Maggie jumped into action, pulling a suit out of a nearby supply closet.
Gary snatched the suit out of Maggie’s hand and fiddled with the release valve on the compressed oxygen compartment, a faint hiss emitting from the suit. He chuckled and passed it back to Maggie, nodding toward David.
Maggie looked to Sam and then David, clearly concerned, but she handed it to him anyway.
“Put it on,” Sam urged with the aid of a small laser weapon.
David sluggishly looked up at Dani, clearly confused. He had a good-sized knot swelling up just at his hairline. Dani helped him into the suit and onto his feet. The moment she did, the interior door closed. Sam took one last look through the small window before stepping away.
“Can you hear me?” Dani spoke, hoping the suits had internal comms.
“Mmmhmm,” David grunted in response.
Dani hooked her arms snugly around David. “Hold on,” she said, looking back at the small window once more. Sam’s face had been replaced by the man’s as he grinned at the two of them. Then, Dani saw his face change as he looked at her. His smile slowly melted away into confusion, and he opened his mouth to speak, tapping on the glass with a fat finger.
Just then, the exterior doors opened, and Dani and David were whipped out of the safety of the tiny airlock and jettisoned into the infinite dark of space.
Chapter 4
Dani held onto David as he clung to consciousness. She watched as the Seattle changed position before engaging a hyperspace window then accelerating through it. Just like that, they were alone in space, with no ship. As much as Dani wanted to trust Sam, she was having a hard time doing so.
“Are we going to die?” David slurred.
“I hope not.” Dani wanted to look at the oxygen reading on the wrist of the suit but didn’t dare let go of David. She knew they’d be easier to find if they stayed together, and she needed him just as much as he needed her right now. “I think Sam sent a message to the rebels. She is one of them.”
“Uhngg,” David groaned as his head bobbed around inside his helmet.
“Stay with me,” she said, gently bonking her helmet against his.
It worked, somewhat. His eyes fluttered open once more and he squinted at her before looking past her. He asked again, “Are we going to die?”
Dani didn’t bother answering him this time, partially because she didn’t think he’d understand her if she did and partially because she wasn’t so sure they were going to make it. The suits were insulated with a supply of oxygen, but she wasn’t sure how much time they’d have before succumbing to the cold vacuum of space.
Time felt as infinite as space itself as the pair of them tumbled aimlessly through the void. She tried distracting herself with various mind games and exercises: counting the stars and planets, guessing distances. She even tried reciting the names of the GC Sector Heads and which sectors they oversaw, but the game left a bitter taste in her mouth after her father’s recount of the corruption within the GC. She quickly moved on to an attempt at recalling lessons from her time aboard the Seattle, but nothing seemed to ease the discomfort of the seemingly endless wait.
Dani finally resorted to obsessing about her breathing as she listened to David’s snoring through the comm. At first she found the sound rather annoying but there was a natural rhythm to it that comforted her after a while. At the very least, she knew he was still alive.
She wasn’t sure how long it had been when David finally opened his eyes once more. She had lost count right around twelve-hundred snores. “David, are you alright?”
David seemed to have his wits about him this time, at least mostly. “I think so. Head hurts something fierce. Are we… in space?”
“Yeah.” Dani sighed with relief at his coherence. “And I think that Gary guy might have recognized me.”
“Shit.”
Dani gave David a squeeze in hopes it’d offer some reassurance. Her arms and legs were both intertwined with him to ensure they didn’t lose each other should she accidently fall asleep. “I am pretty sure that Sam sent a message to the rebel planet, but I don’t know how long it will take them to get it or come get us.”
“Sam?”
“From the Seattle. She was one of my old professors. Major Foster.”
“Oh, right, sorry. I’m having a hard time remembering things.” He glanced at his wrist before wrapping his arms around Dani. “Hopefully it doesn’t take more than six hours. How long have we been out here?”
“I’m honestly not sure.” She relaxed her grip on him now that he was holding her as well.
“Well, any rebel ship should be able to get here faster than we did following that trawling scout. They don’t have to worry about being detected by the Vaerians. Plus, it looks like the Seattle cleared out as well.”
“I just hope they can find us.”
“Hey, don’t worry, they will.” David offered her a flash of smile but quickly winced in pain and squinted an eye. “Ow.”
“Did they get you pretty good?” she asked.
David nodded. “Yeah, but I’ve had worse. What about you? Your helmet is a mess.”
“I’m fine,” Dani answered. “We should probably keep the talking to a minimum. You know, limited oxygen supply and all.”
David gave another quick nod then slowly turned his head to take in their surroundings. Dani did the same, searching for any sign of movement among the glint of the stars. She felt a little better now that David was awake, and it wasn’t so lonely, even if they weren’t talking much. They continued to cling to each other, serving as the other person’s life raft in the black, sparkling ocean of nothingness.
Their only method of telling time was to watch their oxygen tick away. With David awake and able to hang on to her, Dani braved a glance at her own oxygen levels. She had more time than David, but not by much. It had occurred to her that, since he would run out of air before she would, that she’d have to watch him die. She tried not to let the thought get to her, but it was the last thing she wanted to witness in her own dying moments. A mere twelve minutes after he ran out of air, it would be her turn. Not only would she lose the man who had been so kind to her, but it’d be a preview of her own demise—and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
There’s always something, a thought whispered in the back of her mind. She had the faintest sliver of hope, but it was quickly snuffed out by the utter lack of everything around them. Not this time, she thought back.
“I’m not sure what’s worse,” David said quietly. “The fact that we’re likely going to die, or the waiting for it to happen.”
“If we’re alive, there’s hope,” Dani said the words to convince herself as much as David.
Silence fell upon them once more as Dani recited her own words of hope over and over in her mind. A small beep in her helmet and glance at her oxygen levels told her they were under the half-hour mark. David must have gotten the same alert a several minutes earlier and not said anything. Her twenty-nine minutes of air equated to seventeen for David.
Dani turned away from her view of the closest gas giant to study David’s face. The dread and disappointment she was expecting weren’t there. Instead, he squinted off into the distance, one corner of his mouth turned slightly upward. Dani attempted to follow his gaze but was unable to turn enough to see anything.
“Do you see something?” she asked.
“I thought I saw a ship drop out of a hyperspace window over there, but it must have cloaked right away.”
“You’re sure it was a rebel ship?”
“Well, no. But either way I hope it means something will happen.”
Dani waited impatiently as they continued their slow trajectory until she was able to see the area David indicated. To her disappointment, there was nothing remarkable about that section of space.
“Any guess on how long it will take them to find us after exiting a jump?” she asked with a frown as she searched the darkness before her for any sign of a
ship.
David took another glance at his oxygen meter. “Soon, I hope.”
A quick glance at her own confirmed her fear. David was approaching the ten-minute mark.
“Look, Dani,” David started, “if you make it—”
“Stop,” Dani ordered.
“But—”
“No, just stop. It can wait until we’re safe.”
“I don’t think—”
Dani stopped David midsentence with a glare. He sighed, shook his head, and smiled at her. She couldn’t help but return the gesture. “Tell me later.”
David nodded in reply, then glanced at his wrist.
As soon as he grabbed her once more, she checked her own levels. She had twenty-one minutes; he had nine. Where are you? she thought to herself, squinting into the dark.
“Oh, thank goodness,” David said with a big exhale. “Over there.”
Dani looked in the direction he indicated and was thrilled to see a nearby rebel ship. “Finally! They must have been cloaked.”
David gave Dani a squeeze and grinned at her as the ship’s gravity beam engaged on the pair. Their aimless drifting was now a controlled approach toward the ship. The journey was slow, but Dani figured slow and steady was much better than slamming into the ship at a high velocity. Still, it didn’t stop her from being anxious about the situation.
The rebel ship looked similar to older GC models. In fact, Dani was sure it was an old GC transport ship, judging by the shape and size. However, it was now fitted with far more weapons than were typically standard for such a vessel. It also had large, red flame symbols painted on the top, as well as each side.
The gentle tug of the gravity beam took hold of them, drawing the pair into a large airlock just as Dani’s oxygen sensor beeped at the fifteen-minute mark. David’s grip on her had loosened and his eyes were fluttering closed.
“Stay with me,” she ordered, giving him a little shake as the doors sealed closed behind them.
Breathable air was pumped into the room as the artificial gravity engaged, dropping the two of them to the floor. Sensors indicated the airlock was now breathable, and Dani fumbled with the release for David’s helmet with her gloved hands. When she finally got a grip on it, she removed his helmet and tapped him on the cheek.
“David?”
His eyes remained closed.
Dani removed her helmet and was leaning down to see if she could feel his breath when the interior doors of the ship slid open. Bob, Roni, Jag, and a medical team rushed into the airlock. A member of the medical team held an oxygen mask over David’s mouth and nose while another offered Dani her own mask.
“I’m okay.” She waved them away and tried to peer around the others to assess David’s condition.
“Looks like he’s going to be alright too, sir,” said one of the medics.
“Great, get them both to the med bay and check them over,” Bob ordered as he turned and left.
Roni remained behind for a few seconds to smirk at Dani before following him out of the airlock.
“Guys, it’s fine. I can walk.” David was hoisted up onto a gurney and was being carried toward the door by the medical team, leaving Jag and Dani alone.
“Gave me quite the scare,” Jag said with his hands shoved in his pockets. “You alright?”
“I’m sorry, I just had to get away.”
Jag nodded. “Yeah, I totally get that. Maybe next time just get away to somewhere a little less dangerous? I wasn’t sure if we’d be picking you up or your corpse.”
Dani swallowed hard, the realization of how close they were to dying sinking in a bit more. “You got it. Maybe next time I’ll just go to the beach like a normal person.”
“Like you could ever be normal,” Jag mumbled as he turned for the door.
Dani hesitated before following, unsure how she should take his comment. After leaving the airlock, Jag swung left, but Dani spotted the medical team turning a corner to her right. Toying with the idea of following Jag to find out exactly what he meant, she decided it might be better to go along with her father’s wishes, and she wanted to get the crusted blood cleaned off of her face. Dani trotted along after the medical team, trying to catch up before she lost her way.
After a quick evaluation, some clean-up, a few stitches, and some ice, Dani and David were released and instructed to report to the bridge. A feeling of dread settled in Dani’s stomach. She had gone from having absolutely no biological family to having a sister who seemed to hate her and a father she didn’t want to disappoint.
“Hey, now it’s my turn to tell you that everything’s going to be alright.” David nudged her in the arm as they walked down the hall.
“I hope you believe that more than I did when I fed you that line of hooey,” she said with a laugh.
The door to the bridge sat before them. Dani took a deep breath and stared at it, surprised by the quick passage of time in comparison to the slow crawl of each minute in open space.
“Here, let me,” Roni said as she pushed past Dani and entered a code into the keypad outside the bridge. With a smug grin, Roni stepped inside and made her way to Bob’s side.
Bob seemed even larger to Dani than he had on the stage, with his arms folded across his chest and a deep-set frown upon his face. Only this time, his attention wasn’t focused on her but on David. “How dumb are you?”
“Uh… sir?” David said.
“You took an unauthorized joy ride in one of our most valuable ships with my daughter? Are you working for the GC?”
Dani watched as David’s eyes darted around the room in a frantic search for help. His mouth opened and closed, but no words came out.
“Dad,” Dani started, the word feeling foreign as it fell out of her mouth.
“No.” Bob pointed a finger at her that had the ability to snap Dani’s lips shut. “I expected you to be a bit of a mess after everything I dumped on you. He should have known better.”
Dani swallowed hard and watched as her father approached David, standing mere inches from him, towering over him with his massive frame.
“You lost one of our ships. Do you understand that virtually everyone in the universe is trying to kill us? We needed that ship, and you just handed it over.”
David’s jaw had stopped moving and instead hung open as he stared up at Bob.
“Get out of here. I can’t stand to look at you right now.”
David looked relieved as he turned and hurried out of the bridge.
“Did you have to be so hard on him?” Roni asked. “What about her?”
As both Bob’s and Roni’s eyes shifted to her, Dani held up her hands defensively. “I know, I’m horribly sorry for what happened. I had no idea we’d run into a Vaerian scout ship in this area. But I won’t apologize for defending the Seattle against the attack. There are a lot of innocent people on that ship, and it was the right thing to do.”
The look on Bob’s face softened. “I agree.”
Roni folded her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes. “How’d you even pull that off, anyway?”
“Those little ships of yours are small enough that they can fly beneath the shields. From there, it wasn’t too hard.”
“You flew inside the shield?” Bob’s jaw shifted as he glanced toward the ceiling as if he was trying to visualize the battle.
“I did. It was tight, but we managed, and David was able to fire on one fighter bay and disabled the door, so that limited the enemy’s attack.”
“Huh.” One side of Bob’s face lifted in a smirk. “How about that… you think you could do it with a GC ship?”
“Wait,” Roni interrupted. “You’re going to give her another one?”
“Maybe. I’ve never tried before… but then again, I never had a reason to.” Dani shrugged.
“Until now.” Bob shook his head and laughed, moving toward Dani. “I can’t believe you pulled that off. It’s going to be a lot of fun seeing you in action.”
Dani’s cheeks felt warm
as Bob rested his arm across her shoulders. The moment took her back to her youth when she had first told him she wanted to serve as a GC pilot the same way he had. The happy feeling quickly faded as Dani realized that Roni was attempting to burn holes through her with her fuming glare. Dani offered a smile, but that only seemed to infuriate Roni more as she turned and hurried out of the bridge.
“Uh…” Dani started, stepping away from her father.
“Don’t worry about her. She’ll be fine. She just needs to adjust. You have to remember, she was my only daughter around here for a long time.”
“Yeah, about that…”
Bob took a deep breath. “I never betrayed you or your mother.”
“Yeah, no, I know. Howard told me. But why didn’t you mention Roni growing up? It might have been nice to have a sister.” When she was young, she had envisioned having a sister, but her mother had said it just wasn’t part of their plan. Instead, her mom did everything she could to make sure Dani had an active social life and was well loved, especially when her father was gone for long stretches of time. Still, it didn’t make her miss him any less.
“I actually didn’t know about Roni for a long time. I found out about her when you were about twelve. I did want the two of you to meet and even ran it by your mom. But Roni’s mother wasn’t on board. She had reservations about the GC even before I did and didn’t want her daughter involved with them in any way.”
Dani nodded. “I see.”
“After the dust settles, then I’m sure you two will have more time to get to know each other—outside of prison. For now, we’ve got to get back to base and go over the plan to free the Houston.”
“Sir,” a man spoke up from the communications officer’s chair. “We just received a transmission. Our contacts at the GC say they were able to glean the location of our home base from David’s ship and they’re planning on launching a full-scale attack.”
Chapter 5
“Relay the communication back to home base. Tell them to begin evacuations to the beta site,” Bob ordered as he slipped into his captain’s chair. “Route everything we have to the engines. We need to get back as soon as possible to help evacuations. Do we know how much time we have?”
The Complete First Season - Episodes 1-5 Page 41
