by Drew Avera
He muttered a prayer for his daughters’ safety as he stepped out under the dusky sky. He was still an hour away from the ship, but thankfully he had done all he set out to do. All that was left was insuring that when first light did come, that they would be ready to go.
From there it was in God’s hands.
The ship came into view as Kevin approached with sunlight dipping behind the horizon. He squinted, trying to block the light from blinding him while he shrugged his shoulders and adjusted the weight distribution as he dredged forward. “This better work," he pleaded, just shy of uttering it like a prayer.
As he closed in on the ship, the cargo bay ramp lowered, welcoming him home.
"What took so long?" Sarah asked as she traipsed down the ramp. She pulled up her hood to fight against the wind as it whipped granules that pelted against the hull of the ship. "I was starting to get worried."
Kevin showed a smile and shrugged his shoulders. "It took a while to find the scrapyard, get the part, and then drop the girls off," he replied. "It’s also a lot harder to walk with twice the weight on the return trip as you started with."
She pouted sardonically and mimicked wiping a tear from under her eye. "Do we have enough daylight to install the parts?"
He smirked at her sense of humor despite his sore muscles. He was exhausted, but he knew she was right. They didn’t have time to whine about their plight. He needed to fix the drive and be ready to leave. "We can make it happen, besides the sunlight did little to help with the removal process anyway. I had Tara holding a flashlight for me to see what I was doing."
"Well, I suppose in place of a Tara, I’ll have to do," Sarah replied with a smirk.
"Just make sure you keep your hand steady. I don’t want to lose sight of what I'm doing and have the module fall out and smash me in the face."
Sarah slapped at his arm playfully and chortled. "Are you suggesting that I can’t even hold a flashlight correctly, Commander Hoyt?"
He laughed every time his wife called him by his rank. It was much like his parents would use his middle name as a staunch warning that he was treading on thin ice. "No. No. No. I would never suggest such a thing."
She lightly popped him again as she said, "You're such a liar."
“But an adorable one, right?” Kevin joked as he carefully dropped the rucksack to the ground and knelt next to it to retrieve the parts. He examined each one to ensure that neither was damaged during his hike back to the ship.
"All of this trouble for that?" Sarah asked, a notable tone of frustration in her voice.
He glanced up at his wife and handed her one of them. "That it was," he said as she took it from him. "Besides, I'm glad that it's nothing larger, or heavier. The gravity here is stronger than on Valara and it was a long way to travel with so much weight. I’m surprised the rucksack held up."
"So when do we start?"
Kevin's knee popped as he rose to a standing position and he groaned before stepping under the aft wing and dipping under the belly. "There's no time like the present."
Sarah followed her husband under the craft and knelt next to him as he handed her a flashlight.
"The modules are going to be installed here," he said as he pointed at the forward section of the drive. He lifted a band clamp from the toolbox and placed it around the main mount. "I need to be able to see this portion at all times, so if you can keep the beam of light near it, this should be an easy job. Theoretically."
Sarah shone the light as he directed, and he lifted the module into place meeting the sections together until they clicked into place. He held the module with one hand and used the other to slowly tighten the band clamp with his fingers until he could keep it snug enough in place to reach for the tool. "There we go. Now that that part’s done hand me the other module."
Sarah reached down and grabbed the section he had handed her before. He took it and observed what direction it was supposed to go into before directing her where to shine the light. The module snapped into place and then he tightened it with the two remaining clamps before taking the flashlight from his wife.
"Are we done?"
He shone the light into the engine bay to see if he could find any defects in his work. "As long as I installed them correctly, then we should be. We just need to put the belly panel back into place before we fire it up."
"Well, can we hurry because it looks like something is coming," she said as she glanced towards the south.
Kevin turned his head and noticed the darkening clouds forming in the area. "As if this planet wasn't bad enough as it is, now we have to deal with a sandstorm? No wonder people stay indoors on this planet."
With Sarah's help, they lifted the belly panel into place and made short work of installing all the fasteners until it was complete. He winced as the effort of carrying the modules all that way weakened his arms. It was only made worse by having to work over his head, and he barely had the strength to keep up the work.
Once he was done, he let out an exasperated sigh and grinned at his wife. "All right, honey, all that’s left is to fire it up."
Chapter Thirteen
"Sir, look at the feed," Harrison said as he pointed at the monitor.
Captain Dickson, startled by the abrupt response after nearly an hour of waiting, leaned forward in the seat with his eyes wide. On the screen, he saw a lone individual walking towards Kevin's ship, but it was too grainy to get fine details at their current range. "Zoom in."
Harrison manipulated the image, increasing in 10% increments until they could identify the pedestrian. "He looks alone, sir."
Dickson rose from his seat and stepped towards the monitor. "Obviously, he’s alone, Lieutenant," he muttered under his breath.
Harrison took notes of the observation before speaking, "perhaps his children were not onboard when they fled, sir?"
Dickson grunted, "I don't think that was the case, Lieutenant. I think my previous assumption that the ship was in a degraded state and needed repairs were spot on. Commander Hoyt most likely secured his children for the night so that he could expedite the repairs and keep them safe."
Harrison rose and stood next to his captain. "So, I guess that means the life form still on board the ship is Hoyt's wife?"
"Presumably," he started, then stopped short as the ramp of the scout ship lowered. He kept his eyes on the ramp until they had a full visual. He had known Sarah for as long as he knew Kevin, and there is no doubt in his mind that he was looking at Kevin's wife. “I was right, it's Kevin and Sarah. Their children must be in the city somewhere."
"So, what do we do? Admiral Hardak wants all of them taken into custody."
Dickson turned on his heels and marched towards the hatch leading out of the bridge. "I know what the Admiral Hardak wanted, Lieutenant. I don't need you to remind me. What I do need, however, is for you to keep an eye out and let me know if they depart while I'm en route. If I can convince Hoyt to surrender peacefully, we can worry about detaining his kids later. Commander Hoyt is the primary target."
Harrison nodded when the CO glanced back at him. "I'll maintain comms with you throughout, sir."
"Thank you, Harrison." He said as he left. “You have the bridge.”
Captain Dickson's armor was strewn out on the large bench inside the armory. He could not find much need to don all of it, though. For all he knew, Kevin was relatively unarmed and as long as Dickson approached alone, he should be able to reveal that he was attempting to de-escalate the need for violence. In theory, anyway, he thought as he glared at the rifle before slinging it over his shoulder.
Dickson donned the helmet and initiated power. The eyepiece illuminated, showing him the outside world through a video feed that could change visuals when he left a brightly lit environment for a darker one. It would be beneficial while walking in the desert, but it also served as a means to communicate with his lieutenant.
"Harrison, can you read me?"
Static filled his ears before the officer responded
, "Loud and clear, sir."
"Roger that. I'm setting out now," he said as he stepped out of the armory to see Chief Nesbitt leaning with his back against the bulkhead near the exit ramp.
"Are you sure you don't need backup, Captain?" The way the chief annunciated the word “Captain” had a tinge of sarcasm to it, but Dickson didn't have time to have a manhood measuring contest with the chief.
"If I change my mind, Nesbitt, you will receive orders from Lieutenant Harrison. Otherwise, you'll follow my standing order and stand fast," he said with his voice amplified from the helmet.
Chief Nesbitt stood tall and glared down his nose at the destroyer’s commanding officer. He crossed his arms and Dickson could see the corded muscle of the man's forearms in vivid detail through the helmet’s lens. There was no doubt the man was a tough son of a gun, and he also didn't appear that he was trying to hide some form of weakness with the forced bravado when he spoke sardonically to higher-ups. The chief was most likely at terminal paygrade and he knew it. What else did the man have to lose other than his life?
Dickson doubted it would've been much of a loss in Nesbitt's viewpoint. Hell, he probably welcomed the opportunity to have a quick end to his life if it came to that, which was why he pressed so hard to be included as part of the extraction detail.
Dickson couldn’t relate.
"Do you have something to say, Chief, or can I go do my job?"
Chief Nesbitt smirked but didn't say anything as he stepped out of the captain's way and pressed the ramp’s open switch on the bulkhead.
Chief Nesbitt disappeared out of view and Captain Dickson took the first step off the ramp and onto an alien world, he only learned about in military history classes. It was common knowledge that history was written by the victors, and their pens scribbled inflammatory words against Karnack and its populace.
Dickson hated to admit it, but upon the first view, he was inclined to agree with the historians.
"Suppose I better get this over with," he said to himself, forgetting that the helmet comm system was hot mic’d. "Belay that, Lieutenant. I'm just talking to myself."
"Roger that, sir," Harrison replied with a light tone to his voice.
Dickson had no doubt the young officer was laughing at his expense, but he didn’t have time to care.
He didn’t have time for anything.
Dickson approached slowly, his helmets imaging system constantly refreshing with each step he took. He held his rifle at the ready while his anticipation gnawed on his nerves ravenously. He hadn’t expected this much trepidation. All of his thoughts centered on the fact that he and Kevin had been friends for years, but in the moments leading up to the inevitable, and a bullet chambered in his weapon, he felt suspicious and vulnerable.
A metallic wine startled him, and he dropped to a knee, lifting the rifle and aiming in the direction of the ship. With his vision assisted by the helmet, he could see the cargo ramp of Hoyt's ship lowering like the jaw of a wild beast. He expected to see light emanating from inside the vessel, but instead, he was met with two pinpricks of light as a pair of laser sights centered onto his chest.
"That's far enough," a voice he recognized as Kevin's said through the augmentation of his helmet.
"I expected that you would know I was coming," Dickson said, his eyes focused on the unwavering dots staring back at him. His helmet shifted viewpoints, increasing the contrast until he could see two figures standing before him in the dark void of the scout ship's cargo bay. They were partially hidden behind storage boxes, but it was Kevin and Sarah.
"You're not as sneaky as you used to be, Will," Kevin said, his tone flat with only the slightest hint of nervousness.
"Touché’. And you're not as smart as I thought you were. If you're innocent, then why did you run away like a coward?" He hadn’t meant to challenge the man in such a way, but he was the one that started taking potshots at Dickson, and the captain needed to stand his ground. "The charges aren’t a good reason to put your family in danger and I think you know that."
"Don't bring my family into this," Kevin warned as he shifted his weight forward. The laser dot drew closer, but Dickson didn’t flinch.
"I didn’t bring your family into this, Kevin. You did. And I think you know what you have to do."
There was a long pause, and Dickson watched as Sarah and Kevin glance at one another before focusing their attention back on him. "I can’t do that, Will. Someone at the top is framing me. I don't know who it is, or why, but you have to believe me."
Dickson sighed, and the muffled sound escaped with the amplification from his helmet. "I don't have to do anything, Kevin. The fact that I came alone, instead of bringing an extraction team strapped to the gills should tell you that I'm not here to harm you. I'm just here to see that justice is served."
"Justice? Those charges result in an immediate tribunal, ten days to appeal, and three days to settle your affairs. At this rate, I have less than a week left to live because there is no way that the Consulate would allow me to build a case to defend myself."
Dickson heard the desperate inflection in Kevin's voice, and he couldn't fight the sorrow he felt for his old friend and his family. "Can you see that you’re driving the nails deeper in your coffin by running? Not only that, but you're thrusting your family in harm’s way as well. Surrender to me. Let me take you into custody as a show of good faith and also to talk to Admiral Hardak about giving you the opportunity to defend yourself at the tribunal. I understand how terrible your situation is, but it's only getting worse. You have to stop running."
The lasers drooped towards the deck of the ship as Kevin looked over to his wife. Dickson reciprocated the show of good faith by lowering his weapon as well. Have I gotten through to him, he wondered? He certainly hoped so.
"I just want my family to be safe. That’s not too much to ask," Kevin said.
"I want that too. For now, put your weapons down, and let me board. Let’s do this the right way."
Dickson watched as Kevin and Sarah placed their weapons on the deck of the cargo ship and took off their helmets. Kevin reached over and switched on the lighting of the ship and Dickson's helmets lens switched contrast to keep from blinding him.
"Come aboard, Captain, and we can discuss the terms of my surrender," Kevin said as he let out a heavy exhale. There was a look of defeat in his eyes, but the captain knew he was making the right decision.
At least he hoped that was the case as he removed his helmet and cradled it under his arm as he marched up the cargo ramp of the scout ship and into the belly of the beast.
Chapter Fourteen
"I don't like being cooped up in here with nothing to do," Auden said as she lifted a pillow and slung it towards her sister who was looking out the window.
Tara caught the pillow and moved to fling it back but held short. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure, I suppose."
Tara rose from her seat by the window and took a few steps towards her sister as she laid casually on her side. "What's going to happen when the Consulate catches us?" Tara’s pessimism caught Auden’s attention for a moment, but that was just Tara’s default mode. She always thought the worst was coming. Auden hated that, but it appeared to serve Tara well as she was seldom disappointed as of late.
Not that Auden wanted her to be right about this too.
Auden slunked back onto her back and gave an exasperated sigh. "Tara, didn’t mom and dad tell you not to dwell on the things that haven't happened?"
"Yes, but they also said if you have a question then there's no need to keep it to yourself," she replied sardonically.
Auden felt backed into a corner, not that she didn't have the answer to the question, but the fact that she didn't like the headspace she would go into when she allowed the thought to linger for more than a few flippant seconds. "Let me ask you a question, Tara. What do you think will happen if they catch us?"
Tara frowned for a moment. Her brow furrowed with thought as her hair h
ung loosely around her face. "I don't think we will live long enough to find out," she answered flatly.
Auden’s jaw went slack. She didn't think her younger sister would go that dark with her thoughts, but it was clear that her mind was drifting deeper into the shadows of what their family hoped would never happen. "I guess you're old enough to think about the situation like an adult," Auden said as she sat up in the bed. "It's a very real threat, especially as we try to evade them in the ship. But if they catch us here, I think the situation will go much differently.
“As much as I hate to think about it, I think dad will be arrested and the rest of us would be on our own, powerless to fight whatever judgment the admiral comes to. And that's me assuming we have a hope and prayer to stand up to the Consulate. There's only one set of charges of this nature that has ever been beaten in a tribunal and the defendant had weeks to build his case. Dad hasn't had that, which makes it more of a challenge to face the Consulate's judgment."
Auden hadn’t meant to get as detailed with her speculation when she started talking about it, but it was hard for her to keep her mouth shut and not overstep the boundary that made the situation more uncomfortable for her young sister.
Thankfully, Tara didn’t seem upset about her sister’s analysis.
"How long does a tribunal take?"
Auden shrugged, "I'm not sure," she replied. "When you read about the cases in class, the range is pretty significant. I think it depends on what the charges are and how much evidence the Consulate has to back up their claim. So, maybe a matter of days to several weeks?"
"That’s not a lot of time to help dad if he gets caught," Tara said. She glanced out the window once more, the thoughtful expression on her face turning more emotive as she peered out to where the ship had landed.