by Bob Cooper
“What about Acey?”
“I’m not sure she will ever accept me.”
“You need to give her some time. Dirk is all the family she has too, and I’m not sure she wants to share him.”
Acey and Aidan came through the hatch and joined Raina and Hillary. They watched as Dirk approached them. He sat down; a tired sigh escaped his mouth before he spoke.
“There is a high probability that we won’t make it back to Earth. The course I plotted is a dangerous one so if O’Malley doesn’t get us first, the asteroids will.”
***
The gaseous clouds were dead ahead, and O’Malley knew exactly what Dirk was thinking. Maybe the asteroids at the center of the clouds would take care of Dirk Saunders and the rest of them. Maneuvering through it was almost impossible. Franz watched the ion streams from the cruiser head into the clouds.
“You’re not going to follow him in there?” he asked nervously.
O’Malley walked around to the main screen and glared at the swirls of purple, red, and green clouds that was about to engulf his ship. The ion signature of the cruiser, represented by a black blip on the screen, disappeared into the maelstrom of clouds. Franz watched him look at the radiation monitors and then back to the screen. He never wanted to be involved with O’Malley’s scheme, but money and the threat to reveal Franz’s passion for illicit sex with minors persuaded him.
“How wide is the ship’s scanning capability? Can we see them if they make it through?” O’Malley asked.
“We have wide dispersion capability which will let us see almost the entire area, but we would lose the capability to track their ion streams.”
O’Malley studied the screen for a long time. He knew he couldn’t take the chance of Dirk escaping again.
“He’s escaped too many times before. Go in and follow him.” O’Malley commanded.
“But our ship is much bigger and less maneuverable than his. We’ll never make it through,” Franz objected.
O’Malley slammed his fist and moved to an inch of Franz’s face.
“You will do as I say! Now plot a course in there!” he screamed.
Franz cowered and plotted the course.
19
Hillary watched the swirls of green, red, and purple fill the screen. These would be great for her next art project, she thought, if she ever made it back to Earth. A jolt interrupted her thoughts and sent her sailing across the floor.
“Strap yourselves in,” Dirk shouted.
“The system indicates we have an outer hull compromise. It’s in the cargo section,” Acey yelled.
“I’m going down there to repair it,” Aidan said, making his way down the hatch.
Dirk played with the video displayed on the main screen. He used the penetrating scanners to see through the gas, but the images were still hazy. A dense field of rocks of all sizes rushed towards them. Raina jumped as the smaller ones bounced off the ship, making a loud thud. Dirk took the ship further into the middle of the forming planet. Gases and rocks consolidated into a single mass, and the temperature grew hotter the deeper they went.
“Where’s O’Malley?” Acey asked Dirk.
“I don’t see him, but I know he is in here looking for us,” Dirk replied, checking the scanners.
The cruiser swerved and dodged everything that came at it. Acey watched the experienced Dirk Saunders skillfully manipulate the controls, overriding the navigation computer. He was in his element and enjoying himself. Lecturing at the Academy was fine, but this is what he loved—the freedom of space, master of the controls, exploration. However, the traumatic events of the past few weeks have taken a toll on Dirk. Although his outward appearance didn’t show it, Acey could tell he hurt as much as she did. She saw it, especially when the Guardians revealed the events leading to Henry and Laura’s demise.
“We’re on the edge of this thing, and we will be coming out in plain sight in approximately ten minutes,” Dirk said.
The asteroids and gases thinned out, and the blackness of interstellar space began to reappear. Aidan joined them on the bridge just as they emerged.
“Any sign of O’Malley?” he asked.
“Not yet,” Acey said.
“How much longer before we see Earth?” Raina asked.
Acey brought the navigation computer back online and checked for the answer to Raina’s question, while Dirk continued to scan for O’Malley’s ship. “About two hours,” she replied.
Dirk viewed the emptiness in front of him looking for any signs of O’Malley. Nothing! He re-calibrated the scanning equipment, thinking it could have been affected by the magnetic fluctuations in the asteroid field — still no sign of O’Malley. The ship was severely damaged, but he was able to stabilize the gravity generator and provide more power to the impulse engines. He pushed the engines to get as much power as possible.
“We are being hailed,” Acey said, trying to boost the signal.
“If it’s O’Malley, don’t respond,” Dirk said.
“It’s coming from Earth. I believe it’s the United Earth Space Force. I have a visual that I can put on the screen.”
The fuzzy image cleared, and a picture of the Citizen Guard Command Center came into view.
“This is Commander Cook. Please surrender…”
The screen went blank and shattered as their ship exploded into flames from the plasma torpedo.
“It’s O’Malley,” Aidan yelled.
Flames were everywhere, and the hull breached. Noxious fumes and smoke filled the deck, and the ship’s engines were dead. Acey got up from the floor, and Aidan stirred from underneath the debris. Hillary crawled towards them, but Raina and Dirk were missing. She looked frantically through the smoke and yelled out for Dirk. No answer. A second torpedo slammed into the ship, causing emergency life support to activate. Acey managed to grab Hillary’s hand. They found Aidan. His leg was trapped under a falling steel beam. They lifted it, and Aidan crawled out from underneath still dazed.
“We need to abandon ship now,” he said, getting his wits back.
“How?” Acey asked.
“There’s an escape pod under the cargo hold. I discovered it earlier. I’m not sure it’s functional, but it’s our only choice,” Aidan replied.
“Go with Hillary and get it ready. I’ll find Dirk and Raina.”
The flames were intense. Acey ripped the lower part of her shirt and wrapped it around her face. She maneuvered through the flames and debris calling Dirk’s name. She found Raina unconscious. Her leg was crushed, and her head was bleeding profusely. She managed to drag her closer to the cargo hold when she heard a deep groan. Rushing through the smoke, she saw Dirk edging towards her.
“Hurry, Aidan has the pod ready. We must leave now,” Hillary shouted.
Acey looked back just as another explosion rocked the ship, knocking out the life support system. In total darkness, she reached for Dirk and dragged him to the ladder to the cargo bay. Aidan and Hillary grabbed him and pulled him down.
“Let’s go now!” Aidan screamed.
“Wait, where is Raina?” Dirk asked.
‘We have to leave now,” Aidan yelled back.
“No, we can’t leave without Raina,” Dirk said, struggling to get back up the ladder.
Acey pushed him aside.
“I’ll get her,” she said, scrambling up the ladder.
The flames lit the way, but the heat was intense. When she found Raina, she was still unconscious. Acey grabbed her arms and dragged her as far as she could before choking on the smoke. She fell to her knees, coughing and sputtering. Hillary came up and grabbed the backpack with the tapes and recording device and then helped Acey get Raina to the edge where Dirk and Aidan lifted her into the escape pod.
“This thing holds three people at best,” Dirk said.
“Too late to worry about that now,” Aidan said.
He pulled the emergency release, and they fell away from the ship just as it exploded and was absorbed into the darknes
s of space.
***
“O’Malley watched as the debris scattered in all directions. He was finally content now that all of his obstacles were removed.
“We got them, boss,” Franz said, smiling.
“Yes, it appears that way. Open a frequency with the Citizen Guard ships,” O’Malley replied.
Franz established the communication channel and put the visual on the main screen.
“This is John O’Malley, commander of the Space Academy Starship. I would like to report a vicious attack on our vessel by Dirk Saunders and his associates. We believe this was a last-ditch effort to avoid being captured, and we had no choice to protect ourselves. Their ship was totally destroyed—all lives lost.”
There was no immediate response. O’Malley waited for the captain to acknowledge his message. O’Malley could see the captain in discussion with some of the crew on the screen, but the audio was off.
“Would you please acknowledge my last communication,” he said, losing his patience.
The captain made visual contact and turned on the audio.
“We received your communication and verified the destruction of the vessel. However, an escape pod was detected. Please proceed to Earth where we can speak to you further,” the captain replied.
O’Malley looked at Franz with fire in his eyes.
“How could you let that happen? Get this thing back to Earth,” he screamed.
***
The escape from the exploding ship left the five stunned and in shock. Raina was seriously hurt and drifted in and out of consciousness the whole trip. Dirk was also injured but was able to function. No one had any experience in navigating the pod, and it was difficult to find access to the instruments with all of them crammed into the capsule. Aidan and Dirk found the automatic pilot settings and activated them. It was the best they could do. Hillary and Acey watched Raina closely as the freefall continued for what seemed to be an eternity. The pod emitted distress signals, which alerted the Citizen Guard, but it had no communications equipment. The first indication of rescue came when a shuttle locked on the pod. The jolt caused its passengers concern, even before the pod’s engines were disabled and they were towed back to the ship.
When the hatch opened, heavily armed officers extracted them. They sent Raina to the ship’s medical bay. Dirk stayed by her side, holding her hand until he was shoved away and handcuffed. Acey reached out for Aidan with tears in her eyes as the officers threw him to the ground and cuffed him. Dirk and Aidan were sent to separate cells. Hillary and Acey were put in one cell together. Each awaited their fate as the ships approached Earth. O’Malley on the Academy Starship had already docked.
Acey surveyed the sterile white cell from the ceiling to the floor. The smell of antiseptic and urine nauseated her. Hillary lay on the bottom bunk with her eyes closed, totally exhausted. Acey was grateful to know they were all alive, although she didn’t know Raina’s condition. She closed her eyes and thought about her half-sister dying without the opportunity to ever really know her. Hillary jumped up as the door opened, and white light flooded the cell. A silhouette appeared and grew larger as it entered.
“Please come with me,” a male voice said.
They followed cautiously behind him.
“Who are you?” Acey asked.
He didn’t answer. Two guards escorted them into a hallway that ended abruptly inside a large conference room. The guards left, and the man turned and faced them. Acey recognized the tall gentleman. She searched her memory, but could not come up with his name, or why she knew him.
“Please have a seat,” he said, pulling out a small pad from his back pocket.
“Who the hell are you,” Hillary yelled, losing her cool.
He didn’t seem to pay attention to her outburst but stared at Acey.
“You’re from the Academy,” Acey said, finally remembering. “You’re the attorney that talked to Dirk about turning himself in.
“I am Anthony Tarkington—legal counsel assigned to represent the lot of you. There are those at the Academy who believe Dirk is innocent—myself included. When the media reported that you were in custody, they decided to help Dirk in any way they could. They hired me. Now please explain what has transpired on Antares.”
“Why should we trust you?” Acey asked.
Anthony looked annoyed and took a deep breath.
“Well, because friends of your Grandfather convinced me that O’Malley is behind this; Dirk is innocent, and you really have no other choice but to trust me.”
Acey looked at Hillary, who shrugged her shoulders with half-hearted approval. They then related the more pertinent events, especially about securing the tapes from Bob Haskall and the recording device from Antares, which would prove O’Malley’s complicity in the whole thing.
“Where are these tapes,” he asked.
“They’re in my backpack. I believe the authorities have them. Please make sure nothing happens to them since they are the only evidence we have that can vindicate Dirk,” she said.
“Don’t worry. I’ll take real good care of them,” he said, leaving in a hurry.
20
Aidan stood in shackles and under heavy guard while two agents from the internal investigative arm of the Citizen Guard questioned him. They read off the charges in excruciating detail as Aidan’s mind drifted to Acey. They had been through a lot, and he knew the trouble he was in for helping with Dirk’s escape. Still, he believed he did the right thing and was willing to accept the consequences for it.
“Officer Aidan Carter, do you understand the charges against you and that anything you say could be used against you,” the senior agent said.
“I wish to have legal counsel before I say anything,” Aidan replied.
“Your attorney has not yet been assigned. Look, we can make this much easier for you if you tell us the truth now so we can conclude this investigation,” the other agent said.
Aidan looked at both of them. He knew his career was over and was probably looking at jail time. But most of all, he had brought disgrace to his father’s memory.
Be true and firm in what you believe in, and you will always do the right thing, his father would say.
He believed Dirk was innocent, and he did what he could to help him for that reason alone—not because of Acey. But that wasn’t going to matter now. He had to be ready to accept what was coming.
Aidan was about to speak when Anthony Tarkington yelled through the cell door, “Don’t say a word! I’m representing Mr. Carter, and until I speak with him privately, he has nothing else to say to you.”
***
Dirk stared up at the bunk above him, reliving the events of the past weeks. For some reason, he felt safe and secure in the cramped cell; no media in his face, and no signs of O’Malley and his men. His body soaked up the quiet and peacefulness in the soundproof room as he slipped in and out of sleep. He had no idea how this was going to end and resigned himself to whatever the outcome would be, except for one detail—Acey. The lock on the door turned, the door opened, when the captain and two armed security guards walked in.
“Please come with us,” he said.
So much for rest and relaxation, Dirk thought to himself.
***
O’Malley met with the Academy Board of Reagents and weaved a tale that most of them bought. He convinced them it was his strong sense of justice, and his willingness to protect the good name of the Academy that urged him to pursue Dirk and bring him to justice. He relished in providing the fake details of how Dirk and the group attacked his men, trying to kill them. Using all the theatrics he could, including tears. O’Malley then related how he offered to rescue Dirk when their ship supposedly broke up going through the asteroids. He even talked about how poor Acey suffered from this ordeal because of Dirk. If he could convince them, he thought, then he should be able to persuade the authorities as well. There was one problem. The Citizen Guard possessed the evidence.
***
The captain and the two guards escorted Dirk down a well-lit hallway and into an elevator, which took them down to the subbasement. The doors opened into a small white room with a square table and two chairs. A person sat with his back to Dirk, pouring over a stack of papers.
“Thank you, gentlemen. That’ll be all,” he said without looking up.
They left Dirk standing there as the door slammed shut.
“Tony, is that you?” Dirk said, moving around to get a look at his face.
“Who else did you think would be stupid enough to defend your sorry old ass,” came a barely audible reply. “I’m the only consul your faculty association can afford, and besides I owe you one for that incident in Miller’s bar eons ago.”
Dirk smiled as the vision of the tiny neighborhood bar filled his mind. Students and faculty alike frequented it, and the fraternization rules tended to be greatly relaxed. Dirk found Tony in a heated debate with one of his female law students over the legality of whether aliens should be allowed permanent residence on Earth when her jealous boyfriend knocked Tony off his chair and slapped the girl. Tony recovered in time to punch the drunken boy, as the embarrassed girl ran from the scene. The boyfriend brought charges against Tony. When the girl corroborated the boyfriend’s skewed story, Tony faced the possibility of being fired. Dirk was the only one who came forth to testify and saved Tony from an early and unjust dismissal.
“This doesn’t look good at all,” Tony said, still reading the papers on the table.
“I have proof that O’Malley was responsible for Haskall’s murder. I also have proof that he killed my son and daughter-in-law. The authorities have evidence that clearly implicates O’Malley.”
“This is what I was given by the authorities and the prosecution. The tapes and recording device have nothing but static noise.”