"That's their ship hanger?" Aurrum pressed a set of fingers against his forehead, rubbing vigorously. The comms tech had relayed the news; that the small warehouse below them that clung to the larger structure was where all the resort's crafts were held. Apparently, shuttles were used to get people down - bigger crafts were never expected to land.

Sick of having a middleman, he took control of the comms line directly and patched himself in. Doing so would limit his attention, but it needed to be done.

"This is the captain of the Andromeda," he announced. "Who am I speaking to?"

The reply came in message form on his feed.

This is Annika Reyal, acting manager of the Aquatime resort and liaison to the Aquatime Corp.

Aurrum scowled, you wanna explain what just happened to me?

Her response arrived after a lengthy pause. We had to follow the code, captain. For a series of reasons, Alto II lacks adequate defenses for what you brought to our doorstep.

So, she was a bureaucratic lackey, one who valued her image to the company rather than the employees underneath her. Breaking the Code meant heaping a whole stack of fines on the corporation - and that would mean losing her job in the process.

As president of his own enterprise, he understood the power of incentive, leverage - employees willing to put the company first. But there was a limit to that. Still, he couldn't deny the fact that they were the ones that had pulled Alto II into this chaos, not to mention the fact that the most established settlement on the planet was a damn resort.

So, how's this going to work? He finally asked her.

Our hanger is too small, was the answer. And I'd rather you not endanger our guests.

The irony of that wasn't lost on the captain. But he furrowed his brows, thinking.

There's a larger settlement underwater, correct?

Yes.

Well, if we managed a water landing, could you get us underwater-

He was interrupted by another massive blast. One of the turrets had taken out another fighter.

-underwater? He continued. They couldn't follow us without the proper equipment.

There was a pause, then: I'll see what I can do.

For the time being, the connection was then cut, and the captain returned his attention to the battle. They'd started this fight against six or so fighters, and to his deep pleasure, his feed was only tracking two active enemies left. The Andromeda had taken a beating, though. The only shields they'd managed to maintain were focused on the cockpit and the engine. Entire sections of the ship were sectioned off, riddled with tears in the hull and other signs of destruction.

But worst of all, their rear turret had been taken out, leaving him with just one. It was a terrible thing, he decided, that the men and woman manning the gun had suffered for a mission they never really knew. But it was his weight to bear. He was the one who had brought his crew into this, and at least he'd been open about the dangers.

It also meant that they were down to just the fore turret, and the two fighters knew it. They flew frustrating patterns, always striking the Andromeda from behind, shaving off piece by piece like a knife carving through wood.

Still, the waters of Alto II loomed up at them, and there was real hope that they'd make it. Half a dozen fighters were a lot, but the Purists (he assumed) had likely thought it would be more than enough to take down a civilian craft like the Andromeda. But there was more than what meets the eye to his ship, and he'd make sure they got a taste of it.

On his feed, his comms channel flared to life again.

We're tracking your landing path, the supervisor reported. We're meeting you with a set of submersibles to take your crew underwater and away from the fighting. How many in your crew? We only have room for about a hundred.

More than enough, he answered. With the smaller crew and Erin's soldiers, the entire population of the ship numbered about sixty. I'm guessing you can't do anything about my ship?

Sorry, was the answer. We can't keep it from being exposed.

There's two fighters left, he pointed out. How am I going to get these people off the ship safely?

You'll have to figure that one out yourself.

Aurrum seethed and cut the connection, allowing himself a moment to calm down before he said something he regretted.

After a moment, with a clearer head, he relayed the information to Erin, who frowned in response.

"Hmm," she said, as though they were puzzling over simple arithmetic, "give me a moment."

Aurrum glanced down at the rapidly approaching ocean, then back at Erin.

"We don't have a lot of those left," he said, scowling, "what are you thinking?"

She was slow to respond; most of her attention had been redirected to her feed. "Most of your crew is station-born, correct?"

He nodded, "the only Factors we've got are some of the soldiers, your son, and our guest." Aurrum himself had been born on Ferrus, but its awareness had matured to such a degree that it was selective in who was given a Factor. But they had access to a whole team of people with power like Lukas, maybe they could have stood a chance...

He was distracted by a sudden jolt as a nearby section of the ship took a heavy hit. Unperturbed, Erin continued surfing her feed. "Factors aren't the solution here... apparently, most of the fishing here is done trawler-style, with nets, but they also hunt a kind of aquatic mammal for export - some fast furry thing that they use harpoon guns on."

Aurrum barked out a laugh. "What? We're gonna harpoon them down?"

"No," she said. "We're going to herd them into range of our last turret using the harpoons. Any kind of projectile, these pilots are going to avoid it. They won't realize it's just harpoons."

"And how exactly will we keep up with those things?"

Erin jerked her thumb at the looming ocean. Her finger was focused on a cluster of moving figures cutting through the waves some distance away.

"Those things they ride are fast," she said. "Get that supervisor on comms again, Aurrum. I have an idea."

...

Jasper lurked behind Annika and her secretary as they communicated with the ship. The communications tower was not a large space; a few desks, a handful of chairs, and a single, bulky console, designed to support a load of high-data communication over the feed. Most feeds could manage a long comm with just the contact lens hardware alone, but oftentimes cruises and other pleasure craft would send down huge itineraries; profiles on the arriving passengers so the hotel staff could tailor to their needs accordingly. Currency exchanges too, were expected to be directed through the secure console - or anything else confidential. He guessed that Annika was using it to prevent the fighter pilots from picking up their communication.

He'd tried to use his trip to the tower as a chance to calm himself down, to claw back the veil of professionalism and push down the urge to throttle the damn woman.

They were in the middle of a battle, he reasoned. There would be time to push for justice after.

He shouldn't have worried, however - the resort's public feed was a wave of outrage and terror. Staff and locals alike launched messages like missiles, calling for information about the downed Skywave, expressing worry and fear for the crew's lives. He allowed himself to read a few, if only to assuage his guilt. At least some people cared.

You do care, the Old One murmured. But we have a task ahead of us. Don't forget that.

Whatever, he shot back at her, watching through the tower windows as the huge ship drifted closer to the water. Even as he was looking, he caught a flash of light, a dull boom, and another fighter was suddenly spiraling down. Can you even feel emotions? Or is this just some cheap drama for you to watch from the sidelines?

He didn't catch her response; his thoughts were drowned out by the scattered cheering that filled the tower's cramped space.

"They've almost got 'em!" One of Annika's managers crowed.

But Jasper was more subdued. The big ship was in rough shape, its flight path a shuddering zig-zag in the air. There were still two fighters left, circling the craft like carrion around a carcass. Jasper seriously doubted if they'd stick the landing.

But Annika seemed to have other plans. She ripped herself away from the console, and turned to face her team.

"Listen up," she bellowed. "We're going to try again."

"Try... again?" Someone questioned. Jasper was sure that every person in the room was scrolling through the public feeds, just as he was. "But the Skywave was demolished!"

Murmurs broke out throughout the group, low and panicked. But Annika reigned it in, cutting through the noise with her razor-sharp tone.

"We're not going to make a mistake this time. I need someone to prep and get a submersible to where that ship is going to land. I also need someone to convince the locals-" here, she winced, "-and see if you can get them to cooperate with us."

Jasper understood her reaction. As employees of Aquatime, they were beholden to the Code. But the locals were just civilians - they had no obligation to help.

And yet... Akion and the others had risked their own safety, approached the Skywave to help any survivors. He hated to see the locals' genuine care as an advantage, but this was the opportunity he was looking for.

Jasper raised his hand. "I can organize the second group," he said, his voice flat. Despite the plan, he didn't want to speak to Annika, to even be in her presence.

Upon seeing him, her eyes widened slightly, but she just nodded. "I'll send you more details over the feed, then. If you can't convince anyone to help, let me know and we'll figure something else out."

Jasper bristled, anger surging. She didn't even have the decency to ask if he was okay, if any of the others had made it out. The group around them had gone silent, whispers breaking out again. Most of the managers and assistants had noticed Jasper in the room now - one of the unfortunate souls to have boarded the Skywave.

I wonder... the old one mused in his ear.

What? He said, already backing away. Annika hadn't taken her eyes off of him yet, nor was she stemming the tide of voices. Maybe she was more shocked then she was letting on.

You're perfectly healthy, the Old One continued. And the rest of the crew... is not. I wonder if they will resent you, the friends and family - choosing to expend your Factor on yourself instead of helping the others.

Jasper couldn't take the looks and whispers anymore, the lighting-fast private feed messages he knew must be ricocheting around the space. He turned tail and left the room, headed for the staircase that would take him down to the ground floor.

He thought about what the Old One had said, and shuddered. He'd been through war, knew how irrational the ones who were left behind could be.

Do you really think they'll hate me? He asked. Eden's brother didn't seem to feel that way over the feed...

No, but the ones who don't know you as well... they'll begin to wonder how you pulled this off. I think your time here may be running short.

Jasper brushed away her thought, unsettled. Instead of continuing their conversation, he spent the next few minutes scouring the public feed for a way to connect to Akion. It didn't take long for him to find a public post from the man; he had provided an update on the Skywave to both the local population and the vast brunt of the Aquatime staffing team. Jasper opened a private channel with him and explained what he was hoping for. He mentioned the Code, although Akion probably understood that it was the reason the Skywave went up in the first place. Although Annika didn't mention it, Jasper promised compensation for whomever risked their lives and their equipment for the plan. He'd let Annika figure out the details when it came down to that.

Akion's response to his proposal was swift, and it prompted Jasper to exit through one of Aquatime's exits. There on the docks, he met Akion and the others - the same crew that had gone to the Skywave. Fortunately, they were on the other side of the resort, so the ship was hidden from view. Still, pillars of smoke clawed their way towards the sky all around them; the remains of these fighters was more than enough of a reminder of his own deadly crash.

"This plan of yours," Akion said, "it is absolutely crazy."

Instead of the dismay Jasper was expecting, the rest of the team grinned at the words. They bobbed in the waves atop their aquajets, languid and at ease more than anything else.

"It's a dangerous plan," countered. He wouldn't forgive himself if he wasn't brutally honest. "Believe me. I've served in battled with better odds than this."

"You were a soldier?" Akion's eyes lit up with interest. "That is why you were on the shuttle trip."

"A field nurse, actually. I don't miss those days."

"Ah, but we've never experienced them." Akion stretched his arms out, the gesture dramatic. "To defy the odds, and in exchange be rewarded? That is the most exciting thing that has ever happened to this place."

Jasper blinked, tried to see these men and women through a more objective lens. Young, and fit, and bored, they spent their days fishing, or ferrying passengers, or working at the resort. Caedem's isolation, its monotony - these were the reasons Jasper had refuge here. But they were also the same reasons that could shape it into a cage. To Akion and the others, war was deadly, yes, but exciting. They had seen the Skywave, the carnage, and yet they still thought they were invincible.

At another time, Jasper would have pressed the point, warning them that this battle was not the exciting break in the monotony they were hoping for. But he needed their help, needed that bravery. So he simply nodded, pointed towards the ship in the distance. For a long, silent moment, they watched as the smoking husk dipped ever lower towards the horizon.

"We should go," Akion broke the silence suddenly, and Jasper's heart ached at the thought of sending these good people into the fray.

But... if he couldn't stop them, he could at least make things equal.

"I'll go with you," Jasper said, already regretting the words.

"What?" Akion said, a little incredulous.

What? The Old One echoed, I just pulled you out of the clutches of death, and you want to jump back in?

"Let me ride with you," Jasper said. "I can't, in good conscience, allow you all to take this risk yourself. You're not even damn employees!"

Akion regarded him for a moment. "Can you drive?" he asked, finally.

"Yes," Jasper answered. He'd spent enough time on Caedum to master the aquajet.

"Alright then," he grinned, "let's get this veteran a little action, eh?"

With that, the others cheered.