Lunar Escape

by C P MacDonald

  “Yea sure, no problem, that guy is a weirdo and freaks me out.” Dean agreed.

  “Now Dean, he just has a bizarre sense of humor.”

  “Bizarre sense of humor?” Dean raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

  Shona cocked her head at them, “Do I really want to meet this person?” she asked.

  “It’s all right. Dean and Jonus have a turbulent history. He’s OK, you’ll see.” Calin assured her.

  Calin headed to the airlock, turned to Dean and ordered, “Keep her on a trickle if we need to blast out of here.”

  Dean gave a thumbs up in reply before he returned to his Engineering Station up in the cockpit of the Sea Rover.

  After they boarded the station, Calin and Shona worked their way through the labyrinth of machine shops and cargo areas that cluttered the lower levels of the space station. In one of the largest cargo areas, near the center of the station and filled with hundreds of various shipping crates, was where you would find Jonus and his top officers. With a quick word to the sentry posted at the entrance, they were allowed in. Buried among the stacks and stacks of shipping crates Jonus had a lounge and office set up with multiple vid-screens that showed the activity of the station.

  As they walked down the long corridor formed by stacks of colorful crates, they could see Jonus yell and shake his fist at some unfortunate person cowered on their knees in front of him. Jonus swung a swift backhand across their face that spun them around and with a kick to their ass he sent the poor soul to slide across the floor.

  But when Jonus turned to see his next visitors, the scowl on his face flipped into a large smile when he saw them.

  “Calin! Good to see ya dude! You back for another weapons crate already?”

  Calin walked up and shook Jonus's hand before he shook his head, “Not this time old friend.” With a nod of his head toward the person who had just been dragged out he asked, “Problems?”

  “Nothing major, a new recruit who didn’t know how things work around here. They’re educated know.” Jonus grinned.

  And with that Jonus turned his attention to Shona, “Well, hello there beautiful. Surely you are not purposely traveling with this joker here?” he jerked his head at Calin questionably.

  Shona gave a small smile and nodded her head in greeting.

  Calin grabbed Jonus by the shoulder and turned him away from Shona, “I’m here because we need some help. The kind of help that is right up your alley. And you might even enjoy it.” Calin grinned.

  Jonus tilted his head in puzzlement, “All right, I’m listening.” he said as he sat down at a makeshift desk of shipping crates.

  Calin gave him a brief rundown of the past few days but left out any mention or clue of the Atlanteans, instead he implied that Silas discovered some advanced technology from the government.

  “But the problem is Silas does not have the control tablet for the main security safeguard. But knowing him, he will try to start the fusion reactor, anyway. If he does that, it will destroy Caldera City and a lot of the independent outposts.”

  Jonus rubbed his chin and contemplated what Calin had told him. He stopped to remark, “My informants have been telling me Silas was gearing up for something big. Even before he found this advanced tech, he’s always wanted to control more of the Moon. His ambition has always been greater than his reach. Now it sounds like he will make his move.”

  Shona was puzzled, “What? Silas wants to be King of the Moon or something?”

  Jonus shrugged, “He, like the rest of us, wants out from under the Solar System Authority’s thumb. While the rest of us want freedom, he wants to replace the SSA with his own regime. Look at what he’s done to Caldera City, then imagine that all over the Moon.”

  Shona shook her head in disbelief, "It's already gone downhill, he will make it worse."

  Jonus nodded his head in agreement and replied, “I guess we will have to do something about that.” He turned to one of his officers and ordered, “Tell the boys to pack up their gear for some fun. It’s time we got off this tin can.”

  “So do you think you can do this? Start a revolt? You have a gang, not an army.” Calin pointed out.

  Jonus wiggled his eyebrows, “You don’t need an army when you have an entire upset population on edge to work with. We will go down there and fan the flames. I’ll hook up with Jerret and before you know it, we’ll turn that little spark of defiance into a full civil uprising.” He rubbed his hands together in glee and added, “This will be a blast!” He paused in his excitement and added, “While I get the party started, you and your crew are more than welcomed to hide out here. You can crash at my hotel, the PPD never comes down here.” he said as he raised his hands up in the air and turned in circles with a wide grin. “Here, I’m the King!”

  Chapter 19

  Calin and Shona arrived at the Astronaut Suite, the hotel room provided by Jonus and accompanied by two of the Cold Space Gang gorillas. Calin paused at the door and turned to the two guards who took up positions on either side to sarcastically ask, “Can we get a wake-up call at 8 am?”. Their only reply was an ugly look and sneer. As Calin closed the door, he activated the lock. Jonus he trusted, his goons not so much.

  He turned to survey the suite and was impressed with Jonus’s generosity. The hotel room was probably 5 times bigger than his apartment in Caldera City. One whole wall was an enormous video screen that displayed a live feed of the Earth below. The hotel suite was a large room with the fresher located through a door off to the left side. Posh thick carpets, mood lighting, and elegant furniture added to the appeal of the suite.

  Shona stopped in her exploration of the suite to slip off her shoes and to dig her toes into the thick carpet, a sigh of contentment escaped her lips. “Aren’t you going to call Dean? There’s plenty of room,” she asked.

  “Nah, I need him to stay with the ship. I want it ready to go at any time,” he explained. Besides, he wasn’t sure if it was such a good idea to have Dean stay in the same hotel room as Shona.

  “So what now? We twiddle our thumbs and wait?” she asked with a laugh.

  Calin responded, “There’s not much else we can do until Jonus and Jerret get the uprising going, so we might as well make as much as we can of the situation”. With that said, he reached out and pulled a complimentary bottle of wine out of an ice bucket with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

  She gave a little grin. He was beginning to appreciate Shona’s relaxed demeanor even in the face of a crisis. The majority of the people he knew would have freaked out by now, unsure of what to do or where to go. But not Shona, she was still cool and calm like this was a casual date on the town. Except, he reminded himself; it was not a date. She was a client, although it had crossed his mind to ask her if she wanted to join his crew.

  It amazed him how hiding in a hotel suite by an underground crime boss with a good bottle of wine and an attractive woman could change your mood. And since they couldn’t leave they ordered room service, again courtesy of Jonus. The gang leader footed the bill as they dined on real Kobe steak, cooked medium rare, and heavily buttered lobster tails followed by a molten lava cake.

  With their nerves soothed by good wine and their hunger quelled with good food, Calin and Shona could almost forget they were wanted fugitives being chased by a maniacal Governor.

  Shona was fresh out of the shower and relaxing in a hotel bathrobe on the large overstuffed couch in the middle of the room. He couldn’t help notice her very shapely legs curled up underneath her as she sipped her wine.

  “Since it looks like we have time to kill, where did you learn to fly a ship?” she questioned and peered over her glass as she took another sip.

  “It may be hard to believe but I was not always the dashing outlaw you see before you today,” he playfully quipped. “Former Lieutenant Aku, of the PPD, at your service,” he said with a low bow and a flourish of his real arm and a grin.

  “Oh yea, you mentioned flying patrols for them before. Although I can’t se
e you taking orders, polishing your boots, and creasing your trousers. How did you get out?”

  “Medical discharge,” he explained and held up his cybernetic arm, “About 5 years ago.”

  “Not smuggling?” she asked with raised eyebrows.

  “Hey, believe it or not, I was, mostly, a model soldier. My first station was on surface patrols, flying shuttles and drone recon. I enjoyed it, it was a quiet and easy rotation. Most of the time I busted teenagers on drone joy rides or rescued lost tourists. My squad was a good group of guys too, for the most part. My Captain was a ball buster for protocols and regulations though.” And then he added, “When he was sober.”

  While he spoke of his former life in the PPD Shona had stretched out like a cat on the overstuffed couch, again those lovely legs peeked out from beneath the bathrobe. Even a thick fluffy robe could not hide her curves. The white of the robe made her jet black hair stand out even more and enhanced the silky whiteness of her skin.

  He hurriedly got up from his chair and said, “I’m… going to go hit the shower,” and he left the room as quickly as he could. He clinched a metal fist and chastised himself. Easy there, boy! Let’s not make things complicated. They may be in a swank hotel room but remember you work together. This ain’t no vacation. Keep it together!

  Chapter 20

  Shona had never spent a lot of time on the station, like most Moonies she had only passed through on the way to Earth. So the next morning Calin took her on a little tour. Jonus assigned to bodyguards to tag along in case any PPD troops recognized them. Calin had to admit the bodyguards were good at their job, ever present but out of the way. First they explored the Promenade, a long corridor that ran along the top of the station. It was lined with expensive shops, real trees, and a glass roof that offered spectacular views of Earth. The glitz and glamour of the Promenade was aimed to impress tourists and travelers as they passed through.

  As they inspected the window displays in the shops, it amazed them at what tourists would buy, and at such ridiculous prices. As they squeezed through the crowds Calin had felt, twice, light fingers brush across the blaster on his thigh. A steely look was all it took for the local pickpockets to move on to their next target.

  It seemed the closer they got to the main hangar entrance to the Promenade the higher the prices were. While he inspected a bulletproof but stylish jacket in a window, he saw familiar shapes in the glass's reflection. He turned to casually glance over his shoulder and saw a squad of troops exited the main hangar. And there, in the lead, was Captain Avis. Calin quickly turned around to hide his face and whispered to Shona. “Don’t turn around. Check the reflection to your left.”

  She first shot him a quick glance of concern then checked the reflection in the window. Her hand immediately went to her holdout pistol, “That son of a bitch.”

  Their lead bodyguard interrupted her rant when he placed his hands on their shoulders to gently moved them down the corridor and suggested, “We need to leave.”

  Shona, red-faced, glared over her shoulder in Avis’s direction and muttered, “He killed my brother.”

  She spun out from under the bodyguard's grip and darted around them both to bring up her pistol, aimed at Avis across the open Promenade.

  “Well, shit. I guess we are doing this.” Calin snapped in surprise and gestured for the bodyguards to get into a flank position. The two guards complied with big grins. Typical CSG, Calin thought, always up for a fight.

  Shona ducked behind a thick tree in the corridor and peeked her head around its trunk. She brought up her pistol, lined up a shot at Avis and fired. And missed.

  Avis, an asshole he may be, had quick reflexes and instantly ducked low behind a large potted plant in the corridor. The squad that accompanied him leaped into protection positions.

  The CSG bodyguards used hand signals to signal each other their preferred targets and position themselves defensively. After a silent countdown, they both opened fire at once to nail their intended targets with blaster fire. Within 5 seconds of the start of the firefight, half of Avis’s squad was down. Shona took advantage of this and pushed forward to the next potted tree closer to Avis. She slid behind it just in time to avoid a hail of fire from the rest of the PPD squad. Calin’s cybernetic arm snapped up and fired off two quick shots to hit the trooper to Avis's left. But just as he pushed forward with Shona, three more squads of troopers raced out of the hangar behind Avis.

  “Shit! Someone got off a call for backup!” the head bodyguard snapped. He raced forward and grabbed Shona to pull her back just as she was about to jump out of cover toward Avis.

  “We need to go Ma’am, we need to go!” he yelled as he pulled her behind him.

  “No! We’ve almost got him!” she objected and fought against the guard's grip like a wildcat.

  Calin grabbed her other arm and offered, “I promise, we'll get that bastard. But right now we’re outnumbered and need to run!”. The rain of blaster fire from Avis’s reinforcements that flew through the air around him helped to emphasis their situation to Shona. She scowled in disappointment and jammed her pistol back in its holster. As they ran for their lives Calin made a mental note to never get her mad at him. Ever.

  The other bodyguard had run ahead of them. When they rounded a corner and were out of sight of the PPD troops, they saw him hold open a panel in the side of the corridor which lead to a maintenance hallway.

  They all ducked in and closed the hatch behind them. Quietly they caught their breath as they strained their ears for the sound of pursuit.

  When the stomp of armored feet had passed them and faded off into the distance, they moved down the dark narrow hallway. Calin had to admire the CSG, leave it to them to know all the hidden hallways throughout the station. The lead bodyguard who spoke before told Calin, “This hallway will go up back to the maintenance level, from there you can get back to your ship. It’s not safe for you anymore on the station now they know for sure you are here.”

  Calin agreed, “Tell Jonus I’m sorry for all the trouble, and I will wait for his call for when he is ready.”

  "Where can we go?" Shona asked.

  He paused for a second and rubbed his chin. "You may not like this, we can go dirtside."

  With a disgusted scowl she asked, "Why?"

  "We can lie low at Mouse's for a little while, he won't mind. I think. At least until Jonus is ready for us." He opened his comm and hailed Dean on the Sea Rover, "Get her warmed up, we are coming in hot and need to burn out of here."

  “Roger Boss,” came the short reply.

  He grabbed Shona’s hand and pulled, “Come on, time to get out of here.”

  She yanked her hand back and glared up at him She pointed her finger in his face and snapped, “Next time we see that S.O.B., do not stop me!”.

  “All right! All right! He’s all yours!” he backed away and held up his hands in mock surrender.

  With a bodyguard to lead the way, they made their way through the maze of maintenance tunnels to the CSG domain, the maintenance yards. Once there, they made their way to the hatch where the Sea Rover was docked.

  Inside the cockpit and strapped in, Calin turned to Shona and gave her a lopsided grin he hoped would ease her mood, “I guess we will put your sensor mesh to the ultimate test and sneak out of here, right under their noses.”

  Shona, now that she had a chance to calm down and released some of her anger on the run through the maintenance hallways, nodded. “It will handle it. But I’d advise that being this close to the Station you should keep the speed below 25%. The slower we go the better the mesh will adjust and mask our sensor readings,” she suggested.

  Calin nodded, grabbed the stick, fed power to the sensor mesh and ordered Rose to undock the Sea Rover. With a clunk, the ship floated free from the Station.

  Everyone stared out the forward window at the streams of traffic that circled Harbor Station. His plan was to merge into one of those streams of traffic and head to Earth. He kept an eye out for patr
ol ships as he smoothly flew his ship in and out among the traffic lanes that left and entered the station's orbit. He flew right next to the hull of the larger cargo ships when possible to hide them from sight and blend their sensor signals.

  Calin flew to the largest traffic lane headed down to Earth. Normally Traffic Control managed all access to the approach path down to Earth, the A.I. traffic systems spaced out the ships into safe intervals. But he would have to do it the hard way and manually position the Sea Rover between ships in the lane and at a safe distance from all traffic during reentry. With troops both on the Moon and on the Station looking for them, the only place left for them to run was Earth. With skill and careful timing, he slipped them into the heaviest stream of spaceships headed down to Puerto Espacial where Mouse lived.

  The drop dirtside was uneventful if you all the worst roller coaster ride you can imagine uneventful. The turbulence of reentry felt like the hand of God had reached out, grabbed their ship from the sky, and shook it like a gigantic baby rattle. Calin tried to ignore the shaking of the ship by focusing on the flames of reentry outside the windows. The dance of the flames was almost hypnotizing, as long as you didn’t think about the ship being engulfed in flames. In the old days spaceships were streamlined for aerodynamic atmospheric flight. Today ships accomplished flight through pure power and strength of materials, and definitely with less finesse.

  Once the ship had slowed to below supersonic speeds, the flight smoothed out. The engines roared as Calin brought the ship into a hover above the tarmac of the spaceport below. He craned his neck to find an empty landing spot below, he preferred to land as far away from everyone else as possible.

  They landed during the nighttime so they could see nothing of the city of Puerto Espacial outside the window, just the strobing warning lights of the port as heavy rain splattered against the glass.

  When he stepped out of the ship into the pouring rain Calin couldn’t help but to stop and look up, to feel the raindrops as they landed on his face. Rain! He hadn’t felt the rain on his skin in years. He inhaled deeply, the smell of the hot metal from the ship, the wet asphalt, the oil and grease of the spaceport, they all combined with the pollution from the city. And the smell still couldn’t cover up the wonderful aroma of the wet dirt of Earth. He took a deep sniff. The air was natural, not filtered and chemically manufactured but real air. It felt like a lifetime since Calin had set foot dirtside.