Revelations: Judgment Day: Kingdom of Sand - Book 1

by R. E. Graham

  “Yeah, I don’t know. Hey, did you hear about what happened to Cavan?”

  “Oh yeah, I did. It’s awful,” she said as she went back into the kitchen.

  Mikhail stood in the front room of his home and stretched his shoulders. Dishes clanked together as Leesa continued working.

  “I thought you said that nothin’ happened?” he asked as he headed for his wife.

  “Huh?”

  "I asked you back at the landing pad if anythin' had happened while we were gone and you said "no.""

  Leesa placed a stack of plates up into the wooden cabinet and closed the door. “Well, I didn’t put what happened to Cavan as something that is linked to us. Is it?”

  Mikhail shrugged. “I don’t know just yet. The Mayor said that the news didn’t really say much, just that the town was destroyed.”

  “That’s awful. I knew there was a lot of damage, but I didn’t know it was that bad,” she said as she set a towel for drying the dishes aside on the counter.

  Mikhail had so much on his mind, but it was all overcome as he enjoyed the sight of his wife in her striped blouse and blue pants. He walked over to her and embraced her. “Did I kiss you earlier?”

  She wrapped her arms around his waist and looked lovingly into his eyes. “Nothing’s stopping you now.”

  The two enjoyed a tender kiss together for a moment. Mikhail tilted his head to the side and breathed her sweet perfume in. No matter what else had happened, he did what he had to for these exact moments.

  “I love you,” he said as he again looked deep into her eyes.

  “And I love you.”

  The two kissed again, and then the interruption of little stomping feet broke the moment up. "Hi, daddy!" Coral said excitedly.

  Mikhail in one swift motion scooped up his son, and he rubbed his face on Coral's stomach tickling the small boy. Joyful screams filled the air and Leesa smiled.

  “So, what did you want to talk about?” she asked as she picked the towel back up and tended to the dishes.

  The Captain set his son down and put his hands on his hips. “Oh right.”

  He reached into the pocket on the inside of his jacket and pulled out a small hovercar toy before he knelt down. "I have something for you Coral," he said with a broad smile.

  “Caaar!” the smallest Tarvus screamed as he bounced up and down. He accepted the toy as his father handed it to him and took off into the other room making cheerful sounds along the way.

  Mikhail stood up and turned back to his wife. “I don’t know how to say it.”

  “Is it something bad?” she asked as she again set the towel down when she saw the concern on her husband’s face.

  “I know you don’t approve of all this, but our last run…um, went bad.”

  “What happened?”

  Flashbacks of the incident on the Hydra’s bridge stormed his mind. “Well uh, we boarded this ship. The plan was to just take what we needed and um…just leave.”

  Leesa leaned up against the countertop as she listened intently to the story.

  “So, we got aboard and made our way to the bridge. We found this family that was mourning the death of their son.”

  “What happened to their boy?” Mrs. Tarvus asked as genuine concern clouded her pretty face.

  “Riko was out in the Goblin, and the ship shot at us. He fired back at the turret and apparently the family's boy was trying to defend their ship…from us," Mikhail said as feelings of pain touched his voice.

  Why am I so upset about this?

  “So…turns out that he died.”

  Leesa looked away feeling sorry for the family she would never meet.

  “I had taken Lenny Jr with me on the run. Thought he would need some experience. We gave him a rifle and…how could I be so stupid.”

  “Wha…what happened Mik?”

  The Captain took a deep breath before he continued to tell his story. “While we were asking the family some questions, Lenny thought he saw the father go for a gun. Before I knew it, he gunned down all of them. Their little girl was with them too. All dead.”

  Leesa covered her mouth and tears welled up in her eyes.

  Mikhail knew his wife had a tender heart for others, but he couldn't keep this on his chest any longer. He had to let it out. While known of his crew would know about it, this was the part of this life that he couldn't stand. The killing was necessary sometimes to do what needed doing. But he wondered at times if the cost was worth it. Seeing no other options on the horizon though, always brought him back to the life of a raider.

  “Are you going to talk to his father about what happened?” she asked as she sniffed deeply before she wiped the edges of her eyes.

  “I thought about it, yeah.”

  Mikhail looked down at his socks and noticed how dirty they had become. The small distraction helped him for just a moment before he had to continue the conversation.

  "I can't let the kid go with me anymore. I checked the dad, and there was no gun. Nothin'. He got trigger happy and murdered a family."

  “Please Mik, let’s leave this life behind us.”

  Mikhail shook his head. “Lees…”

  She rushed over to her husband and set a gentle hand on his chest as she looked into his eyes. "Please Mik. We can pack a couple of small bags and leave this life behind us. It's tearin' you apart. I can see it. Every time you leave you come back more and more…broken."

  “And do what, abandon all of our friends here?” the Captain shook his head at his internal frustration. “No, I can’t do that. Besides, we’re still chipped, it isn’t like we can go live wherever we want.”

  Any energy in Leesa’s face depleted rapidly. She lowered her eyes to the floor and shuffled across the kitchen. “I know you’re right. I’m just afraid that one day you’ll get caught.”

  I can’t let her find out about the Senator!

  Instinctively, Mikhail's tone changed to be more tender, and he moved over to his wife. "Lees, I will never allow anything bad to happen to you."

  She looked up into his eyes with a great swirl of concern in her own. “Mik…”

  “No, I mean it. If I catch wind of anything lookin’ bad, all three of us will leave this behind and run off to the outer rim or something.”

  “Why can’t we leave now then?”

  Mikhail wrestled with the question. “Because babe, I have a responsibility to these people. If we leave now, they will be hopeless.”

  “They will find a way!” Leesa implored passionately. “I’m ju…I’m scared.”

  The married couple held each other for a few moments, both knowing the other was right, but both understanding the other side.

  Finally, Mikhail kissed the top of his wife’s head then released her. “Let’s not worry about any of that tonight. I want a night off of worrying about the rest of the ‘verse and just enjoy the two of you.”

  Leesa’s face lit up with happiness. “That sounds wonderful to me.”

  Chapter 16

  Cycle: 434 Month: 2 Rotation: 18

  Corre Republic Space

  Prefecture: Siimon

  Planet: Destiny

  Location: Largo, the Tarvus’ residence

  Captain Mikhail awoke in his bedroom just as Destiny’s local sun was peeking out from behind the eastern mountains. He slid his feet out from under his blanket and rubbed his face. A small mechanical chirping sound echoed down the hall into the bedroom.

  Now, who would be calling me so early in the morning?

  As the pirate captain made his way out of bed and down the hall to the bathroom, he scratched his head and yawned. He wasn't in a big hurry to answer and decided if it were important, he would call whoever it was back.

  Last night had been all he could have asked for. It was completely peaceful and was the most enjoyable time with his family as any of his fondest memories with them had been.

  Upon exiting the bathroom, he yawned once more, this time larger than the time before. Suddenly the thought
exploded into his mind.

  I totally forgot to speak with the Mayor last night!

  While trying to remain relatively quiet, he carefully walked through his home and to the shelf where he typically kept his everyday items. Sitting beside his wallet was his communicator. He pressed the sole button at the bottom of the device to reveal he had received a missed call from Mayor Tipso.

  “Frick,” he said in frustration at himself.

  Totally slipped my mind. I need to get over there soon.

  Leesa happened to be shuffling through the hallway when she spotted her husband. “Problem?”

  “Yeah, I told Lenny I was going to swing by and talk to him last night…I forgot.”

  “I’m about to make breakfast…” she said gesturing towards the kitchen.

  “Sorry babe, I need to take care of this first.” On his way back to the bedroom he gave her a kiss on the cheek.

  Leesa continued on her way with disheveled hair as Mikhail got dressed for the day.

  Now in the bedroom, the Captain slid out the top drawer of his wooden dresser and retrieved some clean socks. He sighed as he looked around the room.

  One day I want to get Lees some real furniture, not this old stuff.

  While the Republic was one of the most advanced nations that humankind had built, there were so many of its citizens that had very simple belongings. If you lived on one of the core planets, then you had a different experience to life compared to someone living on an inner world like Destiny or Marie.

  Mikhail finished getting dressed and put on his jacket. He brushed off a spot of dirt on the bottom of his clothing and exited the bedroom.

  The lovely smell of kava wafted through the old home and teased his nostrils.

  Leesa heard her husband’s steps on the wooden floor and popped up from around the corner. “I made you something for the road,” she said as she handed him a cylinder with the warm drink just the way he liked it.

  “Thanks,” Mikhail said with a cheerful smile. He accepted the metal drink carrier and again kissed her.

  “When do you think you’ll be back?”

  “I don’t know. I’ll probably just go ahead and make sure everything is ready for the mercs too.” The Captain set the drink down on the shelf and slid his boots on.

  “Alright, well take this with you,” Leesa said before she tossed a protein bar to her husband.

  He caught the foil wrapped bar and winked. “See you later.”

  Instead of walking to the Mayor’s home, Mikhail had decided to drive his old dingy wheeled truck over. He bounced from the bumps in the dirt road leading up to the Tipso’s residence.

  As he put the truck into park, the front door flung open by Lenny Jr. His eyes got really wide at the sight of the pirate captain, and he nearly dropped both of the luggage bags that were under each arm.

  This doesn’t look good. Are they runnin’?

  Mikhail’s face warped to a shade of disapproval as he exited his truck and shut the door.

  The younger Tipso took a breath and walked quickly up to his father’s vehicle. He dropped the bag in his left arm and used his free hand to open the red door.

  “Morning Lenny,” the Captain said with a tone that wasn’t quite angry just yet, but it certainly was serious sounding.

  Lenny thought it best to ignore the bigger man and threw in the second bag. Mayor Tipso nearly tripped outside of his home when he stumbled on the threshold of the entrance.

  “Ah, Mikhail, good morning.”

  “Hello Mayor,” Mikhail said as he greeted the elected town official. He stabbed a thumb over his shoulder at their family vehicle. “Going somewhere?”

  Mayor Tipso tried to hide the truth. “Oh well, you know, thought it’d be good for the two of us if we went on a little trip to the mountains for a day or so.”

  The Captain pointed at the jam filled shoulder bag the Mayor carried. “Looks like you are bringing quite a bit if you are only going for a day trip.”

  “Ah well, better to be prepared,” the Mayor said as he walked passed the Captain and tossed his bag in as well.

  Mikhail looked at Lenny Jr who immediately averted his eyes. He also happened to notice the middle-aged mother who lived next door watching the commotion.

  “Mayor, do you have a moment?” Mikhail asked trying to stay calm.

  “I’d love to chat Mik, but we want to arrive in the mountains and be set up before dark so…”

  The Captain placed his strong hand on the Mayor's long-sleeved shirt. He squeezed slightly so that the Mayor got the hint.

  “Well, I guess I may have a minute or so.”

  Mikhail nodded appreciatively. He glared suspiciously at Lenny Jr as the two walked inside.

  Mayor Tipso rubbed his hands together to warm them from the chilly outside air. “Look, Mik, Junior told me this morning about what happened on the last run…”

  With deliberate care, Mikhail closed the front door and turned back to the other man.

  Did this piece of scum really think he was going to leave all of us behind?

  “What did he tell you exactly?” the Captain asked as he crossed his arms.

  "Well…" the Mayor started obviously struggling with what to say next. "You know…I knew that if anyone could keep Junior safe, it would be you, Captain."

  In a flash, Mikhail grabbed a small sculpture that rested atop a stand next to him and hurled it through the air. Mayor Tipso ducked and barely dodged the projectile. The color in his face completely bled away. However, Mikhail looked severely pissed.

  “Were you just going to run off and leave the rest of us here behind?!”

  The senior Lenny trembled with terror. “Y…you know as well as I do that the kid messed up, he messed up real bad.”

  Mikhail fumed. “How could you even consider deserting us?”

  “You know as well as I do that we are criminals now.”

  The Captain shook his head. “We are doing what we have to survive.”

  “It won’t matter to the lawmen what our reason is…”

  “We all agreed as a town that we were in this together,” Mikhail said as he pointed an angry finger.

  “That was before my son killed a fraggin’ senator!”

  Outside Lenny Jr could overhear parts of the conversation, and he nervously rubbed his hands together.

  “That’s why we headed for Noire. That way our dust trail wouldn’t be able to be tracked back here.”

  The Mayor shook his head. “That won’t matter. They are going to keep searching the nearby worlds until they find us.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “I do know that Cavan was attacked by government off worlders Mik.”

  The Captain shook his head in confusion. “I thought you said that you didn’t really know what happened.”

  “I made a call earlier today to a contact I have in Samson. He told me that an inquisitor was there asking questions. An inquisitor!” the Mayor shouted as he threw his hands up in worry. “I have to get my boy off world as soon as possible.”

  “And where do you think you can go anyhow? Do you have a relocator contact I don’t know about?”

  The older Lenny looked away.

  “You do, don’t you? You son of a goff! How long have you…”

  "Long enough. But I could only ever manage to get a handful of relocations, and it isn't even a guarantee." It was then that the Mayor got a bright idea. "You could come with us!"

  Mikhail was taken aback. “Wait, what?”

  "I can get five relocations. You can bring your family, and we can be on a ship heading for Frost within a few hours."

  “Frost? The border world Frost?”

  It was the Mayor’s turn to be confused. “What’s wrong with Frost?”

  “Besides the fact it is a border world and will be filled with government officials, I don’t know, I guess nothin’,” Mikhail barked back. “You truly would abandon the town and all these people Lenny? You could honestly do that?”
/>
  The Mayor's tone became quieter as he thought about the painful memories of his past. "After Cheryl died, Junior is all I have left in this life. I…I can't stand around and wait for the law to find us. It was one thing when you were hittin' little colonies and small-time things. But this…this is too much."

  The pirate captain didn't want to admit it, but he knew precisely what the frightened father was feeling. He had already spent plenty of time mulling over all the possibilities after they destroyed the Senator's ship.

  “I can’t Lenny. I just can’t leave everyone else behind.”

  “I don’t want to Mik, but I have to take care of my son,” the Mayor said as he started to walk to the door.

  Mikhail placed his hand on the door keeping it shut. "How do I know that once you drive out of here, you don't turn us all in?"

  “Do I look stupid? I may be a coward, but I won’t sell everyone out.”

  There was an uncomfortably long time that passed as the Captain stared into his old friend’s eyes. He finally lowered his arm and stepped aside.

  "I know that one way or another we won't ever see each other again. Thank you for all you have done Mik," the Mayor said as he twisted the bronze doorknob and pulled open the door. "The house is your's," was the last thing he said before he walked outside and down the yard. The two Tipso's got into the large vehicle, and the engine roared to life.

  Mikhail stepped out onto the white painted wooden porch and made eye contact with Junior. They each watched the other as the vehicle reversed down the driveway before the Mayor drove it up the street.

  The Captain shook his head. He pulled the communicator out of his pocket and called Nina.

  “Morning Captain,” she said with a happy tone.

  “Hey, get the crew together and meet me at the basement.”

  “Is something wrong?” she asked as she detected the dissatisfied tone of the other pirate.

  “I’ll explain everything when I get there. But things have changed.”

  Chapter 17

  Cycle: 434 Month: 2 Rotation: 18

  Corre Republic Space

  Prefecture: Siimon

  Planet: Destiny

  Location: Largo, basement beneath Riko Hahn’s home