Howard was relatively quick to get ready today. Because today, he would get to see his Auoura. This was the happiest he'd been since arriving on the station, just anticipating seeing his friends; he leaped for joy as soon as he got the message that his visitation hours would begin today. Not even Russell's disgusting face could tarnish his mood. "Are we ready to go yet, Howard?" Russell asked impatiently, crossing his arms in the doorway as he waited for Howard to pull himself together, "Almost." Howard replied cheerfully.
"Howard, come on! I haven't got it all day; I've got things to do. You've got 15 minutes, so you better hurry up because as soon as your time starts, I'm not going to make it up."
"I'm coming," Howard added, which made Russell fume that this prisoner thought he was in control enough to waste time. "How do I look?" Howard asked, sticking his arms out as if he was getting ready for a hug. Russell roughly grabbed the gooey canine by his arm and forcefully pulled him out of the room, "Hey!" Howard screamed as Russell forced him outside of the door. "Stop messing around before I change my mind about this visitation. Because if you ask me, you don't deserve it." Howard sneered, "Nice try, but nothing will ruin my mood, not today." Russell continued to pull Howard toward a meeting room. "Oh? Is that so? You're a G2. I looked at your medical record. If I broke every bone in your body because you annoyed me, would that ruin your mood?"
"Are you some sort of sadist? I don't understand how someone like you could turn to justice. Or be allowed outside of padded walls." Russell paused, taking offense to that, glaring at Howard over his shoulder. "I've always wanted to be a security officer. Not that it's any of your business. And don't ever say that again." Russell growled, his grip tightened as he forced Howard down the hallway. "Oh? Did I strike a nerve?" Howard teased. He was playing with fire. He didn't know about the events with Russell's tribe. Russell's expression darkened, and he shot Howard another stern look. "You don't know anything about me or what I've been through," he muttered, his grip relenting slightly. Howard decided to steer the conversation differently because he might have touched on a sensitive topic. "I'm just saying, it's a strange choice for someone who seems to enjoy causing pain," he remarked, attempting to diffuse the tension as they approached the conference room.
The duo continued in silence until they reached the wooden double doors leading into the room. Unlike other station sections, the meeting rooms were designed to be warm and inviting. In the early days, the DP and the Omeocoon delegates held meetings concerning the efforts of Omeocoon's induction into the DP. Now, it was a meeting area for prisoners. Howard would be the first collected, then Russell would have to go and get the others— unfortunately, this meant he'd have to leave Howard alone for a few minutes, but he knew that the dog was harmless. As he brought Howard inside, he sat him in one of the chairs clustered around the circular table. "Wait here. And don't do anything while I'm gone. Or I promise you, you'll regret it." Russell threatened. As he turned to leave the room, a powerful wave of turbulence erupted beneath his feet, enough to knock several decor articles off the room's walls. The explosion was so intense that Howard rushed over to Russell, praying for his protection as the station was thrust into darkness. Not even emergency power kicked in. The only sliver of light were the stars in the window and the shifting-inhibitors on Howard's body. But they only provided a shallow bit of light, allowing Russell and Howard's eyes to glimmer in the darkness, "What's going on?!" Howard whined. Russell couldn't provide a definitive answer. He just knew that he had to locate his friends.
"Well. Looks like your visitation was just cut short." Russell pointed out as the emergency lights flickered on, casting an eerie glow in the now dim room. Howard glanced around nervously, and the gravity of the situation was still sinking in. Visibly frustrated, Russell moved toward a communication panel on the wall to check for updates. But the device didn't respond. The emergency power was routed elsewhere, which meant the communications system was designed as a nonessential service.
"Damn it. We need to find the others and figure out what's happening," Russell grumbled, motioning for Howard to follow him. The two left the meeting room cautiously, navigating the darkened corridors of the station. They were in the command ring, so Russell was closer to his friends. This was planned because, after visitation, he intended to make his appearance known at the meeting.
As they ventured further, they encountered a steady flow of light, like a glow stick, which was welcome in the darkness— it was Kipp. By now, the entirety of Gel-Squad was somewhat aware of the unique abilities of their group. Kipp could create light with his body and glow in the dark. That's how Russell could locate his companions in pitch darkness because they quickly discovered the e-lighting did nothing in the way of seeing more than ten feet ahead of oneself—Gel-Squad members in varying states of confusion and urgency. Maxion, Cam, and Kipp were welcome faces, but they were with someone new, a tall bunny; he seemed relaxed in the face of danger, and Russell felt unusually safe around him. They gathered in the command ring corridors, attempting to make sense of the sudden chaos.
"Russell, is that you?" Russell could see Cam in the darkness as he asked. His face was littered with worry as well. He sounded panicky as usual in the face of danger— excellent, another whiny voice to add to his ensemble. Maxion also seemed calm; he should've expected that from a pirate constantly experiencing things like this.
"Yes, it's me. Has anyone seen Kori or Tommy?" Russell asked, his gaze drifted toward the quartet. Maxion spoke up. "I don't know. I haven't seen them." The responses from the others were similar. Russell was second in command of Gel-Squad, so, of course, he took point. "Stay close to Kipp." The bunny took the smaller Gel-Cat's hand, for both comfort and safety, as if, at this moment, Kipp was their only light source until they could find an emergency locker with flashlights.
Gel-Squad, now semi-assembled, moved in a train of closeness. "What's going on, Kipp?" Russell directed engineering questions toward the engineer, of course. "There was a giant shock wave, and I think it was an internal explosion. So there might be hull damage. We won't know until I can check the diagnostics in the conning tower." Kipp responded, "Let's get you up there." Russell said that was the plan; they continued along the path of emergency lighting— which illuminated red through the station. "Are the people on the lower levels alright?" The stranger asked, "The promenade and the civilian levels are the safest places on the station. They were designed to withstand solar flares and meteor showers. The emergency power should keep the station's thrusters operational enough to keep it in orbit. But if that power goes out before we get the core back online, then—" The stranger finished Russell's thought, "Yeah... I get it. I'm Cal." Russell similarly introduced himself.
It was long before a severely bruised Tommy joined the group; he was stumbling against the walls and inhaling shallow respires as he continued ahead. "Tommy!" Cal shouted, which was odd considering Russell didn't know that Cal and Tommy were... friends? He pounced over quickly and assisted him in standing up. Russell noticed that Cal was... touchy. "I'm okay. But Kori..." Tommy revealed immediately that he couldn't finish his sentence; he winced in pain, and with that, Cam slipped his bag off his shoulders right away, going to work. He deployed all sorts of medical devices that the rest could not name. Cal eased Tommy onto the deck, using the back of the wall as a back brace. Cal remained lowered on one knee, holding Tommy's hand for emotional support.
The rest of them were surrounded with worry as they awaited Cam's verdict. "Is he okay?" Howard was the first to ask, which was surprising, considering Russell would've thought the canine would've enjoyed seeing them get hurt. "Well, lucky for us, Tommy is a Generation One. So he's resilient. If he were G2, he would've been dead by now." Russell, who was holding his breath, exhaled in relief. "I'm going to go upstairs and see what I can see," Russell said. Cam would remain behind, and so would Cal. He was leaving Maxion, Russell, and Howard to venture forward.
The central control room was their next destination, where they hoped to gather more information and take control of the situation. The journey through the darkened station was filled with tense moments, each member on high alert for unexpected threats. Upon reaching the control room, Kipp quickly assessed the situation by drawing on his engineering knowledge. And was able to stabilize the core and restore power to essential systems. The familiar illumination of the station's regular lighting replaced the emergency lights. An investigation followed with a man-hunt for anyone who went missing during the emergency.
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Loose Ends: Cal & Howie
कल्पित विज्ञानSet in the year 2102, two years after the 'Gel-Squad,' this spin-off story follows the events of Howard and Cal, two individual survivors of the Omeocoon catastrophe. The pressure of war has hardened Cal; he is an EX-Omeocoon military. This explains...
