Starcrossed || Thirty-Two

After cleaning the dirt and grime off, Elise felt a little clearer in her head. Her determination remained, but her mad urgency was replaced by patience. Neburn was right; she couldn't just rush into something like this. She sat on her knees on one of the workbenches in the man's secret room. He had opted to set up the ship and take a look at it. Elise could tell that he really wanted to continue work on the thing, though he tactfully didn't act too excited at the prospect.

The visor turned over and over in her hands as she observed it. There was a faint dial on one side, which she discovered was used to flip through some of the dormant menus on the display. She hoped she wouldn't run down the battery before she figured out how to find Sean with it. He hadn't even told her how.

Elise rubbed her eyes wearily. She was tired, but she had opted to wait until she made some progress before letting herself sleep. She released a frustrated sigh and set the device down. "I keep wondering what Sean was even here for," she said aloud. "I never did get to find out more about his secret spy-mission or whatever." Whatever it was must have been a huge deal for Ambron to be gunning for them so severely.

"Spies are not generally known for their sharing personalities." Doctor Neburn replied from his corner. He delicately pulled out the cracked windshield from Elise's ship and set it aside with a pair of thin metal prongs. He scooted out on his stool to pull out a small hose, screwing on a suction attachment.

"I wouldn't be surprised if Sean was assigned to Tessira for reconnaissance." He mentioned offhand. He scooted back up to her ship, switching on the suction tube and pushing it through the gap where the windshield used to be. Ash and broken glass dust were vacuumed up through the narrow tip, tidying up the reconstructed interior.

Elise nodded, unable to argue with Neburn's words. Still, she had no idea what could drive the Allied Planets to such measures. She had never once heard of anything on this planet beyond the fact that it was "not suitable for human life". Designations like that were usually meant for planets with toxic atmospheres or no atmosphere at all. Who knew that this time it actually meant "paranoid government does not like humans"?

"Whatever he was looking for, it sure seems strange that he got punished as badly as he did," Elise answered, her brow furrowing. But for Jared's protection, Elise would most likely be sharing Sean's experience right now. "I know he had weapons when he got here, but we're so ..." Elise still had difficulties pointing out her disadvantage out loud. "Well, I wouldn't think we could be that threatening," she clarified.

Elise thought about how nervous Kaye had been their first few hours on the run together. And, even before that, Jared had been so hesitant when carrying someone so small for the first time. The memories clashed with the way Warren had grabbed her so roughly, and the way the Secretary talked down to her. What did they know that civilians didn't? "What would Sean have been looking for?" she mused aloud, picking up the headpiece again and looking at it pensively.

"If it were me," Neburn said, switching off the suction and peering inside with a small penlight to see if he missed a spot. "I'd be looking to investigate the infrastructure since their last contact. Probably searching for some sort of weak link they could use to their advantage."

He glanced over briefly at his small guest. "No offense, miss Elise, but humans have never had a reputation of keeping their distance."

Elise felt a faint, sheepish smile creeping onto her face. Neburn's assessment was quite accurate, when she really thought about it. Even Elise herself had been determined from an early age to travel as far and see as much as she could. That inherent curiosity combined with efficient industrialism to create a pervasive presence. The Allied Planets was a very far-reaching government. It had been foolish to assume it wouldn't use underhanded tactics to expand that influence.

Still, no matter what Sean had been sent for, he didn't deserve what had happened. Imprisonment made sense, but forcing him into an explosive collar? Elise couldn't think of a single good reason to do that to someone. Sean, at least, would likely keep a very healthy distance from Tessira if they managed an escape.

"You're right," she admitted after a while. "I guess this isn't the first or the last time that will cause trouble." Elise felt her fair share of guilt despite the fact that her landing had truly been an accident. She'd dropped in and had probably rattled up old conflict just by being here. And now she had influenced citizens to commit treason. Elise could almost understand the suspicion.

"I just wish it were possible to find out what happened after first contact. I'm sure some kind of reconciliation is possible. At the very least I don't want someone else to land here and get thrown in jail for a mistake." She lifted the visor to her face, slipping it over her eyes with a sigh. As she fiddled absently with the settings, barely seeing the grayscaled room around her, she added "I can't help but wonder why my government wasn't more adamant about keeping people away from here. If I had known better, I would have handled everything so differently." She smiled at the memory of her first minutes here, seeing Jared and Kaye for the first time. "I truly thought that I was making the very first contact."

Neburn nodded distractedly, listening without glancing away from his meticulous work on the tiny spacecraft.

"Judging by your friends’ reaction, I'd wager they thought the same." He said, wheedling a tiny wire back into place amongst its brothers in the main river of circuitry. "Can't blame them, of course. The tales of talking to the stars are far behind us, not even bedtime stories for children. 'Cept for the Irmirians. That was a nasty lot of parasites that kept hijacking rides on local comets. Only thing you'd hear outta their mouth was 'KOMOZA, KOMOZA', over and over again. Nasty things. But humans... Your people are a long forgotten secret here,"

Neburn paused for a long while until he received a pleasant spark from the purple, hair-thin wire snapping into place. He leaned back and mopped his brow with his sleeve, picking up on his train of thought as if he had never stopped.

"You know... If I didn't know any better, it sounds like your Allied Planets miss us. Sure didn't exactly put up a roadblock around Tessira." He chuckled, finally looking over at Elise for the first time in an hour. She didn't seem to see him from under the little visor. Once again, a look of intrigue crossed his weathered face. "You find any leads on that little mechanism yet?"

Elise kept scrolling through the various inactive or locked functions as Neburn spoke. She couldn't really picture the creatures he'd described, but she was genuinely glad that she hadn't been lumped into the same category. Somehow she guessed that her reception would have been even worse.

She shook her head once in response to his question. She looked up at him, blinking a few times when the screen had to adjust to the overhead lights. The device made everything seem flat gray, and it reduced shadows. It definitely seemed like it'd be more effective in the dark. She hadn't figured out if she could turn off the night-vision.

"Well, I may have something," she said aloud. It took a few tries, but she managed to pull up a menu that projected in the center of her vision. "It has a lot of functions but it says 'requires control module' by most of them." She sighed, wondering why Sean would leave her with these computer-goggles without any instructions or controls. Unless ....

"Wait," she murmured. Lost Control Module was blinking demurely at the very bottom corner of the screen in tiny blue text. "I think I found something," she announced in a louder voice, fumbling with the dial to select the option. Sean can probably do this in seconds, she thought ruefully. A very simple message box overtook the screen, and Elise grinned. Activate control module positioning failsafe? displayed proudly in her eyes, its brightness almost making her squint. She slipped the device off so she could look at Neburn directly.

"I found an option to locate the control module. Sean must have taken it with him to be a beacon on his location!" She got to her feet, unable to stop the relieved smile from falling upon her face. "Now we can find where he went!"

~~~~~

Sean was startled out of his light sleep by a faint buzz in one of his belt pouches. He retrieved the palm-sized, touch-screen device from its case and smirked faintly at the green light blinking in the corner. He switched off the buzzing notification, so he could remain quiet in the vent and so he could get a few more moments of rest. Now that he knew Elise had gotten out okay, he could look forward to busting out of this place.

Attagirl, sweetheart, he thought.

~~~~~

It was early the next morning when Neburn, Kaye and Elise next gathered to discuss the revelation of Sean's location. A bowl of green Ebii fruit slices and porridge with drizzled butter lay half eaten before Kaye and Elise, while Doctor Neburn opted for a more simple version of the meal.

"Wait, slow down." Kaye waved her hand in the air, willing herself to wake up faster. "So Sean has the other half of this little device... But you said the coordinates it gave doesn't show up on a map?"

"The coordinates exist, Kaye. Seven firmas from here, or fifteen miles." He added the Earth unit with a nod to Elise, modestly displaying his knowledge of West Space culture. "However, it appears to be a point somewhere in the middle of the wilderness."

He unfolded a glass tablet and propped it up with a built in stand in the table. A few quick swipes brought up a map, the coordinates already saved. In a vast field of greenery, a red dot was blinking. Kaye glanced at Elise to make sure this information was accurate.

"That doesn't matter." Kaye said immediately, confident that Elise had her back on this matter. "Those coordinates could be in the middle of the ocean and we'd be headed there today." She clicked her tongue, shaking her head. "Gonna be one hell of a walk."

Neburn smiled smugly. "I wouldn't recommend walking." When the two women looked up at him expectantly, he added, "What? You don't think I got forced out of my post without getting something done, do you?"

Elise sat up straighter to regard the engineer. She started to recall what Kaye had told her about the man before they ever visited him the first time. Is he talking about some kind of jetpack? If he was really implying what she thought he was implying, they'd be able to get to their destination with speed. Elise had no doubt that, with how quickly Neburn had repaired her ship's boosters, he'd be able to create something on a larger scale.

"What did you have in mind, Doctor?" she asked, sharing a curious glance with Kaye. He really looked quite proud of himself, so it was likely that he was eager to show off his idea. Since he'd been forced out of his job for it, Elise had the feeling that Neburn didn't often get to show off his hobby.

No matter what he came up with, it would definitely be better than walking. Even if they walked there safely, getting away again with Jared and Sean in tow would be very difficult by themselves. Even if they managed to get them out undetected, it was impossible to know what state they'd be in. Though it brought a faintly sour feeling to her stomach, Elise knew that Jared may not be able to walk out by his own strength.

"However we get there, I'm hoping Sean can meet us and tell us the rest of his plan," Elise added. She wouldn't know the first thing about breaking a prisoner out of something like this. But, at this point it was very clear that Sean knew what he was doing.

Kaye hummed her hearty agreement through another mouthful of porridge and fruit. "Yeah, I'm counting on that. Not a fan of running in blind."

Neburn smiled, still privately pleased that he was sharing breakfast with an alien. "I find that in such pressing times, it never hurts to have a little air superiority."

After they had all eaten their fill, Neburn led them back down to his private laboratory on the basement level. Kaye thought she had seen the extent of the secret room by this point, but to her surprise, there were still more to be discovered. Neburn leaned in close to a tiny glass panel. It lit up blue from behind, scanning his retina before allowing him passage. The older man winced as the door slid open, rubbing his eye and blinking the flash away.

"Should've opted for a palm scanner instead." He muttered. He groped for a flat switch on the wall, revealing a small hangar big enough to hold just one vessel. The craft that sat in the middle of the floor was clearly meant to be airborne. It had a small, personal cockpit covered by mirrored glass and a sleek, polished profile.

"Uhhh Doctor Neburn... What exactly are we looking at here?" Kaye asked, giving it a walk around with her arms crossed.

"It's one of a kind." Neburn declared proudly, running a hand along the sleek finish. “It was built as a scouting vehicle. Barely even got funding for it on those grounds... Runs like a charm. Never got a chance to really go out in the field before they shut me down."

Kaye's smile became increasingly apprehensive, feeling further embarrassed because she was the only one in the room who hadn't a clue about flying things at all.

"You want me to fly this?" She swirled on Neburn, shaking her head wildly. "Professor, I can't even keep my balance on a kid's hoverboard. Can't you do it?"

Neburn gave the vessel a long look before shaking his head. "It's only built for two people. You're going to need that extra seat to get Jared out of there."

Kaye bit her lip, knowing he was right. Her brown eyes flitted to the side, towards where Elise was perched on her shoulder. "I really wish you were a little bit bigger right about now." She said, weakly teasing.

Elise had an iron grip on Kaye's shirt, and almost missed her remark. After the abrupt turn, she wanted to make sure she wouldn't slide right off of Kaye's shoulder to tumble to the floor so far below. But she turned a faint smile towards Kaye's nervous one anyway.

"Don't worry ... I'll be right there to help you fly it," she answered. At least, she figured she would probably be able to help. The fact that the vessel was not field tested was a little bit unnerving, but Elise would never say that out loud to Kaye. It was still their very best option. Not only would it move quickly, it would probably be impossible for Ambron to follow.

"It's an amazing vessel, Neburn," Elise added, taking the time to appreciate the flying vehicle. It was sleek but powerful-looking, much like a lot of the technology this planet already displayed. Looking at it, it was more obvious than ever that the only reason Tessirans didn't travel far beyond their own planet was by choice. If it were allowed, they would undoubtedly have the most advanced fleet for several galaxies around in a matter of years.

Despite the urgency, Elise could see that Kaye's trepidation wasn't going to go away so easily. She glanced over at Neburn, and finally settled her gaze back on the cockpit. "Maybe we should try a little test drive with Neburn in the backseat. Just to make sure you're solid on the controls," she suggested.

Very few people did things exactly right on their first flight. They couldn't afford the ride out there to be Kaye's first time operating the thing, especially when her people had no precedent for her to use as guidance.

"It would be prudent to run through the controls beforehand. There's a cloaking mechanism that will keep it off the radar, and just about two square firmas of practice ground behind my home here." Neburn said. He looked over to Elise thoughtfully, adding, "Though perhaps it's best you stayed behind, miss Elise. Wouldn't want you to get rough treatment unnecessarily."

"Probably a good idea."  Kaye concurred. She reached up a hand, gingerly closing around Elise's waist and lifting her easily down to be cupped between two hands again. Her pulse was quick and anxious under her passenger. Neburn motioned towards a shelf containing an array of different sized propellers along the far wall, and Kaye headed over to give Elise a solid place to wait.

"You should have seen Jared. He was like, a professional human handler." Kaye told Neburn, sounding a little envious. "He did so great with Elise. Even Sean, when the little guy would let him. Don't you think?" Her warm look found Elise, looking for her input.

Elise smiled back, nodding once. "Yes, he's quite gentle," she agreed. "But that doesn't mean you're not, Kaye," she assured her. True, Kaye was much more hesitant about handling her than Jared had ever been. But she hadn't ever held Elise too tight or made her feel like she was going to fall from her grasp. "Jared has just had the most practice out of any Tessiran, that's all."

Except, perhaps, whatever scientist was in charge of studying Sean. There had to be a very good reason that the other human really didn't like to be held. All the more reason to go to find him, to get him and Jared out of harm's way.

Elise dismounted onto the shelf, careful to avoid the edge, when Kaye bridged her hands up to it. "Really, you all do a good job," Elise remarked. She didn't think she could express how grateful she was that Jared, Kaye, and Neburn put effort into being careful. Any move they made could be devastating, but even when Jared had had to whisk her out of danger in the past, he had been mindful. She still remembered how quickly he'd pulled her away when they thought the bomb on Sean's neck would go off.

The sooner they got him back, the sooner Elise could hear his comforting heartbeat again.

~~~~~

By the second day, Jared didn't even look at the screen anymore. He didn't want to see that face because it only brought more excruciating pain with every glimpse. With his eyes squeezed shut and his teeth grinding into the rubber mouth guard, he rode out the last legs of the voltage.

The pain subsided, and his mind was left blessedly blank again. He embraced the quiet blackness, the relief of stillness in the air as he caught his breath in shallow gasps. A cold sweat beaded his hair and skin alike. A cool hand grabbed the little overhang of his mouth guard, and he let the person take it out. He heard them set it down next to a duplicate he knew was there on a nearby tray.

"Jared." A female voice came by his bedside, empty of emotion. It interrupted the quiet blanket of blackness, and "What did you do with the humans?"

"I... I didn't." Jared rasped deliriously. "Didn't do anything."

The screen was still humming. That stupid picture was still up and running, staring at him relentlessly.

"Turn it off," he muttered.

"Jared. I must repeat the question. Where-"

"Turn it OFF!" He shouted hoarsely, the bed rattling as he finally opened his eyes to glare at her fiercely. Desperate tears brimmed. "Turn it off, NOW! Turn it off!"

The woman calmly stood and stepped outside the cell, pressing an option on a translucent tablet mounted right outside the door.

"Patient is ready for Phase Two of treatment plan."

Phase two? Sean thought with a frown. He watched the scientist from a vent near the floor on the opposite side of the hallway. It was about as close as he could get to the room where Jared was being tortured without stepping out in the open. And, since Warren still seemed to hang around the building a lot to keep watch, Sean was not going to do that alone. He sympathized with Jared's situation, but he wasn't reckless.

At least, not reckless enough to throw all of his chances away just to see what was being done to the man.

The control module for his headpiece remained in its case on his belt. But he knew that if he looked at it, it would still be blinking in green, thanks to the positioning failsafe. Once Elise got closer, he'd be able to meet up with them somewhere outside. With one final glance out the vent, Sean stalked away. What are they doing to him in there?

The spy made his way towards where the ventilation units were all housed. A smaller building stood close by without crowding out the shiny government facility. It had to be older, judging by the fact that more steel than glass went into its structure. The thing had one door to the outside world, but it also had maintenance tunnels connecting it to the main building. It would be the best exit strategy, especially considering Jared would likely be unable to run full tilt on his own.

"Sometimes I hate owing people favors," Sean muttered to himself as he trekked through the underground air shafts, ready to wait for the others to arrive and set his plan in motion.