by Don Chase
Chapter 10
Talis and Graunt stared in disbelief out the windshield of the rescue pod as the shuttle slowly pulled away from the small group. Once it was clear of the other ships it disappeared out of existence as it jumped into hyperspace. They had tried repeatedly to contact the shuttle carrying civilian passengers from the Delarus station but their efforts had been in vain. “Where the Hell’s did he just go?” Graunt asked into the microphone.
“I have no idea sir,” the voice of one of the shuttle pilots said into the security chief’s ear piece. “I lost communications with them shortly before you got here. We had been discussing jumping to Denbarton and suddenly Karn went quiet for a few minutes. When he came back online I heard a growl and the line went dead.”
“Uh oh,” Talis said as he and Graunt exchanged looks.
“About that, you pilots need to have someone check your passengers and do it quickly. I think these, whatever they are, have infected some of us and once they get sick they attack, like they’re rabid. Look for anyone that looks pale, sweaty or looks like they’re sick.”
“What do you want us to do if we find any sir?” one of the other pilots asked.
“I dunno restrain them or kill them,” Graunt answered.
“Kill them sir?”
“Yes kill them. The one that was over here killed Commander Rihn and one other without breaking a sweat, so if you don’t have a good solid way to tie them down, I suggest you kill them before they turn your cargo hold into a slaughterhouse.”
“Yes sir, we’ll get right on it.”
They heard a different pilot ask, “Is anyone back there feeling sick?” Talis let out a sigh and shook his head.
“You should really go take a look,” Graunt added.
“What was that sir? Hold one they’re getting a bit loud.” The pilot’s voice got slightly muffled as he covered his microphone. ”Only answer me if you feel sick please, everyone else hold it down I really need to be able to hear.”
“No really, you shouldn’t be doing it that way, you’re just warning them,” Security chief Graunt could feel the fear rising in his chest, he wanted to reach through the microphone and grab the pilot by the throat. “You need to quietly just go take a look.”
“Sir again you need to hold on,” the pilot said. “Seriously you all need to quiet and calm down. Who’s screaming back there what’s going on?” The line went dead.
“No, no don’t go back there!” Graunt yelled.
“He took his headset off I think,” Talis said.
“No kidding,” Graunt replied before smashing his fist into the wall.
There was a long stretch of silence and Graunt paced back and forth across the front of the escape pod. He stopped short when he heard a voice in his ear. “Sir?” his shoulders dropped when he recognized the voice of the first shuttle pilot. “Go ahead,” he said.
“I am happy to report that we seem to have zero sick or wounded on board sir. I say again zero sick or wounded on shuttle one,” the pilot said.
“Same with shuttle five,” they heard.
“You’re sure?”
“I’ve seen none of the things you told us to check for and no one has any visible wounds. It’s pretty packed in here but we seem to be okay. I do have a couple people that managed to fall asleep in these tight quarters but they seemed to be fine.”
“I have no one sleeping but everyone seems clean,” the pilot of shuttle five said.
“Shuttle four seems to have some very testy passengers, one guy in particular growled at me but they all seem healthy otherwise.”
“Good work pilots, shuttle four try and keep an eye on him and if the situation changes don’t hesitate to put a permanent end to the problem,” Graunt said. “Now let’s hope that the other shuttle is so lucky.”
“Copy that sir.”
“After what we heard, I’m not holding my breath,” Talis said.
In the maintenance tunnel Marcus turned and asked, “What is the problem again?”
The problem is that we’re walking right toward them,” Burton answered.
“No, we’re walking toward the hangar deck and hopefully a way off this station,” Olivia answered.
“We need to keep moving,” Marcus said as he turned and continued to lead the single file line of survivors through the narrow tunnel. They had taken short breaks when they came to the larger intersection or repair console rooms that opened up a bit so that the maintenance crew could get to vital circuits to keep the station up and running.
Every time they stopped to congregate, Burton would continue his plea to hold up somewhere and hide. It seemed that he was becoming more desperate the closer they got to the hangar deck and now was continuing to argue his case as they walked through the tunnels themselves. “But if we just take cover in a small out of the way room they’d never even notice us. They’re probably going to pack up and leave soon anyway.”
“I know you’re scared, we all are, but don’t you think you’d be more afraid if you were sitting in a tiny room by yourself hoping they don’t find you?” Stella asked from behind her former supervisor.
“Well yeah but that’s not what I’m saying.”
“But it is what’s going to happen if you keep arguing. My son and I are getting off this station as soon as possible and from the sounds of it Olivia and Grady will be joining us. If you want to hide by yourself somewhere and wait this out, please feel free to, but we’re leaving.” Burton stopped and turned to face Stella. One look at her furrowed brow and steel gaze told him all he needed to know. He turned and continued walking without another word.
They reached the ladder leading up to the hangar level and quietly ascended. “Which way?” Olivia asked when they all got to the top.
Grady nodded to his left and Marcus took the lead. He stopped suddenly when he heard a loud cough from behind him. “Sorry, dry throat,” he heard Burton say. Marcus let out his breath and shook his head as he pushed forward.
A short time later Marcus looked up at the small green arrow and stopped. “Grady do we know where this one opens up to?”
“I don’t think this is the one. Go down to the next one. It should open up near the lobby to the hangar level. I’d like to be as close as possible to a ship if we’re going to be out in the open.”
Marcus nodded and continued on down the tunnel. He soon found the next arrow and stopped again. “Okay, how do we want to play this?”
“Shouldn’t we check somehow and make sure it’s safe out there first?” Olivia asked.
“Maybe just me and the kid should go out first and look around?” Grady suggested.
“Can’t we just listen to the wall here and make sure nothing is around” Stella asked.
“Can any of you even pilot a ship?” Burton asked. Everyone went silent. “Because I know I can’t.”
Morris stood and wiped his tears on his sleeve. He slid his rifle off his shoulder and walked down the narrow tunnel. He couldn’t get rid of the guilt he was feeling over not helping Jax. His brain knew there was nothing he could have done but his gut said that he should’ve tried even if it meant his death as well.
The two had known each other for a long time. They were both pilots in the GF and at one point Morris had been Jax’s superior officer. He had been Jax’s wingman more than a few times over those years. Once Jax retired they lost touch a bit. Morris had stayed in for a few more years but decided to call it quits when things got to be more political than he had liked. When Jax got in touch with him about flying security for the Delarus station he jumped at the chance to fly with his old friend again.
He came out of his reverie, but not before he caught a quick glimpse of Jax being overrun by those creatures. He didn’t know what they were but he knew they weren’t human. Where did they come from and what did they want with this inconsequential station at the edge of nothing? He shook his head to clear it, these were great questions but the most important thing he needed to know right now was how he was g
oing to stay alive, the rest he could figure out later.
He walked down the dimly lit corridor, taking care to be as quiet as possible. He had no idea where he was going but he tried to map out the station in his head for navigation. He knew he didn’t want to be on the hangar level but had no idea if these tunnels were attached to the other levels in the station.
Morris picked up the pace when he saw that that there was an opening up ahead. His pulse quickened when he noticed the ladder. He stopped in the small alcove and looked around. He saw that there was a control panel on one wall and the large number painted near the ladder. Other than that and the ladder the room was barren. He looked up the chute that held the ladder. He didn’t know if he should go up or down but he knew that anywhere had to be better than where he was. He slung his rifle and grabbed the ladder.
He tensed before he stepped onto the first rung. There was a noise in the tunnel with him and he held his breath to listen. He heard voices coming from further down the hallway and they didn’t sound like the grunts and howls of the creatures he had seen so far.
He looked up and down the ladder again trying to decide what to do. Letting out a low rumble of annoyance he shook his head and stepped away from his escape route. He slid his rifle off his shoulder and headed toward the voices.
Keeping himself low he crept down the corridor. He could hear them more clearly now. He had no idea if they were armed or jumpy so he stayed down and quiet hoping to get the drop on them. He could see a shorter man and some others in front of him. He slowed and watched every step he took as he got closer. They sounded like they were arguing about something. Finally, when he was close enough he heard one of them say “Can any of you even pilot a ship? Because I know I can’t.” Morris smiled a little in spite of the dire circumstances and straightened up to his full height. He was almost in arms reach of the shorter man who was at the back of the group
“I can,” he said. There was a gasp as the group turned around and stared at him in disbelief.
“Who in the seven Hell’s are you?” The taller guy in the middle asked Morris.
“I’m a fighter pilot, name’s Morris.”
“Well you’re just in time Morris. We’re about to go get us a ship and get outta here, and now we even have someone who can fly it. I’m Grady by the way,” Grady said as he gave the taller man a nod.
“Nice to meet you and no you actually don’t,” Morris said. “Well you have a pilot but not one that is going anywhere near the hangar out there.” He watched the small group as they talked. They were obviously all civilians. None of them had raised a weapon when he had snuck up behind them and their noise discipline was atrocious.
“But we finally made it up here,” a kid in the front of the group said.
“What’s you name kid?” Morris asked.
“Oh yeah, sorry, my name is Marcus, this is my mother Stella, her boss Burton, my dispatcher Olivia and you’ve met Grady already,” Marcus said as he pointed each out during his introduction.
“Well Marcus, if you want to keep your mom and the rest of this group alive long enough to get away from this station, I’d strongly suggest that you not go anywhere near the hangar and you should all try and be a bit more quiet. They may be standing right on the other side listening.”
“Why would we not go to the hangar?” Stella asked in a hush tone.
“First off, there are no shuttles left and secondly, the last time I saw any of these things, they were tearing apart my friend in there.”
“Sounds like a couple of pretty good reasons to me,” Grady said with a shrug.
“Then how are we getting out of here?” Marcus asked.
“I would recommend that we first and foremost get away from this level. Up or down makes no difference to me, just away from here. We can find an escape pod a few levels away,” Morris said. He turned and began walking back to toward the control room and the ladder.
“I’m with him,” Grady said with a shrug as he followed the pilot.
“Okay I guess we’re going back to the ladder,” Marcus said giving Olivia a nod.
“Do you think we can trust him?” Burton asked.
“I have no idea. He could have killed us without all of the talking and he certainly doesn’t look like one of them,” Marcus answered.
“What if he’s not really a pilot?” Burton asked.
“Well he is wearing a pilot’s flight suit and he said there were no ships left to fly, so I guess it really doesn’t matter,” Marcus replied.
Morris was leaning against the ladder with his arms crossed when the rest caught up to him. “Up or down?” he asked.
Olivia was the first to speak. “I think we should go back down a few floors.”
“Why?” Morris asked.
“The lower levels are mostly for services and maintenance people. There will be less escape pods but there is also a better chance that there are some left since most people would be leaving from the upper levels.”
Morris listened and thought about the slender woman’s words. After a moment he nodded. “Seems like good solid logic there to me, does anyone have any problems with that?”
The group looked around at each other in silence, waiting for someone to poke holes in the theory, when no one spoke up they nodded toward Morris. “We all agree? Good,” Morris said. “Marcus you were in the lead when I met you so if you’d be so kind lead away, you seem to know where we need to go.”
Burton shook his head and coughed. “If there are no ships to leave with shouldn’t we consider my plan at least?”
Grady groaned, “Not this again.”
“What’s your plan?” Morris asked seeming genuinely curious.
“I think we should find a nice quiet room that’s off the beaten path and lock ourselves in until they leave or help gets here to save us,” Burton said in one long rush. He sighed at the end as if he had been holding his breath for a long while.
Morris looked at the man for a moment as if pondering his plan. His lips cracked and he smiled wide before he let out a short chuckle. “Well that’d be a half way decent plan, if the station wasn’t set to blow up sometime in the next hour or two.” Morris shook his head as the others stood in a semi circle staring at him mouths agape.
Chapter 11
From the cockpit of the escape pod Talis and Graunt could see the muzzles flash through the small round windows of the shuttle as it floated nearby. Communications with the other ship had been lost so there was no sound to be heard. Someone had apparently opened fire in the tightly packed cargo hold where the civilians from the Delarus station were. Talis let out a gasp and pointed toward the back end of the shuttle. Graunt saw and uttered a single word, “No,” before hanging his head. Whoever was shooting had missed their target and punctured the hull. Three narrow spouts of air shot up into the vacuum of space. It looked as if three tea kettles had hit a rolling boil at the same time. With the integrity of the hull breached it would be but a few moments before there was no oxygen left inside the ship. Talis watched, bearing silent witness. Graunt let out a heavy sigh and retreated to the larger cabin to sit. The ship listed to the right, away from them, floating lifelessly.
“Sir, shuttle three has a hull breach,” The pilot from shuttle one said in Graunt’s ear.
“I know,” he answered, staring at the floor.
“Still no communications and they seem to be adrift.”
“Mmhmm.”
“Sir I’ve run a scan of the shuttle and I’m not picking up any life signs at all.”
“Thank you, hold steady here unless you see trouble coming and we’ll get back to you shortly,” Graunt said sounding terse. He pulled out his earpiece and dropped the headset on the seat next to him.
Talis let Graunt sit for a minute or so before he asked his next question. ”So what should we do?”
“I think we need to have the shuttles that are left get to Denbarton as quickly as possible. Those ships are way too full; it isn’t going to be long befo
re someone starts a revolt.”
“What about us?”
“We’re gonna get a bit further from the station but I don’t think we’ll make it too far in a life pod, not to Denbarton at least.”
“Why can’t we go with them?”
“Well A, their ships are already overfilled and B, I don’t know about you but I feel a lot safer here than on one of those ships with all those possibly infected people.”
“I suppose those are both good points.”
“We’ll be fine, we may be out here for a bit, but we should be okay. The GF or a local militia will have gotten the distress call by now. I’m sure they have someone already on their way.”
“Yeah they could be here anytime now,” Talis said, sounding like he was trying to convince himself.