Andromeda's Gates: The story of Yseult Brenneaux

Chapter 4: Departure

Buried deep within the pyramid structure of Uplink, where the roadway from the main gate split off into side tunnels, which each had their own side tunnels and so on and so on, where the myriad finally ends beneath the catacomb-like arches of the lowest level and the omni-spectral daylighting is accented by the yellowish-green glow of a plasma conduit, a lone figure worked in her allocated bay on the only thing that had kept her going, kept her sane in this weird world of the megacorporation, its spies and secrets, tactics and treacheries. Here, at least, in the depths, it was just her and her bike. Working the walk-lifts had been dull be steady work and over the previous weeks she'd been able to acquire all the parts she needed to rebuild the sorry looking wreck Big Sal had left her with on her arrival.

Yseult was known about the base, she'd figured that out from her conversation with Riddaeon out on the balcony. She hadn't really socialised much since she arrived though. While most of the base's staff spent their down time in the commercial block or on the rec-floors, she'd mostly spent her time down here, working on her 'promise'. She bolted the final piece of cowling into place with a mag-wrench and took a step back. Raising the arm she help the wrench in, she wiped the sweat from her brow; could this really be it? Her ticket out of this black tomb was a bright azure modified 400CR Skyblade. It rested in stark contrast to all the mandatory black and green around it... Her old bike had ended up being a murky mottle of greens, this one was never going to be. She'd stripped what she'd been given back to the bare frame and virtually started anew, replaced the anti-matter repulsors, rebuilt and re-installed the generator and replaced the drive exhausts. The bodywork, she had had to spend the most on, the wide front cowling covered additional micro side-mounted repulsors that worked as control surface to drastically increase manoeuvrability and aero braking,. She thought back to the crash, what little she remembered from before it; some details had come back to her, in time: the missile, the moment, almost like slow-motion as she saw it would hit her and the feeling of being in control, yet having none. Waking up on the ground, smoke billowing from the wreckage of a mangled piece of bike. Try that again she proposed silently.

She heard footsteps behind her. Turning, she saw a shadowed figured resolve into the man she'd spoken to on the balcony. "Far too pretty for a place like this" Riddaeon said as he reached her. Yseult didn't like the way the comment purported to be about the bike, yet his eyes had never left her. One more thing I'll be glad to leave behind. "Didn't think you'd finish it so soon." He continued. To that, Yseult had an answer: "I work hard" she said. Riddaeon inspected the hovercycle, it's polished awesomnium fibre shell reflecting glints of light and colour from obscure origins. "That you do" He replied, half in contemplation. He's weaving a web, she thought, and I'm the prey. "Shame" he continued. "With everything that's happened. Everything that's about to happen." Now he addressed her directly. "People who will do... whatever it takes... are hard to find". She looked him in the eyes, searching for a clue. "You must have wondered" he said. "How we caught you. How we knew what you were doing, where you were going". Yseult didn't want to show she was actually intrigued. She did want to know, and badly. She just didn't like admitting it. Rather than let him gloat, she took a guess. "You knew the part was fake". A wry smile grew on Riddaeon's face. "Making sure you couldn't supply a real one... That was the tricky part. You're quite resourceful". He said gesturing towards the bike. "And we need people we can trust... Or more to the point. We need people we can't trust". Yseult had had enough. "Poetic." She replied. "But I kept my side of the deal, and now..." She walked over to the bike. "I have kept your side too. Non?" She was getting annoyed, her South-Western French accent asserted itself when she did and hints of her native language broke through the English she was used to speaking.

She mounted the bike which detected her presence and automatically started up, then started a system test and she watched in satisfaction as every section on the light blue holo-dash indicated 'O.K' in succession. The generator and repulsors began to glow as the stream of charged antimatter started flowing through the system, curving space-time outwards as it circulated faster around the repulsor discs until the natural gravity of the planet acting near the centre of the bike was negated and a gentle push was achieved. Yseult took her crash helmet from the handlebars and put it on. Finally she thought. I'm really going back. That thought hung in her mind for a moment. Going back... back to what? So the mad scientist had wanted her in M.A.N.T.I.S., so what? If they really knew me, they'd have known not to try. She felt the vibration through her arms as the drive engine spooled up. She looked back at Riddaeon. For a moment he did nothing, then gestured towards the route that would eventually lead to the exit. "Hope you find what you're looking for." He said. "After all... What's a pilot without a ship?" The question stuck: What's a pilot without a ship?. She lowered her visor and tried to steel her nerves. "Me." She said quietly to herself. She thought of her life outside the gates of M.A.N.T.I.S., all her efforts to get back what she'd lost... How far had she gotten? They left me to die, and all I do now is survive. She'd always presumed they'd come back, that this is where she needed to be. How will I ever find her if I leave? But how can I win her back if I stay? In the murky swamps of Marphacia, Yseult had learned how to survive... the hard way. She'd survived this long by holding on to one thing; could she really just let it go. She had let herself worry about the small things in M.A.N.T.I.S., but a roof, a bed, a meal... She suddenly realised how long it had been since she worried about those things... Can I put that behind me so easily?

The glow of the repulsors dimmed and the hovercycle gently lowered until it rested on the floor. Yseult dismounted and removed her helmet. She looked at Riddaeon and hated that he was about to be right. She wasn't about to have a conversation about it though. "Let's get to work then." She announced as she strode off.