“Ok, let’s get everyone and the gear on board double-time,” Molly announced to the group, marching straight down the hangar, looking for the entrance.
Brock nodded toward the ship. “You can head up the ramp at the back. We haven’t quite figured out all the doors and hatches on this thing yet, and Crash thought it would be best to leave them all sealed until we have more time.”
“Good move!” yelled Molly from the other end of the hangar. The sound of stomping on the metal grating suggested she was already halfway up the ramp. Garet was impressed by how fast she could move with a heavy pack. He wondered if it was the human genes or a military thing.
Garet followed her.
Paige bent down to pick up her bag.
“How you holding up, girl?” Brock asked her sympathetically as he started to pull up Crash’s number to give him a heads up.
“I’m doing okay. I could probably sleep for a week, my eye makeup is a mess and I really need a manicure.” She showed him her nails. “But, apart from that...” her voice trailed off. There was a sadness in her eyes.
Brock reached over and pulled her in for a simple hug.
“You know what?” Brock looked around like he was sharing a secret. “I got me some gear in my bag. When we get this bird in the air, you and me are at least getting that chipped stuff off and making you feel Sarkian again. Deal?” Paige smiled and nodded, a tear escaping from her eyes and trickling quickly down her face. She wiped it with her sleeve and felt another forming.
Brock hugged her again as she finally burst into tears, letting the tension break. They stayed like that until Paige decided she needed to breathe again. Brock let her pull away, noticing that Joel had quietly taken his pack and his feline team member into the ship.
“Go get your gear on board and choose your seat. And if you want some company, I can always use an extra hand down here. But if you want to chill, girl, you just go chill. Kay?”
She nodded, wiping her face again.
“Thanks, Brock. You’re the best.” She smiled again through the tears and waved to Brock as she turned and walked down the side of the ship after the others.
Brock sighed, then gathered his thoughts for the list of shit he had to finish to get this bird up faster than they had anticipated.
He noticed that his holo just pinged. “Yeah, Crash? There’s been a change of plans. We need you here, stat.”
On board the XC-0094B
Molly was on board, and in a flash had assessed the crew facilities. She watched the others scramble up the ramp. If they could be out of here in forty minutes, they might just be ahead of any cam processing that the police or hackers could do.
She scanned the area around her. The upper deck was full of passenger seats, enough for about fifteen soldiers and their gear plus support personnel. The cockpit had four seats, two in front and two behind. Weapons were controlled from the two rear seats, as they had a view of the sides of the ship.
Downstairs was the domain of engineering. There was lots of space and they could probably retrofit a few of the areas down the line, but it seemed sensible to keep the weight down as much as possible. That would give the ship more maneuverability and use less fuel on entry and exit of atmosphere.
She plonked her gear down near the front of the passenger area. “Okay, listen up, folks.” She waited for their attention. “Front is for sleeping.” She indicated the first half-dozen rows of chairs. “These chairs recline into resting positions, and it’ll be quiet up here.”
“Talking is at the back, and drinking,” she smiled as she said it, “is in the cargo hold. I know how raucous you guys can get when you knock back a few beers!” She blushed a little, making a joke at herself, and heard a couple of chuckles from the other three.
“Joel, can you find out what is in those crates, please? If they don’t explode or break, we can probably use them for sitting on.”
Joel nodded and jogged back down the ramp to talk to Brock.
“I think there are shower and restroom facilities downstairs. There should be a ladder in the cargo hold for getting down there. Garet, you want to investigate and let us know what condition it’s in? We might need to run out for some domestic supplies. But we have to be fast.”
Garet nodded and started looking around the crates to find a hole in the floor that would lead to the lower deck. Eventually he found it, and discovered the ladder there. This must be it, he thought to himself.
Paige dropped her bag and looked around awkwardly. Molly didn’t want to coddle her. Even if she did, she wouldn’t know how.
Joel reemerged. “Nothing breakable or explosive in those crates. And they’re pretty sturdy, according to Brock. We’re good to sit on them and stack them if we want.” He immediately started rearranging them, lifting and clearing until he’d made a little cubby with a table and “chairs” for about six people.
Meanwhile, Garet emerged to report on the facilities downstairs. “All looks good. These are nice digs. We’ll need soap, towels, and, well, everything else, to be honest. Have we got time to hit a store?”
Molly nodded. “Yeah, but fast. Be back in less than thirty. Take someone with you. Joel has credits. Don’t use cards, tokens, or anything traceable. Don’t talk to anyone. Don’t get recognized. Don’t make any calls. And you may want to pick up a couple of changes of clothes for you and Paige while you’re there.”
Paige heard what was going on, her ears pricking up at the word “clothes”.
“I’ll come with you.” She saw her chance to be able to dress in something a little more flattering and comfortable than Molly’s sweats.
Molly smiled to herself, understanding Paige’s eagerness. She was about to go back to her holo when Joel caught her eye.
“I’m going with you,” he announced to Garet and Paige. Molly nodded, understanding his unspoken reasoning about keeping their clients safe.
“Less than thirty,” Molly called down to them all. “If you’re not back, we’re heading off-world without you.” She was teasing, obviously. But she said, very poignantly, “Paige…”
Paige spun round amongst the bustle and activity, mock offense on her face.
She was about to protest, but Molly got there first. “I said fast. Grab a few outfits and get going. There isn’t time for a full makeover. I mean it!”
Paige pretended to flounce out through the cargo area. “It’s so unfair. You never let me do what I want, Mom!” The final word was a well-placed dig, considering Molly’s extreme lack of mothering abilities.
Touché, Paige. Touché, she thought.
Joel and Garet jogged after her down the ramp, laughing.
Okay, so where are we at with our safe house list?
Given the last tweak to the variables and the second filter we applied, we have a choice of three. One of them seems like an anomalous result that didn’t show up the first time we made a search request. It’s actually outside the locations we were looking at, in the asteroid belt before we get to the Outer System.
And we didn’t search that location. I didn’t even know there was any population there.
Neither did the rest of the world. It looks like something that someone has gone to great lengths to keep a secret. I’ve found redacted files on a military server and deleted files elsewhere.
But it fits our criteria?
Seems to.
Complete with enough civilization to get supplies.
Yes. There is an arrangement where orders are shipped to the moon of an outer planet, and the community has them picked up every month or two.
Odd.
Yeah. It looks like the kind of place where people go to be forgotten.
Very forgotten. What else do we know?
Population about thirty thousand, mixed races. Simple living, though the tech is pretty up to date with the Central Systems for such a small population. They must be importing.
That bodes well for our purposes. Any
civil unrest? Mafia? Political system?
It looks like they govern themselves.
With a population that small it’s plausible. What about the safe house itself?
It’s a converted theater. It’s got living quarters now, but also lots of space which will be useful when we start building the labs and operations areas. They have a town nearby with bar, and—
It has a bar?
Yes.
Okay. It’s probably the right place, then.
Molly, choosing a place based on the location of the nearest bar?
Oz, I’m messing with you. But seriously, it does sound like a good option. And it may get us around the issue we had with the pizza place being able to give Dewitt’s people a heads up on where we might be staying. If there is no supply traffic in and out and it’s only the residents picking up supplies from a drop, it reduces the risk and would take more work to find us. Especially if we’re careful about what we order. We’ll need to keep our purchases under the radar, or coming in from outside the Sarkian system, I guess.
Okay. Want to hear about the other two options?
Yeah, shoot.
Chapter 23
Hangar 08771A, Aboard the XC-0094B
“Okay, I’m ready when our passengers get here,” called Crash from the cockpit.
He’d gotten back not long after the others had left for the store. Molly wondered if she really should have let them go, but where they were headed they were going to need the supplies. After a few more hours on this bird, she’d definitely want to shower and relax a little.
“Okay. Well, Paige is shopping for clothes. I suspect that might be the determining factor here,” she commented back to him.
Crash laughed.
He seemed pretty relaxed about everything, though. No agitation to get going, and no apprehension. But then, that was the general demeanor of these pilots in her experience. She’d known a few on base, and they always seemed to have everything together. She watched from her seat as he ran speedily through a checklist projected onto his leg from his holo. His fingers flew over holographic buttons and switches, then hesitated occasionally as he needed to locate a button that wasn’t in the layout he was used to.
Out the front window she could see the hangar walls. In a few hours she’d be looking out at space. Actual space…
So we’re decided? I should put in the request?
Yes, I think it’s a good option. And a great price. Let me know if you need me to do anything, but let’s book her up. And perhaps go for a twelve-month lease, if that’s possible?
Processing now… Okay, funds cleared, contracts approved.
That was bloody fast!
They have an automated system set up on the other end.
But we could be anyone.
No, I already went through some pre-check protocols when we were first discussing it as an option.
Oh, great stuff!
There was a commotion coming from the cargo area. Molly could hear what sounded like a hundred boots traipsing up the ramp. The laughing and chattering was the only thing that gave away that it wasn’t an invading army.
“Looks like the cavalry has arrived,” Molly commented to Crash.
“Yeah, and it sounds like they brought friends from the frat house!” He hit some switches, which seconds later resulted in systems firing up. “All right, Brock, we’ve got our payload. We all set down there?” he asked through his comm.
Molly got up from her seat and wandered to the back of the ship. Paige was just making her way up the ramp, laden with shopping bags.
“Okay, those go downstairs to the bathrooms,” Joel instructed Garet, who started for the ladder to the downstairs area. “These are for the kitchen.” He plunked the bags he was carrying down on the makeshift kitchen table he had arranged earlier.
“Those are all Paige’s.” He waved at Paige, who was still tottering up the last few steps to the cargo hold. “And there’s another load in the car.” he concluded to Molly, very satisfied with his domestic prowess.
“Okay, lemme give you a hand with those.” Molly started making her way through the hold and down the ramp. Joel followed her, overtaking her as he jogged down the ramp.
Molly looked over to Joel. “How’s Paige holding up?” she asked, once they were on the ground and out of earshot.
“She seems okay, considering. I don’t think it’s quite hit her yet. She’s in the best environment for it, though. The people who saved her, the camaraderie—she’ll get through it.”
“And Garet?”
“Look at you, all concerned, leader!” Joel teased. Molly gently hit him with the back of her hand.
Brock was heading past them in the opposite direction. He nodded to the pair and slipped past to board the ship, saying nothing.
“Seriously, though,” continued Joel, “he seems like he’s handling it all pretty well. He’s just pleased to have Paige back. He was a mess when we realized that you two were missing, but he seems to have bounced back okay.”
“Good…” Molly seemed deep in thought.
Joel looked at her sideways, “Why, whatcha thinking?”
“Well, I’m just not used to the people thing, and we’re going to be taking them out of their home environment in a cramped ship and then staying in the middle of nowhere for ancestors know how long. I’m just aware that there might be problems with this. And I don’t know what shape they’ll take, or if we’re going to be able to manage them.”
Joel stopped walking.
Molly finally noted he wasn’t with her and turned back to look at him, only to have him step forward and clamp his hands on her shoulders.
“Now you listen to me, Molly Bates. You’ve gotten them this far. You’ve done a great job. And we did it all while keeping our consciences and wits intact. Everything is going to be fine, but more than that, you are turning into one hell of a leader.”
She opened her mouth to protest.
“And yes, you have some things to learn when it comes to social niceties and running a team of individuals, and not drinking during a job. Hell, so does anyone when it comes to leadership.” He thought a moment, “Maybe not the drinking during an op part. But then, I shouldn’t have stormed off, either. You’re doing great. And little by little, you will do better. No, we will do better.”
Molly took a deep breath, and then exhaled, surrendering the tension that had played on her since she got into this new line of work.
“Okay,” she said, smiling a little.
“And for those times when it’s all too much, I picked up an extra case or two of beer.” They continued and got to the car and he popped the trunk, revealing two large cases of the stuff.
“You weren’t kidding!” exclaimed Molly.
Molly, seems someone has been accessing the traffic cams and has viewed footage of us arriving at the Spaceport the first time. I suspect we will have company very soon.
How soon?
I’m scanning for communications and approaching vehicles. Nothing yet.
She closed the trunk. “We’ve got company on its way. No time estimate yet. We need to get gone,” she told Joel.
“I’ll get the car stowed in the lower level then.” He quickly pulled up his holo to communicate with Crash. “We have intel that bogies are en route. Drop the access to stow the car, and then we need to get out of here.”
“Roger that,” Crash acknowledged. The engines started whirring and a port opened under the ship. Molly left Joel to bring the car inside so they could get mobile.
She hurried back up to the ship.
Anything?
Yes. We have two trucks coming in from Spire. The registrations trace back to one of the corporations. They’re heading our way. ETA six minutes.
Molly paced over to the cockpit. “Anything we can do about the takeoff permission, Crash?”
Crash flicked another switch, before turning to her. “Not much. Problem is,
we don’t know what else is going on at the airfield.”
Oz, can you help?
Already on it. If we taxi to Takeoff Pad A, we have a window now.
“We’ve got a safe window at Pad A. Can you get us there?”
Crash nodded. “Yeah, if you’re cool that we’ll be slapped with a fine?”
“Yes, I’ll take care of that. Let’s get out of here.” Molly swung round to let the others know what was going on as Joel came jogging up the ramp.
Within two minutes, the ship was out of the hangar.
Apprehension laced the air as Crash taxied them out to the liftoff area. Molly had considered sitting in the cockpit with him, but thought that she would be better off with the guys in the passenger area.
Besides, the last thing Crash needed was the new boss staring over his shoulder. Brock had his back, though. He’d strapped himself into the second’s position with barely a thought.
He even flicked a few switches and repositioned some holoscreens while he was there. Seemed he not only knew his way around a ship, but he had also flown second with Crash before.
The two trucks have just arrived at the gatehouse.
“Ok. Showtime, Crash,” she called through. “Let’s get us up.”
Joel sniggered.
“Really? Now?” Molly glanced back at him in his seat on the other side of the aisle.
Less than a minute later they had hit the takeoff pad and seconds after that they were rising out of the lower atmospheres, the core engine reverberating and shaking the ship.
“We’re getting an earful from air traffic control. Just FYI,” yelled Crash back through from the cockpit.
“Understood.” Molly knew there would be fallout. Oz had made sure that they weren’t putting anyone in danger, so it was ok by her.
As they rose through the layers of atmosphere, the din lessened. Moments later, the noise level dropped again. Molly could no longer tell what direction they were moving.
Then the engine fell quiet.
We’re safe.
Molly took a moment to let the news sink in.
“Ok folks. We’re home free,” she announced. She saw Crash pump the air with his fist while Brock clapped his hands, spinning in his seat.
The Ascension Myth Box Set Page 22