continued to hinder her.
“Your friends are fine, they're down there close to the Sheriff's Office hold up, watching the Butchers try to figure out what happened to one of their own,” he said. “And the name is Jackson Ayers. Lieutenant Jackson Ayers.”
“Lieutenant?” Alicia asked, looking into his direction, though her hand rested on the brow above her eyes.
“Unites States Navy, at least what's left of it. Stationed in Norfolk, Virginia. At least what's left of it,” he said with a chuckle. “Here, this should help your headache.” Jackson added, handing Alicia a cloth moistened with cold water.
He was a medium sized man, his body wrapped in military issue green pants and a thick bomber jacket; its polished leather a definitive signature of an aviator of the sky.
And he looked trustworthy enough to her, his face both innocent and experienced. As he smiled a bit, the slight stubble on his face reinforced the fact that he was indeed a friend.
“Long way from home.” Alicia remarked.
“Sure enough. Bastards shot me down about two clicks West of here a little over a week ago.” he said with truth. “Sorry about your friend down there.” Jackson added.
“He was a good man. A good warrior,” Alicia replied, not daring cry for G at the moment and add to an already overpowering headache. “But I guess this war has claimed many good men.”
“Claimed my RIO when we crashed, though the verdict on him was decent at best,” Jackson responded, chuckling at the light joke which even brought a smile to Alicia's face. “And you?” he asked.
Alicia paused for a moment. She had no suspicions about Jackson when it came to his position within the military. And she knew they were on the same side. Her worry was that the information inside of her head, particularly that of her current mission, was of a private nature.
“It's classified.” Alicia responded.
“I've got level five clearance,” Jackson said, stopping for a moment to find his identification card and lightly toss it into her direction. “Try me.”
As she scanned the card, Alicia couldn't help but to raise her eyes to him a few times. Not because she questioned his identity, it wasn't for that reason at all. Instead, she found herself intrigued by the man who had swooped in to save her in the last moments of what should have capped her mortal life.
He had saved her life. And if that wasn't enough, the mere sight of his face seemed to sooth her soul a bit. His entire character was one of compassion and positive energy, or so it seemed.
“Well, in that case,” she said, still a bit hesitant as she found it increasingly tough to pull her eyes from his own. Pupils of dreamy blue swirls and purity. “Heading to Texas with the group below to try and secure...” she added, her words cut short.
“No you're not.” Jackson said.
“Excuse me?” Alicia said a bit defensively.
“Trust me, you're not going to Texas.” he replied.
The two sat there, doing their best to search the other out with a dedicated stare. Alicia wanted to tell him to stay out of her mission, but as she began to speak, he cut in sharply.
“If you're going to fetch' that power cell, you can forget it.”
“How the hell...?” Alicia began to ask in a demanding voice.
“My air unit, near seventy birds total,” he said, pausing for a moment to reflect. “Was our job to hit the Ancient fortress with tank busters.”
“Yea, and?” Alicia asked, already knowing they were supposed to have a healthy amount of air support for the mission.
“They knew we were coming.” Jackson replied.
“Huh?” Alicia asked, a silent moment of disbelief taking over her body.
“Every single one of us downed, most within the span of five minutes,” Jackson said. “It was a damn trap. I got in close enough to realize that there was no Ancient fortress, just a massive force waiting for us. There's no power cell to be had, just the guarantee of death. My RIO plotted an escape
“Your friends are fine, they're down there close to the Sheriff's Office hold up, watching the Butchers try to figure out what happened to one of their own,” he said. “And the name is Jackson Ayers. Lieutenant Jackson Ayers.”
“Lieutenant?” Alicia asked, looking into his direction, though her hand rested on the brow above her eyes.
“Unites States Navy, at least what's left of it. Stationed in Norfolk, Virginia. At least what's left of it,” he said with a chuckle. “Here, this should help your headache.” Jackson added, handing Alicia a cloth moistened with cold water.
He was a medium sized man, his body wrapped in military issue green pants and a thick bomber jacket; its polished leather a definitive signature of an aviator of the sky.
And he looked trustworthy enough to her, his face both innocent and experienced. As he smiled a bit, the slight stubble on his face reinforced the fact that he was indeed a friend.
“Long way from home.” Alicia remarked.
“Sure enough. Bastards shot me down about two clicks West of here a little over a week ago.” he said with truth. “Sorry about your friend down there.” Jackson added.
“He was a good man. A good warrior,” Alicia replied, not daring cry for G at the moment and add to an already overpowering headache. “But I guess this war has claimed many good men.”
“Claimed my RIO when we crashed, though the verdict on him was decent at best,” Jackson responded, chuckling at the light joke which even brought a smile to Alicia's face. “And you?” he asked.
Alicia paused for a moment. She had no suspicions about Jackson when it came to his position within the military. And she knew they were on the same side. Her worry was that the information inside of her head, particularly that of her current mission, was of a private nature.
“It's classified.” Alicia responded.
“I've got level five clearance,” Jackson said, stopping for a moment to find his identification card and lightly toss it into her direction. “Try me.”
As she scanned the card, Alicia couldn't help but to raise her eyes to him a few times. Not because she questioned his identity, it wasn't for that reason at all. Instead, she found herself intrigued by the man who had swooped in to save her in the last moments of what should have capped her mortal life.
He had saved her life. And if that wasn't enough, the mere sight of his face seemed to sooth her soul a bit. His entire character was one of compassion and positive energy, or so it seemed.
“Well, in that case,” she said, still a bit hesitant as she found it increasingly tough to pull her eyes from his own. Pupils of dreamy blue swirls and purity. “Heading to Texas with the group below to try and secure...” she added, her words cut short.
“No you're not.” Jackson said.
“Excuse me?” Alicia said a bit defensively.
“Trust me, you're not going to Texas.” he replied.
The two sat there, doing their best to search the other out with a dedicated stare. Alicia wanted to tell him to stay out of her mission, but as she began to speak, he cut in sharply.
“If you're going to fetch' that power cell, you can forget it.”
“How the hell...?” Alicia began to ask in a demanding voice.
“My air unit, near seventy birds total,” he said, pausing for a moment to reflect. “Was our job to hit the Ancient fortress with tank busters.”
“Yea, and?” Alicia asked, already knowing they were supposed to have a healthy amount of air support for the mission.
“They knew we were coming.” Jackson replied.
“Huh?” Alicia asked, a silent moment of disbelief taking over her body.
“Every single one of us downed, most within the span of five minutes,” Jackson said. “It was a damn trap. I got in close enough to realize that there was no Ancient fortress, just a massive force waiting for us. There's no power cell to be had, just the guarantee of death. My RIO plotted an escape
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