by Dave Lemel
“Go on…” said Simon.
“I think it’s because we’re so close to home now, but I had the strongest urge to run down to the brig and wake up Jay.”
Simon stared at Todd until he finally turned and looked back at him. “What?” said Todd. “I didn’t do it!”
“After all that patience in the face of temptation, you almost give in right at the end? You don’t make any sense.”
“Dude, I’ve always been this way. Right before something exciting, I cannot contain myself. As a kid I could never sleep the night before a vacation. I still barely sleep the night before an O.E.A. I am not apologizing for being all jazzed up under current circumstances.”
“Okay, okay,” replied Simon. “Just keep it together a little longer.”
The two marshals sat in silence for a few minutes. Simon’s mind calmed in lockstep with the gap between himself and his family shrinking. Todd’s mind seemed to be working exactly the opposite, working itself into an ever-more-fevered frenzy as he hurtled closer to Earth and finally some answers.
The door again opened behind them. Ben and Foggen walked through, and Todd spun in his chair to greet them. “How are my engineers feeling after their naps?”
“Well-rested and prepared for the work ahead,” replied Foggen. “We have quite a few projects to attend to after docking at the orbiting marshal station. I am excited to get started.”
Ben groaned as he walked over to Simon. “That makes one of us. I just want to head back down to good ol’ Earth and start my well-earned vacation.” Ben tapped Simon on the shoulder. “You really giving all this up?”
Simon returned Ben’s look and smiled. “Yeah, man. This is it.” He turned to look ahead again as they passed the moon, and the speck that he knew was the dock appeared. “Last time heading to dock after an O.E.A.”
“Well, I’m sure gonna miss you, kid, but I’m real happy for ya. Big part of me really wishes I could turn back time and have a few kiddos of my own. That’s the thing with time, though, right? Tick…tick…tick… It may be relative, but it just keeps moving in that one direction.” Ben pointed at Foggen. “Even you Bopecans haven’t figured out how to turn it backwards, have ya? All the crazy things you guys have figured out about the universe, but still no way to go back in time. That’s just it, though, isn’t it?” Ben winked at Simon. “You ain’t gonna be my age and wish you could go back and spend less time with that beautiful baby of yours, are you? Takes a lot of people too long to figure that one out.”
Simon stood up and gave Ben a hug. “Thanks, Ben,” Simon said before letting go and looking up at the big, mustached face of Ben Thurston. “I’m not dying, though, you know. I plan on seeing you guys plenty.” He glanced out at the rapidly approaching dock. “Still…I know it won’t be the same.”
“You two need to strap in for decel. We’re almost there,” Todd said. Simon sat back down and Ben took his seat. They strapped in, and Todd began slowing the Henrietta . Todd opened communication with the dock and announced their arrival.
“Marshal transport ship seven-four-seven-four, also identified as the good ship Henrietta, requesting permission to dock.”
“We see you, Henrietta ,” came the response. “Permission granted. Please proceed to dock twenty-three. Welcome back.”
“Thank you,” said Todd as he passed over the top of the orbiting station, rotated the ship, and slowly lowered her into the bay marked with a big 23. A loud clunk preceded the large red light next to the 23, turning to green to indicate they were successfully docked.
“I need to grab my bag from my room, and then I’d love if both of you could meet me in the garage before we head down,” Simon said to Jack and Foggen.
“Of course, kid. Heck, if Foggy ain’t lookin’ too close, I may jump in the trunk and head down with you.” Ben laughed and clapped Foggen on the back. “I’m just kidding, buddy. You know I love our bonding time during the post-assignment tune-up.” Ben turned to Todd as he stood up from his seat. “You want me to grab your other passenger and load him into the cruiser? I’m going down there anyway.”
Todd shook his head. “No, no. I’ve been looking forward to walking him down there and tossing him in the trunk the whole trip home.”
“Right on, boss,” said Ben. “See you in a few.”
Ben and Foggen exited the bridge, discussing where they should begin their post–O.E.A. work. Simon walked right past the stairs and into the lounge. “You forget the way to your quarters?” Todd called out from the top of the staircase.
“No. Just thought I should take the long way, maybe grab a souvenir or two,” replied Simon. “I’ll just be a couple extra minutes, don’t worry.”
“Take your time,” Todd responded. “It’s not like I’m crawling out of my skin in anticipation of finally getting answers to questions that have been eating away at my soul or anything. ”
Simon smiled and winked. “Just a minute or two, I promise.”
A few minutes later, Todd was not so gently stuffing Jay Gibson into the trunk of the cruiser. “You think I’d get in trouble if I tied one end of a rope around his feet and the other end around the bumper and just towed him back to Earth?” Ben tilted his head and raised an eyebrow as he looked over the bumper for a potential spot to accommodate Todd’s idea.
“You don’t even know if you should be mad at him anymore,” said Simon as he walked through the door to the garage. “Either way, you’re better than that, come on.”
Todd stopped for a moment and studied Jay’s face. Simon was right. Even something as clear as his hatred of Jay Gibson was now potentially misplaced. “What’s he talking about?” asked Ben.
Todd blinked the haze out of his mind and shut the trunk. “Nothing,” he replied before looking up at Ben. “Well, maybe something. Honestly, I don’t know. As soon as I do, I promise, old man, I will tell you everything.”
Ben raised his eyebrows so high they looked like they might run straight up and over his head. “Sounds juicy. I’ll be lookin’ forward to it next time we head out.”
Simon tossed his bag in the back through the open passenger side door. “All right, let’s not drag this out too much,” he said. “Again, I’m not dying. Not even retiring. I’m still going to work for star marshals, and I live right by headquarters. This is not good-bye. I want to see you both soon, and you need to meet Penny. ”
“Absolutely,” said Ben, walking over with arms stretched out wide to give Simon a hug. “The second I get down there, I’m calling you and we’re having a barbeque. I’ve got a great spot right on the lake. It gets a little weird there late at night, but that won’t be till after you and the fam head home.”
“Sounds great,” said Simon. “What about you, Foggen? You think you can make it too?”
“Very much, yes,” Foggen replied. “I know precisely the spot Ben refers too, and I do enjoy when it gets weird late at night.”
Simon looked back towards Ben with a puzzled expression, wondering if Foggen was serious. “Oh yeah, man,” said Ben. “Foggen is a wild man when he ain’t workin’. I have some stories that would set your hair on fire. This one time…” Ben stopped. “I’ll tell you at the BBQ. You guys get goin’.”
“See you soon,” said Todd as he slid into the driver’s seat and shut the door. Simon jumped in the passenger side and leaned out to wave one more time. Ben and Foggen waved back, and as Todd fired up the cruiser, they stepped to either side to clear a path. As Simon shut his door, he heard Ben yell, “We need some music while we work! One Particular Harbor . And I wanna hear ya singin’!”
Simon’s door closed. Todd lifted the cruiser off the deck and flew it through the pass-through gel in the open jaw-like door at the back of the Henrietta . Once on the other side, he pointed it toward the Earth, and they hurtled downward at the Lake Michigan coastline as it rotated into view on the horizon.
Chapter 33
Simon looked out the side window as they descended into an early winter morning over Wiscons
in. The ground glistened with a fresh dusting of snow from the night before, and the waves shimmered as the sunlight reflected off them while they licked the coastline below. The evergreens speckled the leafless tree line with beautiful deep green flecks to break up all the brown and white. Simon often thought if more people were granted the opportunity to travel the solar system, then many more would truly appreciate the beauty and uniqueness of our home planet and treat it with the respect it deserved.
The cruiser closed in on Star Marshal Base, and the buildings began to take shape. Todd turned to Simon. “So you want to go out tonight? Blow off a little post-assignment steam?” Simon looked over at Todd with a mild appearance of shock at the question just posed to him. “What? No, man, I’m—”
Todd busted out laughing. “Dude! Kidding! You really can’t take a joke anymore, huh? I know you want to see your family, buddy. Just messing around a little cause you’ve been silently staring out the window the whole way down.”
Simon grinned. “Oh…yeah…sorry, man. I guess I have.” Simon looked over Todd’s shoulder in the direction of Milwaukee below. “I do want to head down to go out with you soon, though. Just not tonight.”
“Deal,” replied Todd .
Todd slowed the cruiser as it approached the base and steered it towards the cruiser hangar. Once inside, he aimed it towards some empty stalls along the far wall, guided it over to them, and gently settled it into place on the ground. “You grab Jay and I’ll grab our bags,” said Simon as he reached into the back.
Todd and Simon opened the cruiser doors upward and stepped out into the hangar. Before Simon even made it to the back of the cruiser, he heard the laugh. He knew that laugh anywhere. Always had, always would. Nothing in the world made him feel more at home. It was his wife, Sasha.
Simon looked around and spotted her a few hundred feet away, on the other side of the hangar, in a cart with Pritzley. Sasha did not have a dainty laugh by any means, but it suited her perfectly. “Sasha!” he yelled and waved his right hand far above his head. “Sasha!” The second yell registered, and she spotted him. She hit the gas pedal and began zig-zagging the cart through the busy hangar to their location.
Sasha was not known for her driving skills. In fact, it was quite the opposite. She had not even tried for her driver’s license until two years ago, and finally passed six months later on her third try.
Sasha hit the brakes too hard and squealed the tires as they locked up. Pritzley lunged forward, hit the front of the cart, then flew back into his seat, wondering how he had ended up on the passenger side instead of the driver’s.
Simon and Todd were dying laughing. “Still trying to get the touch, I see,” said Todd .
Sasha jumped out and ran at Todd with murder in her eyes and a cautionary finger pointed out in front of her. “You shut up, mister, or I’ll—”
Simon grabbed her around the waist and pulled her close. “Hey,” he said softly. “Can I get a kiss before you kill Todd?”
Sasha softened her expression and looked up at Simon. “Welcome home, honey,” she said before kissing him once sweetly. “Lombargnor is waiting back in the briefing room. He sent us to pick you guys up. He said to bring you two and the prisoner straight back to him.”
Todd popped the trunk. “You heard the lady,” he said to the frozen face of Jay Gibson. “In the back of the cart with you.”
Todd and Simon loaded Jay and their bags into the cargo bed of the cart and jumped on to the back bench to sit. Pritzley tapped Simon on the shoulder. “I’d be quite glad to let you sit next to your wife for the drive back and take your place back here if you’d like.”
Simon smiled. “Of course,” he said, and he jumped over the back of the front seat bench and into the spot beside his wife. “Gentle now, honey,” he said as he put his hand on Sasha’s thigh. She looked back at him with a look he knew all too well and slammed her foot on the gas pedal, launching the cart forward and all the occupants backwards.
They arrived at the back door of the headquarters building a minute later. Pritzley jumped out and held the big black glass door open. Todd pulled Jay out of the back and guided him through the open door with Simon and Sasha following close behind. From this door, it was a straight shot to the briefing room. Todd arrived there first, opened the door, and shoved the floating pod containing the prisoner inside. They all entered behind it, and Simon shut the door as he was the last to enter the room.
Lombargnor was standing in the open center of the U-shaped table, studying a three-dimensional holographic map of the solar system. The location of all marshals currently on assignments were indicated by tiny glowing orbs that slowly increased and decreased in brightness.
“Welcome home from an extraordinarily productive trip, marshals,” boomed Lombargnor. He shut off the map and made his way around the table to greet them. “It is wonderful to see you both, and considering the nature of this assignment, that you both returned in good health.”
“Thank you, sir,” replied Todd as he grasped the outstretched hand of Lombargnor and shook it.
“And don’t you worry, Marshal Cain. As soon as we are finished here, you are heading down to medical to have that nose fixed,” continued Lombargnor.
“And the tooth,” added Sasha.
Simon chuckled. “I’ll come straight back here after I run home to see my baby quick. Then yes, I gotta get this fixed.” He pointed at his face and winked at Sasha.
“Now,” said Lombargnor. “I am certain Marshal Jordan is more than ready to move beyond pleasantries and commence discussion of more intriguing topics.”
“Does it show?” Todd asked Simon with an eyebrow raised.
“The clenched jaw and bugged-out eyeballs are a slight give away, buddy,” replied Simon before taking a seat next to Sasha at the table.
Todd pulled out the chair next to Lombargnor and turned it to face the large Bopecan now seated at the head of the table. He looked into Lombargnor’s big black eyes and asked the question he could not hold in any longer. “Is it possible? What Dow said on Io. Could my dad still be alive?”
Lombargnor returned Todd’s stare and answered without hesitation, “Yes. It is possible.” Lombargnor reached out one of his right hands and placed it on the back of Todd’s left before continuing. “Furthermore…I believe it to be true.”
Todd’s skin prickled from head to toe. His heartrate doubled. He could feel his body temperature skyrocket as he began to sweat and tremble slightly. “What…how?” Todd broke his eye contact with Lombargnor and dropped his gaze to a spot on the floor by his feet before continuing. “You don’t think what Dow said is true, do you? He wouldn’t have stolen a port key and tried to sell it for profit? Certainly not to the Vikards!” Todd pulled his hand out from under Lombargnor’s, got up, and began pacing at the back of the room.
“I do not know the details,” said Lombargnor as he turned in his chair to face the back of the room where Todd now paced, breathing rapidly through his nose. “I am quite certain he is the source of the mysterious messages we have been receiving the past few years. I became suspicious of the possibility a little over a year ago. It was confirmed in the last message he transmitted while you were on assignment.”
“How could you not tell me sooner?”
“As I said, it was merely a suspicion. It would have been irresponsible, perhaps even cruel of me to mention this to you unless I was absolutely certain.”
“I can’t believe this,” said Todd as he began to gnaw at the cuticles of his right hand. “Why would he do this? It doesn’t make any sense. He dedicated his entire life to the marshals.”
“I have a few questions myself,” said Lombargnor as he rose from his chair. “And I believe we have someone in the room who can answer many of them.”
Todd stopped pacing and snapped his head around to the pod containing Jay Gibson on the floor by the door. He ran over and opened the control panel. As Todd entered a sequence of commands on the keypad, Lombargnor walked over and p
ulled two thin black strips, each approximately a foot and a half long, out of a pocket by his waist. The pod hissed lightly, and the clear acrylic-like substance that its prisoner had been encased in turned to a gel then a cloud of white smoke before vanishing. Jay groaned, and Todd yanked him out and over the side, depositing him roughly on the floor.
Lombargnor arrived and firmly pulled Todd back with one of his right arms. With his two left hands, he slapped one black strip across Jay’s ankles before holding his hands together and slapping the other over his wrists.
Jay began to come to a little and, realizing his arms and legs were in restraints and that he was no longer in the mall on Callisto where he had last been conscious, he panicked. Jay thrashed like a fish pulled from the water and dropped on a dock. After a few seconds, he vomited, rolled away from the pile of sick he had created, and spit before saying in a surprisingly calm voice, “Okay…where the hell am I?”
Lombargnor effortlessly scooped Jay up, tossed him over his shoulder, and carried him around the table into the center of the U. With one of his left hands, he grabbed the last chair on his way around and dragged it along with them. Once in the center, he spun the chair to face the group, placed Jay in it, and walked back around the tables to his chair at the base of the U.
As Lombargnor sat, he spoke, “Pritzley, please go and retrieve from the janitor the necessary items to clean up Mr. Gibson’s mess. Todd, please return to your seat next to me here.”
“Sir,” said Pritzley. “Couldn’t I just call the janitor to come and take care of the mess instead?”
“No,” replied Lombargnor. “I do not want any unnecessary personnel in the room until we are finished, and the smell is distracting. Please go now.”
“Yes, sir,” Pritzley said before walking to the door, exiting, and closing it behind himself.
The door clicked shut, and Jay cleared his throat. “I’m not on Callisto anymore, am I?”
Todd appeared to be slightly in shock as he took the seat beside Lombargnor. Simon and Sasha blinked as they leaned forward, looking back and forth from Jay to Lombargnor.
