Arcadia Paradox: Rings of Fire by Julieann
[Reviews - 2] - Table of Contents - [Report This]

Printer Chapter or Story
- Text Size +
ARCADIA PARADOX:Rings of Fire
By Julie Dreamer
An Alternative Gatchaman Universe
Copyrights belong to their respective creators
Chapter 2 (Pt 3 of 5) - Timelines

The nurse shut down the wicked looking glowing needles of the portable tissue regenerator that were pointed down at Lance's calf. Koko sat on the next vacant bed watching silently, absently twisting a curl of her short red hair around her finger. Remembering the tingling and pinpricks that accompanied the procedure her own leg itched in compassion. After a quick localized tissue scan the nurse smiled. "Looks like the ligament is nearly healed. Another few sessions and it will be as good as new."

Lance grinned, "Can you use it on my broken heart?"

The nurse glared at him as she pulled the machine away from the bed after twitching the blanket back over his leg, "Watch your mouth, hon, your sister is in the room." She wheeled the piece of equipment out of the room behind her with a nod to the lifestation nurse.

Lance turned to look at Koko as he scratched his leg, "Do I bother you?"

"I think I'm immune." Koko responded, hopping off the bed with her offerings in her arms, setting them on the small table next to his bed. "I brought you a few books and some music, in case you get bored or have trouble sleeping."

He caught her arm and pulled her to the side of his bed, tilting her face up, his own full of compassion. "Not a great first mission, huh?"

She blinked, blue eyes startled, "I, I guess not. You've never been hurt before, not like this." She gestured towards Noah, her one remaining teammate. "If Keith hadn't flown over when he did we wouldn't have made it."

"But he did. You knew this could happen when you joined, Sassy."

"But not so soon!" she pursed her lips, "And I wasn't much help. I couldn't have held off the Enova squad much longer, and I wasn't able to save my ship like Tashi or Bryce."

"But you saved my life." A deep voice said from a bed across the room.

"Did we wake you?" Lance asked as Noah tilted his bed into a reclined position.

"No, drugs wore off." He said smiling at the lifestation nurse who hurried over to give him another dose. He turned his gaze to Koko. "Considering how many of our people died I'd say the fact that you even survived says enough about your skill. You may be one of the youngest pilots to ever Captain a Phoenix, but you are also one of the best." He shook his head gently. "I don't even remember you pulling me from the wreckage or the fight afterwards."

"Trust me, you don't want to."

"I agree with Noah." Glenda said from the entrance to the intensive care ward. She glanced at Bryce's bed where he lay motionless, still in a deep coma. "I haven't had any doubts as to your skills since the moment I assigned you to start training to take over the controls of Silver Phoenix. I still don't. You look like you're about to fall asleep Lance."

"I am."

Koko looked at him guiltily. "You should have told me you were tired."

He shrugged his shoulders.

"I think I'm about to fade out too." Noah said with a smile. "Thank heaven for painkillers."

At Glenda's gesture Koko followed her out of the room and into the empty general care area. "He'll be on his feet within the week."

"I know."

Glenda sighed and stopped Koko with a gentle hand on her shoulder, turning her around to face her. "It was only a fluke that your first mission as a full team member happened to be this one. You're very young Koko, 13 is a tender age to deal with a disaster of this magnitude. If you need to talk my door is always open, the same goes for Shin."

"I know."

"We'll be having a service before long. I hope you'll be there."

"I've been to them before." She said remembering how many times she had accompanied her brother before she herself had become a member of Gatchaman.

Glenda cocked her ear at the music playing over the speakers. "I believe Greasemonkey is getting a little too melancholy. Why don't you see if you can't shake him up a bit?"

"Heck, that's easy. Hi, Erica."

Glenda glanced towards the door. "Sleep well?"

"What do you think?" Erica answered testily. "Has anyone noticed the music Greasemonkey is playing?"

Glenda raised an eyebrow towards Koko who responded with a whisper of a smile. "Leave it to me."

As the door closed behind her she heard Glenda tell Erica, "I want you and Keith in my office at 10 AM tomorrow." Gratefully Koko fled the med-bay, glad she was only a pilot and didn't have to worry about being responsible for an entire team. All she needed to tend to was the Phoenix, and to her that was never a chore. Her steps slowed, and she frowned, remembering that she no longer had a Phoenix to tend to.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

*Good morning Mother.*

Eiko looked up from her desk at the familiar mental touch and smiled at the slim figure standing in the doorway. "All set?"

"Looks like it." Tashi fingered her bracelet as she came completely into the room, glancing at the photos that hung on the wall behind Eiko. "You think we might actually see them?"

"I hope not."

Startled, Tashi asked, "Why do you say that? We could help them. Keep them from being killed."

"And just as easily kill them before their missions are complete."

Tashi turned away from her Mother's sharp eyes and instead stared at the window on one wall that showed an outside view of Arcadia, even though the office was located near the heart. A repair drone hovered weightless over a square of solar cells set into the surface, silently working. "I guess it's easier to resist the temptation with you not remembering them."

"On the contrary, it makes me more curious." Eiko gestured to the pictures hanging on her wall, "All I have is what history has written and a few pictures and momentos that Kamo and Yuri managed to save for me. Nothing of the people, what they were like. Don't think for a moment that I don't want to meet them."

Tashi suddenly grinned, "Of course, it would be a little difficult explaining. "Hello there, I'm your daughter, you know, the one that hasn't been born yet ... "."

Eiko laughed and pointed to the door. "That's enough young lady. You have a shuttle mission waiting for you."

Tashi made a sloppy salute, fingers spread above and below her right eye, "Yes ma'am."

Bemused Eiko watched her daughter leave, then looked down at the partially hidden photo album laid out before her on a desk crowded with various discs and Epads, silently amazed at how much Tashi reminded her of her own mother, a Gatchaman no longer so far away.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Keith took a sip of water as he flipped the page of the old fashion book he was reading out loud to the prone figure in front of him. Still on partial life support, the rejuvenator was out of sight in a cavity above the special bed having healed what it could. An oxygen mask covered the lower part of his face, and Keith was glad to see that Bryce had a little color to his skin. Now if he would only wake up. Keith took another sip of water and set the cup down on the floor.

"You're not going to stop there are you?"

Keith's head snapped up to look at Bryce. At a nearby chuckle he scowled. "Good grief Lance, don't do that."

"You sure are easy to get going." Lance said activating the bed controls to move his upper body into a more comfortable position. Lance adjusted his blankets and then folded his hands together on his lap and looked at him expectantly, eyebrows raised.

"Pray you don't get placed on my team." he threatened.

"Man, I can handle anything you dish out."

"Except discipline."

"Yeah right, I've survived on a team for the last six years by being lazy and complacent."

"Or because of plain dumb luck." Ryla said walking into the room. The nurse at the lifestation chuckled and then became totally engrossed in the screens and instrument in front of her.

"Luck? Hah! I'm better than you'll ever hope to be."

"Who's standing and who's flat on his back?" she asked sweetly, blue eyes flashing.

"I'll get you for that when I'm out of here."

"Words, words."

"Knock it off you two, we're all on the same side." Keith said.

Lance turned to look at Keith, "I take it Glenda hasn't issued new team assignments yet?"

"No. I'm supposed to be in her office at ten," he looked at his watch and started, "Which is in ten minutes. Ryla, are you doing anything for the next hour?"

"Don't think so."

"Good." He reached out and grabbed her arm, pulled her down into his chair, her long blond hair whipping her face, thrusting the book in her hands. "Start at the top of the page. I'll be back."

"And make sure to use character voices and sound effects." Lance ordered as Keith walked swiftly from the room.

"How would you like another concussion?"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Dr. Moore watched the screen above Carmine's head, shifting from foot to foot, as she announced, "Alpha 5 satellite has been deployed. Systems will activate in 5, mark, 4, 3, 2, 1. Signal is being receive. Starting system check."

"Good." Dr. Moore said glancing around the room. Miffa sat at the computer terminal next to Carmine keeping an eye on the start-up of each satellite main computer, making sure the needed connection to the Actuator computer was established. The Actuator control room had become the focus of attention for all those working in the Complex, personnel crowed in every open door to watch the progress. A stern glare sent most of them scurrying back to their jobs before a reprimand could be given. He turned to two technicians who were monitoring the power generator instruments. "Robinson, Eliason, check on the coolant for Generator 2."

"Now sir?" one of them asked.

"Now." Reluctantly the two left.

"Alpha 6 will be released in ten minutes." Carmine said smiling.

Barely able to contain himself waiting for the last satellite to be released he wandered around the room, eyeing every instrument causing the few people who were still loitering to disappear in response to his odd mood. Stopping to look at the hologram over the table, showing Earth and the satellites orbit he asked the Shift Supervisor, "Henry, do we have any spare technile rivets?"

The man looked at his superior startled, "Uh, I'm not sure."

"Please go down and check. I want an exact count of how many we have on hand."

"Yes sir."

Miffa&DRMoore.jpgBy the time the sixth satellite was released and active the only ones remaining in the control room were Carmine and Miffa. Both were too busy to notice Dr. Moore's actions until he had a laser pistol pointed at them.

Carmen noticed him first, and her body jerked in surprise. Miffa looked at her curiously and then turned to see what she was staring at. Both stared at him, their attention caught. Carmine's gaze confused and hurt, Miffa's coldly alien and calculating. Keeping his distance from the later he motioned towards the door. "If you please, ladies."

Carmine slowly rose from her console, "What are you doing, Dr. Moore?"

"Something that needs to be done. Don't worry about your satellites, I'm only going to borrow them."

"You're going to Earth." Miffa surmised stepping towards the door.

"Hands where I can see them Ms. Miffa. You could say I'm going to help out a distant relative." Impatiently he waited until they were outside, then closed and locked the door. He then proceeded to lock all the entrances into the Complex, taking the precaution of scrambling the access codes. Taking a deep breath he sat down at Carmine's console and started to work quickly, knowing he didn't have much time.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

To Be Continued...

~ Table of Contents ~
[Report This]
You must login (register) to review.