Time Flies, But We Don’t

Rhea’s team raced up the stairs as gunfire echoed behind them. In the cramped service corridor above, Rhea spotted a wall-mounted fire suppression system.

“Dax, the canister!” she said sharply.

With a quick yank, Dax ripped the unit free, tossing it onto the stairwell. The pressurized mist exploded, filling the air with blinding vapor, slowing the guards’ pursuit.

“That’ll buy us a few seconds,” Talia muttered as they pushed deeper into the corridor.

They reached a maintenance car stacked with crates and machinery, the hum of the train’s engines louder than ever. Talia’s sharp eyes caught a ventilation hatch on the far side.

“Over there—it might lead to the roof.”

“No time to debate,” Rhea said. “Go!”

Talia climbed through first, followed by Dax, his bulk straining against the tight opening. Rhea dove in just as the guards burst into the car, bullets shredding the crates behind her.

“Keep moving!”

“Where to Captain?!”

Dax raised his voice over the rush of the wind, as he looked out onto the desolate wasteland. Where would they even go after reaching the roof of a moving train?

Just then, like a miracle from the heavens, Mira’s voice crackled over the comms.

“Mask team, heads up, Strider heading your way! Find a way out of the train NOW!”

“Thank time…” Talia couldn’t help but exhale in relief.

The squad sprinted across the narrow roof as the train barreled forward. Ahead, the Strider came into view, hovering just above the tracks.

“Jump point’s coming up!” Rhea yelled over the roar of the wind.

Mira’s voice crackled in the comms once more. “The Strider’s in position! Come pick us up from the upper cars once you’re inside!”

“Dax, you’re first!” The captain ordered.

Without hesitation, Dax leaped across the gap, landing heavily on the Strider’s ramp, Talia following with swift precision. Rhea glanced back as gunfire zipped past, narrowly missing, before launching herself onto the ramp just as the Strider veered away. Inside, the three collapsed in relief.

“That was… close.” Dax affirmed.

“Close? We were as good as dead back there.” Talia replied, catching her breath.

“But it’s not over yet!”

Rhea bounced back and gripped the controls of the Strider tight.

◑

Back at the server room, Knight and guard kept fighting it out.

The guard was fast, his fists encased in black metallic gloves crackling with faint electricity. He landed a sharp punch to Jessie’s jaw, followed by a blow to his abdomen, sending the Knight stumbling. Jessie coughed but swung his glowing blade in retaliation, forcing the guard to step back with a near miss.

“Fox! What’s happening?” Mira’s voice crackled in his comms.

“All under control.”

“The Strider is inbound. I’ll be waiting for you!”

“No! Jump and I’ll get there too!” Jessie hissed, looking at the guard, “Eventually…”

He knew he had to end this fast, lest he wanted to deal with more guards like him. It was a miracle the rest of the team were distracting the bulk of them in the train up until that point.

Yet in order to beat that guard Jessie knew he had to be faster than him. Faster than he ever was. His usual tricks wouldn’t cut it this time.

The young knight focused on his Chrono Anchor, gripping his blade tighter. He felt the energy ripple through his palm and seep into the blade’s core, thick like blood. In that moment the air around him seemed to freeze, as he took a step forward and prepared to kick off the ground.

“!”

Jessie’s movements were a blur as he parried the guard’s next attack, moving with immense speed and agility.

“Hate to break it to you, pal, but I’ve got places to be,” Jessie said, dodging a punch just in time and countering with a swift kick to his opponent’s side.

“Fox, a tunnel’s coming up! We don’t have much time!” 

“Got it!” Jessie barked back at Mira , eager to end the fight for good as footsteps boomed in the distance. The guard moved to unholster his gun again, but with a quick strike, Jessie knocked it away and sent a powerful energy wave through his blade, incapacitating the enemy.

“And stay down!”

Jessie sprinted toward the vent, using a server tower to boost himself up. Gripping the edges, he pulled himself through the opening as the wind whipped against him. The tunnel loomed ahead, and the Strider hovered next to the train, its ramp open.

“Jump!” Rhea shouted from the cockpit.

With a burst of energy, Jessie launched himself off the roof just before the train disappeared into the tunnel, landing hard on the Strider as it veered away.

“Phew…” Once inside, Jessie exhaled and sprawled across the seat, his teammates looking back at him with silent relief. Tidus hovered close to him, breaking the silence.

“Statistical analysis complete: Jessie Valis successfully avoided becoming train decor.”

“You always like to steal the show, don’t you Jessie boy?” Dax grinned at him.

“What can I say? Main character energy.”

“More like main clown…” Talia sighed, yet her smile spoke volumes of her relief.

Laughing, Mira walked up to Jessie, relief palpable on her face. Then she raised her hand and…

“Ow!”

Smacked him on the head.

“That’s for worrying me, idiot!”

“Glad to hear nobody lost their spirit.” Rhea grinned from the cockpit, feeling the tension from the train auction ease within the squad’s safe space.

“So… what did we manage to snag from the server room?” Jessie grinned, eager to take a look at the data.

Mira nodded, “Yeah, let’s see if all that trouble was worth it.”

Rhea put the Strider on auto pilot as everyone gathered around, watching Mira swipe through her files. The screen glowed faintly, lines of code and maps loading slowly.

“Anything good in there?” Dax leaned forward, his imposing figure almost blocking Talia’s view.

“Patience, big guy,” Mira muttered. “I’m going through it now.”

“Wait a minute…” The tech wiz halted, her tone uneasy as the screen flickered and went black. The light flashed for a moment, then surged back with a sharp red hue. The squad stiffened as an ominous message scrolled across the screen in bold, jagged letters:

“The Aequitas are watching.”

The red glow bathed their faces as the words pulsed. Mira’s stomach dropped, her fingers hovering above the screen as the tablet suddenly let out a faint crackling noise and went dead.

“Aequitas? What… was that?” Talia broke the silence, confused.

Jessie furrowed his brows, “Yeah… that’s not creepy at all.”

Mira exhaled sharply, staring at the darkened tablet in frustration. “They must’ve detected the extraction and hacked the system remotely…”

“After analysis, it seems they didn’t just stop the transfer but wiped the data completely.” Tidus affirmed.

“Completely?” Rhea’s tone was calm, but there was an edge to it. “We didn’t get nothing?”

“Almost nothing,” Mira admitted, her voice heavy with frustration. “The only thing we got was… a name. Aequitas.”

The word hung in the air, heavy and foreboding.

Dax rubbed the back of his neck, his jaw tightening. “A name’s not much to work with.”

“I’ll check the cloud back at HQ,” Mira added, though her voice lacked its usual confidence. “But if they were able to wipe my tablet, odds are they’ve already purged everything.”

Rhea folded her arms, her gaze fixed on the now-dark screen. “We’ll debrief at HQ and report what we found—or didn’t find. For now, the name’s all we’ve got. But it’s a start.”

◕

Back at the Time Tower, the squad filed into the Supreme Commander’s office. Ambrose Thane stood by the large window overlooking the city, his gaze steady as they approached.

“Captain Solstice,” he greeted, nodding to the squad captain. “Tell me. What happened during the operation?”

“The mission was compromised, sir. We extracted what we could, but all we got was a name. They seem to call themselves … Aequitas.”

“Aequitas…” Thane’s expression shifted, a subtle flicker of interest crossing his face before he resumed his calm demeanor. “Intriguing… Is that all you have?”

“I also saw some time distortion data mapped across a wide scale… although I can’t dissect why they would need such information. I didn’t get a good look.” Mira added.

“Hm…” Thane sat back down in his office chair, pushing away the opened holographic windows hovering in front of him.

“Supreme Commander, another thing…” Rhea exhaled, her tone slightly harder than usual, “During the auction we came across an instance of underage human trafficking…”

Try as she might, Rhea just couldn’t forget about that incident, and chose to inform both her squad and the supreme commander himself.

“The Knights are well aware that people like the ones we’re hunting do not only deal with illegal chrono tech. However, what you claim is a serious crime.”

Rhea’s jaw clenched, “Then if that’s true why would they barter a child in a chrono device auction?”

“That could be worth looking into. And yet that’s all you gathered is it not?”

“Supreme Commander the buyers were—“

“Scared. Cryptic. I did read your report after all.”

The squad exchanged glances.

“Then why are we—“

“Because I wanted to hear everything from your squad directly, Captain. And from what I gather, I think my premonition was right.” Thane rose from his seat, his posture tout and straight, his hands folded behind his back.

“We have reason to believe you were led there purposefully. Our every move was most likely predicted by these self-proclaimed… Aequitas.”

The squad froze for a moment. Mira had said the exact same thing when the data extraction froze. Thane had arrived at the same conclusion… he really was perceptive.

“It’s a positive point that we didn't lose anyone out there. Considering the circumstances you did well, Squad GX.” The squad looked wide eyed at the supreme commander. Instead of being thoroughly chewed out for missing such a big chance to uncover the enemy faction they were being… praised instead.

“Truth be told, we have had a few run-ins with that faction in the past. And yet we never did learn anything about them. But you managed to get a name out of them. They’re getting bolder, that's for sure. Confrontation cannot be avoided any longer.”

“Thank you… Supreme Commander.” Rhea nodded, her usual composed expression slipping back into her face.

“For now, I suggest you rest and prepare for what’s ahead. You may have uncovered something… significant. I’ll personally see that you’re one of the first responders if any other matter regarding this mysterious order arises.”

Finally, he inclined his head, offering them a faint smile. “Well done, Squad GX. This may be only the beginning.”

With that, he dismissed them, and sent them home for the day.

“That was… unexpected.” Even Jessie was caught by surprise as the team exited Thane’s office.

“You don’t say. I was already looking for a new job.” Dax scoffed.

“Not only that, but we were praised to boot.” Talia murmured out loud.

“Maybe that’s how dangerous these… Aequitas really are.” Mira sighed.

“Maybe. But hey, no point dwelling on it now. Who’s up for dinner?” Jessie chimed in, breaking the tension. As usual, the team was quick to agree.

“Great idea. Last one down has to pay!”