OIC (39)
MegaZone23
"We did as we were told." "We just heard you offer the
apology for all the monsters of our times."
--Anthrax
"HE WHAT?!" Kei screamed.
"He got away," Zoner repeated.
"How?"
"He took his VF and warped out."
"I thought you said you were making his VF off limits to
him?"
"I did."
"So how'd he get it?" Kei asked tauntingly.
"Apparently someone beat the decker on guard duty and
opened the bay for him. I'm having someone check on Schletz
now."
"Schletz was on duty? Why him?"
"Let's face it. As much as I don't care for him he is
damn good at matrix combat."
"So who could have beat him?"
"I'm not sure. I'm having Eve check on that."
"Don't bother," Yuri's voice came from the doorway.
"What?" Zoner asked.
"Don't bother checking, I know who did it."
"Who?" Zoner asked, hoping he didn't know the answer for
once.
"I did."
Damn! Right again. "Yuri why..."
"You! You helped him escape!! You bitch!!" Kei
screamed as she leapt for Yuri.
Zoner quickly interposed his body between the two to
prevent any mass destruction which would result from a fight
between them, at severe risk of grievous bodily harm to
himself. "HOLD IT! Kei, get a grip. I want to ask her some
questions before you kill her."
"Sure, defend her! You're probably in on this too!" Kei
seethed. "I was there, I saw him do it, and now I'll make
him pay!" She turned on her heel and stomped towards the
door.
"Kei, where are you going?"
"To pack! I'm taking the Lovely Angel and hunting that
bastard down! I never want to see either of you again!"
With that she left the room.
"Oh Kei..."
"Yuri, I want to talk to you, now!" Zoner stated, fixing
her with his cold gaze.
Yuri looked him in the eye, and then lowered her gaze
after seeing the anger there. "Ok."
"Our room. Let's go." Zoner motioned Yuri ahead of him
and followed her back to their quarters, turning the
situation over in his mind along the way.
"Ok. You're the one who helped Ben escape?" Zoner asked.
"Yes," Yuri replied in a small voice.
Zoner looked at his dataterm briefly. "You wiped
Schletz's mind?"
"Yes."
"Killer?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"He used killer on me first. Only my 'deck saved me."
"So it was self-defense?"
"Yes."
"Uh-huh. You knew about all of my orders concerning
Ben, right?"
"Yes."
"And, as one of the highest ranking crewmembers, one who
is supposed to set the example, you chose to break them?"
Yuri looked dejectedly at the floor before answering.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I don't believe that Ben could do such a thing. I
helped him get away so he could prove his innocence."
"Do you have any evidence to support his claim?"
"No."
"So you just followed your feelings, despite Kei's
testimony and the video evidence?"
"Yes."
"Your judgement is better than the rules the WDF
supposedly follow then?"
"No."
"No? But according to our rules Ben should have stood
trial. And at that trial he would have had the chance to
defend himself. I guess the rules don't apply to him then,
do they?"
"Um... Yes. I mean... Oh Zoner, why are you doing
this?"
"Yuri, because of this situation I have lost Ben and
Kei. You know what trust means to me, and because of his
actions Ben has made himself appear guilty. Whether he is or
not. Therefore, I feel my trust in him has been betrayed.
On top of that, because of your actions, I have lost Kei,
another valued friend. But both of those losses pale in
comparison to the third."
"Which is?"
"I have lost the one person whom I have loved the most.
Due to your actions I have lost all trust in you, thereby
killing any chance of our relationship continuing. Without
trust I cannot share my love." Zoner turned his face away
from her, fighting off the urge to cry out at the world.
Yuri was shocked. This was too much for her to take in
one day. "Zoner... You can't mean that... I love you..."
"And I loved you. It hurts me more than you could ever
know to do this. But I cannot allow myself to be hurt like
this again. Love is something that I cannot afford to feel.
Never."
"NO! Don't do this! Don't turn me away, not now! I
need you, I want to stay with you. We can work it out.
We've been together for centuries, don't do this now."
"Yuri, you know that I can forgive nearly anything,
except betrayal of trust. If you had come to me with your
'feelings' I would have seriously considered them. I too
find it hard to believe that Ben committed the crimes of
which he is accused. Instead you went behind my back,
disobeyed my orders, and helped him escape. Thereby
condemning him to an appearance of guilt. I am truly sorry.
Part of me died when you said the two simple words, `I did'.
Unfortunately, that part was the part of me capable of
feeling love and trust. If I cannot trust you, I can trust
no one but myself."
"Oh Zoner..."
"Farewell, Yuri. I'll have my kipple removed later.
I'm going to resign my commission as Captain. I cannot lead
a crew I cannot trust."
Zoner left the room without looking back, leaving Yuri
alone sobbing on the bed.
He paused at a comm screen in the passageway.
"Eve?"
"I'm here," she responded as the screen sprang to life,
"How can I help you?"
"I'm leaving. Please have a droid take everything
that's mine out of my room and pack it in the Daytona's beta
unit. Prep the Daytona for long duration flight, and make
sure the Garland is loaded as well as a full load of
Cyclones. Actually, make one of the Cyclones a Battler, one
a Sabre, and... hmm... make the third a Shadow. Of course
I'll need a set of CVR-7 too."
"It sounds like you'll be gone for a while."
"You could say that, I'm not coming back."
"What? Why not?"
"It would take too long to explain, and I really don't
want to talk about it right now anyway. Just please see to
the Daytona. Oh, and if you could, please transfer the
production designs for the Cyclones, Garland, Daytona, and
associated systems, including weapons, to the onboard
computer. Oops... Almost forgot... Please transfer all of my
monetary holdings too. I'll need them, I've got quite a bit
saved up. It should be enough to get settled down somewhere
and live for quite a while."
"I don't understand why you want to leave, but I'll do
what you asked. Will Yuri be going with you?"
"Definitely not!" Zoner snapped, then added, "Sorry,
Eve, I'm just a bit tense. Yuri and I are no longer
together. You can have her explain why if you'd like."
"I'm sorry to hear that. If that's all I'll begin
preparations immediately."
"Yes, do so. Please."
"Very well. Goodbye. I'll notify you when the
preparations are complete."
"Thank you. Oh, and Eve..."
"Yes?"
"Please keep this as quiet as possible. I want to make
the announcement of my departure myself."
"I'll do my best."
"Thanks. I'll miss you, Eve."
"I shall miss you too, Zoner."
"Farewell."
With that he turned and continued on his way.