Chimera 🌈 [ONC 2024]

17: Countdown

The countdown ticked relentlessly. With every racing step Leanne took towards the docking bay, she felt the seconds turning against her. She and Ryan ran, feet beating on the sleek metal floors. Behind them, each portal door slammed shut. Valkyrie watched them all the way, sealing off their path as they drew further and further from the cockpit where Stefania still sat. The entire Arcadia was being locked down by the AI. Leanne remembered how hard it had been to get past her when first boarding – she hoped that difficulty would now prevent the BASE's attempts to get in.

Leanne and Ryan had made two stops only. One, to fetch their exosuits and two, to grab a data pad that Stefania had directed them to in her quarters. It felt strange to return to that small room with its window staring into the black sky. It had only been days since Leanne had stayed there, terrified of Phaethon's prowl about the ship. But it seemed an age. Perhaps it had been: time had been ripped apart by the ship and her drive. Leanne did not know how she would live the rest of her years, knowing what she did.

But now, she could only slide to a halt outside the docking bay and fumble with her exosuit. Ryan, still shaken by Imperium's sacrifice of her, struggled with her catches and Leanne reached across to help her. Her helmet clicked into place and then, suddenly, Leanne knew it was time to leave. Her strength failed her for a moment. Though she might depart this bizarre ship, its truth would shadow her. Stefania, all the embryos, Valkyrie... Would they still come into existence decades from now, as they were meant to? Or had destiny and the future been torn asunder?

Ryan paused at the entrance to the bay. She looked at Leanne and took a step back towards her. Seconds still ticked but she reached out, grabbed the polycarbonate of Leanne's helmet with both hands and drew her close. Their bubble-like visors touched softly together. Ryan's eyes stared into hers, her desire to calm Leanne outweighing her own grief. Leanne grasped her wrists, needing the connection.

"We'll be fine," Ryan said through their microphones.

We. Leanne had despaired of being alone on this ship, even when Ryan had arrived. Now, she knew: she would never be lonely in what occurred afterwards. She and Ryan shared all of this.

Ryan's Fighting Machine was still docked by the airlock. Ryan ushered Leanne inside and Leanne looked around curiously. She had never been inside a Martian vessel before and was struck by how minimal and sleek it appeared. It did not have the busy consoles or loud, flashing screens that Mandala had once had. Everything glowed with a soft green, flat to the bulkheads rather than protruding awkwardly. Ryan smiled as she took her place at the helm.

"Your BASE superiors would have a field day in here," she commented, back to her familiarly confident persona.

"I won't tell them any of this."

Perhaps there had been a time when Leanne would have done. She had been guilty of suspecting and disliking Mars, as everyone on Earth seemed to. She knew she could not go back to those ways after meeting Ryan. Earth and the BASE were as shady as anything they accused Mars of.