by Jim Proctor
“Holy hell!” Harding said when the door had closed. “The senate is going to explode over this.”
Tompkins nodded. “Yes, and when they do, I suspect she’ll send a large security team to explain things to them, too.”
“She’s going to take over the galactic government eventually,” Harding said.
“She’s already begun doing it one piece at a time. Space Traffic Control used to be civilian. So was the hyperspace relay network. Hell, our security forces used to be an independent, ground fighting force before she convinced the senate that a unified chain of command would improve efficiency and cooperation between branches. They went from being a standing army to being her police force,” Tompkins said.
“More like her thugs. She’s going too far, this time. This is going to end badly.”
“She’s got the navy and the security forces under her command. What’s the senate going to do?” Tompkins asked.
Harding shook his head. “I don’t know.”
Tompkins smiled. “There’s nothing they can do.”
“You can’t possibly support her madness!” Harding exclaimed.
“She’s going to take over, with or without my support. I intend to be in a position of power when the dust settles,” Tompkins said.
Harding had a sinking feeling as he watched Vice Admiral Tompkins leave his office. He had just outed himself as a part of Bennett’s opposition to a man who would likely be extremely powerful when she completed her military coup.
Chapter 4
“Our taxi to the spaceport will be here in five minutes,” Nolan said. “We should grab our bags and head downstairs.”
Megan smiled as she emerged from the kitchen. “I went for a walk this morning and I ran into your neighbor… Judith Pierce, I think it was, in the hallway. She stopped me and told me that you were a very nice young man, and I should be sure to hold onto you.” Nolan blushed and smiled, not sure what to say. “The neighbors are talking about us,” she added just to tease him. She giggled as his face became a deeper shade of pink.
Picking up their bags, they walked together down the hall. The elevator door opened, and Mrs. Phillips from apartment eighty-seven stepped out. Megan slipped an arm around Nolan. “We’re going away for a few weeks. Would you keep an eye on the place for us? Thank you so much.”
Mrs. Phillips smiled and winked at Nolan as Megan pulled him into the elevator.
After the elevator doors closed, Megan began laughing. “I do enjoy tormenting you, Nolan. You turn such a beautiful shade of pink.”
“My neighbors think we’re romantically involved,” Nolan said sharply.
“That’s the idea, darling,” she replied as she touched the end of his nose with a fingertip.
“Well… I know, but…”
“Relax. When we get back and the neighbor ladies find out I’ve dumped you for your uncle, they’ll be fussing over you and setting you up with their nieces and daughters,” she said and began laughing again.
“What?” Nolan said with a dumbfounded expression.
She tousled his hair playfully. The elevator door opened at the lobby, and Megan stepped out. Nolan quickly followed her across the room and out on to the sidewalk.
* * * *
The cab floated to a stop at the south gate of the spaceport. Nolan slid his payment card through the reader, and then tipped the driver a two-credit chip as the couple climbed out. At the gatehouse, Megan’s data unit identified her as the owner of an aircar with a rented pad. The gatekeeper waved the pair through with a smile.
“My pad is this way,” she said, leading Nolan to the left at the first junction in the sidewalk. They walked on in silence, turning a few more times. As they rounded a hangar, Megan came to a stop. The sun was setting straight ahead of them. Nolan stopped beside her and put his bag down. The sky was aflame with deep orange and yellow, trailing off in shades of purple at the edges. “It’s gorgeous,” she said in a whisper.
“Sunrise at my uncle’s farm is beautiful. You’ll enjoy it there,” he said.
“Does he have any horses?” she asked.
“A few. He loves to ride the trails. Do you ride?” he asked.
“I did when I was a kid. It’s been a few years.”
“Make sure he knows. He’ll give you a refresher course and take you riding as often as you like.”
“Oh, I’m sure he’ll be far too busy with the farm to take me riding,” she said. “I’ll be happy just to trot around the paddock.”
“My uncle is retired. Well, as retired as he will ever be. He handles the administrative business for the farm, but he hires help for all the physical work. He still walks around the place and gives a hand sometimes, but nothing major. That’s his way of supervising things. Trust me, if he finds out you enjoy riding, he’ll have you out on the trails every day. The farmhands will thank you, too,” he said.
The colors of the sunset reflected in Megan’s dark eyes, and he stared into them, lost in their beauty.
“We better get moving,” she said after a while, picking up her bag and setting off.
“Yes,” he said, feeling that some sort of spell had just been broken. He picked up his bag and followed.
As they made their way across the field, rows of privately owned spaceships and larger aircars and gravcars gave way to small, personal craft. The door to Megan’s aircar opened as she approached and she climbed in, followed by Nolan. She stowed her bag in a compartment by the door. He knelt by his bag and opened it. Inside was a much smaller bag packed with the things he would take to orbit. Two large bath towels filled the remaining space, making his bag look full. She slid the bag into the compartment with hers and closed the hatch. Fumbling with a pocket flap, he withdrew his data unit and handed it to her. “Make sure I have a good time and see all the sights,” he said with a smile.
“We’re going to have a lot of fun on the farm,” she said, returning his smile.
He looked out the front window, seeing the last of the days light draining from the sky. “It’s almost dark enough for me to slip away.”
“Be careful,” she said, her smile replaced by a look of genuine concern.
“I will,” he said. “I’ll be back in two weeks. I’ll meet you here.”
“I don’t know why you can’t just bring the ship back here once you change its registration,” she said.
“It’s too risky. When I steal the ship, SACOM will suspect me first, and they’ll expect me to come back here. I have to hide the ship somewhere. Don’t worry.” He looked out the front window. “It’s dark. I should be going. You be careful, too.” He pulled an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to her. “If you need anything, let my uncle know. I’ve written him a letter explaining a few things. He’ll be surprised when you arrive alone, but once he reads this letter, he’ll understand. He’ll take good care of you, I promise. Goodbye,” he said reluctantly.
Megan took his hand in hers. “Thank you for doing this. It means a lot to me.”
“I should be thanking you. I couldn’t do this without your help,” he said. Neither seemed to want to let go. Finally, he said, “I have to go. I’ll be back in two weeks. By then, maybe Derick will have found some new leads and we’ll go looking for Carl.”
Megan released his hand, and he saw a tear run down her cheek. Gently, he wiped it from her smooth, brown skin as his own eyes began to well up. Turning, he climbed down out of the aircar and walked quickly away into the darkness.
Megan closed the aircar’s door and looked at the envelope for a moment. Then, slipping it and his data unit into a mesh pocket on the wall, she moved to the pilot’s seat. As far as SACOM would be able to tell, she and Nolan were departing together. She had filed her flight plan earlier, and now only needed to request clearance to depart. Pulling up the preflight checklist on her data unit, she began powering up the aircar.
With the preflight check completed, she signaled the traffic control center requesting permission to depart. After a moment,
her departure authorization and taxi instructions came up on her display. She was to turn right and follow the green guidance lights. She pushed the throttle forward and the aircar rolled onto the taxiway. Turning right, she could see the green lamps along both edges of the pavement leading off into the distance. About fifty meters ahead the lights were amber, indicating that another aircar was ahead of her, only its flashing marker lights visible in the darkness. She pressed a button activating her forward night vision system. The image appeared on her windscreen, the other aircar clearly visible as the heat from its power system made it glow brightly. At an approaching junction, her green lights led her to the left path while the other aircar continued straight, following the amber lights.
As she approached the runway, she stopped at a row of flashing red lights across her path. She pressed a control and motors hummed as the aircar’s wings, which had been swept back for safer taxiing, rotated out into flight position. To her right, she could see the landing lights of an incoming aircar. It glided gracefully onto the runway and disappeared into the darkness to her left. The red lights changed to green, and she moved onto the runway. Turning left, she verified that all systems were ready, and the aircar accelerated down the runway. “Well, Nolan, we’re on our way,” she said. Her little joke only made her feel more alone.
Loneliness had been her way of life since John’s death. For the first few days, friends had called her. Some stopped by for a visit. She had even gone out to dinner with friends a few times. Then the calls and visits tapered off. They all had lives of their own, and one by one, they stopped making time for her, going back to their own routine. That was something Megan couldn’t do. Her routine had involved John. Alone and grief-stricken, with no better way to cope, she eventually threw herself into her job, working extra shifts and taking advanced medical training courses. She hoped that keeping busy would keep her mind off missing John. Instead, she drove herself to exhaustion and slid deeper into the dark place that was grief.
As the aircar reached takeoff speed, she felt that little tingle in her stomach as the wheels left the ground and the aircar tried to decide if it was rolling or flying. She checked her ever-increasing airspeed, and then the tingle changed to heaviness as she pulled back on the controls to gain altitude. After climbing to two hundred meters, she banked right to follow her assigned departure path. Looking out into the inky black sky, the loneliness returned, and she suddenly realized she hadn’t felt it since the day she had moved into Nolan’s apartment to care for him after his accident. She wished now that Nolan really was coming with her to his uncle’s farm. She knew he had important work to do, and she was sure his uncle would be good company, especially if he enjoyed horseback riding as much as Nolan had said.
She thought about the letter, wondering if she dared read it. No, of course not, she chastised herself. It’s a private communication. She glanced over at the empty seat beside her. How many times had John sat there as they went on countless adventures? That was what they called their little weekend getaway trips. She quickly enabled the autopilot as she felt the tears coming again.
* * * *
Nolan moved quietly, passing from shadow to shadow, making his way across the aircar parking pads in the direction of the commercial spaceships. Somewhere over there in this sea of darkness was pad C1050 where his ride to the Independence was waiting. Hearing voices, he ducked behind an aircar, knelt in its shadow, and waited. Getting caught would be disastrous. The voices grew louder, and now he could see two lamps bobbing along in sync with their owner’s gait. The light would ruin their night vision, and their only chance of seeing him was if a light beam fell directly on him. Even then, if he remained still, they probably wouldn’t see him. He watched their progress as they cut across his path a few pads away. Soon, the lamps were fading into the distance. Nolan crept out from hiding and continued his course across the field.
Several minutes later, he reached the gate to the commercial spaceship area. The gatehouse was well lit, and the guard was standing right in the gateway. Now he would find out if the man they had hired to get him to orbit would live up to his promises. Nolan took a deep breath and let it out before standing up straight and walking right up to the guard. The guard looked at him, and Nolan said softly, “The phantom is expecting me.” The guard nodded almost imperceptibly. Turning his back to Nolan, he walked around the far side of the gatehouse. Nolan slipped through the gate and continued on his way as quickly as he could without looking suspicious. Glancing back, he saw the guard round the gatehouse and return to the gate. Nolan relaxed, having gotten past the part that he was sure would be the failing of the entire plan. This trip was costing him… well, costing Megan, a lot of credits. No doubt the guard was paid well to let him through without question.
He felt a lot safer here. This was a secure area. Anyone inside the perimeter obviously belonged here since they had to come through the guard station. Nobody would question him or ask him his business. In the distance, he could see a ship with its ramp open, light pouring out onto the pad. That was his ride to orbit.
When he reached the ship, per their arrangements, he continued right up the ramp without hesitation and pushed the button to close the ramp. He turned around to find a large man standing in the corridor, grinning like a madman. Nolan froze. The man reached out a tattooed arm and waited for Nolan to shake his hand. Instead of the bone-crushing grip he’d expected, the big man had a gentle touch. He pointed to a door across from the ramp. “That’s the preparation room leading to the airlock. Your courier delivered your pressure suit yesterday. It’s in there, along with one of my maneuvering packs. You know I can’t get within a thousand meters of the Independence, so once we get up there, it’s all up to you. If you can’t reach your ship with the pack, you’re a dead man because I’m not coming to get you.”
“I understand the terms of our agreement,” Nolan said with a nod. Privately, he wondered if the man really would abandon him if he got into trouble. “I’ve used a pack a few times. I can handle it.”
“Good. Would you like to come to the bridge for the trip up, or would you rather get suited up and wait in there?”
“If you’re making the offer, I’d love to be on the bridge for the ascent,” Nolan said.
“Fine. You’ll have plenty of time to get ready once we’re in orbit. We’re not taking a direct path to your ship. That would be too suspicious. We’ll make one full orbit, which will take about ninety minutes, before we pass near the Independence. You’ll exit the airlock on my signal and begin braking with the pack as soon as you are clear of my ship. Any questions?” the big man asked.
“What should I call you?” Nolan asked.
“Captain will suffice.”
Nolan nodded. “Thank you, Captain.”
“This way,” the captain said as he turned and headed up the corridor.
The bridge was fairly standard, though not as automated as the Independence. There were a lot more manual controls than Nolan was used to seeing. He doubted he could fly this ship without lessons were the need to arise. The captain proceeded to the helm and sat, strapping himself in. Nolan suddenly remembered that this ship would not have the gravgen coupled to the drive system. He slipped into a chair to the right of the captain and fastened the harness, pulling the belts tight.
“Officially, I’m going to orbit to test the ship after making repairs. I do that pretty regularly, seeing as this old girl breaks down a lot.”
“Really? How frequent are your failures?” Nolan asked nervously.
“Not to worry, lad. I take good care of the critical systems. I haven’t had a failure of one of them in a couple of weeks. Oh, there’s my departure clearance. Here we go.”
Nolan closed his eyes and gripped the armrests tightly as he felt the ship rise from the pad. The forward acceleration began gently, but it quickly increased to an uncomfortable level, probably around four Gs he guessed. Then, to his horror, the ship rolled hard to the right. His eyes flew open wide
. “Oh hell!”
The captain laughed. “Relax, lad. I always do a roll on my way out. It’s my signature, you might say.”
“I think I’m gonna hurl,” Nolan said.
“Hold it in, lad, or you’ll be cleaning it up.”
Nolan couldn’t recall ever being so relieved to reach orbit before. He felt sick, and his legs were shaking. This ship’s gravgen maxed out at half a G, which made it easier for him to get around. He wasn’t sure that his legs would support him at a full G right now.
“We’re starting our orbit, lad. You have ninety minutes to suit up and get into the airlock. I’ll tell you when I’m going to start the venting process. Once that completes, open the outer door and be ready to step out on my command.”
“Yes, sir,” Nolan replied as he headed down the corridor to the preparation room.
The cases containing his pressure suit and helmet were here. He looked around the room until his gaze fell upon an old, decrepit-looking maneuvering pack. After a moment, he continued looking around the room for the pack he would actually be using. To his horror, there wasn’t another. “It’s a museum piece!” he shouted.
“It may be old, but it works perfectly,” the captain said, his voice issuing from a speaker grill overhead. “You don’t have to yell. The ship has an excellent audio system. You’re wasting time, lad. Suit up and get the pack on.”
Nolan opened the larger of his cases. Carefully unfolding his suit, he began inspecting it.
“Don’t just look at it, lad, put it on,” came the voice from above. “The ship has a good video system, too.”
“I always check my suit carefully before I entrust my life to it,” he said.
