Heroes pt. 2 By Elan Morin Tedronai It was about five hours after the squad's meeting. On board an Exo-Frigate, the EFS Normandy, the ship to which him and his squad was assigned, Lt. Elan Morin Tedronai, the squad's comm./intelligence officer, was in his quarters making the final preparations for the mission him and the rest of his squad were about to undertake. He recalled with a smile Cmdr. Hobbes coming by everyone's quarters telling them that he forgot to mention at the meeting that the mission could result in the squad being on earth for a few months. Elan's smile faded, and turned into a frown. He didn't like not knowing about such a mission with such a long term. Actually, to tell the truth, he didn't much like not knowing something, whatever it was. This was a lot of the reason he was assigned to the ExoFleet intelligence division. His desire to know everything. *Oh, well,* he thought, *It -is- home, after all. maybe at some point, Cmdr Hobbes will let my check on mom, so I know she's ok. It's been, what? A year and a half? Two years, since the war began? I haven't heard from her since then. I really hope she's ok.* "Hmmm.....let's see, toothbrush, comb, soap, extra change of uniform. My stuffed pet lion, Zeus. This seems to be everything. Although I got this nagging feeling I am forgetting something," Elan muttered to himself, and threw his over his shoulder. It was a small bag. Elan didn't need much. Growing up, Elan often times had none of these things while staying out in the wilderness near his home. "It will be nice to get back to nature once again," Elan said, quite happily, walking towards the door. He pressed a button on the side panel and the door opened. Elan turned to look at his quarters one more time before he walked out. ****************** Kristin looked at what she had thrown into her first bag. *Ok, toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush, soap, extra uniforms....that's seems to be everything, although it does feel like I am forgetting something.* Kristin thought to herself. She looked in the other bag, which contained her tools. *Yup, all here.* There was a chime that sounded throughout her quarters which indicated someone was at her door. She went over to the door and pressed a button on a panel on the part of the wall next to the door. The door opened to reveal her squadmate Elan. He had a rather small bag over his right shoulder. "Hi," Elan said rather cheerily, and with a smile, "Are you almost ready?" Kristin smiled back, "Hi, Elan, and I am ready now. Just let me grab my bags and we can be on our way," she said, turning around to get her bags. Kristin went over and got her bags and headed back to the door, where Elan was waiting. "Please," Elan said, bowing, "Allow me?" Indicating her bags. "Why, thanks you, Elan," she said, handing him her bags. She handed him her bags of clothes and personal supplies, which he threw over his shoulder with his, then she handed him her bag of tools, which was heavier than the first. This one he threw over his other shoulder. "Brought your tools along, I see," Elan said, while she walked out the door. "Of course," she said with a smile. She turned and input the door's passcode lock on the pad on the outside of her door. After she was done, she turned to Elan and said, "Alright, everything's taken care of, let's go." "Ok," Elan said, starting down the corridor, Kristin walking along next to him. As they headed down the corridor, they saw the occasional crewman heading in the other direction with one thing or another in their hand. Typical routine stuff. Because it got boring walking along the hall silently, Elan decided to break the silence by talking. "So, uh, what do you think of the mission?" "Oh, I don't know. Seems like a typical intelligence mission, except for this secret part. I wish I knew just what else it was we are doing, especially since it may require us being on earth for a few months," she said. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I don't like not knowing something, or what I am going into. Not that it isn't necessary sometimes. Like when I was younger, I would go out into the woods around where I lived. I didn't know what I was getting into, or what could happen to me, but I had to do it sometimes. Especially when my mom or I wasn't able to get to town for some reason, so I would have to go hunt deer or rabbits or whatever, so we could eat for the night," Elan told her. "That's interesting. Not that I approve of the animal killing, though. I never did anything like that. I was always interested in technology and how it worked. That's how I got this scar on my hand," she lifted her hand and showed it to him, "I would take things apart to see how they worked, and one day, I took apart the wrong thing and I ended up getting gashed really bad. By the time I got to a doctor, it was too late to prevent scarring," she narrated to Elan while they were turning a corner. They didn't get all the way around the corner, though, because, they ran into, quite literally, one of their own squadmates, Trooper Nicole Montgomery. Elan and Nicole fell on the floor, contents of the bags he was carrying spilling out. Kristin just laughed. Elan got up and started putting stuff back into the bags. Nicole did the same with hers, and Kristin squatted to help Elan. Nicole spotted the stuffed lion and handed it to Kristin. "Here you go, Kristin," Nicole said. "But I don't have a stuffed lion," she said. The two ladies looked over at Elan who turned red. Then the two ladies burst out laughing. "Hey, my mom gave it to me, alright?" Elan said, snatching it away and putting it back into his bag. "And keep this quiet." The three finished re-packing and continued on their way to the launch bay, talking as they went. ******************* "Ahhhhh........" Jason Morris said smelling himself. "I don't stink anymore." Jason went and threw on his uniform and went over to finish his own packing. He tossed in the standard personal hygiene items, and threw in three bars of soap. He also threw in his extra uniforms. *That appears to be everything. Time to get going!!* He thought to himself and headed toward the door. He pressed the button which opened the door. A crew member who was passing at the time caught the full force of the cologne that Jason had put on. Fortunately, the crew member was a woman. She grinned and said, "Gee Morris, got a hot date tonight?" Jason just grinned back to her and said, "Nope, just going on a mission." He turned to close his door. "Well, have fun, and I'll see you when you get back," she said, still grinning. "Looking forward to it," he said. She waved bye and went down the corridor. Jason headed in the opposite direction, towards the launch bay. **************** Elan, Kristin, and Nicole reached the launch bay, where Cmdr. Hobbes and Lt. O'Muirdagh was already waiting. "So where's Morris?" Cmdr. Hobbes asked, looking around. "He must be on his way," Elan said. "Heh heh....he must be making sure he doesn't still smell," Cmdr. Hobbes said. Just then the door to the bay opened and Jason walked in. "Glad you could join us, Morris." "Yes, sir," he said. "Alright people, let's frame up and head over to the pirate ship, Red Dragon. They'll be the ones taking us to earth," Cmdr. Hobbes said. The Gamma Squad of the ExoFleet got into their eframes and after receiving launch clearance for the bridge, they launched from the bay and headed towards the Red Dragon. ************** Captain Adrian C. Henry watched from the bridge's main window. *Good luck,* he thought. *I hope Admiral Winfield knows what he is doing.* He continued to watch them for about a minute before heading into his office adjacent to the bridge. ************** The squad reached the pirate ship and settled into their hangar. The captain of the ship was waiting for them. "Welcome on board the Red Dragon. I am Captain Myrten. It is an honor to be part of such an important mission," the captain said. "Simbacca himself has told me the importance of this mission and of it's success. We of the Red Dragon will do all we can to ensure it's success." "Thank you, Captain Myrten. Now if we can be shown to our quarters, we need to rest as much as we can before we reach earth," Cmdr Hobbes said. "Of course. This way," the captain replied, leading them towards the door. The squad followed. "It looks very much like the ExoFleet ships," Elan said when they were in the corridor. "Yeah," Kristin replied, looking around. It didn't take long for the squad to reach the quarters assigned to them. "I am going to go to the mess hall to grab a bite to eat once I'm settled in, and then come back and snooze for a bit. Would you like to come with me to the mess hall?" Elan asked Kristin. "Sure, I am a little hungry myself. I only had a quick bite earlier, not really something you could consider a meal," she said. Kristin grinned. "Just don't eat like a lion, Elan." Nicole overheard and chuckled. Elan just gave her a look. "Well, see you in a bit then," he said, and walked into his quarters. **************** Elan was sleeping when Kristin came by, so he didn't hear the door chime when she activated it. Out in the hall, Kristin was thinking to herself. *I wonder if he fell asleep already.* She went back to her own quarters and grabbed some tools and returned. She removed the panel as a pirate was walking by. "What do you think you're doing?" the pirate asked. Kristin took a few minutes to explain. The pirate laughed hard. "Ok. I always did admire a good practical joke." Kristin merely smiled. Ten minutes later Kristin was finished. She spoke into the speaker on the panel. "Elan! Wake up!" When she said it, she heard an "AAAAAAHHHH!" and a thud as if someone fell on the floor. She sniggered/snickered. The door opened to show Elan, hair slightly messed. "Ha ha, very funny," he said. "So how did you do that?" He asked Kristin after she stopped laughing. "Oh, well, I just rigged up the speaker to broadcast without having a finger on the controlling button on the inside, and upped the volume some," she explained. "Real basic stuff." "Ok, well, do you want to go to the mess hall now?" Elan asked. "Sure," Kristin said. ************** It was near dinner time when they reached the mess hall, so it was pretty full when they got there. The room was loud with drunk pirates having a good time. A little rowdy, but good tempered they seemed to Elan. They saw Trooper Montgomery at a table and after going to get some food, they went and joined her. "Hi," Elan said. Nicole looked up. "Hi," she replied. Elan and Kristin sat down at the table. The meal went quietly for a few minutes until Nicole spoke up. "So were you two born an Earth, or Venus?" she asked. Kristin spoke up first. "I was born in Bally Na Graa, in Ireland, on Earth. The Emerald Isle." Elan swallowed his food and said, "I was born in Maine, in the eastern area of the continent. It's beautiful country there. It was pretty untouched by the industries of the late twentieth century. I love it. What about you?" "I was born in Chicago. And we all know about that city," she said flatly. She abruptly changed the subject. "So, Lt. tell me a little about yourself, like tell me about that stuffed lion of yours. How long have you had him?" she asked with a smile. Elan turned slightly red, "You may call me Elan. And please, don't talk about Zeus where people can hear you? Anyway, I got him when I was born. I didn't even give him the name. My mom got him for my father, as a gift, just to say, I love you. My father was really into Ancient Greek history, do named him Zeus, after the king of the Gods. Are either of you familiar with the ancient Greek myths?" Elan asked. "I am a little familiar with them. I know the basics. We covered it a little in high school," Nicole said. "I know about them too. A lot of the legends and stories. I learned the basics in school, too, but after we finished covering the subject, I went and looked for some stories about it to read, because I found it interesting, but I know nothing of the topology of the area, other than it was a big peninsula," Kristin said. "Ok, so you both know who Zeus is. Anyway, the lion was my father's and when he died, my mom kept him to give him to me. She kept everything of his and when I was older, enough to understand, she told me about the lion and where he came from. So I've kept him in good shape, to preserve my father s memory and give him to the son I hope to have one day," Elan explained. "So what happened to your father? How did he die?" Kristin asked? Elan frowned, "I don't know. My mother never told me. I think she doesn't like to think about it, so I never bring it up. Sometimes I think maybe she knows something that she doesn't want me to know. But because she won't talk about it, and I won't bring it up, I will never know. But my mom told me about him, and the kind of person he was. Kind, strong, always helping others, had a strong sense of justice, and was always willing to fight for what he believed in. My mom says I take after him." "I'm sorry, I didn't know," Kristin said. "I'm sorry, too." Nicole also said. "Don't be. I know this sounds cold hearted, but it isn't meant to be, but death is a fact of life. There is nothing I can do but preserve his memory. So long as I do that, he still lives on inside me. I do not like the fact that I never knew him personally, but I am happy that I was able to know the kind of person he was, even if I have never met him," Elan said. "It's noble of you to talk about this, Elan. It shows a new side to you. Very few men would speak like that for fear of being made fun of," Kristin said. "Yeah, what Kristin said," Nicole commented. "Anyway, what about you two. Got any stories about yourselves that you'd like to share?" Elan asked. "I have a story," Kristin said. "It is from my days on the Academy rowing team." "The rowing team, eh? I went to a couple of those meets. I remember this one girl there that was on the team. She couldn't lay off me. It got annoying really, but enough of my going on, this is supposed to be your story, not mine," Elan said. The pirates seemed to be getting a little rough, Elan noticed. At this point, Lt. O'Muirdagh and Jason Morris walked in. They spotted Elan and the girls and started to walk over. "Anyway," Kristin continued, "it was at a meet that a funny thing happened. None of us thought it funny at the time, but now, I look back and remember, I don't know why I didn't burst out laughing right there." Even so, while telling the story, Kristin couldn't help but laugh, or at least try not to while telling it. It was also then that O'Muirdagh and Morris reached the table and sat down "Anyway, as we were--" Kristin was cut off as there came a loud, "OH YEAH?!?" and the sight of a pirate being thrown onto their table, with a loud crash and food from their plates (except Elan's. He finished his fast) flying everywhere. The girls gasped as their uniforms became decorated in their meal. Elan, though, stood up, turned quickly and yelled, "Just what the hell is going on?" A pirate, half a foot taller than him, and obviously more muscled than Elan walked up to Elan and said, "Just what are you going to do about it if there is anything going on, Exofleet?" The word Exofleet, at least the way the pirate used it, had a contemptuous sound to it. Elan was tired, he only got to sleep for about twenty minutes before Kristin woke him up, was irritable, and the pirates comment only annoyed him more. Kristin saw this and said to Elan, "Let's go, Elan. I don't want to see a fight get started." "You better listen to your girlfriend, Elaaan," another pirate said mockingly, and raising the pitch of his voice at the word "Elan". Most of the pirates erupted in a wave of laughter. Kristin visibly became a little irritated. "Why don't you come over here and--," Kristin started before Elan cut her off. She was rolling up her sleeves, too. "Don't, Kristin, it isn't worth it." then to the pirates, "She isn't my girlfriend, she's just a friend. And don't mock me, or her. I don't like it." "Ooohhh, you don't like it," the pirate said, putting his hands up and shaking them, "I'm scared now, guys, what about you?" he asked his comrades. There was a chorus of yeahs, and helps, and laughter, in an obviously mocking tone towards the officers. "I said quit," Elan growled. The big pirate looked down at Elan, straightening himself, which only served to make him look bigger, and more tougher, to Elan. "And if we don't?" the pirate said, in a deep voice which screamed "Go on, try me" a mile off. "Well, there's any number of things that could happen, I suppose," Elan said in a half way cheery voice, trying to cover up his nervousness for what he hoped wouldn't happen by making jokes. By this time, a group of pirates started to gather around behind the big pirate. They all appeared to be drunk. O'Muirdagh and Morris walked up next to Elan. "Like what?" the big pirate asked. "I could order you to quit, for one," Elan replied, only to receive another wave of laughter at him for a reply by the pirates behind the big one. "And what if I say no?" The pirate asked, poking a finger into Elan's chest hard enough to make him grunt and take a step back. "He could do this!" O'Muirdagh said, annoyed himself by this time, and punched the pirate. The pirate, caught off guard, and off balance, fell to the ground. Almost immediately after, another pirate rushed forward and gave O'Muirdagh a good hit in the jaw, and the rest of the big pirate's friends started forward as Elan and Jason reared up to defend themselves. Even Kristin and Nicole took a stand. Not that they had a choice anymore. Not all of the pirates were fighting the ExoFleet officers, some of the less drunk (and more alert) pirates took the side of the ExoFleet officers, including the one who landed on their table. Wham! Elan takes a right to the jaw! Ooff! O'Muirdagh gets a pirate in the gut! Ouch! That chair isn't a chair any more! At one point, Elan and Kristin were fighting back to back. "Well, this is one meal I won't be forgetting anytime soon. How about you?" she asked, kicking a pirate in the gut. The pirate went down. "Nope, definitely not anytime soon," Elan said connecting his fist with a nose. The fight ensued for about five minutes before the ship's security force got there. Although to the officers, it seemed like an eternity. By the time everything settled down, Elan had a bloody nose, O'Muirdagh, a black eye, and the girls seemed to get off clean (lucky them!). Everyone involved was ordered back to their quarters where they were to remain until further notice. **************** Later, in Cmdr. Hobbes quarters, where he called his squad to meet, where he listened everyone's version of the story. "O'Muirdagh, just what were you thinking?!?" Cmdr Hobbes asked, unable to completely hide the fury in his voice. "I'm sorry, sir," he said, "but they assaulted us first." "And just what did they do?" Elan spoke up, "Well, the big one poked my in the chest, sir. Hard, I might add." "I thought that they needed a lesson in respect to ExoFleet officers," O'Muirdagh said. "Well, that's not how you do it, lieutenant. For instigating a brawl, and it was a brawl, one that could have been avoided had you not hit him, you are to remain in your quarters until we get to earth. is that understood?" "Yes sir!" O'Muirdagh said formally, saluting Cmdr. Hobbes. "Very well, you are dismissed, Lt." Cmdr Hobbes said. As soon as he left, Cmdr. Hobbes said to the others, "I won't order any of you to remain in your quarters, since none of you made the first strike, but I am suggesting that you do remain there in order to avoid any more incidents. Do you all understand what I am saying?" "Yes, sir," they said in unison. "Good. You may leave now," He said. After they all shuffled out and the door shut, he burst out laughing. He found the while thing absolutely hilarious. ********************* "Ok, all, check your frames one last time, we leave in ten," O'Muirdagh announced. No one answered, as they were all prepping their eframes for launch. Everyone was making final adjustments, placing their bags somewhere where they wouldn't get in the way, just all sorts of routine stuff. Captain Myrten's voice came blaring over the speaker, "Cmdr. Hobbes, we have achieved a geosynchronis orbit, and we have detected a few neo e-frames, but nothing your squad can't handle. Your frames can launch whenever they are ready." "Cmdr. Hobbes spoke into his comm. unit, "Thanks you captain. We will be launching momentarily." and climbed into his e-frame. The others got into theirs, and waited for Cmdr. Hobbes to give the order. ***************** On the bridge of the pirate ship, the captain just muttered, "Good luck." Suddenly the sound of an alarm sounded, loudly, too. "Captain," a pirate at a station yelled, "the cloaking device is failing. We're becoming visible!" "What?!?" The captain yelled, rushing over to the station "Get it back online!" "I've been trying, sir, only the controls won't respond. I don't understand, there has been no indication that the cloaking device wasn't working properly, it shouldn't be failing," the pirate explained, quickly. Before the captain could say anything, a pirate at another station spoke up. "Sir! I am detecting neo e-frames headed our way. And I'm not talking a few. There are at least 100 of them. We might be able to hold off that many, but it's unlikely," the pirate said. The captain said not a word, as he didn't have a chance as the ship shook with the first blast from the Neosapien e-frames. He hit a button on a panel next to him. "Cmdr. Hobbes, the cloaking device has failed, and there are neo e-frames attacking, you must not delay your launch any longer." Cmdr. Hobbes voice came back to him. "We understand, sir, we'll try to hold them off until you can get away from here," Hobbes said, as the ship rocked from a another blast, and another. "Sir," yelled the helmsman, "that last hit damaged navigation, and destabilized our orbit. We're falling." "Fire all weapons, if we're going to go down, we'll go down fighting!" the captain yelled. ******************* "Alright people, you heard the captain, let's go!" Hobbes ordered, and launched from the bay. followed by the others. After launching, they didn't even bother staying in formation. They just started counter attacking, and despite the odds, they were doing a good job. Elan noticed that they were a lot further lower in the atmosphere than they should have been. Elan saw as Nicole's Exo-Fighter was hit. Fortunately, it didn't destroy her eframe, but she was going to crash on the planet somewhere. "Kristin, go see if you can help Nicole, we can hold out here," Hobbes voice came over the comm. system. "Yes sir," her reply came back. Less then a minute later, Kristin's voice came over the system exclaiming "I'm hit!" Elan saw that her e-frame was now missing an arm. Elan fired in the direction of the attacking neo. It wouldn't do to have the rescuer need to be rescued. Kristin continued after Nicole, but he saw that her was flying was a little unstable. A quick scan showed that her systems took some damage. *She'll be ok,* Elan thought to himself. Elan also noticed that the neos were focusing on the pirate ship. Their orbit was decaying fast. If they crashed, he calculated while firing his weapons at a Neosapien, that they would land somewhere in Europe, not too far from where Nicole would crash, if she crashed. *At least they might be able to scrounge up a few medical supplies, if they hit the surface. And they will need them,* Elan thought. Elan saw as the others were still fighting, and holding out well. Elan continued to fire as well, but eventually, he was surrounded and hit, knocking out all his systems. *I can't fly! Controls not responding! I'm gonna crash! I hope the others can continue to hold out,* he thought, as he saw the others being surrounded themselves. Elan saw the earth coming towards him quite fast, and wondered if it was going to be the last thing he ever saw. ****************** End of part 2.