Inferno - Erebus

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Gates awoke to the sudden sound of alarms blaring. Scrambling up from the bed and disentangling herself from the sheets, she hastily pulled on a pair of her pants and an undershirt, grabbed her helmet, and booked it out the door.

The ship's halls were rather empty, another sign of just how late it was. She saw others beginning to poke their heads out of the doors of the quarters, and still more who were already armed making a beeline for the hangar. She waved to one of them, calling out to grab their attention.

"Oi, what's going on?"

"Unauthorized takeoff in the hangar," he shouted back, "We think someone's stealing a ship!"

"Unauthorized takeoff? Why would—"

Suddenly, it clicked—why Tobias had been fidgety during dinner, the hypothetical question he'd posed to her, and then leaving in the middle of the night ...

She clenched her jaw tightly, her lips set in a thin line. "Oh, I am going to kill him."

...

"Hey, could we hurry this up? Preferably before Gates marches down here to personally kill me?"

"I'm trying," Trya growled, inputting commands into the ship's console from her spot in the pilot's seat. "Getting this NAV system to link up with the Widow's is a pain in the ass when you haven't been given any clearance codes ..."

With all of the new additions to the mission, he and KT had needed to adjust their method of transportation slightly. Now, all four Titans were stored in a Widow adjacent to the Crow dropship that currently housed the Pilots.

Vale approached Tyra from behind and clapped a hand on her shoulder. "Well, you better try harder—I'd expect to have company real soon."

Tyra checked the external ship cams and swore. "Dammit, they're moving in to surround us."

"Can they ground us?" Tobias asked.

"No, they shouldn't be able to, I've disabled any kind of auto-pilot command they might try to hijack—"

"Which just means that they'll have to shoot us down instead," McFarlane casually called out from the drop bay.

"Not helping!" Tyra yelled back angrily.

Tobias took the moment to look out the viewport at the Widow across the way. "KT, how are things on your end?"

< We are operational. I've disabled our ship's safety protocols—we're just waiting on Pilot Crane's link now. >

He groaned, then glanced back at the cockpit again. "Tyra ...?"

"Got it!" she crowed triumphantly, pumping her fist into the air. Sure enough, the command console seemed to indicate that both ships' navigation systems had been linked together—that meant that wherever Tyra flew them, the Widow would follow close behind.

"Then get us the hell out of here!" Vale ordered, her voice anxious.

Tobias heard a sudden burst of static as someone connected to his comlink's radio channel. "Just what the hell is it that you think you're doing?"

His eyes widened at the voice. "Gates?"

McFarlane's gaze snapped to him in recognition. "Oh, shit."

Tobias gulped. "Hey, uh—are you going to blow us up?"

"I'm trying to think of a good reason not to. You're more than welcome to send one my way," she replied, her voice seething.

He sighed, steeling himself for the explanation that he knew he'd have to give sooner or later. "I'm doing what you told me."

"This isn't what I meant—"

"The line between what's right and wrong keeps moving for me, Gates," he continued. "When I was in the IMC, I thought I knew what was what—but I was just a tool. And now I've made an effort to better myself, I've have friends, I have you—but Briggs is asking me to stand down and watch while the IMC creates what could be the greatest threat the frontier's ever known."

He shook his head. "I'm done following others without questioning anything. If Briggs is wrong, billions could die—this is bigger than me, bigger than the Militia. I have to think about the people on Harmony, on every world that might be a target. And if that means I have to give up everything I've worked for ... then so be it."

He waited for some scathing remark, for some venomous response—but she stayed silent. "Gates?"

"Patch me through to the others."

He blinked a few times in surprise, but did as she asked. After a moment, all members of the Heartless could hear Gates as she spoke to them.

"This is a direct order; you three better make sure that he doesn't have his head too far up his own ass to listen to reason every once in a while, yeah?"

A stunned silence followed before McFarlane broke it with a quiet, "Y-Yes, Captain."

"Thrusters are hot and ready to go!" Tyra called out. "Hang on!" After a moment, the walls began to rattle as the dropship lifted itself off the ground and sped out of the hangar, the Widow not far behind.

"And Tobias?"

Gates' connection was becoming less stable as they grew further apart, and he made sure to listen closely as static began to garble her words. "Yeah?"

"This war has enough dead heroes. Make sure you come back, okay?"

Her tone was unusually soft, its normal bite all but nonexistent. He swallowed hard. "I promise."

There was no answer from Gates. Nothing played over the comlink save for static now. With some hesitation, he closed the channel.

"Alright, Erebus's coordinates are locked in," Tyra murmured from her chair. "Last chance to turn back, Four—your call."

Slowly, he turned and made his way into the cockpit, everyone watching him as he did. Leaning over her shoulder, he stared out into the void of space and nodded his head.

"Punch it."

She obeyed, slamming a lever forward to activate the ship's jump-drive. For a moment, space seemed to bend around them and warp to accommodate the size and shape of their ship tearing through the fabric of reality. The exterior glowed a blinding white all around—then, they were blinking as the Crow instantly materialized to its destination, and they looked through the viewport to see a massive planet looming before them.

Erebus.

After weeks of thinking about this moment, about what they might encounter when they actually arrived here, it was an odd sensation to finally see the planet firsthand. It was difficult to see the surface, there were too many clouds in its atmosphere to get a good look—but on initial observation, he was having a hard time finding any green or blue. The likelihood was that it wouldn't be a fertile planet—

"That didn't take very long," Tyra muttered as a red light lit up on the dash. "I'm tracking several projectiles converging on our location from the surface, my bet is missiles."

< I'm detecting those too, > KT responded in his head. < Cluster missiles! >

"Break atmosphere, we need to get as close to the ground as we can!" he ordered hastily, immediately moving to the drop bay with Vale to join McFarlane.

She spent no breath on a response, but followed his command. He and Vale quickly sat down on the seats built into the sides of the bay, strapping themselves in via the safety restraint bars that lowered over their chests. McFarlane was already in such a position, his hands gripping the metal bars tightly.

"Try to outmaneuver them if you can, but don't bet on it," he called up front. Tyra gave a nod of acknowledgement, jerking the ship to the right while the Widow attempted to follow suit behind them.

The reinforced glass in the viewports began to glow red as the Crow pierced the planet's atmosphere, the air around them heating up. The red tinge dissipated after a bit, and was replaced with the sight of clouds whizzing by.

"Brace yourselves, first missile incoming!" Tyra yelled, and all three of the bay's occupants tensed in preparation. It still wasn't enough to save them from the shocking jolt that hit the ship a few moments later, shaking them about in their seats.

Finally, the cloud's disappeared as they dipped beneath the sky's upper layers. Before he could get a better view of the surface, however, another missile landed its mark on the hull of the ship and an alarm began to whine.

"Can't take any more punishment, we're going down! I repeat, we're going—"

"Pilot!" The deep voice of Cee made its way onto all of their comms. "The Widow has been damaged as well—our NAV system is non-functional, and we are veering off-course. We will send you our coordinates once we have landed."

"Understood Cee, you all hang tight!" Tyra turned back towards her three passengers. "Brace for impact! Touchdown in three ... two ... one—"

The dropship skipped off the ground like a rock thrown against water, then crashed back down. The loud noise of metal screeching as it ground against rocks was all encompassing. He held his metal restraints as though they might come apart if he didn't. Vale's actually did come apart after a particularly nasty bump, and she was thrown onto the floor with a metallic clang. She reached out, grabbing what she could to keep herself from sliding around as Tyra held tightly onto the controls. The noise continued as the ship began to slow ... and kept slowing ...

Finally, with a metallic lurch, the Crow came to a stop.

"Alright," Tobias yelled, lifting his restraint and standing up, "everyone off!"

While Tyra punched a button and opened the Crow's bay-door as far as it could in its damaged state, the other three quickly grabbed what supplies they'd been able to scrape together before launch—their gear, ammo, and a collection of rations that would last for a week or two. While McFarlane tossed a magazine over to Vale, Tobias ran out of the ship to see Erebus from the ground.

It was quite windy, he could hear it through his helmet as it passed over him. He checked the atmosphere of the planet with a reading from his HUD. Eighteen percent oxygen, no toxic gases detected. Thin, but breathable. He turned off his suit's filtration system, not wasting extra power on converting already breathable air.

Besides the fact that breathing the air wouldn't immediately kill them, the planet didn't seem to have all that hospitable of a demeanor. The ground was covered in gray, crystalline sand that occasionally rose up into small dunes. Fog surrounded the area, though it wasn't very dense—he could see for quite a ways in every direction, it was more of an annoyance than anything.

"Not very inviting, is it?" muttered Vale, stepping out from the wreckage. "Kinda cold for a desert." He looked over at her, and grunted in agreement. It was indeed fairly cold at 14.6 degrees celsius, at least according to his HUD. Overhead, the sky was a dull gray color.

For all intents and purposes, Erebus looked like a dead world.

Tyra and McFarlane came out a moment later, their packs secured on their backs. He turned and waved at Tyra. "Did you get any clue as to where those missiles came from?"

"Ship's onboard analysis said it was that way," She pointed in the direction that the starboard side of the ship was facing. "Three degrees north, towards the pole." He gave a brief nod, and opened his comlink.

"KT? Are you four alright?"

"We are unharmed."

"That's good to hear. Send us your coordinates, we'll meet in the middle somewhere."

"Affirmative."

A few moments later, a black square appeared on his HUD, a small point off in the distance. The reading next to it said, 'EST. 21.3K 41°NE'.

"Alright, the Titans are twenty one klicks and forty-one degrees north-east of us. We can't head to them directly, we'd lose too much time. So, I recommend meeting here." He sent a new square where both teams' paths would intersect to everyone's HUD's. "I'd say it will take us at least three to four days to meet up with the Titans, and a full week to find where those missiles came from."

Vale shrugged. "Then we'd better get started."

He opened up his comlink channel again. "Here's the rendezvous point, Kay. See you in a few days, alright?"

"Affirmative. Please stay safe, Pilot."

He cut the connection, and motioned to the others. "Let's get going. We're finally going to see what Erebus has been hiding."

...

Exhausted, he leaned against a large rock, planting his ass firmly on the ground. The other three followed his example as the team settled down for the night.

They'd made good progress for today, having been walking for nearly eleven hours. Night had descended upon them a while ago, but they'd persisted. They stopped finally when they realized that there wasn't even a moon orbiting Erebus, and the only light they had to guide them was from the stars obscured behind the clouds. Deciding to call it a day, they'd selected an outcrop of rocks that stood around like massive shards of broken glass, creating a sort of circle in the middle of all the sand. It was as good as any place to rest.

"Who's going to keep first watch?" Tyra asked the group. He was about to volunteer when the comms crackled to life.

"We can monitor your helmets' audio and visual feed while we continue to trek forward. We don't need sleep, so you four can rest."

He nodded appreciatively, though she couldn't see it. "Thanks, Kay."

"You're welcome."

"Well, in that case ..." Vale made herself comfortable, and then the light on her head winked out as she deactivated for the night. Physical rest wasn't something she needed, but mental rest was another story. McFarlane found himself a spot on the sand, and shifted around until he was comfortable. Tyra placed her helmet on a rock, allowing its visual feed to watch the horizon for threats, then ran her fingers through the buzzed hair of her head and massaged her scalp. After a minute, she sat down next to McFarlane and laid down on her back. Tobias watched the rise and fall of her chest until it steadied and he was sure she was asleep.

Looking up at the sky, he noted that the clouds had finally opened up somewhat. He had a clear view of the sky, the clearest they'd had since arriving here, and he could see the stars glinting out in the black beyond. He marveled at them, thinking to himself about how far away each of them was and wondering how long it took their light to reach here—

< Why don't you sleep? >

He snickered at Kay fussing over him. "How'd you know?"

< Your heartbeat is still consistent with its average resting rate when you're awake, and your neural pathways are still active. >

He sighed. "You know, no matter what planet you go to, the stars always manage to get me. The galaxy's such a big place, and every world gets a different view of the sky. Constellations are different, perspective is different... it just makes you feel small, I guess."

She said nothing.

"As a kid, I grew up with nothing but Gridiron's slice of the universe. But my first time off-world, it all changed. The frontier is such a big place, you could never hope to explore it all. There's so many people, so many cities and planets full of their own ideologies and beliefs... that's what I'm fighting for now, I think. For everyone to have their own slice in peace."

KT was silent for a moment before responding. < I wish I could see the world the way you do. >

He blinked. "What?"

< Humans have long since remarked on how insignificant they feel in the universe, how small and minute they are compared to the vastness of it all. Yet, you create civilizations, colonize worlds, expand fearlessly. You have a history that stretches back thousands of years, ancient art that still maintains importance today, and an ever changing paradigm of the way the universe functions. >

He hadn't ever considered that side of the argument. He was about to tell her as much, but she continued before he had a chance.

< You fight to protect those things—because even if they aren't worth anything to the universe as a whole, they mean something to you. You fight to preserve them, risking your own lives in the process. You may feel small, but to me ... you look like giants. >

She sounded longing, like she was watching some amazing spectacle with her hands pressed against the glass separating her from it. He grimaced.

"I kind of just realized something; you haven't had any kind of life outside of war, have you?"

She was silent for a moment. < No. >

"So what happens to you afterwards? When this is all over, one way or another?"

She pondered that carefully. < Uncertain. Perhaps I would be repurposed to aid in reconstruction efforts. >

An idea came to him. "Well, I don't want to stay a soldier for the rest of my life. When this war is finished, I'm going to take a long trip around the frontier—and I doubt that you'd want to get stuck as nothing but cheap labor. So maybe..."

< Yes? >

He exhaled deeply. "How would you like to go with me? To go exploring, see all the amazing worlds the frontier has to offer—just the two of us?"

< What about Captain Gates? >

He was caught off-guard by the sudden question. "I mean, it's a bit soon to think about that, don't you think? If things go well, I don't think I'd mind settling down with her eventually—but this wouldn't be about her, it'd be about us."

< Really? >

He could detect the slightest hint of excitement in her voice, and he chuckled. "Really! We could jump from planet to planet, sampling a taste of each before moving on. What do you say?"

< ... I'd love that. >

He smiled. "I thought you might. Now, I better get some rest. The sooner we figure out what's going on here at Erebus, the sooner we can stop it; so we've got a long week ahead of us."

< Understood. Good night, Tobias. >

"Good night, Kay."

—X—

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