Split or String

Chapter 2

The familiar smell of engine oil and fuel exhaust greeted Melinda May as she walked into the hanger bay. Most of the aircrafts in the bay were meant for space battle. But that didn’t stop her from remembering the calm thrill of the cockpit. It had been months since she piloted anything. Not even the shuttles allowed any manual control, and that was the last small vessel she’d been in. She walked across the expansion of the bay to the shuttle loading dock, preparing herself for Sif and whatever else may come through those doors.

The desire to fight rose within her like an awakened beast, and she let the rage roll over her. She took a deep breath and put the beast back to sleep. Soon, but not yet. She needed that energy to fuel the combat against the danger that took Coulson. The frustration she felt for her decision was packaged away like nuclear missiles. She loathed the feeling that she failed her mission. Moreover, she disliked how much she let herself care for him. Another wave of emotion wracked her insides. She breathed through the pain as it passed. Even when she was alone, Agent May refused to show weakness.

A moment later, the hanger door slid open as Victoria Hand walked in. She joined May on the shuttle deck.

“If I would’ve known the magnitude of the operation, things would’ve been different,” Victoria stated.

“Would you have still sent our team?” Melinda asked.

“Of course,” Victoria responded. “Coulson is always the best man for the job.” She paused. “I know regret can eat you alive. But there was no way anyone saw this coming. And right now, there’s nothing we can do to change what happened, except keep working and looking ahead.” Even when Victoria Hand was trying to be sympathetic, she sounded harsh. “The missions before us will either be about rescue or for vengeance.”

            “I’m hoping for both,” Agent Hill said as she walked to the deck’s control panel. She punched in the commands to lower the glass barrier. Once it sealed the shuttle dock, the bay doors opened and their guests arrived.

            “No, you’ll need to run the results through this program to make the graph,” Jemma pointed to the screen, directing Agent 13 to a spreadsheet.

            “So I have to type in the values individually?” Agent 13 glanced at the twenty pages of data in her hand.

            “Yes,” Jemma laughed a little. “Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to bring my handy dandy scanner on board.”

            Agent 13 sat down at the desk and began clacking away.

            “You know, I really appreciate your help. Having an extra pair of hands makes this research go a lot faster,” Jemma continued. “I also appreciate the company.”

            “Aren’t there other people researching this as well?” Agent 13 asked.

            “Yes, but we all are working on different things. Some of us are working on Particle M067; others are studying the universes – astronomers, mostly – and others are studying the effects of the event on our planet. The list goes on.”

            “Why don’t you work with them?” Agent 13 swiveled around in the desk chair to face Jemma. She was more interested in talking to Jemma than the work at hand.  

            “I do, we just aren’t in the same room,” Jemma looked at the floor. “And I only like to work closely with people I trust,” she added quietly.

            For a moment, only the beeping and whirring of the equipment filled the room as Agent 13 observed the young agent in silence.