First draft
Omen and Dia soon reached the meeting point, the old train station Ferguson had called the south gate, but Reyes wasn't there. Some of the Umbra's men told them "the commander" was waiting for them at the spaceport. Dia had never liked surprises, but when the guards led them to the armory, and they suited up, the brand new laser rifle in her hands cheered her up a little.
She was still a little on edge when the sliding door opened and they found themselves face to face with a man and woman. They were well armed, and well trained considering they automatically pointed their guns at her and Omen, their reaction speed comparable to that of the imperial special troops.
However, Dia was even faster than them. She was about to open fire and ask question later, when Omen said, "Calm down, I know them. They are your bodyguards."
The Mercenaries?
Dia slowly lowered the rifle and peered at them curiously. The woman was in her late thirties, maybe early forties, but she was still fit, though a bit short. Her head had been shaved on both sides, leaving just a thin stripe of black hair going all the way down the middle of her head. She looked very boyish, a kind of androgynous beauty Dia found hard to describe.
The man, on the other hand, was quite tall, slim and much younger---probably in his early twenties.
"What the fuck, Omen?" The man cursed, "You took off on your own! We barely made it out alive! That fucking mist..."
"Don't be too hard on him, Willis." The woman grabbed Willis' arm, holding him back, "He was worried." She winked at Dia.
Will snorted, "Worried? Really, Rodriguez? Then why did he keep chasing after Gibson? He knew her location but..."
Rodriguez gave him a dirty look. Then she glimpsed at Dia, "That's not our business, Willis."
Yet, the damage was done.
Dia pressed her lips together, her eyes boring into Omen, "What is he talking about, Omen?"
"Yes, Omen." Willis parroted, "Why don't you explain it to her?"
Omen scowled at him, his hand closing around the stock of his gun.
"Don't look at him. Look at me." Dia said to him.
"Dia, I..." Omen hesitated, "it was for your safety.'
"Cut the crap, Omen. Tell me what's going on."
Omen sighed, "I may have taken...extra precaution."
Dia narrowed her eyes, "Extra precaution?"
"Your mission was dangerous. So I..."
"He put a tracker on you." Willis interjected.
"Willis!"
"Come on, Rodriguez. She needed to know the truth."
Dia didn't look at him. Her attention was focused solely on the man before her, "Is that true, Omen?"
Omen hesitated for a second or two, but then he nodded.
She scowled at him, fighting the urge to scream, or worse, start shooting like a complete madwoman, "Where? Where is it?"
Omen moistened his lips, and for the first time since she'd met him, he looked embarrassed. He avoided her gaze, but his eyes lingered on her stomach for a second too long.
Dia's face hardened like a cinder block, "My piercing? Did you put a tracker in my fucking navel? Oh God, you have to be kidding me..."
"It was necessary." He sounded very cool and professional, but she had no intention of letting him fool her this time.
"Necessary, really?" She seethed, "The purse-tracker wasn't enough..."
"That was the Umbra. Not me."
Dia drew in a long breath, "What about the rest?" She asked, and when Omen didn't answer, she looked at Willis, "What were you talking about? You said Omen kept chasing after Gibson..."
"Dia..."Omen called her, but she pretended not to hear.
"Oh, that?" Willis grinned as if he was enjoying himself, "It's exactly as I said. He knew where you were but when we discovered you managed to escape, this guy" He pointed the finger at him, "kept chasing after Gibson. Man, you should have seen him." He shook his head, "He seemed out of control. Very unprofessional." He tsked, "I'm disappointed. The great Omen, one of the best mercenary in the system, abandoned his mission. Or maybe rescuing her wasn't your real mission to begin with?"
"Shut your mouth."Omen hissed.
"Yes, Willis. Shut up." Rodriguez agreed.
However, Willis didn't heed their warnings, "Why? Do you have something to hide?" He smirked at Omen, "You see, I don't think this was just a mission for him." He said to Dia, "That seemed personal..."
Apparently, however, he'd said too much. Dia had barely enough time to register what happened next. Omen moved as fast as lightning, punching him right in the face. Willis wasn't expecting it and went down, bleeding from his nose. Still, he was a merc and recovered quickly.
"You, asshole..." He cursed as he tackled Omen.
"Shit! Separate them!" Rodriguez shouted to Dia, but she just stood there watching as the two of them kept exchanging blows.
She crossed her arms, feeling a grim satisfaction every time Willis landed a blow. Unfortunately, although the merc was sneaky as a snake and liked to fight dirty, Omen was starting to get the upper hand.
Rodriguez was still trying to separate them when she heard the peculiar sound of a laser gun and turned, her brown eyes widening when she saw the gun in Dia's hands "What do you want to..."
She tried to ask, but Dia already pulled the trigger, the energy blast brushing against Omen's arm before hitting the ground. Everyone froze, and three people looked at Dia like she had two heads.
"Fuck! Are you out of your..."Will started saying when Rodriguez slapped his head.
She looked at him with disgust, "You said he is unprofessional." She pointed at Omen, "What about you, Willis? You're behaving like an amateur. For god's sake, the mechs could still..."
He wiped the blood off his mouth, "Do you forget what he did to us? We almost died because of him!"
Rodriguez just shook her head, "It's not the first time our employer put us in danger, and it won't be the last. It's our job. Get over it, Willis."
"Our job my ass..." Willis cursed under his breath, but soon Dia couldn't hear him anymore.
She'd had enough of it. She walked forward and went to the next wagon, soon leaving all of them behind. Well, almost all of them.
"Dia, listen..."
"I don't want to hear it, Omen."
"Let me explain. Please." Omen pleaded as he chased after her.
She abruptly stopped and turned to look at him, "Then explain it. I'm all ears." She put her hands on her hip and glared at him, "Why don't you start telling me why you abandoned me?"
Omen flinched, "I..."
"Nothing?" She snorted, "That's too bad."
Omen was about to add something when the rail squealed as the train turned, gradually slowing down before stopping for good. Both of them looked outside. She could see that eerie mist on the other side of the door, but she didn't linger. Her helmet's visor made a wet sound as she closed it, the armor automatically sealing itself as the internal respirator entered into function.
Dia got close to the door, her gloved hand stopping just an inch away from the push-button.
She glanced at Omen, "Close your helmet."
"Dia, wait. We have to fix..."
"Close your fucking helmet, Omen. I won't repeat it." She warned.
Omen had just the time to close it when Dia pushed the button, the mist invading the wagon like it was a living thing, a sentient entity looking for something new to consume. It crashed against her armor making her stagger like she was a rock in the middle of the ocean. Then it went past her, consuming the old leather of the chairs within seconds.
As soon as she got off, Dia pushed the button and closed the door, well aware Omen wanted to follow her. It didn't hold him off for long, of course. Soon the door opened again, and Dia increased the pace, Ferguson's navigator leading her through the mist. Luckily, the spaceport wasn't far, and despite the mist, the Nostromus wasn't hard to find. The place was huge, comparable to the spaceport of a Core world. There were hundreds of ships docked in the hangar, but the Nostromus was the only one emitting energy. She used the suite's tracking system to follow it.
Three men were waiting just below the Nostromus' landing platform. Reyes was among them.
"Dia, you're safe. Thank God." Reyes hugged her.
He seemed really pleased to see her. What's worse, Dia was too...for a second or two. Then she remembered what his boss had done and jerked away.
Reyes frowned at first, but then he grimaced, "Dia, I want you to know it wasn't my decision. The Umbra..."
"That's your excuse? You were following orders?"
Reyes actually nodded, "Yes, I was. I thought that you of all people would understand, Dia."
She flinched, "That's a low blow, Reyes."
"I know..." He looked apologetic, "I'm sorry, but we had no other choice."
"Why? What's really going on here, Reyes?" She asked, "Suzanne..."
Reyes hardened, "Don't worry about Suzanne. I'll deal with her. Soon."
"Fine, let's forget about her for a moment. What about the rest? I want to know what..."
"I'll answer your questions." He promised, "But let's board first. We are not safe here. Not anymore."
"Fine, Reyes. But..."
"I'll answer your questions." He repeated.
"I'll hold you to that." It sounded like a promise or a warning. Maybe a bit of both.
"Of course." He gave her a roguish smile, "Don't worry, Squirrel. I am a man of my word."
The external airlock opened, Mitchell's voice resounding when they stepped into the decontamination chamber.
"Unknown pathogen detected. Decontamination required. Please stand by away team."
Dia glared at Reyes, "Pathogen?"
"Patience, Dia." He reminded her, "I'll explain everything."
"Decontamination in progress."
Dia crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him, "Oh, I look forward to it."
"Decontamination completed." Michell said, and a second later the door finally opened.
They took off their suits, and they were heading to the bridge when Reyes abruptly stopped.
"Ah, hold still one second."
"What..."
Before she could ask what he meant, Dia felt a sharp pain in her right arm. She looked at the syringe in Reyes' hand and gasped. She had just been inoculated.
"What the fuck, Reyes?! What did you..."
"You have been exposed to the planet's atmosphere for too long. This will counter the NH3 effects." He explained.
"You could have warned me." She grumbled.
"Sorry" He smiled happily, a bit like the old Reyes she remembered. "You're lucky. You probably wandered for hours in those tunnels. A regular human being would have been gravely injured by now." He said it like she should thank him and the Umbra.
That's what she did.
"Thank you, Reyes. Thank you for turning me into a cyborg without my consent." She said with heavy sarcasm, but Reyes had a very thick skin.
"You're welcome." He sounded completely serious when he accepted her praise, even a bit smug, smiling magnanimously like he'd done something worthy of respect.
"Captain" Mitchell's voice boomed, "The first officer plus two mercenaries are requesting permission to come aboard."
Reyes halted, his smile morphing into a frown.
"Captain?" Mitchell repeated when he didn't answer.
"I heard you, Mitchell." He let out a long sigh, "Permission granted." He reluctantly said.
Less than a minute later, Willis and Rodriguez walked through the door. Omen arrived shortly afterward. He scanned the room, and Dia froze when their eyes met.
"...have already told you. Stop behaving like an idiot." Rodriguez's croaky voice jolted Dia awake.
"An idiot? No, Rodriguez, it's you that's strange." Willis looked back, glaring at Omen, "He just..."
"Stop" She grabbed his arm and hissed at him, glancing at Reyes, "I'm sorry about him."
"No problem" Reyes smiled at her, and unwittingly Dia frowned, "I know my first officer. He can be..." His smile widened, "difficult."
Omen didn't even blink, standing at attention, his face completely inscrutable.
"See?!" Willis said to Rodriguez, "I'm not the only one who thinks so. Even his captain knows this guy is an asshole!"
"Willis! You idiot..." Rodriguez snapped, clenching her fists as she menacingly walked toward him.
Reyes looked at her and then glanced at Willis before clearing his throat.
"Show them their quarters." He said to one of his guards, "We've lost enough time already."
Rodriguez grimaced, making an awkward bow as she grabbed Willis' arm and dragged him away.
Only when they left Reyes turned to look at his first officer, "Omen."
"Captain" Omen said, and Dia didn't know how he did it, but he managed to sound professional and pissed at the same time, "your orders?"
"They need your help in the engine room."
Omen narrowed his eyes, "The chair?"
Reyes stared back at him without blinking, "Yes, we need the device up and running. We have to get past the Collective's blockade."
Dia looked puzzled, "Blockade? Chair?"
Reyes glanced at her and shook his head, "Wait a bit more, please. Let's get out of here first."
Dia didn't bother to argue with him this time and simply followed him.
"Mitchell? Where are we?" Reyes asked when they reached the bridge.
"Captain." The pilot sounded precise as an AI, "All systems are operating at an optimal level. The refraction field is fully functional, and the chair logged on with the vessel's shield generator. The Hyperdrive is running at 120% of the standard capacity, and..."
Refraction Shield?
Reyes raised his hand, "Spare me the details, Mitchell. Are we ready to go?"
Mitchell blinked, "...yes, captain. The chair's operator is waiting for your order."
Reyes tapped his commlink, "Omen, are you ready?"
"Affirmative."
"Start synch." Reyes said to Mitchell.
"Synch in progress. DNA biometric authentication in progress. The vessel is unable to connect with the imperial mainframe. Should we switch to stealth mode, bypassing the online evaluation, captain?"
Imperial mainframe? Online evaluation?
"You don't have to ask me every time, Mitchell. I already ordered you..."
"Apologies, captain. Switching to stealth mode...Completed. Accessing the vessel's datastore for local authorization...Completed. Operator's credential evaluated and approved, authorization code Alpha, Echo, Beta, 1907234..."
Reyes huffed, "I don't need the details, Mitchell. Is the synch...?"
"...completed. Refraction shield online."
"Then let's get off this rock."
"Acknowledged."
Dia heard a loud noise when Mitchell started tinkering with an auxiliary console. Then she looked up. The hangar's door slowly opened, and the mist started to scatter, sucked out or blown away by the storm raging on the planet's surface as the snow slowly piled up against the ship.
"Let's go, Dia."
She stayed quiet and followed him to his quarters, but when he closed that strange hatch, she couldn't take it anymore.
"Can we talk now?"
"Not yet." He answered, and she scowled at him.
"I'm not trying to delay, Dia."He hurried to add, "But the Umbra wants to talk with you first."
Dia opened her mouth to refuse, but Reyes had already pushed the button, accepting the call.
Whether she wanted it or not, she had to talk with the Umbra.