Through the Ghost

They didn’t get far before Tal found himself wishing for the chaos of the mercenary base. It was slow going across the snowy plains that separated the mercenary camp from Tal’s ship. High winds consistently impeded their progress. His feet struggled through the thick, white powder, and cold permeated the insulation provided by his armor. In the back of his mind was the nagging desire to break the deathly silence that’d set in. Once the adrenaline of battle, and the surprise of being reunited wore off, he found himself at a loss for words. So, they kept moving, Tal’s face obscured by the mask as he desperately searched for words to say.

“Are we almost there?” Anna asked for the second time, snow clung to her golden locks as they whipped about in the wind.

Tal sighed. “Allie, how much farther?” he consulted the Artificial Companion stored in the implant at the base of his skull.

The same voice that warned him of the encroaching enemies replied. Would you like me to tell you exactly, or just an estimate?

“Are we close or not?” he repeated.

You are almost there, she answered with a tone of frustration in her voice.

“We’re close,” he reiterated for Anna.

“She’s still with you?”

“Of course, why wouldn’t she be?”

“I just figured, I don’t know, you’d have upgraded or something.”

Before Tal could respond, a holographic projection of a green woman in a short dress blinked to life in front of him.

“I will have you know Miss West that Tal has no intention of trading me in for a younger model. The same cannot be said for yourself though,” the projection grinned knowingly.

“That’s enough Allie,” he chided the construct. Obediently, she dropped the projection.

“What was that supposed to mean?” Anna questioned him sternly.

“The ship should be just ahead, come on,” he replied, in hopes of dodging the question.

Sure enough, they came upon a dim orange orb in the distance. As they got closer, the image became clearer. The single orb split into several smaller ones that lined the loading ramp to a Class IV Sparrowhawk vessel. The Amaryllis had been with him ever since he graduated out of the program on Praga. Plasma burn scars poked out from the underside of the vessel.

“There’s my baby,” Anna whispered.

As they got closer a person could be seen sitting on the ramp eagerly awaiting their arrival. Unlike the red-haired warrior and his bulky armor, this one wore a white and grey outfit that was designed more for camouflage and protection against the elements than projectile defense. She appeared to be a couple years younger than both of them, with dark hair, shortened into a pixie cut. Her blue eyes revealed an older soul beneath her youthful appearance.

The girl smiled upon seeing the two operatives approach; though her cheery demeanor quickly faded as they drew closer.

“What took you so long?” she called out to them.

“I had to give her the tour obviously. Point out that snow drift, and the frozen mountain range,” he replied.

She shook her head in frustration.

He smiled slyly before continuing. “Actually, it turns out we’re rescuing an old friend. I’d like you to meet Tannah West.”

“I don’t care…” The words trailed off as the name hit her.

The girl’s eyes widened as they focused on the woman standing next to him. Tal couldn’t help but feel a sense of satisfaction as her face shifted from borderline annoyance to awe in such a short amount of time.

“Tan- The Avenger of Azariah?” All annoyance at Tal was instantly forgotten as her attention shifted to the snow-covered woman.

“Please, call me Anna,” the third operative stated uncomfortably.

“Um, yeah, yeah sure.” The younger girl stammered.

“I hope you don’t mind but, is it possible for me to change into something a little less blood drenched?” Anna asked.

Jaya snapped out of her stupor long enough to usher them up the loading bay ramp. Once inside Tal placed his weapons on the rack that lined the far wall. Both women continued up the staircase that lead to the few rooms designated for operatives and guests. It also gave them access to the cockpit, and the dining area that were further down their respective halls.

“So, what are you doing here? If you don’t mind me asking.” Tal heard the younger operative inquire anxiously as he caught up with them.

Anna smiled politely. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I caught your name,” she replied instead of answering the question.

“Right, sorry, my name. How could I forget my name? I’m Jaya.”

“Jaya?” Anna responded with surprise. She looked at Tal inquisitively.

“Yes, that Jaya.”

“Um, what?” the girl asked, confusedly looking between the two of them.

“Nothing, just, Tal’s told me a lot about you. I’m surprised he’d let his baby sister join Orothros.”

“Well, technically he didn’t. He protested the entire time, until I went through implantation. Since then it’s been a seething resignation.”

“That sounds like him,” Anna commented with a teasing glance at the red-haired operative. Tal, caught up in the moment, smiled back before quickly tearing himself away from her gaze.

“So, you two knew each other?” Jaya inquired curiously.

He tried to think of a proper response but failed to come up with a reason that would satisfy his sister’s curiosity.

“Jay, could you go get Anna some fresh clothes from your room,” he replied.

She looked about to protest, but the glance he gave her begged her not to. “Fine,” she sighed. “But when I get back someone’s answering at least one of my questions.”

Jaya quickly walked away with the intent of finishing her task as quickly as possible. Tal in the meantime pressed his right hand to the square pad beside the door. It slid open to reveal a small bedchamber.

The room was used to primarily house “guests”, be them friendly or otherwise. Generally, it was of the friendly variety, but they’d been known to take the occasional criminal back for questioning or imprisonment.

It was fairly plain, a single bed, a black table, and a worn chair that seemed to sit on three of its four legs. The walls, unlike the blues, greys, and blacks that could be found throughout the ship, were barren white with splotches of various colors.

Yet despite all its simplicity, this had always been Tal’s favorite room on the ship. For the very fact that every person that had ever set foot in it had left some kind of memento of their stay. He wasn’t sure when it started, but first it was writings on the walls; names, places, or events that for one reason or another the occupant decided to leave behind. Soon after, objects had begun to decorate the room. Trophies of their adventures rested on the table. Pieces of clothing, shrapnel that had been pulled from bodies, dog tags of fallen squad members, bullets, anything from one of the many “guests” he’d acquired in his ten years as an operative.

“Remember this one?” He walked across the room to a scathing letter from their first mission together. The white, holographic image glowed brightly in the dim lighting.

“Yeah, it was from the Scarletina mission. You threatened to leave the poor councilman behind because he kept loudly chewing those noxious candies,” she answered.

“In my defense, the scent of those things was leading the Wolves right to us.”

“They prefer to be called Ruguragi,” she corrected him.

“They’re also ridiculously fast, eat humans, have fur, and howl,” he retorted.

Anna grinned amusedly. “It’s weird, I never thought I’d be a guest on my own ship,” Anna commented as she lazily wandered around the room, taking in all the sights and memories.

“I think you mean my ship,” he corrected her.

“You keep telling yourself that,” she countered with a sly grin.

He watched as she continued to pace the room. There’s a fondness to the way her eyes drifted from picture to picture, relic to relic. It caused him to realize how much he’d avoided this room in the years since they parted ways.

“So, any idea what you’re going to add to it?” he asked.

“Honestly, I haven’t given it much thought. Not exactly a lot on me at the moment,” she replied with a hapless shrug.

“I still can’t believe you’re here. How? Why?”

She sighed heavily, then looked him in the eyes. “Those mercs had something I wanted, so I intended to steal it.”

“How did you even find this place? I didn’t know it existed until a few hours ago.”

She paused, taking a moment to ponder her response, then just as quickly she turned away to focus on the inscriptions adorning the wall. “Maya helped me,” she answered hastily.

Tal’s eyes widened at the name. “Maya Gaige. She helped you?”

“Yeah, she owed me after a job I did for her.”

Tal shook his head in disbelief. “Okay. Then I guess that leads to my next question. How did you get here?”

“I snuck aboard a ship carrying that mercenary band.”

“That’s not what I meant,” he said knowingly.

Her eyes continued to look about, soaking in the history of the room. Until finally after a deep breath, she looked back at him confidently, and stated, “I escaped.”

“When?” he pressed.

“A few years ago,” she responded.

That caught him off guard, he expected it to have been a more recent development. To know she’d been free for so long, yet had refused to contact him in any way, was a shot to the gut.

“How?”

“As surprising as it may seem, I made friends, and enemies. I did what I needed to so I could get out of that hell.”

Honestly, he didn’t find it so surprising. She’d always been a fighter, but they’d always had each other to fall back on when it got really tough.

“Then why didn’t you contact me? Why didn’t anybody tell me about it?”

“Can’t speak for them, but we weren’t exactly on speaking terms at the time.”

That rendered him silent. She had a point, as much as they’d been through together, it had all ended when Council agents arrested her.

He was about to ask her another question when Jaya returned carrying a fresh change of clothes. The awkward silence stopped her in the doorway.

“Did I interrupt something?”

“No.” They responded in unison.

“I’ll leave you two be,” Tal announced as he quickly slipped past his sister. “I’m sure Jaya has tons of questions for you.”