Mission to Sector ZZ1219

by Jerry D. Young

  Just getting to her feet now, one hand on the bed and the other reaching for her robe, she spun around when her bedroom door slammed open and Johnny ran in, his face ashen.

  The sudden spin had her going down again, backwards onto her rump, eyes wide as Johnny rushed to her. She could see the anguish in his eyes, and the concern. The pain she saw was not in his eyes, though it was obvious in his movements as he went to one knee before her.

  Only as he reached for her, to check for injuries, did first he, and then Willi, realize that he was only in sleep shorts, and Willi, usually restricted to ship’s wear when sleeping aboard the shuttle, was wearing considerably less, since she had the opportunity.

  Johnny’s ashen face went red, and Willi’s went crimson. “Hey!” she shouted, dragging the covering she had just managed to extricate herself from back over her body.

  Willi heard the grunt of pain that escaped Johnny when he turned around awkwardly on his knees to face away from her. Modesty forgotten, Willi let the covering go and reached out with her left hand to touch Johnny’s shoulder as she pushed off the floor with her other, to get to her knees behind him.

  “Are you alright? What is wrong? You were white as a ghost, and came running in without knocking. And you called and your voice wasn’t right, and… Johnny, what is the matter? Has something happened with your injuries?”

  “No,” Johnny gasped out. “It is you… Are you okay? I heard something… Like you were being attacked, and I…”

  “Attacked?” Willi asked, shuffling around to try and see Johnny’s face. “I wasn’t attacked. I fell out of the bed. The covers… Never mind. What is going on?”

  When Johnny turned his head and saw that Willi was once again uncovered, he quickly turned away gain, forcing another gasp of pain.

  Now not at all concerned for her appearance, but for Johnny, she grabbed the robe from the bed, knowing that if she did not get covered Johnny would never look at her, and she was desperate to find out what was going on.

  Willi slipped into the robe and belted it as she rose. She moved back enough so she could get around Johnny and get in front of him before he could try to move again. She dropped back to her knees, her hands going to his shoulders to steady him, her eyes boring into his wide-open ones.”

  “Johnny?” she asked as the near panic she had seen faded from his face. And then a chill went through her when she saw the façade form on his face. The one that told her that something bad was happening, and that Johnny had decided he would be taking care of it. Whatever it took.

  “Help me get this cast off,” Johnny said, barely able to stand up, even leaning heavily on the bed side table. If she had not actually helped him, she was not sure he would have made it up. At least not without a great deal more pain than he was already in.

  When his words registered, she managed to keep her shout to less than ear splitting levels, but it was definitely a shout. “What? NO! You are not taking that cast off!”

  She pushed his hands away from the release he was trying to reach with his good hand. Fortunately, it was essentially beyond his reach, unless he was a contortionist. When the thought flashed through her mind that he probably was, Willi reached over and covered the opening with her hand.

  “Sit down on the bed,” she said firmly. “Tell me what is going on. And,” she then added when Johnny tried to force her hand away, “do not try to take this cast off.”

  His face was going pale again, and now the pain was back in his eyes, as well as his body movement. “Trigger the pain medication,” Willi added.

  When Johnny shook his head and began to protest, Willi simply used her other hand to reach into the small cavity where the control was and tapped it herself. And then, for good measure, tapped it again.

  “Willi, no! I need to…”

  “You need to tell me what is going on, Johnny,” Willi managed to get out more softly. Still ready to intervene if he tried to get up, much less take off the cast, Willi sat down beside him on the bed.

  “Where are your weapons?” Johnny asked suddenly, his eyes scanning the bedroom.

  “Handy,” Willi replied, without moving away from him.

  Johnny turned his head back toward her and said, more softly and much more controlled. “Get one. Please. And one for me. I didn’t…” Johnny shook his head. “I wasn’t thinking. Please, Willi.”

  Willi could tell how serious he was. And worried. Something that she was unsure she had ever seen on his face before. And suddenly realized that the worry was for her. Not himself.

  So, Willi touched the edge of the bedside table to open one of the drawers. She took out the sidearm and handed it to Johnny, with an extra power pack. Getting up from the bed, Willi went to the closet, which opened before her when she got close. Reaching inside and up to a shelf, Willi rejoined Johnny on the bed with another sidearm, this one her family service weapon. She had a second power pack for it, as well.

  Johnny started to rise, but Willi’s surprisingly gentle pressure on his good arm kept him in place. “We need to get…” Johnny’s urgent words faded as Willi kept her hand on his arm.

  His eyes met hers, and Johnny felt himself calming. Less from the look in hers, than the feeling that he had to be careful and thorough. He loved this woman more than life itself, and his loss of control, slight as it was, had done nothing to prevent harm from coming to her. That had to stop, this very instant.

  “Yes. Of course. I am sorry, Willi. The thought of losing you…”

  “You are not going to lose me, Johnny,” Willi said firmly. She realized, as she looked back at his face, that she had been doing a security scan, just as he had.

  “No. No, of course not,” Johnny replied, managing a smile now that the pain medication had taken the very sharp edge off. “You are far too capable for that.”

  “Thank you. I think,” Willis said. “You obviously think we are obviously in some kind of danger. What has happened? The governor is gone, the Ecronians are probably still fleeing, and we are in this most remarkable estate. What could be the danger, now?”

  Johnny shifted the weapon from his good hand to his lap, and took Willi’s free hand in his. Rather sadly, Willi thought, Johnny said, “It seems my life has already put you into additional danger, Willi. I am so sorry for that. I thought we would have time…”

  Shaking his head, Johnny continued. “I thought we would have more time to make some plans to ensure your…” Seeing Willi’s eyes narrow slightly, Johnny changed his words in mid-sentence. “Time to make some plans to ensure our safety for the future. But we do not have that time, it seems.

  “We need to get going, notify… Well… Warn your Mother and the authorities… and then get yo… get us off the planet somewhere we can take care of anything much more safely, without risking any more people.”

  Johnny had felt the unconscious tightening of Willi’s hand in his at the mention of her mother. Though there was a slight hesitation, Johnny’s even more solid resolve to get Willi and her family out of harm’s way that had him standing was not resisted by Willi.

  “I will leave you to get dressed. And packed. We need to be on our way within the hour.” Johnny was already moving, limping badly, actually, Willi noted in frustration, as he spoke.

  “Stop!” Willi said firmly. She almost chuckled when Johnny’s shoulders tried to hunch slightly. But they could not since the cast prevented it on one side.

  Slowly he turned around to face her, since he could not twist his body. “Explain a bit more thoroughly, Johnny,” Willi more asked than demanded. “Please.”

  Johnny closed his eyes a moment. This taking other people’s concerns into account was going to be difficult, he realized. A nod, and then he was speaking.

  “The Ecronian High Council has sent a formal communique to the Confederation Congress demanding my immediate arrest and then execution for crimes against their Empire. Or, failing that, extradition to Ecronian territory where they will handle the matter of meting out my punishment
themselves for my crimes.”

  Willi’s eyes widened dramatically. “You have got to be kidding me!”

  Johnny managed a chuckle, and when Willi saw the sardonic smile curl up his lips she barely managed to control her temper. For the most part.

  “Not funny,” she muttered. “I’ll go with you to…” She took a step toward him but looked down at herself. The belt of the robe was starting to slip. And she noticed just how short the robe was. It had been in the quarters, so she used it, lacking her own. A bit of color came to her cheeks.

  “Okay. I will change. But you had better be within the sound of my voice when I am ready to talk to you again.”

  “Soft voice? Loud voice? Or…”

  “He is actually laughing! He is actually laughing at me!” Willi muttered when Johnny managed to move fast enough to get out of the bedroom and have the door closed before she could respond.

  More than a bit peeved, Willi still took much care to get dressed, packed, and ready to leave as quickly as possible. Dropping her bags near the front door of the house, Willi headed for the kitchen, fully intending to have another breakfast ready for Johnny when he came down.

  She stopped dead in the doorway when she saw him already there, a light breakfast on the counter, fully dressed, his bags beside the hallway door.

  Eyes glinting, she stepped toward him, growling, “I told you not to take that cast off.”

  Cutting her a sideways look as he carefully retrieved something from the chiller, he gave her one of his non-replies, she realized moments later.

  “Yes. About that. I should have asked for one that was more water-resistant.”

  Johnny was already eating, using his communicator as he did so, when it hit her exactly what he had said. And that it had been totally diverting, without addressing either the fact that he was no longer wearing a cast, and that he had not done as she had instructed. But seeing his eyes change as he looked at the private display on the communicator, she lost her train of thought.

  “Not good, Willi,” Johnny was saying. He adjusted something on the communicator and the holo-projection appeared on the counter.

  Willi recognized the Commanding Admiral of the Confederation Space Navy. He was speaking at what appeared to be a briefing by Senior Military Officers to the inner council of the Confederation on Earth.

  “How…” Willi started to ask Johnny how he had access to what had to be a very tightly controlled meeting. But Johnny had quietly spoken, and the communicator holo-display blanked out and the large kitchen wall display activated.

  Willi gasped as a news report began showing a series of official announcements being made in the various sectors of space between Earth, spreading outward in an expanding cone to the edge of human controlled space, with the base of the cone centering on Sector ZZ-1219.

  The reports were essentially the same. Slightly different accents, a few slightly different details, somewhat different explanations. But all amounting to a Be-On-The-Lookout for one Johnny Oneshot, wanted in connection with an inter-galactic inter-species terrorist event.

  Wanting to scream in frustration at the injustice of it all, Willi glared at Johnny when that sardonic grin was back on his face. “Looks like you got yourself tangled up with an intergalactic space terrorist.”

  Willi sputtered, unable to articulate anything even reasonably coherent. Then her eyes went back to the display. After the official announcements, the main newscasters were voicing their opinions on the situation. It turned out that they did not actually have much to say. Or at least were not given a chance to say anything, as live reports were being fed into the system from just about everywhere in the area that had been indicated, as well as most of the rest of the known human habitation in the galaxy.

  One word could pretty much sum up the reaction. Outrage.

  Willi closed her mouth and looked over at Johnny again. He looked just a bit stunned for a moment, but then that sardonic grin was back. One that Willi was beginning to realize had several different meanings. This one, she was suddenly sure, was a cover for his amazement and possibly actual embarrassment.

  “Seems like I have a slightly broader reputation than I thought. Who knew?”

  “Johnny!” Willi exclaimed. “People know you did not do what the Ecronians are saying you did. And they sure seem to know that whoever is supporting this in our government is totally crazy. If they aren’t lucky, the whole new government will be taken down.”

  “And therein lies the problem,” Johnny said softly, looking at Willi with regret in his eyes. “I have no wish to damage the government that so many people worked so hard to get put into place. Including myself. The Confederation is what humans need right now. We have started to pull together again. And we are going to need to pull together even more to face what the Ecronians are planning.”

  “But Johnny! It is not right…”

  “No,” Johnny replied with a sigh. “It is not right. But until this is resolved, there are too many risks of the Ecronians being able to use it for their own ends. Which, of course, is their plan. But not even their leadership, I think, ever thought that there would be this kind of reaction.”

  “Johnny…” Willi asked, a very uncertain and uncomfortable feeling chilling her. “What are you suddenly planning?”

  “Looks like I may have to face some music of a different kind than your beautiful voice.”

  It took a moment for Willi to get his meaning. And then she was standing, shouting at him. “Oh, no! Oh, no you will not! You are not going to turn yourself in to these idiots, Johnny. I do not have any conception how they even considered this action, but you are not going to just turn yourself in to the Confederation and stand some kind of show trial. That went out in the twenty-first century!

  “We did not… Humanity did not… Johnny, our families did not go through the Dark Times and then work those centuries to recover to have something like this happen now! The idea is ludicrous.”

  “Willi,” Johnny said in what he thought was a very reasonable tone of voice. Before he could continue Willi was speaking again. And Johnny decided that while his voice really was a reasonable tone, Willi’s was not.

  “No!” was all she said. The breakfast ignored, Willi turned and picked up Johnny’s bags, struggling somewhat as they were much heavier than they looked like they should be.

  “Let’s go. We are going to go talk to my mother.”

  “Willi…” Johnny again tried to reason with her. But she cut him off again, not by saying anything, but by simply half carrying, half dragging his bags out of the kitchen toward the front door.

  Johnny was a bit amazed at the sounds emanating from her. He could not quite tell which were grunts, which were groans, which were mutters, and which were slight yelps when something banged into some part of her body. The low curses he heard and understand, however. And he did hear his name in there among them a time or two.

  He started to reach for one of the bags to take from her halfway across the living room, but her glare, and this time unmistakable growl had him retrieving his arm and hand still intact.

  “Call someone for transport,” she ordered him when she dropped the bags by the front door and reached out to open it, obviously intending to take everything outside.

  It cost him to do it, and especially to not show it, but Johnny got between Willi and the front door. “You… We are not going outside this house until I know it is safe.”

  Willi blanched, but stood firm, a defiant look in her eyes.

  “We are leaving. But not without some precautions being taken,” Johnny said. The communicator was suddenly in his hand, and the thumb on his good hand was doing something that Willi could not quite make out.

  When he slipped the comm device back wherever it was he kept stashing it, and Willi looked up again after having tried to see where, Johnny was looking at her calmly.

  “Transport is on the way. Now, I want you to go up and get everything you are going to want to take with you.”
<
br />   Willi started to protest and pointed at her bags. “Everything, Willi. We will not be coming back here anytime soon. And there are a few additional things I want to take, considering what we have seen since my first warning. So, I will meet you right here, in no more than thirty minutes.”

  Again, Willi tried to protest, and again Johnny cut her off. “I promise, Willi. Now, when you go back up to get the rest of your things, feel around the inside edge of the closet door, down just a couple of centimeters above the floor, and press the slight bump you will find there.

  “Take anything from that room you might want, and everything you think will help us stay out of trouble, or get out of trouble if we do get into some. And absolutely put on the body armor. We will not leave this house unless I know you have it on. Do you understand me?”

  Willi would have protested the words, since they were definitely a command that brooked no questioning. Which was against her general inclination, but the tone of them had her mutely nodding. She turned and hurried toward the stairs, stopping at the bottom to turn and look back.

  Johnny, communicator in hand again was limping toward the kitchen and the lift near the rear entrance. The sudden thought hit her that he could easily slip out that way, and there was nothing she could do to stop him, even injured the way he was.

  His words came back to her though, and she headed up the stairs. ‘I promise, Willi’. He would not break a promise to her. Not willingly.

  Willi gasped when the small panel door slid open inside the closet in her room. She had already packed the few other things she had not bothered with at first. When she ducked through the opening and stood up in the tiny space, she was wondering what she had missed, because, though she could stand up, she had only a few inches or room all around her.

  Another gasp came when the floor seemed to drop out from under her feet. The feeling lasted for almost two seconds, she thought, and then the motion slowed quickly, and stopped. The panel in front of her slid aside, and she looked out into a rather large room.

  A quick visual scan showed her several more of the entry/exit panels like the one that had just opened. Along with several very interesting sets of objects.