VENDETTA - Chapter 8: Aftershock (End)
03 Jan 2025Isabella Adair-Levine
NOTE: This story contains mature themes.Previous Chapter
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DATE: 30th of December, 3310 [09:35 UGT]
LOCATION: T.O.C. Solaris Q4V-40N, LTT 4337Isabella Adair-Levine
Dark, winding corridors. Flickering, dim lights. Isabella ran down the hallway as her breathing echoed in her helmet. She opened her mouth to call out, but no sound came. She paused only for a moment, hearing the footsteps rushing behind her.
Her heart pounded in her chest as she broke into a sprint again, taking the corner up ahead. She almost slipped in her desperation, pain shooting up her arm as she quickly regained her balance. Cursing quietly as she continued onwards, her blood ran cold as she heard a scream.
She looked up to see two silhouettes, one kneeling. Horrified, she screamed and tried to rush over in time. The knife came up... and then down once more.
Isabella shot awake with a start as her heart pounded in her chest, a pain spiking up her side. Her eyes opened to clean, white walls, gentle lighting and colorful paintings and plants lining the opposite wall of the medical room. Her attention then snapped to sudden movement to her right, as Aurora shot to her feet from the chair she sat on. She swayed and stumbled a bit, catching herself on the medical bed as she reached over to gently take Isa's arm atop the sheet.
"... It's okay, Isa. I'm... I'm here..."
She met Aurora's blue eyes and took in a deep breath. She looked... worried. Pale. Her face didn't have any of that usual, energetic color. The lines underneath her eyes were more pronounced than usual, her ocean blues irritated and... sad. Aurora looked utterly exhausted.
Pulling her chair closer, Aurora sat down on it heavily, minding the crutch that leant against her seat as she balanced it again, before looking back at Isa again. She managed a weak smile as she ran her hand down her arm, taking her wife's and interlacing their fingers.
"... nightmares, again?"
"Yeah... sorry, love. I... I don't know. I don't know what to do about them. Babe... you... you can sleep in a bed, you know. Come back down when you get proper rest."
Aurora averted her eyes, shrugging slightly.
"... It's... fine. I can't sleep anyway."
She sighed and leant back into her chair, releasing Isabella's hand as she looked at her again for a moment.
"... how are you feeling?"
Sitting up slightly against the raised bed, Isa groaned slightly.
"Feeling... in pain. But, you should still try and be a bit more comfortable. If I could and... if I wasn't all broken, ha, I'd... let you up on my bed."
Isabella smiled at her wife... and Aurora tried one too, but it didn't have that same energy behind it. That happiness. Just... tiredness. Sadness.
"... Yeah... that would be nice right about now. I wish we could just go home. I... miss our bed... ha..."
Her smile faded.
"I know, hun. We'll get home soon. I know you'll never do this but... if you want, you can go home. But... I know missy here wouldn't leave without me. I'm just... worried about you, love. I know... with everything that happened. It's a lot to process. But... we'll make it, okay? Then, we can go out into the stars and... leave the galaxy behind. I will still have a broken wing, but... that's okay."
Isabella laughed softly as she smiled, trying to improve Aurora's mood.
"Love you, babe~..."
Aurora hummed, her fatigued eyes meeting Isa's.
"Yeah. I... I love you too, Isa. I just... it feels wrong to... leave you here. I hate being stuck in a medical bay and I know you do too. And... home doesn't... feel like home without you. Nothing does. It's... it's not right. I... I need to be here..."
Isabella reached up her good arm and took Aurora's hand again, gently squeezing it as she looked up at her wife with that same smile.
"I understand, love. I think I can get out of here soon. I feel much better than a few days ago. I'm a fast healer, remember."
"I hope so. Wish... I was a fast healer, ha. I'm... probably going to be stuck with that crutch for another month or two..."
"It's okay. Won't be long at all. You'll have those sexy legs working fully in no time. I know it. We can go for walks to... maybe help with your physical therapy."
"Maybe. I... I just... want to get away from here. With you..."
Aurora looked at Isa with a saddened gaze, gently rubbing her thumb along the back of her hand as she looked into her hazel eyes.
"I... saw someone in the squadron started an... expedition trip. You remember Goblin? I was... thinking we should go join them. Like we wanted to. Get out there and... go exploring..."
"Yeah. That sounds like a lot of fun. Having more people to go exploring with would be fantastic. Will you be okay though? With your back and stuff?"
"I... I mean... I guess. I suppose I'd be sitting flying more than... walking, ha. Except for if we wanna go for planet walks... then I can just use my crutch. And... I was thinking of telling the ops crew to bring the Solaris with. But I don't know. I want Violet to come with us but... there's not enough... living space on my ship. She'll probably want to keep herself busy with work and have her own room. And..."
Aurora paused, not continuing her sentence as she looked down a bit.
"And...? Violet can come if you bring the Solaris. She goes where the ship goes. So it's up to you."
Aurora shrugged a bit again.
"Yeah. It's... I guess. I..."
Once more, she paused, looking down. Isabella was quiet for a moment, squeezing the hand she held gently.
"What is it, love? You can talk to me..."
"I just..."
Aurora sighed heavily, still holding Isabella's hand. She threw her other hand up slightly, getting a bit frustrated with... something... before she spoke.
"I just... hate this fucking place, Isa. Not just the med wing but... the... the Solaris. And... it hurts to say that because it was my home for... a couple years. But everything is either a bad memory or it just feels like nobody wants me here."
"Like my room. The only thing that ever made my quarters feel happy and safe was you. The amount of times I... fucking cried myself to sleep when I was alone. And it was never really my room. This carrier isn't... mine. And then the ops crew insists I'm important, but they carry on... talk down to me if I offer input, unless I stand my ground. They even told me that... some of the crew think all you and I ever do is bring problems to the squadron. So there's that. Another fucking issue to add onto the list that is apparently my fault... like I fucking asked for any of this horrible shit to happen to us."
"You know how much I just... dislike the squadron. The people in it are mostly amazing, you know, but... the responsibility. The pain. The fucking struggles. The only good thing that ever came out of the squadron was meeting you, and even that had... d-... difficulties. I never got to enjoy becoming a Commander like some pilots. I never got to feel like I earned any of this. All my friends are gone or don't talk to me that much anymore. And I'm... fine with that, I guess. I've been alone most of my life and... now I love being with you more. But that just means I don't want to be... here. Aboard this carrier..."
Aurora lowered her head a bit as she took in a breath after her rant. Isabella took a moment to process all that was said, before she slowly nodded in understanding.
"I understand... well... to a extent. I've never been through as much as you have. Aside from what we did go through together. It's a big burden to be the Squadron Commander."
Isa sighed softly, looking away herself as she thought for a moment.
"Maybe... maybe you resign? Step down as Squadron Commander. You'd always be welcomed but... yeah."
"Yeah... I wanted to at some point, but then the fucking ops crew guilt-tripped me into saying I'd have to sell the squadron or some... bullshit... that someone else would have to own TCON. It makes no sense now but... we were struggling then and it made me feel... bad, so I just sucked it up. Should've just... sold it to Avery or something."
Aurora sighed heavily as she shook her head.
"And... then it makes me feel bad because... somehow, some people believed in me. That apparently I turned the tide and... I don't know. I didn't do it for them. Yeah, I couldn't just let thousands of people die, but... I... I fucking did it for you, Isa. I did it for us. I wanted you... I wanted a future with you. That's what still... keeps me going..."
Isa gave her a slow nod as she looked up at her wife again.
"Well... there shouldn't be anything more that can pop up and be an existential threat to the squadron. So... I say sell it to someone. We bolt and live our lives. The squadron will always be there. Even under different management."
Aurora met Isa's eyes as she seemed to think for a bit.
"After everything... this shouldn't be that hard of a decision but... ugh. I don't know. It..."
She shrugged and ran out of words. With another sigh, she just folded her arms on the bed and laid her head down, still holding Isabella's hand.
"You feel responsible still, right? But you've done everything you were supposed to. You saved me and many more. You've served your time, love. Time to let go. But it's ultimately your decision. I never want to pressure you. But from what you told me... it might just be time to let go. You and I just... move on."
Aurora lifted her head to gaze at her wife as she spoke, listening carefully. She nodded slowly, Isa's words bringing a single tear forth that rolled down her pale cheek.
"... y-... yeah. Yeah. I... I g-guess so. I helped... save the squadron after all the things I've been through and n-now I... I finally get to just... live my life w... with... my best friend... and... gorgeous wife... h-ha."
Even in her exhausted state, Aurora started to cry a bit as she bit her quivering lip, trying to calm her breathing a little. Isabella felt a lump in her throat seeing her wife cry, but she held her smile and squeezed her hand in slow pulses.
"Hmm... you definitely do get to live with me forever and ever. Hehe. I... think you need this. To finally let go of the past. We move on together."
Aurora sniffled a bit as she used her free hand to grab the bed for support, carefully standing again. Squeezing Isabella's hand back, she leant over carefully and brought her hand up to cup Isabella's freckled cheek.
"I... love you s-so much~..."
Giggling a bit randomly, she leant in the rest of the way and gently kissed Isabella on her lips, letting it linger for a moment before she slowly broke away, carefully turning a bit and sitting down on the free space on the bed next to her wife. She wiped her face, composing herself as she took Isabella's hand again.
"Y-you're right. I need this. We... need this. You're kind of the... the gift after everything, h-haha. Think you're the one who really saved the squadron. I... w-wouldn't have had the drive for it without you..."
Isabella felt her cheeks warm, loving how gentle and intimate that single kiss felt as she just smiled innocently.
"Ha... I don't think I saved it. You did. You've done so much for the squadron, even if people don't fully see it. You sacrificed a lot. You deserve a break. To retire. I am kinda done with the heroics. That's for someone else now. I remember when I became a Commander. I thought the stars were the limit... could go anywhere... do anything. Be a hero and help where I can. Gift... and a curse. I hurt, or got hurt... met bad people. But... I also met good people. Violet... then you. My now wife. I met good friends along the way as well. But... now I'm settled with you. I just... want something quiet with you. And I think you do too. This decision is a good one for you, I think. Don't let the ops crew tell you different. Go with what you feel."
Aurora listened to Isabella, her eyes averting for a moment as she took in a breath through her nose to try keep herself composed, before she nodded slowly. She met her hazel eyes again and slowly leant in, cupping her cheek as she kissed Isabella again. This time lasted as their lips slowly contested and melded together, sharing their deep love. She felt Aurora tuck flowing strands back behind her ear, pushing her lips back against her wife's before she broke away to breathe, letting out a little, soft laugh as she smiled at her.
"I love you, babe. You're... just everything I ever wanted."
"And you're everything I ever wanted too. I love you, honey~..."
Isabella blushed as Aurora leant in and placed a gentle peck on her freckled cheek, before the two gazed into each other's eyes again. Finally, that beautiful smile of her wife's returned... bringing a bit of color to that pale, tired face. She felt her thumb brush over her cheek as they just gazed at each other, with no-one else to disturb them in this medical room. Just them.
Just Isa and Aurora...
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DATE: 2nd of January, 3311 [13:22 UGT]
LOCATION: Borealis BS-02X, Deep SpaceAurora & Isabella Adair-Levine
The Borealis flashed out of supercruise as its wings cut through the light atmosphere. Gentle light caught the worn red of the hull as the ground rapidly approached, the canopy filling with a beautiful horizon.
Surfing glide as the ship's structure creaked, the ship began to pitch up as it shuddered, staying on course as the thrusters began to flare, accounting for the transition into normal space. Only several kilometers above the surface did the ship end its glide phase, thrusters roaring as it cut across the sky.
Injections into the thrusters painted a red trail across the alien horizon as the ship began its steady descent. Engines flipped into VTOL mode as the Borealis slowed, coming to a flat plain as fine dust and small rocks were kicked up, pushed away by the blast of the thrusters.
Landing legs deployed, the crunch of hard rock and sandy surface sounding out beneath the feet of the gear as it settled, the engines cooling down.
The front airlock opened as two figures in suits stepped out, descending down the ramp as one guided their way with a crutch. They stepped out onto this untouched world, just barely making out the quiet howl of wind. Aurora walked along the sand as she looked up at the speckled sky, a sigh echoing in the confines of her helmet.
She handed her crutch to her wife and carefully took a knee as she looked at the wide open horizon, seeing distant mountains and the yellow sunset... or sunrise. It was beautiful. Her wife joined her side, offering a reassuring smile through her tinted visor.
Aurora looked at the sandy terrain in front of her, running a gloved hand along it before she reached for her belt, opening a pouch to pull out a folded utility trowel. Flipping out the blade and securing it, she deployed it to its full size before bringing it down, sticking it into the sandy ground. She carved out a small hole of shallow depth, before placing the tool aside.
Her hand reached for her belt again, grabbing a rectangular sheathe as she brought it forward into her hands. She examined it, carefully opening the side as she watched the hilt automatically pop out. Extracting the weapon, she slid the plasma knife out of its sheathe. The final remnant of her past.
She held it up slightly, watching the light catch the blue edge of the blade. This knife hadn't seen much usage... yet at the same time, it had seen enough. It was all that remained of the Navy for her. All that remained of Foxhound.
Sliding the knife back into her sheathe, she closed it, locked it and dropped it into the hole she had dug. One last look of her past... before she brushed the sand back over it, covering the sheathe.
She patted the ground back into place as the knife disappeared from view, before grabbing the trowel and folding it back up. She brushed her gloves off and slowly rose to her feet, looking off to the sunset before turning to her wife. She retrieved her crutch again and placed an arm around her partner, holding her waist as the two looked off and admired the horizon... just for a moment. Just the two of them, far from civilization. A moment to share words, masked by the low howl of the gentle wind.
The two returned to the ship when they were done, the engines spooling up as the thrusters burst to life. Power to the vertical thrusters let the Borealis take to the air again, cutting across the atmosphere as it pushed to the skies above, sending the roar of its engines through the atmosphere.
The glow of the heat vents intensified as the hull drummed with the charge of the Frame Shift Drive, before the ship blinked away into the abyss. In an instant, the Borealis vanished into the stars above to continue its journey.
Their journey.
《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《 》》》》》》》》》》》》》》》》》》》》Credit: Written together by CMDRs Radiumio and Maple, imagery created by CMDR Radiumio and story provided by CMDR Maple. Thank you so much for reading!
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