Eagle X, Mission 15: The Singapore Incident

Part 6: Kent

The central hall was arranged like a vintage theater including a performance stage and a row of balcony seats. The room had the capacity to seat a thousand people. Only fifty chairs were occupied. The number was unsettling. Fifty survivors; wounded, traumatized, and confused. Too many lives had been lost.

Kent Duffy tried to stay positive as he walked up the aisle and out to the lobby area. Refreshment kiosks sat against one wall, against the other stood two dozen constructs. The 24 constructs had volunteered to defend the hall's multiple entrances. Unfortunately, the man who'd taken charge didn't seem to trust them. He ordered them to line up against the wall an hour earlier, and had left them there like forgotten furniture. Each wore dents, and structural damage like badges of honor. They'd all saved as many people as they could. They should have been treated as heroes. Kent tried to understand, but couldn't.

He saw a familiar Low-Face, and walked over.

"Asuka-15, are you okay? Do you need anything?"

"I am fine, passenger."

"Are you sure? Your shoulder joint is showing and there's hydraulic fluid stains all over your uniform."

"The damage is superficial. Besides, I do not feel pain like organic organisms... thank you for asking, Kent." She lowered her voice and whispered, "You're a good person." A genuine smile replaced her strained expression.

"Step away from them, sir," ordered the man in charge.

He was a tall man with beady eyes and a strong jaw. His head was clean shaven, and he was cut as if made of stone. To Kent he looked like the soldier in the armed forces recruitment videos that played at every port and on every EC commercial flight. The man was cold, and terse, but he'd saved people. They were calling him Sergeant Maldonado.

"As I was saying, one thing at a time. I have scouts confirming whether the Flesh Farmers have departed. Once we're sure we're in the clear, then we can turn our attention to the command deck."

"I'm not sure we can afford to ignore the command deck," said a man going by the name Spider. "Something is happening up there." He and his felarnian friends claimed to have seen the monsters flee the ship.

"Look, Mr. Spider. We need to neutralize the immediate threat first. Standard procedure."

"I'm telling you that whatever is happening on the command deck is the immediate threat. Whatever's going on dropped us out of the jump stream, and into the path of four flesh farmer ships."

"Five, there were five ships as far as we can tell," corrected a man in a tattered suit.

Kent had seen the man following the CEO around. He'd also seen the pistol at his hip.

"We're looking at five flesh farmer ships. Let's deal with that first, Spider," Sergeant Maldonado said. "I assure you, we'll deal with the command deck next."

"I don't think you understand what he's saying," said a tall blue furred felarnian who called himself Raven.

"I don't think you understand."

Raven lunged forward, but the smaller cat restrained him. Renegade was the name she answered to.

"These people are alive because of us," the sergeant said. "If they are going to stay that way we need to be organized and thorough. I did two tours on Impus III when the machines revolted, and I fought your people during The Blockade. This has been my job, so I know what I'm doing."

Kent was confused. Everyone seemed to be at odds with one another when the situation called for cooperation. Kent thought about Wilson Nova_1103's time on the Outer Rim. On The Rim everyone worked together and those that wouldn't didn't survive long. Wilson learned early that survival required teamwork.