by Andrew Gates
“That’s right. You heard me correctly.”
Boltoc grinned. “Captain, this changes everything. You lead me to Ellen Milsen, and I’ll do this for free.”
Drifting Through Space
Earth Date (Revised Julian Calendar): 04.30.5673
Location: Stolen Pleasure Cruiser, Thrace System, Vexa Corp Controlled Space
Mateo. Ellen could see the blue planet so clearly. It glowed like a gem on the holo display. It was so simple, so pure, exactly how she remembered it in her dreams.
Just staring at the world’s projection again, Ellen could not help but remember the life she had known on its surface. She slowly closed her eyes as she drifted back into her memories. She recalled her favourite chair on the porch overlooking the vast fields. The wind blew through her hair. Destiny called in the distance. Life was peaceful here, before any war, any pirates, any conspiracies.
Ellen recalled her son, Blake, and daughter, Orion. They smiled at her and she smiled back. Just being with them again brought a warmth to her heart. They were still so young when she left the planet. Their careers had only begun.
Shortly later, war had come to Mateo. The fantasy suddenly changed in an instant.
Ellen envisioned Orion trapped with hundreds of others in a burning building. Rubble rained down from above, pelting Neu Taargus like raindrops. There was no way out. Smoke filled the building. Orion saw the ceiling fall on top of her. She held her hands high above her head, but there was no escape. The building collapsed with her inside.
Ellen grimaced as the images raced through her mind. She placed her hands on her head, trying to think of anything else.
She envisioned her son, Blake, out in the fields. Enemy ships approached from the distance, bombing the land, setting the world ablaze. Blake turned and ran, hoping to get away. But the bombers were too fast. He could not outrun them. Soon the bombs overtook him. His body exploded, along with everything else.
Ellen gasped and stood up from her chair, suddenly returning to reality. She opened her eyes and breathed heavily, as if she had just sprinted through a battlefield.
Ellen, what’s wrong? Yuri asked. He sounded worried.
“I… I…” Ellen could not think of the words to say at first. She tried to slow her breathing. “It’s nothing,” she finally said. “Forget it.”
You were thinking about the war, weren’t you? Yuri asked. Don’t hide your thoughts from me. You can tell me anything.
Ellen sighed and lowered her head. She calmly nodded.
“Yes,” she admitted. “I was thinking about the war, about what might’ve happened to Mateo while we were gone.”
We’ve already gone through the records. We’ve double checked. We’ve triple checked. There’s no report of either Blake or Orion dying. Their fates are unknown, Yuri reminded her.
“I know,” Ellen said, “but I can’t help but imagine their worst possible fates. What if they died in agony?”
What if they died peacefully? Yuri retorted.
Ellen sighed. Not knowing what happened to them was painfully hard. She would do anything for just a slight piece of information.
Lyla suddenly entered the cockpit wearing a one-piece orange flight suit she had found in the back. Her eyes were wide as if she were flustered.
“I heard you gasp. Is everything alright up here?” she asked.
“Yeah, everything is fine,” Ellen replied, dismissively. “How are you?”
“I’m alright. Everyone else is asleep back there,” she explained.
“Good.” Ellen nodded. “We all need rest after the excitement we’ve been through.”
“Agreed.” Lyla took a few more steps into the cockpit and sat down in the open co-pilot’s chair. She brushed her hair back and stared at the holo. “Are you sure you’re fine?”
“I am,” Ellen confirmed. She stared at Lyla as she sat in the chair.
“No one is following us, right?”
“No, it looks like your mom had her mercs stand down,” Ellen replied. “We’re all alone.”
“Good.” Lyla turned and looked back at Ellen, curiously. “What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You’re in the co-pilot’s chair. Do you fly?” Ellen asked.
“Me? God no, but you have to admit, it’s pretty to look at,” Lyla replied, motioning to the glowing lights.
Ellen sighed and turned to face the holo. She took in the beauty of it all.
“Do you really think there is a place for us down there where my mother can’t get to us?” Lyla asked.
“Maybe, maybe not. Only time can tell. But even if we find a safe place to live, that’s not all I’m worried about.”
“What do you mean?” Lyla asked, turning to face Ellen.
“Lyla, your mom has encrypted data about an advanced form of rejuv tech,” Ellen replied, facing her new companion. “There’s no telling what someone that corrupt can do with that kind of technology.”
Lyla lowered her head, as if that thought had only just now crossed her mind.
“You really gave it to her, didn’t you?”
“I did,” Ellen confirmed. “I thought it was my ticket out of there.”
“That’s not good. I actually thought you were bluffing at the time.”
“No,” Ellen replied. “But now I wish I had been.”
“Well, if there’s anyone capable of decrypting that data, Daltus has the resources to find and hire that person. It’s only a matter of time until she figures it out.”
Ellen wiped her eyes and looked down. How could she have been so stupid?
You were desperate at the time, Yuri said. Don’t beat yourself up. You did what you thought made sense.
“Look, if it makes you feel any better, I did a lot more to help Daltus than you did,” Lyla said, trying to sound reassuring. “If anyone should feel guilty, it’s me.”
Ellen sighed, not saying a word. She knew Lyla was trying to be helpful, though her words did little to calm Ellen’s worries.
“How did you get that data anyway?” Lyla wondered, clearly trying to pivot the conversation. Ellen appreciated the effort.
“I came by it,” Ellen replied, vaguely.
Lyla snickered and turned to face the holo again. It was clear she was not amused by Ellen’s refusal to answer the question.
You can tell her, Yuri said, privately. She’s come this far with us. I trust her.
What about Ryan Lorde?
He doesn’t want Vexa Corp; the company, the colonies, the military, finding out about him. But this is not Vexa Corp. This is only one person we’re talking about. One person won’t change anything, Yuri replied. Look at it this way, the more Lyla knows about our story, the more she can help us.
Fair point.
Ellen sighed. She could not believe she was about to tell this tale. She lifted her head again and turned to Lyla.
“Look, Lyla, there may be more to the story than I’ve been letting on,” she admitted.
“Oh?” Lyla replied in a tone of sarcasm.
“I’m serious. What I’m about to tell you must be kept completely secret. I can’t have anyone finding out about this. Do you understand?”
Lyla’s expression immediately transformed from one of amusement to one of seriousness. She nodded her head.
“I understand,” she said.
“Good.” Ellen cleared her throat and stared out at the holo again. “Dave and I were not the only people on Taspansa.”
“What? You mean there were more pilots with you?” Lyla sounded genuinely surprised.
“No, not pilots,” Ellen replied. She turned to face Lyla again. “Colonists, or the descendants of colonists. And not just one or two. The whole planet is populated.”
“Populated? But I thought you said it’s covered in water.”
“It is. The populace lives on islands and boats,” Ellen explained. “The Taspansans are primitive. They don’t have access to technology. They have no concept of life beyond their
world. They worship the sun and call it the Red God.”
“Seriously?” Lyla asked, sitting up in her chair. Ellen nodded back to her. “That sounds… crazy! How were you able to get off world if the local people were still in the stone age?”
“They weren’t in the stone age, far from it. They’d just invented steel ships by the time we arrived,” Ellen corrected. “But to your question, we had some help.”
“Help from who?”
This was it. Ellen gulped.
“From a man named Ryan Lorde, a man from Vexa Corp,” Ellen explained.
“But I thought you said the Taspansans had no knowledge of the outside world.”
“Ryan was the exception. He was from the old world, just like me and Dave. He came to Taspansa secretly.”
“Why?”
“Something about getting away from pirates. I don’t know the full story and I didn’t pry for more,” Ellen said. She shifted in her chair. “Ryan used his technology to awe and inspire the primitive people, convincing them that he was some sort of demigod. The Taspansans worshiped him, believing he was divine. He called himself the Governor and held dominion over the planet.”
“Damn. That sounds like something from a storybook,” Lyla noted.
“It does,” Ellen agreed. “When Dave and I met with Ryan, he instantly knew we were with Vexa Corp. He knew we had skills and talents he could use, so he asked for our help. In exchange for helping him, he offered to get us off world.”
“And so you helped him?”
“We did,” Ellen confirmed. “Well… he thinks we did.”
“He thinks you did? What does that mean? Did you double-cross him?”
“Kind of.”
“Care to explain?”
Ellen sighed again. This part was hard to think about.
“Ryan wanted us to go to war. He wanted us to kill.” Ellen closed her eyes and lowered her head as the memories came back to her. “There was a boy, a kid named Russell. He just wanted to live a good life. He was not a bad person. He reminded me so much of…” Ellen paused and opened her eyes again. She turned to face Lyla. “Never mind,” she finally said.
“It’s okay,” Lyla replied, placing her hand on Ellen’s lap, comfortingly. “You don’t have to tell me. I think I understand.”
“As far as Ryan is aware, we did the job,” Ellen said, recomposing herself. “He held up his end of the bargain. He led us to a secret island full of old tech from the Euripides. We took a ship, the one you found us in. We got off world, though Ryan did try to kill us in the process.”
“He tried to kill you? Where? On the island?”
“Yeah.”
“Sounds like he doesn’t know who he’s dealing with,” Lyla replied.
“Not in the slightest,” Ellen agreed. “But while we were there, while we were on the secret island, that’s where we found the data.”
“The rejuv data, you mean?”
“Exactly.” Ellen nodded. “So you see, we kind of took the data without asking.”
“Well I’d say that’s fair. He did try to kill you.” Lyla leaned back in her chair and let out a deep breath, still keeping her hand on Ellen’s lap. “Damn, what a story.”
“Yeah, it was certainly a wild story.”
“Why did you keep it secret for so long?”
“Ryan might be isolated on Taspansa, but he is still a man of power and influence. He managed to build an Empire from the scraps of Vexa Corp’s failure. Think about how difficult it must have been to do what he did, to start an entire civilization with minimal resources on his own and convince a populace that he was divine. Part of me feels like I have only seen a mere fraction of what he is capable of.”
“If what you say is true, it sounds like an entire planet is devoted to him.”
“There are those who oppose him, as there are with any ruler, but certainly most of the planet is devoted to him, yes.”
“Well, he definitely doesn’t sound like the type of person you would want as your enemy.”
“No,” Ellen said, shaking her head, “not at all. That’s why Dave and I kept our story secret from you. We didn’t want anyone finding out about Ryan, about Taspansa. The less Vexa Corp knows, the safer we are.”
“I see.” Lyla removed her hand from Ellen’s lap and leaned forward again, staring into her eyes. “Thank you for sharing this story with me.”
“Thank you for helping me, for everything you’ve done. It must not be easy for you to defy your mother like this.”
“Nothing worth doing is ever easy. We’re all in this together now, whether we want to be or not.”
“You show courage. You would make a good soldier,” Ellen noted.
“Thanks.” Lyla slowly bobbed her head, then turned to face the holo again. “So, I guess our next question is, once we get to safety, what do we do about Daltus? She has this fancy new rejuv tech nobody knows about.”
“I’m not so sure nobody knows about it,” Ellen debated.
“What do you mean? I thought you secretly stole it from Ryan.”
“I did, but that doesn’t mean he’s the only one who knows it exists.” Ellen faced Lyla again. “When Dave and I first met Ryan, he briefly mentioned something about a group called the Crosshair Pirates. They were after him. I think it’s why he went into hiding.”
“So?”
“What if the Crosshair Pirates, whoever they are, were after Ryan for his technology?” Ellen suggested. “On top of that, he was also hiding from Vexa Corp. It could be Vexa Corp once knew about this tech too.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying if people find out that your mother has this tech, she might attract some unsavory characters. Vexa Corp could be at war again, maybe with these guys, the Crosshair Pirates.”
“Shit. This could get big,” Lyla said, finally piecing it all together.
“It could,” Ellen agreed. “That’s why we need to hope your mother keeps it secret.”
“I wouldn’t worry about that. Keeping secrets is one thing she’s good at.”
“Good. Let’s hope it stays that way, for all our sakes.” Ellen paused for a few moments and wiped her face. This conversation was getting heavy. She took a deep breath and calmly leaned over to Lyla. “How are the others back there?”
Lyla smiled and nodded her head, as if glad Ellen had changed the conversation.
“Natalie is scared shitless. It took her a long time to fall asleep. I don’t think she’s ever been in a scenario like this before.”
“That’s understandable. Most people aren’t accustomed to being shot at.”
“Hell, I’m one of those people,” Lyla noted. “But somehow I’m keeping it all together. The strangeness of it all hasn’t quite set it yet. I guess deep down I always knew, in my line of work, someone was bound to shoot at me sooner or later.”
“You’re handling it exceptionally well,” Ellen agreed.
“Thanks. Dave seems to be handling it well too.”
“Dave’s seen enough hardship.”
“He’s told me.”
“Speaking of which, I hope you don’t mind me asking, but… you and Dave… I don’t get it. What do you see in him?” Ellen wondered. She shifted in her chair as she asked the question.
Lyla chuckled and shrugged her shoulders. She closed her eyes and nodded for a few moments before opening her eyes again and meeting Ellen’s gaze.
“Dave is an interesting sort. Forging his flight record shows immaturity, inexperience, laziness. I see why you would wonder about us,” Lyla replied. “On paper, he’s not the best match. But when I look at him, I see someone whose moved past all that. Maybe you don’t see his transformation as well as I do since you’ve been with him from the start, but if you look at Dave before and after Taspansa, you see two very different men.”
“You talk as if you knew him before Taspansa,” Ellen retorted.
“I know enough about his past to piece things together. He was a screw-up befor
e the two of you landed on that water world. Plain and simple. I didn’t need to meet him to know that.”
“And now you think you love him?” Ellen asked.
“Love may be a strong word. As you’ve rightfully pointed out, I don’t know him well enough yet, but I’m certainly drawn to him. There’s a strength in him, a perseverance, that I admire.”
“Well I’m happy for the two of you,” Ellen said, nodding. “You’re both good people and you deserve to be with good people.”
“Thank you, Milsen.”
“Please,” she replied, “call me Ellen.”
The Optimist
Earth Date (Revised Julian Calendar): 04.30.5673
Location: Stolen Pleasure Cruiser, Thrace System, Vexa Corp Controlled Space
Lyla stepped out of the cockpit, back into the dimly-lit living space of the ship. The circular room was spacious for a vessel this size. She observed the others. Natalie was out cold, lying against the wall to the left. Dave shuffled around on the right.
“Hey,” Dave said, looking up to Lyla as she entered the room.
“Hey, sorry, I didn’t know you were awake,” she replied as the cockpit door automatically closed behind her. She walked to Dave and sat down on the cold floor next to him.
“I only recently woke up. I’ve been asleep most of the trip so far.”
Lyla glanced over at Natalie and asked, “Should we stay quiet?”
“No, Natalie’s fine. She took a sleeping agent. She’s out cold. We could shout right next to her and she still wouldn’t wake up,” Dave replied with a smile.
“I see. Having trouble?”
“Lots of trouble. She wouldn’t stop shaking since we got on this ship. I don’t think she’s ever been shot at like this before. There’s no way she could have slept without the agent,” Dave replied, motioning to Natalie.
“No, I meant you. Are you having trouble?”
“Me?” he repeated.
“Yeah.”
“I’m fine,” Dave said, adjusting his seating. He slowly nodded his head. “I’m glad to be out of the cell, glad to be away from the Patriot.”