FSE

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-Transmission Lost-

Chapter Eight: Regret

by Havoc

---

When Jack awoke, he felt a chill in the tent. His eyes still closed, he reached an arm out for Aria, intending to pull himself closer to her for warmth. But his hand fell on empty space, and he opened his eyes. Aria wasn't laying beside him anymore. Her bedroll was bare, the only sign of her former presence there being a slight indentation where her body had been curled around his. Jack sat up, slightly alarmed by her absence. He felt another chill, and realized that the tent flap was open.

Jack reached for his fatigue pants and pulled them on, then he crawled to the tent opening and poked his head out. The sky outside was still dark, with only hints of light starting to nibble at the blackness. The moon had sunk below the horizon. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, Jack could make out the form of Aria sitting on the mossy stream bank. Her back was to him, and she seemed to be staring out at the slowly flowing water.

The human stood and walked over to her. She'd dressed herself back in her flight suit again. He didn't say anything, a little confused by what he was seeing. He'd never seen her looking quite so contemplative. Usually, she was a lot more active than this, and he wasn't sure if he should interrupt her thoughts.

"You awake," Aria said quietly, making Jack jump. She looked over her shoulder at him for a brief moment, then turned her attention back to the stream. "Na ha'lani?"

"I don't...What did you say?"

"Sorry, forgot. What I say is 'you have good dreams'?"

"I...guess so," Jack replied. He stepped forward and sat down next to her. "But when I woke up and you weren't there, I got worried." He reached up and laid a hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off. Aria drew her legs up close to her, hugging her arms around herself and resting her chin on her knees. Jack was startled. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing, I...," Aria started to say, but she closed her mouth. She twitched her tail irritably, though whether she was irritated at herself or at Jack, he couldn't tell. The Ailian shook her head. "It is...nothing."

"I might not know a whole lot about Ailians," Jack said slowly, "but I know enough to know that you're not upset about nothing." He moved to place an arm around her waist, but thought better of it. "Tell me. You can talk to me."

Aria buried her face against her knees. "Be silent!" she hissed, clasping her hands over her ears. "Leave me be...please..."

Jack was starting to feel angry. He grabbed her arm, heedless of the danger of doing so, though he well recalled just how much she could hurt him if she wanted to. "Not gonna happen. Not until you tell me what's wrong."

Growling, Aria made as if to push him away, and Jack braced himself in preparation to be thrown to the ground. However, she stopped, the tension in her body draining away just a bit. She raised her head, but continued not to look at him. He waited, and just as he was about to say something else, she sighed a little.

"Is...Is difficult to explain..."

Jack blinked. "What is?"

"It just..." Aria sighed again. She glanced sidelong at him, not quite meeting his eyes. "We mate."

Despite the apparent seriousness of the situation, Jack couldn't help giving a little snort of laughter. "I noticed. It was kind of hard not to, what with us being all over each other, you know."

"Not laugh," she muttered, looking away from him again. "Is nothing funny about this." Aria wrapped her arms around her shoulders, rubbing them. She looked as though every word coming out of her took a considerable effort to force through her lips, and Jack got the sense that this might have been the most difficult conversation she'd ever had in her life. It didn't give him a very good feeling.

"Sorry." Jack rubbed his face, watching her. She was acting uncharacteristically awkward. "I apologize if I didn't measure up to your standards. It was kind of a new experience for me, so if I did something wrong..."

"No!" Aria said quickly. She turned her head back towards Jack, her eyes slightly wider than normal. "Not do anything wrong."

Feeling a small measure of relief, Jack laid his hand on hers. Her larger hand enveloped his, holding on tightly. "So...You enjoyed it, then?"

Aria snaked her tail over, curling it around his waist. "Yes." She stroked the back of his hand, finally smiling at him. "Was wonderful..." Aria leaned down, nuzzling at his cheek. However, Jack thought he could sense some hesitation in her actions.

"But...," he prompted her.

She leaned back again, her smile faltering. The Ailian let his hand go, though she left her tail curled comfortably around him. She gazed back out at the stream, watching as the rippling surface glinted from what little light there was. "But..." Aria shook her head again. "Is difficult to explain. You...not understand."

"Try me."

Aria took a deep breath. She was silent for several minutes, collecting her thoughts. Jack could almost feel the apprehension that she was surely feeling right now. He had a notion that whatever she was going to say, it would be rather troubling. Aria rarely held back with anything. If what she felt she needed to say was that difficult for her to put into words, Jack wasn't sure he wanted to hear it.

"Well...Is like this, then...," Aria began. Her voice was low, her words coming slowly. "You see my uniform."

"...Right...," Jack said, drawing the word out. He looked at Aria's flight suit, wondering what she was on about. The garment was the same as it had always been, though a little bit more worn by now. Her rank insignia were sewn onto the lapels, as the suit was adorned on the shoulders with what he assumed were unit and division patches. Sewn above her right breast was a line in stuttering, jagged Ailian script that he'd learned was her name written in their language. Jack couldn't understand why she would draw his attention to her uniform. "What about it?"

"I in Ascendancy military," she said. Aria leaned back, laying herself out on the moss. Her tail slid from around his waist. She crossed her arms behind her head, her eyes turned up towards the stars fading in the dawn sky. "We taught from very beginning, in training...Enemy is enemy, nothing else. Is very important thing we taught."

"Not surprised. That's pretty much what anyone in any military is taught, right? Fight the enemy, win against the enemy."

"Is deeper than that, for us." The Ailian looked over at him. "Our codes seem strange to human, perhaps. Very rarely take prisoners. Taught never leave enemy alive, no matter what. Disobeying code mean discharge, imprisonment...even death, maybe, yes?"

"If you say so...," Jack said. He rubbed the back of his neck. "But you don't think they'd execute you just for leaving me alive, right? I mean, you made that decision for your own survival. Your superiors would understand that, surely." He laughed nervously.

Aria stared at him, her yellow eyes staring at his face with a piercing gaze. "Of course they would understand. Ascendancy Army strict, not stupid. My commander recognize difference between fraternization, survival." She turned her head away, moving one arm out to grab a clump of moss. She crumbled it between her fingers thoughtfully. "Would not execute, but...when I return home, likely discharged. Command not likely trust anyone who partner with human, for any reason."

"They'd really do that, huh? Well, I mean...But you made that decision even knowing that, so you must have been prepared for it."

"Yes, but..." Aria growled to herself. "Is different now. Would have been fine if I only travel with you. But..." She closed her eyes, the words hissing between her teeth. "We mate..."

Jack rocked back from her, his chest going cold. "You don't mean..."

"Yes." Aria sighed. "When I return home, I maybe charged with treason, executed."

For a long time after that, the both of them were quiet. All that could be heard was the gentle rushing sound of the stream, the rustling of a breeze through the nearby trees, and the distant sounds of the mountain birds starting to awaken. The air was warming slightly, but Jack still felt a chill.

"So don't tell them," he said. "They can't find out if you don't say anything...right?"

Aria shook her head, her ears twitching as the moss tickled them. "Is not that simple." She laid a hand over her face, taking a shuddering breath. "I must file report regarding all this. All of it. Is not easy to tell lie to Ailian. If they think I leave anything out, they put me through interrogation. One way or another, they find out."

Jack blinked. "You still want to go home, even knowing you could face that kind of treatment?"

"Of course." Aria uncovered her face, her eyes blazing with a passionate heat. "My honor depend on it. I am Ailian, it is who I am." Her expression softened a little. "And...want to see family again. Sisters, brothers...My father. Need to get home for them, even if just see them once more. Did not want it that way, but...is how it is."

"I see." Jack stood up abruptly, turning away from Aria. He put his hands in his pockets. A hundred thoughts were racing through his head now, and he felt heat rising to his face. "You sound as though you regret what we did."

Aria sat back up, sliding her feet in towards her body and setting her chin on her knees once more. She stared down at the mossy ground. "Yes...I do."

Jack exhaled sharply through his nose, closing his eyes and gritting his teeth. He hung his head. He suddenly felt used, tossed aside, dirty, like a worn-out rag. It didn't make any sense for him to feel that strongly about what she'd said, but he did. Jack knew it was foolish to think they could be anything serious, but he'd felt they had a little more attraction than just simple friendship. Jack felt he didn't deserve regret.

Perhaps Aria could sense what he was feeling just then. Jack felt her tail brushing against his leg. "I offend you?" she said.

"Yeah," Jack said, a rueful laugh escaping his lips. He pulled his leg away from her, at the same time brushing a hand through his blonde hair. "Yeah, a little bit."

With a slightly crestfallen expression on her face, Aria drew her tail back. "I...sorry...Not mean to do that, just..." The Ailian bit her lip, then spoke again, her voice quieting to barely a whisper. "Sorry..."

Jack spun on his heel, striding back towards the tent. "I'm going back to bed while it's still dark." He thought about adding a nasty remark, but his heart wasn't in it. Leaving Aria sitting on the bank, he went back into the tent, zipping the tent flap behind him.

---

Nearly an hour later, Jack heard the tent flap unzip behind him. He hadn't been able to fall asleep again, and it was growing lighter outside. The whole time he'd been lying there, he'd been thinking about what Aria had said. He could understand where she was coming from, but it still hurt. She was a friend to him, and it was painful to hear words like that from a friend.

A shuffling sound told him that Aria was crawling into the tent. A moment later, he felt her hand lightly touch his shoulder. "Jack..."

"I'm still angry, Aria," he muttered. "I wish you hadn't said those things."

"I know..." Aria settled down next to him on the bedrolls. "I sorry, but...not want to lie to you."

Jack rolled over to face her. "You could have said something before it happened," he said. "If you'd told me what the consequences could have been before, I might have...I dunno..." He rubbed a hand over his face in frustration. "I don't even know what I'm trying to say right now, I-"

"Jack," Aria cut him off, putting a hand to his cheek. "However I feel about what happen...I like you. And I not regret that part." She leaned forward and kissed his forehead. "We still friends...yes...?" There was a hopeful note in her voice.

Rolling back over, turning his back to Aria again, Jack closed his eyes. His anger was subsiding. He had to remember where Aria was coming from, how they had been with each other at their first meeting. Jack knew it was a miracle they could even stand to be near one another, let alone that they could have possibly done what they did the night before. They'd been caught up in the heat of the moment then, he knew. Whether that heat was past or whether it was just simmering, Jack needed to let the anger go. There couldn't be any animosity between them if he and Aria were going to make it out of this alive.

And at the same time, Jack realized that she'd done what she did even though she knew what the consequences would be. That spoke of affection no matter which way he looked at it, and if Jack hadn't felt the same way he was sure last night wouldn't have happened.

"Yeah, Aria," Jack said. "We're still friends."

"Good. Is still time before we need to move. We get a few more hours' sleep, yes? Will need it. We are close to our destination now, I think." The Ailian put her arms around him, pulling him close to her. "Is cold dawn. We keep warm together, yes?"

Jack nodded, laying his arm over hers. "Sounds like a good idea to me."

---

When morning came in earnest, Jack and Aria pushed off on what they hoped was the last leg of their journey. Aria was very confident that they were closer, though Jack wasn't sure how she could know. He had, however, learned to trust in her instincts, so he went along with it. He had his rifle back in his hands again, Aria having saved it along with his pack after he'd fallen in the river, which gave him his own confidence. They were back in verdant, dense forest, reminiscent of the area in which they'd first met, except for the different type of trees. Brown, dried conifer needles crunched under their feet as they walked, which was about the only noise to be heard.

For some reason unknown to either of them, there was no wildlife in this forest region. Aria found that distinctly ominous for reasons which she couldn't fully explain to Jack. Everywhere else they'd been there had been numerous alien life forms, whether benign or murderous. However, here there were no birds, no demons, none of the other more friendly animals that they'd run across previously.

Jack saw no problem with this. "I don't see the issue," he told Aria as they made their way through a thick patch of prickly bushes. He winced as a long thorn scratched his cheek. "I mean, isn't it refreshing to not have something trying to kill us right now?"

Aria looked over her shoulder at him, a few steps ahead of his position. "Perhaps for you," she said. The Ailian growled as she tugged on her tail, which had gotten tangled in a clump of crisscrossed briars. "But is strange no animals here, yes? I not like it."

For most of the day they talked little, with Aria concentrating on not losing her sense of direction in the forest. Jack was content to let her lead the way, since she had more skills with pathfinding. Every so often she would stop, her ears pricking as she strained to listen for any sounds. Jack waited patiently each time, though it seemed a useless gesture since they were, as far as he could tell, alone. Still, their experience with the pack of predators had proven that no amount of precautions would be too much, so he chose wisely not to complain about the delays.

As the day stretched into early afternoon, Jack began to fear that it would be yet another fruitless hike. While he was certain Aria was leading him in the correct direction, he still saw no evidence of her ship. Just as he was about to ask a question, Aria abruptly halted, quickly kneeling down to the ground.

"What is it?" Jack asked her. He watched, bewildered, as Aria brushed her hand through fallen leaves and needles. He was going to repeat his inquiry when she straightened up, a small bit of something grasped between her fingers. "What have you got there?"

Aria turned to him, holding the item out to him. "Clue."

Taking the item from her, Jack looked at it, turning it over in his hand. Cold and sharp-edged, it was a small piece of twisted metal. The chunk was painted black, with a small bit of red paint visible on one edge. The metal was slightly charred, evidence that it had passed through intense heat. "Is this what I think it is?"

"Yes," Aria said, nodding. She appeared calm through her expression, but her tail was whipping back and forth rapidly behind her, betraying her excitement. "Is piece of armor plating from my ship. We close, I think."

As they continued walking, they found more and more evidence that Aria's ship had come down in the area. Pieces of metal became more frequent on the ground, and were getting larger. About an hour after finding the first piece, they came across the broken barrel of one of the cannons from the patrol ship. Aria stopped, looking around. Then she looked up, towards the tops of the trees.

"Look," she said, pointing up.

Jack followed the direction of her finger, gazing up to the tree tops. What he saw there made a jolt of excitement shoot up his spine. Branches had been broken off, leaving scars along the trees. Charred bark on the trees told him that something very hot had caused the damage. Like, say, the scorching hull of a crashing ship that had just rushed through the atmosphere at terminal velocity.

"We're real close," Jack breathed. He could scarcely believe that their journey was finally near its end. It seemed too good to be true. He looked ahead of them, and saw that the damage to the tree tops followed a more or less straight path. "If the ship was low enough here to hit the trees, it shouldn't be far away at all."

"Yes," Aria agreed. "Come."

They followed the path of destruction, finding more and more bits of wreckage. The trees were starting to thin out, and Jack kept expecting to see the hulk of the wreck ahead of them. But so far, there was nothing to be seen. Finally, they came out of a grove of trees and found themselves on the top of a sloping ridge, overlooking a green valley.

Down below, the most beautiful thing Jack had seen in many days, was the twisted wreckage of Aria's ship. The angular, predatory lines of the patrol vessel had been torn and broken to the point that it was hardly recognizable as the same ship that Jack had fought before. Apart from the pits and scars visible in the armor from his own ship's attacks, large chunks of it seemed to be missing, doubtless having been peeled off during the descent of knocked off during the crash itself. Still, it had landed on its belly, and the cockpit area was damaged far less than the engine area.

"We find it," Aria hissed, her voice shaking with triumph. "Knew we going right way. Ha le Cha'la'fa se'ka..."

"What did you just say?"

"Ah! Excuse me," Aria apologized. "Was just...saying hello to ship. Her name is Cha'la'fa. Is difficult to translate, but...come close to 'Dream Runner'."

"Cha'la'fa," Jack repeated. "Nice name for a ship." He adjusted his grip on his rifle, starting to step forward. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get down there and-"

"Stop!" Aria barked at him suddenly, reaching out and grabbing the back of his jacket. She jerked him down to the ground, falling forward onto her front as well. Placing a hand on the his back, she forced him flat against the grass. Jack struggled, alarmed by what she was doing.

"What the hell are you-"

"Sala!" she hissed at him, clapping a hand over his face and muffling his voice. For a long moment they lay there, not moving. Aria's ears were twitching rapidly, and she was sniffing the air. "Something not right..."

Slowly, Aria crawled forward towards the edge of the slope. Following her cautiously, Jack strained his ears for what it was that might have Aria on the alert. He could hear nothing yet. Looking down into the valley once again, he could see nothing, either.

"Aria, I don't think there's anything there..."

"Sala," she hissed again, more insistent this time. "Be still. Listen. Even you can hear soon."

Quiet, barely breathing, Jack listened carefully. Aria was right. At first, all he could feel was a low thrumming in the air, a deep bass that reverberated in the pit of his stomach. Then he heard the unmistakable sound of ship engines. For some reason he felt fear, instinctively knowing that the noise was not a welcome one. The noise grew louder and louder, and it became clear that whatever ship was making the noise was coming closer to them.

Next to him, the Ailian pressed herself into the ground, and Jack followed suit. A moment later, over the tops of the trees behind them, a large ship came into view. Blocking out the sky above them, it cast a shadow over the pair as they tried to make themselves as invisible as possible. The ship passed, descending into the valley. It landed a short distance away from the Cha'la'fa's wreckage, settling on the valley floor with a soft thump. Jack raised his head slightly, looking down at the newcomer.

"That's not an Ailian ship," he said slowly. "That's one of ours...Looks like one of the same kind of ships the UN Navy uses for transport."

"What?" Aria whispered sharply. She looked over at Jack. "Human military?"

"I'm not sure, but it could be..."

Growling dangerously, Aria lifted her rifle and pressed a switch on the side. The barrel extended further out from the body of the rifle and section of the top flipped up, exposing what appeared to be a telescopic sight. She gripped the weapon tightly, settling into a prone position on the ground and looking through the scope. Jack waited, holding his breath, not quite certain what she was planning to do. Surely she wasn't rash enough to try to attack a ship with a rifle, especially when it could conceivably be filled with soldiers. Aria was silent for several long minutes, breathing slowly and steadily.

"Not have military markings," Aria said finally. "I not recognize symbol painted on ship..."

"...Can I have a look?"

Aria moved aside, letting Jack take her place on the rifle. His smaller hands had difficulty manipulating the grips of the Ailian weapon, but he managed to get into a position where he could look down into the valley through the scope. He focused on the landed ship. The ship was painted the same slate gray that most human military ships were, so no difference there. He scanned over it, and his extensive experience with piloting did allow him to see some telltale signs that this was not a military vessel. The engines seemed to have been modified. They were larger than what would have been found on this type of vessel's standard model, which cut down on storage space but allowed for better speed and maneuverability. It was also far more heavily armed than a standard transport ship. Just from looking at the outside, Jack could see missile ports, heavy particle cannons, and a few swivel guns mounted underneath the cockpit area.

He scanned the hull, trying to find any sorts of markings. Then, on the side hatch that should have led into the crew portion of the ship, he found a painted logo. His blood went cold when he saw what it was. A red triangle with a gold lightning bolt through it, the bolt piercing the outline of a human skull underneath the triangle. Any cargo pilot who had been on the job for more than a day knew that symbol.

"Pirates," Jack said, the fear obvious in his voice. "That's the insignia of the Scorpion Guild. Before the war started, they were the biggest threat to shipping in human space. They still operate throughout the war zone and all over the galaxy. They're part of the reason that the military has a shortage of transport vessels. I bet that's one they stole."

Aria growled. "Pirates."

"Hang on a minute...someone's coming out of the ship." Jack watched as the hatch on the pirate ship opened, and three people walked out. They were dressed in nondescript, military-style clothing with black berets for headgear. All of them were armed. One of the trio, a woman, seemed to be the leader. She was waving her arm at the wreck, and the two men in her company walked towards the Cha'la'fa.

"Look. My ship."

Jack shifted his view to look at the Ailian vessel. A hatch was creaking open, laboriously, near the cockpit. Two other people dressed the same as the trio of pirates walked out. They were carrying crates, and from the way they were moving the crates appeared to be very heavily packed. The pair met the other two men halfway between the two ships, and they started carrying the crates together.

"It looks like they're setting up some kind of salvage operation," he said slowly. "They're carrying some stuff out of your ship. I can't tell what it is from here." As he watched, another two women emerged from the pirate ship, carrying what appeared to be camping supplies. Dismayed, Jack realized that they meant to stay there overnight.

"Scavengers!" Aria snarled, sounding very angry indeed. "My ship!" She reached for the rifle. "Give me weapon. I kill them all."

"Are you crazy?" Jack asked her. He kept a hold of the Ailian weapon. "There's seven of them down there right now, and who knows if there are more of them in that ship? If you start shooting they'll know we're here and then we'll be in serious trouble."

With a soft growl, Aria glared at him. "But they will strip her. Leave nothing of value. If they strip her, they surely take radio. Will not be able to call for help then."

Jack rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "You're right about that..." He thought hard for a few minutes, watching the pirates work as they set up their camp. They had to do something about that, but Jack knew the two of them would have trouble in a stand-up fight against a band of pirates. "I might have an idea...One of us could sneak down there when it gets dark. They've got to have radios with them. If we can't get at the Cha'la'fa's radio, we can use of the pirates' radios."

Unsure, Aria cocked an eye at him. "Well...Is possible. But dangerous." She looked down into the valley, the tip of her tail twitching in thought. "But maybe is best plan. Very well. We do it you way."

"Alright," Jack said. The next part of the plan was harder, and he knew she wouldn't like it. "So I'll need you to wait up here when I sneak down there."

The Ailian whipped her head around to stare at him. "No! Is not good idea. I not allow that."

"Be reasonable," Jack begged her. "I'm smaller than you. I might not be as stealthy, but I'll be less noticeable. And I know you." He grabbed her shoulder, shaking it a little. "You know that if you get down there, you're going to want to kill them all. That's not going to do us any good with that many of them, and if they have comrades in space nearby that'll raise the alarm and get us in even more trouble."

Aria bared her teeth at him, and she looked as though she was going to lose control of her anger. Jack braced himself for what was to come, but she closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. When she opened her eyes again, she looked more calm.

"I still not like," she cautioned him. "But...you right, I think. You sure about this?" Jack nodded. "Very well...We wait until they sleep, then you go down. And if you fail..."

"I know, I know," Jack said, grinning. "If I fail, you'll kill me."

---

With a plan in place, the pair used the rest of the afternoon and evening to rest, since they would be up during the night. They ate a meal together and retreated into the trees to get a few hours of sleep. The entire time, Aria kept trying to convince Jack to change the plan, but he stubbornly stuck to it. The Ailian had a forceful personality, but Jack knew he was right this time, and he wasn't going to let Aria change his mind. By the time darkness had completely fallen, she had resigned herself to the fact that it was going to happen.

Jack waited another hour after nightfall, until they couldn't detect any more movement through the scope of Aria's rifle. At that point, he began his slow descent down the sloping ridge. Before descending, Jack removed his belt and the sling from his rifle, along with anything else he was carrying that might jingle or rattle. This, of course, meant that his only armament for his mission would be the thirty rounds that the rifle held. While nothing to sneeze at, thirty rounds in an automatic rifle was not very much in the scheme of a firefight.

As he descended the slope, moving carefully and slowly lest he slip on the grass, Jack remembered what Aria had said to him before he left:

"I wait here, but I not patient for long," she'd warned him, a hint of heat to her voice. "You not back in three hours, and I start killing pirates." Then she'd turned her back to him, sitting down on the ground and crossing her arms, seeming to sulk in the fact that she was left out of a chance for a fight.

Jack grimaced as he reached the bottom of the slope. He paused, crouching down low and taking a moment to look and listen. There was no noise from the pirates' campsite, and no signs of movement. They hadn't bothered to light a fire, and likely they'd come more prepared for cold than Jack and Aria had been, since they'd probably had a chance to survey the planet. Whatever the case, that was good news for him. The blue-pattern camouflage that Jack was wearing wasn't as good as straight black or even woodland camouflage, but in complete darkness it did just fine.

He still wondered what the pirates were doing here, and how they'd found the wrecks. Jack found it hard to believe that they were part of an organized search effort. More likely, they'd been cruising through the area and their sensors had revealed the signs of the crashes. With the complete absence of technology or civilization on this planet, two crashed ships would have stood out like white on black.

Well, whatever, Jack thought to himself. Not like it really matter how or why they're here. More important to find a radio and get away without being detected. And while I'm searching, I might find some answers.

Jack switched on the light attached to his rifle, playing it around the pirates' campsite for a few seconds, just to get a feel for the area. He quickly switched it back off so that the likelihood of detection was minimized, and then moved to another position so that if anyone had seen the light, they'd be looking for him in the wrong place. Then he stayed still again, listening and looking around. There was no sign of movement, so he felt safe enough to start exploring.

He headed into the pirate camp, each of his senses on edge for any sign of detection. With a little bit of skill and a lot of luck, he'd be in and out long before Aria's three hour deadline. He hoped.