Lieutenant Moore’s eyes were shooting daggers through Leon as she glared at him.
‘There are ten of us plus two children. Thirteen including the captain of this vessel.’
‘That isn’t you?’
‘No, I’m second in command.’
‘Hang on . . . only twelve of you made it?’ Leon said, aghast. ‘The scuttlebutt said that over one hundred of you escaped from Callisto.’
‘Eighty-five of us were dumped on Barros 5 by Stefan Jersecky of the transport ship Galileo. He decided it was too risky to travel any further into Mazon territory.’
‘Jersecky was paid a great number of credits to bring you as far as this space dock at the very least,’ said Leon. His dark eyes were once again ice-cold.
‘He was already paid?’ Catherine said sharply. ‘That bastard took every credit we had to transport us to Mendela Prime and then, like I said, he dumped us. When the Mazon learned we were on Barros, they attacked and then detonated a proton bomb on the planet.’
Leon was horrified.
‘Then thank God at least some of you made it this far.’
‘We survived thanks to the captain of this ship,’ said Catherine. ‘If it wasn’t for her, none of us would be here now.’
A hot flush crept up from my neck and over my face. I wasn’t used to hearing good things about myself.
‘So who is the captain? Let me see her,’ said Leon.
I stood up. ‘I’m Acting Captain Olivia Sindall. My mum Vida Sindall used to be the captain of this vessel but she died—’
‘Vida Sindall? You mean you’re Vida and Daniel’s little girl? Look at you. You’re all grown up.’ Leon beamed at me.
I smiled faintly, not quite sure what to say to that. Leon was behaving like an uncle!
‘You don’t remember me, do you?’ said Leon, his smile fading.
‘I’m afraid not, sir.’
‘Ah, pity. But you were, what? Six or seven when I saw you last? Well, if your ship is on its last legs, I’m prepared to give you all safe passage to Mendela Prime aboard my cruiser, the Ashley. She’s seen better days but she flies true.’
‘Captain Brikes, d’you think you could save your conversation for when they actually dock?’ said Lieutenant Moore, exasperated. ‘It would be great if I could get my workstation back.’
‘Righto, sweetcheeks. You only had to ask,’ said Leon. ‘Cathy, I’ll see you when you dock.’
‘Looking forward to it, Leon. Looking forward to it.’
86
Our time on board the Aidan had come to an end. In another eighteen hours the ship would be ready to depart with a refitted engine and a rebooted ship’s computer, plus a state-of-the-art landing craft which could be remotely controlled was now in the cargo hold. In less than twenty-four hours, the rest of us would be on the battle cruiser Ashley and travelling to Mendela Prime. Vee would be alone on the Aidan, going God only knew where.
Earlier this evening, Mum had tried hard to persuade her to come with us to Mendela Prime. Mum, Leon, Vee and me had all had a meeting in a booth in the space dock bar – away from prying eyes and ears. We’d got to the bar about thirty minutes ahead of Vee. Leon and Mum sat on one side of the booth, leaving me with no choice but to sit opposite them with a narrow table between us. The width of the table was obviously designed to encourage private drinking, not eating. When Vee arrived she had no choice but to slide in next to me. Her thigh was lightly touching mine, but there was something wrong with me. I had to be coming down with some type of fever or something because just the touch of her leg against mine had me burning up. So much so that I had to keep surreptitiously wiping my forehead.
Once our drinks order had arrived, Mum didn’t waste any time.
‘Why won’t you come to Mendela with us. Think of all the good you could do,’ Mum said to Vee.
‘The Resistance needs you,’ said Leon.
Vee took a sip from her bottle of beer before answering. ‘I have my own plans.’
‘You’ll return to Earth?’ asked Mum.
Vee shook her head. ‘No. I’ve decided to do what I can to rescue as many drones as possible from the mining moons in Earth’s solar system. And I intend to be a deep thorn in the side of the Authority.’
‘Then work with us,’ urged Mum. ‘We need your skills, your expertise.’
‘Catherine has filled me in regarding everything that happened on board the Aidan,’ said Leon.
Vee bent her head. Leon put a hand over Vee’s free one resting on the table. ‘What happened with your brother was . . . unfortunate.’
‘That’s one word for it,’ said Vee with a bitterness that surprised me.
‘You weren’t responsible for the two deaths he caused,’ said Mum.
‘Two deaths? Hhmm.’ Vee closed her eyes and inhaled slowly but audibly before exhaling in a rush. Her eyes opened. ‘I thank you for your offer and under other circumstances I’d probably jump at the chance, but I think it would be best for all concerned if it was a clean break.’ Though her eyes were on Mum and Leon, her words targeted my gut. ‘So you all go on to Mendela Prime and I’ll head back to Earth’s star system. Plus that way, if I get caught, I can’t compromise any of you because what I don’t know, I can’t tell.’
A clean break? Had that been said for my benefit? Is that what Vee wanted? Is that what I wanted? God, this was so hard. Vee had told me to figure out what it was I wanted from her, but my thoughts and feelings were still a jumbled mess.
‘If you work against the Authority and they catch you, you’ll be executed. You know that, right?’ said Leon.
‘That would happen whether I ran with you guys or not,’ Vee pointed out.
‘We have plenty who are prepared to fight against the Authority. We have very few with your proven skills,’ said Leon. ‘Isn’t there anything we can say or do to make you change your mind? The Resistance needs leaders.’
Vee gave me a swift look before turning back to Leon. ‘I’m afraid not.’
Vee and the others argued back and forth for another fifteen or twenty minutes but Vee’s mind was made up. She was going to stay on the Aidan and travel back alone. I sipped occasionally on my bottle of beer, saying nothing. Once Vee had gone, Leon frowned at me then turned to Mum.
‘I’m not being funny, Cathy, but I thought you said your son could help persuade Vee to throw in her lot with us. The man didn’t say a word,’ said Leon, unimpressed.
‘Vee has her own mind,’ I said. ‘I don’t tell her what to do.’
‘Nathan, what the hell is wrong with you?’ Mum said. ‘What is going on between you two? Are you together or not?’
‘It’s complicated.’
‘No, it’s not,’ Mum shot back.
‘You don’t understand everything that happened—’ I said.
‘Nathan, never make the mistake of thinking that because I stay out of your business, I don’t know your business,’ said Mum. ‘I know exactly what went on. In fact, I probably know more about Vee and her brother than you do.’
‘What does that mean?’ I frowned.
‘It means you need to talk to your wife,’ said Mum, exasperated.
‘It’s complicated,’ I insisted again before taking another mouthful of my beer.
‘Well, I don’t know about you, Cathy, but I’m ready to kick his arse,’ said Leon, glaring at me.
‘Nathan, I’m going to ask you one question which should sort out all your confusion,’ said Mum quietly.
There wasn’t a question in the world that could do that.
‘Go on then,’ I challenged, putting down my beer.
Leon sat back in his chair, his arms crossed as he continued to glare in my direction.
Mum leaned forward to look me in the eyes and asked, ‘Nathan, do you still love Vee?’
87
‘Computer, what time is it?’
‘According to which time reference?’ asked the computer.
I winced. I couldn’t get used to the computer’s new voice. The r
epair crew who’d been assigned to overhaul this ship had changed its audio output on my instructions, but this anonymous woman’s voice jarred with me every time I heard it. I thought it would be easier on my heart not to hear Aidan’s voice every time the computer spoke. Now I wasn’t so sure.
‘Use the Sol time and calendar,’ I directed.
‘It is twelve-fifty a.m.,’ the computer replied.
I had chosen to sleep on board the Aidan whilst the ship was being repaired. The rest of the colonists had been assigned temporary quarters on the space dock. It seemed the right decision at the time but with less than twelve hours to go before my scheduled departure, I wondered if I had made the right choice. I would miss the settlers – the commander and her support, Mike and his hideous watercress soup, Erica and her forthright pain in the backside opinions, Anjuli and her enthusiasm, Sam and Hedda with their dedication to their jobs and their ‘secret’ romance which they thought no one but them knew about.
And Nathan.
‘Captain, Nathan Linedecker is requesting permission to come on board.’
Huh? ‘Er . . . permission granted.’
I pulled on my boots and walked out into the corridor. I headed towards the lift to meet him when he reached the upper deck then decided against it. That would seem too eager. I couldn’t go back to my quarters either as I didn’t want him to get the wrong idea. The bridge. I headed for the bridge and sat in my chair, first reclining to the left, then lounging to the right, wondering from which angle I’d look the best.
‘Vee, get a grip!’ I told myself and sat up properly.
Moments later the bridge doors hissed open and Nathan entered. He stopped for a moment when he saw me but only for a moment. He took a couple more steps. I stood up.
‘Hi,’ I said.
‘Hi.’
Silence.
‘Er . . . shall we sit at the navigation board?’ I suggested.
Nathan nodded. He sat in Aidan’s seat. (I really had to stop thinking of it as that.) I sat down next to him in the seat Anjuli had made her own.
‘What brings you on board?’ I asked.
‘It’s time for us to talk,’ said Nathan.
‘OK,’ I said cautiously.
Why here? Why now?
‘So no more secrets between us, Vee. D’you promise?’
Pause.
‘I promise.’ I owed him that much.
Nathan took a deep breath. ‘How many people has Aidan killed?’
Shocked, I stared at Nathan. Of all the questions I’d expected, this one hadn’t made the list. ‘What?’
‘Earlier in the bar, Mum said you weren’t responsible for the two deaths Aidan had caused. I saw the look on your face when she said that. There’ve been more than two, haven’t there? I want to know how many people Aidan has killed,’ said Nathan.
I tried to school my expression, to paint my face with inscrutability. Too little too late, to judge from the way Nathan was looking at me.
‘What possible purpose would it serve for you to know the truth?’ I asked. ‘If this is just curiosity on your part, then I beg you, leave it alone.’
‘It’s not just curiosity,’ Nathan denied.
‘Then what else is it?’
Damn it! Tears were pricking at my eyes. This guy before me and my brother were the only ones who’d ever made me cry. ‘Please, Nathan, don’t do this.’
Nathan took one of my hands in both of his. ‘Vee, no more secrets between us. You promised.’
88
Please, Vee. Just trust me.
We stood very little chance as it was. With secrets between us, we stood no chance at all. Vee closed her eyes. Her whole body slumped but she didn’t pull her hand away from my own.
‘Did you know that this ship was one of the first to encounter the Mazon?’ Vee asked at last.
How would I know that? But then I realized the question had been rhetorical.
‘It was just over three years ago,’ Vee continued. ‘My mum on this ship, and Captain Walker of Earth Vessel Wrigman were tasked with negotiating with the Mazon to try and establish a trade route through their territory. Mum said that even though the Mazon were xenophobic, they could see the benefits such trade would have for both sides. We were a day or two from agreeing not just a peace treaty but a trade route through Mazon space.’
‘What happened?’ I asked.
‘The hostilities between Earth and the Mazon started. No doubt the Authority believe the Mazon were the aggressor, starting the war to gain more territory or because of their irrational fear of other species. But that’s not entirely true.’
‘What does the situation between Earth and the Mazon have to do with your brother?’ I asked.
‘I wish you could’ve known Aidan three years ago.’ Vee smiled, but it wasn’t directed at me. It was directed at her memories of long ago but not so far away. ‘Aidan was so amazing. He was fun and funny and so kind. He’d do anything for anyone. And he was so smart, an absolute genius. I mean, his IQ was off the charts, but he wasn’t physically strong, not like some of the other boys on board ship. A couple of them started bullying him and they wouldn’t let up. I was his sister. They knew better than to mess with me but when Aidan was alone they made his life hell. I threatened, I pleaded, I gave them all the credits I had, to try and get them to stop. I didn’t realize at the time but showing I cared so much just made it that much worse for my brother. When it got too much for Aidan he decided to prove to them and everyone else on board that he wasn’t the wimp and the coward they said he was.’
‘Did he do something to the Mazon ship?’ I asked.
Vee nodded. ‘You could say that. He hacked into this ship’s computer and changed the necessary protocols to allow him to carry out his plan. There was no direct visual contact between us and the Mazon but we were negotiating over the audio comms system and using the universal translator. The only contact made was voice contact, but as I said, it was working. The negotiations were going well and apparently we were only a day or two away from formalizing the agreement.’
‘So what happened?’
‘The Mazon ship had a breathable atmosphere so Aidan put on a protection suit and attached a recorder to his arm. Then he had the computer transfer him to the Mazon ship, just for a few seconds so he could record the fact that he was the first human to board one. He was there and back before any of us were the wiser.’
‘Did the Mazon catch him?’
‘No. It was worse than that.’ Vee lowered her gaze, her voice soft, sorrowful.
‘Go on,’ I prompted.
Vee took a deep breath. ‘I’m the only one who knows this,’ she admitted. ‘It’s not easy sharing it.’
I didn’t speak. This had to be Vee’s decision.
‘Computer, play Aidan Sindall’s last personal log – date three zero seven. When people die on board an Earth vessel, the captain has access to all their personal logs,’ Vee explained. ‘This is my brother’s last personal log entry. He can explain it better than I can.’
A solitary tear rolled down Vee’s cheek. I knew I was hurting her by making her do this, but it was necessary. Aidan’s fifteen-year-old voice from three years ago began to play, filling the bridge.
It’s all my fault. None of this would be happening if I hadn’t done it.
I’m so sorry.
I just wanted to prove that I wasn’t a coward. Prove it to everyone on board this stupid ship. Prove it to Mum and Dad so they’ll be proud of me. Prove it to Matt and the others who won’t stop hounding me. But most of all prove it to Vee. Every time she looks at me, all I see is her disappointment that I’m not more like her. She’d never let anyone bully her. She’s strong and smart. She never backs down from a fight.
I just wanted to show her that I could be brave like her.
So I waited until I was alone in my quarters, then put on a protection suit and strapped a recorder to my arm, making sure that the lens was facing forward. I didn’t want to make the trans
fer only to have no one believe me because the recorder was facing my chest or up under my armpit.
Vee had left her helmet in my room so when I couldn’t find my own, I just borrowed hers. I didn’t want to take any chances even though the computer said that the atmosphere on board the Mazon ship wouldn’t be harmful to me as long as I didn’t linger. Their air was made up over thirty per cent oxygen and sixty-seven per cent nitrogen with carbon dioxide and other gases making up the rest, but better safe than sorry.
I was ready.
‘Computer, transfer me on my mark.’
Even though I was alone, I spoke softly, terrified that Vee would come into my room and catch me. I’m not stupid. I knew that what I was about to do was wrong, not to mention dangerous. My heart trying to punch its way out of my chest and the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach told me that much. But I had no choice. If I wimped out now, I’d never be able to look at myself in the mirror again.
But if I went through with it—
If I actually went on board the Mazon ship and came back with proof—
Matt and the others would be so jealous when they knew what I’d done! I could already see the awe on their stupid faces. And maybe then, they’d leave me alone.
I looked around my room, feeling guilty, even though I hadn’t done anything yet. I was still alone, but for how much longer? I had to do this.
‘Computer, transfer me to a part of Mazon ship where there are no Mazon present and bring me back after ten seconds. OK? On my mark. Three. Two. One. Mark!’
An intense, uncomfortable feeling of being squeezed hard and pulled at speed hit my body. A moment later, I was in a vast room full of capsules filled with swirling, translucent, viscous liquid. Each capsule was suspended a metre or more off the ground. And there was some kind of curled-up creature floating in each one but I couldn’t properly make out what they looked like. What hit me next was the heat. The room was almost unbearable hot. I fell to my knees. My stomach heaved. Without warning, I threw up inside my helmet, against the visor. It was gross. Unlocking my helmet, I pulled it off. Vomit dripped all over my protection suit and onto the ground.
Chasing the Stars Page 33
