Chapter Text
Caleb kept his gaze firm on the tunnel above. He held his hands behind his pinstraight back and slowly fidgeted his fingers. As an aircraft appeared to block his view of the second ever Deepspace tunnel, his eyes narrowed. He checked his Fleet watch to make note of the time.
Ever since the second tunnel appeared, an unknown third party has been so bold as to observe the tunnel in front of the Farspace Fleet, much to his dismay. Exploration of a new tunnel was fair game, as far as the lack of law was concerned, but Caleb enjoyed knowing exactly what was going on around him at all times, making the presence of this new group irritating, to say the least. Unknown identities aside, there was also the risk of untold power falling into the wrong hands. Caleb was resolved either way to find out who was the one sending these unknown aircraft into Skyhaven territory.
He didn’t bother checking in with any of his Fleet before starting up his own aircraft. The engine whirred, and the colonel was swiftly en route to the tunnel. Exactly what he planned to do once he was up there was beyond him.
The mysterious aircraft was clearly the property of no amateur space enthusiast. Caleb recognized several trademark pieces of the DAA and Farspace Fleet alongside custom parts morphed together into one cohesive body. Such a mixture of sources screamed N109 Zone, but the craftsmanship exceeded anything he had ever seen floating about the black market, save for Onychinus selects.
Whatever its origins, this vessel had to go back. Caleb piloted his aircraft, a considerably smaller one made for personal use, to face the other and grabbed the receiver from the dash.
“This is the Farspace Fleet,” his voice projected out of the external speakers. “Unauthorized aircraft are required to identify themselves. Do so, or vacate the area immediately.”
There was no response for a long thirty seconds. He finally squinted at the cockpit in front of him and came to realize nobody was currently operating the vehicle. This aircraft was being remotely piloted, most likely. Caleb’s shoulder’s relaxed with equal parts ease and annoyance as he replaced the receiver. He knew he should report the incident to HQ, but the allure of a unique jet filled with an assortment of parts was just too tempting to let out.
With practiced skill, he piloted his own aircraft to hover above the other and come as close without touching as possible. He undid his seatbelt.
From the rooftop of his vehicle, he jumped onto the other, steadied by his Evol. His colonel’s hat got a quick adjustment before he walked to what appeared to be a hatch. The locking mechanism was unrecognizable, most likely another custom piece straight out of the N109 Zone’s alleyways. Truly, the people of that no-hunt zone could make a proper name for themselves in Linkon if they only put their mind to it.
Hand extended outward, Caleb created a miniature black hole within the hatch’s lock. The whole thing jolted as the lock became nothing. He dismissed his Evol, took a deep breath, and pulled the hatch open. A ladder was revealed inside, and there was no sign of life within. Thin clouds passed him by, making no noise. Against his better judgement, he descended.
His leather boots made quiet squeaks against the metal rungs. When he made it to the floor, his weight echoed down empty corridors. There was no one around to help run the aircraft nor observe the tunnel, much to Caleb’s suspicion.
The cockpit was still empty. He walked slowly up to the stand-up steering wheel placed dramatically in the middle of the room (reminiscent of a wheel on a pirate ship) and ran his gloved hand along it. Whoever was piloting this thing either was far away and didn’t care that Caleb had infiltrated their vehicle, or…
He turned and aimed his colonel’s gun behind him in one swift motion. No one was waiting. His eyebrow twitched as he listened for anything.
“Almost.”
A quarter-second was all it took for Caleb to fire perfectly in the direction of the voice above him, and the bullet ricocheted about. Red and black mist was all that was present. It came crashing into Caleb’s chest before he could register what was occurring. His back slammed into the steering wheel, and the aircraft jolted.
The mist unexpectedly retreated to a spot ten feet away and began coalescing into a form just a bit larger than him. He aimed his gun at the center of the mass. He was unsure what good it would do but was unwilling to give the enemy any room.
Finally, a man emerged. He strutted up to Caleb with his thumbs in his pockets. Silver hair framed sharp features.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk.” The stranger smirked. “Your aim could use some work.”
Eager to prove him wrong, Caleb aimed for the man’s shoulder and fired. The stranger’s body simply became mist again, and the bullet went elsewhere. The ship continued to tilt wildly.
Mist came up to Caleb’s side in a split second and revealed the enemy once more, who swiped at Caleb so suddenly, his gun was knocked from his hand. The colonel quickly adjusted, taking hold of the man’s wrists then sending a knee into his abdomen. With a sufficient opening, he threw the enemy back a bit before grabbing the steering wheel; he’d be damned if he let just anyone, let alone this lunatic, fly in his territory and endanger Skyhaven by letting this thing crash.
In the middle of making adjustments, the enemy assailed him once more, locking an arm around his neck. Caleb struggled briefly as the aircraft move erratically under him, then summoned all of his strength to flip the man over his head. He felt his freed neck. Whoever this silver-haired intruder was, Caleb was not fond of the fact that he was so tall and took so much force to move. While the intruder was still on the ground, Caleb straddled him and began to wind up a punch, but another gathering of mist suddenly sent him up and away. He was being suspended in the air and had no control over his body. As if the enemy was somehow still choking him, he lost the ability to breathe.
The enemy stood up. “What a valiant effort, Colonel. But tell me, is this really the best the Fleet has to offer?”
Caleb realized his artificial arm was immune to this man’s accursed Evol. With it, he used his own Evol to summon his gun back to his hand, aimed at the enemy’s head and fired.
As the man’s head flung back from the force of a bullet going clean through, the mist dissipated. Caleb landed on his hands and knees and panted. He slowly stood up as his head remained locked on the silver-haired man, waiting for him to fall over.
Instead, the man simply straightened himself and locked eyes with Caleb, blood dripping down his face. He wiped his forehead with the side of his hand, and while the blood on it was smeared, the bullet hole in the middle of his forehead disappeared. Caleb’s jaw was slack, and his eyes were blown wide.
“What are you?” The Colonel couldn’t stop himself from asking. He kept his gun trained on his opponent, though he was starting to doubt this was a fair fight.
“You tell me.”
“Warning.” The aircraft’s navigation system sounded an alarm. “Altitude decreasing rapidly. Crash imminent.”
“Shit,” Caleb said through gritted teeth. How could he have forgotten the ship was actively moving? Perhaps, he was subconsciously using his Evol to steady himself, seeing as how the aircraft was at a near 45° angle.
He put his gun away and ran back to the wheel. There was no resistance from his enemy this time as he tilted the wheel up as hard as he could.
“Warning.”
He turned towards the other man. “Your ship’s gonna crash!”
The man only shrugged, as if this expensive hunk of metal could be replaced at a moment’s notice.
Caleb continued to fight with the wheel. He grunted as he planted his foot against the column holding the wheel up and tilted his whole body back. The aircraft was tilting in response, but the sight of rapid approaching ground in the cockpit window spelled disaster.
“Warning.”
There was no time left.
“Get down!”
In his mind’s last grasp at humanity, Caleb found himself lunging at the other man and pulling him into a protective embrace. He activated his Evol to push out any and all oppressive forces. The man in his arms did nothing to resist.
Even with the Gravity Evol, their bodies were thrown around. Fire and rogue metal roared around them, and when the tumble of the impact became too much, they were separated.
Caleb came to, but a large sheet of metal blocked his vision—until the enemy, conveniently unharmed, pulled it off of him. The strange man then placed a hand under Caleb’s head. Caleb had no energy to fight back. As his chest gave shallow pants, his eyes rapidly scanned the other man for any possible sign of injury.
“Look at me,” said the man.
His right eye, already an unnatural red, glowed brightly. No matter what he tried, Caleb could not look away.
“Consume him. Use him.”
He thought at first the strange voice must have been a third person, but Caleb soon realized he was hearing his own voice in his mind.
This was his last realization before losing consciousness.