Chrome Symphony - Chapter 4

Renk and Atlas had startled Dr. Thameh as she turned around to see them standing in the doorway.

Renk eyed Dr. Heimborem suspiciously, despite the fact that he and Atlas had just overheard most of their conversation. He decided not to mention the cargo shipment.

"Actually," said Renk, "My official paperwork says that I was born with it but, to tell the truth, I didn't discover my time modding ability until I was stationed overseas back when I was about 25 years old."

"Oh? Now that is interesting," said Camay.

"I don't really like to talk about it," said Renk, "but, come to think of it, I had an incident where I'd come under fire during an ambush and, in the heat of the moment, I got dizzy and noticed that everyone around me had stopped moving, like they were frozen in mid-stride."

Atlas gave Renk an incredulous look. "You told me you were born with that," he said.

"I thought I was," replied Renk, "simply because people are born with stuff like that and it ain't acquired as far as I know."

Jess came running down the hall, spotting Renk and Atlas. She ran over and joined them in the doorway.

Camay had a blank look on her face for a moment. She had received a message from Duncan. "I just told Mr. Sorenson you three were here," she said.

"Pfft, like he isn't already tracking us," replied Renk. "Anyway, I do remember having surgery and a blood transfusion about a month before that ambush. Hearing what you were talking about makes me wonder if that had anything to do with it."

Atlas, Jess, and Renk left Dr. Heimborem's office and headed back toward the hotel.

"Do you really think you got your abilities somehow from that surgery?" asked Atlas. "That sounds a little far fetched."

Renk shrugged as the three of them walked. "Hey, it's just a theory. All I know is Duncan wasn't born with his and mine didn't turn up until I had been in the military for six years."

Jess held her hand over where she had been shot. "I hate it."

"Hate what," asked Atlas.

"I hate feeling like a lab rat. Like a freak that needs to be studied. No offense, Ralph."

Renk stopped in his tracks. Jess looked nervous, knowing that she called him by the wrong name yet again.

Renk turned around and gently rubbed the top of Jess's head, messing up her hair. "It's Renk, kiddo."

The three of them walked a few blocks before Jess said anything.

"Hey, Renk," said Jess, finally. "Do that again and you're dead."

Renk just laughed at her. Jess looked REALLY annoyed.

They got on the hotel elevator.

"Atlas," Jess grumbled, "I could take the two of you down but..."

Jess's expression changed. She cracked a smile. "Stand up for me once in a while, okay?"

Jess, Atlas, and Renk arrived back at the hotel room, where the others were waiting.

"Not much to talk about in public," Elise answered Duncan's comment. "We've got to really get down to brass tacks, and I've got a few things to share, anyway. For now, we've got to wait for the rest of the team to get back."

Elise took a seat on a corner of the temperfoam slab serving for a bed. "And really, beyond that, is there much to do aside from share my own life story?" Elise shrugged. "Maybe I'm just too used to sitting behind a bar and soaking up conversation."

"Speaking of, you seemed to have a good job going back there," Shell commented. "Why give it up?"

Elise spread her arms. "For this? Well, I am expecting a payoff that isn't just a bit of curiosity. Not to say this isn't worth the price of admission just as it is. I suppose part of it is having a little fun and showing you new guys the ropes. So far, you have only got one of yourselves partially killed, not to say that's a terrible showing with so little preparation."

"I have to say, I'm beginning to feel a little insulted," Duncan commented.

"Sorry, but when it comes to stuff like this, I tend to just tell it like it is. We're disposable assets, we aren't sticking it to the man, and we've got to do a lot to make sure we've got a leg up. So far...we haven't really had much opportunity to handle the prep time part, and it is amazing how well you guys have done. We could all be dead or worse, it's a pretty good run so far."

"I guess it's not as bad when you put it that way."

Some time later, Atlas, Renk, and Jess returned. Elise brought her suitcases over, and began unpacking them.

"All right. I'm not sure how many of you are good with weapons, but it's better to have a bit more gear." She managed to lay out a surprising array of guns, mostly automatics. She pointed out an assault rifle and a pair of pistols, one much bigger than the other. "Those are mine. I'm not likely to hand over my customized rifle right there, but I can part with a pistol if need-be."

The rest of the weapons included a couple more pistols, a second assault rifle, and a sleek, futuristic SMG. "Take your pick, if you'd like." Elise stepped away from the guns. "I've got a good bit of ammunition, including non-lethal gel rounds and stick and shock...not that I'm expecting a strong need not to leave corpses behind."

Duncan spoke up, "No thanks on the guns. I'm not a fan of violence to begin with, even if we do have a non-lethal option. I have to wonder though, don't you usually kill people?"

"Not if I can help it. Dead people tend to make a lot of trouble for your typical corp, and get more attention. So it's better to just knock their security out. Consider it a really warped sense of professional courtesy."

Atlas hefted the rifle experimentally, still holding it with clear military training, but the weapon felt quite heavy in his hands. "I haven't used something like this in years..." He sighed. Not since that incident, in fact. "I'm not sure I really want to, again, either."

After some more mulling over weapons, Elise laid out more things. "Now, unless you've got my exact measurements, I doubt any of my own clothes will fit you. High-fashion armored clothing is nice for armor in style, but it's all custom tailored. Fortunately, it's not too difficult to grab a few armored jackets. to at least cover the bases."

None of the jackets and other bits of armor available looked that different from ordinary clothing, and provided a variety of styles. Elise picked one up and tossed it at Jess, who caught it. "After last time, you'll definitely want a little more than plain clothes. I'm honestly surprised, all that money someone put into you, and they didn't really bother toughening up your bones or skin."

"What's that supposed to mean," Jess asked indignantly.

"I heard something about nanomachines from the Doc. That stuff isn't the sort to come remotely cheap."

Elise didn't rummage around any further, though she did quickly change the topic to continue her salesman-like pitch on gear. "I packed a couple medkits and trauma patches, should help in avoiding any really terrible ends, particularly so far from any real medical support. Automated 'kit can patch you up pretty well, and worst case, a trauma patch can at least stabilize and stop you from bleeding out if you take some really bad hits."

"But wait, there's more! I'm not sure if we really want to use them or really don't want to use them in a closed environment, but I carted up a handful of grenades, if we like smoke, tear gas, or knock-out gas. The flashbangs should be just fine either way, so we can go nuts with them."

[OOC: I'm leaving time for everyone else to do whatever they'd like during the time Jess is sleeping. This is so I don't screw up the timing if there's anything else that needs to happen before morning]

Everyone took some weapons and other equipment as Elise offered. Jess made sure to get some body armor and a handgun. She was far more proficient with a sword but, having military academy training, she knew that her sword was no match for a group of people with high powered rifles. Jess knew how to handle a gun, even if she didn't normally carry one.

Atlas and Renk made sure they were armed to the teeth with assault rifles, grenades, and body armor. Duncan opted for an assortment of flash-bang and smoke grenades, being the pacifist that he was. Everyone else equipped themselves appropriately.

Jess tried on her armor and jacket. Everything seemed to fit. Jess was close enough to Elise's size, after all. She packed the ammunition for the handgun in her jacket and laid the gear next to her bed in the other room. She lay on the bed for a while and tried to fall asleep. She managed to doze off for a few hours, despite her anxiety.

Jess awoke later that night. The lights were out. Shell was in the other bed and Jess couldn't tell if Elise was in the room or not. She thought it best not to check.

Jess quietly got out of bed and put on a robe over the pajamas that the hotel had furnished. She walked out into the hotel hallway and took the elevator down to the observation level for a moment to sit alone and think.

In the observation level, it was quiet. Everyone else was either asleep or taking care of business elsewhere. She sat down in one of the seats and stared out at the stars. The night side of the Earth showed vast arrays of city lights, which reflected against the large windows along the edges of the colony's rings.

We stand a chance, she thought. Jess wanted to remain positive. We can extract father and then take control of the cargo shuttle. As long as we don't get ourselves cornered, we should be okay.

Jess thought about the decker cyborgs. They'll be able to kill the security cameras and motion sensors. She considered Elise's experience in the underworld and the military experience of Atlas and Renk.

She heard the elevator door open. It was Atlas. He walked in, acknowledged her, and stood at the glass, staring out at the stars.

"God, what a view," he said.

Jess didn't say anything at first. She had planned on spending a few moments alone, but Atlas wasn't bothering her.

"Hey, Atlas. Can't sleep either?" she asked.

"Not really," replied Atlas. "It's funny."

"How is it funny?" asked Jess.

"Well... I've done far more dangerous missions before," said Atlas. "You know, stealth operations where the stakes were high, stuff I honestly didn't expect to walk away from."

"I see," said Jess.

"So many people tried, failed, and even died to get where we are right now," said Atlas, with a very solemn tone. "But... all I can think about is making sure that you, your father, and our group get back to Earth safely."

Atlas walked over and sat down next to Jess.

"So... what do you want to do when we get back?" he asked.

"Isn't it obvious," she shot back. "I'm going to make sure that the people who did all of this are brought to justice."

Atlas nodded. "Of course and I'll do everything I can to help you."

Jess smiled. She smiled uncontrollably. For some reason, she felt an extreme joy from hearing that.

"Atlas, I...I'd like to ask you something," she stuttered.

"Yo, what's up?" asked Atlas.

"When we get back to Earth, would you consider... um..."

"Spit it out, Jess."

"Would you be interested in being hired as one of my full-time security staff? I mean, after my accounts are unfrozen and I smooth everything out with Randall and we make sure my father is okay with it and..."

"Of course, Jess." Atlas stood up. "I'd really like that. As tough as you are, it would be an easy job, I'd bet, but you can count on me regardless," he said, laughing.

Jess turned bright red. "Id..Idiot... it's n... not like I want you to be my personal bodyguard or anything..."

Atlas laughed loudly. "Hah! Well, you're stuck with us for now anyway!"

Atlas walked over to the elevator. "Make sure you don't stay up all night, eh?" he said to Jess. Atlas took the elevator back up to his room. Jess returned to her room about ten minutes later and went back to sleep.

Shell had obtained a gun from Elise that was capable of firing several types of non-lethal rounds. She also equipped herself with some stick and shock rounds in addition to the tranquilizer and gel rounds. These might be handy in conjunction with some demolitions activity, thought Shell. Since most of Shell's body was already covered in cybernetic armor, she didn't really need any body armor but she was far from invincible so she made sure she had some smoke grenades so that she could escape quickly if needed.

Shell managed to get a few hours of sleep, which was all she needed since she got some sleep on the shuttle from Earth earlier.

She woke up to notice that Jess was gone but figured she's gone for a walk. Shell looked over in the third bed, which was a portable, roll-away type with just a foam slab for a mattress. Elise appeared to be asleep.

She sat there for a minute, contemplating whether or not she should go for a walk. She decided to dive into cyberspace for a few moments and visit her usual hangouts. As she looked around, she noticed various mentions of the news and saw lots of postings where people were grieving Jessica Price's death. Shell desperately wanted to assure them that Jess wasn't dead but it would have been dangerous and irresponsible to do so.

Looking at some of the local area data feeds, Shell gained access to various space telescopes and use the opportunity to take a look at Near Earth Asteroid 726. She studied the layout of the asteroid and used the X-Ray and infrared modes of the telescopes to build a detailed 3D map of the structure. She wasn't sure if Duncan had already procured a map so she finished building the map and sent it to Duncan and Elise, along with everyone else's communicator addresses. Of course, she took care to make sure that only encrypted channels were used.

Shell exited the dive. Jess was back in her bed and Elise was standing next to the door, fully dressed and ready.

"It's time," said Elise.

"Right," said Shell. "I'll tell the others."