//------------------------------// // Chapter 14 // Story: Until Fairer Skies Beckon // by totallynotabrony //------------------------------// The conversation with Lightning had only spread Rainbow’s confusion.  As Lightning had observed, Rainbow - despite her name - tended to see things very black and white.  But now, it felt like her head was constantly spinning through a kaleidoscope. Why did Lion Heart tell Rainbow that Lightning had sold her out when she tried to escape?  Did Lightning?  If not her, who?  Anyone?  If Lightning knew or suspected that Stratus had actually been the snitch, did anyone else think the same? The two most likely explanations were either that Lion Heart wanted Rainbow to fight Lightning, or that Lightning really had been the snitch.  Though if she were considering every possibility, Rainbow had to admit the two weren’t mutually exclusive.  Maybe both were true.  Not to mention a multitude of other, less likely but possible, scenarios. Rainbow, through much gritting of her teeth and reluctance, had been prepared to forgive Lightning in the name of friendship.  Somehow, finding out the situation was more complicated actually made that more difficult.  Why did things have to be so many shades of grey? At least soccer was still simple.  Rainbow was healing and able to get back her full range of motion without tearing her wounds open again.  She noticed, though, that her ribs were starting to show through her skin.  The recovery had cost her a couple meals, or what passed for meals around here, though her weight had been dropping since she arrived.  She hadn’t even had that much weight to lose.  She was almost getting to what some of her fancier friends would call gaunt. As she kicked the soccer ball around with Striker, she asked, “Did we ever find out anything about that drone?” “Over at the HQ, they said it wasn’t the UTA.”  He shrugged. “What were you doing at the HQ?” “I didn’t go in.” Rainbow thought about it.  There were still other possibilities.  The drone could have come from anywhere.  She didn’t want to get her hopes up on the mere assumption that there might be a SEAL team or something out there somewhere.  It sure would be nice if there were, though. “So how would you go about getting inside?” she asked. Striker glanced at her and then around.  “It would be a bad idea to try.  They know who we are and that we’re not supposed to be there.  You’d either have to sneak in or somehow get someone to do it for you.” Rainbow considered it.  “How good are you at sneaking?” Striker flashed a brief grin, dribbling the ball between his feet.  “Back in Brazil, I spent a lot of time in the jungle, usually just playing or something.  I like to think I retained some of it.  However,” his tone turned serious “you know what the price of failure is.  It’s high.” Rainbow wanted to ask him if he was prepared to pay it.  She wasn’t sure how she would respond when he told her, no matter what reply he gave. She liked Striker.  That actually surprised her, that she could appreciate someone else in this hellhole.  Then again, she’d appreciated Angels. Rainbow quickly forced that thought away.  Much as she wanted to, Angels had left now and couldn’t help Rainbow.  She consciously avoided thinking about what might had become of Angels. At least Striker was likeable.  Of course, Rainbow might like Lightning too, if it weren’t for the potential, as-yet unproven backstabbing.  Rainbow reviewed the others in her mind.  Kiel was withdrawn and kind of old, but not a bad guy.  She found herself tolerating Pug more the longer he didn’t speak to her, but knew that wasn’t a proper way to evaluate a relationship.  Pantera resented her, probably.  Rainbow didn’t defer to her attempts at leadership or the psuedomystical vibe she tried to present.  The others, Vapor and Sky, she hadn’t gotten to know well enough to judge. Rainbow frowned inwardly as she still tried to keep up with the ball.  The rest of the pilots didn’t seem to be doing much to try and escape or subvert their captors.  Did they need prodding in that direction?  Was Rainbow also going to have to assume a leadership role in addition to her other efforts?  Of course, maybe the others were looking for ways to escape but they didn’t trust her enough to let her know.  Wasn’t getting publically whipped good enough to show that she wanted to get out of here?  What else did she need to do to convince them of her loyalty? Though, Rainbow could see the problem.  How could she trust them?  Considering them innocent until proven guilty, taking a simple leap of faith to trust them, would be unwise, especially if the penalty for them betraying her could very well be Rainbow’s death. She would have to build the friendship slowly, being absolutely sure they were on her side.  Rainbow wished again that her friends from home were here.  But she was alone.  She was going to have to manage all aspects of friendship herself. Trusting in herself to pull it off might be even harder. She didn’t want to, but she was going to have to talk more, and more often, to everyone.  Rainbow Dash, social butterfly.  The conversations were going to be awkward.  They might not even work. Rainbow still had almost ninety missions to fly, though she wasn’t convinced the C-130 would actually take her home at the end.  She either had to figure out how to escape before then, or do like Angels had and throw herself to the assumption the UTA would actually keep their word. Rainbow went to bed that evening still turning the problem over in her mind.  She estimated it would take at least three months, though probably longer, before she got close to one hundred missions.  But there was the ever present threat that she could be killed in combat well before then, not to mention wanting to escape the UTA sooner rather than later. Still, three months sounded like a long time, but establishing true friendships from scratch would be no easy feat.  Especially considering that if her magic plan were to succeed, those relationships would likely need to be top-tier love and tolerance, not just refraining from active hostility. She went to sleep, hoping a plan would come to her. It was still dark when she woke up.  Rainbow realized a noise had awakened her.  It sounded like someone knocking on the door. She turned her head, seeing Lightning’s eyes open in the dark.  She’d heard it, too. “What was that?” Sky’s voice asked the darkened bunkhouse.  His feet hit the floor and he shuffled over to the light switch, fumbling across the wall for it. The sound had evidently awakened the others, too, but there were still a few groans as the lights came on at full brightness.  Rainbow looked to Sky, who stood near the door.  He bent over, and picked something up from the floor. Everyone got out of bed and crowded around.  Sky held a map and a laminated card, which most assuredly had not been there when the pilots went to bed. “This is…”  Lightning unfolded the map, which was quite large and made of some sort of tough, waxy material.  She didn’t complete the sentence.  She didn’t need to.  It was clearly a map of southern Africa, centered on Talongo. Sky was looking at the card that had come with the map.  “What the heck is this?” Rainbow had a look. Designated Area of Recovery (baseline): 7.5332S 30.2188E Word: Hawkbill Letter: L Number: 22 Duress: Feather SARNEG: 0   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9 S   C   U   B   A   D   I   V   E   R The card also listed several frequencies. “Scubadiver?” said Striker. Rainbow didn’t know what that meant, or who could have possibly left these gifts, but her suspicion of “a SEAL team” grew slightly.