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Chaos Rising	By : TerminusEst Category: +S through Z > Sonic Views: 1284 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the Sonic The Hedgehog game series, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 11
- 12
- 13
Chapter
Eleven: Downward Spiral
"I
am a remnant of the forever origin.

I
am the soul of every phantom fallen.

I
am rising as I am falling, silent as calling."
--Borknagar
- Future Reminiscence
"All
right, Lieutenant Commander Christensen, you should be good to go.
Enjoy your week's vacation," said the nurse as Rex finished
tying his shoes. "Remember to take your medication and call if
you have any complications."
"Of
course," said Rex. "I'll be careful." He stood up
slowly, bracing himself against the frame of his bed as a headrush
made his legs go weak and his vision turn almost black for a few
seconds.
"Do
you need help?" said the nurse.
"I'm
fine," said Rex as he stood up straighter, blinking a few times
to clear his vision.
The
nurse wrote something on the chart hanging from Rex's bed. "I
just approved your discharge from the hospital. Take care of
yourself, and come back in a week so we can examine you and approve
your return to combat duty."
"Sure,
I'll be OK. Goodbye."
"Goodbye."
Rex
left the room and saw Adrian sitting in the waiting room, reading a
magazine. Adrian lowered the magazine and looked up as he saw Rex
come over to him.
"Hey,
Rex," said Adrian. "I was waiting for you. I was hoping we
could go somewhere together."
"Sure,
why not? The war will probably be over by the time I'm able to go
back to work."
"How
about I buy the drinks this time?"
"All
right. Why don't we get some hangover pills before we go to the bar?
I woke up feeling really sick the last time."
"That
would be fine. The pharmacy is right around here."
Adrian
nodded as he followed Rex over to the pharmacy.
"A
week off, huh? I've had to work through worse than the injury you
have."
"It
would have been two weeks had Captain Parks not demanded a shorter
period of observation. But then again, nobody depends on you for
their survival. You seem a bit more relaxed than when I first met
you."
"Yeah,
I've tried to loosen up a little. I still feel stressed out a lot
though."
"It's
a start, at least. I'm sure you'll find it easier to relax over
time." Rex walked up to the pharmacy counter.
"Hello,"
said the pharmacist. "What can I do for you two?"
"Do
you have any pills for preventing hangovers?"
"Yes
we do, sir." The pharmacist reached under the counter and pulled
out a small red carton. "Here you go. That will be 18.64
credits, please."
Rex
handed her his military debit card. She swiped it through a groove in
the register and gave it back to him, and then handed him the carton
of pills. "Thanks," said Rex.
"You're
welcome, sir. Have a nice day."
Rex
put an arm around Adrian. "Now it's time to get drunk."
Adrian
laughed as they walked together to the bar.
--
"Poor
Rex," said Deathwish as he circled the destroyer he was assigned
to escort. "He's going to miss the whole war."
"Considering
the way it's progressing, I think we're the ones who should be
envying him," said Skitz.
"What
do you think, Riptos?" said Pinky.
"I
don't know." Riptos closed his eyes briefly as the question
turned over in his head. On the one hand, he was concerned for his
friend's safety and knew he was much safer on Orbital Station 12 than
fighting in a war in which every battle was a massacre of the Mobian
forces by the Earth forces. On the other hand, he felt bad that Rex
had to be apart from his comrades and deprived of the opportunity to
defend his people, and for the other members of his squadron who had
to fight without Rex. He was torn between being a loving friend and
being a soldier and leader, between personal and professional,
between peace and war. Having had seen Rex being brought into the
emergency room had changed his whole outlook.
"What's
the matter, Riptos?" said Deathwish. "You've been awfully
quiet today."
"I
don't really feel like talking that much today."
"If
it's as simple as that, then Pinky's straight as an arrow. You've
been acting weird for the past few days, and now you're acting even
weirder. What's going on?"
"None
of your goddamn business, that's what's going on. Why don't you stick
your nose somewhere where it will be welcomed, like up your own
asshole?"
"Sorry,
I was just trying to have a conversation. I didn't mean to make you
mad or anything."
Riptos
felt a twinge of guilt as he realized how he had come across. He was
now certain that pretty much everyone could see through his
insistence that he was feeling all right. But he couldn't bring
himself to tell the truth. But why? Was it his pride? No, he
realized, it was fear. His mind was full of it. Fear of his
squadmates and friends dying. Fear for his family. Fear of having to
give up the career he had built his life on. Fear of revealing his
favoring Rex, which could disrupt the harmony of the squadron. Fear
of the decrepitude of advancing age. Fear of death. Fear of shaming
himself by letting his squadmates know of his other fears. Rex and
Bookshire were the only people outside his family that he related his
innermost troubles to.
"Jeez,
Deathwish," said Pinky. "You've gotta learn some tact. The
fact that he wasn't talking about it in the first place should've
told you something."
"Butt
out, fairyhog. I wasn't talking to you."
"Make
me, Deathbitch!"
Riptos
smirked and shook his head. Deathwish and Pinky were always at each
other's throats. They weren't really serious about it, though. They
hadn't had an actual fight since they graduated from officer
candidate school five years ago. Oftentimes they just bickered to
amuse themselves. Despite their endless disagreements, they were
alike in many ways that they themselves would never admit.
"Red
alert! Reading hostile jump signatures!" Admiral Akwarus' voice
sounding through the headphones jolted Riptos to attention. The space
before him was dotted with dozens of white points of light, Earth
ships entering the battlefield. The first few blue beams reached out
from the lead ships to begin the battle. Mobius's score in the war
was zero for two now, and Riptos didn't think it would improve.
--
Adrian
felt a warmth spread through his body as the two shots of bourbon he
had drunk began to take hold. He leaned forward and put his elbows on
the counter. "Hey, Max," he said to the bartender. "I
think that drink you gave me yesterday was a little strong."
The
albino hedgehog grinned as he handed another patron a mug of beer. "I
put a little bit of pure grain alcohol in it to make it stronger.
Consider it a little treat for first-timers."
"It
sure didn't feel like a treat the next morning."
'Well,
people have different responses to alcohol. You seem awfully skinny.
How much do you weigh?"
"23
kilos."
"Well,
there's a reason already. I'd say you should weigh at least 27 kilos,
maybe even 30. How often do you drink?"
"That
was my first time in two years."
"Sorry
if I made you feel bad. I should've been more careful."
"It's
OK. We got some hangover tablets today."
Max
gestured towards the huge window, where the blue globe of Mobius
loomed below the station, the light reflecting from it drowning out
the light of the stars, so only a black void could be seen around it.
"Either of you kids have family down there?"
"I
have a wife on Mobius," said Rex. "She's pregnant with a
baby girl."
"My
adoptive parents live on Earth, so I can't even talk to them,"
said Adrian. "As for my real family, I never knew them. My
mother is dead and my father is in prison. As for how that came
about, I would rather not talk about it."
"I
understand," said Max.
"I
had a girlfriend that I was planning to propose to, but she dumped me
the day I came back from serving on a freighter."
"My
condolences. I've never had much luck with the ladies myself. I've
been living alone for the past twenty years or so. I own a permanent
room on this station."
"Doesn't
it drive you crazy to never see day or night? I only signed up to
work on a freighter for the money. I hate being in space."
"Well,
not everyone can get used to live in a place where it's always dark
outside. I guess I'm one of the lucky people who can. I wanted to be
a fighter pilot like your buddy Rex when I was young, but I could
never pass the vision exams--I don't see too well out these red
albino eyes, and glasses don't help much. That's why I always use a
magnifying glass to read the labels on the bottles. Hell, one of the
reasons I started living on space stations is because I sunburn
easily and can't get a tan. So what was it like when you were living
on Earth? I'd like to go there someday."
"There
are more people than you would believe. Even the skies are congested.
Some of the buildings are a kilometer tall. And everything else is
huge as well--the knobs on the doors are mounted about as high as the
tips of my ears. My adoptive parents were human, and I barely came up
past their waists. There are thousands and thousands of cities, and
many of them have millions of people in them."
"Did
you get along with the humans who adopted you?"
"Yeah.
I made a call to them a few days before the war began. I already miss
being able to talk to them." He looked over towards Rex, who had
three empty beer mugs in front of him. "Do you plan on getting
or another drink or should I just go ahead and pay the tab?"
"I
think I've had enough."
"All
right then." Adrian handed the bartender some cash and turned to
Rex again. "You want to stay here a while or should we go
somewhere else?"
"Well,
there's really not a whole lot to do here, so let's go."
"Sure.
My place again?"
"That
would be fine," said Rex as he followed Adrian out the door.
--
"Battle
stations! All hands to battle stations!"
Fiz
involuntarily dropped the book she was reading as the captain's alert
blared through the intercom system. They were far away from the
battle lines, and to her knowledge the Earthers had not diverted any
ships from their main campaign. Pirates were not brave or foolish
enough to attack a heavily armed Mobian intelligence vessel.
She
dashed out of her private chambers and saw crewmen dashing
frantically down the hallway. She stopped one of the crewmembers who
were running by. "What's going on here?" she said.
"A
whole fleet of pirate ships just jumped in right on top of us, ma'am.
We have no idea how one organization scraped so many ships together,
it's just--"
"Shit!"
Fiz hissed as the ship shuddered violently from a hit. She ran down
the corridor towards the bridge. As the bridge doors opened, she saw
dozens of small pirate raider ships on the display screens. "Jesus
Christ, look at them all," she said to the captain.
"They
just came out of hyperspace. I've never seen pirates work like this,
or appear in such great numbers." The ship shook again as
another blast struck it.
"Well
don't just stand there, get us the hell out of here!"
"Yes,
ma'am! Helm, jump to hyperspace immediately!"
"Aye,
sir. Engaging jump drive now."
The
blackness of space dissolved into a psychedelic swirl of different
colors as Fiz's ship jumped into hyperspace. It was much too fast for
the pirates to catch in hyperspace, so she and her crew were safe for
now. But the incident worried her. What kind of pirate would attack a
government intelligence vessel? How did they get so many ships? Were
the Earthers, the terrorist group, and these pirates all working
together.
The
situation was becoming worse than Fiz had ever imagined.
--
Adrian
sat down next to Rex on the couch in his quarters, resting his head
against Rex's chest. Rex put a hand behind Adrian's head and gently
stroked the backs of his ears with his fingers. Adrian sighed and
drew a little closer. "Hey, Rex?" he said.
"Yes?"
"How
does that officer training corps work?"
"Well,
you talk to an OTC recruitment official, and he works with you to
find a military position suitable for you and the field that you plan
to study in. You receive military training for your post as part of
your college education, the military pays all your college expenses,
and when you graduate, you serve eight years in the military. After
your term is up you have the choice to stay in the military or retire
and go into civilian life. It's how I got into the navy."
"Combine
a four-year education with eight years of service and I'd be at least
34 before I could live a normal life."
"Depends
on what you call a 'normal' life. I still have three years of my term
left and I plan to continue my military career when it is up--if the
navy still exists after this war is over. But if the Mobian
Federation dissolves, the Earth Republic has a similar program if you
don't mind working for them."
"I'd
rather not, not if I want to have any Mobian friends."
"If
any friends of yours would be so narrow-minded and hateful as to shy
away from you for doing that, they're not worthy of being your
friends. Most of the people fighting on the Earth side are ordinary
people just like you or me, doing the job they were told to do. There
are demagogues on both sides of this war who paint the other side as
evil demons. Just ignore them."
"I
guess you're right. I just hear a lot of horrible things on the news
and I wonder what some of those people would do if they ever got
their hands on my parents--or yours.
"You
worry too much, Adrian. And not only that, but you worry about the
silliest things."
"Maybe.
I'm considering joining the OTC, but I'm not sure if I have what it
takes."
"A
lot of people say that, but it's just not true. Before I joined, I
was just as insecure and out of shape as you, but when I got my
commission I was at the top of my flight. If I could do it, you can
do it. You just don't want to believe in yourself."
"I
see those documentaries about military training on TV and that seems
like some crazy stuff."
"That's
because you've never tried to think beyond the way you are now. You
could do a lot of things if you wanted to, but you'll never do
anything if you keep telling yourself you can't."
"I
don't know what to think right now. I'm tired and the alcohol is
messing with my mind."
"Then
maybe we should discuss it later. You don't have to make up your mind
right now. Just take your time and think it through. If you choose
not to join, I'll underst--" Rex's words trailed off as he
realized Adrian was already asleep, slumped in his arms.
--
Riptos
used his master security pass to open the door of Adrian's room. When
Riptos had returned from his sortie, Rex was neither in his quarters
nor in the bar. A conversation with the bartender revealed where they
had gone. As he entered the room he saw Rex asleep on the couch, his
new friend curled up next to him. Riptos smiled briefly and chuckled
as quietly as possible before gently picking Adrian up and placing
him on the bed nearby. He sat down next to Rex and gently shook him
to wake him up.
Rex's
eyes opened slowly. "Huh? Riptos?" he mumbled.
Riptos
put a finger up to his lips in the universal signal of quiet. "Hey,
Rex," he whispered. "Guess you've had a good time today."
"You
could say that." Rex's words were slurred together, his eyes
were bloodshot, and the smell of alcohol was heavy on his breath.
"How
many drinks did you have?"
"Three.
Adrian had two, but he's really sensitive to alcohol. He pretty much
passed out a few minutes after he sat down next to me. I didn't want
to disturb him so I just sat there with him leaning againt me and let
myself fall asleep as well. I don't think he'll be waking up for a
long time."
"You
look awful. Come with me. I know a way back to our room where pretty
much nobody will see us. I don't think you'd want to be seen in
public in the state you're in. And when we get there I think you
should go straight to bed."
"That's
probably a good idea. Don't let Deathwish know about this, OK?"
"Your
secret is safe to me. Besides, he'd probably never let you live down
snuggling up with skin and bones over there."
"Oh
jeez, you saw that?" His cheeks turned red.
"Yeah.
I thought it was rather sweet myself."
"You
would," Rex groaned.
"Oh
cheer up," said Riptos. "I thought I was always the gloomy
one."
Rex
could not help but laugh a bit at that remark. Riptos then backed up
behind him and dug his fingers into Rex's sides, causing Rex to fall
to his knees, laughing uncontrollably for a few seconds before Riptos
let him go. Rex stood up, bracing himself against Riptos and
hyperventilating for a few seconds before he finally regained enough
composure to start walking again. He walked beside Riptos down the
deserted hallway, eager to return to his room and throw himself into
a warm, inviting bed and sleep.
- 11
- 12
- 13
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Chaos Rising