Empyrean Iris Story Collection Vol. 4

Flesh and Metal

"Scans complete." The scientist in front of her announced, "Water is about sixty two degrees, shallow. The atmosphere is a livable mixture of oxygen nitrogen and CO2. Anything living on the planet's surface is bound to be carbon based, and I do mean anything living as the planet does seem to be inhabited."

There was a soft muttering from around the room.

"Inhabited." Ramirez ventured, "By what?"

"We have detected short wave radio emissions and hold on..... I have images coming in."

Up on the screen in front of her, an image began to appear, it was clear, and detailed down to the inch.

More muttering rose up around the room.

"Does that look like a city to anyone else?" Ramirez said glancing down and around the room.

"No probably just a really weird rock formation." Someone quipped quietly from one of the seats. Ramirez shot them a look, but it was impossible to tell who said what.

"Twenty bucks says I know where Adam ended up. He has a habit of doing this." Of course Sunny couldn't help but agree with his assessment. Adam was attracted to new alien species like other people were attracted to bad relationships or coffee shops . Of course there had to be a reason they ended up married in the first place.

Hr mind went immediately to a rescue attempt, taking ag group of marines down the planet and.

And why did that thought make her feel sick?

She was a bundle of nerves today, and that wasn't normal.

That was Adam's job.

Sunny reached up to rub her head, "I'll lead a team to get him." She turned and motioned to maverick who was still lurking at the back of the room, "Maverick ready alpha team on me."

Maverick seemed only slightly surprised but then nodded and jogged out of the room. Ever since their revelation about Maverick's past, the marine had worked twice as hard to convince everyone that she was worthy of being part of the crew when in all reality, to the rest of them, she had proven herself time and time again. She didn't need to work so hard to impress them, but this wasn't really about impressing the rest of the crew, it was about proving soemthing to herself.

That was something Sunny could understand, more than most people could.

When Sunny first joined Adam's crew it had been under her mother's instruction as a spy planning to backstab Adam, and avenge her father against the drev creed of combat. In the end she hadn't been able to do it, and had switched sides. In essence that is what Maverick was doing, just over a much longer period of time.

Sunny hurried down the hall and into her and Adam's room. Two climate controlled glass cases were tucked into the far corner of the room, one for Adam's SE armor and one for her own saint armor pearly white and glowing with a UV sheen of rainbow colors. She hurriedly donned her armor, reaching up to pull on her helmet when she was hit with a sudden.

Wave of nausea accompanied by that same sense of unease.

The feeling was so profound that she staggered back forced to sit on the edge of the bed with her head in her hands before the strange feeling clear up. She grabbed her spear and hurried out of the room to meet Maverick in the waiting docking bay.

"They're running a scan for his suit's signature now. If he is anywhere on this planet, we are going to find him." Maverick said pulling on the helmet to her own SE suit, modeled on a spartan Corinthian helmet.

Sunny was sure maverick was right, but there was one thought that kept intruding on her mind, "Why do you think he void wanted Adam here in the first place."