After Earth - Chapter 4 - Lunar Approach

Talia watched Coral closely, and for good reason.  They disassembled the barracks quickly, and stowed all the assemblies in an underground bunker, to the right side of the bunker.  Their cots were set up to the left, in a similar fashion to what it was above ground.

"Cadet Coral!  Calm down!  Its not like you haven't been through a storm before!"  Cadet Wilson called out.  Coral paced back and forth, getting more agitated as the sounds of the storm approached.  Talia watched her from her bunk, and as soon as the first strike of lightning sounded, she saw her return to an all fours position.  She even looked like she wanted to growl, or hiss and spit like a cat.  It wasn't a dignified position either.  All the cadets were in their regular night wear, boxers and tees.

"Coral!"  She looked over at Talia, pulled by her strong voice.  "Come over here."  She crawled on her hands and feet, no easy task to do, but she did it with ease.  Easy steps, her front hands in time to her legs, just like a four legged animal.  She had a lot of practice.  As soon as she reached her cot, she put her hands on the edge, and peaked up and over the edge.  The cot was just a bit higher then her stance.

"Talia?"  She didn't sigh, or grumble.

"Come here.  Climb onto the cot with me."  Coral slowly climbed up beside her and was pulled into her side.  "You're here with me.  You're safe."  She said in a soft low voice that only Coral could hear.  The strong arm around her shoulders, and the comfort of protective strength she's never felt before, soothed the side of her that reared up in tense situations.

Talia looked down at the top of her head and wondered what went through her mind.  Is she so damaged that she can no longer be fully human?  Then Coral's arm slid over her belly, and she snuggled in.

"Thank you."  She said in a small voice.

"We're squadmates.  That means we're family."  Coral hid her face.

"I wish....."  Talia's arm tightened.

"I can't change your past, Coral.  That will never change.  The future can."  Coral hid her face.

"I think I'm alright now."  She said softly, but Talia's arm tightened.

"Sleep here, Coral.  I'll protect you tonight."  She lifted her eyes, and acted on instinct.  She kissed Talia quickly on the lips, and instantly hid her face.

"I'm sorry."  She said, and wondered what Talia was thinking.  Her thoughts became clear quickly.

"I wouldn't hold Cadet Wilson all night, just to calm him down."  Talia whispered.  Coral closed her eyes, smiled, and tightened her hold on Talia's waist.

Her kiss was unexpected, but not unwanted.





"Get the barracks reassembled, and get loosened up, cadets!  Skill testing will begin after lunch.  Cadet Talia will initiate martial skills assessments after the barracks are reassembled!"  The sergeant frowned.  "Did I stutter?  Move it!"

Coral was too embarrassed to look Talia in the eyes, and too afraid of what she might see buried there.  Pity?  Maybe scorn, or rejection?  That was why she didn't see her approach.

"Cadet Coral."  Her eyes snapped up quickly.

"Y-yes?"

"I want you to try out for pilot."  Coral frowned.

"Pilot?  I don't...."  She cut her off.

"You have excellent hand eye coordination, and react extremely fast to stimuli around you.  You see things most people miss, and take note of everything."  A quick memory of how Coral read Cadet Wilson's movements prior to him trying to kick her in the head from behind came to mind.  "I need you in the pilot's seat."  Coral bit her bottom lip.

"Why?  Will I even be able to make a living as a pilot?  They said we get paid based on skills, and the work we'll do."  Talia's eyes bored right into her, and it felt like they burned right through.

"I need someone in the pilot's seat that I can trust.  Pilots make an excellent living.  They will be needed to fly the shuttles to and from the Fenix, haul cargo, move passengers, and ferry all supplies between depots and stations.  You will be a major asset for this initiative."  Coral looked into her eyes, and searched for her answer.  She saw it.  No deceit.

"Alright, but I don't know how to get into that program."  Talia stopped with the mental push, and relaxed a bit.

"Not to worry.  I'll take care of that part."




"I didn't think Talia's read on Cadet Coral was correct, and she seemed determined to prove me correct, but she's actually doing it!"  The sergeant whispered.  "Ten tries, and each one a failure, but she's learning fast!  Each test better then the last, and she's just gets better each time!"  Lieutenant Ayers smiled a bit.

"And her failures are still better then all the other candidates.  Keep her on the sim.  We only have the rest of the week before we launch, and another pilot in the program would be a big boost to this project.  We might even be able to make the deadlines set for supply runs to Lunar base, and get all the barges towed in to the Fenix before we are scheduled to depart for Mars."  The sergeant groaned.

"One more week.  Then another batch of raw recruits.  I wish I could keep Talia here to help kick them into shape!"  The lieutenant chuckled.

"She gave you all the tools you need.  Her speeches did the trick for Beta squad, and now you have to drum the same thing in to Alpha 1A, and the next two classes of Alpha."  He smiled.

"She was right though.  There will only be one Beta.  And she set the standard damned high!"





"Listen up, Beta squad!  This shuttle is currently climbing into high orbit, and will head to the Lunar Launch facility!"  The sergeant had to nearly yell as the roar from the engines drowned out most noise.  "Once there, we will disembark, set up a temporary barracks with our gear, and wait for the next shuttle to take us to the Fenix!"  Coral tapped Talia's shoulder.

"We're not climbing anymore, Talia."  She frowned.  "And I smell something strange."  Talia turned her head.

"What do you smell?"

"Blood."  Talia hit the release on her safety harness.

"Cadet Wilson, get that blade out of its sheathe and follow me!"  The sergeant turned towards her.

"Where do you think you're going, Cadet?"  He yelled.

"The shuttle isn't climbing out of the atmosphere, and blood has been spilled."  Wilson hit the release on his harness and slipped his blade out of its sheathe.  "Stay icy, Cadet!  Act when I tell you!"  He nodded and followed her to the airlock that connected the hold of the shuttle to the cockpit.  Wilson had caught on quick with martial drills, and though Coral was better, her mind still wasn't quite ready for direct combat.

This was a repurposed old NASA shuttle, long out of service, but it was easy to obtain, and get back into shape.  With all the unnecessary scientific equipment removed, and no payload save for the passengers, they were able to add fuel tanks to the shuttle, increase the wing span, and not have extremely large rockets attached to push it into a high orbit in only minutes.

Talia rotated the airlock handle only half a turn, and pushed it open.  That explained why Coral was able to smell blood, as it was not a tight fit.  However, the scene in the cockpit was as she expected.

"Fuck me."  Wilson said.  "An eater."




Wilson watched a nightmare come to life look their way.  An 'eater' was a term given to people who went cannibalistic, and feral at the same time.  Often, their nails were blood stained, and their teeth sharpened into points.  This one tore a chunk of flesh from the neck of the pilot, then turned their way.  He was beyond reason at this point, as were all who went feral.  All his thoughts were basic and he acted on instinct alone.  Just like an animal.

The blood and gore stuck to his teeth showed how they should deal with him.  Quickly, and brutally.

Talia didn't wait for Wilson to get himself under control.  She moved in quickly, jabbed forward with her fingers extended rigidly, and drove them into the eater's throat.  The reaction as she moved forward was to reach for the new free meal, but Talia moved fluidly, and beyond it's ability to react.

As her fingers rammed into his throat, she moved under his extended arm, rotated away, put his arm over her shoulder, and snapped it with downward pressure.  As soon as he started to howl in pain, she pulled him over her shoulder, drove his body into the deck plates, and punched him brutally hard in the throat again.

"Finish it off!"  She snapped out her order, and didn't watch him execute it.  She checked the pilot's condition, then turned back to watch Wilson pull his blade from its chest.

"Fuck me, an eater!"  She stared hard at him

"Get Cadet Coral up here!  She's the only one skilled enough to pilot."  He nodded and ran back through the door.  She heard questions snapped out, but Wilson ignored his superior officer.  She heard Coral pound through the door, and stop dead.

"Oh no."  She said in a low voice.

"Focus, Coral."  She said firmly.  "You're the only one who can get us to the station.  Now sit down!"  Talia looked towards the body of the pilot, and saw where she was focused.  Talia growled softly in her throat, and removed the pilot from his seat.  "I know this is hard, but I need you right now!"  Her vision came into focus, and she shed the distractions like water.

"I understand, but I need control's assistance.  A shuttle is quite different from a simulator."  Talia nodded, and picked up the headphone.

"Dave?  Its Mike!  Can you hear me?  Blow the cargo hold so the bodies can freeze in the vacuum!  I'll have cargo bay 3 ready to store our food!  Dave?  Pick up, dammit!"  Talia put the headphone down, and put her hand over Coral's as she went to lift her own set.

"There's another one on the line."  Coral looked up at her with plaintive eyes.

"I can't do this alone."  Talia sat in the co-pilot's seat.

"Cadet Wilson!"

"Sir?"

"Get the sergeant.  We have a small problem."





"Lieutenant Ayers, I wondered why you weren't on our flight."  The lieutenant gave her a small nod, then turned to Coral.

"Cadet."

"Sir?"

"The commander of this station would like me to loan you to them for a few towing runs to the Fenix.  I've agreed.  As of this moment, you are temporarily reassigned to flight operations for this station, and as such, you will receive a pay increase to match.  This is only temporary, as you will be needed on the Fenix more then here, but as of right now, they are down two pilots."  She turned to Talia, for the briefest of seconds.

"As I've been informed, you've hidden your skill level quite well.  Care to explain that?"  Coral swallowed a lump in her throat.

"I...I didn't want to show up my squad, sir."  Wilson's mouth dropped open.

"You mean....you've held yourself back for us?"  she nodded.  "You idiot!"  Coral turned towards him in shock.  "Don't you ever hide your skill again!  I could have gone for logistics, or engineering, but when I saw that I was pretty even with the rest of the squad, I thought I might have a chance!"

"But..."

"No!  Don't you dare!  We are damned proud of how you handled that shuttle when we needed you!  Don't ever hold yourself back!  How can we even know how hard we have to work just to keep up?"  Then he snapped his mouth closed.  "Sorry, sir!  Didn't mean to speak out of turn!"  The lieutenant smiled a bit.

"Don't let it happen again, Cadet.  As it stands, you'll have plenty of opportunities to increase your knowledge of those departments while on this station.  We will be here for the next two weeks, instead of the planned three day stop over."  She shook her head.  "An eater for a pilot.  This won't be the only hiccup, but it should get less interesting from here on out."

"Sir, if I might suggest something?  Examine all pilots, and those who assist the pilots for the warning signs.  This caught us off guard.  Also, inspect their barracks.  It may be an invasion of privacy, but that shit flew out the window when a team of cannibals tried to flash freeze us for their pantry."  She nodded.

"Agreed.  As it stands, Cadet Talia, the commander has asked to see you.  I think he wants a full report."

"Understood."  She turned to Coral.  "You did well, Coral.  I'll see you before you head off for your first flight."  Coral blushed, and smiled.  It felt really nice to hear that from her commanding officer.

Really nice.





"Sir, Cadet Talia Gitatytar, reporting as ordered."  The base commander turned around and nodded.

"Dismissed, Lieutenant Ayers."  The lieutenant quickly left the room and closed the door.  Commander Donaldson sighed irritably.

"An eater as a pilot, and a cadet who took him out.  Then I have a raw cadet now take the pilot's seat because of how smoothly she handled that emergency situation.  As if the end of the world wasn't enough,"  He growled and paced back behind his desk.  "You kept her calm and focused?"  She nodded.

"Yes, sir.  I would like to request the assignment of her co-pilot."  He frowned for a brief moment.

"You've not completed any simulator time, Cadet.  Why should I do that?"

"Without me, you don't have her.  Her mental state is quite....fragile, due to a past trauma I haven't been able to unearth yet.  It does have to do with those things though.  Damned ferals."

"You've taken her on?  A project?"  She narrowed her eyes slightly.

"I'm not rebuilding a person, like an engine.  In no way am I tying her to myself to keep myself relevant.  I encouraged her to try out for pilot, and believe that she'll be an excellent one.  Her mental state is still fragile.  That is a detail I can not ignore.  Not as her commanding officer, or as the one she trusts."  He turned away.

"She needs an anchor."

"Yes, sir.  And another co-pilot won't do.  I'll do the simulator, but do know this, whatever my results, navigation is not my goal."  He turned towards her.

"Then what is your goal, Cadet?"  She smiled, but it was devoid of emotion.  It sent a chill down his spine, and made him wonder just who she was, and who might be in her way.

"The Fenix, sir.  That ship is the key to everything.  Our future, and our lives.  She must succeed."

"And how do you intend to make that happen?"  This was a question he wondered if he should even want to know.  As it stood, she supplied him with a reasonable, and responsible answer.

"Engineering, sir.  That is the department that every other department depends on, even if they don't know it.  Without a well run engineering department, that ship would fly apart, or blow out an airlock.  The designs are unfinished, and so is the ship.  That's where I come in."  He looked her dead in the eyes.

"How do you even know its unfinished?"  Another cold smile.

"I'm on a first name basis with the progenitor."  He sucked in his breath.  The one responsible for this trip, and the one who put a vast fortune in the hands of those who needed it to do this work.  Build one station, one ship the size of a station, and all with what they could salvage.  The manufacturing centers of the world were already in ruins, and to pull something like this together, it took an incredible amount of will.

As he looked her in the eye, and gave her a short dismissal, he wondered if he had just looked the progenitor in the eyes, or if she was a relative.  Either way, his instructions were clear.

Do not get in the way of those who can do the jobs they need done.  She was at the top of a short list given to him by someone deep within the complex that the Fenix came out of.  A real short list.

"Related to the progenitor.  If its who I think it is, no wonder her demeanor is so controlled.  That man's reputation made him a heavy weight in many areas of life before the fall of organized governments, and made him quite influential afterward."  He let out a breath real slow, as he contemplated the situation.

"A real life monster."