Hope

Carrot

Hope is a strange emotion. In its absence, all motivation is lost. When it is present, it motivates a person into action towards the ultimate goal. When a step is taken to completing that goal, hope is gained once more and in this way it is self-perpetuating.

The Machinator sect had managed a fair emulation of hope and Bumpy was currently experiencing its effects. In the hours that had pasted since his contact with Maria, he had managed to bypass the main firing circuits and hook up a simple button, salvaged from his half scorched control panel, to one of his blast cannons. It dangled on a wire from the panel, to which it was affixed with duct tape. The weapons tracking was a little sticky, a PBW shot into the joint having severely damaged the mechanism.

However, it was next to useless against a quad the size of that escorting him. An Adjudicator, four Goads and two Executioners could easily take care of a single blast cannon Gorgy. He could only hope that his fellow Ghosts could intercept the convoy before it reached its destination, wherever that may be.

~

When Maria told the Ghosts the situation, none of them seemed hopeful that the Trojan Horse could be rescued. It was certainly not the best situation, a single unarmed Gorgon escorted by a full quad of Cybrids somewhere out in the Everything Else.

Razorback seemed deep in thought, perhaps conferring with Xena on something. Icey wore a grim expression, the kind seen on people at birthday parties that forgot to bring a gift. Tycho and Jehrico echoed Icey. Delithita leaned her chair back against a computer terminal with an exasperated look to her face. Ko’ah seemed as though he hadn’t heard a word, but Altas was thinking hard, Maria could almost see his processors smoking.

"Perhaps" Razorback spoke first, "an air reconnaissance should be the first step. We need to find Carrot before we attempt anything. There’s that Advocate in the bay that we never fixed up, now might be a good time."

"That’s good but how long?" queried Icey.

"About a day, it’ll get there twice as fast as either Banshee and handles much better. Been waiting to have a chance at flying one of those things anyway."

"Okay, get to work on patching it up, drop in a powerful sensor suite and skimp on anything unnecessary." Maria said, "Altas, what do you think?"

"They are probably sending him to be redacted. They don’t realise that you have been in contact with him and assume they can use him to infiltrate us."

"Where’s the nearest base that might have that function?" Icey asked.

"Other side of the Everything Else," Jehrico added, "take them at least 2 solid weeks to get there, with stops for routine maintenance at several bases on the way."

"I’ll get started on that Advocate," Razor said "Jehrico could do with a hand."

The Ghosts left Ops and went about their tasks. Delithita and Maria remained behind. Delithita’s old suspicions of everything Cybrid had not left, just succumbed.

"I hate to say I told you so." she said.

Maria gave her a disapproving look and they left Ops together.

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