Chapter Text
Part One
Uncertainty, unease. A crushing gravity. Kestrel struggled to breathe. The sound of Sylph screaming echoing- they tried to squash the audio, but memories do not have volume control. They swallowed heavily. Guilt, shame- fear. They tasted bile. They barely had to think about it, a channel opened to Haruspex. The void about them yawned into nothing. Somewhere out there- they shut the thought down. They stared at the back of Paz’s mech, held fast in the frame the shuttle had upon its under belly. Bachelor was behind them. They waited for Paz to pick up, checking the readout in the bottom left of their display. Data scrolled across its feeds, they felt the anxiety easy. There was a chirping as Paz answered their hail.
“Why? Why was Khan allowed to kill the prisoner?” Kestrel blurted, no sooner than she had picked up. Slow breaths. Keep heart rate down. They tried to tell themself. It was not as effective as they would like.
The crackle of a sigh came over the radio. "Bachelor is… a professional. You have to understand, she believed it was the mission- and so, she sought to complete the mission."
"But… but… she disobeyed you? She killed… she killed the prisoner. She- she’s a traitor. R-right?" Kestrel hated the tremor in their voice. A sigh over the radio, a soft crackling.
“She thought that was the mission- like I said Kestrel. That doesn’t make her a traitor. She serves a purpose for now, but… when the time comes-” Paz stopped, and there was a silence for a long moment, with only the crackling of the frequency. She continued. “I can’t tell you everything that’s going on, not yet. I’m sorry. Things… are in motion. But I promise you, this time- when I go again- I will take you with me.” She said, Tightening in the chest- trouble breathing breathe in- hold- release- Kestrel swallowed over the radio, nodding as if she could see.
“I-... I will follow you, Paz. Wherever you go. Even into the void.” There is a long silence, then a squelch as the communication is cut.
... ...
Kestrel sat in the cocoon of their Death's Head, of Hive. They glanced down at the little read out in the corner of their screen. My little bug. They thought, reading the lines of data that bled across the screen. They couldn’t see Bachelors Vlad, it was mounted behind them- they were sandwiched between Haruspex and the Traitor. Their breath quicked, their pulse flared into a sudden tattoo of panic- thudding through their ears. The sound of the drill. The screaming over the radio- the crackling as the radio gave out - the geyser of red in the slick black of the frames blood- oil and lubricate- crimson death. They found themself activating the com before they could stop themself. There was a brief chirping before Bachelor picked up.
“What?” Khan’s tone was short and sharp, no hint of battle fatigue despite all they’d just faced.
“W-why?” They blurted- tripping over themself, fear- panic- the traitor- she disobeyed Haruspex- she killed the prisoner- they forced their panic down, trying to keep it out of their voice. They glanced at the bugs readout. Reassured.
“Why what?” The response was quick and it didn’t seem sarcastic but what else could they possibly be talking about?!
“W-why did you kill her? You disobeyed an order.” Was their voice trembling? Did she realize how scared they were? They pushed the panic down, and looked at the bug again. Her drill was still powered down. They let out a breath.
“That order was bullshit! We were sent there to kill whoever was attacking that station, not let them get away!”
“S-she was our prisoner.” Kestrel protested- they felt heat under their dermal plating. Systems check- operational- where was the heat coming from? Were they infected? They ran a scan for malware.
“Lauze was going to let them go! She was letting them slip through our fingers!” Heat was pouring into her words now and Kestrel felt their chest constrict, they glanced to the readout- still not powered on. They sucked air into their lungs staring through the view screen of their mechanized defense module and into the void, just beyond the durasteel frames that held them to the shuttles belly. A dark void full of little specks of light. The Vast. It wouldn’t take much- all she had to do was- they pushed the thought down.
“She powered her mech down, you had her, she was our prisoner.” They protested- her words were confusing. Paz would never do something like that… would she? Not their Paz surely… but- she had been gone for- Bachelor was speaking, they tried to focus, replaying the first bit they missed.
“You must have heard her! She told that mother fucker to take her men and leave! Those weren’t our orders, I don’t care about your little communard project, but when I take a job I see it through!”
Their chest tightened again. “No- she- she told her to surrender.” They protested, what was wrong with Khan? They cast their mind back to the moment, to Haruspex berating Sylph for her poor choices. These were… some kind of Revolutionary, maybe for another station- they weren’t enemies- didn’t… need to be enemies, Haruspex had said. “Y-you had her at your mercy. We- we could have brought her back- y-you murdered her after she surrendered… She- she… was our prisoner. You disobeyed Comrade Haruspex- our officer-”
“Lauze was never going to take them back. She does whatever she wants, tells you to do whatever she thinks is best for her and you’re blind to it, like a lovesick puppy.” Khan’s anger was already petering out, she sounded almost weary now, but still just as bitter as always.
“I- what?” Kestrel blinked, heat under the dermals- systems still scanning- blinked again. “I wh- no- I-” Paz? Kestrel- them, being Lovesick? No- she didn’t understand, Khan didn’t get it- she wasn’t there in Fjitzu-Mori- she wasn’t there at LZ-909- she- “No no, I- I-'' Their voice cracked, was something wrong with their - no, that wasn’t artificial. They couldn’t ping a system check. There was a thrumming in their ear, blood pumping - they killed the channel. Paz wouldn’t lie to them. Paz wouldn’t betray them. Khan didn’t know what she was talking about. They steadied their breath.
Their coms with Haruspex chirped again as they thought about contacting her- telling her what Bachelor had said. They decided to let it go through, and she picked up after a minute. There wasn’t much to do during transit anyway. They sent the recording from Bachelor- a simple audio file.
“What’s this?” She asked after a moment, then fell silent as she listened. Kestrel took a deep breath, calming themself- and cast a nervous glance to the bug. She hadn’t powered it up. Maybe… maybe she didn’t- Paz’s long sigh interrupted that thought.
“You never were one for debate.” She said after a moment. "What do you intend to do about it?"
“I- '' Kestrel swallowed. That was true, they weren’t. Debates were Paz’ thing- and what were They going to do? Was this a test? Did she want their input? They frowned at the node that showed active connection to her channel. That is why they called her. They flicked their wrist, and sent the feed of their Bug- which showed the Ludgar's (Khan's Mech) location, integrity and other vital information.
"I see, good job Kestrel. Keep it up." She said after a moment. Relief. Pride. Heat bloomed in their chest and for a moment they worried a wire had frayed or something was overheating - systems check- nothing damaged.
"T-thank you Comrade- Paz- I- I'll continue my surveillance." They managed, their throat felt tight.
They heard a chuckling laugh coming through the com. "I like that. When you use my name." Said Paz. Kestel blinked. Her name- more? What did - warmth flooding their face and their neck- another strange anomaly. Systems check- no errors. They frowned. Wait- She had told them something- they needed to-
"T-t-then… then I will use it more." Kestrel managed. "Comrade Paz."
There was another laugh. "We will work on that. Good work Kestrel." The line cut, and the pilot sank back into their nest of wires, their heart thudding in their chest.
... ...
Kestrel almost felt naked when they dismounted from Hive- their heavily adapted sharpshooters rig. The cockpit unsealed, and they rose from the nest of wires- little pops and hissing of released cables sounded as they decoupled themself. The feeds disappeared, the sensations localized, they flexed. Stretched. Felt their own limbs again, felt the suit about them mold to their skin. Their Drones had already moved out into the hangar, they watched as Khan- the - Paz hadn't considered her a Traitor just… unpredictable. Kestrel took a breath and overrode the label, hoping they were not in error- no, Paz would not misread the situation, surely. They thought. The Liability climbed out of her mech, and Immediately made her way away from the hangar, ignoring the Duty Officer that approached the shuttle, waving for them to gather.
Kestrel stretched out, sending E2 to cover the quadrant she was walking into then put it into an orbital following pattern. They kept their eyes in E3's feeds, watching as they climbed down the little ladder that led up to the cockpit. Their suit was sleek. Black and silver with patches of blue about the various input regulators. They made it to the hanger floor, where Paz was talking to the duty officer.
Kestrel shifted anxiously, waiting for the dismissal that The Liability clearly had not. Paz seemed to notice and held up a hand to the duty officer. "Kestrel… you have that thing to do right?" She asked. Kestrel was already nodding emphatically.
"Y-yes Comrade - I-" They began, moving E3 in a half orbit around to their right shoulder to see Paz's expression. She cut them off.
"Go handle it, I'll do the debriefing for all of us." She said softly and Kestrel nodded, throwing a little salute and hurrying after where E3 was telling them Khan had gone. Khan had already made it across the hanger and through the sealed doors. Kestrel didn't bother to scan their badge, just sent the auth codes to the scanner, watching as the doors slid open for them. They took a breath, and pulled the lower mask of their suit up over their mouth, then reached to the back collar and unclipped the hood, pulling it over them and affixing it. When they'd sealed the suit, they reached out to the appropriate node and sent the signal to initiate the stealth program. They felt the coolness flood over their skin, took a breath, and followed Khan.
... ....
They watched from E3's perspective as Khan skillfully gained access to the Doctors apartment. Kestel noted the address - they didn't remember the Doctor's name, only that she was a friend of Paz. They sent the data to their private feed, a small ping to get Haruspex' attention followed by the address and Bachelor gained entrance. Might threaten inhabitant. Attempting to follow. They left E2 to watch the door and slipped down to the alley behind the apartment. It was an access corridor to the central heating which came through the center of the complex, but the schematics they had pulled up from the station archive indicated there might be a vent… or access port for repairs at the back of each apartment. They searched for a moment, focusing their vision through their main optics. There- a small seam in the building. They reached out, looking for an access node. There was none. It was manual. They chewed their lip, hoping they weren't too late- Sylph's screams- the drill- the radio crackling under a geyser of blood- they squeezed their eyes shut and inhaled sharply.
E3 pinged, there was someone approaching the building. Focusing through the lens Kestrel saw a woman- quite tired looking, lines of weariness and sleep deprivation about her eyes- approaching the door and fishing for a keycard in her gray coat. Within a moment she had swiped the card and entered, Kestrel chewed their lip, not sure they could have warned her.
Pulling their multi tool free they pried at the seam, it wouldn't come loose. They grunted in frustration, looking about the narrow space for some other access. They found another small circular air vent, but it led directly to a filter. They spent several minutes looking for a way to get E1 inside the filter- when E3 saw the door suddenly open.
Khan- The Liability stepped out and strode quickly down the street. Kestel pulled E1 and 3 close to themself, hurrying to retreat from the crawlspace. The light fluctuated, glinting in E2's lens. Through said lens they saw the toughened professional killer glance up, meeting E2's gaze for a brief moment- maybe… or… or just seeing the light flash against something. Kestel held their breath, panic rising, gravity pulling them down towards the station, knotting in their stomach. She carried on - she must have missed it. They released their breath and hurried to follow, pinging an update to Haruspex' private feed.
They would keep on her heels. They wouldn't let Haruspex down.