Beyond the Event Horizon

“This son of a both is tough!” She cursed as her missiles seemed to stun the creature and cause some damage to its flesh but nothing life threatening. “Let’s get back to surface before them at things recovers...” she said just before the boulder collided with the lion. The alarms blared again as the AIRWAR began to so sink.
”warning. Oxygen reserve has been breached. Water levels increasing inside the the cabin as well as outside pressure is increasing. Weapons are damaged. Controls are damaged by the increasing water levels. Evacuation is advised.”

Jayden almost fell forward when she was hit on the back and she sighed, she wasn't at all built for taking hits thus her small stature and she would shake her head as she raised her hand to push her glasses back up her nose, "I appreciate that you picked me for this because of the times I saved you...truly this is a great discovery what ever these planets can even give to us could even help humanity out further." she was starting to ramble again going on about this or that, more or less ignoring anything that Eluna was saying as she was talking into the communicator. Though when she heard 'is lyon still alive' she turned her attention back to the Captain. "underwater? the hell is going on?"

"It looks like the Commanders were attacked by something underwater"Eluna said as she took her finger off of her ear "Damn it their radios went silent. We know they are alive though...we're just going to have to wait for them to contact us"she told Jayden "They were on an exploration mission on the planet and decided to test the AIRWARs diving capabilities as well as check out the nautical flora and fauna. All their data should have been uploaded to VIDA. Come with me up to the bridge and I'll see if I can get visuals from their suits"

Lyon acted quickly as he turned on the afterburners on the falcon's wings it raced forward "Hang on Ezra!"he called out as he flew past her as racing speed as the talons of his suit quickly latched onto her suit where the two locked together to form Alpha Falcon as he then hit a hard climb as the two of them raced upwards before breaking the surface of the water coming down on the shores of another island on the aquatic planet as he opened up his cockpit and Lee's as he ran over to her "Hey are you alright!?"he called out

She collapsed on the sand, panting as she flung her helmet off her head. Blood trickled down her face from a nasty bump she sustained durning the fight. “Yeah..I’m...I’m fine.” She said and looked up at him. “Are you alright?” She asked as she managed to catch her breath

"I warned you he was a hot case....you just had to go with the hot rod" she stated quickly as she followed after her, though hearing about some of the data they possibly had collected did perk her interest that much more. "Oh...well I suppose I'l let that slid since they did send us some data" she smirked happily as they would get to the bridge, several of the others saluting Eluna as she walked on. "Captain on Bridge!" one called as Jayden didn't even waste time going to a computer and shoving one of the privates out "move..." she demanded as she began typing looking for the data collected "Eluna I have it..." she pointed onto the screen, video soon pulling up "looks like they got attacked by a large aqautic creature....probably not something used to the AIRWARs"

Kai nodded his head "Yeah I'm fine...but....."he said motioning over to their AIRWARs as just in that exact moment both systems turned off and toppled over "I think linking up at such a high speed might have fried the computer and short circuited them...it'll take some time to recharge and get them going again."he said "Cmon we should get out of these wet suits before we get sick...and I need to bandage your head, you're bleeding"he pointed out "And we need to make sure you don't have a concussion. I've been in Dr. Green's office enough times to know proper concussion protocol"he said matter of factly having been known for some of his more 'reckless' piloting maneuvers in the past

"Oh-ho what do we have here?"Eluna said as she watched the screen "Pause"she said as she touched a digital panel that appeared in front of her as she zoomed in slightly "Forget the monster...do you see that in the background, just before they entered that underwater cavern?"she asked rewinding the tape and pausing again as in the background behind the first shot of the leviathan beast there could be seen dome shaped structures with what appeared to be some form of light emitting from them "Is that an underwater city?"she asked Jayden just as her earpiece buzzed in "Capt Storm this is Commander Lyon. It appears Commander Lee and I have crashed somewhere on the surface. Her AIRWAR has received a lot of damage and I short circuited mine trying to get us away from that beast. I won't be able to get you our exact location until it comes back online though, but we're safe so don't worry"he said confidently before being met with a click as he sighed "Communications fully down now so looks like it's just us until we either get rescued or get back some power back.."

Kuki and Cam from Engineering came up to them, “vida scams show that the AIRWAR Alpha blue sustain a lot of external damage from our little underwater beasty. Omega shorted out due to a sudden link out. From our last communication with the commanders their vitals read fine....but lost it once the link ups cut off. Cant even get a location.” He said. Near by, the strike team were listening and waiting anxiously. Sheri’s clenched her fists and stepped forward. “Permission to search for them Commander Storm.” She said

Jayden was already working on the commutations and computers as she sat there looking over at Eluna as she focused on the underwater dome, "it would explain why there is no sentient life that we have scanned on the surface. Water is denser in some places, though if we could get the AIRWARs back up in running to run some checks on that area...." she stated though ignoring for right now about Eluna losing connections with Kai and Ezra. THough she raised he rhand and pinched the bridge of her nose hearing Sheri ask if they could search for them, "Do we have to search for them....its been quiet without Kai..." she muttered that last bit, as she was already focusing and reviewing the video trying to get a better view of what was there. "we have to get to that dome...." she muttered

"Permission denied and that's Captain Storm to you"Eluna said to Sheri shaking her head "Your AIRWARs are currently stuck behind the hangar doors and those flight suits and ATVs aren't meant for long distance recon. We are just going to have to wait until the Commanders will capable of contacting us again. On the other hand, I do have a mission for us.....we are going to investigate that aquatic city"she said agreeing with Jayden "We need to get to that city...perhaps whatever life is found there may be able to help us with repairs and getting off of this planet. I'm sure they don't want us upsetting their ecosystem as much as we don't want to be stranded here." she said then turned to Cam and Kuki "I want one of those ATVs outfitted to go underwater. With the proper firepower in case we need it. We are going exploring as well...something more low profile than the AIRWARs might help us not to stand out so much."

Kai soon had Ezra's head wrapped up as he finished tying off the bandages before he stripped off his wet flight suit and took off his tank top wringing it out as she could not only see his sculpted body from training, but the scars and marks from multiple military experiments, and his own stunts as well "You may want to strip down too. Don't worry I won't look"he said turning his back to her

“Apologies Captain. But...” sheria was stopped when tucker placed a hand on her shoulder. “Captain gave her orders. The Commanders wouldn’t want us to disregard a direct order.” He said and then softened his voice, “I know your worried. We all are. I’m sure they are fine and enjoying a break from us for a bit.” He said to try and ease his fellow strike team member.


Ezra hissed once or twice while he treated the abrasion, “thanks...” she said before turning away to take off the wet suit, but kept on her under wear and bra. She laid out the suit out in a rock to dry in the sun before sitting back down to lean against it. She tapped her com link on her wrist, “seems we lost all signals when the AIRWARS went down.” She said and looked back at the collapsed Alpha Blue. “That thing was.....intense. First some power draining mass in the depths of space.....now real life sea monsters.....”

Jayden leaned back in the chair as she finished looking over the screen, then glanced towards the captain as she would speak "Captain we should discuss on what we will need if we are going to get near that city, more than likely their guard is up much more than normal. If we are going to get them to allow us to enter, perhaps even help us get this...hunk of metal back in order" she motioned towards the ship some, then pushed her glasses up. "we could give them offerings, medicines perhaps....peace offerings plus....it get you back Kai and Ezra.."

Mitch nodded his head as he patted Sheria on the shoulder "Yeah I know the Commanders are just fine. They're both really tough remember? We have nothing to worry about"he said giving her a thumbs up as he listened in on what the higher ups were discussing

Captain Storm nodded her head in agreement "I think that's a good idea...offer them up something...try to reach out and contact them...."she stated to herself before turning to the three members of the Strike Team "You have a new mission. You lieutenants are going to go off and gather some offerings from around the ship that you think an alien species might enjoy"Eluna ordered to them "Use VIDA if you have any questions on if it might be useful or not"she commented

"Yeah I've already tried everything too"Kai said as he plopped down sitting cross legged in the sand "Man this sucks. Just when everything was going smooth and we were exploring all that cool ocean life"he said as he crossed his arms in deep thought "We know we are on another part of the planet....we know that a leviathan type beast is lurking in the depths...we don't have power or communications....but we do have our emergency rations so at least we won't starve until we get help....but we are going to need to build some kind of shelter before the sun goes down....I can't imagine the night time on the beach is any warmer than it's going to be now"he told her "I never actually thought all that survival training Eluna made me do as a kid would actually pay off....go figure"

“Yes Captain.” The trio said and saluted and went on their way to gather the Peace offering.

“Yeah....go figure in the depths of space, we get stranded in a deserted island.” She said and reached up to waist of her suit where a belt was still attached with a holster for a knife. It was rather rudimentary compared to the rather advanced tech of the air war or her side arm, but at the moment was useful and sentimental. Well cared for and well used, the handle was a deep red of cherry wood with gold inlays and the blade was as long as her hand. An engraving in the blade read “inner strength is true strength. Ramon Lee.”

"Hmm what do you think would make a good peace offering.....oh I know, everybody loves good food right!? Why don't we make them some of Earth's greatest specialties?"Moses suggested as the three of them walked through the ship poking and nosing around

Eluna sighed sitting down in her Captain's chair as the images were brought back up onto the screen "Jayden, do you really think we will be able to make it to that Underwater city alright? We are down two of our best pilots and who knows what other beasts could be lurking down below.....I have a question....have you considered leaving the Med Bay behind and becoming the Strike Team Medic? Right now Commander Lee is pulling double duty as Vice Commander and Field Medic...and I know you've always wanted your own AIRWAR"

Kai let out a low whistle as he turned to face her "Woah check that blade out. That's a nice looking knife"he said squinting to read the engraving "Ramon Lee....Ramon Lee....why does that name sound so familiar right now?"he asked looking up at the sky tapping his chin "It's literally on the tip of my tongue..."

“He was a great AIRWAR Pilot. He flew Crimson Robin.” She said with a proud gleam in her eye. Ramon Lee and his AIRWAR Crimin Ronin flew several rescue mission a and fought in many well known in the history of the deep space exploration against various enemies that ranged from alien to human.
He received many medals and commendations for his acts of bravery and service and was well known as a hero.....but had died in battle against a hostile alien race that was attacking an outpost on the out rims of their galaxy.

Jayden was still typing away at the computer almost a bit absorbed as she ran through data and various other things when she heard Eluna as she paused, before looking back at her. "your only wanting me to do that because your without your little pet" she raised her hand pushing her glasses up her nose again. "As for getting to the underwater city it won't be hard if you aren't stupid about it." she looked back at the screen again. "We are on their planet, us barging into areas without permission is no doubt why that creature sunk your pet and his little girlfriend....when we get to the city we simply ask for their assistance, we tell them we crash landed if they haven't already figured it out and also state we have injured and wish only to get up and going again. We can then discuss other various other measures from there....we are on their terms we no nothing of this planet or its environment let alone the cultures and lifestyles.....we are the aliens so i won't be to shocked if they attempt to just murder us...." she leaned back in her chair as she pressed another button, as soon the leviathan was up to full scan and she spoke "its got a transmitter.....it was told to attack" she pointed to a dark spot on its head. "as for me getting my own AIRWAR...which one exactly are you going to give me..."

"WHAT!? Your Dad is THAT LEE?"Lyon said excitedly as he turned around running up next to her with stars in his eyes "I've read about all of his missions and flight tactics, the man was a genius in the AIRWAR. He's part of the reason I wanted a Avian-based mech in the first place. I never drew the connection between you two before"he said before realizing how close their half nude bodies were as he cleared his throat stepping back blushing slightly "I'm, uh, sorry about what happened to him...he really was an amazing person"Kai told her looking down at the knife once more though also subtly took in her features this time as well, really looking at her fully for the first time. He had heard multiple rumors about her, and had heard that she had badmouthed him and was gunning for his spot as Commander but none of that really seemed to bother him

"A transmitter huh? So they have this beast ready to go hm"Eluna said "Though I suppose you do have a point, we are the aliens on this planet...though we have no intention of having a permanent occupancy."she stated "And Commander Lyon isn't dead....yet. So I'm not without my pet as you say. However with the unexpected situations arising, it's always good to have backup pilots ready just in case. We have those spare AIRWARs down in the service bay just in case the originals ever got destroyed so you can always go down and take your pick. We also have those really generic ones but no one wants to fly in something so plain looking."she commented off handedly

“Yeah...” She said and turned away slightly and awkwardly. “I actually didn’t make a big deal out of it....it’s hard to follow a legacy like that when you want to forge your own. People always wanted to either give me a free ride or use his name for a publicity act. So I kept it quite while honoring him and what he left behind as best I can.” She said, ‘why am I suddenly opening up like this? Did I hit my head that hard?’ She wondered. “Anyway....we should really get started on that shelter.....”

"Yeah that makes total sense actually...it's cool that you even have a chance to honor your parents....I was an orphan taken in by the military and used for experiments until Admiral Storm and Eluna took me in when I was younger.....I guess that's the closest thing to a family I've ever had and I do things to try to make them proud all the time, even though I'm a bit reckless from time to time"Kai said with a chuckle as he scratched the back of his head before nodding "Yeah you're right, who knows how long the Day and Night cycle on this planet is, it could be dark before we know it"he said as he headed off the shore into the slightly wooded area covered in tropical trees "I guess we should cut down some of this big, leafy branches and use them to make a tent...since we are by water there is a guaranteed chance it may rain at some point and we should be ready for it just in case"he commented as he took a deep breath holding out his arms as a dark pulse emitted from his finger tips before he swung his arms in an arc, sending out a blade of energy that sliced through the branches sending them down to the ground "Gotta love ED experiments right?"he laughed sarcastically

“You said ED? Isn’t that illegal Human agmentation?” She asked, slightly conceded and shocked. Not only was it a horrible thing to have gone through, but also wondering why some of this was not in his records.

"Yep, it sure is....you know, unless it's the government doing it themselves, in which case it's called "confidential" and "classified" but whatever you all were bound to find out sooner or later on this mission" Kai stated "Event Drive tech, the same stuff used to control and warp the power of black holes in our ships, and the stuff that links our suits with our AIRWARs. Military tried to take it a step further and embed the cybernetics directly into the host as opposed to their suits. I was number #192....I was the only successful implementation....the only survivor of the experiments before Admiral Storm took over and shut them all down. They took orphans and wards of the state who had been skipped over for adoption 3 times" he said with a sad nostalgia sweeping his feature briefly "9 years of experiments and attempted augmentation later and Ta-Da" he sighed

“No wonder the cryogenic chamber almost killed you! Don’t you think was something the doctor should have known about? If something were to go wrong with any of your implants there is no one on board as far as we know that could help you.....”

"Oh Dr. Green knows about it. She used to be one of the head research scientist until one day she had enough of the politics and decided to leave. They practically begged her just to even stay in the military still and that's when she started doing cryogenic research. She was actually one of the nice doctors"Kai said shaking his head "I don't even know if I was supposed to say that or not. A lot of stuff is still classified and blah blah"he said "But yes that would be why something probably malfunctioned. They are constantly monitoring my levels for that kind of stuff."he said looking up at her and was shocked seeing genuine concern in her eyes "B-but it's okay though, I'm pretty tough, I make it through"he said confidently as he tied down some of the roofing on their makeshift hut

“S...still.....I mean it’s your information to share...guess it’s not like I have to know.....but.....you trust me enough to share it with me....” She said as she helped with the structure, using thin and bendable strips of bark to use for tying all the pieces together.

"Well yeah of course, we're a team"Kai said with a smile over to her "If I couldn't trust you then I don't think I'd make it out of this alive. You're my second-in-command, the person whose always supposed to have my six and cover my back. You are the one person I have to put the utmost trust and belief in or else I'm a goner"he told her "I was taught to always value your partner and fellow wingman, you never know when something like this will happen when your stranded out in the middle of nowhere and you gotta rely on that person to survive."he said as they finished constructing the hut "Well, that'll do it"he said dusting his hands off "And not too soon, the sun will be going down soon, let's make a fire and I'll go catch us some fish"