by John Walker
Clea’s heart hammered in her chest.
“If you’ve turned to piracy, he won’t exactly be proud.”
“I assure you there’s a reason for everything,” Clea replied. “Can you please direct us where to land? I would like to speak to you in person.”
“Just know that if you’re here for nefarious reasons, I have defenses that will liquify you. I don’t tolerate hostility.”
“And we’re not bringing any, I assure you.” Clea clenched her fist. “Please…you have to trust us.”
A long pause made Clea worry he’d cut the line. She was about to speak up when something in the back of her mind to remain patient. Let the man think it through. He’s become a reclusive hermit so he’s not exactly used to guests who are there to talk. Selling things is a far cry from visiting.
While she waited, she brought up Durant’s file and looked over his accolades again. He’d won every science award the kielan people had to offer. Prior to the war, he’d been responsible for making space travel safer through environmental shield improvements and he also enhanced the artificial gravity, making it more pleasant to live in.
When the war started, he shifted his focus to arms, a point which must’ve bothered him considering his previous work. Putting his genius to destruction went against some of the awards he won, the things which showed his dedication to peaceful expansion. Due to patriotic zeal, no one called him out for the shift in direction, not in the beginning.
Clea found an article about a protest group in the last years of his government work who called him a hypocrite. Some grew so tired of the fighting and losing family members that all the patriotism in the universe couldn’t assuage their frustration. They lashed out at anyone they perceived as having to do with prolonging the conflict.
Some even went so far as to say Durant was war profiteering. He never addressed any of these allegations. He just left and Clea couldn’t necessarily blame him. He’d given his entire life to the kielan people, devoted it to improvements and defense only to eventually be lumped into the problem.
Why stay?
“Alright, Miss An’Tufal. I’ve decided to trust you. Remember my warning. I’m sending you the coordinates to where you can land.” The line went dead just after a series of numbers appeared on her console.
Clea sent them to the pilot station. “Please make course for that location,” she said. “We just got clearance to land.”
“Do we want to?” Meagan asked. “It sounded like you really had to work to get that permission.”
“This is our destination, Miss Pointer,” Clea replied. “We need to see where this path ends.”
“I hope it’s not on another planet,” Rudy said. “Because I’m not sure our mission parameters are going to extend beyond this visit.”
“I agree.” Clea nodded. “I’ll be in the back briefing the others.”
She left the bridge and found Jessy, Arak, the marines and Crandy all gathered in the mess area. The table and chairs were secure to the deck and they were sitting around, sipping from cups. She paused at the door before launching into where they were about to land and how she expected everyone to remain on their absolute best behavior.
“This guy’s a bit of a nutter,” Crandy said. “So don’t push him. He’s old, eccentric and has lived alone for a very long time.”
“A good warning,” Clea agreed. “We don’t know how much he’s changed since his work with us so many years ago. I’m quite certain whatever he’s been able to build out here all alone will be spectacular. I’ll be playing to his ego somewhat, giving him the credit he probably feels he deserves. We need that storage device or at least what’s on it. I’ll do the majority of the talking.”
“Suits me,” Jenks said. “I’ve never been good at chatting it up with scientists.”
“You’re terrible at talking to anyone,” Walsh replied. “What makes scientists special?”
“They’re techier than everyone else. I can’t really follow. I know how to use my data pad but other than that, I’m not a deep dive kinda guy. Not on machinery at least.”
“I beg to differ,” Walsh muttered.
“What’s that mean?” Arak asked.
“You don’t want to know,” Clea interrupted. “Anyway, we’ll be landing shortly so prepare yourselves. I’m fairly certain this is going to be an educational experience.”
***
Hoffner’s people were busy processing prisoners the Behemoth took onboard. Some of them weren’t as ready to give up as the captains who commanded the ships and fights broke out immediately. At one point, they had to seal an entire ship and gas it to knock out the inhabitants then carry them out while wearing environmental suits.
Another set of pirates pretended to go easily and as they were being marched to the brig, they attacked the marines, trying to confiscate their weapons. Hoffner’s men proved to be more than a match for them and they beat them down, killing one. As they got them to the cells, the captain of the pirates confessed that they were planning to commandeer the Behemoth.
Once their brig was full, they sent the rest on a shuttle to their allies. It took nearly two hours to get everything worked out. Then there was the surface mission. When they landed, the soldiers were met with a bunch of stranded, rioting pirates or their support staff, all desperate to leave the planet at any cost.
A few major firefights broke out with two marines getting injured and over a dozen dead or wounded on the pirate side of things. Once they realized the kielans and humans were there to arrest them, they gave up peacefully and allowed themselves to be transported back to the various ships for processing.
The kielans confiscated nearly three tons of total contraband cargo. Much of it had been stolen though some was legitimately salvaged. Unfortunately, no one had one or the other so the combination of goods put these people in dire straits. According to alliance law, being caught as they were, most looked at years of prison time.
They found a large cargo container registered to a man named Crandy. When the kielans tried to open it, the inside exploded, destroying everything inside and killing one of the men who picked the lock. All the evidence inside was incinerated, leaving nothing behind. They made a note to keep an eye out for him, especially since he was the only one who sabotaged his own stock.
He must be on one of the ships by now, Hoffner thought. I’m sure they’ll figure it out.
He spoke with Marshall and discovered the captain was desperate to get moving, to follow their undercover crew to another sector. Word from the bridge was the marines should be ready to move if necessary. The captain had a hunch about what they’d find and wanted everyone on their toes.
Hoffner briefed his folks, putting them on alert. They still had some time before they’d be able to jump out of the system. The kielans wanted to make sure everyone was accounted for and the work they were there to perform was completed properly. Had they not shown up early, the Behemoth might’ve gotten their data and been able to go home.
Nice of them to screw us over. Hoffner couldn’t help but be a little bitter. Their next adventure put his guys directly in danger and that didn’t set well with him. Especially when the threat was completely unknown. I guess we’ll see how bad it is soon enough.
He went back to helping coordinate prisoners and gathering IDs. Security people would be busy through the jump and beyond. None of them would have time to worry about where they were going and in a way, that suited Hoffner. His folks didn’t need time to think when they were on the verge of a potential fight.
***
Meagan took control from Rudy so he could take a moment to stretch. She approached the second planet, the one closest to Earth’s atmosphere according to Clea. It looked a lot like home but the continents were all wrong. The cloud coverage reminded her of the first time she went into space on her own. She looked back over her shoulder and gasped at the majesty.
Even all these years later, she still felt a sense of awe when approaching a world. So much went on
down there and to see it all at once gave her quite the thrill. It was such a privilege to gain perspective on how small a big world really was. Though there may not be a lot of civilization where they were going, life had to be flourishing there for it to be so blue and green.
Rudy returned before they broke atmosphere and took his seat, yawning. “I think I need a couple days of sleep to recover after this.”
“Probably,” Meagan said. “You’ve always been lazy.”
“Nice.” Rudy shook his head. He got on the com. “Um…control, this is…” He muted the line and turned to Meagan. “What did that maniac call the ship?”
“Wicked Night.”
“Thanks.” He unmuted. “This is the Wicked Night requesting clearance to land.”
“Yes, yes,” an irritable voice replied. “Just land already! You have the coordinates. You don’t need to keep asking for it like an errant child desperate for a sweet.”
The line went dead and Rudy smirked. “He’s salty.”
“Yeah, not entirely social, huh?” Meagan maintained control of the ship as they broke atmosphere and began their descent. She had gotten the hang of the craft throughout the last hour as they approached and bringing it down felt fairly natural, despite most of her time being spent behind the controls of a fighter.
As they broke the cloud coverage, they found themselves flying over a vast forest that stretched on as far as the eye could see. Meagan’s eyes widened as she considered the implications of what she saw. This place was a wealth of resources, totally untouched by any culture. It seemed impossible.
“You thinking…”
Rudy nodded. “I am. This is pristine. I can’t believe it.”
“I wonder how he’s kept it safe.” Meagan checked her scanner. “There’s plenty of water and life down there too. Mammals and fish at least…and minerals. Wow, I’m picking up a lot of heavy metals too. The types we use for building ships.”
“Incredible. Maybe that’s why he set up shop here. To use the resources for his own work.”
“One guy couldn’t mine all that,” Meagan said. “It’s impossible. He’d never get enough and process it to make any difference.”
“I wouldn’t put it past him,” Rudy replied. “Look over there.”
He directed her attention to a brilliant silver spire that stretched up a good six stories. A complex, easily large enough for a small factory, spread out near a rocky outcropping with a waterfall to the left and the forest encroaching on the borders in front of it. Meagan saw the landing pad and redirected for it but she couldn’t help but stare at the construction.
“This place is amazing. How did he get it here?”
“Prefab housing maybe,” Rudy replied. “It has to be. I wonder how long he’s lived here…and added on to this place.”
“Must’ve been years. This is practically a small town. Hell, it’s bigger than where Mick grew up, I can assure you of that.”
“There must be more people here then. It can’t just be him. Maybe he brought his family?”
“I don’t know…I guess we can ask Miss An’Tufal.”
“He doesn’t have family,” Clea said, startling Meagan. “At least, as far as the public knows. He was solely devoted to his work.”
“You have a light footstep,” Meagan muttered. “But take a look at this place. Do you really think he lives here all alone?”
“It’s very possible. Sometimes, genius flourishes best away from all distractions.”
Rudy got on the com. “Hang tight, we’re landing now.”
The ship turned and as it did, Meagan noted a man standing near the doors of the structure. The landing pad was attached to the main area through a bridge easily large enough for a couple of cargo containers to travel side by side. As they set down, the engines whined while setting to idle.
Meagan performed a systems check and filed a positive report. She nodded to Rudy who turned to Clea. “We’re good to go, Miss An’Tufal. Ship’s secure.”
“Thank you.” Clea turned away. “I think at least one of us should stay with the ship but if one of you is particularly curious, please feel free to come with.”
“You want to go?” Rudy offered. “I’m not curious.”
“Yeah, I think I will.” Meagan took off her safety harness and followed Clea out. “Don’t get bored without us!”
Clea entered the mess area and Meagan followed. “We’re here. I’ll remind you again, let me do the talking. Once we establish the possibility of Durant having our storage device, I’ll negotiate him letting us have it. The rest of you are just there to observe. Do you have any questions before we leave?”
“Are we going armed?” Jenks asked.
“Side arms only, please.”
“You sure?” Walsh lifted his brows. “It didn’t work out for us so well last time and now we’ve got some better hardware.”
“Durant should be the only person here. Even if he’s not, these won’t be pirates so we shouldn’t experience any sort of…rioting. Let’s go. I think he’s waiting for us.”
***
Clea steadied herself as they dropped the ramp and headed out into the cool air. The scent of pine tickled her nose, something she didn’t expect. She hadn’t experienced those types of trees except on Earth. To find them out here, and in such a large number, seemed strange. She turned and started down the lane leading to the massive complex.
The distance was only a few hundred meters but it looked much farther. The sound of the waterfall cascading nearby and the wind blowing through the trees felt soothing and she understood why Durant might’ve taken up there. He definitely found a tranquil place to do whatever task he put himself to.
Sunlight beamed down, filtered through sparse clouds. It made the area bright as it glistened off the shiny metal walls of the structure and the light gray of the paved walkway. Despite the light, the ambient temperature sat around sixty-five degrees. Clea wondered what season the region might be in. Without blossoming plants or more deciduous trees, it was hard to tell without a scan.
The others followed close behind with the marines taking up the rear. Crandy, Jessy, Arak and Meagan were enthralled enough to be admiring the scenery like true tourists. Clea kept her focus on the man waiting for them.
He dressed in a long, gray coat with matching pants and a black shirt. His hair was jet black with streaks of white on the sides. He wore a beard, also flecked with gray and he stood motionless as they approached. Clea’s eyes flicked to the side and noted turrets over the nearby doorway. A green light indicated they were active.
“Durant Vi’Puren,” Clea called as they drew close enough to be heard. “Thank you for seeing us, I appreciate it more than you know.”
“You’ll have to convince me this wasn’t a mistake to let you come here,” Durant replied. “What do you want? And however did you become…well…this?”
“I can explain everything,” Clea said, “but our primary need is a storage device you may have procured. Some pirate group or scavengers stripped a storage device from the Tempered Steel. The ship was destroyed in a battle with an enemy you possibly know better than any other civilian alive.”
“Ah.” Durant shook his head. “And who told you I might have it?”
Clea gestured to Crandy, who stepped forward looking sheepish. “Uh…hi, sir.” Crandy waved. “Sorry I told them about you but I didn’t have a lot of choice. The alliance showed up and destroyed our base. They were taking prisoners! I had to get out of there and this was the price.”
“You’re a fool, Crandy,” Durant replied. “These people aren’t pirates.”
Crandy scowled. “What does that mean?”
“They’re clearly military.” Durant gestured to Clea. “And I know her parents. She’d never turn criminal.”
“Is this true?” Crandy turned to Clea. “Are you…are you alliance?”
“Yes,” Clea said. “But we’ll honor our bargain with you. You’re not going to prison.”
�
��But there’s no planet of wealth then…” Crandy clenched his fists. “I’m ruined!”
“Just imagine where you’d be if we hadn’t taken you,” Jenks said.
“And where would you be without me?” Crandy shouted. “Certainly not standing here you insignificant military lapdog!”
“Settle down,” Jessy said. “This is a chance to start over, for both of us. Don’t throw it away.”
“You shut up!” Crandy pointed at the pirate. “You brought them to me in the first place! This is your fault!”
Durant held up his hands. “That’s enough. Crandy, if these people genuinely have good cause to be here, I’ll reward you myself. But they’d better have a good story.”
“We do,” Clea assured him.
“Then come with me.” Durant turned back toward the complex. “Let’s get indoors where we can speak with some decorum.”
***
Gray anxiously checked the reports, waiting for an opportunity to bow out of the operation and get moving. He wanted to chase after Clea as soon as possible, to give them the backup they might sorely need. Unfortunately, the semantics of collecting so many prisoners and all that evidence simply took time.
Olly worked past his shift in order to help locate every scrap of information on the surface of the planet. He uncovered three hidden caches of contraband, directing the alliance forces so they could confiscate them. He even managed to download the schematics for the weapon the pirates used against them.
Hopefully we can build a defense against those. Maybe it would work on the enemy. Lots of possibilities there.
Olly yawned and stretched, pausing in his motion. Gray looked at him, recognizing the hesitation to move. The man saw something and that meant they should all brace themselves for some bad news.
“Captain, some ship just jumped out of here…one we didn’t detect until a moment ago.”
“What do you mean? How’d we miss it?”
“I’m checking the data…” Olly frowned. “Sir, I think they were using something to deflect sensor probes. They must not be able to do it right before a jump—the energy build up may contradict the other tech…I’m totally guessing here but in any event, they literally appeared for a moment then jumped out of the system.”