by Dave Lemel
Star Marshals
Retribution
Star Marshals
Retribution
Dave Lemel
Star Marshals
Retribution
Copyright 2018 David Lemel
All Rights Reserved
ISBN: 978-1720858577
ISBN-10: 1720858578
Cover Design: SelfPubBookCovers.com/RLSather
[email protected]
Once again, this book is dedicated to my incredible wife Sarah and our two remarkable daughters Sophie and Hattie.
Chapter 1
Todd Jordan woke with a start. The all-ship alarm blared. The interior of his quaint cabin aboard the Henrietta was pitch black. He nearly knocked the wall-mounted light beside his bed off its support as he frantically reached for it. He jumped out of bed, tapped his link, and dashed for the door. “What’s going on, Ben?”
A gruff, matter-of-fact response came immediately. “Prisoner is loose. Last seen on the upper deck in the area of the bridge.”
“What? How?” Todd raced for the nearest stairwell and ejected his wand into his hand.
“No clue, but I’m heading there now.”
“Be careful. I’m en route up the front stairs. Should be there in a sec.”
Todd slowed as he reached the top of the stairwell and crept for the doorway to the bridge. As he neared it, the door recognized his approach and slid open. There, in the middle of the open space before the massive windshield, stood his father, Doug, a huge grin spread over his weathered face. Under his left arm in a firm headlock was Simon. A Vikard cluster blaster was pressed up against the top of his head. “Hey, kiddo. What woke ya up?” he laughed heartily as he turned the blaster from Simon’s head toward Todd and fired.
Todd’s eyes shot open, and he sucked in all the air his lungs could hold. The room was still entirely devoid of light. It was another dream. His head dropped to the pillow, and he exhaled. He reached over and turned on the bedside lamp. May as well see how close we’re getting, he said to himself, and he sat up at the edge of the bed.
As he rubbed his face, he began to wonder if these obnoxious nightmares involving his father would finally cease after their arrival at Callisto. There were far more important things to be worried about now. Besides, he was fairly certain he would need all the quality sleep he could manage during this trip inward through the solar system.
Todd pushed himself up from the edge of the bed, scooped up the pair of sweatpants from the floor, and pulled them on before stepping out into the hall. He found the ship quite peaceful when he was the only one awake on it—a few repetitive noises created by a vessel in transit accompanied by nothing else but the sounds of his footsteps and breathing. It had a calming effect on him since his first trip outward through the solar system when he found himself awake and wandering one night on his maiden voyage at academy.
He worked his way up to the bridge and, unlike in the dream that had so rudely interrupted his slumber, found it devoid of all lifeforms or drama. The course maps showed them to be a shade under four hours from their destination and that the ship was in tip-top shape. Todd spun and headed off the bridge to the lounge.
He searched through the pantry, finding a bag of chips that seemed to leap off the shelf at him. He peeled open the top and made his way to the table under the transparent wall and ceiling. He slid into the booth, popped a chip in his mouth, and crunched away, gazing out at the never-ending sea of blackness peppered with twinkling dots.
His mind wandered back to his home planet and the unthinkable situation awaiting them once they finally arrived. How are we going to make it to the surface undetected? Surely Lombargnor has some kind of plan, right? If he does, he has failed to disclose it in any of the conversations we’ve had since leaving the port.
He pinched a few more chips from the bag and continued munching as his head swirled. Whatever the case may be, the problem had to be dealt with. Whether Lombargnor had a plan or not, they were going to find their way home. And they were going to take their planet back before that overgrown snake had the entire solar system under his control.
Todd grabbed another handful of chips, rolled the bag up, and slid out from the booth. He shoved the handful in his mouth as he returned to the pantry. He filled a cup with black cherry seltzer at the beverage dispenser before exiting the lounge to stroll the decks of the ship for a while and allow his mind to wander.
Chapter 2
Sasha pinched the bridge of her nose and lightly massaged it. The bleached white door of the small room she was sitting in swung open, and she in turn opened her eyes.
“All tests came back looking good, Mission Commander Cain.” The wiry, middle-aged doctor sat herself down on the stool across from Sasha and crossed her legs. “Any other questions or concerns you’d like to discuss?”
“No, nothing really comes to mind.” Sasha grinned slightly. “Well, unless you can figure out some way to keep my mind from racing every time I’m left alone these days. It’s making quality sleep nearly impossible.”
The doctor sighed. “I hear you. I think pretty much everyone’s in the same boat right now. Just do the best you can. Remember, your little passenger needs you as healthy as possible. Speaking of the little passenger…” The doctor glanced at her tablet. “Are you interested in finding out what you’re having?”
Sasha tilted her head and grunted. “This is so different than the first time.”
“I can give it to you on a piece of paper in an envelope if you’d like. Or you can always call or stop back in any time to find out.”
“Yeah, maybe that.” Sasha nodded. “The call or stop back. If I have the envelope, I’ll probably rip it open five seconds after walking out of here, and I think I want to talk to my husband one more time to be sure first.”
“Sounds good,” replied the doctor. “What do you have now? Your first child, I mean.”
Sasha smiled. “A little girl, Penelope.”
The doctor grinned as her eyes dropped down and to the side before she blinked hard and nodded. “Okay, well, if you decide you’re ready, feel free to let us know; otherwise, I’ll see you in a couple weeks.”
Sasha rose from her chair and headed for the door. “I’m sure I’ll be calling sooner rather than later.” She pulled the door open and looked over her shoulder. “I definitely want to know this time.” The door closed behind her, and she made her way down the short, sterile hall before heading back out through a small waiting area full of expectant mothers at different stages of pregnancy.
The walk down to the mag-lev train station below the medical facility did not take long. The entire time to and after she boarded the train, one thought was front and center in her mind. It’s a girl. She kept replaying in her head the doctor’s reaction after hearing that their first was a girl. I know it. It’s gotta be.
After a few minutes of train humming along the track, she had to fight the urge not to jump off at a stop to take a train back the other direction. The question was consuming her now. She watched the doors shut and the tunnel walls start accelerating past again. Okay, I can wait a little, I guess. He better check in soon though.
Chapter 3
Simon Cain’s eyes were closed but he was not sleeping. Good sleep had been nearly impossible on this voyage. Falling asleep to begin his attempts had not been the issue as the cumulative exhaustion added up. The problem was staying asleep. At some point, a few hours into every sleep shift, he would awaken. His mind would begin playing a spirited game of “what’s the worst case scenario for the near future of the solar system as well as my family,” and he would toss and turn from that point forward as his stomach tied itself into ever-more-tangled knots.
Simon did not function well when he failed to get quality
sleep. The effect was beginning to amplify. He groaned as he rolled over, opened his eyes, and sat up. Well, at least he was supposed to hol-call Sasha between waking up and arriving at Callisto. That always seemed to negate some of the toll the poor sleeping was taking. He rose from the bed, stretched, and shuffled to the small sink in his cabin to splash some water on his face.
Upon exiting his quarters, he heard footsteps approaching from down the hall and found Todd to be the source. He yawned and tilted his head in Todd’s direction. “Out for a little stroll?”
“Bingo.” Todd walked up next to Simon and clapped him on the back. “You’re more than welcome to join me.”
“Yeah, I’ll walk with you a bit before checking in with the wife slash mission commander.”
“How’s she doin’ with the pregnancy?” Todd inquired as the pair found themselves at the rear stairwell and headed up.
“Okay, last we spoke. Really early still and obviously not ideal circumstances, but she can roll with pretty much anything. I, on the other hand, have been sleeping like pure crap, and it is really starting to wear on me.”
“Ditto. On the sleeping part at least. Not as much on the wearing on me part. I’m pretty used to jacked-up sleeping patterns.”
“Nightmare again?”
Todd turned to the upper lounge doors and entered before adjusting course back toward the beverage dispenser. “Not really nightmares.” He refilled his cup. “Well, I guess you could call ’em that. I don’t know, man. This is just a lot to digest. He’s not just my dad, he was my idol. Now…” Todd shook his head and slid into the booth as he arrived at the table. “I’m sure at some point I will work through all this. It just may take a while.”
“I’d say that’s a reasonable expectation.”
“You know what I was thinking about before you joined me?”
“What?”
“Do you remember the Bounty?”
“Your grandpa’s boat? Yeah, for sure. Why?”
“Well, it hit me that he’s probably gonna be crushed we sold it. My dad, I mean. He loved goin’ out on the lake for fishing trips. Me too. Those fishing trips were some of my favorite memories with both of them.”
Simon yawned before leaning into the table and resting his chin on his fist. “Why’d you sell it, anyway? I remember you mentioning it was gone, but you didn’t seem to want to talk about it, so I let it be.”
“Those memories…” Todd took a sip of his seltzer. “It just wasn’t fun anymore. Every time I’d go out, I’d expect it to get a little easier, a little more fun again, and it just wasn’t. The summer I finally broke down and sold it, it had been out of storage for over two months and I hadn’t gone down to use it even once. Woke up one day and decided Gramps probably woulda rather I let it go to someone who would actually enjoy it. So, that’s what I did.”
“Maybe you could find it and buy it back.”
Todd nearly spit out a mouthful of seltzer. “For him?”
“Nah, man. For you. It was a cool boat, and fishing on the lake is a great way to spend a day. Look, I know right now it seems like you’ll feel this way forever, but you won’t. Time is a fantastic healer.”
“Yeah, well time may heal, but some wounds cut so deep they leave scars that last for life. I’ll never fully get over how my grandparents died in that crash, and this whole new brain melter with my dad is not feeling like it’ll be letting go anytime soon.”
“Fine. So don’t chase down the Bounty. Find a new one. Make new memories. I’m sure your gramps would love to know you’re back out there fishing and enjoying the lake. Plus, I loved going out there, and me and Sasha aren’t going to be buying any mini yachts anytime soon. Sooooo, selfishly, I’d love to see you get back into the lifestyle.”
Todd chuckled. “Yeah, maybe. One huge problem with that currently though.”
“What’s that?”
“The Vikard infestation.”
Simon nodded. “That certainly needs to be dealt with first. Speaking of, I should probably go hol-call the wife. I promised I would pre-Callisto, and we’re getting close.”
“Right on.” Todd slid out from the booth. “Think I’ll keep walkin’ a little while longer. Say hi for me and don’t let her change her mind about finding out the sex. I really wanna know now. It’s a good distraction.”
Simon smiled as he followed him through the door to the hall. “You got it, man.”
A minute later, Simon entered the hol-call room aboard the Henrietta. “Call Sasha Cain at Star Marshal Headquarters, Mars.”
“Calling now,” came the reply.
A couple dozen seconds passed. Finally, the air in the room shimmered lightly as Sasha appeared with furrowed brow and a cuticle being gnawed between two front teeth.
“Oh, geez.” Simon’s eyebrows raised slightly. “What’s going on?”
Sasha’s hand dropped from her mouth. “I’m pissed.”
“Why? Seriously, what’s up?”
“Stupid doctor. She totally gave away the surprise.”
“Wait, what? You know the sex?”
“Well, not know know, but I’m like ninety-nine percent sure.”
Simon shook his head. “Hang on. What are you talking about? Start from the beginning.”
“She finished the exam. The results came back, and we were talking. She was asking like how we wanted to find out and stuff. Did I want the results in a sealed envelope, or would I rather call or stop back—you know, stuff like that. I told her not the envelope ’cause I wouldn’t be able to resist ripping it open right away.”
“Yeah, I can see that being too tempting.”
“Shut up, I’m almost there.”
Simon’s hands flew up, palms out. “Sorry, sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“Yeah, so then she asks, ‘What do you have now?’ I told her a girl. She breaks eye contact, smiles, and looks down at the floor.”
Simon waited. Once he was certain that she had finished for the moment, the bridge on his nose crinkled. “That’s it?”
“Yeah! It’s obviously another girl!”
Simon laughed and stepped closer to the hologram of his wife. “Honey, you don’t know. I know you’re good at reading people, but c’mon. That’s nothing. You have no idea what she was thinking. Could totally have been her reaction for a boy too.”
“No way. It’s a girl. I’m sure.”
“Sweetie, even if you end up right, it’ll be a surprise still. You think you know, but it’s not a certainty.”
“Whatever. I know I’m right. I’m going back there as soon as we’re finished to find out. May even tell her to work on her reactions too so she doesn’t keep ruining surprises for people.”
Simon chuckled even harder this time. “Sash, by all means, you’re the one carrying it, so the decision ultimately rests with you in my book. You were already leaning that way, so go for it. Don’t give her a piece of your mind though. C’mon, she didn’t really slip up; you’re just a little—maybe, possibly—more easily worked up these days from the pregnancy and everything else going on.”
Sasha’s snarl softened slightly. “Fine. I won’t unload on her. I am going though.” She turned and headed for the door of the hol-call room she was in before looking over her shoulder. “Love you, and I’ll call back to tell you I was right.”
The door opened, and Sasha vanished as the hol-call room aboard the Henrietta returned to its non-active state.
Chapter 4
Simon entered the bridge with a grin still firmly affixed to his face. He found Todd seated in his usual seat at the control console. Hearing him enter, Todd spun to greet him. “Perfect timing. Was just about to make a commence prep for decel and strap-in announcement.”
“Excellent. I don’t know about you, but I am more than ready for a short trip off this ship.”
“Ditto.” Todd spun back to face forward. “Doesn’t hurt either that the moon we’re going down to has one of the greatest restaurants in the galaxy.”
&
nbsp; Simon’s belly audibly grumbled as he took his seat. He looked down and patted his mid-section. “Easy, buddy. I know you heard that. It’s coming soon.”
Todd shook his head in mild disgust as he opened the all-ship intercom. “Wherever you two are hiding, please prep for decel and let me know when you are strapped in.”
Foggen responded almost immediately. “I am in my quarters. Was sleeping. Believe Ben is as well. I will go and wake him. We can strap in to our seats in the engine room.”
“Sounds good. We have a few minutes yet, so no big rush. Don’t let Ben drag his feet too bad though.”
A grumbly, very sleepy voice joined the conversation. “I’m up, I’m up. Gimme a minute, Foggy, and I’ll meet ya in the engine room.”
As Todd closed the intercom, the screens flanking the windshield indicated an incoming transmission from Star Marshals Headquarters on Mars.
“Bet that’s the wife with the big news.”
Todd’s head snapped up from where he had been looking at his console. “What? Now?”
Simon swallowed hard as a grin spread over his face. “Yeah, I think so. When we finished in the hol-call room, she ran out to go back to the doc and find out what the genetic blood test said.”
Todd gaped at Simon before turning back to the console to accept the call. “Tell me your husband is correct. You’re calling with the results?”
Sasha smiled, her face filling the screens. She held up an envelope.
Simon’s jaw fell ajar. “It’s in there?”
Sasha nodded. “Mmm hmm. The proof that I am right as usual is right in this envelope.”
Simon chuckled. Todd turned to face him again. “What’s she mean, ‘right as usual’?”
“She’s sure it’s a girl ’cause of the doc’s reaction earlier.”
“No way.” Todd refocused on the screens. “It’s a boy. I can feel it in my bones.”