Conflicting Objectives XXX

Following his last visit to underground facility and Alina's escape with Jackie's PEC she extracted from the body, John received another assignment from Ryan - to make use of energy available within the facility for the crew.

The task was not easy, given their limited knowledge of the alien technology and limited resources they had on spot - even with the help provided by people from Martin's camp, more hands were still needed to proceed with the works they had to do for setting up a proper base of operations.

Seeing how slowly the plan was progressing, McRae made a decision to call more people from their original camp, even if it meant getting complaints from the colonists group, which was pretty much certain as the request from the colonel meant calling most of the soldiers, subsequently lowering the level of security of the settlement.

In the circumstances they had right now, major Marlow was supervising the technical works happening in the area, while colonel McRae was handling investigation related to Boskovitch's disappearance since the scouting team managed to find her traces next to brawler's tracks, which confirmed she was not working alone, even though they did not catch Alina herself. However, both key people having important jobs to take care of at the same time, one of them had to head to the first camp they established to handle explanations and the transfer of people from one site to the other. 

Ultimately, after checking the structures of the teams assigned to specific missions, both men came to agreement - John would transfer his responsibilities to a few selected people he trusted and head to the first camp, codenamed First Haven, allowing Ryan to stay in the current location people referred to as Industrial Caves.

Obviously, Marlow had preferences concerning what he would like to focus on, and his subordinates were sure to not like the idea of him leaving at this point of time, but - looking from a wider perspective - the split they decided on seemed to be the most reasonable approach.

- I don't know, John - Martin spoke first during the meeting they had for discussing further plans - What you are saying may make sense, but I still think you should be more careful about the stuff you agree to do. If you ask me, if we can manage without you for now, I would say yes, which doesn't mean it's the perfect situation for everyone here. After all, your help allowed us to crack lots of problems and I'm not really sure these would have been solved by now if it wasn't for you. I think most of us here agree, right?

The group John gathered was rather small - aside from Martin, people who were sitting inside major's quarters were Keira, Rashid, Julian, Liu and Thorsten. The last three guys were buddies from mechanic team they established in early phase of Future project, who just recently arrived at Industrial Caves.

- Obviously, I would prefer to have John around and send someone else - Keira was of the same mind as Martin - Putting aside all familiarity and trust between us, we don't really have that many tech scientists around after Alina disappeared, so things will proceed much slower without you - she said that, looking at Marlow - And I'm not saying the guys here are not good enough with tech stuff. In fact, they are great help, yet discovering and understanding alien technology is on a level of its own.

- And that is also the reason why we need to bring people who stayed in First Haven - John continued with further explanation - I know that pretty much anyone can take a brawler, go there and drive back with people onboard. However, there are specific people that may need convincing, and that includes Connor Cunningham.

- Oh, so Connor made it through too? Glad to hear that - Rashid reacted to hearing mention of dr Cunningham - I'm surprised he is not here already, though. Knowing the guy, he would be pleased, having possibility to interact with alien technology.

Marlow sighed.

- Yeah, I feel the same, Rash. The thing is, he stayed behind for the very same reason. We found some pyramids in the area around First Haven, and Connor decided to continue the investigation. Back then, we had no arguments to convince him into going with us, and even Ryan did not want to force Connor with an official order, because it wouldn't work due to Connor's position as chief architect, making him required for supporting colonists in establishing a settlement. Fortunately, what we found here should be enough to make him interested.

- Well, it's quite surprising even colonel McRae decided to leave him be - Moussa followed up on the topic - Of course, as you said, colonists need someone like Cunningham. Still, it's not that they don't have people with enough skill among colonists. It's obviously an excuse the man had, that's why I'm surprised Ryan let it go just like that.

John shrugged.

- Oh, it's definitely as you said. Connor talked about being needed around, yet it was obvious what was his main reason for staying behind. Either way, that's why I'm pretty sure I will be able to convince him into coming here.

- Fair enough.

It seemed that Rashid was satisfied with what he learned in this short conversation.

- Man, I wish I could choose to do what I like the same way as this doctor Cunningham did - Julian commented - Sometimes I feel tired by being sent from one place to the another all the time.

- Remember, Jules, we may be close with John, but he is still your boss here - Thorsten scolded the youngest among mechanics - Don't complain too much.

- Honestly, John could actually learn to speak his mind like that - Martin said, still noticeably unhappy about the situation - I know this was already decided, and I will follow the instructions you provide us with, but it doesn't mean I'm fully onboard with such decisions. Please, John, be more assertive next time. 

Further conversation went smoother and everyone agreed on their scope of tasks for the duration of Marlow's absence. There was also a time for mechanics to crack some joke concerning the relation between John and Keira - the guys were pointing out how they expected miss Evergate to complain about being separated from major Marlow yet again. In the end, the whole meeting was completed in calm atmosphere, but Keira decided to stay afterwards to talk with John a bit more.

She approached him, caught his hand once there was no one around and gave him a hug.

- I hope how I talked did not sound cold towards you back there - miss Evergate spoke to Marlow - You know how deeply I care about you, right? What I said was to respect your freedom.

John remembered previous talks they had about their relationship since two of them met back on Earth. The time together was a great pleasure for him and he did like Keira - still, he was really careful about close relationships since going steady with someone was a huge responsibility for him, and he had a specific approach towards love. Marlow stayed single over years, having only short-term relationships, which probably made him accustomed to such situation and thus making it harder for him to commit to staying with one person. Despite all distancing from the topic of going out with Keira, and even avoiding her, in fact he did get along with her, and even felt he would likely be able to build a relationship with someone like miss Evergate in future. However, the current circumstances and a kind of his personal blockage were in the way here, but he also did not want to push her away. He sighed shortly, gathered his thoughts and told her what he thought was proper for this situation:

- There was nothing wrong with what you said. It was an official meeting and you stayed professional, so it's not something I would ever complain about. I'm also aware of all the things I said in the past, but none of that means that I don't care about you. Quite contrary, I consider you to be one of important people in my life, even though we know each other for a several years only. Having said that, I don't want to promise anything at this point. We are on expedition, somewhere on alien planet, far away from our homes, and none of us knows what's in there for us in the future. All I can tell you is that I don't plan on getting down easily and I will do all that's in my power to get back here.

Keira let him go, took a step back and looked him in the eyes.

- I get that, and I know your opinion about relationships, but I can assure you that I'm stubborn and won't give up easily. Also, for your information, no matter who I competed against in the past, I always managed to best them. For now, I wish you the best luck, safe trip and return.

After that, she kissed him and walked away, leaving John all alone in his quarters.

Next morning, Marlow woke up early, just before the dawn, specifically to double-check if he has everything ready for the trip. Of course, it was not such a long road and they already had a safe route secured for some time now, yet there were things to prepare regardless - not only the equipment he had to take with him, but also the vehicle and the crew that was to accompany him, especially since this time the squad was different from the recent standard.

Sarge Andy Krawczak with his squad were given different orders from colonel Ryan McRae - they left the camp to follow the tracks believed to belong to a brawler that supposedly took Alina Boskovitch away after she fled the underground facility, leaving John, Martin and Andy locked inside. Therefore, none of them could tag along for the mission assigned to Marlow. Instead, sarge Szarak was responsible for the convoy - not only because of Andy's absence, but also owing to the fact Stan handled the most transporting through the route they were supposed to take.

- Major Marlow, sir - sarge Szarak was already waiting for major Marlow, doing final checks on the brawler and two savage units they were supposed to use - I'm happy to travel together again.

- No need to be so formal, Stan - John told him as they had a handshake - Remember, I don't really care that much about the protocol.

- I understand, but I would rather stay semi-formal for most of the travel - Stan nodded as he replied - The unit I'm responsible for right now is combined of those who survived from their original units and not all of them know you, so they may take informal approach as lack of respect.

- Ok, got it, I'll also keep that in mind then - Marlow assured Szarak - How is everything? Are Savages in good shape?

- Yes. To the extent possible with tools we have right now. We managed to keep these two in decent state thanks to the Savage you operated on the landing day. It might have been devastated, but provided us with a good amount of spare parts.

Remembering the events from the day Stan mentioned, even though John barely managed to survive back them, made major Marlow smile.

- I'm happy to hear that something good came up from my crazy piloting there.

- Crazy or not, surviving was the most important and that's what matters. Each of us did good job, in my eyes at least. Though, I still feel bad about your injuries. Are these cybers working fine for you?

John looked at his cyber arm and moved it around.

- Honestly, I'm worried how much I got used to it. So much, I don't even feel these are not really my own flesh. Having said that, I would feel much more at ease if these were not military grade weapons at the same time.

- Yeah, I heard the stories. Personally, I feel quite reassured knowing you have this equipment. There is no such thing as too much firepower, if you ask me.

- I don't disagree, but you don't usually scratch your head with a gun, do you?

Both of them looked at each other for a short moment in complete silence before bursting in laughter. Moments later, remaining members of the crew arrived, wondering about what happened to cause such a reaction from the two men, who decided as to not continue the topic with the others already present.