Ep.#9 - "Resistance" (3 page)

The old man staggered backward a few steps. “Fuck!” he screamed as he reached for his injured nose.

“What’s the matter, asshole?” Jessica answered, still in her combat stance. “Not the kind of foreplay you were hoping for?”

“I’m gonna cut you up, bitch!” he shouted, coming at her full force.

Jessica leaned slightly to her left, moving out of the way of the old man’s oncoming knife. She grabbed his knife hand with her right hand and pivoted on her right foot as his hand passed her. As she pivoted, she raised her left forearm up and slammed it into the old man’s upper arm, stripping the knife from his now weakened grip. Her left foot landed in the path of the old man’s right leg, sending him toppling forward so he slammed head first into the side of the truck.

Jessica stepped toward the fallen, old man, tossing the knife a few centimeters into the air so that it spun a half-circle before she caught it again with the blade now pointing straight ahead. The old man was face down in the dirt, dazed. She stepped up and planted her feet on either side of the old man’s legs, then bent over and grabbed his hair, pulling his head up and backward as she squatted.

Jessica put the knife up against the old man’s throat. “Had enough, old man?” She leaned in closer, her mouth next to his right ear. “Are you happy?”

“I got people, bitch!” the old man swore, spitting as he howled. “My boys will avenge me!”

“I shot an emperor between the eyes! You think I give a rat’s ass about a bunch of hick, northern farm boys?” Jessica slammed the old man’s head into the side of the truck again, rendering him unconscious.

Jessica dropped the old man’s limp body onto the dirt, then reached for his neck to check his pulse.

“You’ll live,” she declared as she got back to her feet. She looked around the clearing, checking to see if there was anyone nearby. She had no idea how far she was from the main road, and she had only a faint recollection of the number and direction of the turns the old man had taken to get them to this clearing. “Damn!” she yelled, kicking the unconscious old man in the side. “I come all the way back to save this planet, and this is my welcoming party?”

Jessica took a few moments to gather her thoughts, recalling everything that had happened and the things she had said to the old man. “I probably shouldn’t have said that thing about shooting an emperor between the eyes,” she said to herself, “not that you’d understand the reference.”

Jessica squatted down next to the old man and started rummaging through his pockets, pulling out his keys, his wallet, and his phone, as well as a few small, plastic chips. She scrolled through the list of contacts on the old man’s phone. Finding nothing of interest, she pulled the battery from the device and tossed it into the woods behind her. She smashed the phone against the corner of the truck bed and flung it in the opposite direction of its battery.

She held up one of the small chips she had found in the old man’s pocket. There was an emblem on it, as well as some unusual writing. She had seen such writing before, back on the Jung gunboat in the outer edges of the Sol system’s Oort cloud. The chip had a magnetic data strip on one end.

“Don’t know what they are exactly, but they’re mine now,” she said, “as is your truck.” She stood up, walked around to the driver’s side, and climbed in. She started the truck and eased it forward and into a left turn, circling around the middle of the clearing. As she straightened out and pointed the vehicle back down the dirt road, she called out the window, “Thanks for the ride, Grandpa!”

* * *

Luis lay on the mattress in his quarters, his feet dangling over the end of the bed at his knees. He had just started to drift away when the beep of the intercom snapped him awake. He already knew who was calling.

“What’s up, Devyn?” he called out, his voice automatically opening the comm-channel.

“
Are you sleeping?
” Devyn’s voice asked over the comms.

“No, just resting after another exciting watch.”

“
Am I bothering you?
”

“Does it matter?”

“
You spend too much time sleeping anyway,
” Devyn said.
“You should do something constructive with your off-duty time.
”

“Like what?” he asked, his hands in the air above him as he lay on the bed. “I’ve watched just about every movie in the video database, even the training videos. You want to know how to properly clean the galley? I mean, if we had one.”

“
No thanks,
” she said. “
You could try reading a book.
”

“Reading makes me sleepy.”

“
Everything makes you sleepy.
”

“Not true,” he said, holding up one finger to emphasize his point even though she couldn’t see him.

“
Go for a run, then.
”

“The command deck isn’t that big,” Luis said as he sat up on the edge of his bed.

“
Walk, then. At least it’s movement.
”

“The corridors are narrow, and there’s stuff hanging from the overheads everywhere. It’s like an obstacle course. This deck is far from finished.”

“
I thought Mola and Darcy were working on that.
”

“They have been, whenever they’re not on watch. There’s a lot of stuff to finish, though. And I don’t think they have all the materials they need. They’ve mostly been tying things up out of the way temporarily, so we won’t have to keep ducking all the time.”

“
You could go and help them.
”

“I tried once. They kept getting pissed off at me for doing things incorrectly. I’m pretty sure they prefer that I
don’t
help them.”

“
There’s got to be someplace you can stretch your legs a bit.
”

“Easy for you to say,” he said as he sat up on the edge of the bed. “You’ve got those nice long corridors to jog down.”

“True, but I’d gladly give it up for quarters and a decent shower. If it wasn’t for the decon showers back here, we wouldn’t have anything at all.”

“Yeah, the quarters
are
pretty decent,” Luis said. “I just wish we had actual linens. I have a feeling this mattress is going to get a bit rank if we’re out here much longer.”

“
At least you have a mattress,
” she said. “
I’ve been sleeping on a field cot for… How long have we been out here now?
”

“Two and a half months,” he said. “Two and a half long-ass months… give or take a day or two.”

There was silence for several seconds.

“
Things must not be going well on Earth,
” Devyn finally said, her tone more somber.

Luis recognized the change in her tone. It wasn’t the first time the hopelessness of their situation had seeped into their conversations. Luis stood, moved into the next room, and switched on the main view screen, selecting the comm-system as the input source. Devyn’s face appeared on the screen a moment later. “We don’t know that, Devyn,” he said as he sat on the padded chair, looking at her saddened expression.

“
Then why haven’t they come for us yet?
”

Luis didn’t have an answer. They hadn’t received any messages from Fleet Command since they’d picked up the broadcast of the general surrender order just after they had finished their final acceleration burn during their escape from Earth.

“
They haven’t even sent us a message,
” she added, her eyes downcast on the video screen. “
The Jung have probably taken control of the entire planet. There probably isn’t anyone left alive from the EDF.
”

“Our orders still stand, Devyn. We stay hidden until contacted and scuttle the ship if the Jung try to take her.”

“
What’s the point?
”

“You can’t lose hope, Devyn,” Luis said.

“
Too late,
” she said, her eyes glancing up to meet his on the screen momentarily.

“As long as this ship survives, there is still hope,” Luis said. “Sooner or later, they’ll find a way to reach us. They wouldn’t have gone to so much trouble to make sure we escaped unseen unless they had a plan that involved this ship. They’re just waiting for an opportunity.”

“
Always the optimist.
”

“You used to be.”

“
That was two and a half months ago,
” she reminded him, a small smile briefly appearing at the corners of her mouth.

“We just have to keep this ship and the data cores safe until Fleet comes looking for us.”

“
But for how long?
”

“As long as it takes,” Luis said. “You know that, Devyn. We’ve been over this before.”

Devyn looked at him across the video monitor. “
This would all be so much easier if we were all together, instead of being separated by a vacuum.
”

“I didn’t know you cared,” Luis teased.

“
I don’t,
” she countered, her expression turning devilish. “
I just want to sleep in a real bed for once.
”

“Nice.” One of the things he liked about Devyn was her ability to pull herself out of a gloomy state of mind.

She sighed. “
Up for another game of Hi-Lo?
” she asked, trying to change the subject with one of their usual, mindless diversions.

“What do you owe me now, about half a million?” Luis wondered.

“
You’re actually keeping track?
”

“Hell, yes. If we ever get rescued, I’m gonna own your ass.”

“
Oh, baby, I love it when you talk dirty to me.
”

* * *

“Captain,” Abby said, standing in the hatch to Nathan’s ready room, “do you have a moment?”

“Of course, Doctor,” Nathan responded as he stood from behind his desk. He gestured for her to sit. “Please.”

Abby stepped through the hatchway, taking care to swing the hatch closed once inside before taking her seat.

“What can I do for you?” Nathan asked, noticing that she had chosen to close the hatch before speaking.

“I was wondering if I might ask a favor of you.” She took a seat across the desk from Nathan.

“Of course. What do you need?” He sat back down.

“I don’t know if it is even possible, but I was hoping that, while Lieutenant Commander Nash is on Earth, she might attempt to make contact with my husband.”

Nathan was unsure how to respond at first. “To what end?” he asked, treading carefully.

“I was hoping to learn if my family…” Abby looked down at her hands in her lap for a moment before looking up again. “I need to know if they are alive… if they are well.”

Nathan leaned forward, his arms folded on his desk. “I don’t know if that’s even possible. Even if it is, it’s likely unwise.”

“I understand that, sir, and I do not ask this without serious consideration. It’s just that ever since we returned to Earth, ever since the Lieutenant Commander’s report, I have been terribly distracted… unfocused. I can’t work. I can’t eat. I can’t sleep. My mother died when I was young. Since my father passed, my husband and our children are all I have left. Without them…”

“Abby,” Nathan interrupted, seeing how upset she was, “I understand how you feel. None of us know about our loved ones.”

“I know, but still…”

“Have you considered the possibility that attempting to locate them might raise undue suspicion?” Nathan said. “It could even put your family at risk.” He could tell by the look in her eyes that she had not considered such risk. “And what of the others on board?” Nathan continued. “Shall I have Lieutenant Commander Nash track down all of their families as well?”

“Of course,” she conceded, her eyes downcast. “You’re quite right, sir. I’m terribly sorry to have asked.”

“It’s quite all right, Abby. Really, it is. Unfortunately, there is so much more at stake now. We’re no longer just trying to get home. We now have the fate of our own world on our shoulders. We can no longer afford the luxury of our own personal needs, and we can’t afford mistakes. Everything we do now must be with good reason, with the risks balanced against the gains.” Nathan looked at her, noticing that she was barely holding herself together. He chose not to continue presenting his argument, fearing that doing so might be more than she could handle at the moment and convinced that she had understood the impossible nature of her request even before she had entered the room. He suspected that she had only asked to ease her own conscience and possibly with the slim hope that it might somehow be possible after all.

She forced a smile. “You know, I considered putting on one of those absurd suits and jumping out alongside the lieutenant commander,” she said, “without permission.”

Nathan tried not to laugh at the idea. “From what I understand, you would not have enjoyed the experience.”

“I won’t bother you any longer, Captain.” She began to rise.

“Perhaps you should consider taking some time off from your duties. Maybe ask Doctor Chen for something to help you sleep.”

“I don’t know if that would be a good idea,” she said, seeming embarrassed by the admission of her sleeping disorder.

“You know, I haven’t slept well for months now,” Nathan told her, hoping to ease her embarrassment. “I only get three or four hours of sleep a day,” he continued as he leaned back in his chair. “At least once a week, I have to take something to knock myself out for nine or ten hours. If I didn’t, I’d be speaking gibberish on the bridge.”

“Really?” She settled back down into her seat as the captain continued.

The look on her face and her tone suggested surprise at his revelation.

“Seriously,” he said. “Before I started taking the doctor’s knock-out nuggets, every so often I’d find myself walking down a corridor without knowing where I was trying to go. Trust me; you’ll feel much better if you let yourself get a good night’s sleep every few days.”

“Perhaps I will speak with Doctor Chen.”

“Tell her I sent you,” Nathan said, smiling. “Maybe you’ll get a discount,” he added with a wink.

“Thank you, Captain,” she said as she rose again.

“Abby.” Nathan leaned forward once more. “I should have told you this long ago, but everything that we’ve accomplished thus far—escaping the anti-matter explosion, surviving our adventures in the Pentaurus cluster and defeating the Ta’Akar, and finally making it back home by leap-frogging across a thousand light years—none of that would have been possible without you.” Nathan looked her squarely in the eyes, trying to appear as confident as possible. “When we drive the Jung from our world and free our people, it will be because of the efforts of you and your father. It will be because of the sacrifices of you and your family, as much as it will be because of the sacrifices of the rest of our crew. Someday, you will tell your children of your adventures. You will tell them how you helped save their world, and they will be proud of their mother. Incredibly proud.”