Friend or Foe?
Kjēl waited for half an hour before reactivating the ship. She slowly made her way back to the colony when a large cargo ship blocked her path. The ship had the Alliance's symbols plastered on its side. Several towing crafts surrounded her and pulled her into the cargo bay, there were several converted crafts inside the cargo bay where they towed her. Once her ship was on the landing pad, several armed men rushed to climb to the cockpit. They tried to force their way in but the metal of the cockpit was too strong for their beam cutters.
"Stop! You're going to break it!" Kjēl shouted as she tried to activate the weapon systems.
"Our cutters are not even making a scratch on the metal. Do you think we can override the doors to open?" A man asked.
"Why did Shigo have to deactivate the weapons? Stop damaging my ship!" Kjēl exclaimed.
Kjēl fiddled with the interface and pressed all the buttons and switches she could before the weapon icons turned on. She squeezed the trigger and Asterion's main guns fired a short burst of concentrated beams. It hit one of the empty towing crafts and blew it up, alarming everyone in the cargo bay. Kjēl started pressing random buttons again but she accidentally opened the cockpit and the men outside were able to apprehend her. They put her in handcuffs and locked her inside a holding cell. Kjēl could hear the men talking outside before a tall brunette entered the cell.
"We have questions for you. How do you activate and pilot the ship?" Damien asked.
"I'm not saying anything." Kjēl mumbled.
"What you did out there was incredible, outrunning those XM-3s. Your ship could help the Alliance tip the balance." Damien stated.
Kjēl snickered at Damien before looking away. Damien ordered one of the guards to take off her helmet. They were all surprised to find out that it was a child piloting the ship. Damien took a closer look and noticed she was a girl which impressed him.
"Look, kid. What you did truly is amazing but I need your help with the ship. It's better in the hands of an experienced pilot than some little girl." Damien reasoned with Kjēl.
"I found that ship and I alone can pilot it. I'm not letting any of you take it away!" Kjēl exclaimed.
A lanky old man with glasses entered the room and whispered something to Damien. Kjēl watched as the two of them left the cell. Damien went with the others to check on the ship and the interior.
"This ship is old but it's incredible. The firewall is like a maze that's constantly changing." Charles explained.
"And what does that mean?" Damien asked.
"I can't hack it. It has this complex two-way verification system. You need to convince the pilot to unlock the ship for us." Charles added.
"I will. Do what you can for now." Damien ordered.
Damien walked back to the holding cell and crouched beside Kjēl. Kjēl ignored him and hugged her knees. Damien showed Kjēl the tablet and gestured to take it.
"My friend there said that your ship's security system is fascinatingly complex. We need you to unlock the ship for us." Damien stated.
"What's in it for me?" Kjēl asked.
"If you want to bargain then give me your conditions and I will decide if it's negotiable." Damien said before standing up.
"I'll show you how it works but I'll pilot the ship." Kjēl replied.
"Hmm...alright then. You will pilot it under the Alliance." Damien stated.
Kjēl nodded and gestured to set her hands free to which Damien ordered the guard to do so. Once she was unbounded, Kjēl hurriedly climbed into the cockpit and everyone watched as she initiated the activating sequence. Charles looked closely but he couldn't find out how the security system worked. He was dumbfounded at how complex the machine's software is.
"Say, kid. Your ship is busted up and missing some parts. What do you say we give her a makeover?" Charles asked.
"As long as I get to pick the parts. I'll tweak some of it too, I already have a design in mind." Kjēl replied before turning on the radio.
She immediately heard the worried voice of Shigo calling out to her. Damien immediately spoke to Shigo and informed him of the situation and how Kjēl agreed to be a pilot of the Alliance.
"That is absurd, she is a child!" Shigo argued.
"Sir, she is the only one who can pilot the ship. She won't give it up either." Damien said in a calm tone.
"Kjēl, can you hear me?" Shigo asked.
"Shigo, it's fine. Asterion is more powerful than those new models." Kjēl replied.
"Kjēl, a battlefield is no place for a child. Your parents would have never wanted you to get involved in their mess." Shigo reasoned out.
"My parents? You know who they are? Why didn't you tell me?" Kjēl asked in a confused tone.
"L-look, that's not important. What's important is you come back safe. Forget about the ship." Shigo added.
"Kjēl, are you related to that man by any chance?" Damien asked.
Kjēl shook her head and turned off the radio. Damien and the others moved out of the way as Kjēl climbed out of the cockpit. Charles followed her while Damien watched from the ship.
"You okay, kiddo?" Charles asked.
"Those spare parts, where are they?" Kjēl asked in response.
Charles showed her the spare parts as the other mechanics began troubleshooting the hardware of the ships. Damien hopped down and fixed his coat.
"That girl...she reminds me of someone." Damien mumbled.
"She has balls bigger than any man on this ship." Ian jokingly said.
"She's the only one I know who left three XM-3s biting the dust...and it's all thanks to this machine." Damien added before walking back to the upper deck.
Damien's flag ship, the White Whale, navigated it's way back to the colony to resupply and prepare for their next patrol. Shigo watched from the colony's port, worried sick of Kjēl and panicking on how to explain to her about her parents. He didn't want her to know for her own safety, but it was inevitable she'd find out. If not through him then someone else.