Chromium

Chapter 17.1

First draft

Six hours after escaping from the Aegis IV, Dia was sitting at a table in the Galley's inner balcony with a bottle of gut-rot in her hands. It was already half-empty but she kept drinking, trying to forget the last twenty-four hours. It wasn't easy. She had been too busy trying to stay alive before, but now that she was safe and the adrenaline rush was gone, she kept thinking about what Gibson had said to her. She couldn't help it. Reyes' identity and Gibson's revelations were simply too shocking. To make things worse, the bar was unnaturally quiet and empty now that the pirates were gone. Luckily, Rodriguez, who was sitting in front of her, started talking and diverted her attention. The merc kept the conversation as light as possible, carefully avoiding sensitive topics. It was pretty obvious that she was trying to cheer her up, but it worked. After a while, Dia started relaxing and stopped drinking. Her body did the rest, dispelling the effects of alcohol within a few minutes. 

Maybe realizing she was feeling better, Rodriguez asked, "Are you ready to talk now?"

Dia hesitated for a few seconds before giving her a curt nod. "As ready as I'll ever be. But maybe it's better if you go first. Can you tell me what happened after we got separated?"

Dia didn't have to ask twice, the merc seemed all too eager to speak. Rodriguez told her that one of the Station's defensive towers was still intact, though she didn't know how Gibson had managed to hid that from them.

"Maybe it was the nebula. It messed up our sensors pretty badly." The merc said with a shrug. "Anyway, we had just come aboard when the tower started firing on us."

Luckily Mitchell had reacted fast enough, managing to save the ship, but the Nostromus had been hit hard. 

"Ironically, Gibson helped us." Rodriguez said. "The pirates were so busy repelling his attack that they didn't notice us until it was too late."

"Gibson must have planned it from the start." Dia commented. "He knew the nebula would hinder our sensors and took advantage of it."

"Yes, but his plan wasn't just to get you." Rodriguez said as she started oiling "Emma", her minigun.

"No, that was just a bonus." Dia admitted, "What he really wanted was to lure Reyes...the Umbra here."

"I think that you're wrong, Sweetheart." Rodriguez objected. "If all Gibson wanted was to kill him, why didn't he fire on us as soon as we approached the station? That turret packed enough heat to take down a light cruiser."

"Yeah, but he just had one of them at his disposal." Dia rebutted. "Besides, the station wasn't protected by shields. Gibson knew that if something went wrong, it was all over for him." 

"Even in that case, I sincerely doubt Reyes would have destroyed the station. He needed Gibson." Rodriguez reminded her. 

Dia shrugged. "I don't know what to say to you, Maria. Maybe Gibson didn't want to take the risk. That's why he lured us in and laid down a trap. He knew that even if he failed to destroy the Nostromus, the pirates would never fire on the station, not when Reyes was on board."

"And not content with that, he planted a bomb." Willis spoke for the first time. His voice was shivering, though he was trying to hide it. "What a scary guy."

"Gibson was very meticulous." Dia admitted grudgingly. "He left nothing to chance."

"But the Umbra still killed him." Willis said.

Silence descended upon the room.

Rodriguez shook her head. "I still can't believe that Reyes is the Umbra."