Galactic Axia Adventure 1: Escape to Destiny

by Jim Laughter

  ∞∞∞

  The subject of their conversation was just returning to the shack after exploring the nearby hollows. Several caves in the vicinity looked inviting but further up in rougher country, Delmar found an ideal cave in which to hide. Situated high enough that he could survey the approaches without being seen, it was still well concealed by surrounding trees and outcroppings of native stone.

  Inside he found a small clear stream that showed signs of being a year-round water source. He found several small vents in the deeper chambers of the cave, a couple of which with a little work would make excellent emergency escape routes. Tomorrow he’d move up there after he had done something about finding food.

  It had been over twenty-four hours since Delmar had last eaten, and he knew from experience that he could go another two days before it greatly hindered him. During his search, he’d found no berries or fruit ready to eat and had no tools or weapons with which to hunt. Delmar considered raiding farms down in the valley but the thought of stealing from his neighbors was repulsive to the boy.

  His only option left was to get food from someone like the Hassels. He’d thought of them often and knew they would understand his need. The problem was that going there might place them in danger from his brother who would surely be watching.

  “Watching!” the boy exclaimed aloud. “Watch!” Digging in his pocket, he found the old pocket watch from the 653rd safe and unharmed. He opened it and saw that it had run down. Looking at it hard, a plan began to form in his mind.

  ∞∞∞

  Early the next morning Agnes went out to put a letter in the mailbox. Opening it, she found the old watch, a twig of hickory, and a piece of limestone.

  “Robert!” she cried. At first, she was afraid to touch the items, and then hesitantly gathered them into her trembling hands. When her husband got there, she was holding them out in front of her.

  “What is it?” he asked breathlessly as he ran up to her. She lifted the items toward him and the realization dawned on his face. Without saying a word, he led her into the house where she laid the items on the kitchen table.

  “We know he’s all right,” Agnes said in a whisper.

  “Yes,” Robert agreed. “This is obviously from him. But why?”

  “He’s not rejecting our gift, is he?” she asked, suddenly fearful.

  “No,” her husband said. “I think this is some sort of message.”

  Robert sat for a while trying to unravel the secret of the three items. That Delmar had somehow wanted to communicate with them was a relief. The boy would have figured out about his need of supplies and he was appealing to them. Looking at each item in turn, Robert began to form an idea.

  “Agnes, I think these might indicate a location of where we can find Delmar.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Look at this rock,” Robert said. “It’s unique to about three or four places up in those hills. Delmar knows about that because we covered it a few months ago in his studies.”

  Picking up the hickory twig, he continued, “This is from a hickory, which is also rare.”

  “So if we could find some hickory near such an outcropping, we’d know his location!” Agnes said excitedly.

  “Yes, and I think I know of such a place.”

  “Then we can take supplies to him.”

  “Not yet,” Robert said. “We can’t just leave food out. Animals could get it before he does.”

  Robert picked up the watch and carefully opened it, thinking there might be a note inside. He was disappointed when he found nothing. He stared at the face of the watch for a moment. Absentmindedly, he started winding the watch when the idea hit him. Looking at the face again, he realized that it was set for exactly eleven-thirty.

  “That’s it!”

  “What?” asked Agnes.

  “Delmar stopped the watch and set it for the time he wants to meet us!” Robert continued. Glancing at the kitchen clock, Robert noted that he had plenty of time to get ready.

  “Agnes,” he said, “start packing some foodstuffs in my old side pack while I gather some tools and fishing gear.”

  Agnes rose and entered her pantry while Robert laid the watch down and hurried to his workshop. A short time later, the side pack was ready. “When do we leave?” Agnes asked.

  “We don’t,” Robert replied. “I’m going alone, tonight.”

  “But why, Robert?” she asked pleadingly. “I want to see the boy too. You know I can still hike.”

  “It’s not that I’m worried about your ability, honey,” Robert said with a smile. “You always were athletic, even after you retired from the Ladies of the Fleet to be with me. It would attract too much attention if we both go.”

  Agnes looked crestfallen and then frowned. “What do you want me to do here?”

  Robert thought for a moment. “Stay here and make a distraction if anyone comes. I don’t want to be followed.”

  Later that night, Robert shouldered the pack and left out the back door. Crossing behind his barn, he was soon in the woods. Back at the house, Agnes closed all of the curtains and went upstairs to their room. She turned on a low light and put a cartridge in the player. The room soon filled with music. All that could be seen from outside was the rosy glow of lamplight on the curtains.

  Robert followed several of the game trails that ran deep into the hollows. Turning up one in particular, he reached his destination only an hour after leaving the farm. Pausing for breath after his climb, he was startled by the snap of a branch behind him. Turning cautiously, he saw the form of a man separate itself from the darkness.

  “Delmar?” he whispered.

  “Mr. Hassel?” returned a whispered reply. “Am I glad to see you!” Embracing in a hug for a moment, Robert pulled back and looked at the boy.

  “Not here,” Delmar whispered. Motioning the older man to follow, the boy led him for some distance until they came to a thicket. He pulled back a tangle of branches and revealed a hole even darker than the night. Robert followed him through the opening. Once inside, Delmar whispered again. “Okay, we’re safe in here.”

  Robert opened his pack and pulled out a small hand lantern. He switched it on and the meager light he allowed to escape from his overshadowing hand revealed they were in a deep cave. He turned his eyes toward the boy and was shocked and disgusted by what he saw.

  The young face looking back at him was clean but bruised and suffering ugly dried cuts. It was obvious that Delmar had received a few going away presents at the hands of his brutish brother.

  “We packed you some supplies,” Robert said, opening the pack. “It should be enough to keep you for a week or two.”

  “Thanks, Mr. Hassel!” the boy said as he eyed the food hungrily. Robert reached into his jacket and pulled out the old pocket watch.

  “Here,” he said, “I thought you might want this back.” The boy’s smile was more eloquent than words.

  “You better eat, son,” Robert said. “You look like you could use it.” Just then, Delmar’s stomach growled a reply.

  Robert sat down next to the boy while he quickly ate two sandwiches Agnes had packed on top of the supplies as a decoy for Robert in case he was stopped by a roving patrol. That he occasionally went out at night to stargaze was no secret. Robert let Delmar eat while he filled him in about what had happened since they were last together. After he’d finished the sandwiches, Delmar told Robert about what happened with his brother. The older man gritted his teeth in anger. They discussed what Delmar should do and arranged to meet again for more supplies.

  Neither wanted to part but Robert knew he had best be going. Giving Delmar a hug, Robert went out through the concealed entrance and into the night. Inside, Delmar gathered the supplies and the lantern and stored them in a crevice deeper inside the cave. Rolling a sleeping bag out that Mr. Hassel had brought, the boy doused the light and settled in for the night.

  Chapter Six

  Tumbling out of yet another canvas bag, a certain pa
cket landed on the sorting table in an obscure back room. The duty clerk at the Imperial Postal Center in the palace on Shalimar, the home world of Galactic Axia, began sorting through the pile. After bringing order to the several hundred letters and packets, he began to read the priority stamps on each one and sort them accordingly.

  Not everything went immediately to the empress’ famous red box. Some had been marked for further research. He dealt with this first. Sorting to each department according to priority stamps, in a short while, he had a smaller pile of material that would require unspecified research. He placed these items in another bin that would go to a department where each inquiry would be thoroughly studied before going to the red box.

  Robert’s packet nearly went into this bin until the clerk noticed the small blue seal under the return address. He pulled the packet back out of the bin and tossed it into his IN basket.

  The trooper sat down at his desk and sighed as he eyed his in basket filled to overflowing. He swallowed another slug of coffee, made a disgusted face, and set the cup down. Taking the top packet, he opened it and began to review the material inside.

  An hour later, the trooper resealed another packet and tossed it into his “out” basket. He had managed to get halfway through the stack. Pushing his chair back, he stood, stretched, and went in search of fresh coffee. He found a percolator singing its song in the break room where he rinsed the sludge out of his cup and refilled it with the brew someone had recently made.

  Returning to his desk, he sat down and pulled the blue-sealed packet from his in basket. He scanned the hand-written pages inside and then reread them carefully. Turning to a fresh page on his yellow tablet, he scratched several notes. A few minutes later he was satisfied that he had a grasp of the essentials noted on his tablet. He picked up the telephone on his desk and made several calls.

  ∞∞∞

  The weather turned warmer as spring crept into summer. Delmar settled into the cave and set himself up pretty well. Among the tools Mr. Hassel had brought him was fishing tackle, and the boy made good use of it. Early fruits were coming in, so he was able to supplement the supplies his benefactor brought to him.

  A routine of sorts had developed whereby the Hassels left him caches of supplies in different places for him to pick up. This minimized traffic to Delmar’s hiding spot by outsiders and kept Delmar’s exposure to a random and minimal level.

  The hikes in the woods by the Hassels were irregular enough not to arouse suspicion, and taking a pack along on such trips was easily acceptable. They had met a few other hikers on a few occasions, but without any problems. Robert or Agnes would just change routes and drop off the supplies later for Delmar to retrieve after dark.

  Delmar’s only serious problem was loneliness because they avoided contact with each other in case the Hassels were being followed. Robert suspected they had been followed once or twice early on when they heard the noise created by someone not wood-wise a distance behind them. By previous arrangement, they would not leave anything at the alternating drops if they suspected followers. Delmar would know to lay low a day and the drops would resume two days later.

  To ease the situation for the boy, Robert left an occasional book and Agnes would write letters. Return of the books and replies to the letters from “home” were avoided because it increased the risk of exposure. When it was all over, Robert knew the materials would be returned. In the meantime, the Hassels had to content themselves with the thought that no news is good news.

  ∞∞∞

  Empress Ane was working through the material on her desk when a silent form entered her office. She looked up in time to see the trooper empty his carry pouch into her red box and collect the packets from the green one that she had finished. Sighing, she reached for the next packet. She made a game of trying to empty the red box before the trooper showed up with more. She occasionally succeeded.

  She almost made it twice this morning but still had one or two packets left when he arrived. Ane suspected the trooper was peeking so he could get his timing just right but she couldn’t prove it.

  Opening the top packet, she found several pages of handwritten notes along with supplemental material gathered by one of her staff. She read the original petition and then picked up the packet itself and noted the blue seal under the return address. Setting these aside, Ane read the follow-up research, occasionally reviewing the original documents. She leaned back in her chair, closed her eyes, and tried to picture the situation in her mind. A hum filled the office.

  “Hello, Mary,” Ane said without opening her eyes.

  “Hello, boss lady,” Mary came back. “You look like you’re taking something much too seriously again.”

  “I am, Mary,” she replied. “This last packet bothers me some.”

  “Turn it and let me see.”

  Ane spread the pages out and leaned back in her chair again, focusing a small video lens she wore on a chain around her neck toward the pages. After a moment, Mary replied.

  “I can see why.”

  “It just bothers me when people take more interest in their position than they do in serving the people they’re supposed to help,” Ane said, gesturing at the documents.

  “What are you going to do about it?” Mary asked.

  “I’m going to delegate one of our staff to investigate it and set it to rights!” Ane answered as she reached for her pen and tablet.

  Taking a few minutes to detail her instructions, the empress signed the papers with a flourish and sealed it all back in the original packet. She addressed a routing slip, affixed it to the packet, and tossed it into her green box.

  “That’s it for this morning,” she said, pushing up out of her chair. “Mind if I come down for lunch?”

  “Sure, boss lady!” Mary’s voice answered. “Better hurry! Soup’s on!”

  Empress Ane left the room and took the lift down to the space field to have lunch with her best friend. After she had gone, the trooper entered her office and again filled her red box and emptied the green one, the last packet going into his pouch along with the rest.

  ∞∞∞

  Delmar surveyed the darkness for signs of observers but saw none, then carefully stepped out of hiding and retrieved the bundle of supplies from the thicket. There had been no bundle two nights ago near the old stump as there should have been, so Delmar had stayed holed up. Tonight was the night for the thicket drop and he had come earlier than usual, anxious for the supplies and word from home.

  Slipping the bundle into his carry pack, Delmar turned and started for the cave. He arrived at an outcropping above it and surveyed the area around the entrance for signs of visitors. Seeing none, he slipped through the opening and went deep inside before stopping. He’d grown accustomed to the blackness of the cave early on, so he’d gotten in the habit of entering by feel and sound to avoid use of the lantern near the entrance where it might be seen from outside.

  Setting the pack down, he reached for the lantern and turned it on, the interior of his makeshift home illuminated by the yellowish light. As Delmar opened the latest bundle, he heard a cough come from the shadows.

  “I thought you’d be here about now,” Robert said as the boy whirled in preparation to flee. Delmar froze for a moment and then launched himself into the arms of the older man. They hugged fiercely for a minute and then pulled apart.

  “Let me get a good look at you, son,” Mr. Hassel said, holding the boy at arm’s length. What met his eyes was a vast improvement from the last time he had seen the boy. The injuries had long ago healed, Robert noted, and the start of a beard gave his face a look of maturity. The boy was filling out into full manhood and Robert was sure he had added at least an inch to his height since early spring.

  “Boy, you look good!” Robert exclaimed as he clapped Delmar on the shoulders. “Here, take this and sit down. Now, tell me about yourself,” he finished and handed Delmar the other pack he had brought tonight.

  Delmar took the pack and sat down
with it next to the lantern. Robert sat on the edge of the pallet and watched while the boy emptied the contents into his lap.

  “How did you sneak in here without me seeing you?” Delmar asked, sorting through the new supplies.

  “I came in just after you left for the bundle drop,” Robert answered. “I knew since it was the night for the thicket, it would take you about half an hour before you could be back. So I just waltzed in and made myself at home.”

  Delmar chuckled and then looked serious. “You came for more than a visit, didn’t you, sir?”

  “Yes, I did. Mrs. Hassel and I thought I better warn you about what’s going on.”

  “Wasn’t it risky for you to go into the woods twice in one day?” asked the boy, referring to the bundle.

  “I didn’t,” said Robert. “Agnes set out that bundle while I stayed home. That way we can cover for each other if anyone comes to the house.”

  “Okay. So what’s going on?” Delmar asked.

  “Well, after the first two or three weeks things got pretty quiet,” Robert began. “A social agency worker came once but didn’t do more than ask if we’d seen you, which we hadn’t that day. We never saw your brother again after Agnes scared him off but figured something was up.”

  “So what’s happening now?” Delmar asked, obviously puzzled.

  Robert picked his tale back up. “Early this week we heard through Dorn’s neighbors that the agency visited your brother. We think they finally figured out you were gone and came to investigate.”

  “Oh no!” the boy said. “If Dorn loses that financial support from the agency, he’ll kill me for sure.”

  “That’s what we thought too, so I came to warn you and bring extra supplies,” Robert said. “We expect both the authorities and your brother will start hunting for you in earnest. He wants to find you for the money. If they find you, they’ll either send you home or put you in jail.”

  “But I didn’t break any laws!” Delmar cried.

  “No, you didn’t,” Robert agreed. “But you did break some of their policy guidelines, which is probably worse.”