S1, 25 A Rescue in Regentis (FB) (April 20, 2015)

Corresponding text underneath each picture.

**2nd March 2095: Present Day**

**Qoter...**

**Regentis Airspace...**

I was pushing the Viper as hard as I dared as we blasted into Qoter’s atmosphere.

We barreled towards Mr. Grey’s co-ordinates, getting closer to the fighting with every passing second. I glanced at the map and it helpfully labelled the area we had just entered as “Regentis”, which I knew already was the capitol city of the planet.

Tracks made some sounds and pointed over my shoulder at the control panel.

Tank: “Oh, shields. Yeah, thanks.”

I still wasn’t completely used to flying and had never experienced a space battle before, so I was rather nervous to say the least.

Our destination finally appeared on the map and I kept a close eye on it as we grew closer.

However, my attention was distracted just moments later when, in an almighty explosion, a tower block not far ahead of us collapsed under a barrage of fire from a group of attacking ships.

Tank: “Holy….!” I exclaimed and had to alter our course so as not to fly straight into the falling building. How many people had just died? Right in front of my eyes, how many had the Collective just killed? In that one building alone? And looking around, there were hundreds of fires raging across the cityscape below.

I clenched my teeth in anger. Those people were innocent. These monsters from another galaxy were slaughtering innocent men, women and children just to prove a point!

I wanted to fight back, to blast them out of the sky, but I had my mission. Besides, I was massively outnumbered. One of me versus thousands of them.

As we flew on, we saw more battles. Both in the air and on the ground. The GI were doing their best but I couldn’t tell from the quick glimpses that I got whether that was enough or not.

A nearby mid-air explosion rocked the ship as we flew past and Aril, in the back with Tracks, cried out.

I steadied us.

Tank: “Don’t worry, we’re nearly there now.” I reassured him.

It took us less than another minute to reach the co-ordinates; A fancy-looking high-rise named Trinity Tower, made mostly from glass and which tapered towards the top. On the roof was a landing platform, which I took us in towards.

I landed the Viper on the pad and quickly undid my harness.

Tank: “Tracks, look after Aril. I’ll go and get Mr. Grey. Be prepared for a quick escape as soon as I contact you, alright?”

Tracks nodded as I opened the cockpit and climbed out.

I shoved my hat onto my head, drew my pistols and jogged over to the access door as Tracks slid into the pilot’s seat.

The door was locked, but after just a few seconds tweaking wires in the control panel, it opened up and I dashed inside, just as behind me I heard the Viper taking off again.

I found myself at the top of an emergency exit stairwell, which was what I had expected, and I practically ran down the stairs, taking several steps at a time. I could hear distant fighting but I wasn’t sure if the sounds were coming from within the building or outside.

Likelihood was, the answer was both.

Mr. Grey had told me his office was on level 205 and as I headed further down the stairwell, I counted the numbers on the access doors. It emerged that level 205 wasn’t very far from the top and when I reached it, I paused, listening to any sounds from the other side. There was a fair amount of noise, but I couldn’t hear any gunfire, so I pulled on the handle and carefully slipped through.

I found myself in a swanky corridor. Everything was shiny and very modern.

Tank: “Wow….” I muttered aloud in appreciation. “I bet the whole place looks like this.”

I glanced both ways up the corridor, trying to decide which way to try first, as from here, Mr. Grey had left no instructions. It was just up to me to find him.

I headed to my right, towards a glass door and as I got closer, I heard shouting coming from up ahead. I slowed down as I reached the door and cautiously peered through. I couldn’t see anybody so I opened the door and entered.

I entered into an equally swanky office, complete with wall-to-ceiling windows offering a breath-taking view of the surrounding cityscape. I held my pistols at the ready and turned in a circle. A few meters to my right was a wall. In front of me and extending off to the left, between myself and the windows was a giant meeting table. There was nobody in sight, but the shouting was certainly in the room.

It was at that moment that gunfire rang out. Several bursts of a machine gun by the sounds of it, accompanied by more shouting, a scream and a couple of thuds.

I hoped to God that that wasn’t Mr. Grey! I couldn’t have made it this far to be only seconds too late, surely!

I rounded the corner to my left and found myself in the main area of the office. There was a raised area to the right, on top of which sat a fancy desk, that presumably belonged to Mr. Grey. Also on the two-foot high dais was an overturned desk chair, a deep blue rug and just to each side were two banks of computer monitors. Hanging behind the desk was a huge floor to ceiling hanging cloth, with a black and white image of two headless men shaking hands.

But I took all of that in at a glance, because straight ahead of me were the main doors to the office, and there was currently a struggle taking place between men in security outfits and some others who appeared to be trying to get in. All of the glass that should have made up the doors was smashed and strewn across the floor.

I assumed that the people trying to break in were members of The Collective. I could see past them into the main corridor where several dead bodies lay at awkward angles. The security seemed to have done well this far but they had been pushed right back. As I looked on, one security guard had his shield wrenched out of his hands and was then shot in the neck and collapsed.

I quickly looked around and spotted Mr. Grey sheltering behind his desk. But I didn’t have time to rush over to him because something very strange happened.

A shout went out in a language I didn’t recognise and suddenly the three remaining guards were all launched backwards through the air.

They crashed to the floor half way across the room and Mr. grey looked on in astonishment round the corner of the desk.

I couldn’t get my head around what I’d just seen. Three grown men in body armour flying half way across a room, without anybody touching them?

But I didn’t have time to fret over it because walking through the doors was a tall man with long black hair, wearing some kind of robe and carrying a staff.

He raised his staff in the air and began to speak…

And then I shot him in the face and his head exploded.

His lifeless body dropped backwards onto the ground and the last two attackers looked for the source of the shot. But before they could do anything, I had shot one of them and one of the guards had taken down the other.

I looked over to Mr. Grey as he emerged from behind the desk and clambered to his feet.

Mr. Grey: “You… you killed him…” He didn’t seem to be able to understand what I’d just done.

Tank: “What? He wasn’t security was he?” I asked, semi-seriously.

Mr. Grey looked puzzled for a moment but then regained his usual composure.

Mr. Grey: “No, of course not. And anyway, where the hell have you been? You’d better have a good excuse for being so late!”

Tank: “I just saved your life!” I argued as the surviving guards resumed their positions by the door.

Mr. Grey: “Not yet, you haven’t. They could be back at any moment! What took you so long?”

I fought with myself over whether to tell him or not but decided that it was probably for the best.

Tank: “We got shot down onto Etrion. The Collective seem to be forming some sort of blockade. We were forced down and had to wait for the Viper to cool down. While we were there, I found a young boy alone in the rubble. His parents were dead and the town was full of pirates.” I explained in a hurry.

Mr. Grey: “Wait, so you chose a boy over me?” he asked angrily.

Tank: “I had already killed enough innocent people that day! I wasn’t going to leave him to his fate!”

Mr. Grey: “I do not believe this! You thought the life of some child worth more than mine? So where is he now, this boy? Did you manage to actually save this one or did you get him killed as well?”

Mr. Grey always knew how to hurt me and I glared at him.

Tank: “He’s in the Viper with Tracks.” I answered honestly, trying not to get angry.

Mr. Grey: “Oh brilliant, just brilliant!”

I was about to argue back but gunfire erupted in the corridor again; clearly reinforcements had arrived. I grabbed Mr. Grey and yanked him after me, back around the corner that I’d come from.

I let go of him as we entered the corridor and then turned into the emergency exit. But as we did so, there was an explosion from behind us.

Tank: “That didn’t sound good…” I muttered as we began heading up the stairs.

Bullets suddenly ricocheted off of the metal railings and steps all around us and we both staggered a few paces in shock, narrowly missing them. I glanced down the centre of the well and saw more collective pirates heading up towards us.

Mr. Grey: “Probably planning on getting into my office the same way you did.” He commented as we ran further up.

Another burst of gunfire shot past us.

Mr. Grey: “Give me a weapon!” he demanded and after only a moment’s hesitation I handed over one of my pistols.

In the same movement as taking the weapon from me, he took a single step forwards and aimed down the central gap and fired several bursts. The blue lasers rained all around the pirates. One was killed and the rest of the shots melted through the stairs around them, weakening the supports. A couple of shots more and there was an almighty crash as one of the flights gave way underneath them and screaming they went tumbling down.

Tank: “Wow, you’re pretty good with a gun!” I remarked, impressed, as we re-started our journey upwards.

Mr. Grey: “You sound surprised.”

I didn’t really know how to respond to that, so instead I pulled out my comlink and contacted Tracks.

Tank: “We’re nearly at the roof. Stand by for immediate evac.” I told him and he whirred an affirmative reply.

Less than a minute later, we burst out of the emergency exit and into the sunlight. The Viper was just touching down and we jogged straight over to it.

Tracks popped the cockpit and climbed back into the back as I helped Mr. Grey up and in. I climbed in after him and closed the roof before I’d even sat down.

Mr. Grey: “Uh. So this is the boy.” I heard him say from behind me. Tracks ground something out but I didn’t have time to figure out what he’d said as I lifted us up into the air and away from the building as quickly as I could.

Mr. Grey: “Take me to Rosili airport.” He commanded.

Rosili was another of the regions of Qoter.

Tank: “Are you sure?”

Mr. Grey: “100%. The Collective’s attacks have not yet reached that area of the planet and I have arranged an immediate shuttle off world to one of my private safe houses.”

Tank: “If you say so.” I resigned. I didn’t know why we couldn’t just fly him to his safe house, but I was fed up of arguing with him.

I had just saved him life and all he’d done was have a go at me.

Ungrateful sod.

I glanced in the rear-view mirror and saw that the three of them, Tracks, Aril and Grey were all rather close together. There were two seats in the back, but as Tracks was rather larger than an average person and Aril was only a child, it equalled out at them being cramped together. I smirked at the annoyed look on Mr. Grey’s face.

It took us about an hour to reach the airport and when we did, Mr. Grey pointed me towards a pre-arranged landing pad.

We touched down and a crew immediately appeared from this bay’s workshop and headed towards us.

I let Mr. Grey out and then climbed out after him. He didn’t wait for me though, he walked straight away towards the exit.

I jogged after him and heard him tell the crew as he passed them,

Mr. Grey: “Refuel and repair any damage as fast as you can. My account.”

I was pleasantly surprised at this. Maybe he was grateful after all. He just didn’t know how to show it.

But I still couldn’t let him go; not yet.

Tank: “Mr. Grey! I called and he stopped just before he got to the door. He turned around just as I caught up with him.

Mr. Grey: “Chain?”

Another surprise; he hadn’t used me real name like he normally did. Once again, I wasn’t going to complain though.

Tank: “You promised me answers.”

He rolled his eyes.

Mr. Grey: “You really want to do this here? Now? After everything that’s just happened?”

Tank: “You said you’d answer my questions if I came and rescued you! I’m here, you’re alive and now I want answers.” I put firmly.

Mr. Grey: “Fine! But you only get one question! Just *ONE* question! For being late. For picking that *child* over me! So what’s it going to be, Frank?! What’s your one question?”

I couldn’t believe this! *ONE* question?! Just one! After everything I just risked to save his life!

Mr. Grey was staring intensely at me, waiting for an answer. Or rather, waiting for a question.

So what *was* it going to be? I had so many! Which was the most important? I had to make this count. I had no idea when I would next get any answers from him.

Who had killed my parents? Why were they killed? Why did I take the blame? Why did he break me out of prison when he had the choice of hundreds of inmates?

I made up my mind. I was going to just have to go for the most important one.

I was finally going to find out who killed my parents.

I opened my mouth to speak, but as I did so, I felt a tugging on my left sleeve. I looked down and found Aril looking up at me with wide, teary eyes.

And I remembered the promise I’d made to him as I helped him into the Viper amid those ruins. The ruins of him home, his life, of probably everything he had ever known.

I looked at his pleading face for a second more and then turned back to Mr. Grey.

Tank: “I want to know where I can find relatives of this boy.”

Mr. Grey looked genuinely taken aback.

Mr. Grey: “What?” he asked, surprised.

Tank: “Can you help me find this boy’s family?” I asked, taking Aril by the hand.

A small smile appeared on Mr. Grey’s face as he watched me.

Mr. Grey: “You’re really using your one question to help this child, whom you’ve known for less than a day?”

I couldn’t believe it myself, but I knew that it was the right thing to do. I nodded.

Mr. Grey: “You don’t want to know who killed your parents? Why it was covered up? Anything to do with your past?” he checked.

Tank: “I do, but as much as it pains me to say it, all of that is in the past. It’s history now, it can’t be changed. This boy’s future… that is still to come. I was not going to leave him to die in some rubble and I’m not giving up on him now. You can find out virtually anything, get hold of any information you want and if you can’t, The Brain can; So tell, me where can I find his family?”

Mr. Grey thought for a few seconds and then walked over to a nearby medpack, stuck to the wall by the door. He pulled out a syringe, walked back over to us, knelt down and without a word, made a small prick in Aril’s skin. To his credit, Aril didn’t even flinch. As he knelt there taking a small blood sample, Mr. Grey looked deeply into the young boy’s eyes and I couldn’t work out what he was thinking.

Once he had finished, he stood up, placed the sample in his pocket and said simply,

Mr. Grey: “I’ll be in touch.” Then turned, and left through the door.

I shook my head slightly.

That man.

Aril: “Is he going to help?”

I smiled down at him.

Tank: “Yes. Yes I think he is.”

**BONUS PICTURES**

An alternative angle for the building collapsing shot. (Without the Viper).

The rooftop set.

An early markup for Mr. Grey's office.

The office set. I will post a separate moc looking at this in more detail at some point soon. Also keep your eyes open for a separate moc of the Micro Regentis set.

An alternative shot of Tank and Mr. Grey talking.

The stairwell set.

The docking bay set.

As my series is going to be jumping around though time, I will include a date on each episode and add it to the timeline at the end of each episode so that you can follow it.

TIMELINE