Chapter Six
As the
effects of the transport wore off, the team had materialized less
than a dozen meters from the crash site. The heavily damaged shuttle
pod lay half buried in sand but was still recognizable. "That's
her," Liam confirmed.
"What
are those?" Lieutenant O'Neill asked, motioning toward a small
field of square metallic objects. "Debris maybe?"
Liam
jogged across the sand toward the pieces. "They're the shuttle's
solar panels!" he shouted back. The security pair joined him and
surveyed the carefully laid out field, it was obvious they hadn't
fallen in perfect order by chance. "Or were anyway," Liam
added, kneeling down beside one. Every panel had been punctured and
sliced with weapons fire. He reached into his bag to pull out a tool.
A few moments later, the panel in front of him lit up faintly,
showing a stream of data on a small screen. With a quick glance at
his own chron, he glanced up at the Lieutenant. "Thirty-seven
hours, I'd say these were all shot at about a day and a half ago."
"Does
that mean there's someone else on this planet?" Skylar asked,
nervously looking across the vast swaths of desert that surrounded
them.
"More
likely one or more of those weapons platforms came by," O'Neill
concluded, looking, instead, toward the sky and drawing his own
firearm. "Why would they move them? Couldn't have been easy
prying them off the hull of the pod."
Liam
turned his attention skyward, shielding his eyes from the glare of
the sun. "Efficiency," he concluded. "The position of
the pod wasn't ideal – considering this is only a little over half
of one side of panels, they probably wanted to maximize the amount of
energy they were pulling."
"Sounds
like something Robert would do," Ben mused. "Come on, let's
check out the shuttle."
"Funny.
I was thinking it sounded like the Doc," Liam replied. Stepping
carefully around the dead solar array, the trio made their way around
the shuttle. Sand had blown in the open hatch, giving them a smooth
ramp into the empty pod. "Well someone was here," he said,
nudging the makeshift bed with his foot.
"Then
where are they now?" Skylar asked, peering around the
lieutenants timidly.
Lieutenant
O'Neill said nothing as he pushed further into the small pod. Liam
moved in the opposite direction, bee-lining for the computer console.
"I've got some logs here," he called out, brushing the
surface free of dust and sand. Without prompting, he started
downloading them into a tablet to take back with them.
Ben,
trailed by his trainee, knelt down to pick through the assortment of
empty ration packs and the discarded medical kit. "A few days at
most," he said, counting the packs again. "Assuming this is
for both of them."
"I
don't think it was sir," Skylar choked out, pointing toward the
synthesizer's freezer component. Across the lid, in rushed, messy
handwriting, were etched the words 'Here lies Captain Robert Hunt;
Unity.' Tiny, dried bits of blood had fallen into the letters, as
though the instrument used had cut the hands of the writer.
Liam
came up behind them and sucked in a sharp breath as he read and
reread the words.
Ben
knelt beside the cooler and closed his eyes for a long moment of
silence before hitting the release. Billowy gas filled the space for
a moment before dissipating, giving them an unimpeded view of their
captain. Slamming the lid shut, Ben looked over his shoulder toward
Liam. "If I tag the whole freezer – can it be transported out
of here?"
"No,
it's bolted into the frame of shuttle. I could probably free it but
– it would take time," the engineer said.
"O'Neill
to Dareios, come in," Ben said, activating his comm link to the
ship.
"Dareios
here, go ahead lieutenant," replied Captain Kay. "Any luck
down there?"
"We've
found the pod. There's evidence that Doctor Ryan survived the crash
and left the pod at some point. Can your scanners scan the surface
for human life signs?" he asked as he opened the freezer
component again to pin the tag to Captain Hunt's uniform.
There
was a long moment of static before she replied, "we'll start the
scan now, focusing on your general area. What about the captain?"
"Captain
Hunt is dead," Ben replied somberly. "He's been stored in a
freezer – I'm not sure for how long. Do you have some place to
store his body so we can take him back to Unity?"
The line
was dead silent for several minutes. "Please tag him and
activate the tag Lieutenant," Fink said. "The captain will
make sure his body is preserved appropriately."
"Roger
that," Ben said, pressing the button on the tag and stepping
back quickly. The transport activated almost immediately, whisking
Captain Hunt away in a flash and shimmer of lights. "Any sign of
our Doctor, Dareios?"
"Not
yet," Fink replied. "Stand by."
"Two
more platforms coming around!" Garren shouted over the line just
as it was cut off.
"Lieutenant,
there are still rations here – at least a few days worth. Why would
she leave without necessary supplies?" Skylar asked, holding up
a handful of packs for them to see.
Ben
could only shrug, "I'm not sure. Hurley, anything in those logs
that might tell us which direction to go?"
Liam was
ashen faced as he turned toward them shaking his head. "She, she
talks about hallucinations – something in the air. Maybe she didn't
even realize she was leaving?"
"Or
at least didn't expect to be gone for that long.. when was her last
log entry?" O'Neill asked.
Liam
scrolled through the text transcripts quickly until he came to the
final entry. "One and a half days ago," he said, gulping as
he turned to look out the window toward the damaged solar array she'd
set up.
Skylar
followed his gaze and gasped, "that's when..."
"Dareios
to landing team, we're taking heavy fire up here and there's company
coming! No sign of your doctor for at least a hundred kilometers in
any direction. We need to get you out of there!"
"Freya
mentions multiple times she broke her leg in the crash Lieutenant. No
way she was going to walk more than a hundred kilometers in
thirty-seven hours in her condition," Liam stated.
Ben
nodded, but said nothing for a moment. "Did you get all the logs
and crash data?" Liam nodded, getting to his feet and tucking
the tablet into his bag. "Dareios, we're ready for transport,"
he said, as Liam and Skylar fell in beside him silently.
------
"Why
are you doing this?" Doctor Azael asked. His hands were bound
behind his back almost as soon as the landing party had transported
away. All the weapons platforms had been called off, though
occasionally Garren deployed a decoy to maintain the act.
"Well
why does anyone collect on a bounty?" Kay asked, her feet up on
her console as she waited for the Xinji retrieval squad to show up.
"Money. Someone wants you down there badly – did you know
there was a price on your head – from the Xinji of all people?"
Doctor
Azael nodded, "I was aware, yes."
"Why
would you settle on Ne'Vha then? That seems rather stupid on your
part I have to say," she said with a chuckle. "All the
better for me though. This'll be the fastest fifty thousand I've ever
made."
"What
about the team on the surface? Are you planning to leave them down
there?"
Kay
looked offended, "of course not! I'll return them safe and sound
to their vessel if all goes well."
"And
what will you tell them? When they come back and I'm not here?"
The
captain merely shrugged, "I hadn't really thought about it much.
Any ideas?"
Before
Azael could respond, the comm link from the surface activated. He
watched in horror as they promised to scan for Freya but made no
actual attempt to do so, even grinning at one another as they
pretended to press invisible controls. But all humor ceased as
Lieutenant O'Neill announced Captain Hunt's death. In front of him,
Kay slammed her fist into her console and jumped to her feet. As she
rushed past him, Azael was certain she was crying. He stood by
helplessly as Captain Hunt's body materialized on the transport pad
and Garren loaded it onto a small anti-grav unit. He returned only a
few minutes later – having turned his charge over to Captain Kay no
doubt – and resumed his seat.
"The
retrieval squad says they're in range," Fink whispered, glancing
over at Azael anxiously.
"Impossible,
they're on the other side of the planet. I can't even see them..."
Garren protested. Fink shrugged and pointed at his screen where the
communication had come in. As per usual, the Xinji kept their
distance and relayed their messages via text.
"You
should demand more," Azael offered, trying to delay the
exchange. "Tell them 'the family is willing to pay a ransom of
double,'" he added, imagining his brother's outrage at the
thought.
"Shut
up!" Garren scowled, jamming open a comm link to the hold.
"Captain, the Xinji are within range to transport."
"They
won't pay from this range, they're counting on you to be stupid and
send me first. They can unleash the weapons platforms and blow you
out of space without having to pay," Azael persisted, even after
Kay returned to the forward compartment.
Though
Garren ignored him, Azael could see he'd caught Fink's attention. "He
says some family will pay a ransom worth more," he said, as Kay
took her seat at the first station."Should we try for a higher
bounty? They've sent another message, demanding that we transport
Tierran Azael immediately."
"Demanding,"
Kay scoffed. "This is my negotiation – they have no place to
make demands."
"There
are two weapons platforms headed our way," Garren reported.
"Should I deploy decoys?"
"Yes,"
Kay said as Azael shook his head and said, "it won't work..."
As he
anticipated, the decoys flew right past the platforms and were
ignored completely. "How did you know?" Garren demanded.
"Those
two have been given specific orders – namely this ship. You've left
them waiting too long. My people are not a patient sort," Azael
offered with a grim smile.
"YOUR
people?" Garren and Fink asked at once.
For her
part, Captain Kay was not surprised by the revelation. "Open a
link to the retrieval squad. Tell them we require half the bounty
before transport and the other half after. And tell them to call off
their dogs," she snapped.
"What's
a dog?" Fink whispered, though no one responded.
"The
weapons platforms have stopped their approach," Garren reported
happily.
"Tell
the team I offered myself as a prisoner – in your place,"
Azael suggested. "For your safe passage out of the system."
Kay
nodded, "yes I think I will. Thanks for the suggestion doctor,"
she said, as a crate materialized on the transporter pad. She and
Garren jumped up to move it aside. Peaking inside, she smiled
triumphantly. "Up up Doc – it's your turn now," she said
directing him toward the center of the pad. She slapped a transport
tag on him and pushed the button to activate. "Fink, let them
know he's ready for transport. Garren, stay on alert in case we need
to make a quick escape."
Within
seconds of relaying the message, Doctor Tierran Azael disappeared.
True to their word, another crate materialized on the pad to complete
the bounty. Garren jumped to his feet to pull the second crate away
and nodded to Fink. "Dareios to landing team, we're taking heavy
fire up here and there's company coming! No sign of your doctor for
at least a hundred kilometers in any direction. We need to get you
out of there!"
"Garren,
stow those out of sight in the hold," Kay commanded as she
triggered the release of a couple more decoy buoys. In the few
minutes the team on the surface spent wrapping up their mission,
Garren had tucked the crates full of gem stones into the corner of
the hold and returned to the forward compartment in time for their
return. "Strap in!" Kay shouted, barely giving them time to
move before careening away from the planet.
The
three bounced over each other, still suited up, until they could grab
hold of a strap and buckle in. "Where's Doctor Azael?!"
O'Neill called.
"Bit
busy at the moment!" Kay shouted, making a sudden jerk as if
evading a shot. "Asteroid field coming up, hang tight everyone."
"Weapons
platforms have broken off pursuit," Garren said with a small,
triumphant whoop. "We're clear of Xinji space. Setting return
course to Ne'Vha now."
Kay
allowed the ship to coast toward the asteroid field, knowing she had
just a few minutes, before turning toward the returned trio.
"Apparently Doctor Azael IS a Xinji – the only one to have
ever left the system. He offered himself as their prisoner for our
safe passage out of the system."
"Safe?
Doesn't seem like they kept up their end of the deal!" Liam
snapped.
"We're
alive and out aren't we?" Garren growled. "They could have
sent a whole volley of those platforms after us AND followed along
with a squad of manned fighters. Evading a few of them is about as
safe as it could be."
"Garren's
right – though he could check his attitude," Kay growled. "It
was the doctor's choice to stay behind. We were outnumbered by a
dozen to one at least and were sure to be plastered across the
surface of that planet ourselves if he hadn't." On cue, her
console began beeping, effectively ending the conversation as she
began to navigate through the asteroids.
Everyone
watched in muted reflection as the ship threaded through the
asteroids. Kay exercised more caution this time, giving each rock a
wide berth, so the overall trip through took nearly an hour. As they
watched the last of the asteroids pass by the side windows, O'Neill
unstrapped his harness and got to his feet. "I need to contact
Unity and inform them of the mission outcome."
"Of
course," Captain Kay stood and rapped on Fink's console. "Fink,
can you raise a link to Unity for the Lieutenant? You should let him
know we ought to be there in about twenty-eight hours." Flipping
the pilot controls over to Garren, she slipped past the Unity team
into the back hold.
"Hmm?
Oh sure, right-o," he said, sitting up straighter. "Coming
up on the main screen."
As soon
as the link had been established, Liam and Skylar took up positions
behind O'Neill. "Commander," he said, as Meng's face filled
the screen. "We are on our way home. While we successfully
located the shuttle pod, we discovered that Captain Hunt perished
during the crash and Doctor Ryan, presumably, died some days later.
We have recovered the captain's body but the doctor was not in the
shuttle." Before Meng could respond, Ben pushed on with his
report. "From orbit, the Dareios scanned over one hundred
kilometers in every direction surrounding the crash site for life
signs and found none. Given her condition, it is highly unlikely she
could have traveled farther than that."
"What
condition?" Meng asked quietly.
O'Neill
turned toward Liam, who stepped forward. "Recovered log entries
from Fr.. Doctor Ryan, indicate that she had a severe abdominal wound
and a broken leg from the initial crash. Her last entry was
thirty-seven hours prior to our arrival and recorded in the shuttle."
"I'm
sorry that we couldn't recover her body Commander. The Dareios was
under fire from Xinji and we needed to retreat," O'Neill chimed
in, wishing he could offer more. "According to Captain Kay, we
will arrive in approximately twenty-eight hours."
"Understood,"
he murmured, struggling to keep his face stoic while his body
trembled. "Anything else?"
"Doctor
Azael, who confessed to being Xinji himself, offered himself as a
prisoner in exchange for our safe passage. Captain Kay will have to
brief you on the particulars – as I wasn't on board at the time,"
Ben added.
Although
Meng was curious about this turn of events, he desperately wanted to
end the conversation so he nodded. "I'll get both reports upon
your return. Unity out."
Ben let
out a long, slow breath and then turned toward the back hold. Liam
and Skylar moved to follow obediently but he held up a hand to stop
them. "I need... I need a moment. Robert Hunt was a friend."
In the hold, as he'd expected, he found Kay leaning over the
captain's body. Her shoulders shook as she sobbed and his minute
steps were masked by the sound until he was right behind her. "He
would have been proud of you."
Kay
whipped around, her eyes wide and then started to swipe at the tears
on her cheeks. "Excuse me?"
"Your
father, Robert would have been proud of you Kieran," Ben said,
stepping around to the other side of the body. On closer observation,
Ben noted a nearly invisible cover across the whole platform,
encasing Captain Hunt for preservation.
"How...
I didn't think anyone recognized me?" Kay stammered. "You
never said anything..."
"Not
my secret, not my place unless it's mission critical," Ben said
with a slight shrug. "I knew you looked familiar from the start
but I couldn't place you."
"Then
when?" she asked, stunned.
"When
I watched you fly through those asteroids. You fly like your brother
did – Darius was always pushing the edge. Of course then there's
the name of your ship – close but not a dead give away," Ben
said with an appreciative smile. "The real question is, why
didn't you tell anyone?"
"I
think I would have – if we'd found him alive," Kay said,
laying a hand on the clear cover. "I may yet still I suppose. I
thought, I thought Unity was behind me. And then you all showed up so
I stayed away for weeks. I make runs to Ne'Vha all the time but you
were always there and I wasn't ready for someone to recognize me."
"Fair
enough," Ben said, adding his hand to the cover near hers. "I'm
sorry we couldn't find him alive," he whispered.
New
tears swelled in her eyes, "when Aryn called and told me it was
Unity's captain – I wished that maybe he'd stepped down and
retired. Just so it was someone else – anyone else. I never
expected to see him again and then, for a moment, I imagined what it
would be like to get a hug from my dad again."
With
nothing more to say, Ben laid a hand on her shoulder and gave it a
long squeeze before leaving her alone. He'd barely made it to the
hatch before he heard the crying start anew.
------
Meng
sat, gripping the arms of the center seat, for almost a half hour
after the away team had reported in. The handful of people on the
bridge at the time dissolved into nothingness to his mind. Some may
have left and already told others but most stayed, looking to him for
direction, waiting for his reaction. Finally, barely trusting his
legs, Meng pushed to his feet and made eye contact with each person
on the bridge. "Lieutenant Jamison."
"Sir?"
"Please
inform the crew that they should expect a ship wide address shortly.
Patch it through to all crew members, both on board and on the
surface," Meng said. He closed his eyes and took several slow,
steadying breaths. Even after receiving the signal from Jamison, he
waited a few minutes in hopes that everyone would already be sitting
down. With one final tug of his uniform, he nodded to Jamison. "My
fellow crew mates, it is with a heavy heart that I must report the
death of two of our own. The shuttle pod carrying Captain Robert Hunt
and Doctor Freya Ryan to the Ulsyth Medical Station crashed on the
Xinji planet Klext ten days ago. A rescue team, led by Lieutenant
Benjamin O'Neill, was dispatched, however, there were no known
survivors. Captain Hunt's body has, thankfully, been recovered and he
is on his way home now. A memorial service will be planned and
announced soon. All training schedules for the next forty-eight hours
are canceled." Though the transmission ended, Meng couldn't
bring himself to move, instead standing like a statue in the center
of the bridge. "Lieutenant, issue the general recall. I want
everyone back on board as soon as possible," he said finally,
turning toward Jamison.
Meng
retreated into Captain Hunt's office – the closest possible escape
in which he could lock himself away. Instead of being a relief, he
found the walls claustrophobic. "Arrrrgh!" He lunged at the
desk, no longer able to control the build of emotion and started
chucking the stack of tablets across the room. First one at a time,
as they made a comforting CLANK, and then by the fistful, until the
desk sat empty save the computer screen.
Defeated
and spent, he dropped to the floor in a heap. And that's where he
stayed.
End
Chapter