Deep Space Endeavor

by Francis, Ron

  Preparations for the assault were under way as each of them went through their own personal pre-battle rituals. Josiah approached Kimiko while she was making her preparations, he noticed she was staring over at Jesse and said, “He’s not ready, you know.”

  She looked at Josiah with a quizzical expression. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “Jesse, he’s still hurting from Rebecca's death and he's not ready to be with another woman yet. I only mention it because it’s obvious to me that you like him.”

  She was shocked that her attraction to Jesse had been noticed by anyone. “I don’t know what you are talking about,” she lied.

  He just smiled. “It will be a little while before he is ready to be in a relationship again. I just don’t want to see you get hurt. When he is ready, I really do hope it’s you.”

  She surprised both herself and Josiah by saying, “I’m willing to wait.”

  He squeezed her arm and nodded. “We better get back to our preparations.”

  ______

  Collin and Ariel came back to the shuttle at a jog. “They have thirty-five men outside the house. Sensors are picking up another fifteen inside. Kimi was right, this place is heavily guarded.” Collin said as he checked his information.

  “There also seems to be a heavily fortified room in the sub-basement,” Ariel added.

  “They have two heavy anti-personnel weapons we will have to disable before we can go in,” Collin spoke as he picked up a water bottle.

  “He will no doubt have a considerable amount of backup close by as well,” Kimiko interjected while looking at Collin’s information. “This may be too much for us.”

  Jesse just smiled, “We can take out the weapons and half the guards outside from the shuttle. After we land, we can deploy our four, brand new, SSE warriorbots to form a perimeter to hold off any reinforcements they may send.”

  “I thought they were still trying to work the bugs out of those things,” Manny said while keeping his eyes focused on the safe house.

  “I don’t think we can safely use them yet, Jess,” Josiah added, concern evident in his voice.

  “We won’t need to,” Ariel interjected. “Nina and Serge are in a shuttle five minutes out with their detail.”

  “What? Why?” Jesse stammered. He didn’t want his family anywhere near this. This was likely to be a blood bath. He and his team had even procured bounty hunting licenses so they could legally go after the Master. “Get Nina back on the line,” he added, anger creeping into his voice.

  “They’re ignoring us,” Ariel smiled. She knew Nina was as stubborn as Jesse, and if she wanted to be here, he couldn’t stop her.

  A few minutes later, Nina’s shuttle landed and she stepped out, flanked by armed commandoes. “What are you doing here, Nina? This is going to get ugly.” Jesse asked, confrontation in his voice.

  “This has to end, Jesse,” she shot back.

  “It will end as soon as the man in that safe house is captured or dead. And please don’t even waste your breath trying to talk me out of it.”

  “Talk you out of it?” She laughed. “You think I’m here to talk you out of it?” she continued as Jesse and his strike team looked confused. “I’m here to help. Twelve assassins just attacked SSE headquarters. They killed seventeen men and women while trying to work their way to Serge and me. The men you assigned to protect us…”

  “The ones you didn’t want,” he interrupted, not wanting to miss an opportunity to rub in the fact he was right.

  “The men you assigned to protect us,” she continued, not taking the bait. “Were able to kill all of them, but not before they made me have to put a multi-billion dollar deal on hold. I know what you’re thinking, but it’s not about the money. It’s the disruption to our lives that this is causing. We need this to end, so we are here to help you end this now. Facial recognition software confirms that all of the men outside the house and several of the men inside the house are wanted members of the Asian Dawn organization. If you take these men out and their likely backups, there will be no one left in the organization powerful enough or with enough money to come after us again for quite some time.”

  “Alright, then,” Jesse said with a smile. “Let’s end this. Did we lose any commandoes to the assassins?” He asked.

  “Four!” Serge responded, speaking for the first time since they had arrived.

  “Here’s the plan,” Jesse began. “Nina and Thompson will be in shuttle one, Serge and Tate will be in shuttle two. One will fly to the back of the complex and open fire. Two flies to the front of the complex and opens fire. Tate, make sure you take out the two anti-personnel weapons. After the shuttles have sufficiently strafed the safe house, I will lead my strike team with Jones and five of his men from the west. Cartwright, you lead the rest of the men from the east. After the perimeter is secured, my group will enter the house while Cartwright’s group sets up a perimeter defense against any reinforcements. Cartwright, don’t forget to factor the shuttles into your defense, any questions?” When there were none, he added, “Let’s do this, people. Stick to the plan, and let’s all go home together.”

  ______

  Present day ………..

  Jesse was eating breakfast with Cassie and thoroughly enjoying his morning when Suzy’s voice came over the ship speaker letting Cassie know Enso was awake. Her smile grew really bright and she stood quickly. “I’ll catch up with you in a little while?” She asked more than said.

  “Of course,” he smiled. “Go be with your cousin. Take as much time as you need. I’m not going anywhere.”

  She leaned in and kissed him passionately before turning back around and going to see her cousin in med-bay. He just sat there taking in the moment.

  Jesse’s moment was killed by the sound of SAMMI alerting them to an incoming transmission. “On screen,” he said as he was walking onto the bridge.

  Garrinoras’ face flared to life, and Jesse thought, what now?

  “Human,” Garrinoras' voice boomed in its usual manner. “I am calling to congratulate you.” Jesse’s interest was piqued. “No one has ever beaten me in an exchange. You are the first. Every hostage I have ever taken in return for something I needed from an enemy has ended up dead. Enso Reed is the first to survive. I am impressed. You have earned my respect as an adversary. I think you will be pleased to know that you are the first human that has ever earned my respect.”

  “Thank you for your kind words. Now, what is it you would like to discuss?” Jesse hadn’t expected this sort of conversation, so he had his guard up, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

  “My scientists have examined the remains of the bag you blew up on my shuttle, and they assure me that there were no actual artifacts in there. They say the maps were real, but the artifacts were not. Kudos to your forger, they were perfect matches except for the material used. I would never have known the difference, but, that’s why I have kidnapped scientists.”

  “Well, now you know my secret. I still have all five of my artifacts.” Jesse replied.

  “I believe that number to be seven. You see, now that I know how good your fakes were, I don’t believe you destroyed any actual artifacts in your little demonstration the other day. I would like the artifacts as we agreed.”

  Jesse couldn’t stifle his laugh. “You want what? I only agreed conditionally to give you anything, and you broke every condition.”

  “Come now, Captain Marcos, if you were so sure I would betray you when you made the deal, my betrayal can hardly be seen as breaking our agreement. You broke our agreement as well, by the way.”

  “Wow, I can certainly say I didn’t expect this from you, Garrinoras. Unfortunately for you, all of my artifacts would have worked. You would have the treasure right now if you didn’t try to kill me and blow up Enso. The only one who broke our agreement was you. I simply came prepared in case you did. I have to decline your offer. My artifacts stay with me.”

  “Listen, Marcos,” Garrinoras warned. �
��I may respect you, but I will still kill you and everyone on your ship. The only way you can avoid my wrath is to give me what I want.” The conversation had suddenly lost its friendly tone.

  “I appreciate the warning,” Jesse began. “But as soon as I find this treasure, my team and I are leaving to return to my galaxy, where I own my own fleet. Good luck finding us there.” He said that last statement with a smile, but he knew and he suspected Garrinoras knew as well that Endeavor's path home had not yet opened.

  “Well, you will have to get past the Retribution first. I named my ship appropriately to deal with people like you,” Garrinoras replied. “You will die if you take this treasure from me, and Kaldor will suffer, too.” With that, the transmission ended, and Jesse sat on the bridge with a look of concern on his face.

  “He’s not gonna give it up, Jess,” Josiah broke into his thoughts.

  “I know, Jo, but there’s nothing we can really do. He’s going to try to kill us either way. Our best chance is to find the treasure and hope our new found wealth can buy us the opportunity to survive until we can go back home.” He looked very contemplative as he mentioned home, and Josiah knew he missed his sister and cousin.

  Another transmission broke into the conversation. “On screen,” Jesse ordered.

  A second later it was Mayor Valinor’s face lighting up the bridge.

  “Hello, Governor, how’s the campaign going?” He asked, pleased to see his friend.

  “Very well, thank you.” Tarrick replied. “How are you feeling? Sandstorm tells me you are recovering well from your injuries. He also told me about Topanar’s death yesterday, and how you were getting ready to leave to find the treasure.”

  “We are. Enso will be recovered in another day or so, Josiah is well enough to lead the recovery team, and I’m feeling stronger every day. Although, I must admit, I’m probably at least a good week away from being useful in a fight.”

  "I have someone here that wishes to greet you," he replied as Kiah's face lit up the screen.

  "Hello Jesse, I'm happy you are feeling better."

  "Me too, Little One, and now that I have seen you, I feel much better."

  She smiled shyly as she waved goodbye, then the Mayor was back on. “I was wondering if Agent Sandstorm might go along with you,” Tarrick asked. “With Topanar gone, I have very few worries here, and the local law enforcement can handle it. I just think it might be better for you to have another capable member on your team for this one.”

  “Agent Sandstorm is always welcome on board Endeavor, Tarrick, as are you, Seeja and Kiah.” Jesse replied with a smile.

  “Excellent,” Tarrick replied. “He’s on his way. He is a member of your crew until your mission is complete. I look forward to hearing from you soon.”

  "The feeling is most definitely mutual my friend." With that, the view screen winked out and Jesse was ready to finally get this treasure hunt over with.

  Chapter twelve

  ______

  Endeavor lifted from Kaldor’s surface and shot up through the stratosphere into space around Kaldor. As soon as the ship was far enough from Kaldor’s gravity, Endeavor jumped into light space. Endeavor came out of light space about fifteen minutes later and immediately cloaked. Josiah checked the sensors to see if there were any other vessels or surveillance set up in the area before Endeavor made its calculations to Najiban. Jesse wanted to make sure Endeavor was not being followed. He was quite sure Garrinoras had not given up his quest for the treasure. Jesse, for the first time, actually began to think about what might be in the treasure. It supposedly contained riches beyond imagination. It also contained many items of as much historical significance as financial. He actually couldn't wait to get a look at it, and then a thought hit him, no matter how big the treasure turned out to be, Josiah finally had his epic quest. He smiled as he watched reality once again lose focus around him.

  Suzy walked on to the bridge. He looked up from his thoughts and asked, “How’s Reece doing?” He knew she had released Reece from the medically-induced coma almost three hours earlier and that he had not yet regained consciousness.

  “He is almost healthy,” She began. “His lungs are working quite well, his ribcage has healed, and the pectoral muscle is coming along nicely. I’ve had electrodes stimulating activity in all of his major muscle groups just to keep him fit and ready when he wakes. It’s a little unusual for someone coming out of a medically-induced coma to take a few hours to regain consciousness, but not unheard of. Given his brain activity, though, I’m starting to worry a little. He’s not on life support, but he’s not awake, either. I guess only time will tell at this point.”

  “I know you are doing your best, Suzy. I also know that if Reece doesn’t wake up, it’s not your fault. You have done everything you can. The rest is up to him.”

  She was obviously frustrated as she looked to be searching for the words that would accurately convey what she had been feeling. “It’s just that his vitals are fine, and his breathing is fine. His wound is healing really well. I know he took a shot to the head, but many people have woken up from worse. I don’t understand why Reece isn’t.” He could tell that she wasn't only frustrated, but also concerned.

  He looked at the doctor and smiled, “The last thing Reece saw before the lights went out was the woman he loves shooting him. Maybe his mind is still trying to subconsciously work through that before it allows him the desire of fighting to regain consciousness.”

  She looked a little confused, “How do you know about the psychology of coma patients?”

  He just laughed as he said, “I’m the commanding officer. It’s my job to know everything.”

  She looked at Jesse, trying to keep a straight face, and just laughed. “Fine, don’t tell me, keep your secrets, then." They both smiled as she turned to leave the bridge. As he watched her go, he was so thankful his crew had saved her from Topanar.

  He looked out the viewport at the colors of light space streaking by and thought he could get lost in those colors as he asked, “Collin, how much longer until we arrive at Najiban?”

  “We’ll be in light space for another fifty-one hours, Colonel,” he responded.

  “Well then, it is not necessary for all of us to be on the bridge. Collin, you and Wennagal can take the first six hours. Cassie and I will take the next six. Josiah can take the next shift with either Suzy or Enso if he’s up to it. Then Kimi and Sandstorm will follow. Then we begin the rotation again.”

  ______

  Fifty-one hours later, Endeavor dropped out of light space. Colin cloaked the ship immediately as Endeavor settled into orbit around Najiban. He immediately began searching for the landing coordinates. “Najiban has a large tribal population on one continent. Its other continent is largely uninhabited,” SAMMI recited as if reading a brochure.

  “How large is the tribal population, and what exactly do you mean by largely uninhabited?” Jesse asked.

  “The tribal population is approximately twelve point three million. Largely uninhabited means scattered sentient life. There may be a few hundred on the entire continent. There is also a rather large population of what sentient species would consider big game animals.” SAMMI replied.

  “Thank you, SAMMI. Collin, do we know which continent we are going to yet?” Jesse asked.

  “We are going to the largely uninhabited continent,” Collin said with a smile.

  “They are not likely to have reptapes, Collin,” Kimiko mocked, noticing his smile.

  They are actually called the Oppashafe,” Collin replied, “And we don’t know they won’t be down there.”

  “What’s an Oppashafe” Enso asked, a little confused.

  “They are half reptile, half primate animals that we encountered on Tuleah. Collin is obsessed with them,” Cassie replied with a laugh.

  “They helped us,” Collin replied defensively to a little more laughter.

  “I’m still having nightmares about their screeching,” Josiah added, holding his
head. “Make it stop, make it stop!”

  “Alright, everyone, that will be enough fun at Lieutenant Torrensede’s expense, for now. The Oppashafe did in fact help us. Let’s just leave it at that,” Jesse remarked, ending the good-natured debate.

  “SAMMI, was this continent always largely uninhabited?” Josiah queried.

  “Yes, Lieutenant Jackson, it has never been settled by an organized culture, only scattered individuals.” SAMMI replied in an almost musical tone that threatened to open up a new round of laughter at Collins expense.

  “Are there any structures large enough in the target area to hold a treasure of substantial size?” Josiah continued.

  “Not above ground, Lieutenant Jackson. Sensors are picking up several underground structures that are quite large in the target area. They all seem to be part of the same underground complex,” SAMMI replied.

  “Are they natural or manmade, SAMMI?” Jesse asked.

  “Unknown, Colonel Marcos.”

  “Okay, Lieutenant Torrensede, put us down cloaked in the target zone. Let’s get the map, the artifacts and the key. Let’s also bring the large gold coins we found. I have a feeling that they might be part of the puzzle. We have four hoversleds ready to go, and the warriorbots are ready to help us load. I think we’re ready.” Jesse was really excited as he spoke, even though he was not going with his crew. He was ready for this hunt to be over so they could begin exploring the other three sectors of the Kalephi galaxy.

  Endeavor landed in the target zone. While the landing bay hatch was opening, Jesse noted that this was the first planet they were on that really reminded him of Earth. They had landed in an area that was a flat, rocky surface. To the north and west were trees. They were looking at a beautiful forest with trees that looked a lot like oak trees although the trees were substantially larger. They were spaced far enough apart that it appeared a speeder would be able to maneuver through. To the east was the base of a large mountain. Trees decorated the mountain, and about halfway up, you could see the color change from green to white. It was a picturesque view. To the south, the rocks went on for a few hundred kilometers before giving way to white, sandy beaches. Jesse couldn’t actually see that far. That just happened to be the course they followed on the way in. Forests, mountains and beaches; he would love to spend some time camping on this continent.