Dust

by Jason Hutt

  “Mind filling me in a bit on what that plan is?” Nick asked.

  As Max moved things around, numbers on the left side of the display updated in real time. Nick recognized a few of them, velocity, thrust, thruster firing times, but the details behind them were far beyond what Nick had learned in school.

  “Well,” Max said slowly as he moved another point on the display around, “The sheer number of ships coming in ought to help us slip through relatively unnoticed. Still, I’d like to give us whatever cover we can, so I’m trying to figure out how to give us a night time approach.”

  Nick nodded and asked, “But where are we going?”

  “According to the data Reggie was able to pull out of the drone’s brain, all these ships will be rendezvousing with Sinclair’s orbital platforms. There’s enough ships that we ought to be able to slip into the atmosphere without drawing too much attention.”

  “Then what?” Nick asked.

  “Good question,” Max responded, “Look at this.”

  Max expanded the image of Dust and then rotated it so that the main continent of Dust was centered on the screen. He tapped another spot on the console and icons appeared showing each of the planet’s settlements. Max tapped another button and a layer of cloud cover appeared over the continent. The clouds were enormous and covered the central plains of the land mass, including all of Windy City, Fracture, and Bloom. Bright flashes of light danced across the clouds.

  “Lightning?” Nick asked.

  Max nodded. “Never seen a storm like that. Wind speeds are incredibly high. I don’t know a pilot alive who could land in those conditions.”

  “Surely it’ll clear up in a day or two,” Nick said.

  “I’m not so sure,” Max said, “If you wanted to prevent the Republic from landing troop transports, this would be a good way to do it.”

  “They’re controlling the weather?” Nick asked.

  “I told you those lightning storms were a byproduct of the terraforming process. Well, they can adjust the air flow rate through the terraforming stations and generate a hellacious storm like this. Safe bet that Windy City knows trouble is coming.”

  Nick just stared at the display for a moment. The giant, swirling storm was mesmerizing.

  “Max, what, exactly, are we going to accomplish here?”

  Max let out a long slow breath through pursed lips and scratched at the back of his head.

  “We’re going in and getting two people out,” Max said, “I’ve told you that.”

  “Your ex-wife and who else?” Nick asked. He waited for Max to respond. Ten seconds passed, an eternity of silence.

  “I don’t have time for this, Nick. We’ve got to get crackin’ on replacing those power units.”

  “No, Max,” Nick persisted, “I want to know who we’re risking our lives for.”

  Nick stood in the open doorway, arms folded across his chest.

  “You think you can intimidate me, Nick?”

  “You’re not answering the question.”

  Max shook his head in annoyance.

  “Another little girl, all right. My wife’s daughter.”

  “Seriously? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised at this point. Is that what Sinclair did for you?”

  Max simply nodded, but didn’t respond.

  “You don’t understand, Nick.”

  “I understand that you’re risking our lives by going back there and you’re also risking the lives of who knows how many more by not turning in Sinclair.”

  “Look, we settled that. We make the call as soon as we have them. I’ll drop you off right after that. You’re free to turn me in then, too.”

  Nick shook his head.

  “That’s not what I care about,” Nick said, “I just want to make sure Sinclair doesn’t get a chance to launch another attack. I just want to do what’s right.”

  “So do I, Nick,” Max said.

  Nick let the hostile edge in his voice fade away.

  “So, if we can’t get into Windy City, where do we go?”

  Max tapped the rotating image of Dust and it enlarged and unfolded into a two dimensional map of the surface. A flashing icon in the southern portion of the largest continent indicated the location of Windy City, while another far to the north of that was Mount Aldous. Max touched a point to the northeast of Mount Aldous, a spot right along the coast of the main continent. A little warning indicator popped up on the display with the words ‘quarantine zone’ flashing in red. Max dismissed the alarm.

  “Resurrection?” Nick asked.

  “Yep,” Max said with an uncertain frown, “That’s where my ex lives. And a few other people who like to go undisturbed.”

  “So the whole quarantine thing?”

  “A good story for the rare tourist. Keeps people from sticking their nose where it doesn’t belong,” Max said.

  “I guess I’m not a tourist anymore,” Nick said.

  “Let’s just say I don’t think you’re high up on the threat list anymore.”

  ***

  Nick lay in a crawlspace, back against the floor, installing a replacement power converter unit in the alcove above his head. He looked to his left at the three-dimensional projection of the power converter unit he was working on. He double-checked the placement of each connector going into and out of the box. Everything looked good. He swung the access panel closed and wiggled his way out of the crawlspace.

  “This one’s done, Reggie,” Nick said as he wiped a river of sweat from his forehead, “What do we have left?”

  “Two power control modules and one more converter unit,” Reggie reported.

  “Well, that’s progress right? I’ll let Max know.”

  Nick pulled off a pair of thin work gloves and stuffed them into a pocket on his coveralls. He hated the tan utility clothes, but he had to admit there were times when function was more important than style. He grabbed a quick cup of water from the galley and headed for the cockpit. He could hear voices; Max and Eleanor were talking about something.

  Nick crept up to the cockpit hatch silently, listening to what was being discussed. Max seemed to be telling a story in the dimly lit area. From the corridor, Nick could see that Max was sitting in his favorite position with his feet propped up on the console. He could also see Eleanor’s tiny feet sticking out from beyond the edge of the co-pilot’s seat. In between them, the picture of Max’s long-dead daughter hovered over the console.

  Nick stared at the poor little girl’s picture, at the innocence of her smile and the happiness on her face. Max was telling her story again.

  “Her name is Hannah,” Max said, “She’s daddy’s little girl. Always loved to be around me, to be around the hangar. At one point, she wanted to be a pilot herself someday. Her mom hated that. I don’t think that’s where she’s at now. She’s also incredibly strong; loved gymnastics. She’s always hopping and jumping and twirling around. Are you into that at all?”

  “I’m not really into sports,” Eleanor responded, “I’ve tried lots of things, but didn’t like any of it. I like robotics a lot better. My dad always comes home with lots of part kits for me. Last month, he even brought me home Neural Networks Programmer 3.0, that was super fun.”

  Max laughed. “I bet. You’re pretty good at that.”

  “What does she like to do?” Eleanor asked.

  “Well, she loves to get her hands dirty. She’s gotten in trouble so many times for getting grease all over her clothes. If she doesn’t wind up being a pilot, maybe she’ll be an engineer, designing her own ships.”

  Max hesitated a moment. His next words were almost a whisper.

  “Always loved to help me out.”

  Nick stood still just outside the cockpit and kept quiet. The conversation was off; something wasn’t right about it. Eleanor’s presence had awoken something in Max that Nick wasn’t sure the older man could handle. As Nick listened, he couldn’t tell if Max was talking about his daughter that died or the girl they were going to pick up.
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  Have to wonder if he’s losing his grip, Nick thought. It was just another reason that this whole trip didn’t sit right with Nick.

  But what could he do? Max was bigger and stronger than he was, so if Max has lost it, overpowering him was out of the question. Then, he remembered the stun gun. Nick was fairly certain he left it in one of the drawers in his quarters. He slowly, silently walked away from the cockpit, leaving them to their conversation. Eleanor had been sleeping in his room ever since she came aboard, but she didn’t spend much time in there.

  Nick was relieved to see that the gun was exactly where he had left it. He checked the display on its top face, two shots remained. That would be good enough, he thought. If it came to it, he would be able to take Max down with this. His aim better be good though; he wasn’t likely to get a second shot.

  Nick put the stun gun back in the drawer and slid it closed. He stepped out in the corridor and stared for a moment in the direction of the cockpit. He wiped the sweat from his palms on his coveralls and pursed his lips as he tried to figure out what was going on in Max’s head. Nick decided it was best not to think about it right now.

  “Okay, Reggie,” he called out, “What do you want me to do next?”

  ***

  Nick’s fingers ached as he tightened the last fastener on the final power control module that needed replacing. He closed the access cover with a louder-than-intended clang and stood up from his kneeling position with a grunt.

  “That should do it, Reggie,” he said.

  “Very good, sir,” Reggie said, “I’ll start the power-up sequence.”

  Nick nodded. “I’ll let Max know.”

  “I have to say, sir, you’re becoming quite adept at this.”

  “Thanks, Reggie.”

  Nick smiled at the compliment. He did feel good about what he had been able to accomplish today. He peeled off his gloves again as he made his way to the lounge, where he expected to find the rest of his compatriots. Eleanor was in there, but the little girl was fast asleep on the couch. Then, Nick heard another clang of metal on metal. Eleanor jumped slightly at the sound, but stayed asleep.

  Nick closed the door to the lounge and headed toward the cockpit. He could hear Max’s voice from about ten feet away.

  “Charlie, are you out there?” Max asked, “Zanth, come back, are you there?”

  His words were drawn out and slightly slurred.

  “Charlie, do you copy?” Max asked again. When no reply came, Max cursed and slammed his mug on the console. He was flipping through the communication system frequencies and was about to try to raise his friends again when Nick spoke up.

  “You okay?”

  Max flinched a little, startled by Nick’s sudden intrusion. His head lolled slightly as he turned toward Nick. “I thought you were workin’.”

  “All done,” Nick said, “Reggie’s about to power everything back up.”

  Max arched his eyebrows in surprise.

  “Well, how about that? You might just be all right, kid.”

  Nick smiled. “Any luck raising anybody?”

  Max shook his head in an exaggerated fashion. “Nobody. Nobody’s home. Just me and you and a whole lot of nothing. I’ve known those guys forever, kid. Me and Charlie… God, I’ve had good times with that man, good times. He’s got a bigger heart than anybody I know. Poor bastard. God damn, Sinclair. God damn, everybody. This whole shit’s a mess.”

  Nick nodded his head. “That it is.”

  Max took a large gulp from his cup.

  “You know, kid, I like you. You can be a little overbearing sometimes, but you’ve got a good heart.”

  Max put a heavy hand on Nick’s shoulder.

  “I mean that. When we get out of here, you’ve got to go make something of yourself. You don’t want to be like me, doing the same thing day after day, going back and forth, back and forth, and back and forth.”

  Each time Max said back and forth, he tilted his head in exaggerated fashion from one side to the other. He squeezed Nick’s shoulder, trying to regain his equilibrium. Nick said nothing, content to let Max talk.

  “Been a slave to my past for so long. You don’t wanna do that, kid. I was like you once. Thought I could be some hero spaceship captain, saving the galaxy from tyranny and oppression. Somewhere along the line, those dreams died away. You can’t let that happen. You’ve gotta make something special happen. Don’t be like me.”

  Max took another big gulp from his mug, which was now almost empty. He stared for a moment at the bottom of his cup.

  “Time for another,” Max said, swaying slightly as he got to his feet, “Want one?”

  “No thanks,” Nick said, trying to beg off.

  Max wouldn’t have it. “Sure you do. No man should have to drink alone on his own spaceship. Well, unless he flies solo. Then I suppose he’d have to drink alone. Anyway, that’s not what I’m doin’ tonight.”

  Nick could hear the bang of another mug on the counter. After a few moments of silence, Nick was ready to get up and check on Max. Max stumbled in, spilling about half of Nick’s drink on the floor.

  “Aw, now that’s a damn shame,” Max said, “Gotta drink for spilling.”

  Max took a long draft from his mug and handed Nick his. He then plopped back down in the Captain’s seat and stared out the window. His eyelids drooped and Nick wondered if he was going to drift off. Max’s eyes suddenly clouded up.

  “You know,” Max said, looking in the direction of Dust, “I was there when she was born. I looked at her hands, at her little blue eyes. She looked just like she had before. I just couldn’t take it.”

  “I think maybe you’ve had enough, Max,” Nick said, taking a small sip from his cup.

  “You have to hold on to what you’ve got, kid. The worst part about getting old is all the ghosts in your head. They never stop talking to you; never let you go.”

  Silence hung between them for a moment.

  “Christ, don’t ever resurrect a ghost,” Max said, “They’re not the same person.”

  Max stood up and yawned. Nick just wrote off Max’s words as the ramblings of a drunk, but this was eroding what little confidence in the plan Nick had left. Here they were on the brink of trying to conduct some kind of hare-brained rescue operation and Max seemed to be folding under the pressure.

  “I need to hit the sack,” Max said, “Big day tomorrow.”

  Max stood up and staggered off, abruptly leaving Nick alone in the cockpit holding a half-empty mug.

  ***

  An hour later when Nick was sure Max had fallen asleep, Nick slid the cockpit hatch shut. He sat down in the pilot’s chair and activated the console. Nick activated the communications system and entered a direct messaging code. The code was unique to an individual and would allow the message to be received by that individual, no matter where they were in the galaxy.

  Once broadcast, the message would be sent to every jump beacon in proximity of the last known location of the recipient. The recipient would then be notified of the message, enter their code, and the message would be saved on whatever local terminal they were using. It was a system that had been in place for over a hundred years, ever since modern jump beacon satellites became ubiquitous.

  Nick double-checked the code he had entered and then hit the audio-only record button. He then immediately stopped the recording and deleted the two second recording of nothing. He just wasn’t sure this was the right thing to do. After a moment’s hesitation, he saw no other option for making sure someone knew what was happening out here. He pressed the record button again.

  “Hi, Mom,” Nick began tentatively, “I know we haven’t spoken in a while and I know I didn’t exactly leave on good terms, but that’s not important at the moment. If you haven’t seen it already for yourself, then I’m sure you’ve at least heard about what happened at Nexus Station. The things, the creatures that attacked the station were created by Doctor Aldous Sinclair. I don’t know much about him, other than he lives on
Dust. His main stronghold is located at the base of Mount Aldous.

  “He’s well dug in there, but I’m sure that won’t be much of an issue for the right people. It seems like he is getting ready to strike again. He’s commandeered ships from the station and they are en route to Dust. I have no idea where he plans to strike next. I…I’m on one of the ships, a freighter called Hannah. We’re on our way there, trying to get a few people off planet. I’m not sure what’s going to happen...”

  “I love you, mom. Miss you very much.”

  Nick stopped the recording and pushed the send button.

  Chapter 12

  “Shit,” Max said.

  “What now?” Nick eased into the co-pilot’s seat with a fresh cup of coffee. His eyes were still slightly red-rimmed after waking up from a fresh batch of nightmares. He would give a lot for a night of dreamless, uninterrupted sleep.

  “It looks like a Republic Fleet just dropped into the system,” Max said, “Looks like 12, no 15, ships. God damn.”

  Nick sipped his coffee and focused on keeping a straight face. He was impressed by the speed of the Republic’s response. He felt the urge to jump up and give Max a high five, but Max would probably just punch him in the face.

  “Looks like they’ve got a half dozen fast attack ships,” Max said, “Moving fast. They’ll be at Dust in less than a day. Couple of bigger cruisers, too. Ah, this is not good.”

  “What’s the plan, then?”

  “Good question.” Max rubbed his graying beard as he sat back in his chair. The communication system chirped as it received an incoming emergency broadcast.

  “This is Commander Dorn of the Fifth Fleet of the Republic. All ships in the Dust system are ordered to deactivate their drive systems and prepare for boarding and inspection. This system is being placed under Martial law. Any ship that does not deactivate its drive will be fired upon. No ships will be given clearance to leave the system until they have submitted to an inspection.”

  “Well, at least she’s consistent in her message,” Nick said.

  Nick took another sip of his coffee and watched Max’s reaction. Max was now leaning back with his eyes closed while the Commander’s firm voice filled the cockpit. When she finished speaking, Max leaned forward, looked at the position of the Republic ships on his console, and cursed again.