Alpha Squad - Vecto: Voyage

Part 5.8

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(Previously: Vecto jumps off the Etta battlecopter as they approach the home of Gyro's widow, Charisma.)

Charisma was awakened by a buzz. Her sleeping pod depressurized, and the shield disappeared. Slowly, she sat up, groggy, wiping her eyes in an attempt to see. Her green eyes adjusted so she could glance at the time. It was ten o'clock. Who's going to visit me this early? she thought. She adjusted her nightgown to form into some decent clothes and brushed her fingers through her long black hair. It was a little mangy, but it had to do. She then grabbed her gun and attached its nozzle, in which two shield panels fanned out like two sides of a triangle. With a sigh, she stepped on a circular lift platform to take her to the surface.

Vecto waited at the edge of the dome as Charisma rose to the top level. Although the dome was tinted, he could see she was, as always, prepared for a fight.

"State your name and business," she said through the intercom, pointing her gun, still within the safety of the shield.

"It's Vecto."

Charisma paused to look at the human figure. "Prove it."

Vecto scaled back his disguise at his chest to reveal his orb.

Charisma laughed, then fired her gun. The bullet phased through the dome and struck Vecto. But Vecto caught the projectile and peered at it between his finger and thumb as it disintegrated into dust.

"Only Vecto sucks carbon," Charisma said with a smirk. "So what took you so long to visit?" she scolded him, lowering the gun.

"Didn't know you'd miss me," Vecto said, returning to the image of a red-suited figure. "I thought I'd check on you since I was in the area."

"Well let me know ahead of time next time," Charisma said as she tapped a panel a few times to deactivate the dome shield. "I'm not particularly dressed for company, you know."

"It's not like I particularly care," Vecto said, walking down a few steps to the center circle.

"I take that as an insult," Charisma said with a smirk as gusts of wind sloshed her hair around. "Come on," she motioned for him to step on the elevator platform. "We can talk inside."

They had a vibrant conversation about Vecto's psychosis, about Gyro, about the separation of the Alpha Squad. It had been only a few weeks since they last met, and Vecto and Charisma already had plenty to discuss.

"Staying out of trouble now, aren't you?" Charisma asked as she took a sip of drink.

"In a way," Vecto responded, watching a slide of pictures glide across the wall. They were mostly of Gyro. "I apologize I couldn't save Gyro," Vecto said. "I know you miss him. If there is anything I can do to assist ..."

Charisma shook her head. "No. Just be yourself. That's what Gyro would've wanted."

(What will happen next? Will Vecto tell her about Morphaal? Find out more in the next installment of Vecto: Voyage!)