Chapter Text
Katie Holt is pissed off.
She knows the Garrison is lying about her family. They're lying about Matt and her dad! About Shiro! They didn't crash! And they're not dead!
But that's what is on the news.
Fucking 'pilot error.' Like Shiro is some type of novice pilot! Like her father hasn't been on numerous journeys before! Like her brother isn't smart and strong enough to stay safe out there! Fuck that shit!
Well! She and her mom know otherwise. And so does Keith. They all have their marks. It means without a doubt that the Kerberos crew is out there, alive and in trouble. She loves her mother very much. She's the one who has raised her in her short 14 years. The one who discovered that her brother and her are soulmates. But at the same time, Katie knows her mom won't take action yet. Her mom is patient and will wait for more news, even if it breaks her heart.
Katie won't wait. She needs to do something now. Needs to prove that there was no error. Prove that the Garrison is lying. For her family. For Keith. For her. For the world.
So here she is, at the Garrison on the day after the announcement. Her mom doesn't even know she's here. She flew all the way to the Garrison herself. Luckily for her, Matt and Shiro were right. Pigeons are really awesome, and one thing they're good at is having the stamina to fly fast and far without losing their way. Katie would have to normally use her phone for that last one, but she's been to the Garrison so many times, she could fly it in her sleep.
She's here to hack Iverson's computer. If they won't provide actual proof, she'll get it herself. Anything for her family, even the ones she's just made.
She ducks into a small alcove, just fitting inside as an officer walks by, looking nervous. Katie notes that he's come from Iverson's office, so that probably means that the man is inside. Dang it, she was hoping to catch him when he was busy with something else. She'd sneak in while he was out, and extract the copied files so he'd never know she was even there.
Now what is she going to do?
Maybe she could find Keith and use him as a distraction? She knows he's around here somewhere, and that he would absolutely join her to save Shiro. She better stake out the situation before she does anything though. She stalks to the door, which is surprisingly open. Flattening herself against the doorway, she peeks in enough to catch a glimpse of the room.
She can see Iverson. She can see that he's tense, on guard for some reason. She can also see his face, and there's a developing bruise on his busted eye, one that had to happen the day before. Before him stands a man she doesn't know, his back to her. She can tell that he's in a suit, and that he practically radiates power and dark energy. His wings are pretty average with sickly pale blue streaks.
"What are you doing here?" Iverson glares at the man who just chuckles a bit.
"Why so defensive, Commander?" His voice is twisted with an accent not from the region, maybe British or Australian or something, "I haven't done anything wrong. Certainly nothing to you."
Katie hears the hidden message in the words, although she has no idea what they mean. Iverson clearly does though, since his face grows a bit angry.
"What did you do to Officer Kogane?"
Katie's breath gets caught in her chest. Wait...what was this about Keith? He's the only Kogane she knows of in the Garrison. But...what is going on? Who is the man? Why would he have anything to do with Keith?
"I believe he's no longer an officer," the man says smugly before chuckling again, ominously, "He did leave this building this morning at exactly 12:15. So I finally offered him that internship you denied me. Kogane was speechless."
"Speechless…" Iverson frowns before glaring harder, "Kogane wouldn't have gone with you. Not if he left here on his own. I'll repeat my question again. What did you do to him!"
"I have done nothing," the man says, "He will be working with us for the good of mankind. As I said before, he will help us discover new life."
"How exactly do you plan to go about that?"
"I'm afraid I can't say anything about that," the man shakes his head, "It's very confidential information. But I thought I'd be courteous enough to tell you that he is with my company."
"I should have you arrested," Iverson growls out before grabbing his phone and starting to type, "What you've done is illegal and wrong."
"I don't think you'll do that," the man says with absolute confidence, not even worried, "You have no proof. I just offered a job to a man who recently lost his. He needs a change of scenery, like many do. There's nothing illegal about that, is there, Commander? Certainly not. And he turned 18 today, so he's no longer part of the system. There's no one who can legally worry about him, is there?"
Katie wants to punch the man. Iverson looks about ready to deck him too. But he holds back, obviously too worried about causing some serious problems for Keith wherever he's at.
"No, I don't think you'll hold me up here," the man chuckles again, "As I said, you have no proof of any wrongdoing. And if I don't show up to my company in a little over...ohhh, I'd say…"
The man peers at his watch dramatically.
"Four hours," the man goes on, "They'll know something went wrong. I doubt that'll be good for Kogane. My team may just think he's a spy of some sort, come to steal our secrets. Isn't that highly illegal, Commander?"
Katie wants to do so much. She wants to smack the guy where it'll hurt the worst. She wants to call in the authorities. She wants to reveal herself and let the man know he's busted…
But none of it will help Keith. Like Iverson said, Keith wouldn't have willingly gone with the asshole. Not if he left the Garrison. If he quit that means he's going to search for Shiro. He knows that can't happen with a space program. The Galaxy Garrison is the best of the best. They're the real hope of getting to space to save the Charon's crew.
With gritted teeth, she pulls up her hologram screen, hacking into the Garrison's security feeds. She quickly browses through the channels at 12 a.m. that morning before she spots Keith. The slightly older teen looks absolutely furious, likely not thinking as he flees through hall after hall with a dark look. She sees which direction he goes from as he flies away, a red duffel bag slung over his shoulder.
She nearly snickers though as Keith flips the camera off before leaving. It's totally something Keith would do while leaving like this.
She drops the screen down before bolting for the same spot. She launches out, flying as fast as possible while trying to keep an eye out for her friend or his bag. After about ten minutes, she's about ready to think of something else to do when she spots something wrong with the area, as though it's been messed with. Landing on her feet, she inspects the area with a frown.
Sand is disturbed, some loose rocks are collapsed right next to it, and there's quite a few footprints leading up to the spot. It looks like someone landed, got dizzy and startled a resting pile of rocks by bracing themselves, and then fell down onto the sand. Which probably means tranquilizers.
She inspects everywhere for any clues that can help her find him. Nothing. But a bit of red fabric does catch her eyes in a nearby bush. She digs it out, surprised at how well hidden Keith got it before probably passing out. No one else would have found it unless they were specifically looking for it.
She's not sure if she should open it. But she is sure she should get back to the Garrison and find out what is going on. So that's exactly what she does.
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"Where is he!" She demands as soon as she arrives in Iverson's office. The creepy guy from earlier is gone, leaving the leader of the base looking tired and stiff. She doesn't care as she marches forward, bag slung over her shoulder and wing. No one was getting her friend and soulmate's bag. No one, "Where is he!"
"Miss Holt," Iverson says before raising a brow, "What are you doing here?"
"Cut the crap," she glares at him, "Where is he?"
"You're here about the Kerberos mission," Iverson nods slightly before looking at his desk and back at her, "I'm sorry, but we can't send anyone out to save them."
"The Kerberos mission?" She asks in confusion before noting his anxious look at the desk again. Something is wrong. She's 95 percent sure that he knows exactly who she is talking about. Time to play along, "Duh, who else would I be talking about?"
"While I can't do anything about a rescue mission," Iverson nods at her, "I can get you their things. Commander Shirogane is your soulmate, after all. His things are in storage right now. It's a soulmate's right to get that person's items, especially if they have no remaining legal family. Come with me."
She follows him, quickly looking back at the desk which sits far too innocently. He strolls along the busy halls before sliding into a small meeting room.
"I know you're worried about Kogane," Iverson cuts to the chase, taking a seat tiredly before gesturing for her to join him, "I don't know how long you were standing outside my office or how much you heard. I've caught many cadets and even officers the same way before. What do you want to know?"
"Well, for starters, why the heck are we in here and not in your office?" Katie throws out before going on, "What happened to Keith? Why is he gone? Who is that man? What happened to your eye?"
"There's only so much I can answer because I don't know everything myself," Iverson frowns in thought before rubbing his chin, "I don't want to involve a teenager, especially one as young as you, into this mess."
"Well, too late," Katie shakes her head before staring at him determinedly, "My dad is missing, along with two of my soulmates. And now my other soulmate is gone because of this jerk. I can't...I can't do much for them right now, but I can help Keith. As long as he's somewhere on Earth, I'll find him. I will."
"I was thinking you'd say that," Iverson nods proudly before sighing, "I'll start at the beginning. Nearly a year and a half ago, I got a visitor. His name was Dr. Avery Stillwell, from the Extraterrestrial Exploratory Research and Extraction, Inc. He came in asking about Kogane, and I could sense he was trouble. So I told that he could not do anything while Kogane was under this roof, whether as a cadet or officer. The plan worked well. Except…"
"You didn't know that their connection is that important," Katie nods. She gets it. Having just one bond with someone can be a lot. Having both a platonic and romantic one with the same person can be even more intense, "You didn't know that Keith would leave to find Shiro."
"I didn't," Iverson shakes his head, "As for your questions, it was Kogane who gave me this bruise. Can't blame him, honestly. Not if his connection is that deep. As for why we are here…"
The man sighs again.
"I'm pretty sure that my office is bugged," he hisses angrily before rubbing his chin again, "I knew the moment the hoverbike flipped onto Kogane. The only way anyone could have known to pick that vehicle was because I got a report that it would need to get repaired soon. No better way of hiding sabotage than on a bike that's already got problems."
"But that would mean…" Katie trails off. Someone had to have cut something. Someone from the Garrison. Someone inside the building.
"There's an officer working for Stillwell," Iverson agrees before shaking his head, "I could use a goddamn vacation after all this shit. I have files on every transfer officer since around the time Stillwell appeared. But I'm getting nowhere on that front. I'm far too busy running this place, and there's up to at least 300 files."
"Give them to me," Katie says seriously, "I won't leak them or anything, but I can make the search faster. I have a lot more time. I also can work on a computer well."
"I don't like this idea," Iverson grumbles before nodding, "Alright. I'll get you them."
"And the Kerberos mission logs."
"Fine," Iverson stares at her, growing a bit annoyed, "But no one can know that I gave them to you. I could get in trouble for giving a teenager sensitive information."
"I got that covered," Katie grins before looking at him, "You're going to have to ban me for 'trying' to hack into your computer."
"Dear flocks, I'm assuming that's what you came to do in the first place," he doesn't even wait for her to deny it, "Fine. We'll do it at my office. Should throw them off."
"Good."
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That night at home, she sits at her desk.
Bae Bae is off doing who knows what. Her mom is probably in her botanical room or maybe Katie's dad's experiment room. It's fairly late, and she's staring at her computer screen as she has been the past 3 hours.
It's clear that the crew didn't crash. The black box shows that they were attacked and captured. By who? No one knows. But it can't be anyone good. After all, no one should be out that far, and Earth is at peace with each other, no major conflicts since WWIII. So that leaves one option open.
Aliens…
The files are open too, although she's had no luck there. Like Iverson said, there's at least 300. She's looked up the website for the group, not getting much other than Stillwell's picture and a general goal. The website is just a cover for if an average person looks it up. And Katie is not average. And yet she can't figure out where the group is or who they really are or where they are located.
And Keith's bag is irritating her.
It sits on her bed, all innocent. She looks at it every so often, convinced it will disappear. That all traces of her friend will be gone if she doesn't watch it. That another member of her family will up and disappear forever.
"I'm going to look," she grumbles after a long moment of staring, "It might hold some clues."
She doubts it, but she gets up anyway. Strolling to her bed, she gets on it. Carefully, she opens the bag up like something might spring out and bite her. It feels like she's invading Keith's personal space. Like she's not meant to see any of this stuff.
She takes out a rock that looks a lot like pictures of nebulas exploding in space. She sees a small metal figurine of a moon and a red-eyed bat hanging upside down from it. There's a set of dog tags, and she nearly cries when she sees that they're Shiro's. She definitely gets tears when she sees the pictures of her family and Keith along with the one of just Keith and Shiro. That was so long ago. The two seemed happy and innocent at the time, having little to care about except being billions of miles away from each other. There's a few wrapped snacks, the kind that the Garrison definitely doesn't allow anyone to have. Then there's a set of clothes. Black pants, a grey t-shirt, a red crop top jacket, and matching high boots.
She thinks that's it when her hands touch something hard. She frowns before pulling out a sheathed knife. Or rather, dagger describes it better. It's not like anything she's ever seen before. The leather sheath is old and worn, connected to a brown belt. She removes it, seeing that the metal is grey, with a slight purple tint. It's about twelve inches long in total, with the handle being four inches and the blade eight. It's wrapped in fraying bandages around the cross guards, turning yellow with age.
It must be important to Keith. They have a no-weapons policy at the Garrison. Only certain members carry sidearms like the guards. Keith had to have hidden it well. Maybe it's the last thing he has from his parents.
She vows to protect it and keep it safe until she gets Keith back to it. Because she will get him back, even if it means staying up all night long until she crashes.
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Doctor Avery Hudson Stillwell is a patient man.
He's spent his whole life proving aliens are real and out there. Ever since he was nothing more than an awkward science nerd in middle school. Aliens have gripped him by the heart, and he has a deep need to find them. He knows that they've been here, on Earth. Nearly twenty years ago, he got readings that told him aliens were here.
But of course, no one believes him. No one ever does. He shows them scientific evidence, and they laugh at his face like he's a child with a tiny science kit. Like he has no clue about what he is doing. Like he's crazy for believing someone else is out there.
He hasn't taken his pills. Not in months. They don't do anything for him, and he knows they were prescribed by doctors who didn't want him to finish his life's work. He admittedly hasn't had as much luck as he wants to, not with the test subjects he's had for the past many years. But that's going to change with their newest subject.
"How is K-3176 coming along?" He peers at one of the monitors, the one that shows the subject's room. All the ones who come in are given a description number. It makes everything much easier and breaks the subjects in much quicker.
"Just waking up now, although he should still be out with the amount of sedatives he was given," one of his lead scientists nods at the screen, "Do you want the standard tests done first?"
"I think we'll wait," Avery shakes his head before watching as the subject's eyes flutter, "I want to see how K-3176 reacts. If he's aggressive, which I think he will be, we'll have to stop him so he doesn't injure any of you. How's D-451 doing with the tests?"
"Not much," the man shakes his head, "About as well as before. Wing deformities are the same. Now, N-046 is not doing well though. Looks like he's getting pneumonia."
"No need for treatment," Avery watches the screen, "If he's an alien, he will heal. If he's not, we add more stories here to keep the unwanted attention away. This place is haunted, after all. You know the drill."
"Noted," the man nods before they watch the screen. Subject K-3176 wakes, blinking before rubbing his face. A moment later, he tenses before looking around the room, those fascinating red and black bat wings curling up in distress. And then he starts to get up. He's not tired at all, which is surprising given he was probably injected with enough sedatives to knock an elephant out. He inspects the room before tugging on the door. It doesn't budge, which only serves to tense him up more as he looks around. His eyes finally stop on the protected camera at the very top of the room, which allows them to see him at every angle he may be in there. K-3176 crosses his arms before glaring and gritting his teeth.
"Where am I?" He demands before hovering in the air, "What do you want with me? Who are you? Let me go!"
"This one's got spirit," another scientist chuckles softly, her face amused as K-3176 glances around again. There's nothing he can do. The room is devoid of any spots to hide or things to do, walls smooth and white. There's one bolted thin bed in the center of the room with a small toilet to the side. If anything goes in, K-3176 must earn it or Avery will send it in to test him. The woman snickers louder, "Most subjects break down crying, freezing, or freaking out."
"Agreed," Avery nods before watching the subject fly around a bit. The room is pretty big, enough for multiple members of his organization to move around comfortably in its space without bumping into each other. The ceiling is high too, allowing people inside to fly up. He sits watching K-3176 for a moment before he gets an idea. They normally don't go this route, but he knows they'll have to this time, "Send in some water, with a double dash of NBA 3. I want to see if he notices it. If not, you can move forward with the standard procedure."
"Got it," the woman nods before sending off a message. A moment later, a small cup of water pops out of the wall, surprising K-3176 who narrows his eyes at the drink. He waits before eventually grabbing it, settling onto the bed with a scowl. Then it's a waiting game. He doesn't drink it right away, seeming wary of it. But after a moment, he does take a sip. He must be thirsty because he eventually drinks the rest. And then the drug doesn't take long to kick in as K-3176 gets up, pacing around to the side. About a minute in, he stumbles slightly, face twisting in confusion and frustration. After that, the muscles are all affected, causing him to crash to the floor with a startled yelp. His wings lie spread out along his back, K-3176 on his right side facing the door. No matter how much he twitches, he can't move or get up. That's exactly what his team needs to get the subject settled in.
"Time to go in," Avery nods before nodding, "I feel like this is the big one. Our previous subjects may not be yielding much research, but this one will. I just know this one is different from the others. Let's go find out why."
And they're going to find out why. He gets a feeling K-3176 is somehow connected to the signature he discovered two decades ago. He's 18, so the timeline matches up for him to be born around that time. From what files he saw, K-3176's father was likely human. But there's no record of a mother. She could have the same wings. Was she dead or did she go back to space?
Avery doesn't know, but he'd find out. K-3176 will eventually break. One way or another, he'll have what he wants. After all, Doctor Avery Hudson Stillwell is a patient man.