Azy's Origin Story

Burgundy 1349 hours

 I had my pistol out, safety off, even with the pelican sealed up tight. There'd been too much gunfire out there. The other soldiers might call me stickybeak and joke about how pilots don't see any action except on leave, but I had seen enough to know that you didn't wait till you could see the whites of their eyes before turning up the heat. Elites didn't have whites, for starters.

The feeds from the pelicans' rear cameras didn't help my mood. It looked like the action was getting a little too close for comfort.

Azy pinged me right after I heard one last burst of rifle fire cut off abruptly. The signal was weak, the ship's structure already interfering. Strange static.

¨Burgundy, what's happening out there? Can you see Cranker? Simmons?¨

¨Commander, I'm not sure what I'm seeing¨ my throat was dry and I swallowed. ¨Its dark and their flashlights are just lying on the floor now. I couldn't really make out what happened. I think I'm seeing dead Elites and.... Oh crap.¨ the hair on the back of my arms rising, gooseflesh stippling my skin. ¨Azy, something just dragged one of the Elites out of the light.¨

¨Something? Like what?¨

¨I can't see anything! Something big. I think. I really can't see it. Do they eat their own Azy? Cause that's what it looks like.¨

Except I knew that Elites didn't eat their dead any more than we ate our dead. I wasn't so sure that I wanted the lights on anymore.

¨Maller, Cranker, Simmons, and Sydney, where are they?¨ the commander demanded. ¨Commander, I'm telling you, I don't see them, commander.¨ I put my finger on the trigger, took it off, then put it back on again. Okay so I had seen something earlier, but I hesitated to tell the commander. I thought id seen them at the beginning of the attack, spinning out of view, hit by something that looked like a handful of pale balls. Twirling and rolling on the ground, rifles abandoned, grappling with them. The feed went to a BlackBox. I couldn't replay them.

¨KIA?¨ came the commander's calm voice.

¨not sure, maybe, I'd hate to be wrong,¨ I said, certain of nothing, and hating that. Azy was silent for a moment, then said, ¨keep talking to me pilot.¨ but there wasn't anything to see anymore. Discarded flashlights, fading as the batteries died. The darkness drawing a little closer. ¨nothing all calm now.¨

¨Maple Death there?¨

It was hard to look away from the feed, but I scanned the waveband. ¨Yes! I got her.¨

¨patch her through.¨

¨Yes sir.¨ always good to have a call from home.

¨¨Commander Azy?¨ if the commander's voice was weak, then Rea's was weaker, grainy but calm. ¨What have you found?¨

¨No sign of crew or prisoners. One KIA, four more missing, possible KIA. Unknown number of Elite forces on board. I don't know how they got here, and they're acting mighty strange.¨

¨Strange how?¨ Rea asked, echoing my thoughts.

¨No armor. No weapons. Not really fighting back, most of them.¨

¨That's all you've found?¨ Rea sounded disgruntled, as though she found this report lacking. A pause from Azy, then ¨I did mention Elites acting strangely. On this civilian ship. In an unknown and highly classified place in the literal middle of nowhere. Right?¨ I had to bite back a chuckle, I wasn't very fond of Rea either.

¨We heard you, commander¨ Rea said, about as icy as an AI could get.

¨I am requesting reinforcements to aid with this mission.¨

¨Request denied.¨

¨I want to talk to the captain.¨

A false smile entered Rea's voice, like the sun rising over an ice field. ¨The captain and I are of the same mind, commander.¨

¨Requesting---¨

¨Negative.¨ this time it was Jess, patched in over Rea's feed. My stomach churned. ¨Sorry commander, but we can't send anybody without alerting the enemy command ship to our presence, and you know that we're outmanned and outgunned. Im invoking the cole protocol, that ship is carrying information on precursor worlds, and the Dead Horse does appear compromised by Enemy forces. Stand by for your orders.¨

¨Captain.¨

¨Ascertain if the Elites have accessed the nav system. If not, destroy it before they do. If so....¨ She stopped, then continued after what sounded like consultation with Rea, ¨we will inform you when it is safe for you to return.¨

"Captain" I could hear Azy striving and failing to keep the frustration out of his voice. "Captain, I'm down five already, as far as I know. We can keep going, shut down the nav and flush out every Elite on this stinking boat, but begging your pardon, it's a big-stinking boat. We need some ODST motion sensors happening. Get a pelican out here on, I don't know, thrusters alone, something!"

"I was thinking it. Azy was thinking it. I bet the captain was thinking it. Orders from officers who weren't on the ground weren't worth crap.

"Negative commander. You have your orders, and I trust you will see them through in your usual....spectacular....fashion," she finished with a trace of amusement.

"Yes captain." said without grace. "Sir permission to speak freely?"

"Denied."

"Your fading now. You're breaking up," Rea said. "You have your orders." said remotely, with finality, her attention already elsewhere.

A beat, and then, "They gone Burgundy?"

"Yes commander." the Azy said something obscene

"You got that right" I muttered.

"You cozy?"

"Yeah."

"Alone?"

Nothing had moved on the feed for some time now, the last flashlight flickering on the ground. "I cant see anything."

"Okay. sit tight. Keep monitoring, let me know when the Maple Death is talking again. We'll come back and mess up your bird and you'll hate us for it."

"And then there'll be ice cream."

"Dang-straight. Over and out."

Outside, the last flashlight went dark.