Chapter 14: The Preperation

After spending some time in the simulators, Jana journeyed to the mess hall to staunch her hunger. As she entered the room her eyes were instantly drawn to Elize who was back and once again staring out of the window watching the Trans-Warp tunnel race by. A look of uncertainty appeared on Jana’s face as she noticed a saddened look on Elize’s. Jana walked over to her friend who seemed to fail to notice her arrival.
“I’ve seen corpses that looked happier than you. Is everything okay?”
“I wish I knew.” Elize replied.
“Did you talk to Myrione.”
“She came to see me if that’s what you mean?” Jana smiled when she heard this.
“So what happened?” She asked.
“She was standing there, and asked why I wanted to see her.” Elize explained. “I just stood there looking at her, I just couldn’t do it.”
“Couldn’t do what?” Elize lowered her head.
“I always just assumed I like guys you know, I even used to have a small crush on Bale. But now… I don’t know.”
“Didn’t you say you enjoyed the kiss you had with Myrione.” Jana remarked, the smile disappearing from her face.
“I did but… I’m so confused.”
“Well… it is possible that you like both you know.” Jana remarked.
“I’m only a hundred and five; I never expected to like either, yet.” Replied Elize.
“You know what they say Elize, life is unexpected.”
“Mine especially.”
“Look, we have a good few days before we return home and Myrione disembarks. So take your time and have a good think okay.” Jana patted her friend on the shoulder and walked away.

Despite having not even looked at food, Jana left the mess hall; food was no longer the main item on her mind.
“Fine.” She thought sharply. “That girl’s as stubborn as they come, looks like she’ll need an extra push.” She stepped into an elevator and turned to face the doors with a look of determination on her face.

Kurkis was sitting in his private office looking at the computer scene embedded in his desk when a high pitch door chime filled the room.
“Enter.” He remarked without taking his eyes off the screen. The door opened and Jana strode confidently into the room. Upon reaching the desk she slammed her hand down in the desk forcing Kurkis to look at her. The unsettling smile on her face and the scheming look in her eyes caught him off guard and shocked him.
“Captain, I need a favour.”

The following day Bale and Alikz where standing looking at a data pad that had been left in the Tayln recreation room.
“A party?” Asked Bale surprised.
“A party to celebrate Myrione’s first successful off world mission. Whose bright idea was that?” Alikz commented.
“Mine.” Jana remarked calmly as she entered the room.
“So what’s the ulterior motive?” Asked Alikz.
“No motive, I think we just need a party, especially after that attack.”
“Okay, for one, if that were true you’d have thought of it sooner than this. And secondly, you NEVER do something like this without a reason.” Alikz remarked.
“That hurts Alikz.” Jana replied.
“Well they do say, the truth hurts.” Added Bale.
“What is this? Pick on Jana day?”
“Just tell us what you’re planning.” Said Bale.
“Nothing, I swear, I just felt like we needed a party.”
“Fine, play it that way.” Alikz remarked with a frown.
“I have to go see Myrione, if you’ll excuse me.” Jana picked up a pad from the table before she left.
“She’s planning something, I know it.”

Elize stood in a night gown looking at a message on her communication terminal. It was an invitation to the party Jana was arranging.
“To celebrate Myrione’s first off world mission? Has Jana even asked Myrione about this?”
“I don’t want a party.”
“Oh come on.” Jana followed Myrione down a corridor leading away from a training room. “It’ll be fun really.”
“I’m not in the mood for a party.” Myrione replied flatly.
“Please Myrione. You don’t even need to stay for long, just until things get going.”
“Then why do you need me at all?” Asked Myrione.
“Because you’re the girl of the turn, first off world mission and all that.” Myrione stopped walking and sighed with frustration.
“Jana…”
“Please Myrione, everyone will be there, the captain, the Talyn’s, Elize.”
“Elize?” Myrione gave a slight glance over her shoulder. “I didn’t think she’d want to go to such a public event.”
“Well she is, you helped her come out her shell can you really stay away?”
“No… no I guess not.” Myrione replied after a thoughtful pause.
“Excellent, I’ll see you there then, and dress nice.”

With a sigh Myrione walked away. As soon as she was out of sight Jana slouched forward and sighed with relief.
“Okay.” She said to herself. “Now I just need to get Elize to agree to come.” Straightening herself up Jana looked at the computer on her arm and asked it to locate Elize.
“That information is not available.” Came a light voiced reply.
“What do you mean not available! Where is she?”
“That information is not available.” Repeated the voice.
“For Guardian’s sake!” Jana opened an internal communication signal. “Glaw, you read me?”
“I’m here Jana, what’s up?” Replied Jana’s HATF AI.
“I need you to access internal sensors and find Elize.” Said Jana.
“Can’t you just ask the computer?”
“I just tried; it said the information’s not available.”
“Then I can’t help you.”
“Why not?” Asked Jana, frustrated.
“Because if the computer’s saying that then she’s turned her computer off.”
“Well what about Katas does he know?”
“Katas was disconnected from the mainframe and taken away not to long ago.” Glaw explained.
“He was? Did anyone say where?”
“No, but there’s not that many places you can take an ATF on the ship.”
“Good point, okay, thanks Glaw.”
“I’ll see if there’s anything I can turn up.” Jana closed the channel and tilted her head back.
“Where is she?”

With Elize AWOL and only Katas’ disappearance as a clue, Jana looked at her arm computer and called up a map of the ship.
“There’s only a hand full of places you can take an ATF on the ship, when could Katas be?” Jana asked herself as she cycled through the different desks.

In one of the lower desks of the Sortain vessel, in a room specifically designed for cleaning ATF’s stood Katas. The room was not very large, easily big enough to house an ATF, but that was it. Lying on Katas’ right wing rummaging around inside the fuselage next to the under wing engine, was Elize. She was wearing a grubby grey jump suit that seemed purpose made to get dirty. She pulled herself out of the hole holding a large tube and wearing a slim device around her neck with covered her gils.
“Wow, I really don’t clean you out enough, do I?” Elize remarked looking at the contents of the tube.
“Well, not my intakes, but I have no complaints about the way you clean my hull.” Katas replied. Elize climbed down off the wing and knelt down in front of a small bucket like object. She slammed one end of the cylinder against the end of the bucket and a large amount a black dust and other assorted gunk flew from the cylinder into the bucket.
“This was almost full.” Elize remarked, grabbing a tool from the floor and scraping some remnants out the cylinder. “A couple more atmos runs and you’d have started feeling sluggish again.”
“Fun times.” Katas remarked with a slight sarcastic tone.
“The other one will be the same no doubt, fortunately your water intake should be just about empty since we’ve done no underwater missions of late, but I’ll check it anyway.”
“Here you are?”

Elize looked at the door of the room which lead straight into an elevator, stepping out the elevator just before the door closed was Jana.
“Jana, how did you know I was here?”
“Oh I just thought about the last place you’d be.”
“Very funny.”
“I thought so; actually Glaw contacted me and told me this bay was active. Since Katas is the only ATF out of place…”
“I see.”
“So…”
“I’m not going to that party of yours.” Elize commented harshly turning back to the filter in her hands.