Jane had been hanging around with Tate in one of the hangars on the campus, which wasn’t out of the ordinary given they both liked to look at the shuttles. Tate was smart, funny, handsome, and everyone seemed to want to be around him. Jane did too, and she always looked up to her big brother. So as a nine-year-old girl, she thought nothing of following her older brother into one of the shuttles, unaware of what he was about to do. Carefully working on his hack of Evelyn’s system, he had her taxi the shuttle out of the bay and launch off the campus. Normally, Evelyn would have prevented a shuttle from launching without an approved passenger list, but not that day, and with several shuttles launching and landing every day, nobody was the wiser.
Jane was nervous at first about being on the shuttle with Tate, and deep down she knew they were making a horrible choice, but she loved her brother and wanted to go along anyway. They both buckled into the captain’s chairs in the cockpit, and Tate had Evelyn rocket the shuttle along the surface toward the Rockies. They had seen pictures, but they hadn’t ever been. Shortly after soaring into the mountains, Tate saw the plateau and had Evelyn land.
For the next couple of hours, they explored the whole area, put their hands in the icy cold pools to see how long it took for their hands to go numb, and ran from one side to the other, amazed at how hard it was to do in the thin air. Then they lay down on the scrubby grass and gravel, watching the leading edge of a storm front roll over the top of them, almost as if they were deep underwater watching the waves roll over them toward the shore.
It had been Jane’s best day, and she loved her brother even more for letting her come along on his adventure.
By the time their panic-stricken parents caught up with them, they had been gone for hours, and their dad had nearly shut down the company to put every resource they had into finding the kids and undoing the mess Tate made of Evelyn.
Jane and her brother knew they were in trouble when three shuttles all descended together around the plateau, encircling the two troublemakers. Both their mom and dad rushed out of one of the shuttles together, crying and breathless. After receiving a bone-crushing hug from their mom and dad—and then enduring an equally emotional scolding—the four of them climbed aboard one of the shuttles and headed back to Atlanta. Of course, Jane and her brother paid a heavy price for that day, but neither of them came to regret it, and that spot high in the Rocky Mountains eventually became a place where their whole family traveled together to find peace and quiet away from the public view. On some days, they would laugh together about the day of the great shuttle heist and how they had been so blessed to stumble across one of God’s most majestic creations.
It had been years since any of them had come back to this spot, and Jane looked out over the same rocks and cliffs. It was exactly as it had been and exactly as it would be, maybe for thousands or millions of years more. To Jane, though, it didn’t feel the same. Maybe it was because she was different. Maybe it was because she knew she wouldn’t be back, or wouldn’t be back with Tate, or wouldn’t be back with her family, but she didn’t feel the same joy she had felt there as a child.
Jane sat for a while on the rock overlooking the pool and watched as the leading edge of a storm front appeared over the western ridge. It was a beautiful place, but she knew that the joy she had there was all in the past, tucked away safely in her memories. It was time to find a new place and have a new adventure. She was ready to go. She still hadn’t decided what to do about the kids, though, and the thought made her nervous; she wasn’t sure if it was at the thought of bringing them or leaving them behind.
She stood and noticed more movement out of the corner of her eye. Remembering the wolf, she turned to look again and was shocked to see more than a dozen other gray wolves standing near the original one, which still hadn’t moved. Even more wolves emerged from the back side of the ridge as she watched.
Not wanting to see how emboldened a pack of wolves might get if they were actually as hungry as they looked, Jane quickly walked back up the gravelly slope to the shuttle. The storm front was overhead, and it was rapidly blackening the sky above. It wasn’t going to be just a cold breeze blowing down off the slope today. Jane figured the temperature had already dropped twenty degrees in the twenty minutes she had been there. A nasty storm was coming.
Jane climbed on board the shuttle and headed for the cockpit.
“I’m ready, Evelyn,” Jane announced.
“It’s a good thing too, Jane,” Evelyn replied over the intercom. “We’re about to go live with your father’s broadcast. I just finished hacking into the national communication system.”
“Put it on the screen, Evelyn.”
A holographic screen materialized in front of the window, blocking the view of the storm front, which had already blacked-out the sky above and was now dusting the shuttle with tiny shards of ice.
“We are transmitting this signal across every line of communication,” Evelyn said. “Every channel of television, radio, tether frequency—everything.”
Jane sat on the edge of the captain’s seat as her dad appeared on the viewer in front of her.
“For those of you who don’t know who I am,” her dad began, “my name is Carson Philips. I am the president of CP Interstellar, and I urge you to stop whatever you are doing and listen to this message. Your future may depend upon it.
“My company has developed technology that will allow us to travel to other worlds, and as I speak, hundreds of us are preparing to set off on a voyage to find a new world—a new home. Those who are traveling are doing so for their own reasons, but to some degree, every person and family is traveling out of a sense of adventure, in the hopes of finding a new and better life elsewhere.
“Our intention is to return one day, after we have settled, and afford you the same opportunity—to travel to a new world and to make a new life for yourselves and for your families.
“I recognize that it may seem farfetched, the thought that you could travel to another world. I also know that many of you will not know what to think, because the reality in our country is that people rarely dare to dream of a better life. But I assure you, these things are possible, and when we come back, you will get to make your choice. You may not have had a choice in where you live, what you do, or about your station in life, and many of you have suffered, watching your family get torn apart. You can make a choice about this, though.
“My message is not for those of you who are satisfied with the way things are. My message is for those of you who want something different—a life of hope and freedom—” and suddenly the video went blank.
“We just lost our link,” Evelyn interjected. “I can’t reestablish a connection.”
That all-too-familiar nervous energy crept back into Jane’s gut, and she held her breath—for what reason, she didn’t know.
When the video link reappeared a second later, it showed a podium marked with the official presidential seal flanked on either side by the flag of the United States of America and the flag of the president. The bottom of the screen read: An Announcement from the President of the United States.
Jane leaned further onto the edge of her seat, listening during the pause to the wind rushing outside the shuttle, now spraying it with sand-sized grains of ice.
A minute passed, and then President Coleson stepped behind the podium. He was dressed impeccably, as always, wearing a red jewel-toned tie and a dark suit. He paused behind the podium and took his spectacles out of the breast pocket of his jacket. Placing them lightly on his face, he looked up at the camera with furrowed brows and an expression of being gravely concerned.
A shiver ran up Jane’s spine. Something about him always made her uncomfortable. Even now, on the surface, his expressions and body language seemed to be those of someone who was disappointed, or even distraught, but even the video link couldn’t hide his eyes, which almost seemed to smolder.
“My fellow Americans,” the president began. “As your elected representatives in
Washington, we have been given a great responsibility—to protect the common good of the people. This is why our society is organized as it is. This is why everyone has been given a home. This is why everyone has been given work. This is why everyone has access to food and clothing and the necessities of life. Everyone has a place, and everyone knows their place.”
President Coleson paused, lingering on his thought, and Jane could swear she could see him momentarily grit his teeth.
The president continued. “Everyone benefits from our system, but we also understand that for everyone to mutually benefit, everyone must do their part. This means doing your job in sacrifice to humanity, maintaining order, and recognizing that each of us has value—to the whole of society.
“Carson Philips clearly does not understand this concept of self-sacrifice. Further, he is trying to steal from you something that is very precious—your dignity. In trying to persuade you to believe that somehow serving yourselves is nobler than serving your fellow man, he would have you believe that you have no purpose—that your life here matters not. I am here to tell you that your life does matter, but so does the rule of law.
“Mr. Philips’s actions of pirating the public’s lines of communication for his own purposes, endangering the lives of millions of people, and encouraging civil unrest and disobedience are criminal and treasonous. Your safety and the security of our great nation are our greatest concerns, but rest assured, we will bring this fugitive to justice.
“Until he is captured, please report any suspicious activity to your local authorities, and otherwise, please go about your work and business as usual. We owe it to one another to make sure our great society continues to prosper as usual. For the common good and the good of the people.”
Not a second later, the screen went to static, and the holographic screen covering the window disappeared.
Jane leaned back in her seat, her mouth hanging open in surprise. “Fugitive?” she mumbled. Her dad wasn’t running from anyone. He was picking a fight—anyone with a brain could see that—but he certainly wasn’t running away. Her stomach churned with anxiety. “We better head up to Vista. It sounds like it’s time for us to leave.”
“Not so fast, Jane. It may be best for us to stay put for a while.”
Jane looked out the window. The storm was in full force now, and the ice crystals were starting to build up on the edges of the shuttle. “What are you worried about … flying out in the storm?” Jane asked.
“No, Jane,” Evelyn replied. “Even though I lost control of their systems, I am still tracking all of the communications on government channels. The military is sending a shuttle up to Vista as we speak. Given what President Coleson said about how they consider your dad to be a fugitive, and how he’s under investigation for treason, I suspect they intend to arrest him.”
“What?” Jane exclaimed as she stood abruptly. “We have to go, Evelyn. We have to get there before they do!”
“That’s not possible,” Evelyn replied. “The military shuttle left several minutes ago, and they are rocketing vertically to Vista. They will be there in less than ten minutes. Even if we left now, and flew vertically, we wouldn’t arrive before them. That, and you would lose consciousness given the fact that you’re not accustomed to the g-forces of vertical flight.”
“Well, can’t you do something?” Jane shouted. “Can’t you fire some lasers at them?”
“Lasers? What do you think this is, Jane—Star Trek? You’ve been watching too much science fiction.”
Jane sat back in her seat and covered her face with her hands, the realization of what was happening hitting her squarely in the chest. “If I had just gone back … we could have left.”
Jane took her hands from her face and looked out the window. She thought about the president, sinister and cruel, stealing her dad from her. She thought about how she had made another huge mistake by not going straight back to the space station. The more she thought, the more she could feel the heat of her frustration and anger build in her chest and face.
“Evelyn,” Jane said, sitting back and buckling herself into her seat. “We have to go—now!”
Jane felt the initial rumble of the engines fire, and just seconds later, she felt the shuttle break free from the now frozen plateau.
“This is a bad idea, Jane,” Evelyn countered. “Your dad would prefer that you were out of harm’s way, which is exactly where we’re headed if we go to the space station. There are military personnel on the way.”
“I don’t care!” Jane shouted, gripping the arms of the chair. “And I don’t care if I black out. Get us there as fast as you can.”
Jane immediately felt the nose of the shuttle tilt up and heard the roar of the engines thrusting the shuttle upward. She sank deeply into the seat and felt the crushing magnified weight of gravity on her chest. Faster and faster, the shuttle accelerated through the black storm clouds, and then, like a bullet exploding through the back of a pillow, the shuttle punched through the top of the thunderhead, rocketing toward space. She knew she was still breathing, but she couldn’t help but gasp as her field of vision narrowed, her blood pressure gradually lowering in her head.
“I’ll wake you when we get there, Jane,” were the last words she heard before everything went black.
RESOLUTE
Jane tried to open her eyes, but couldn’t. Her head felt like it had been submerged in a bucket of ice water, and she had the distinct feeling that she was drowning, unable to breathe.
“Jane, wake up,” she heard, almost as if she were listening to someone talk to her through a pillow.
Jane took a deep breath, and slowly warmth returned to her head. Her blurry vision started to clear.
“Wake up, Jane,” Evelyn repeated. “We’re in orbit now, and we’re approaching Vista.”
Jane groaned quietly as if she were awakened from a deep sleep and looked out the window.
“I think I passed out,” she said.
“I hadn’t noticed,” Evelyn replied. “Sorry to hear it.”
“Quit being funny, Evelyn.” Jane rolled her neck around instinctively to get the blood moving again. “I’m not in the mood for funny.”
“Well then, snap out of it!” Evelyn replied. “We will be docking in minutes.”
“Okay, fine. Just tell me what’s going on—with Vista—and my dad.”
“The military shuttle has docked, and there are eleven armed men on the space station,” Evelyn replied. “Your dad has left the command center and is meeting them on the catwalk.”
“Then I’m too late,” Jane mumbled.
“Too late for what, Jane?” Evelyn asked. “Do you have a plan? If you do, it would be smart for you to tell me what it is.”
“You’re not helping Evelyn,” Jane replied. “I … I don’t have a plan. I just need to get on board. I have to try to help him.”
“Okay, but don’t do anything crazy. Two of the officers are waiting in the main docking bay. I’m going to dock the shuttle at the other end of the station, at an airlock that isn’t used any longer. You should be able to get close without being seen.”
“Thanks, Evelyn,” Jane replied as the shuttle approached the airlock. Brushing up close, Jane heard the seal on the outside of the door connect.
Feeling a little lightheaded from losing consciousness, Jane stood up slowly and headed toward the airlock.
“Don’t forget your earbud, Jane. It will be the only way for us to communicate securely.”
Jane grabbed the earbud from her quarters, taking just a second to scrape off a tiny speck of her blood left over from being the victim of the attempted carjacking earlier. Jamming the earbud in her ear, she pushed open the shuttle door and walked quickly down the corridor.
“Where is he now, Evelyn?”
“Your dad and four of the guards are heading toward the main shuttle bay. They plan to take your dad back down to the surface.”
Jane started running down the corridor. “Can we just leave now?�
� she asked. “Can you turn on the Leap Frog?”
“No, Jane, I can’t. None of the guards are on Vista by their own free will. It would be kidnapping if we left with them still on board.”
Jane’s stomach knotted again, and without thinking, she started sprinting toward the shuttle bay. With every pounding step, Jane’s face ached where she had been bashed by the rock earlier. She didn’t care. The only thing she could think about was her dad. She had no idea what she was going to do. She just knew she had to get to him.
Jane rounded the corner of the corridor at one end of the shuttle bay and sprinted toward the entrance at the other end. Through the windows, she could see the shuttles docked at their airlocks, and at the far end, she could see the military shuttle docked. She knew her dad and the guards would be down there.
“Jane, slow down,” Evelyn shouted in Jane’s ear. “You’re going to run into them … They’re armed … They have guns!”
Up ahead, Jane could see her dad being escorted down the corridor by the guards and then saw them disappear down the corridor toward the military shuttle. Jane knew she only had a few more seconds and then her dad would be gone. She couldn’t help but think of him being gone forever.
Jane had never sprinted so fast, the sense of panic growing inside her.
“Dad!” she screamed. “Dad!”
“Jane?” she heard her dad call out, obvious surprise in his voice. Rounding the corner of the final corridor, she quickly realized they hadn’t gone as far as she had thought, and she found herself jerking herself upright to keep from colliding into them.
All four men had already turned toward Jane, and while none of them were aiming their weapons at her, they all looked like they would have if her dad hadn’t called out her name. They were dressed in black military gear, three of the four of them carrying obnoxiously large rifles, and they were surrounding her dad.
Jane and the Exodus Page 10
