator got stuck bringing it up from its chamber. I need you to pull it up." He said. I looked down at the hole. It was almost at the top, only about a foot down. "I can at least try. How much does it weigh?" I looked down at the fist sized bomb. "300 pounds." He said. I raised an eyebrow. "How does something the size of my fist weight 300 pounds?" I asked annoyed and confused. I just wanted to get out of here and this was just complicating things. His eyes narrowed and he looked at me directly for the first time. "Density. I know you can lift that just fine..." he paused for a second and turned slightly away from me, "Anthony." That name, my name, was said so quietly and with so much... raw hard emotion, I felt a straining feeling in chest and found it hard to breath for a minute. He looked back at me just slightly. Slowly, I got on my knees and reached down into the hole for the bomb, my eyes staying on his. He was right; the bomb was a synch for me to pull up, not like it was unexpected. Once it was, a single red button came forward out of the bomb. "I'm going to get the last bit of my research and put on my spacesuit. When I say to press the button, do it." Peter said and walked over to a small computer terminal on a desk. Opal and Skeeter were standing behind me now. "Anthony?" Skeeter asked jokingly. I walked up to him and looked down from my 6'4'' to his 5'8'', gripping his shoulder harder than necessary with my hand. "Yup, and never call me that again." I said with a small growl. He gulped and nodded quickly. "You two go back to the ship and get the shuttle. We'll need that to bring Pe..." I caught myself before saying his name, "... Dr. Savannah with us." "Understood." Opal said. Skeeter withheld from saying anything at the moment. If his helmet was off, his face probably would have been white as a ghost. Opal dragged Skeeter off with them. I watched them go until the airlock door shut behind them. "No!" Peter yelled angrily. He slammed his fist down on the computer board, making it beep and buzz erratically. I started walking toward him, my face straight. "What seems to be the problem Doc?" I asked subtle manner. He huffed and bit his lip. I used to love it when he did that... "It's locked me out of the system. I'm going to have to hack it." He said frustrated. "You've figured your way around other things without letting the other party involved knowing; I don't think a computer will be much different." I said drily. His whole body went rigid and he glared at me. "You being a douche won't help here, Tony." He spat as he started to pull off a piece of paneling from bellow. I took my helmet back off and set it down hard onto the computer board, making him jump at the slam. "You're calling me a douche Peter, really?" He pulled his head out of the wiring and closed his eyes. He was obviously getting upset. "Let's not do this right now." He spoke softly. He went back into the wiring under the computer trying to hack through it... or at least that's what I think he was doing. I was never the smart one in our relationship. I leaned back onto another computer system and just watched as he fiddled with things in the HUD. After several minutes, a burning question was still trying to get out. "They told me you were dead." I said, the emotion in my own voice shocking me. He pulled himself out of the system but he still wouldn't look at me. "Anthony..." he whispered as a single tear fell from the corner of his eye. I stood up about to walk over to him, but I couldn't. I wasn't about to just reopen something that may get closed again, but seeing him like that... it pulled at me. "WELCOME DOCTOR SAVANNAH!" the computer screen read quickly. Peter quickly stood up and started working furiously, sniffling as a few more tears ran down his cheek. "Go get me my suit." He said through his teeth. "It's up there somewhere." He said waving his hand vaguely to the wall right of him. "Is it..." I started but tear-filled and bloodshot eyes bore deep into me. "Just get the damn suit for me Commander." His voice was dry and raspy as he spoke. I just nodded and walked back over to the stairs. Once I was up I walked over to the wall. It was the same white metal as the rest of the place except this one seemed to house medical supplies and food in separate refrigerated cabinets. In the corner was a glass panel with a handle. Peering in, I saw the white space suit with `SCIENCE TEAM' printed on the back. I opened the door and pulled out the flawless suit. I walked over to the railing and called, "Got it!" Peter wasn't at the computer. "Peter?" I called. "I'm down on the lower level." He called back. I walked over and down the stairs back into the darkness. Peter was over at a filing cabinet shuffling through a bunch of Paper-Pals. "What are you doing?" I asked. He didn't look up when he answered me. "Compiling all of my research on the project I was working on before we got attacked." He said. He gathered the ones that he needed and walked back over to the little computer. He did something with the Paper-Pals and the computer. Shortly after, the computer beeped and he pulled a small chip from the computer, put it in a little metal square locked, and hung it around his neck. He took the locket between his fingers and gave me a grave look. "This is what they came here for. The information on this chip could destroy worlds, Anthony." The way he spoke was scary, even for me. He's never been as serious about anything, let alone his work. Seeing him like this, not just in the serious manner but how he's been since I walked in this room was weird. He was always so shy and tentative, loved life, loved his work, but was never so serious or uptight about anything. I handed him the suit kind of awkwardly. "Here." I said. He grabbed it and started to put it on. "Commander... Commander Hawthorn... Hawthorn, where are you?" I could hear Opal yelling through the intercom on the helmet. "Shit." I mumbled under my breath and ran back upstairs to my helmet. "Yes, yes I'm here!" I said spastically as I put my helmet back on. "We have the shuttle all ready. It's waiting for you in the center." "Thank you Opal." I said. "Skeeter and I are back at the ship. Something told me you two needed some alone time." She said. I sighed and looked back down into the darkness, just barely making out Peter on the level below. "Yeah... we'll talk later Opal." "Okay Commander." She said and then the radio went dead. I went over to the railing and leaned over it. "Savannah, are you ready?" I called. "Yeah, come down here for a second though." He said. Confused, I walked down the steps to see him standing next to the bomb. "When I press this button, we will have 10 minutes to get 50 miles from Europa's atmoshpere. Will that be a problem?" he asked. I could no longer see his face from the helmet he had on. "If I tell the pilot to have the engines hot then it should be more than enough to time." I said surly. Peter nodded and tapped the top of the bomb. A green holopad emerged from the top of it and he started tapping in commands. I gazed on but wasn't really paying attention. "Parker, can you hear me?" I asked. He let out a soft grunt over the system. "Good. I need the engines hot. We're going to have to make a hyper jump as soon as we're back on board." He grunted again. Now I was focusing on Peter again as he focused on the bomb. "So... how's it looking?" I asked. It sounded much more awkward coming out of my mouth than it did in my head. He looked up at me for no more than a half second before looking back down. "It's the first time it's ever been used. A bunch of warnings came up since it sensed the station being blown apart." He sighed heavily after that. I looked around not knowing what else I really should be doing. After a few more moments, a high pitched dinging came from the bomb and Peter stood. "We may want to get the hell out of here now." He said on the end of a breath. I nodded and we both headed for the stairs. *** "Jesus..." he gasped quietly as we made our way down the hallway. The floating bodies and debris that greeted Skeeter, Opal, and I when we got here were now gracing Peter with they're presence. "Keep moving Peter." I said sternly. His helmet was turned toward me. I could tell he was glaring. "Don't even." I mumbled. "You don't even have a heart. I worked with these people for 6 years. I know every single one of them!" His voice got louder as he spoke. "After they told me you died, I didn't have much left." I spat. Yes it was cold but it was the truth. He didn't say anything else, even when we got to the center of the station; all he did was look and shake his head slowly. The shuttle was waiting for us where the pods landed before. "Come on." I said as I reached the door. It began to fold down for our entrance. Stepping inside the grey and black metal interior, Peter wasn't too far behind. Once Peter was in, the door closed and the shuttle lurched forward. Both of us were sent flying toward the back of the shuttle. I grabbed onto an armrest on one of the chairs with one hand, catching Peter in the other. After a few seconds the Inertial Dampeners turned on, causing both of us to hit the floor. Well, I hit the floor, Peter landed on top of me. My arm was still around him... "Uhm..." he said so unsure of what to do. We were both just staring at each other. Snapping out of it, I sat up and set him upright, taking my arm away from him as well. "How much time do we have?" I asked, trying to break the awkwardness. "About 3 minutes." "This is going to be close." I said, "But we'll make it." After that, Peter stood up and walked to the front of the shuttle. He took off his helmet and put on hand on the window, the other held his helmet at his side. "So that's your ship." He said justly. "Yeah." I said sitting down in a seat, taking off my helmet. It was in the distance still. "We're 20 miles out from her." "Looks nice." He said quietly. He looked out the window still but didn't say any more. "External windows on." I said and the back and side panels turned transparent for viewing. The station and Europa were fading into the distance; the never ending darkness increasing. Looking at everything like this, being in space in general, made me feel so small. "What does that bomb do exactly?" I asked. If they were developing this thing in a secret lab, it had to do something interesting... right? Peter just stood there at the window still. "Horrible things, Anthony..." he put his hand on the window and fog formed around his handprint, "... and it's only a small scale compared to its full potential." He sounded miserable, which in his circumstances, I would be too. I turned my attention back toward the station. The bomb should be going off any time now. We were almost back to the Savannah so our distance was fine. A small piercing light emerged from the station. Four streaks of light pierced the darkness and continued on for what seemed like forever. Some alarms started going off inside the shuttle. "It's happening." Peter said numbly. The small light flashed like a flashlight had just been turned on and off quickly into my eyes and like that, it was over. Europa was still there and so was the station but something wasn't right. "What happened?" I asked. "You'll see." He said mysteriously. I kept watching and shortly after got my answer. Europa began to split apart into thousands of little pieces and as they drifted apart, started hurtling towards Jupiter to be crushed by its atmosphere. Europa was no longer. "Jesus!" I whispered to myself in shock. And that was `small scale'? He just destroyed and entire satellite! "Peter..." I said quietly, stunned. I turned around and saw him in a seat. I walked over and sat across from him. He didn't say anything and neither did I. I could tell he felt guilty or... shit, something sad. He looked like a kicked puppy. We reached the ship and as we approached the rear, the bay door hadn't been released yet. Peter looked up at something that caught his eye. I looked too .The name still showed in its bright white paint... Oh shit... "The Savann..." his words trailed off as realization hit him. "Oh." I heard him whisper. I looked down at the floor but I could feel his gaze on me, only on me. He didn't say anymore and I was happy he didn't point out the obvious. If names to ships were supposed to be sentimental, I thought that naming my damn ship Savannah was as sappy as it could get. The warning lights came on as we were about to dock, and Peter didn't even flinch. His eyes never left me the whole time. I needed to get the hell away from him, let everything sink in. And when the hell did he become in control of this whole situation? I looked up slightly and, for the first time, our eyes met, really met. I kept my face rigid enough to block the anger and sadness that was threatening to come through. He just looked worried, upset, and stressed all compiled into that one look. I felt the wheels touch down and the locks kick in. "Punch it." I radioed to Parker. We could both feel some force but the dampeners on the Savannah were working properly. Peter stood up and pressed the opener for the door. "I'll see you around, I guess..." he bit his lip for a moment, something I always found cute, "... Commander." And then he was gone. I let my head hit the wall behind me. "What a fucking job." I said, half laughing. I sat there for a good long while letting everything from the past hour sink in. Peter was alive. ALIVE! After all of these years of grieving and there he is again. I wanted to be so happy but I was mad. Angry. Livid! He was supposed to have been dead and all the while he was just a short trip to Europa. "Hawthorn?" Opal asked as she walked up into the shuttle. "Yeah?" I sounded exasperated. "You okay?" she sounded worried. I looked at her. She had her normal cloths, a black Savannah crew cami and grayish camo pants along with black combat boots. Her auburn colored hair she had in a small tight bun on the back of her head. He eyes were a soft green. She was an amazing solider; determined, ruthless, straight shot, but she turned into the Savannah's counselor half the time. I tried to give her the best smile I could and shook my head. She sat down on the bench opposite me; her elbows on her knees and her fingers intertwined. She was looking at me but I just stared at the ceiling. "It's that bad, huh?" she inquired. I nodded slowly. "It's been 6 years." I sighed and looked at her. "I figured you two had history." She said it like she expected it. I stifled a laugh. "You could say that." It sounded almost sarcastic coming out of my mouth. Her lips fell into a small frown as she stood up. "Commander, your needed on the bridge." Cynthia, our communications leader, called. I grabbed my helmet from beside me and stood up to leave. As I did, Opal grabbed my shoulder. "When you want to talk, you know where to find me Hawthorn." She said softly and whisked past me. **** When the doors slid open to the bridge, Cynthia, a slender dark hair and skinner woman with startling golden eyes which created a contrast to her elegant features, was standing there with a obviously overstrung Peter. They were standing near the holographic interact image map of the galaxy. "Commander." She said and nodded her head. "Cynthia." I said nodding back. Peter looked at me for a moment before looking back at the map. "We should arrive back at earth shortly so we can deliver Mr. Savannah back to headquarters. They called not too long ago about our next assignment but they were..." she scrunched her lips looking slightly annoyed, "... vague about it. They wouldn't tell me but told me to tell you that they would be needing to speak to you about some uh," she did air quotes for the word "questions' that you may have." Oh boy did I have some questions for them. HQ probably has known about all of this shit since the beginning, probably orchestrated the charade as well. "No kidding do I have questions." I said as my gaze landed on Peter who blushed. She nodded her head unaware of my double meaning towards Peter. "Quite. I'll let them know when they should be expecting you." She said. She picked up her Paper-Pal and looked at the two of us. "Gentlemen." She said courtly and walked out of the room leaving Peter and I alone on the bridge. "It's a beautiful view of space from here." Peter said walking over to the windows. "Yeah, it is." I said as I walked over to him. I stood next to him in front of the, what I like to call the glass dome. It was a rectangular box of all glass that gave a complete 180 degree view of the surrounding area. "So you're a Commander, you have your own crew, and a battleship cruiser. The last I knew you were just a marine. When did this all happen?" he asked. For a moment I was angry; if he was here with me he would have known, but what use would it be to be angry right now? He would be gone in an hour or so anyways. "A lot happens in 6 years Peter. Last I knew you were killed in a lab raid, or at least..." I took a deep breath to calm myself before I went on, "... that's what my commanding officer told me at the time." He was silent but I could see in his reflection that he was biting his lip nervously. "I'm sorry." He said quietly, looking down. "But for the most part, I trained, became a better fighter, was awarded for military achievements, promoted, and that's the short version of how I got to be here." I said. "I always knew you were an exquisite solider." He whispered to himself but I still heard it. I turned around and walked over to the galaxy map. "Computer, arrival time to Earth." I requested. The map shrunk down to the solar system and showed our flight path. We had just pasted Venus and would arrive in a few minutes. I turned around and Peter was still looking out the window unmoving. "I need to go get changed into something more appropriate to see the President." I said but he didn't move. I opened my mouth to say something else but closed it. Something massive was weighing on him and I didn't feel like dragging it out of him right now. He'd be gone again soon and it wouldn't matter. I'd be shipped off to the other side of the galaxy and he'll probably be stationed in some high-security government facility for a while so Mombasa Corp. would get off his back. I sighed and started towards the door. As I walked through it, I could hear a faint sob as it closed behind me.