by Jeff Taylor
CHAPTER 15
DAWN
Peace was something Eve had never believed in. Humanity’s existence thrived on conflict and challenge, constantly struggling for survival. Both internal and external forces threatened her life every day and there was little she could do but fight on. No, in the turmoil of her life she never experienced the weightlessness of an eased burden or the serenity of a life without care or focus. Such emotions had eluded her like a phantasm, always within her reach but never surrendering to her grasp. Fear, anger, passion, these had been the impulses driving her thoughts and actions.
For five years she conditioned herself to be cruel and ruthless, shedding all compassion, steeling her mind and transforming her body into a menacing tool of death which knew no attachment. When the time had finally come to free her husband Nelsonn from his frigid prison cell, tranquility and harmony were foreign to her.
But there is a disquieting calm being in space. The vast, cold, darkness inspires contemplation, self-reflection, and motivating one to reach out to the unknown. Graceful gas clouds, perfectly synchronized planetary rotations, and breathtaking galactic clusters delve into the realm of fantasy and bring one to the edge of imagination.
Before her flight aboard the Hermes, Eve would not have marveled at any of these sentiments. To her, space was bitter, a force of destruction second only to her. In recent years, it had claimed the lives of hundreds of explorers and fortune seekers; the disappearance of the first Martian colony being one vivid example. Space preyed upon both the weak and the bold equally, leaving hundreds of victims for every one hero.
Now everything had changed. She felt as if her eyes had suddenly opened for the first time. Staring out into space, a comforting release lightened her. For the first time in recent memory, she felt at ease, free from the pain and anguish of her former self. No longer would she be a slave to her pain. No more would she suffer the separation of her love. When she slept, there was no rage teeming inside her, raving to get out. In fact, when she closed her eyes there was nothing; no worries, no plans, no contingencies, no missions, no targets, nothing. She tried to recall ever feeling that way before. The conclusion was always the same; never.
For many years, her life had been darkness. Much of what she had done could only be explained as evil. Her heart had been stained and polluted. The lives of others were merely a nuisance, things to be discarded without care or remorse. She had become a monster, desiring nothing but the freedom of her mate at any cost.
Now that Nelsonn was free and slept not in a cold prison cell, but peacefully in the bed they shared, she could allow herself to feel again. Gazing at the wonder and beauty of one of nature’s perfect scenes, there was a flicker of something she hadn’t allowed herself to believe in for what seemed like an eternity; hope. Hope that all the mayhem and murder was behind her. Hope that she could revive the woman she was so long ago, rejoining the human race as a thinking, feeling contributor rather than a ravenous beast sated only through blood and destruction. She had been a plague, a disease, preying on her own kind with no remorse. She was fully aware that she didn’t deserve the chance to remake her life after taking it from so many. But the chance to do so, beginning again with the man she loved was worth all the risk. She would no longer have to face her demons alone. He would be an equal partner in all her joys and sorrows. Their lives would begin anew, as one, together.
The sun was just cresting over the lunar hills, spreading its rapturous rays across the pock-marked plains. From a low lunar orbit, the hillsides seemed to burst into flames, flowing from an all-encompassing geyser of light. Before her eyes, the Earth’s companion morphed from suffocating darkness to immaculate brilliance. The sight was breathtaking. Eve had no words to express the sensations thrilling her hardened heart. The warmth of the peaking star caressed her angular face and she closed her eyes, soaking up the rays. The brilliant light forced its way through the pink skin of her eyelids and illuminated her vision while the radiance enveloped her sinewy, athletic body, starting at the crown of her coppery head and descending downward to the bare toes that hung suspended in the air. She tilted her head back slightly and breathed deeply, as if she were absorbing the warm rays shining on her fair skin.
Eve was alone on the bridge of the luxury yacht, Distant Horizon, which she had “borrowed” months before and concealed in an unoccupied crater on the southern hemisphere of the moon. The command deck was large and spacious with floor to ceiling windows encircling half the room. Artfully crafted woodwork lined the walls along with a light-colored gold paint. The craft had been the property of some bloated billionaire who had negligently left it docked at his private space station attended by only twelve guards.
Several meters high and wide, the main body of the ship resembled more a high-rise apartment than a means of transportation. It was large with tinted windows on both the upper and lower decks. Inside there were several amenities she’d never seen aboard a spaceship including a gym, theater, an enormous dining room, and other superfluous comforts. The ship was built for an elite clientele and not the rough transport drivers who frequented the trade routes.
Shimmering gold magnetic sails formed a diamond shape around the hull of the craft stretching out across four large masts paired on either side of the yacht. Four large pulse engines were attached to the end of each mast and were capable of propelling the craft at ridiculous speeds should the push from the solar winds diminish too low.
In all, the yacht was a tribute to traveling decadence. The radar scrambling capabilities and nearly silent propulsion were the principal reasons she had selected it as their get-away vehicle. She had chosen not to engage the engines after abandoning the Hermes, content to casually orbit the moon like any other honeymooning couple. There was no hurry now that their escape vehicle lay dormant in the shadows of the lunar surface. But not willing to leave anything to chance, she modified the ship’s identification information so if they were discovered during their trek, no one would question the ship’s ownership. No one would find her unless she wanted them to, and that wasn’t likely.
She had been awake for an hour, her body used to rising early for her intense workouts. While Nelsonn slept she had decided to make use of the yacht’s treadmill and exercise room. When she was satisfied with her routine she made her way to the command deck, hoisting herself up the four-inch diameter pole leading to the bridge. She checked the instrumentation panels to assure herself they were still on course. Determining all was in order, she then decided to try something she’s always wanted to do.
Turning off her gravity controls, she gently pushed herself upward to the pair of handrails attached to the roof. She hung there for a moment until she was sure her body was completely still. She then let go of the rungs and hung motionless in the air like a statue suspended in time. Closing her eyes, her thoughts turned inward and an uninhibited smile spread across her lips. This was going to be the best day of her life, of that she had no doubt.
As she hung there, a large shadow crept from behind her. She recognized the sound of heavy feet wrapped in magnetic boots as they drew closer to her. A pair of strong, yet lean forearms engulfed her toned waist and pulled her down until her back pressed firmly against a tight torso. Her white tank top wrinkled against her cool skin as his arms enclosed around her. Her smile broadened and she surrendered into her husband’s embrace, nestling her head back onto his shoulder.
“You’re up early,” Nelsonn said softly, his warm breath washing over her right ear.
“I wanted to get an early start,” she replied, relishing the softness of his voice. “You only get one honeymoon. Why are you up so early? I thought for sure you would take advantage of your first day with no wake-up call,” she teased.
He pulled her even closer. “I had planned to,” he started, his lips now floating above the nape of her long neck, “but I woke up alone. I wasn’t expecting that to happen either.”
“Pre-dawn is workout time,” she said, her eyes still clo
sed. “I have to work to maintain this figure.”
Nelsonn chuckled. “I doubt that. You eat like a bird, chowing down on those nutrient pellets like they’ll run out if you ate more than one.”
She spun around in his grasp and jabbed at his chest. “Don’t knock them. Those give you everything the body needs without any of the bloated sugars or fats.”
“Everything but flavor,” he said. “I’ll take prison food anytime, thank you.”
“Oh, really? Well, I can drop you back down there if you’d like,” she quipped.
His large hands slid along her arms up to her shoulders then traced down her frame until they came to rest on her hips. “I don’t think so,” he laughed. He then began to tickle her, causing her to writhe and squirm to get away. She successfully pushed off and inadvertently sailed across the room, colliding with the pilot’s chair head first. She clutched the back of the chair, trying to regain her balance, giggling the whole time. They laughed together as Nelsonn plodded along the metal deck, still unaccustomed to wearing the heavy boots. He finally reached her and settled into the pilot’s chair with her cradled in his lap. They sat quietly for a while, staring out at the sun, enjoying the warmth from both its rays and each other. Had they been able to stay this way forever, Eve would have been contented. She never wanted the moment to end so she sat silently as he stroked her shimmering hair, hoping that time would freeze itself and leave them to exist in peace.
“Can I ask you something?” he asked, breaking the silence.
Eve smiled and closed her eyes once more. “Anything,” she sighed, bringing her own hand up to caress his square jaw behind her.
“I know you were going to tell me, but I’ve got to ask. What happened with Nu at the prison? I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out how he could’ve drawn the entire guard command down to him so we could escape.”
She chuckled slightly at his request. Not exactly the most romantic thing he could have said at that moment, but she understood his curiosity. Her smile widened and she spun them around so they faced the large, slanting control panel. Nelsonn’s hands still clasped her around the waist as she worked the controls. A few whisks of her hands and a ceiling-to-floor panel to their right blinked to life.
“Nu was never there,” she said gleefully.
A physiological scan of a very large human male rotated on the screen. Nelsonn looked at it closely.
“A clone,” he remarked, surprised but with more than a hint of admiration.
“Yep,” she replied. “Physically it was an exact replica, right down the scar over his left eyebrow. Mentally, though it was just a shell. No identity, no self-awareness whatsoever. It was just a mindless beast, incapable of any thought other than survival. I don’t know all the details of the process, but it was created in one of Nu’s Cambodian labs. Took months to prepare,” she said leaning back onto his chest. “They used Nu’s own tissue so the DNA checks at the transport office would match. But what they failed to pick up was the time release cocktail of steroid and adrenaline capsules circulating in his heart and major arteries. Once those popped you wouldn’t want to stand within fifty feet of the guy.”
Nelsonn nodded his approval as she spoke. “Wonderful. But something tells me that’s not all that happened.”
“Of course not,” she grinned. “There was a small device embedded in his lower back that sent out a pulse as soon as the radiation from the medical scanners touched it. The signal not only overwhelmed the guards, whose new helmets and suits were conveniently connected to their synaptic relays, but it also deactivated every locking mechanism within a hundred-foot radius.”
“Which would have opened the door to every cell in that block,” Nelsonn interrupted, shaking his head in disbelief. “Brilliant.”
Eve nodded. “Everyone in the lower levels was unaffected. I just needed a distraction to give us some time, but Nu wanted everybody released. I think he was planning on recruiting them all at some point, but I needed to decrease the range a little bit so that the Hermes wouldn’t be affected.”
Her interest in the conversation was waning as she nuzzled back onto his chest, but she continued, trying to appease his interest in the details of a plot she had known for more than a year. “Nu wanted to make a statement,” she continued. “‘No prison could hold him,’ that kind of thing. I wonder how he feels about us blowing the whole thing up.”
Nelsonn gently pushed her forward and spun her around to face him. He took her by the shoulders so that his grey eyes met her bright green. “How do you feel about that? I know you were friends with a lot of the staff there, Strón included. Are you okay with how they died?”
His concern was so genuine and his touch so comforting that she felt his sincerity for her well-being. She had tried not to think about the lives that were lost when they’d escaped. Speculating on how they died and the relationships that were now truly lost would serve her no purpose. There was nothing she could do about it. She had been willing to sacrifice anyone or anything to make their reunion a reality. She stared back at her husband and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Thanks for being concerned, but I don’t want to think about them right now.” She pressed her lips to his then took his wrists and brought them down around her waist. The images of Reg the terrified tower operator, Sanyie the dedicated right arm of Warden Strón and her dearest friend for many years, appeared in her mind’s eye as she kissed him. Eve pushed harder against her lover’s mouth, hoping to drown the pain of her memories with his love, but Nelsonn’s embrace provided little comfort when the face of the warden unexpectedly flashed in her thoughts like a ghost whispering from the beyond. Deep down she still cared a great deal for her friends, but they were gone, eviscerated from existence and there was nothing she could do to change that. She pulled away from Nelsonn as she thought of them and when she spoke it was with a feigned calmness that betrayed no remorse.
“When I left you five years ago, I vowed that I would do whatever it took to get you out. To do that I had to abandon all morality, all decency, suppress any feeling or sentiment I felt for anyone. I had to survive. I became an angel of death and I learned to relish that role. I cast off my own life and dedicated it to only one purpose: you. Yes, some of those soldiers were my friends, but their fate was a means to an end.” She drew him closer until their foreheads touched. “This end. I have no doubt I will grieve for them someday, but not today. Today, you are free and I will not look back in my wake and regret anything I’ve done.”
His pale hand cupped the back of her head and drew her to him. Their lips pressed once more in a passionate expression of their desire. Her body warmed to his touch and she felt feverish, surrendering to the ache his absence had created in her the last five years. His eagerness to kiss her propelled the pair onto the control panel behind her. They laughed as they both steadied themselves on the ivory-colored controls, trying not to press any buttons that might affect the life support systems.
Eve’s eyes sparkled and then dimmed as she looked at his sharp face. “I am sorry about Donna. She was a sweet girl, but I needed the cover to get close to Schulaz.”
Nelsonn lowered his head for a moment. “So, she is dead then?”
“I believe so.”
He nodded slowly than brought his gaze to meet hers. “If there was no other way, then I understand. My sister’s sacrifice will always be remembered.”
For a minute or so he seemed contemplative, no doubt reflecting on the life of his sister, but he soon recovered and looked hopefully at his wife. Nelsonn raised himself up on an elbow, his eyes glimmering as he spoke to her.
“So, where are we off to, Captain?”
She smiled, raising a knowing eyebrow. “The Stranovsky Asteroid.”
Roughly fifty years ago, a Russian cosmonaut named Katerina Stranovsky and her team had been the first humans to reach and then land on an asteroid. The chunk of rock was hanging solitarily between Earth and Mars and the excursion had been costly and
extremely dangerous. But many in the scientific community considered it to be worth the risk. The results of the landing supplied scientists with valuable insight into the origins of the planets and how the asteroid belt separating the inner planets from their brothers may have been formed. After time, however, private companies saw it as an opportunity to exploit the adventure seeking wealthy and established a very lucrative resort with tours lasting from six months to three years. The destination became so profitable that the average wait for a reservation was two years. Once they’d experienced the casino atmosphere, some visitors even elected to stay and become permanent residents of the many luxury condominium units scattered throughout the asteroid. As a result, the population of the resort carved in the asteroid’s interior at any given time hovered near ten thousand, not including employees.
When she first began planning Nelsonn’s escape a year and a half ago, Eve had made their reservation on a whim. She initially planned to go straight to Mars but thought a little side trip to spoil themselves would be well deserved. They could disappear into the crowds of pleasure seekers for several months if not a few years and then migrate to Mars where they would live out the rest of their days in happy, anonymous solitude.
Nelsonn nodded his approval. “Nice place, great food, but, uh, at this speed it will take us months to get there.”
Eve’s smile turned from playful to seductive. “Darn,” she whispered and then firmly kissed him on the mouth.
CHAPTER 16
UNSETTLED
“The controversial Apollo Prison has been destroyed and as of this morning, there appear to be no survivors.”
