Rogue Colony (Galaxy Mavericks Book 6)

by Michael La Ronn

  “Oh well,” Sims said. “Every guy’s got his own opinion, right?”

  “Speaking of opinions,” Will said, rising. “It's time for my break. You guys want a soda or something?”

  “I wouldn't mind a Coke,” Sims said.

  “Breakfast tea,” Beauregard said.

  “It's not breakfast,” Sims said, looking confused. “It's almost eleven o’clock at night.”

  “It's a type of tea, Sims,” Beauregard said flatly.

  “Oh,” Sims said. “Cool.”

  “And on that note, I'll be back in a few,” Will said.

  He walked out of the bridge wanting to punch something.

  The guy was so awkward it was just painful.

  He pulled out his phone as he jogged downstairs.

  Grayson’s photo appeared on the screen and Will tapped it. He sent a text message.

  YOU'RE SORELY MISSED, dude. This new guy is killing me.

  HE SENT THE MESSAGE. He tucked the phone into his pocket and entered the ship’s small galley kitchen. He opened the refrigerator and pulled out a can of soda. He took a big gulp and leaned against the fridge, trying to clear his mind.

  He missed Grayson. He had barely been gone a week, but already Will missed their missions together, their camaraderie. Grayson, Will, and Beau were like the three musketeers. Ever since Grayson left, it was back to the boring search and rescues, which Will didn't mind, but he couldn't help but think that there was something more exciting out there. He knew there was.

  His phone buzzed on the kitchen counter.

  A text from Grayson.

  Nice to hear I'm irreplaceable. But you don't want to trade places with me right now.

  Will laughed.

  Bull s.h.i.t. You married to Keltie yet?

  Grayson’s response came quickly.

  Just dealing with a few deadly aliens, seein’ the galaxy, and no—my relationship is none of your biz.

  Will thumbed a response.

  I want the play by play, you hear? If only I could tell you about this mission, man, you wouldn't believe it.

  His break was over. He wished Grayson responded, just to spend a bit more time together. But he had no choice but to turn off the phone.

  He grabbed a soda from the fridge. He filled a tea cup with water and steeped a bag inside, just like how Beau liked it.

  When he made it back to the bridge, little had changed. Beau and Sims were still looking outside.

  Will handed the tea to Beauregard and the soda to Sims.

  “You're not still stuck on that silly theory, are you?” Will asked.

  “You gotta learn to believe,” Sims said.

  “Yeah, okay,” Will said, taking his seat at the flight panel. “I'll believe when—”

  Outside, bright flash of light erupted out of nowhere.

  Will shielded his eyes.

  A shockwave rumbled the ship.

  “What the hell?” Will said.

  “Hey, over there!” Beau said, pointing.

  A lone speck of red appeared in space. Sims swung the spotlight and locked on it. They couldn't make it out.

  Beauregard increased the ship’s speed until they came upon the object.

  It was a person.

  A woman.

  In a red spacesuit.

  She floated, sleeping.

  “I'll be damned,” Will said.

  “Told ya to believe,” Sims said.

  “Screw believing,” Will said. “It's time to respond.”

  17

  She woke up with a bright light in her face.

  “Hey, you okay?”

  A man’s voice.

  “Ashley,” Michiko mumbled.

  “I’m not Ashley. Is that your name?”

  “Rudy,” Michiko said.

  “I’m not Rudy, either. And you don’t look like a Rudy.”

  “Hassan.”

  “She’s delirious,” the man said.

  Michiko reached up. “We have to save them.”

  “What is your name?”

  “Ashley, Rudy, Hassan,” Michiko said.

  And then she faded out of consciousness.

  HYPERSPACE. She stared into hyperspace.

  She was on a bed.

  In a small room.

  On a ship.

  Purple plasma danced across the window.

  She moved her arm, but it stung.

  An IV.

  She didn’t feel pain.

  She felt good.

  She laughed.

  The plasma dancing across the window reminded her of a song.

  She sang quietly, and then burst into hysterical laughter, putting her hand over her eyes to cover her tears.

  “HI, MICHIKO, CAN YOU HEAR ME?” a voice said.

  A shadowed face hovered over her.

  Hyperspace still rushed by outside.

  It was late.

  The lights were turned down low. She didn’t know where she was. Her eyes couldn’t focus. She might as well have been floating in space.

  “Michiko?”

  She groaned.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “I’m feeling fine,” she said, but slurred her words and she didn’t really know what she was saying.

  The face backed away from the bed and said something to someone else who was in the room.

  Medical stats?

  She couldn’t tell.

  She rested her head against her pillow.

  “MICHIKO?” the voice asked again.

  “I told you to go away!” Michiko said. The words came out slow and deformed.

  “That was several hours ago,” the voice said. “Are you okay to talk now?”

  “Go away!” she said.

  18

  She was back in her room on the disaster ship, standing in front of her vanity mirror, doing her makeup.

  The whole ordeal had drained her energy.

  She didn’t know how she got through it.

  She’d had to speak with the military and the news reporters about what happened. She couldn’t remember the details. The events had gone by in such a blur that she couldn’t recall what she had said. All she had cared about was getting back to volunteer duty.

  She put mascara on her eyelashes and checked her work.

  She had a bruise on her cheek.

  Small price to pay.

  Her phone rang.

  Her mom.

  “Hi, Mom.”

  “Michiko, are you okay?” Reiko asked. Her voice was soft. “How are you holding up?”

  “I’m better, Mom.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want to come home?” Reiko asked. “You’ve been through so much.”

  “I have to finish my contract,” Michiko said. “I don’t want to break it, you know?”

  “If you’re worried about what I will say, it's okay.”

  “No, it’s not that.”

  “Because I completely understand why you dropped out of nursing school. I wish you would have told me, honey, but I support you. I will always support you and no matter what you do, I will stand behind you. You’ve always wanted me to say that and I’ll say it now and forever. I love you, honey.”

  Michiko smiled. She had been waiting a whole year to hear this. This was exactly where she wanted to be with her mother. She couldn’t believe it was so easy.

  “I love you too, Mom.”

  There was a knock on the door.

  “I have to go,” Michiko said. “I’ll call you tonight?”

  “Okay. Don’t forget.”

  Michiko hung up, and her smile lingered.

  She slung her purse over her shoulder and opened the door.

  Ashley was leaning in the doorframe.

  “See?” she said. “I told you everything would be much easier if you just told the truth.”

  “You were right,” Michiko said, rolling her eyes.

  Ashley pulled out her cell phone.

  “I need to get this in audio,” she said.

  �
�You were right,” Michiko said again into Ashley’s audio app.

  “Awesome,” Ashley said. “This will go in my portfolio.”

  “Ha. Ha. You hungry?”

  “Still waiting on Hassan to get out of the shower.”

  They passed by the men’s community bathroom, where someone was singing opera. The voice reverberated from the shower.

  Michiko and Ashley burst out laughing.

  “Hassan, sorry to interrupt your little opera, but come on!” someone said.

  Rudy walked out of the bathroom in his Galaxy Corps uniform.

  “Maybe you guys ought to go down without us,” Rudy said.

  “Geez,” Michiko said. “He’s worse than a girl.”

  Rudy shook his head. “Don’t even get me started.”

  Hassan continued to sing. “Remember me, Kepler Seven….la la la la la la la la laaa…”

  “You sure you don't want us to wait for you?” Michiko asked.

  “Don't worry, we’ll be down,” Rudy said.

  Ashley and Michiko started down the hallway toward the elevator.

  “Hey, Michiko,” Rudy said.

  Michiko turned.

  Rudy waved at her.

  “Thank you for the memories,” he said.

  “Rudy, stop—”

  “Michiko.”

  Rudy’s voice was serious final. “I said thank you.”

  A tear fell from her eye.

  “Yeah, thanks, Michiko!” Hassan yelled from the shower. “We’re not mad at you.”

  “Hassan,” Michiko said. “I—”

  Ashley hooked her arm under Michiko’s and pulled her toward the elevator.

  They stepped into the elevator and it started downward.

  “What is this all about?” Michiko asked.

  Ashley patted her hand.

  “You're in denial,” Ashley said, patting Michiko’s hand.

  Leave it to Ashley to be blunt in a time like this.

  “I am not in denial,” Michiko said.

  “If you weren't, would we be here?” Ashley asked.

  The glass elevator picked up speed. Behind them, the walls of the elevator shaft broke into pieces and drifted away, revealing empty space and stars. Michiko saw what was happening, but it didn't affect her even though she knew it was strange.

  “I don't know you as well as I wish I had,” Ashley said, “but you are so amazing.”

  “I'm not amazing,” Michiko said. “I failed you guys.”

  “I want you to make me a promise,” Ashley said. “Promise me that you’ll come out with the truth.”

  “You mean my mom? I already did—”

  “No. Yes. You know what I mean,” Ashley said. “You can't half-do it. You need to do it.”

  Ashley patted Michiko’s hand again.

  “You can handle it.”

  “How do you know?” Michiko asked.

  “Because I can see your love light. It's shining so bright, Michiko. And I want to thank you for letting me see it. From you, I've learned what it means to be a true friend.”

  The elevator’s glass case cracked.

  “I don't want to lose you,” Michiko said, pulling Ashley in for a hug.

  Ashley didn't hug her back.

  The glass shattered, leaving only the floor.

  “Thanks, Michiko,” Ashley said.

  “Never stop being blunt,” Michiko said.

  Ashley laughed.

  “Don't worry about me,” she said. “There's so much to see now.”

  Ashley floated away. Michiko waved to her. Ashley smiled.

  The elevator floor rumbled. Below, Michiko saw a giant version of her head. A small door on the top of her skull was open. The elevator door descended toward it.

  She called for Ashley.

  But Ashley was gone.

  Michiko glanced back up.

  The disaster ship floated above. She knew that Rudy and Hassan were there.

  She knew that she was never going to see them again.

  She plopped onto the floor and sat cross-legged, staring into the inside of her cranium.

  There was swirling darkness and light inside.

  She sighed as she descended back into herself.

  19

  Michiko heard it first before she opened her eyes: a guitar and a man’s voice singing.

  “I call out your name when life’s light fades.

  Your face helps me shine again.

  Shine away these shadows—

  we've got so much further to go.

  We’ll carry these times with us for the rest of our lives.

  Your name is like ointment on my callused feet.

  I'd do anything to surf the storms raging in your eyes.

  Michiko

  Michiko

  Michiko

  Don't forget to shine…”

  Her father, Arthur, was sitting next to her bed, finger-picking his guitar.

  He had black hair and wore jeans and sandals.

  He was singing the song he'd wrote for her so many years ago.

  She sang with him.

  “Michiko, Michiko, Michiko…”

  Her father played a final chord on his guitar, let it ring out. When the song was over, he threw the guitar aside and embraced her.

  SHE WAS IN A HOSPITAL ROOM, except it didn't look a hospital room. A long mirror stretched across one wall. There was no outside window.

  She hugged her father.

  “Is this real?” she asked.

  “It's real, meu anjo,” he said.

  Meu anjo. My angel.

  His voice was just as sonorous as she remembered.

  “You've been through a lot,” he said.

  “Then you know what I've done,” she said. “with nursing school.”

  “We always knew,” Arthur said. “We just didn't know the details. It took every tool in my arsenal to keep your mother in check.”

  “But,” Michiko said, “if you knew, why didn't you say anything?”

  “It's your life,” Arthur said. “And your mistakes need to be your own. Your mother doesn't see it that way, though.”

  Michiko sighed. She almost expected an easy way out.

  Arthur happy. Reiko happy. Michiko learns her lesson. Everyone moves on.

  But that wasn't going to happen.

  “You should rest,” Arthur said. “You're not in any position to get out of bed.”

  “Where are we?” Michiko asked.

  “We’re on the Pinheiro Space Station,” Arthur said.

  “We’re near home?” Michiko asked, brightening.

  “The doctors want to keep you,” Arthur said. “Just to make sure you're okay.”

  “Am I going to be okay?” Michiko asked.

  “You're going to be fine, meu anjo. You're going to be just fine.”

  “Where is Mom?” Michiko asked.

  “She went to get tea,” Arthur said. “She should—”

  In that moment, the door opened and her mother walked in. She wore a leather coat and jeans.

  Reiko Yokokura-Lins almost dropped her tea when she saw Reiko awake.

  Michiko held out her hands for a hug.

  Reiko approached. She slapped Michiko on the cheek.

  The blow stung and brought a tear to Michiko’s eye.

  Then Reiko grabbed her, hugged her, and sobbed.

  “MICHIKO, these men are from the Galactic Guard,” Reiko said, introducing three men in olive green flight suits. They had followed her onto the room but hung near the doorway.

  Michiko waved and nodded to the men.

  “I told them it would be okay to talk to you,” Reiko said. “They need some information.”

  Michiko sat up on her bed and motioned for the men to come into the room.

  “Miss Lins, thank you,” one of the men said, stepping forward. He had black hair and a wise face. He was clearly the ranking officer and seemed trustworthy.

  “My name is Petty Officer Romeo Beauregard with the Galactic Guard,” Be
auregard said. “With me are Petty Officers Will Stroud and Griffin Sims.”

  A red-headed man nodded to her and gave her a warm smile. The other man, stood stone-faced and looked as if he took his job way too seriously.

  “We’re here because our mission is time-sensitive,” Beauregard said. “Normally this would be a GALPOL visit, but because we have reason to believe there are others still alive out in space, we had to intervene.”

  Michiko nodded.

  “Can you tell us what you were doing?” Beauregard asked.

  She didn’t feel like telling the story. Reliving it again. But she knew she had no choice.

  “We had just finished up our shift,” Michiko said. “After dinner, we encountered a woman. I think her name was May…no, Maya. Maya Albert. No, Alpert. She had come in the evening intake and said her son, Drake, was missing.”

  “Did she give you a description of Drake?” Beauregard asked.

  “All we knew was that he was in a red corsair,” Michiko said. “Hassan thought it would be a good idea to go look for him.”

  “Why didn’t you call us?” Beauregard asked.

  “Hassan thought maybe with all the ship traffic around the airlock that Drake got confused. The disaster ship airlocks are a little confusing in how they operate. Hassan assumed that maybe Drake was circling the ship, waiting to land.”

  “Hmm,” Beauregard said. “Will, did you catch that?”

  Will, the red-headed soldier, was writing on a notepad.

  “Got it, Beau.”

  “So Hassan decided to look for the missing person,” Will said, referencing his notes. “That’s…Hassan Babayev, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “We’ve also been given the names Ashley Momrelle and Rudy Rundgren,” Will said. “Those names mean anything to you?”

  “They were with Hassan and I. They were in my volunteer cohort. We became friends and had been hanging out.”

  “Was there anyone else with you?” Beauregard asked.

  Michiko shook her head.

  “So you took to space,” Beauregard said.

  “I didn’t want to go,” Michiko said. “I was against it from the beginning. I wanted to notify the ship’s command and follow the proper channels, but Hassan insisted on going on a short trip. We left and stayed within a few miles of the disaster ship. That’s when we encountered them.”