by Drew Avera
Chapter 28
Kara and I walked down the passageways of the transport taking our own grand tour. Kara held the map and pointed out which direction we should go. Placards on the bulkheads aided in letting us know exactly where we were located at any given time. Without those we would surely have gotten lost several times.
It took us about thirty minutes to find the galley. Once we were there we found that it was large enough to seat about six hundred people at a time. Many of the seats were already taken but the line to receive food was fairly short. We made it through the line and were amazed to find that we did not have to eat freeze dried food, everything was fresh fruits and vegetables, and they were even serving grilled meats. This put a smile on our faces; at least the first meal would be a good one.
Kara and I collected our trays and presented our tickets to pay for the food, it was more of a voucher that allowed us three meals each day so that they could conserve food. We found a table in a corner and sat down. There was a media device at our section and it showed maps to help people find where they were going, there was also a timer at the bottom of the screen to let us know how many days until we would reach Earth. Seven months, thirteen days, four hours, twenty six minutes and counting. Reading it like that made it feel like we would be stuck on this transport forever.
We ate our food and reclined in the relative comfort of the galley. It was open in order to allow people to come and go as they pleased without disturbing each other. The galley was not as large as the cargo bay had been, but it was infinitely more comfortable. Kara and I sat and talked for a while after we finished our meal, the sound of a hundred other people talking did a lot to drown out our conversation.
"Where do we need to start?" Kara asked me as she pulled her hair back behind her ears.
"I'm not sure," I said. "I guess it all depends on what it is that we are starting."
"The mission, Serus. Where do we start with the mission?"
My smile faded somewhat at the thought of her being so interested in getting down to business. There were several factors in our operations that needed to be sorted out first. She needed training on how to use the gauntlet, we needed to figure out which members of the Syndicate were on board this transport, we even needed to know what part of Earth we were scheduled to land in relation to the other transports. If we were across an ocean from the main members of the Syndicate then that needed to be calculated now. It could be difficult killing people and disposing of their bodies while we are here in space, which was a factor that could not be overlooked.
"Well, I think the first thing we need to do is to take the list that White gave me and bounce it off the roster of names on board this transport," I said. "From there I can train you in some essential fighting techniques as well as how to use the gauntlet."
"Do you still have the list?" She asked.
"Yes, it's saved on my communicator," I said.
"We'll if we can find a computer that has access to the roster then I can bring it up and bounce the names off of those on the list," she said.
"Perfect. Where can we find a computer that would have that sort of information?"
Kara pulled out the map and set it on the table in front of us. She ran her finger along the diagram and read the name of each compartment that she came across. "Here it is. Administration, passageway bravo on the seventh level. It's pretty much on the other side of the transporter," she said.
"Then I guess our tour will take us to the seventh level and passageway bravo," I said.
"It seems that was," Kara said as she began to stand up and collect her tray. I followed her to the scullery to dispose of our trash. Kara still held the map in her hand and approached one of the placards on the bulkhead to figure out which direction we needed to go. Kara took a right down the next passageway as I followed her.
It took us several minutes to find a ladder to take us to the seventh level, but once we found it we were set. It was a quick climb up three levels and passageway bravo was to our left. The administration office was down the passageway on the right. The door was locked due to the department being closed. I jiggled the door knob uselessly and sighed. There always seemed to be a barrier in my way.
"Hold on," Kara said as she pulled a pin from her hair. She bent the pin straight and jammed it into the lock. She twisted the hair pin for about fifteen seconds and suddenly the lock clicked and the door opened.
"How did you do that?" I asked in shock at the uncharacteristic skill that I had just discovered in my little sister.
"I've locked myself out of my house more times than I would like to admit," she said. "It comes to a point where you either keep paying for service calls or you figure out how to break into your own home." We both smiled at the circumstances that enabled us to succeed at breaking into the administration office.
Kara and I walked into the office and looked around at the entire computer systems set up throughout the room. She sat down at one of the stations and began typing commands into the interface. I stood over her shoulder and watched her work. The programs opened before our eyes as she typed away and scrolled down the lengthy list of names. In less than two minutes she had found the roster of the names of everyone on the transport with us. She pressed the print icon on the display and a stack of pages printed out.
I grabbed my communicator and read the list of names that White had sent me. "Damian Wise?" I asked.
She shuffled through the pages to the names that started with 'W' and browsed through the names. "Not on this list," she said.
"Lea Harris," I read aloud.
"No."
"Ghon Abert?"
"Yes," she said and circled his information on the list. I continued through the list until I found Sorell's name. I did not expect him to be on the same transport as us. “Delyn Sorell?”
"Yes, Sorell is on this transport," she looked up at me with wide eyes.
"It's alright," I said. "Both of us are armed and ill teach you how to use the gauntlet. We can just stay in our state room as much as possible to avoid any possible contact with him until you're comfortable."
Kara nodded her head and collected the pages that she had circled the names on and stuffed them into her pocket. I closed my communicator and placed it into my breast pocket as we started to leave the admin office. Kara grabbed the rest of the papers and placed them in the shredder as she left. I hit the door lock on our way out still thinking about the fact that Sorell was out here with us. The thought of that happening had never crossed my mind, but now I knew just how careful we would have to be in order to succeed.