“Well then. Proceed with your work.” Pushing the communicator back into the desk, he said, “It’ll be over in a couple of minutes!”
Henry took another sip of coffee and opened his briefcase.
“I’m extremely satisfied, Mr. Warden. It only remains to sign the takeover documents.”
“We’ll do the paperwork now. After that, the prisoners will legally be in your hands.” He pressed a button on the internal communicator, and they heard Hanna’s lovely voice at the other end. “Do you need something, Mr. Warden?”
“Have the documents arrived that were sent for half an hour ago?”
“Yes, just arrived.”
“Put them on a board and bring them in.”
A moment later she appeared at the door, holding a blue file which contained two thin panels for signing. She laid them in front of the Warden.
“Do you need anything else, Sir?”
“No, I think we have all we need.”
When she had gone, Henry laid his empty glass cup on the desk, picked up the panels and studied them closely. All the data and case histories off the prisoners had been properly updated. There was also all the relevant information about what they had done before arriving in Hades and during their stay as prisoners. Satisfied, he pressed the bottom of the panel with his forefinger. It took a few moments for the main system to verify information but soon his signature was accepted and approved.
Warden with a satisfied look on his face accepted the panels, and said, “And now for my fingerprint and the prisoners will be transferred under your power.” He pressed on the panels and handed Henry one of the panels with audible relief in his voice, “Mr. Broncon with these signatures we have finished the handover of the prisoners. Would you like to drink something stronger before you leave?”
“Although that is a very tempting offer, I am afraid, I have to decline. A lot of work lies ahead of me, and I need to be sober.”
“I understand. I hope that your visit to Hades had been pleasant.”
Henry put the panel into his briefcase and shook his hand.
“Thank you for your hospitality. My stay was as pleasurable as it could be. And rest assured that is what will go in the records too.”
After shaking hands, with a stiff countenance, the Warden said, “Goodbye, Mr. Broncon.”
“Goodbye, Mr. Haerten.”
Henry nodded and left his office. Once he stepped out, Hanna looked at him with surprise, “Are you leaving already?”
“Yes. Obligations, you know.”
She got up and handed him a piece of paper, “If you ever come to this quadrant again, just call me. It’s boring as hell here. I can’t wait for my two-year term to expire so I can run away from this horrible place.”
He accepted the small card and replied with a smile, “I will.”
Behind her Henry heard the Warden’s voice boom over the speaker, “Miss Hanna, would you come in for a moment?”
“The master is calling. I have to go.” She gave him a wink and moved towards the door.
Henry took a look at her number, put it in his pocket and set off down the long corridor. Soon he was on the roof of the building, standing in front of the transporter. The pilot was carefully checking the hibernation capsules and was setting the life parameters for each chamber.
“Did all the capsules arrive?” Henry asked.
He frowned and replied while, tapping on one, “Yes. These two have just arrived. I am adjusting them right now.”
Henry checked the capsules and looked through the thick glass panes on the top, “These are the last gentlemen we have been waiting for,” He said.
“You really have a sense of humor. Gentlemen? At least half of them would like to eat you for breakfast.”
“It’s a pity you think that way. Chances are that I’d sit on their belly even before they plan to make a move.”
“I don’t care about you. I just don’t want to swim in these swamps.”
“You don’t have to worry. Before we put them into the capsules, they were narcotized with Kalorsin. They’ll remain totally peaceful.”
The pilot sighed. “Well, why did nobody tell me that?”
“And what difference would it have made had I told you? Your anxiety wouldn’t have been any better.”
He looked at Henry and thought: I would love to break his soldier nose! But then sense prevailed and he shifted his gaze and asked, “Are we finally leaving this place?”
Henry smiled because he knew very well about the thought that could have crossed the pilot’s mind. He didn’t mean to investigate that part so he responded, “If you’re ready, we can take off now.”
“Of course, I’m ready. We finally leave this shit planet!”
They loaded the last capsules and got into the transporter. The pilot closed the door, went into his cabin and checked all connections. Before closing his cabin door, he said, “When I reach the base I’m going straight to the bar!”
Astasan
III
The big cruiser landed softly on the deserted runway of the training camp Astasan. The wind blew sand and dust around the place. The camp had been empty for a couple of months and in some places it had overgrown grass and bushes. Astasan, one of the numerous islands on the watery planet Cronna 2, was ideal for a battle camp as it was situated thousands of miles away from the planet’s other inhabited islands. When the war with the Anskers ended, Astasan was closed and battle units were to rapidly reduce. All the buildings were sealed along with the energy providing system of solar cells.
Henry watched from the cruiser as the exit ramp descended on the concrete runway. His friend and cruiser commander, Nancy Bauer, stood by his side. Her long blond hair fluttered in the breeze, and she brushed it behind her shoulder with a nervous movement of her hand.
She was worried about him. After the battle at Morad, Henry applied for the cybernetic implants just so that he could join the elite commandos. Although he could be their commander by rank, he didn’t want to. Henry joined them as an ordinary soldier. Henry being a battle hardened person showed his courage in many battles and was always the first to attack. She knew why he was doing that, he wanted to die, but that wasn’t happening. After the death of their commander, Henry took command by rank and was cheered to that position by his comrades; of course, they adored him a lot. Henry led them until the end of the war. He had the best group of commandos under his authority. These were called; “Harpoon.” because they could penetrate the strongest enemy defense. Nancy was very proud of him much like Henry’s comrades, but she was, also angry that he signed up for this dangerous task. When the ramp touched the concrete runway, she asked him without any hesitation, “Why did you agree to this assignment, Henry?”
Henry shrugged and replied, “I don’t know. Just feels right.”
She hated this care-a-damn attitude of Henry. Nancy frowned at his response. “Henry, we’ve known each other since we were kids. We went to Bellford Academy together and went through all that shit during training. I am sure I know you better than that and I think you might want to explain things better than you did.”
Henry turned around and saw few soldiers transporting equipment to the Headquarters building. He knew that Nancy wouldn’t tolerate a lie.
“I had to…”
“Why?”
“Since I survived the massacre at Morad, I haven’t been the same person, Nancy.”
Nancy knew that that could have been the reason and was sure happy that Henry shared it, but she was also sympathetic towards his plight and the unnecessary baggage he carried. “You’re not responsible for the massacre. Why don’t you forget it? Besides, you’ve been in more battles since Morad, haven’t you done more good than bad?”
“That’s true but I just can’t forget that horror at Morad, regardless of what the Martial Commission verdict of me being non-guilty. Too many people were killed. I lost so many friends. I should have seen th
e Anskers…”
She watched him with sympathy and disbelief that he was so entrenched in the past that he missed seeing the present. He was a hero not only for her but also for every soldier and commander in the United Forces. She wondered why he hid from this fact. “Even the scouts didn’t see them or the pilots who flew over the area.” She looked at him with only admiration in her eyes. “Why are you always blaming yourself? Carlos was the best at discovering Anskers during all the simulations we did and you knew that. If Carlos missed then how do you expect to have done any better?”
Henry stared at her with self-pity still evident. No matter how many battles were won after Morad and no matter how many enemies were put to rest, what happened at the “Field of death,” will always be deeply etched in my soul. “But he’s dead, Nancy!”
“I know very well that he is dead. Carlos was my friend too.” although she thought about it, saying it aloud, but refrained from it. In rather a serious tone she said, “Don’t forget that you succeeded in stopping their offensive. Their plan was to allow us to pass and then attack behind our backs. You stopped them at the meadow; otherwise, there would have been a lot more dead people.”
Henry was finding it difficult to shake it off, “But I should have gone with them. Why am I the only one alive?”
Nancy understood where he was coming from and gave him a tight hug. “You need quit blaming yourself. My heart reaches out to those soldiers and I miss many of them, but you have to overcome this for those of us who are still here. Please!” She moved back a bit, saw him in the eye with tears swelling in her own, “And don’t forget that there could be a reason for you being safe. You can call it luck bur I think it is more than that. You have to bury the dead! Let them go! When you free yourself, you will see the reason for which you are here. Give it a chance.”
He gently touched her face and wiped away her tears, “This is my chance right now, Nancy. How can you not see it? I have to accomplish this mission for all the friends who were killed at Morad, but now for these soldiers too.”
She grabbed his hand. On the inside, Nancy witnessed the war between her heart and mind. Heart had her concerns for Henry while mind reminded her of her duty. She knew the profile of the people Henry may have to work with and the places he may have to go. She didn’t want to lose another friend. She had already lost too many in that damned war and she didn’t fancy losing one more.
“You have to be very careful. They are the worst specimens of the human race gathered in one place. I hope that you’re aware of that!”
Henry smiled and reassured her, “It’s true, but not all of them are lunatics. Among them are a couple of geniuses.”
“Geniuses and lunatics aren’t that different from each other. Much like you, I guess.” Nancy was starting to get her mojo back.
He laughed and touched her hair with fingers. “Right now I’m looking at a woman who’s a freaking genius. You became a cruiser commander at the age of twenty-seven, and General Flinton’s deputy. If you weren’t a brilliant strategist, you would never have got that position.”
She blushed and brushed her hair back. “I can’t argue with facts now,” she smiled and said while starting at the horizon. “But we’re not here to discuss my qualities. I’m talking about your mission. I’ve always thought that you were a maverick lunatic, and then maverick and lunatic are the strangest combination of words to describe you.”
Henry had always liked her honesty and sense of humor. He laughed at her comment and said, “You haven’t changed a bit.”
Nancy struck him in the shoulder and chided, “You neither. You’ve always been stubborn and persistent, and worst of all, you were better than me at all the tasks at the Academy.”
Henry was gazing at the pilots of the protection groups and the spacecraft near the cruiser, when he remembered something, “No, I don’t think so. You were the best at flying, and that too flying between asteroids. I could never beat you at that!”
Nancy knew very well that he could never win in that segment of training and with a touch of sarcasm said, “Yes, only because you weren’t careful enough. Also, your mind and hand coordination are a bit slow.”
He looked at her, raised his eyebrows, and said, “And I thought I was one of the best a moment back. Now you tell me I’m slow!”
Nancy pointed her index finger at his face and with a smile and satisfied look, concluded, “You really think I’m an idiot… Ponder over my observation. If you did not have that apparent lag between your thoughts and action behind the stick, I couldn’t have beaten you! But I enjoyed watching your furious face after every defeat.”
Henry smiled, “I do not doubt that.”
Nancy touched his face with her fingers. “Henry, please take care of yourself! I don’t like this mission of yours.”
Henry knew the challenges that would be, “Don’t you worry about that. I’m fully prepared and committed to it.”
She shuddered at his icy tone and piercing gaze. God, how much has he changed? She missed the old Henry, competitive yet ready to look at the lighter side of things. War changes people. She just witnessed it in Henry’s grim, scar streaked face. “I don’t doubt that. But it’s not the prisoners that I’m afraid of that the planet that you’re going to. That sends a shiver down my spine just at the thought.”
He looked at her with a surprise that he tried hard to camouflage, “Where did you hear that our destination is another planet? That’s highly confidential.”
“You’ve forgotten that I’m General Flinton’s deputy, and he’s very sick. I represented him at the meeting with the President and the Generals.”
“You were at that meeting!”
She sighed and passed her hand through his hair. “Yes, and I tried all possible ways to prevent them from sending you on this dangerous expedition. Obviously, I didn’t succeed. All of them voted for you; even the President. I hoped that you would give up but…” She couldn’t explain why each time tears had to break, but it did. “I came here to talk you and ask you to give up this expedition, but I see that it won’t work.”
Henry asked, aimlessly watching training complex, “You want me to retreat from this? Don’t do that. Let me go.”
I’m your best friend, and I wish you only the best. She wanted to say that to him but she withheld her intentions. She gave up asking him to not go the damn planet and with a sight said, “No, it’s too late for that. You’re the right man for this assignment if I were to keep my emotions away and say.”
Henry smiled at her gratefully, “Thank you, Nancy. I feel a lot better going ahead knowing that you will be fine.”
She dried her eyes. “I want you to come back from that shit planet in one piece!”
“I’ll do my best, Nancy.”
“I know you will but listen to me carefully. Something is wrong with that place. The Anskers would not give a planet away so easily without reason.”
“I know. We started that bloody war that lasted for twenty years because of a similar solar system, Kenexss.”
“And, imagine, they gave us the system Nauda which is rich in minerals and ores with habitable planet Godeena; and this bartered for the Ganal system. That is an uninteresting planet. Why would they do that?”
“Yes, that is a bit odd!” Henry admitted.
“On the planet Godeena, where you’re going, there are the remains of an ancient civilization and no one knows what’s hidden under those ruins. But there is another major problem; everyone who has landed on that planet has disappeared. I’m terrified, Henry. As recent as the last two months one civil expedition and two military expeditions looking for survivors have vanished.”
Henry knew all this and was kind of prepared for it. For that reason, he assembled the group of prisoners who would not be missed by anyone should they die. “I’ll be careful. I think my crew is excellent.”
Nancy cynically added, “I know you’ll be careful. As for the crew, I’m not so sure th
ey are a crew at all.”
Henry noticed the nervousness on Nancy’s face and thought he could give her some more nuance of this thoughts, just to put her at peace. “I’ve read all the data about the planet Godeena from the other expeditions. In all that, there’s nothing useful. The only thing I know about that the planet is that it is the same size as Earth, and it has two continents surrounded by the ocean. It is uninhabited but strangely it has all the right conditions for life. All those who disappeared had made camp at the largest city, Absolute, but I have no intention of getting close to that place.”
Nancy gave it a thought. Maybe Henry’s, right? What he says makes sense. “That’s a smart decision from a military point of view,” she said. “The scientists chose to set up their camp at Absolute because it occupies the whole of the smaller continent. But on the other continent, there are about twenty major cities.”
He felt Nancy was getting a hang of things and added, “It might be better to investigate those other ruins, although I’m not convinced that would change anything. It’s interesting that all those cities haven’t been destroyed yet. The remains, or whatever you like to call them, are completely preserved.”
“Regardless of whether the cities had been destroyed or otherwise, someone must have killed all the inhabitants. Or they are most probably still somewhere beneath,” Nancy concluded.
“Probably, but I don’t want to think about that. Come on, let’s go to the Headquarters and celebrate our reunion. I haven’t seen you for a hundred years, and Sergeant Colburn will join us as well.”
She looked at him surprised. As they walked down the ramp, she asked him with a sour smile, “Do you mean Steven Colburn?!”
“Yes exactly, him!”
“And he’s agreed to go with you?”
“Not only agreed but delighted at the idea!”
Nancy was sometimes profoundly concerned about Henry’s behavior. “You called Colburn?” She looked at him and continued, “Have you forgotten what he did to us at the training camp?”
Henry expected the reaction from Nancy. He laughed and said, “On the contrary, that was the reason I put him on the team. I need a strong hand to keep the prisoners down.”
Godeena: SF Novel Page 5