Twelve of the longest hours of my life had crept by. I refused to eat or sleep, or even leave my seat, for more than long enough to refill my mug with coffee. The coffee was my last shred of energy. There was only thing I wanted more than to close my eyes and take a nice long nap. I wanted to complete this rescue mission.
The silence had given me a chance to reflect on the past few days. I didn't just hand out trust, but Lise seemed to be a confused red haired teenage girl, like I had been years ago. She hadn't done anything intentionally to cause us harm. Harper already seemed very attached to her, and I wasn't against having her stick around for a while. We were sometimes a little strained for human resources on Andromeda. She had been more than willing to help us. Teaching her how to do some basic things wouldn't be very difficult, and then we wouldn't have to waste our time on them when more urgent matters arose. It wasn't like she had anywhere else to go. Earth wasn't anything close to what she remembered. After everything had blown over, I planned on talking to Dylan about it. If he was opposed to it, I would understand why. She was still a child, even though she was more mature than most. Space was a dangerous place.
My eyelids were growing heavy again, and I was running out of coffee. I started mapping the surface of the planet and its composition to put in the Maru's database. It passed the time. This area of the continent was rich in natural resources, especially in the areas near dormant volcanoes. There were large deposits of iron ore, especially lodestone. Something sounded familiar about lodestone. I accessed the Maru's information on it.
"Lodestone...found on carbon base planets...utilized by many colonies for a building material...the strongest natural magnet known to date. Magnets block some equipment from sensors. Like cerebral ports!" He had to be in the general vicinity. It was the perfect place to hide him. I extended the range of the scans for lodestone. There was a facility composed primarily of it a few kilometers away. I took the Maru directly overhead. Someone or something had blown a hole in one of the walls within the past six or seven hours. Harper. Only a genius could cause an explosion and escape from a prison.
"Now how am I supposed to find you, Harper? There are tons of deposits around here. And you're hiding in one of them to avoid being recaptured. Where would I go if I were you? Assuming I were stupid enough to get myself in that situation...I would go to the nearest town or village by night and try to contact Andromeda. He probably headed in the direction the wall he escaped through was facing."
I began plotting the nearby towns and villages in a two kilometer radius. He wouldn't go farther than that. It was too dangerous here to risk traveling that much. He was a lot of things I considered less than desirable, but an idiot wasn't one of them. Shameless Harper. That summed up most of his less desirable qualities.
I opened a communications channel to Andromeda. "I think I've found where they were being held."
"Were? As in past tense?" Rommie's voice asked.
"Yes. They escaped. This area's teeming with lodestone, though, so I can't detect his cerebral port. I'm mapping the surrounding area. I think he'll probably head to one of these nearby villages and try to contact us."
"Have you checked the facility for signs of them being held there?"
"I was just getting ready to do that."
"Beka, be careful." Dylan's voice replaced Rommie's.
"I will. Valentine out."
I landed the Maru about fifty meters from the facility and drew my gun. I approached the facility slowly, watching my back. No one seemed to be around. The explosion had knocked a four or five foot square out of the wall. Most of the debris had flown towards the outside of the building. Very lucky for the both of them. I sifted through what remained in the cell and discovered the remnants of an electronic device. It was evidently the cause of the explosion. I now had no doubt in my mind this was Harper's doing.
The cell door was opened. I stepped into the doorway and quickly turned in a complete circle. To the left was a dead end. To the right was a long corridor. I pivoted on my heel and cautiously proceeded right. My heart was pounding. I could practically feel the adrenaline rushing through my veins. My steps echoed very softly off the dark stone walls. My shadow eerily danced around me like a mischevious ghost. This place was very creepy, and I wasn't liking it at all. A murmuring broke the near silence. I stopped dead in my tracks. The murmuring persisted, but I couldn't distinguish specific words. A door was several meters away, casting a dim glow into the near darkness. It was the source of the murmuring. I stepped closer and began to discern some of the conversation.
"You told me humans with golden hair were stupid." The voice was arrogant and commanding. I was slightly offended. Anyone who called me a dumb blond had another thing coming to them.
"Our agent supplied us with that information, sir. He has been accurate in the past." This voice was fearful and submissive. The first to speak obviously had some power over him.
"We'll dispose of him, then."
"Please don't, sir. Everyone makes mistakes."
"Not mistakes that cost me my mission. We must find the girl and remove any threats to our succeeding."
"We've already completed the portion of the experiment including her."
"Lise Bennett is mine." I had confirmation that they had kidnapped Lise and Harper, but I wasn't ready to stop listening yet.
"Leave the girl alone, Tarlin! She's of no use to you." The weaker of the two now sounded threatening.
"Are you questioning my authority, Darneth?"
"Yes, I am. I didn't want to do any of this in the first place, but you are my commanding officer. I obeyed your orders. I violated my own morals. But it's going to stop now. We have the necessary information."
"I could kill you now for saying that. And I think I will."
I stepped into the doorway, my gun drawn. "I don't think so. Drop your weapons."
It was the Messinans, two of the ambassadors that had been on board Andromeda. This surprised me, to say the least. I assumed to find three or four Nefile, or the usual Utrecht trash. The Messinan I assumed was Tarlin made no move to drop his weapon. His finger moved towards the trigger. I pulled my trigger before he had the chance to finish raising his gun. He dropped to the ground. His gun was sent skidding across the floor. I looked at the other Messinan. He was no better than the first in my eyes.
"I told you to drop your weapon." I glared at him with animosity.
"No." He aimed the gun at his head.
"What is killing yourself going to help?" He had valuable information about Lise and Harper. I wouldn't let him die. Yet.
"What is it going to hurt?"
"You can help me find Lise."
"Lise and the young man accompanying her escaped, as you probably already know. I supplied them with part of the things they needed for an escape. I would say they are probably in either Orian or Marion's Landing by now."
"Were they injured when they escaped?"
"Lise may be in dire need of medical assistance. The post-surgical antibiotics I administered may not have been effective enough to prevent lower cerebral infection."
"You performed brain surgery?"
"I implanted a cerebral port."
She got her port, but not how we intended for her to get it. "We don't have time to play Q&A right now, but you're going to come with me. We'll have plenty of time later." I pressed the nearby console and opened a channel to Andromeda, my gun still aimed at Darneth.
"Beka, have you found them?" Dylan asked.
"I have a pretty good idea of where they are. And I have the kidnappers."
"Do you need any assistance?"
"Yeah, I could use some. I have a feeling they're going to be a little less than cooperative."
"I'll send Tyr down in a shuttle. Hunt out."
"Where are Orian and Marion's Landing?" I started what would be a very long conversation with Darneth while I waited for Tyr to arrive.
The silence had given me a chance to reflect on the past few days. I didn't just hand out trust, but Lise seemed to be a confused red haired teenage girl, like I had been years ago. She hadn't done anything intentionally to cause us harm. Harper already seemed very attached to her, and I wasn't against having her stick around for a while. We were sometimes a little strained for human resources on Andromeda. She had been more than willing to help us. Teaching her how to do some basic things wouldn't be very difficult, and then we wouldn't have to waste our time on them when more urgent matters arose. It wasn't like she had anywhere else to go. Earth wasn't anything close to what she remembered. After everything had blown over, I planned on talking to Dylan about it. If he was opposed to it, I would understand why. She was still a child, even though she was more mature than most. Space was a dangerous place.
My eyelids were growing heavy again, and I was running out of coffee. I started mapping the surface of the planet and its composition to put in the Maru's database. It passed the time. This area of the continent was rich in natural resources, especially in the areas near dormant volcanoes. There were large deposits of iron ore, especially lodestone. Something sounded familiar about lodestone. I accessed the Maru's information on it.
"Lodestone...found on carbon base planets...utilized by many colonies for a building material...the strongest natural magnet known to date. Magnets block some equipment from sensors. Like cerebral ports!" He had to be in the general vicinity. It was the perfect place to hide him. I extended the range of the scans for lodestone. There was a facility composed primarily of it a few kilometers away. I took the Maru directly overhead. Someone or something had blown a hole in one of the walls within the past six or seven hours. Harper. Only a genius could cause an explosion and escape from a prison.
"Now how am I supposed to find you, Harper? There are tons of deposits around here. And you're hiding in one of them to avoid being recaptured. Where would I go if I were you? Assuming I were stupid enough to get myself in that situation...I would go to the nearest town or village by night and try to contact Andromeda. He probably headed in the direction the wall he escaped through was facing."
I began plotting the nearby towns and villages in a two kilometer radius. He wouldn't go farther than that. It was too dangerous here to risk traveling that much. He was a lot of things I considered less than desirable, but an idiot wasn't one of them. Shameless Harper. That summed up most of his less desirable qualities.
I opened a communications channel to Andromeda. "I think I've found where they were being held."
"Were? As in past tense?" Rommie's voice asked.
"Yes. They escaped. This area's teeming with lodestone, though, so I can't detect his cerebral port. I'm mapping the surrounding area. I think he'll probably head to one of these nearby villages and try to contact us."
"Have you checked the facility for signs of them being held there?"
"I was just getting ready to do that."
"Beka, be careful." Dylan's voice replaced Rommie's.
"I will. Valentine out."
I landed the Maru about fifty meters from the facility and drew my gun. I approached the facility slowly, watching my back. No one seemed to be around. The explosion had knocked a four or five foot square out of the wall. Most of the debris had flown towards the outside of the building. Very lucky for the both of them. I sifted through what remained in the cell and discovered the remnants of an electronic device. It was evidently the cause of the explosion. I now had no doubt in my mind this was Harper's doing.
The cell door was opened. I stepped into the doorway and quickly turned in a complete circle. To the left was a dead end. To the right was a long corridor. I pivoted on my heel and cautiously proceeded right. My heart was pounding. I could practically feel the adrenaline rushing through my veins. My steps echoed very softly off the dark stone walls. My shadow eerily danced around me like a mischevious ghost. This place was very creepy, and I wasn't liking it at all. A murmuring broke the near silence. I stopped dead in my tracks. The murmuring persisted, but I couldn't distinguish specific words. A door was several meters away, casting a dim glow into the near darkness. It was the source of the murmuring. I stepped closer and began to discern some of the conversation.
"You told me humans with golden hair were stupid." The voice was arrogant and commanding. I was slightly offended. Anyone who called me a dumb blond had another thing coming to them.
"Our agent supplied us with that information, sir. He has been accurate in the past." This voice was fearful and submissive. The first to speak obviously had some power over him.
"We'll dispose of him, then."
"Please don't, sir. Everyone makes mistakes."
"Not mistakes that cost me my mission. We must find the girl and remove any threats to our succeeding."
"We've already completed the portion of the experiment including her."
"Lise Bennett is mine." I had confirmation that they had kidnapped Lise and Harper, but I wasn't ready to stop listening yet.
"Leave the girl alone, Tarlin! She's of no use to you." The weaker of the two now sounded threatening.
"Are you questioning my authority, Darneth?"
"Yes, I am. I didn't want to do any of this in the first place, but you are my commanding officer. I obeyed your orders. I violated my own morals. But it's going to stop now. We have the necessary information."
"I could kill you now for saying that. And I think I will."
I stepped into the doorway, my gun drawn. "I don't think so. Drop your weapons."
It was the Messinans, two of the ambassadors that had been on board Andromeda. This surprised me, to say the least. I assumed to find three or four Nefile, or the usual Utrecht trash. The Messinan I assumed was Tarlin made no move to drop his weapon. His finger moved towards the trigger. I pulled my trigger before he had the chance to finish raising his gun. He dropped to the ground. His gun was sent skidding across the floor. I looked at the other Messinan. He was no better than the first in my eyes.
"I told you to drop your weapon." I glared at him with animosity.
"No." He aimed the gun at his head.
"What is killing yourself going to help?" He had valuable information about Lise and Harper. I wouldn't let him die. Yet.
"What is it going to hurt?"
"You can help me find Lise."
"Lise and the young man accompanying her escaped, as you probably already know. I supplied them with part of the things they needed for an escape. I would say they are probably in either Orian or Marion's Landing by now."
"Were they injured when they escaped?"
"Lise may be in dire need of medical assistance. The post-surgical antibiotics I administered may not have been effective enough to prevent lower cerebral infection."
"You performed brain surgery?"
"I implanted a cerebral port."
She got her port, but not how we intended for her to get it. "We don't have time to play Q&A right now, but you're going to come with me. We'll have plenty of time later." I pressed the nearby console and opened a channel to Andromeda, my gun still aimed at Darneth.
"Beka, have you found them?" Dylan asked.
"I have a pretty good idea of where they are. And I have the kidnappers."
"Do you need any assistance?"
"Yeah, I could use some. I have a feeling they're going to be a little less than cooperative."
"I'll send Tyr down in a shuttle. Hunt out."
"Where are Orian and Marion's Landing?" I started what would be a very long conversation with Darneth while I waited for Tyr to arrive.
