He was still unsure if he should bother unpacking. He didn't think he would be back at the starbase very often, or for any real amount of time. But after sacrificing himself to help @kittyboy get away on Dactyl and reanimating here, he had been stuck. He was glad his sacrifice meant something, that @kittyboy made it out, that his memories had been transmitted, and that, as far as he knew, the crew was safe.
But he didn't know more than that. Alliance Starmada officials weren't letting him leave the station or resume his mission.
"You aren't being reprimanded," they had said.
"It's to preserve the security of the mission," they had said.
It didn't feel that way to @astrowave, though. Only recently had he given in to the reality that he would be on Sovereign Starbase for an undetermined amount of time, so he had better get used to it.
Over the last week, he finally started to settle in, and it felt awkward to him. He realized he had very few possessions. His cabin was mostly empty, so he spent the first few days getting essentials and trying to distract himself by looking at plates, silverware, glasses. It took him most of the day just to find a chair that would be comfortable for a man his size.
The distraction wasn't enough for him to avoid feeling lonely. The Thunder Ops barracks were rowdy, full of noise and camaraderie. Every time @astrowave stepped inside his new home, the quiet was too much. He left his viewer running 24/7 just for the noise. The Pharaoh wasn't nearly as chaotic as the barracks, but it was better than being all by himself, and he had grown accustomed to it.
The Pharaoh really is my home, @astrowave thought. Not this place. This is just a pit stop before departure.
And he couldn't wait to depart.
He stared around his sparsely decorated apartment, wondering what to do next. Maybe a plant, he thought. People have plants. @zerogstar had plants. He wondered when he would see her again, growing more sullen at being stuck on the space station.
He was excited when his messenger bleeped. He closed his eyes. Please be something I need to do. I'll take any distraction. He opened the channel.
shudderbam: "Hey man! Some of us are going down to the training facility for a few boxing rounds and munitions. You in?"
So they do remember me, @astrowave reflected. He had stopped by the barracks a few times and was met with warm greetings, but it had felt different. They knew it just as he did. He wasn't a part of the team anymore. They had their own schedules and drills. They were busy. He knew that all too well. But he was thrilled that they had sought him out to join in some extracurricular activities.
Probably someone couldn't make it, he thought. But then he admonished himself. He had no reason to be depressed. They had asked him. That was what mattered. Someone had thought of him.
And he finally had something to do.
astrowave: "In! 100%"
He thought he had a mouth guard of his own somewhere, but he had no idea where it was, and he didn't want to take the time trying to find it, even if it would be in one of five boxes. "Don't care," he said to himself. "Good excuse to get a new one."
@astrowave hurried out, stretching his arms, neck, and shoulders as he walked the halls of Sovereign Starbase, eager to punch someone. It would be a good way to release his pent-up energy.
Sovereign Starbase, being ultimately the capital of Outer System Alliance civilization, was massive, and it had grown in size constantly over the years. It was now larger than many of the settled asteroids. @astrowave would get to the training facility faster if he hopped on one of the many light rail trains that ran through the space station like veins and blood vessels, but it was only a 15-minute walk. He wanted the exercise, and he was pretty sure he could cover the distance in 10 minutes, given his eager pace.
Besides, after his encounter with the overtaken on the last train on Dactyl, he wasn't quite ready for another train experience. The swarm, as it came on him, those last moments before death, gave him chills. He had always been brave, but he hadn't screamed that loudly upon reanimation anytime that he could recall.
No. No trains for me.
He quickened his pace even more.
His apartment wasn't in one of the truly residential sections of the starbase, with shops, cafes, and numerous amenities. It was in a semi-residential military sector, largely populated by those deployed on individual assignments who were not part of a cohesive unit. That meant very few aiways were actually around. This sector had a few of the basic stores anyone would need, but as @astrowave passed them by, they were predictably empty, a few people here or there at most.
That changed when he crossed over into the Core, a location built for efficiency, the sector that exemplified the simple military elegance that was the hub of Alliance Starmada activity. Each military unit had a specialized sector, even though some had primary facilities on stations in other regions of space. Everyone had a spot here on Sovereign Starbase, and it housed the most impressive armory and training facility.
The command center here was more than a strategic war room. This was where all the information flowed. Members of the Alliance Starmada referred to it as the "Axis." It was secure. It was optimized for data transfer. It was the place where wars began and ended. @astrowave himself had never set foot inside. Few aiways did.
But he wasn't headed to the Axis. He dreamed of it as he passed the corridor that led in that direction, wondering if he would ever rise in rank high enough to be a part of it. But as quickly as the thought came, he had moved on.
Around him, the hum of activity grew. The steady beat of disciplined starmada footsteps echoed in the hallways. @astrowave flashed the occasional salute, falling into the regular pace of the other soldiers around him.
Inside the Core, the corridors widened. Lines marked the synthetic floors in different colors to show people where to walk and how to get to different destinations. @astrowave picked up the green line that led to the training facility. All he had to do was follow the line and get ready to throw some punches.
shudderbam: "You still in? First fight is starting. I'm putting you in group 3 against @razorback."
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
astrowave: "Almost there."
@astrowave had met @razorback before. That would be a tough fight. Good. He was ready for a tough fight.
The green line flowed forward in the direction of the barracks, taking @astrowave along briefing rooms, information hubs, and communications stations, each with an ornate black rug with a green Yew tree marking the entryway. Next, he passed the mess hall and stepped into the area where the combat units slept and trained. The decoration in this part of the Core was sparse at best. Any signs on the walls were informative or served up reminders for the soldiers.
@astrowave entered the training facility on the solar west side, where the "Death before Capture" poster of an exploding Thunder Ops soldier gave him a sense of pride. It was always about the mission, and @astrowave couldn't wait to get back to his.
"There he is," @shudderbam hollered, waving in @astrowave's direction as he rounded the corner to where they ran sparring matches.
A shorter, bulky soldier wearing loose red shorts was trading blows with a woman of about the same size, in gray sweat shorts and a matching t-shirt. She looked to have the advantage in their fight, landing hits to keep him off balance with superior speed. @astrowave noticed that she had medium-length curly brown hair that, if her opponent was paying attention to, signaled some of her movements.
"You can't fight in that," @shudderbam said, clasping @astrowave on the shoulder.
He was still wearing his deep blue Thunder Ops armor and hadn't bothered changing into off-duty attire. It would have made @astrowave more uncomfortable. He liked to think he was always on duty, in the mission.
"Not if it's going to be a fair fight," @astrowave said, smiling.
He and @shudderbam had been in the same barracks before, some 30 years earlier. Seeing him again made it seem much more recent as the memories surfaced. He was happy to be there, smelling the sweat coming off the mats and the cool air of the open space.
"Who's in the ring now?" @astrowave asked.
Grunting, the sound of fists in the air, and the regular thump floated in the air as the two fighters maneuvered, breathing hard, trading blows. The woman snuck a punch to his right abdomen, feigning another blow to the belly, only to jab him in the face with her left. It was a light blow, but it caught him offguard, and she followed it by thumping him hard in the gut.
"@amolite is slowly wearing down @rotbutcher," @shudderbam answered. "They transferred over a few months ago. Good people." He made a hmph noise. "Although I don't mind seeing @rotbutcher get a few more blows to the head. He's a little …."
"Cocky like the rest of us," @astrowave finished. "That was us when we came over."
"And I'm sure the others liked watching us get our assess handed to us every now and then."
@astrowave laughed, letting himself take in the surroundings. He knew this place well. Near the boxing rings were more spots for wrestling or mixed martial arts. Then there were locker rooms and showers. On the far side after that were shooting and munitions ranges. He could hear the familiar sounds of booming from that side, and other soldiers were stationed around the facility as well, getting in some extra training work.
He preferred wrestling over boxing, but any form of exercise and interaction would do, as long as he didn't have to spend another minute alone in his quarters.
The sights and sounds were all familiar. As much as he had thought of The Pharaoh as his new home, there was no mistaking this as his first, or most memorable home, at least.
Through the comforting sounds of soldiers busy training, a new sound caught his ear, one he hadn't expected.
He thought he had imagined it at first. Then he heard it again.
"Oh, he's going down," one of the soldiers cheered.
"Come on, man, get your fists up!" @shudderbam yelled.
It was the sound of hunger and pain.
Oh no! @astrowave thought, hoping he was wrong.
He turned back to the fighters. They were cheering on @rotbutcher to rebound from the onslaught of punches that @amolite was throwing. She continued to hit him in rapid succession, while he stood, snarling, his gloved arms dangling at his sides.
"She's punishing him."
"He doesn't care. Look at him."
"He's letting her wear herself out."
"We should call it."
On queue, @amolite backed away, panting, waiting for them to call the fight. @rotbutcher still stood, growling with his teeth bared.
@astrowave knew what was next. He was turning. He was overtaken. @astrowave had seen it before.
"Get away from him!" @astrowave shouted, hurtling the ropes and vaulting himself into the ring. He pushed @amolite away, toward the other end of the ring.
"Hey, what gives?" she said, pushing his arms away.
@astrowave didn't know what to do next. His mission was secret. No one knew about the zombie virus. What could he say?
"He's infected," @astrowave announced loudly. "Get away from him."
@rotbutcher pounced then, launching himself at @astrowave, but @astrowave was ready.
He placed a thick, armored punch straight into @rotbutcher's face. A palpable crunch echoed. @astrowave was massive in size compared to @rotbutcher. The blow broke @rotbutcher's nose and sent him violently to the floor. A normal person would have stayed down.
"Woah!" @shudderbam yelled. "That's enough."
"Dude! @astrowave, what the fuck!"
@astrowave registered the sudden presence of @shudderbam and @razorback, pulling him back and away from @rotbutcher. "That was uncalled for," @razorback grunted, struggling to wrap his arms around @astrowave.
"Get away from him," @astrowave repeated. That was all @astrowave could do now, as members of his former unit restrained him.
@rotbutcher was back on his feet. The horror of his bloody face matched the tone of rage as he howled and jumped on @amolite. Her speed didn't help her this time. She had no idea what was going on. @rotbutcher clasped his teeth around her neck, wrapping his boxing gloves around her, and dropped her to the ground.
She wailed, and the others screamed in fear, stunned into inaction. But they had released @astrowave. He shoved them aside and barreled into @rotbutcher, rolling him off of @amolite. @astrowave pinned him down with his left hand, closed his mouth tight, and punched him again and again until the body of @rotbutcher stopped squirming.
The others were staring at him in terror, but no one could find the words.
"They're infected," @astrowave shouted. "It's a zombie virus."
Maybe it sounded ridiculous to them, but at least they had seen what @rotbutcher had just done. And now the convulsing form of @amolite was twitching in the boxing ring as she, too, began to turn.
More sounds penetrated @astrowave's ears. Others were turning too. He didn't have to look to see.
"Get out of here!" @astrowave screamed.
He hopped over the ropes, waving the others on. @amolite sprang to her feet, the hunger clear in her yowling. That was all it took for @shudderbam, @razorback, and others in the training facility to get moving, following @astrowave as they ran for the exit.
@astrowave couldn't believe it. It was here. The virus was here. The sounds grew as he ran toward the barracks, and he knew that sound too well. He could almost feel the overtaken on his legs and lower back, where they had begun to dig into his body before he had self-destructed on Datcyl. He shivered.
"Not this time," he said, issuing himself a command. "Not this time."
He flew full speed into the barracks, drawing the attention of everyone as he burst through, followed by the others from the boxing match. They promptly secured the door behind them.
The moment of near-quiet was unsettling.
@astrowave had to keep it simple.
"Zombie outbreak! Form up. We have to close off the station."
They gave him confused looks.
"It's true!" @shudderbam shouted.
"I've seen it before," @astrowave announced, strutting through the room, making eye contact, trying to take control of the situation. "That, out there, is why I had to be reanimated."
There, he had said it. He could finally tell people why he was back.
His mind ticked through what to do in this situation. He had to delegate while he considered the next move.
"Get messages out. Order the shutdown," he commanded.
He pointed at a woman he knew from his old unit, @megastrike. She was tall and strong, with a buzzed head. "We can't stay in here," @astrowave said. "Get everyone armed and ready. We need to move."
She nodded, immediately setting herself to work.
Where to go? @astrowave thought.
They needed to be somewhere secure, but somewhere where they could try to control the situation. No one else on Sovereign Starbase might know exactly what was happening. He hoped someone there, a high-ranking official, must know about their mission and about the virus. But even so, @astrowave knew he was the only person with experience in how to handle it. He couldn't self-destruct this time.
"Comms aren't working!" someone shouted from near the doorway. Chatter rose around the room.
@astrowave knew what that meant. There were more overtaken than he had feared, enough to block signals. If they didn't start quarantining and closing off sections of the space station, it would spread to everyone in the capital. 2.8 million aiways were in danger.
"Follow me," @astrowave bellowed, grabbing a grex12 shotgun. "We have to save what we can of the capital."
@megastrike's voice carried, high and clear, cutting through the commotion and silencing the barracks. "Ready to move! Orders, Sir!"
He knew where to lead them.
"To the Axis!" @astrowave screamed.
He pushed the doors open, grex12 ready to fire, and thrust himself into the amassing horde, eager to take on the zombies of Sovereign Starbase.