by Trent Falls
“Let me go down first to see if it’s safe.” John stepped past her. He dropped and slid down the ramp without any problem.
It was wicked hot outside. A hundred and five degrees! Still it was great to breathe Earth air again, to feel Sol’s warmth on his skin. John’s boot on the lake bed made it real. They were home!
“Come on down.” He yelled back up to Julie.
Julie was hesitant for a moment. She jumped, sliding down the flexing ramp to where her uncle waited. In a moment she was on the dry lake bed herself, taking in the surroundings with her uncle.
They hugged again.
“Oh my God! I can’t believe we’re finally home!” Julie sang.
“That’s it!” John replied back to her in a laugh. “Wow!” he released her and looked to the underside of the Tequesta. “Look at her! She really took some wear and tear!”
“She got us down.” Julie noted happily. “YOU got us down!”
“I did what I needed to do.” John replied plainly.
“Come on! Give yourself a little more credit, Uncle John! That was a great landing!”
“Thanks.” John grinned back at her.
He looked past Julie. He could see two small transports flying towards them in the caloric haze of the desert lake bed. They were coming from the base.
“So what now?” Julie asked.
“We wait.” John noted, his grim tone barely disguised.
“It is HOT out here!” Julie shouted. “We’re in California?!?”
“Edwards Air Force Base.” John answered her.
He again eyed the transports heading their way again. They weren’t far off. Julie turned around to see the helicopter-sized transports flying towards them – probably fifty feet or so above the lake bed.
“Are we in trouble?” Julie asked cautiously as they looked nervously towards the oncoming transports.
“No.” John answered her plainly.
“What do we tell them?” Julie asked.
“Nothing.” John replied bluntly. “Keep your mouth shut. At least for now.”
“Okay.” Julie replied.
The sound of the ships filled the air before they closed in on the Tequesta. The wind picked up ahead of them, sending a blistering spray of hot air and loose sand into John and Julie. John and Jules raised their hands in front of their faces to shield themselves from the blistering wash.
The rotorless helicopters swept in over Julie and John. They were grayish blue in color with a broad bubble glass cockpit and open side doors. The uniformed soldiers inside, or airmen rather, could be seen inside the vehicle. Only one of the transports dipped towards the ground. One remained on station hovering about ten meters above the ground ahead of Julie and John. The other landed about a dozen meters or so ahead of them.
Six USAF Security Force Airpolicemen emerged from the open side door of the transport. Each wore a grey enviro jumpsuit, a dark blue beret, and sunglasses. They were all armed with light machine guns. None of the six that approached Julie or John raised their weapons from the muzzle down position as they were slung over their shoulders on straps. Four of them kept their hands on the grips of their weapons, though. Those in the airship hovering overhead were more obvious in their defensive posture; holding their rifles out to aim on Julie and John on the lake bed below.
“Are you okay?” the lead airpoliceman yelled over the jet wash as he approached John and Julie. “Are you injured?”
John looked back on the lead airman. He was probably in his early twenties with a crew cut and silver reflective aviator sunglasses.
“No we’re fine.” John was able to answer in a lower volume as the overwatch airship backed away slightly.
The lead airman came to a stop just a few feet in front of John. His crew flanked him on either side, their automatic rifles ready at their sides. The lead airman put his hands on his hips and looked up at the beaten up underside of the Tequesta.
“Well, that was a helluva landing!” the lead airman exhaled.
“Thanks.” John replied. He was hesitant to offer any more information. “My name is John Ryan Carn, former sergeant in the EEF Marine Corps.”
“We know who you are, sir.” The lead airman said, stepping forward.
Julie took a step towards her uncle, though she still remained several feet away. The other Security Force airpolicemen pulled in around them, two of which stepped behind Julie.
“Mister Carn.” The lead airman spoke to John in an authoritative tone. He stood straight, almost as though standing at attention when addressing John. “You have violated section thirteen of the Terran Xen Ceasefire Treaty of twenty one eighteen. You have also violated interstellar commerce and travel law, interfered with an ongoing ESF investigation, and are wanted in connection with the deaths of several individuals on Mars.” The lead airman pulled out a set of shackles from a pouch on his belt. “I am here by placing you under arrest.”
“Very well sergeant.” John extended his wrists via extending his clenched right and left fist in an obedient manner.
“Place your hands on your head please sir.” The sergeant ordered calmly.
“Oh yeah. Right.” John replied, following his orders.
“What?!?” Julie shouted. “You’re arresting him?!?”
“Jules. Calm down! It’s okay.” John looked over at her reassuringly as the sergeant walked behind him and shackled his right wrist.
“You can’t!” Julie screamed hysterically. “He saved me! He saved my life! You can’t arrest him!”
Julie took a few steps forward but was held back by the two airmen behind her.
“Get your damn hands off me!” Julie became incensed at the MP’s and tried to break their grip of her shoulders.
“No, no! Julie calm down!” John shook his head at her. “Don’t mess with these guys!”
The lead airman shackled John’s hands behind his back.
“They can’t take you!” Julie began to tear up and sob through her anger. “They can’t!”
“Miss Stevens! Please!” one of the airmen holding Julie tried to get her to calm down.
“Get her tranqued.” The lead airman ordered. “She’s getting out of control.”
“No, please!” John pleaded with the lead sergeant. “She doesn’t know what’s going on. Please! Let me talk to her!”
“Out of the question.” The sergeant looked back at John blankly behind his mirrored aviator sunglasses.
“Please! Uncle John! No!” Julie began to cry and collapsed in the airmen’s restraining arms. She reached out desperately for her uncle.
“Come on, man.” John looked over at the lead guard, talking in a restrained tone. “We’re in the middle of the desert. I’m restrained. Your men are armed to the teeth and we aren’t. Please! Just give me a minute with my little girl!”
The sergeant in charge gave John a hard stare. He then looked over at the hysterical blonde teenage girl being practically held up by his MP’s.
“Alright.” The sergeant gestured to his men who were holding Julie with a sway of his head. “Give them a minute. Let her go.”
Julie was released from their grasp. She bolted for her uncle, covering the distance between them as fast as her heart could race. She hugged him as hard as she could. She hugged him desperately.
With his hands shackled behind his back John was unable to return her embrace.
“They can’t take you! Why are they doing this?!?” Julie pleaded through her tears against her uncle’s chest.
“Jules. I knew this would happen.” John explained to her calmly. “I knew this would happen when I left Earth to come get you.”
“No.” Julie pulled back, shaking her head in denial. “This can’t be.”
“I know this isn’t easy Jules.” John said to her in a soothing reassuring tone.
Julie looked up at John finally. Her blue eyes were awash in tears as they looked up at his.
“Why?” she asked.
John’s lips pursed as he tried
to bite back his own tears.
“Because this is how it has to be.” He answered her stoically.
Julie began to whimper again. “You’re all I have left! You’re the only family I have left! They can’t take you!”
“I’ll be fine, Jules.” John looked down on her, calmly at first. A genuine warm smile appeared on his face as he looked down on his niece; his daughter. “You’re grown up now. You have a bright future ahead of you. You don’t need me anymore.”
“No.” another tear streaked down her face. She hugged him again tightly. “I do need you.”
John couldn’t hug her back but he was able to rest his head lovingly on top of hers.
“I know.” John spoke softly down to her. “It’ll all be okay. Trust me.”
Julie turned up and kissed him on the side of his cheek.
The MP’s moved in to pull them apart.
“I love you!” Julie said up to her uncle as she was pulled away by an MP.
“I love you too, kid.” John grinned back at her. “Don’t worry. It’ll all be okay.”
A yellow transport landed behind the Security Force MPs. It was a medical transport. Two EMTs and another pair of MP’s disembarked the craft.
John was led away with his arms shackled behind him to the grayish blue military transport, guards flanking him on all sides.
Julie was led away to the yellow aeromedical transport, her blonde hair pulled away in the thruster wash.
John looked over his shoulder to see Julie one last time.
She looked back on him and forced a smile, proud of the man that he was.
Julie was loaded onto the yellow medivac. The side door was shut.
The Security Force transport and the yellow aeroemed lifted off and flew away towards the base. The Tequesta, bordered by a dozen or so airpolice, remained still on the dry lake bed awash in the sands of the desert wind.
END