Planet: Kestra, Odaport Compound

First Insurgency War

MAIA

Black Wolf changed after the fateful meeting with Meryn Matthey. In the early morning when the soft alarm beeped straight into her ears and refused to allow her a few extra winks, she stretched out of her bed and checked the console for any new orders. I know General Falae and Commander Beckett wanted to have a discussion about what Matthey said...

His words dogged at her mind, but nothing haunted her more than his defeat. Betrayal marred the dark greys while Black Wolf stared at him as if he was nothing but an irritating stranger. His old friend — another survivor of the Eastpoint massacre, treated with disdain.

Maia left the room and glanced to the side. Black Wolf clung to the corner of the wall with his back to her. He quivered and clutched his chest with deep breaths.

"James." Maia rushed for his side. "Are you alright?"

He glared at her. "I'm fine, Mouse... heartburn, that's all." He straightened himself out with a rub of his chest, but Maia focused on his heartbeat and allowed her senses to open further, where the uneven pulse fluttered through her eardrums. Each skip strangled her with worry, but it evened out and he released the wall with a scoff. "As I said, I'm fine. Let's go. Commander Beckett wanted to talk to us. Let's not keep him waiting."

He rushed away and never gave her a chance to look him over, and she followed him. As they passed several soldiers, some gave James a wide berth, who ignored them all.

Black Wolf gained a speedy, damn near infamous reputation among the ranks due to the pirate operation. None remained with Black Wolf at the end of the scope. Black Wolf showed them the mercy they showed at Eastpoint, even with pirate bands with no involvement in the massacre.

"Why are you staring at me?" Black Wolf asked. "I said I'm fine."

"Are you sure? How are you feeling?"

Black Wolf hesitated enough for her to meet his stride. "What do you mean?"

"How are you feeling?" she reiterated. "After that meeting with Matthey. You know, happy, sad, neutral? Angry, even?"

Black Wolf blinked. "Nothing."

Maia balked though he continued onward. "What do you mean by that?"

Black Wolf sneered at her with a wolfish grin. "I mean nothing as in nothing. I didn't feel anything." His toothy grimace dropped when they continued to the elevator pod. "Instead of asking me stupid questions we should focus on what they want to discuss."

Maia sucked in a breath through her nose. Keep your cool. He's just trying to get a rise out of you. You can't help him if you lash out.

Black Wolf took charge at the buttons within the elevator, and she touched the necklace she hid behind her dogtags. Meryn Matthey trusted her, the actual stranger, with a piece of an ashen past. And if he did that, that means I can still help Black Wolf. Maia lowered her hand back to her side when Black Wolf eyed her in suspicion and a layer of distrust.

"I just think you should've shown some decency to Meryn Matthey," she scolded. "He used to be your friend. He was there with you, and your attitude might've..." Words died in her throat when he turned his back on her. Frustration tickled her palm, but she tucked it onto her belt to stop herself from lashing out. She took the lead to General Falae's office, who waited for them along with Commander Beckett.

"Good." General Falae tapped her datapad. "You two are here, so we can begin."

Maia stood at attention with Black Wolf. "What do you need of us, Ma'am?"

"I'm heading out into the field for a week or so," General Falae said. "I'm going to be doing some hunting."

Black Wolf raised an eyebrow. "If it's hunting you need done, you can send Urtanes and I. Are we not specialised for that?"

Maia pursed her lips at his blatant disrespect to their superior officer.

"You're being kept off the mission due to the nature of who we're hunting," he said. "We want this one alive."

Black Wolf frowned, and General Falae folded her arms. "I'm hunting down Rayan Falae. I want to know what the First Insurgency intends and why they've acted over the radar."

Hatred shielded the flaming abandonment within the hazel when Black Wolf choked his own hands behind his back. It was a tricky emotion, one she struggled to gauge between resentment and despair.

"From what I gathered of Meryn's masterful dodging of my questions, my son has joined the ranks of the First Insurgency." General Falae pushed her finger against her chin. "I feared that might be the case, and would explain their efficiency against Strike Force tactics." She rubbed the bridge of her nose and a mother's exhaustion filled the blues. "Which also means he's gotten close to the leader."

"Excuse my rudeness, Ma'am," Black Wolf said with a tone which screamed he didn't care at all if he was rude. "If I am not allowed to do my job then you shouldn't be able to due to the nature of who it is."

"James," Maia hissed.

General Falae considered Black Wolf. "I'd rather you stayed off the mission. Aelius Matthey will be coming soon."

Maia understood the implication. She's worried their reunion will cause an emotional charge.

He ignored her from the shake of his head. "I disagree, Ma'am. I'm one of your best Elites."

"You may be my best, but you're definitely not as practised at listening to authority," General Falae responded flatly. "If I give you this mission, Ranier, I want you to follow my every order. Is that clear?"

Black Wolf met her stare. "Crystal, but tell me one thing."

"Of course," General Falae said.

"What happened that day?" Black Wolf asked, and Maia frowned when his voice shrank. "During the attack on Eastpoint."

Her heart skipped, but Black Wolf never flinched. General Falae tipped her head. "Between your sister and my son?"

Black Wolf nodded, calm.

General Falae huffed. "Ava arrived at the manor, where she mentioned that you and your father had a fight. When the attack began, I was forced to leave them to send out a manual warning as they took down the communications first. After that, I can only assume what happened between my departure and my arrival at the Ranier house — she ran back to your house believing her family remained and needed her. As for Rayan... my hoverbike was taken, so I guessed he made an escape through one of the unaffected back streets in time before it closed off in the flames."

James pressed his lips together. "Understood, Ma'am," he said. "You have no need for your concern. I'll bring Rayan Falae alive."

"I still need some more information so take the time to rest," General Falae said. "We're leaving early." General Falae disappeared into the corridor, while Commander Beckett sat down and tugged out a capsule of water.

"Either of you need a drink?" he asked.

Black Wolf clenched his fists with a fractured heaviness creasing his brow. Maia dared not touch him to give him her support when the explosion rippled underneath the magma flow. He took in a shuddered breath while the hazel filled with unfocused fog while his attention drifted from the capsule to the trash compactor at the side of the desk. He went still, where his heartbeat broke in uneven flow within the air.

Where is he? Do I touch him?

"Ranier?" Beckett mused.

Black Wolf closed his eyes and sucked in his lips with a soft breath. "I'm fine, sir."

Maia focused on the deception his heartbeat revealed. Fog remained in the hazel littered with crimson as he breathed deeper without looking at either of them. His attention drifted to the left in recollection. In a crucial moment, the young man broke through the mask. Beckett stood up when James dove for his trash can, and she lunged for him when he dry-heaved into it. Beckett placed the capsule on the edge of the desk while Maia leaned closer to rest a hand on his back.

You're fine? Maia waited while he curled closer to the trash can. Are you at war with yourself constantly?

James straightened himself out with a softer scoff and took out a cloth to wipe his face. "Sorry, sir," he grumbled as if dry heaving into a can was a minor inconvenience. "I'll take the water."

"Don't apologize."

Black Wolf turned like his limbs weren't well-oiled. "Do you need us to do anything until General Falae is ready?"

"No. You two are free to leave."

Dismissed, Maia rushed to catch up with Black Wolf when he retreated from the office. "Hold on," she called and phased to his side. "Are you okay?"

"I said I'm fine." He frowned at her with a puzzled expression.

"You know, when people vomit or dry heave they rarely go 'I'm fine' afterwards."

"It's nothing," James said. "Try not to think too hard on it, Mouse."

Undeterred on their journey to the elevator, Maia pushed, "I don't know if you've clued in during all this time we've worked together, but as your partner it is literally my job to think when your thick head refuses too," she argued when they boarded the glass pod. "James, I think deep down you don't agree with yourself half the time. I think you should start listening to that part of you. It's trying to tell you something."

He rested his hand on his heart and scowled. "If it's your job to think for both of us, don't throw all your emotional baggage on me."

"My emotional baggage?" Maia asked. "James? When was the last time you smiled? Name one time."

It went silent save for the golden hum. He paled at her words, but kept a strong front. I would've found it impressive... but it's just depressing.

Maia sighed. "I can't begin to understand what you've been through... but I want to know."

"Know what?"

"When was the last time you smiled?"

"Any particular reason you want to know?"

"Curiosity," she fibbed.

Unfocused fog returned while the golden light spread over his body. "When he told me he enjoyed a pastel palette. I think that's the last time I actually felt happy."

"He?"

James sucked in his lips and refused to look at her. "Rayan Falae," he admitted and folded his arms against his stomach. "I remember we were talking about it, but I can't... really recall how the conversation came about. He liked to paint, right?" he mused, waving his hand at air while Maia gaped at the revelation of what was inside Black Wolf's heart. "I think I asked him what colour he liked to use while painting, and he said pastel... said that it's so persistently bright. You know... white-hued colours. Pinks. Blues, that sort of thing, and that it's a delicate balance to not lose that colour. And then he asked me what my favourite colour was..." He drifted off.

"And what's your favourite colour?" Maia questioned, refusing to let go of the opportunity.

Black Wolf pursed his lips when another wave of gold trailed through his eyes. "It doesn't matter," he mumbled when the elevator opened. "We have our job now. Favorite colours don't really change that, does it?" He left it without another word, but Maia refused to give up.

"Black Wolf, wait." Maia revealed the wolven necklace, and he came to a stop. "Don't you want this back?"

He stared at it in disbelief. Slowly, he raised his hand to hers as if to take back his heart from the past. Hope soared through the event horizon, but fell into the endlessness of the void when he stopped himself from grabbing onto the silver chain.

The last remnant of the person she never knew.

"I'm good." He dropped his hand to his side. "You can have it if you want. We should head to our posts and wait for General Falae's word for when we have to find Rayan Falae."

Maia frowned when he went deeper into the base.

Matthey trusted me, but what can I do when Black Wolf—James wants to throw himself off the edge?