Stargazers

Return to Canaan

The Return to Canaan

Hours before the arrival of Daedalus, or even Siegfred, the ancient armor Gabriel surfaces from dive just outside of Canaan's atmosphere. It gleams from the light of the distant star as it cuts a sharp curve through space and into the planet's orbit. Friction warms the outside while the inside remains unchanged.

Chastity watches the skyline appear through the monitors, holding the controls tight as the armor rocks and rumbles around her. It isn't her first time entering a planet's atmosphere, but it is the first time she had done so in an armor, and the experience makes her nauseous. Behind her, the Lady sits at rest, eyes closed, still.

It takes the dusty surface of the planet to inform Chastity as to their location. She sees the darkened facility far below them, swelling into view. The asphalt is marred by wrecked armors and broken bodies decayed and exposed. "Canaan," she whispers, her empty words echoing in the silence. She glances back at the Lady. "Why are we here?"

"The answer is here." The Lady's voice comes from all around Chastity, who is beginning to believe that the Guide and the machine are now one.

Gabriel makes a sharp descent towards the surface. Inertia pins Chastity to her seat and leaves her light-headed. Her limbs tingle and prickle as her blood gathers in her head. Then, the armor stops with sudden buoyancy, bouncing in the air before landing amidst a cloud of dust. The top hatch hisses as its slides open, and Chastity unbuckles herself.

The Lady climbs out first, surveying the area. Chastity climbs out afterward, peeking between the Guide's ankles. "Is it safe to be here?" Memories of the battle replay in her mind. For her, it was little more than a darkened room stinking of blood. Flashes of Lancelot fill her mind. His cold eyes make her stomach twist.

The Lady leaps from the armor's shoulder before looking back up at Chastity from the bullet-eaten asphalt. "Come with me. There is no one else here."

"What about the armor?"

"Only we can pilot it," the Lady says. "Without me, it will not operate."

Chastity glances back at the inert controls, lifeless and dim, before climbing out. She moves slowly and carefully, the armor having no ladders to help her down. Her landing is a graceless fall into the dust that has gathered around them. The Lady helps her up and waits as Chastity dusts the sand from her rear. Ahead lies the fresh ruins of the Canaan research facility. Up until now, Chastity hasn't seen the full scale of the battle with her own eyes. What she finds makes her wonder how they ever survived so long during the attack.

"Come." The Lady marches resolutely head, and Chastity stumbles after her.

"This is the last place I expected to be."

"I understand," says the Lady in a tone that indicates genuine understanding buried beneath absolute certainty. "But this is the only place for me. This was my birth, my home, and it will tell me what I am. I am sure of it."

Chastity draws a deep breath as they approach the facility. At the doorway, she releases it. "Then let's do this."

Together, they enter the facility.

-Stargazers part 1-

Robin watches from Siegfried's helm as the ship surfaces outside of Canaan. Space ripples around them as he orders the ship closer, into Canaan's orbit. The helmsman synchs orbit with the research facility, and Robin stares down at the dusty planet through the monitor, knowing that this is where it began and determined to see that it ends here, too.