Jade was worried.
She'd arrived at the docks at her normal scheduled time having decided against taking an extra day off. She needed the distraction with yesterday's events still playing in her mind. That wasn't what made her worry.
When she arrived her boss told her that Makalo had called in sick. She was suspicious: Makalo would always let her know himself if he wouldn't be turning up to a shift. Part of her tried to rationalise that Makalo had simply forgot because of the day they'd had.
Still, she continued her shift as normal, working with a temporary partner for now. They were both exiting a cargo ship which was clear of any dangers. As the two of them passed the pilots and then the guards at the exit they talked briefly then split off. Jade went to get a drink from a nearby vending machine. Her new partner went to complete some paperwork.
Hastily downing her drink she turned back to rejoin with her partner but stopped when a driver of a small worker transport waved her over. "Jade?" he asked.
She nodded. "What is it?"
"Boss wants you to over at Sector G, needs you for a large transport ship. Get in. I'll take you there."
She did so. The vehicle had seats for twelve passengers. Only one seat towards the middle was currently occupied by a man wearing the usual dock workers coveralls and a hard hat. Jade took a seat near the front of the vehicle and the driver moved off.
She spent a couple of minutes watching them pass workers, containers, and ships as they snaked their way through the massive docks. Her mind wandered.
"Listen to what I have to say and do not react in any visible way."
The voice startled her out of her thoughts but she tried her best to cover it up by scratching at a spot on her head. The man was still in his seat. He too was looking at the outside passing them by. Jade tensed, worried by what this man would say next. She tried to hide it.
"I am not an enemy and I am not part of the Company. I am here because we want your help, if you so choose."
Jade relaxed a little.
"Your friend, Makalo, unfortunately could not keep yesterday's events to himself. He has been taken off this planet for 're-education'."
The man spoke the last word with some disdain. Jade immediately worried for Makalo.
"Yes, this does mean what you're probably thinking. Anyone who has knowledge of certain subjects is kept on a tight watch. Including you."
The man paused, letting Jade take in what he had just told her.
"The people I work for believe you could be a great asset in achieving our goal. I know you have a lot of questions therefore we would like to meet with you tonight after your shift is over."
A brief pause.
"If you wish to delve further, simply go to your favourite restaurant and request one of their private rooms."
Jade said nothing and tried to act normal.
"I know this is a lot to take in and you have no reason to trust me. I hope we can meet later under better circumstances and make clear everything you are questioning in your mind right now."
With that, the man stayed quiet until he was dropped off a few minutes later and the driver took Jade to her destination. Arriving, she paused before exiting as if deciding whether or not to say anything to the driver.
The driver looked at her and smiled. "Have a good day ma'am."
She exited at Sector G and went over to a worker calling her name. A number of workers entered the vehicle and it drove off to its next destination.
"I think we should cut our losses and head back in the morning." Adams told the group.
"I agree." Heather said, her arms folded in thought. "We can't be waiting any longer. We need to get back before the attack and evac. We've already been here a day longer than we wanted."
They all verbally agreed. The group, minus Kra'tak and Tol'din, were all in the Operations room. They were discussing the next course of action now that the ship would take days to fix if at all.
"What if this whole thing is a trap?" Amy suggested.
"I mean the codes on the doors, the system logging itself in," she explained. "It's as if somebody wanted people to come here and stay."
"You think Kra'tak and Tol'din brought us here on purpose?" Heather asked.
"No," Amy answered. "Someone else like-"
"Specimen 2218?" Adams cut in.
Amy nodded grimly.
"That could explain Arthur finding that the ships were disabled elaborately," Heather agreed.
Arthur stayed quiet.
"Why?" Hale asked.
"I don't know but nothing about this seems right." Amy replied.
"This whole thing is strange." Adams added.
"And I don't like it." Heather agreed.
"So...what do we do?" Hale asked.
Adams looked over at Heather, who gave an approving nod. "We leave in the morning. Take any useful equipment we can, Amy's got some data copied over and head back home."
"What about Kra'tak and Tol'din?" Amy asked.
"No ship, no reason to stay," Heather replied. "I told them to come back before dawn. We'll ask them what they think. If they want to find their own way we'll let them."
"Otherwise they come back with us." Adams added.
"We could probably use the added firepower," Hale said.
"Damn right we could!" Callum exclaimed.
"Calm down," Gustav told him.
"I'm just sayin'. They owe us after what they did to some of our own people, man!" Callum explained.
"They didn't do it. It was Tol'din," Gustav replied calmly. "He thought we were harming his friend."
"Yeah but they killed three of us!" Callum cried. "How can we be so friendly with them? Like nothing happened?!"
"Calm down," Gustav commanded. "There are far bigger things happening here. It isn't just about us."
"Gustav's right, Callum," Heather intervened in a calm, soothing voice. "It was a misunderstanding. Yeah, three of our people are dead but how many have died in this war? How many more will die? This is about everyone, not just us."
Callum looked dejected and defiant.
"An alliance with Kra'taks species could be what we need to save a lot lives now and in the future," Amy clarified. "We have to help keep them away from the Company. We've seen those videos, we can't let that happen again. And you've seen how they've been with us since realising we're not trying to harm them."
"Those videos..." Gustav remarked grimly.
"Exactly," Amy concurred. "We have to give them a reason to help us, not hate us."
Adams looked over at Smith and made eye contact. Smith gave him a half smile. It was obvious Smith couldn't wait until they left this place and got back home.
After some time Callum spoke quietly. "This whole thing sucks."
No one disagreed.
Finley was looking out into the darkness of the forest. His radio crackled to life.
"Hey." It was Dena.
"Hey," Finley said back.
"You know you can talk to me, right?" she asked.
"I know." Finley replied. "Thanks."
After a moment of silence Finley realised Dena didn't know what more to say, so he put the radio back down. A rustle behind told him that Hurst was awake. A moment later he joined Finley, leaning on the concrete and looking out at the forest.
"Anything?" Hurst asked.
"Nothing," Finley replied.
Hurst could tell Finley was a little less tense than earlier.
"Caley?"
"Same."
"Damn."
The one word answers gave Hurst pause from asking anything further. Instead they left each other to their own thoughts, leaning side by side on the concrete sill. Finley suddenly broke the prolonged silence.
"I'm worried," he said.
Hurst waited for him to explain.
"The last few days. My combat is rusty, reflexes slow. My mind isn't combat sharp anymore."
Hurst, a veteran of human wars, knew what he meant. "This place has made us soft. Heck, I'm a cynical bastard but even I've changed. Most of my combat was against humans, some of the things I've seen and done, they made me hate our own kind."
Hurst looked at Finley, who was listening so he continued. "Heck, I came here because I thought I could just be a cold, hard fool and keep to myself and just do my job. But now? Now I can't even imagine leaving you guys. Heck, I keep worrying about what's gonna happen to us after we leave here."
"Yeah...me too." Finley said sombrely. He absently reached up to the bandage still on his broken nose.
"How's that doing?" Hurst asked.
"Painkillers are doing the job for now."
After another few moments of silence Hurst spoke again. "What do you think will happen to us once rescue arrives?"
"I don't know. Whatever the Company tells us to do, I suppose. We won't have much choice," Finley spoke bitterly.
They both resumed lookout in silence.
"Drill complete, sir," the communications officer informed Colonel Rayner.
Sergeant Phoenix stood next to the Colonel on the bridge.
"General frequency," the Colonel ordered.
His communications office replied. "Ready, sir."
The Colonels voice echoed throughout the Colonial transport and its escort ships.
"This was our last practice drill. We will be arriving at our destination in 24 hours. Rest up and be ready for the real thing. That is all."
"Walk with me, Sergeant."
The Colonel handed command of the bridge over to another officer and made his way out. Sergeant Phoenix followed in step. They walked straight to the Colonel's private office. Phoenix took out a small metallic device and activated it. It began scanning the entire room. Once done, Phoenix put the device on the Colonel's desk where it remained activated.
The Colonel sat at his chair, Phoenix remained standing.
"What do you think?" Rayner asked.
"We're ready. It'll be a fast snatch and grab. We'll be on the ground half hour max." Phoenix reported.
"Good," Rayner paused for thought. "Is everything else in place?"
"Yes, sir," Phoenix replied. "When do you want to commence lockdown?"
"I'll give the order soon, before we arrive at the planet. We don't want any leaks at that point."
Phoenix nodded understandingly. A silence descended upon the room, though tension was emanating heavily off both men.
The Colonel finally spoke, "It all changes soon. Our lives. Everything."
Phoenix took out a bottle along with two glasses from a cabinet and sat down opposite his good friend Rayner.
The Colonel chuckled lightly at the sight of Phoenix pouring two glasses of water.
"To the future. There may be hope for us all yet," Rayner said sullenly.
They clinked glasses and drank in silence. A whole conversation passed unheard through both men's expressions.
A little while later the Colonel was on his own, eyes shut, trying to clear his mind and get some rest too. The beeping of his comms line jolted him out of his meditative state.
He answered, "Yes?"
"Sir, our scout ships are picking up unknown contacts," the officer said hurriedly.
"I'm on my way."