They are on lower level 12 but making their way back toward the ship.
“Good. Send a message and tell them we’re waiting on their report.”
“Here it is. K-245j – where the Relentless was picked up,” Hal told the rest of the crew. He zoomed in on the holo map Fortenot had given him so that the planet came into focus. The ship’s star map contained sketchy information about the small planet, listing it as an uninhabited world covered with mountains and forests.
“We’ll do a quick survey with sensors when we get there – information’s lacking because the planet’s farther out than we usually go. We better switch out the mounts to rotary lasers, just in case we run into any trouble,” Ty said.
“I already thought about that. I’ll do it first thing,” Hal said, making a note on his handheld.
“The planet has some cave systems, and rich geological strata. Maybe we should gear up the Robotic Exploration Unit. Ever worked with one of those, Vivi?” Ty asked. The REU was basically a small device that contained a camera and some manipulators, used to explore a variety of environments. The drone could move on land, in the air and in water.
Vivi shook her head, already searching the feeds for it. “I’ll figure it out, though. I’m a fast learner.”
“C’mon. I’ll show you where it’s at,” Hal offered.
“Don’t stay up too late,” Tyce warned. “If this is a good find, we might be working some extended hours. We leave tomorrow morning as soon as Cherise clears us.” He knew that Hal would work through the night if he didn’t stop him. “Obviously, I’ve only given her a rough idea of where we’re going. Should take us a few days to get out that far, so plenty of time to get all the prep work done.”
“Aww, c’mon, Cap. Who needs sleep?” Hal said.
“Who needs sleep? You do,” Ty replied. “And that’s a direct order.”
“OK,” Hal rolled his eyes. “Come on, Veevs, I’ll show you the REU.”
Now that they had a destination and an estimated time of departure, Hal seemed to Vivi to be much more relaxed. He’d been brooding for the last two days, trying to stay occupied while they waited for a permit, but once he had been given a goal, he was laser focused once again.
They went down the hall, past the crew quarters to the equipment room. “So, how long have you shipped with Tyce?” Vivi asked.
“You mean after the ACAS or all together?” He glanced at her as if wondering why she was asking.
“All together.”
“About nine years. I did my first two years on five different ships that patrolled the Border.”
“So, you got transferred a lot,” she observed.
“Nah. More like handed off. I was considered part of a bad batch. Fought a bit too much.”
“No!” She feigned surprise, to which he grinned.
“Yeah. Before Ty, I spent some time in the brig. OK… a lot of time,” he said to the pointed look she shot him. “One of the Colonels decided to transfer me to Ty’s outfit. I spent my last five years with him as my captain.” Hal paused, and Vivi guessed he was thinking back to his time in service. “I did a lot better with Ty.”
“What did Tyce do that was different?” Vivi asked.
“Don’t know. He never made me feel like I wanted to buck him. I think he just knows how to lead people.” They reached the supply room and Hal began going through the contents of one of the lockers. “He knows how to listen if you have a better idea for something. He…” Hal searched for the right word, “values his people’s ideas. Most of the others didn’t. They didn’t think that a vat would have a thought worth hearing. But Ty… he’s different.”
“I’m sorry the others treated you like that, Hal.”
He looked up from the bag he was tugging out of the locker, his expression one of genuine surprise. His mouth worked for a second as if he didn’t know what to say, and his open expression was completely new to her. Hal scratched his head for a minute as if she’d totally perplexed him, then he blinked and shook it off. “Um… yeah. It’s all good. I wasn’t going for sympathy or anything.”
She started to reply, but decided to change the subject, sensing that she’d said the wrong thing somehow. “OK, so show me this REU…”
The Loshad was underway before 0700 the next morning, within minutes of getting the permit confirmed by Cherise. The crew had worked on getting the ship prepared for the Border most of the previous day. As soon as they shipped out, Hal set up the ship’s lasers and ran a few diagnostics from the gunner’s position on the bridge. Beryl was kept busy organizing and stowing the supplies and rations she’d had delivered to the ship the day before. By the end of their first day, Vivi had developed some competency with the Robotic Exploration Unit and managed to fly it around the cargo hold.
Once they’d settled into their quarters for the evening, Vivi scanned the feeds for information about forests and cave systems until late in the night. She’d grown up on an arctic planet with her family, so she had little experience with the type of biomes they would encounter on K-245j.
She was lying on her stomach, dozing over the information in her bunk, her head pillowed on her forearm when she heard a thump. She lifted her head, looking around with wide eyes, but things were quiet. The thrum of the engines sounded normal, she thought, as she checked the time on her handheld. It was after 0100 hours.
Yawning she sat up and powered down her device when she heard the same thump again. Then, just faintly, a voice sounded in the cabin next to hers. Hal’s room.
Might as well check it out, she thought, tugging her tank down over her sleep pants. The metal deck was chilly on her bare feet and made her shiver. She stepped outside and over to his door where she knocked. No answer, but the talking continued.
“Hal. I know you’re up. Everything OK?” she said, knocking again and feeling a small knot forming in her stomach. “What’s wrong?”
There was a sudden silence, and she didn’t like that either. Hands shaking a little, she typed in an override code for the lock system. She had to key it twice before the door slid open.
“Hal?”
The lights in the room were low, but she could see immediately that Hal wasn’t in his bunk. The sheets and blankets had been shoved to the floor. She took two steps forward when she heard his voice to the left of her, followed by the metallic scrape of metal sliding on metal.
“I am the fist of the ACAS… In war I am strength. I bring the justice of the Coalition to its enemies…” Hal’s voice had a blankness that made the hairs on the back of Vivi’s neck prickle. “Victory is mine. I will gladly fight to the death…” There was another scraping sound. And another. Hal was seated at the built-in table on the other side of the room, his back to her. She could see pieces of a weapon strewn about the desk in front of him. He was assembling it as he recited his warrior’s creed.
“I do not surrender to exhaustion or fear…”
Snap.
“I am steadfast and tenacious in the face of adversity…”
Scrape.
“I am inexorable…”