by Harp Truman
“Look, whatever happens in there today, it was worth it to make sure you were safe,” Huck said. “If they don’t agree, then we never really belonged here.”
Fern hugged him tightly.
“Besides,” Huck said, “I’ve never had a hearing before. It might be fun.”
Fern punched his chest.
“Ow! What was that for?” Huck said with a laugh.
The hearing was held in a small room that resembled a courtroom. An old man sat at the center of a long desk overlooking the room. Next to him was a podium.
Huck sat at one of two tables that faced the podium. At the other table was Edward and his father. For dramatic effect, Edward had bandaged his arm, lower torso and head. He looked ridiculous.
Behind the tables, interested members of the armada could watch the proceedings.
The old man rose to the podium and started to speak. His voice was gruff and carried an air of authority.
“You may refer to me as the speaker,” he said. “It is my duty today to chair this hearing. I will listen to both sides equally and decide a course of action at the end.”
He sat down and pointed at Edward and his father, Edwin Lane. Edwin looked like an older and more pompous version of Edward. The apple hadn’t fallen too far from the tree. He was a prominent official of the empire. He rose slowly from his seat. He shot Huck a quick look of disgust and then readied himself to speak.
“I don’t really think there’s much to be discussed today, Mr. Speaker. The other night, my son was brutally attacked by this filthy off-worlder,” Edwin said, pointing at Huck.
“Watch your language, Mr. Lane,” the speaker said.
“My apologies. I am the father of a child who was senselessly beaten and my emotions got the better of me,” he said with fake emotion.
“In Edward’s statement, he said Huck attacked him,” the speaker said.
“Yes. Completely unprovoked,” Mr. lane said.
Huck scoffed loudly.
“That’s not true!” he blurted out.
“Huck. Please refrain from speaking until it’s your turn,” the speaker said.
Huck nodded.
“Mr. Lane, you say Huck attacked Edward. Yet security footage shows that Edward threw the first Punch,” the speaker revealed.
“Did it also show you the savage beatdown that animal off-worlder gave my son?” Mr. Lane said.
“Mr. Lane. I will not tell you again. Any more abusive language and I shall have you removed,” the speaker said. He continued, “As I was saying, violence is unwarranted, unless it was self-defense. Tell me Edward, why would Huck have any reason to cause you harm?”
“Because he’s an off-worlder animal. I mean, because he’s crazy. All off-worlders are. He’s had it out for me ever since we met,” Edward said.
“Speaking of off-worlders. There was also a young woman named Fern present. Is that correct?” the speaker said.
“Yes,” Edward said.
“May I ask how you know her?”
“I don’t. I mean, she’s part of the mission now. She works at the bar on our ship,” Edward said. “But apart from that I don’t know her.”
“Apparently her drink was drugged. Do you know anything about that?”
“My son hasn’t done anything wrong,” Mr. Lane started to say and was cut off.
“I was speaking to your son, Mr. Lane.”
“No. Nothing,” Edward stammered.
“I see. Edward, Mr. Lane, you may sit,” the speaker said.
Mr. Lane sat next to his son and they both glared at Huck.
“Huck Renoy. By all accounts you seem to be one of the best pilots the armada has ever seen,” the speaker said.
“I guess so,” Huck said.
“So then, what is a prodigy like you doing on private property assaulting people?” the speaker said.
Huck cleared his throat and spoke very clearly.
“I know I’m not from earth, but where I come from, family means everything. Fern is my family and I thought she was in trouble. She’s in a foreign place with people she doesn’t know. I’m not sorry for what I did. She was drugged in a strange man’s house. If I had to do it again, I would. Maybe ten times worse,” Huck said.
“Did you hear that?” Mr. Lane said.
The speaker put a hand up and Mr. Lane kept quiet.
“Continue,” the speaker said.
“Fern and I grew up together in the mines of Io. When you grow up in a place like that, and go through what we went through together, it bonds you. Forever. She is my ... Forever,” Huck said before even realizing it.
“It’s true. They have a bond,” Admiral Keller said from the back of the room.
Everybody turned to see Keller standing there in his admiral’s uniform. There was no doubt he commanded the respect of the room.
“Keller. You aren’t a party to this hearing,” the speaker said.
Keller walked forward.
“No. I’m not. But I am permitted to stand up for a young man under my command when I think he has been done wrong. Just like you stood up for a young man once,” Keller said with a smile.
The speaker smiled back and it was obvious the two men had a history.
“Very well. Speak quickly,” the speaker said.
“Objection,” Mr. Lane cried. “This isn’t allowed.”
“I am chair and I will decide what is and isn’t allowed,” the speaker said.
“I know that what Huck did was wrong,” Keller said. “But you must consider the facts. He was provoked and acted on instinct. A good instinct. Surely there must be leniency in a case like that,” Keller said.
The speaker was quiet.
“After going through the evidence,” he said at last, “I find that Huck acted in a manner unbecoming an armada pilot, which resulted in the hospitalization of a fellow crew member. For this, he shall be removed from the crew of the battleship, Columbus, and will not be going on the convoy mission to Alpha Centauri,” the speaker said.
Immediately, Mr. Lane and Edward stood up to celebrate.
“Quieten down please,” the speaker said.
Mr Lane and Edward sat down again.
It was at this point that Admiral Keller stepped forward.
“Mr. Speaker,” he boomed, his voice louder than Huck had ever heard it. “This pilot was acting in defense of an innocent woman. I formally request that the court reconsider this judgement.”
Keller approached the speaker and the two men talked in hushed tones. No one could hear what was being said but it was clear the argument was heated. At last, the speaker rose to speak.
“After discussions with my colleague, the esteemed Admiral Keller, a compromise has been reached. Huck will not fly on the flagship battleship, Columbus, but will be permitted to stay on as part of convoy, and fly on one of the faster, more dangerous corvettes. Because of his experience on Io, they could use him on a ship like that, where repair crews suffer extremely high mortality rates.”
Mr. Lane and Edward tried to protest but the speaker was having none of it.
“That will be all,” he said and left the room.
Mr. Lane and Edward stormed out with Mr. Lane muttering something about using his connections to get the decision overturned.
That left Huck and Keller. Keller came and sat down next to Huck who looked like he had stopped breathing.
“I’m sorry but I had to butt in. I’ve known idiots like Edward my whole life,” Keller said.
Huck could only nod.
“I thought you’d be happy with this decision?” Keller said.
“I won’t be able to see Fern for six years,” Huck said, and almost choked on his words.
“I know, but it’s only six years, right? It’s better than never getting to see her again,” Keller said, trying to comfort him.
Huck shook his head.
“Ever since I can remember, I’ve seen Fern every day of my life. Six years? She might as well have died,” Huck said.
>
He put his head in his hands and began to cry.
Seventeen
Fern was nervous before her first shift on the battleship. She’d never been to a place so fancy and beautiful, let alone worked there. She poured drinks for a few customers and took a deep breath of relief when they didn’t seem to notice she was a novice.
She looked beautiful with her hair and makeup done and a dress that clung to her figure. She smiled at all her customers but it was her eyes that betrayed her. Even with the dazzling purple, you could see how sad she was.
Paige passed behind her and gave her a friendly squeeze. She was a good friend. She always offered a shoulder for Fern to cry on.
Fern wiped up the bar and looked longingly out the huge windows into deep space, taking in it’s infinity. Outside, she could see Huck’s Corvette, coasting along effortlessly in the slipstream of the convoy. On the wall she saw a display that told her how fast the ship was going and how long it would be until they arrived at Alpha Centauri.
The ship’s speed kept increasing, which meant the solar sails attached to the ship were gathering more and more energy from the sun. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be, she thought to herself. Huck was meant to be there, with her, not just for the six years of the journey but for the rest of their lives.
Instead she was marooned from him. Even though she could see his ship right outside her window, there was no way she’d ever be able to take the dangerous trip from her ship to his. Such transfers were risky and costly to pull off, and there was always a risk that a shuttle would fall out of the slipstream and be left behind, lost forever. No, if the armada was to risk shuttle travel between ships, it would be reserved for officers and other important personnel, and certainly wouldn’t be allowed for social visits between ordinary crew members. He was effectively banished from her.
Six years, she thought.
The best they could do was holo-call each other, which only made things worse. A holo-call let you speak to a holographic image of the person. You could make it full size, so it felt like you were really talking to them, but in the end, what did that really count for?
You couldn’t touch them.
You couldn’t smell them.
It was nothing more than one big tease.
But it was all they had.
“Hello? Can we get some service here?” Edward said.
Fern came out of her daydream and recognized the voice immediately. Before she could say anything, Paige came over.
“And just what do you assholes want?” Paige said and stared down Edward, Shane and Joe.
“Wow. Is that any way to speak to your valued customers?” Edward said with his ugly grin.
“Don’t worry, Paige. I’ve got this,” Fern said.
Paige shot her a sympathetic look.
“You sure?” Paige said.
Fern nodded and Paige left, but not without shooting more evil looks toward Edward and the others.
“What do you want to drink?” Fern asked them.
Edward pretended to look through the menu.
“Oh well, this looks cool,” Edward said, looking very interested.
“What is it?” Fern asked.
“Can we please have three glasses of ‘you’re-never-seeing-your-boyfriend-again,’” Edward said.
All three of them burst out laughing, unable to control themselves. Fern was ready to draw blood but kept her cool.
“You know what? If you’re going to be dicks, I’ve got other customers to serve,” she said.
“Wait, wait, okay, we’re being idiots. Can we have three of those there,” Edward said and pointed to the lowest shelf behind the bar.
“What?” Fern said and bent down to see what they meant.
As she did, Edward reached over and smacked her on the ass. This set the others off laughing, but not for long. Paige saw everything. She raced over and grabbed Edward. She pulled his hand up behind his back and twisted it. He screamed like a little girl. The others looked like they were going to go after Paige but Fern grabbed a corkscrew.
“One more step and this goes into both your eyes,” Fern said to Shane and Joe.
They sat back down and let Paige do her thing. Edward tried to wriggle free but it was no good. Paige held him tightly.
“I’m only going to say this once, so make sure you’re listening. If I see you touch her again, If I even think for a moment that you may have touched her again, I’m going to find you. And I’m going to break you. I don’t care who your father is. This is my bar. Not Earth. And there isn’t a goddamn thing you can do about it,” Paige said.
She twisted Edward’s arm even further.
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry,” Edward squealed.
“I’m not the one you’ve got be sorry to. Say it to her,” Paige hissed into his ear.
“I’m, I’m sorry,” Edward said.
“She’s got a name, you know,” Paige said, squeezing even tighter
“You’re going to break my arm. I need it to fly,” Edward cried.
“Then you better say it quick,” Paige said.
“Okay, I’m sorry ... Fern,” Edward finally said.
Paige let go of his arm and shoved him to the side. Edward glared at her as he nursed his arm.
“Now, all of you get out of my sight. I better not see any of you in here again,” Paige said.
They trudged out. Edward kicked a chair as he left. Fern ran up to Paige and hugged her tightly.
“What would I do without you?” she said.
“That’s what everybody says,” Paige said with a smirk.
It got late into the night and Fern had to work the last hour at the bar alone. As she was cleaning some glasses, she heard a loud crash and looked up to see a drunk colonist slowly getting to his feet. Fern sighed and went over to investigate. The man stank of booze and had trouble standing on two feet. He was an older man with a bad comb-over and deep, blank eyes. As soon as he saw Fern he smiled and pointed to the bar.
“Another d-d-drink,” he stammered.
“I think you’ve had enough,” Fern said to him.
The man turned violent and stamped his feet.
“I said another drink, goddamit!” he yelled.
Fern jumped back. She didn’t know what to do. Suddenly, a tall figure stepped between her and the drunk and a deep voice followed.
“You heard her the first time. You’ve had enough. Now it’s time to leave,” the figure said.
The colonist didn’t argue. The figure was twice his size and the drunk didn’t look like the fighting type. He scuttled out of there as quickly as he could. The figure turned around to reveal a tall, incredibly handsome face with stubble that was utterly perfect. He looked like the men Fern had seen in her virtual magazines.
The man put out a hand for her to take.
“Sorry you have to put up with such idiots. I’m Lex,” he said.
Fern took his hand and couldn’t believe how soft it was, and how strong his grip was.
Lex stayed at the bar while Fern cleaned up. It felt like they had so much in common, even though they grew up in different parts of the solar system. Lex had grown up on earth but was from a relatively poor family. His mother was a teacher and his father was an artist. He knew exactly what it felt like not to have enough, and had worked his way up to where he was now. He joined the convoy as the mission’s lead bio-scientist. He was the one who analyzed the first soil samples from Terra Nova, the planet orbiting Alpha Centauri, and decided it was a viable place to found a colony.
Everything about him interested Fern and she felt slightly confused by him, although she didn’t know why. At the end of the night he walked her back to her room.
“I uh, guess I’ll see you tomorrow?” Lex said.
Fern smiled and nodded.
“Thanks again for tonight,” she said.
He leaned in to kiss her goodnight on the cheek, but something came over her and she turned and kissed him on the lips. For a moment Lex looked s
tunned.
Fern felt terrible.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to,” Fern started to say, but she was cut off by Lex’s lips as he kissed her again, long and passionately.
Eighteen
Huck was just getting dressed when a holo-call came through from Fern.
“Somebody looks fancy,” she said, eyeing his body, half-wrapped in a towel.
Huck made a superhero pose which made her smile even more.
“And somebody forgot to call last night,” Huck said.
Fern bit her lip.
“I’m so sorry, Huck. Lex took me out last minute and we got in really late. But I was thinking of you. Happy birthday, best friend in the galaxy.”
“Can you believe it’s been almost six years?”
“No I can’t,” Fern said. “Not at all. Lex says we’re less than a month away from landfall.”
When Huck first heard about Lex, he’d been horribly jealous. He’d found it hard to even speak to Fern for almost three months. Yet, as time passed and she made it clear she was always going to be his family, he realized he was just happy that she was happy.
Huck threw on the last of his clothes.
“Well, I’ve got to go,” Huck said with a smile.
“Be safe,” Fern said as he ended the call.
Huck rushed to flight control, where he had a meeting with Admiral Keller and a guy called Brady, who was the best maintenance pilot on the mission. Brady was a likable guy who looked and acted just like a surfer dude. He even flew like he was riding a wave. Huck took a liking to him immediately and they often hung out and talked about new maneuvers they could get their craft to perform.
Huck walked into the room to see Keller patting Brady on the back.
In front of them was a metal cube, about a foot across, with a green glow emanating from inside it.
“Hey bro, you made it. Come check this out!,” Brady said and flicked back his long hair.
Huck stepped forward to look at the cube.
“What is it?”
“You’re not going to believe it,” Brady said.
“Try me.”
“It’s a nano core,” Brady said, a grin stretching across his face.
