story Nyx [fanfic in the Tankiverse]

[Hippin_in_Hawaii 639]

 

 

Nyx

Chapter 6 in the Chronicles of the One-Eyed Man.

 

Nyx had been the last one to bail out of the transport, half a second behind her twin. As she descended on the sky-blue synthetic silk, she wondered why that was. She’d seen the other tankers go; she’d watched Hek and Imp jump, seen Mac haul a semi-conscious Cro out the door.  Lam had gotten twisted up in her harness as she tried to don the ‘chute, so Nyx had spent several precious seconds helping her sister, then pushed Lam out herself. There should have been more! Apollo and Hep, the command crew, should have been right behind her. Maybe it made sense for the flight crew to stay, but Command should have been on her heels.

 

She looked behind her, searching for other ‘chutes, but the damned camouflage was very effective, especially with the way her eyes were still watering from the acrid smoke aboard the transport. The only one she could see clearly was Lam, floating gently down not 50 meters away. The delay in their jump had separated them from the other tankers. 

 

They’d used the time descending to gather as much intel as they could with their NetHands. Without the transport’s network, the units would lose much of their connectivity in this remote corner of nowhere. Under the jungle canopy, they would lose even more. Navigation was going to be based on inertial reference and magnetic compass, very old school. Both of them were snapping pictures like mad, trying to isolate landmarks that would help them locate the wrecked transport, wherever it ultimately stopped. 

 

Landing had gone well for both of them. Neither was seriously injured, and neither got stuck in a tree. No more than 30 minutes after landing, they had recovered and packed their ‘chutes, taken the best bearings they could, and headed off in the direction that the stricken transport had been following.

 

It wasn’t until after dark, when they had selected a spot to stop for the night, that they actually spoke. Being twins, they always knew what was on each other’s mind; conversation wasn’t often necessary.

 

“Sabotage,” said Lam.

 

“Yep,” agreed Nyx. “Engaged the stator locks mid-flight. That should have been impossible. It was incredibly stupid.”

 

“Ping!” giggled Lam.

 

“It is a very distinctive sound,” agreed Nyx.

 

“Command?” asked Lam, after a few mouthfuls of trail mix.

 

Nyx nodded slowly. “Maybe. Anyone on Flight could have done a more effective job of sabotaging the quad, either destroyed it, or brought it down without crippling it, and done so in a way that wasn’t so obviously sabotage. That leaves Command and Tankers. I won’t believe it’s Imp. I suppose it could be someone from the other tank, but it would take a lot of convincing to make me believe that.”

 

“We love them,” Lam muttered, cutting to the heart of Nyx’s uncertainty.

 

Imp commanded their tank. Mac, Hek, and Cro fought at their side. The six of them had been together through numerous campaigns. They’d long ago abandoned any attempt to tally who had saved whose life how many times. That bond, that love, could easily blind her, easily blind both of them, to treachery. Just because the others had been her friends, saved her life, saved her sister’s life, fought at her side, and earned her trust didn’t mean they couldn’t be a deep cover operative. It would be heartbreaking, but it could be possible.

 

Apollo and Hep, though, were brand new. Not that they weren’t seasoned veterans; both had distinguished careers. No one would have been given this posting who hadn’t earned it. But Nyx had met them both for the first time only a week ago. She knew the same held true for her sister, and she believed the rest of her friends, each of whom said the same.

 

It was easy to mistrust Apollo and Hep for no other reason than that they were new. And it was easy to trust the men and women she’d served alongside for so long. But this was not a time to let easy be a reason. Their quad had been sabotaged; that was reality. They were alone, lost in a jungle deep in South America, with only their wits and two backpacks as resources. Rescue, if it came, could be weeks away. Jumping to the wrong conclusion could end up being a fatal mistake in this situation.

 

“What if,” she thought aloud, “it was supposed to be obvious. What if making everyone suspicious of each other was somehow part of the, um, whatever is going on? Maybe that’s how someone on Flight would do it, just to help divert suspicion! Oh, except we don’t really suspect them, in which case, we’re right back where we started.”

 

Lam snorted, but kept eating. 

 

Nyx envied Lam her ability to focus. Nyx overthought everything; she just couldn’t stop. It rarely did her any good. Lam, on the other hand, just focused on the here-and-now. She knew that they didn’t have enough information to decide who the saboteur was, or what his/her/their goal/s may have been, so she simply didn’t think about it. Nyx, on the other hand, couldn’t stop running endless cycles of “what if” and “suppose that” scenarios in her head.

 

One day passed, then another, then another, without much variety. Trudge through the jungle. Avoid hazards. Take bearings. Attempt contact. Rest. Eat. Push on. Camp. Sleep. It was late afternoon on their third day that both of their NetHands chirped. They’d received a directional pulse! There was no additional communication, no response to their own broadcasts, so caution was clearly indicated. Nevertheless, they now had a better guide.

 

Two days later, they snuck up to the edge of the camp where the quad had crashed. Peering out from the deep shadows, shielded by brush, they settled down to observe.

 

The quad was a mess, but it was substantially intact. The pilot had brought her down as softly as possible with no engines, tree-surfing her to the ground without tearing her apart. That was a pretty amazing feat, given the density of the jungle here. 

 

A clearing of sorts had been made along the trail of downed trees and ripped-out bushes. A couple of tents had been erected. There was a small, centralized fire which probably marked the communal center of the camp. Folding chairs and small tables surrounded it. A coffee pot sat on a rock beside the smoldering embers, giving Nyx an almost-insatiable craving. Oh, for a hot cup of coffee! That, as much as anything she could imagine, would convince her that civilization was not lost.

 

Farther away, maybe 200 meters up the trail of wreckage, blazed a large bonfire. Maybe it was intended as a navigational aid; the column of smoke from the green wood would be visible for kilometers in every direction, assuming one could get above the canopy to see it. As if! Nyx felt Lam’s amusement at the situation as well.

 

There were at least four survivors in the camp. Nyx saw Apollo and Hep, both busily feeding the signal fire. One of the flight crew was cutting the exterior wall of the quad with a plasma torch. He would stop every few minutes and shout into the interior. Apparently receiving a response, he’d hoist the cutter and resume his assault. It looked like he was trying to cut an entryway to the cargo hold, presumably with the hope of accessing the tanks.

 

Behind her, Nyx felt Lam snort in disdain. As if physical access would accomplish anything. The tanks had been code-locked for transport. Neither the flight crew nor the command crew would have the codes to activate them.

 

So, three survivors she could see, and at least one more inside the quad. That left one person unaccounted for. There wasn’t any sign of a grave, but that didn’t mean much.

 

Nyx and Lam took their time, slowly circling the camp, trying to decide what to do. In a straightforward survival situation, reuniting with their unit was clearly the right thing to do. But the engines had been sabotaged; of that, they were both certain. At least one person on this transport, and maybe more, had tried to kill them. Well, maybe not, maybe getting the quad down was the purpose, not killing anyone. Still, there was an unknown danger here.

 

Without their tank, without the resources of the quad, there was little she and her sister could do. Hide, survive, and hope for rescue. Or strike out across half a continent of untamed jungle, hoping to reach something resembling civilization, where they could establish communication.

 

Rejoining the group was the only reasonable course of action. But should they both go, or only one of them? If they went together, they could have each other’s backs. But if only one went, they would have an ace up their sleeves, an unexpected advantage. And, as twins, they could swap places as needed; none of the people in the camp knew them well enough to discern between them. Not Apollo or Hep, both of whom had barely met them; certainly not the flight crew, who they’d only seen in passing as they boarded the craft.

 

In the end, uncertainty and caution won out. Even when their ruse was discovered, as it inevitably would have to be, no one could fault them for being paranoid in this situation. Nyx opened her backpack, transferring most of the food, water, and medical supplies to Lam, as well as the remains of her own ‘chute. Lam would be able to make a camp, hopefully far enough out to avoid easy discovery, but close enough to be accessible, and survive there for days on end with no further contact. The plan was for her to continue observing the camp, trying to learn anything she could without direct contact, while Nyx would join the group, and learn what she could from within. 

 

They established several locations for meetings or supply drops and set up a schedule of contacts. Finally, after a long embrace, Nyx walked away from her sister and stepped into the encampment.

 

 

Mahalo (thank you) for reading; I hope you enjoyed! This story is part of a series. Information on the series, and links to the other stories, can be found here.

 

[kaisdf 3,320]

Tankers! Hippin_in_Hawaii here with the thrilling next instalment of the Chronicles of the One-Eyed Man - Nyx is filled with adventure, intrigue, and incredible story telling.

 

Enjoy!

[Person_Random 4,991]

Awesome! Glad to see that this series has returned to the Tanki Online newspaper. I really enjoyed the character and plot development, can't decide which one is better '

Great as always, awaiting the next chapter already

[printing_now 59]

good story, but where is the first chapter?

[Gauss-Hornet 489]

8 hours ago, printing_now said:

good story, but where is the first chapter?

 

On 5/4/2020 at 8:18 AM, Hippin_in_Hawaii said:

Information on the series, and links to the other stories, can be found here.

 

[Lose 881]

Dang Hippin never disappoints. 

Edited May 22, 2020 by Lose
How did I misspell "disappoints"?

[Hippin_in_Hawaii 639]

2 hours ago, Lose said:

How did I misspell "disappoints"?

You have a rare and precious gift!