1
Scene begins in open space with an asteroid field in the far distance, looking upon two ships in the foreground coupled at their respective holds, connected by a U-shaped inflatable umbilicus stretching between airlocks. Reinforced rods from the smaller ship with rare earth (neodymium iron boron (NIB)) magnetic locks keep the craft at a minimum locked distance, avoiding damage. That smaller ship is mostly dark, the other lit in various compartments and powering both through the Black at a sensible speed.
On the flightdeck of the larger vehicle a lone pilot goes through his checklist, making sure the ships are secure. Elroy is on the payroll as the pilot for LOST but, with the captain dead, is wondering just when that first paycheck might materialise. A course is set for Boros. It is an estimated thirty-eight hour journey.
In the galley a man and woman play cards. Dexter teaches Lee a few tricks as she spots his slight of hand. There is some good humour but neither appears especially cheerful. The mood on the ship is sombre but a welcome reprieve from the world of trouble they found themselves in a few days ago.
On the upper deck, in the games room, a man dressed in shabby overalls plays snooker by himself, there is a single cold beer on the edge of the table. Jay prefers his own company.
In one of the single cabins a boy lies on a bed with his fists bunched into a pillow, staring at the blank wall. Rob is relatively calm now but he has been crying. Red rims surround his piercing dark eyes. It has been a day and a night since news of the Captain's death and the fourteen year old has been alone in his quarters ever since. Even though his sorrow is all-consuming he has to admit that he is becoming a little hungry. There is a knock at the door that shakes him out of his introspective thoughts.
Rob rises from the bed and moves over to the door control. It slides easily to one side. His only friend, Jemma, is on the other side looking concerned.
"Hi," she says.
Thinking he had mastered his grief, sight of her renews the tears, "oh, Jemma. How could this happen? He was like the closest thing to a father I ever had!"
As she hugs him he can smell her lightly perfumed hair, "honey. He had been on blood pressure medication for years. It was a heart attack is all. Brought on by the stress of current events for sure, but there's nothing anyone could have done."
"What are we gonna do now? Take him home? Back to his... I don't even know if he has a family."
"Well he has one living relative that I know of," she pauses, moving them both further into the room and closing the door. "Me. Denny is my Uncle. We used to be close when I was young. Then there was a long gap apart during the War. In the last few years we fell in together again. Wouldn't change that for anything."
This was somewhat of a surprise to Rob, although it was fairly obvious in retrospect. "Oh," is all he can manage. Then, "well what do you want to do?"
"He has an ex-wife. On Ariel last I heard but, well, there's more pressing matters. Rob, can we trust these people on the ship? I mean Jay I can handle. He is a drunk and impossible sometimes, but he's not the betrayin' type"
"He's too stupid to betray anyone. Too busy being selfish and making enemies."
She ignores his attack at their crewmate, "but the others? I mean I haven't been around them that much, didn't see what went on in that cruise liner".
"They helped out when they didn't need to is all that I know. And they have effectively risked their lives for the Captain, on his orders." He sits down on the bed and stares up at her. "You are like the only family I have now. And they're all I got too but," his voice trails off into private thoughts, wondering whether to tell Cookie.
"What?" she says, taking a place next to him.
"Thing is, I would know if they were up to no good. In that bunch of stuff the Captain found, there was some surveillance equipment and I've, er, bugged all their rooms," the boy looks away and down in shame.
A brief smile crosses her tired face. Some of her anguish is lifted. "You are a bad person!"
"Not your room!" he defends himself, initially thinking her tone is scornful. She laughs.
"Okay. I trust your judgement. Come with me." Cookie stands and leaves the room, heading for the intercom handset. "Town meeting in the hold, two minutes. No stragglers."
Elroy finishes up his diagnostic checks, having linked the two ships computers. As he leaves the flightdeck he passes the NavScreen and a ghostly blip catches his eye. It is gone when he moves in for a closer look. Tapping the glass he figures that the asteroid field is causing interference. All manner of debris and iron deposits in a field like that can cause havoc with AstroNav sensitivity.
The pilot is therefore the last one to the hold. Peering down from the balcony he sees Cookie, looking up.
"Glad you could join us. Okay. We"meaning me particularly, have been moping round this boat long enough. We gotta get some things out in the open."
"You show me yours, I'll show you mine," Dexter grins. Lee stamps on his foot.
Cookie ignores him. "We are still on course for Boros, right?" She looks at Elroy who nods. "Well I been thinking I should come clean. There's more on this ship than just the crates the Captain brought on board in a hurry back on Santo. In fact, what we got I think winded up with him being shot. And I would prefer to be rid of it, soon as we're able."
The young woman crosses to some lockers built into a wall of the hold. Taking a key she removes a padlock and swings open the mesh door. She rolls out a wide metal casket.
"What's that?" Elroy asks. His interest piqued.
Jay, silent until now, moves forward. "I didn't know they used these anymore, not like that anyway." He looks back around at the crew. "I think it's a stasis chamber of some sort." They all surround the casket, looking for all the 'Verse like a fancy stainless steel coffin.
Elroy searches for a read-out or any kind of status indicator. There is a faint green light, a socket of some sort and the some markings `- in English and Chinese. Rob takes particular interest in the socket, but it is like nothing he has ever seen.
"Now here we have a mystery," declares Dexter. "Where did it come from?" adds Lee.
Jemma continues, "it was delivered by a courier, dodgy no doubt, on Santo when everyone was off getting into fights. It's from Lewis Childs."
Lee says, "Childs must have got jittery and sent it before we could pick it up."
Rob realises, "and when the killer got the Captain's name he tracked him down to that Boron guy who pulled a gun on him."
"Exactly. At least that was Denny's take on it right before he died. He seemed to have it all figured out in the end but he was in a lot of pain. I think he realised who was behind it. All he whispered was 'two by two".', then he died."
The teenager continues examining the strange socket and begins to formulate a plan. He believes he can interface with it, but will keep that to himself for the time being.
There is silence among all gathered for a few moments, before Cookie says, "As I said I want that thing out of here as soon as possible. It's trouble, whatever it is. Then I guess we may need to get the Captain back to some final resting place."
Elroy is surprised, "oh. I just assumed we would bury him out here. It's the way of the Black."
"Suppose I never considered that," she says. For the time being the captain's body is in the med-bay, which is sealed and refrigerated.
The meeting breaks up soon after. There is a general discussion about off-loading the cargo on Boros, because presumably someone is waiting for it and will make themselves known. Lee observes that there may be several parties looking for it, some of whom will have big guns.
In the dead of night a young man is sneaking around the ship looking for equipment. By luck he finds a very old, virtually antique, communicator in the engineering/tool room. There is a similar plug/socket arrangement that Rob fashions into an interface for his NIDAI implant. The work takes a few hours. The rest of the crew is asleep except for Elroy, on watch in the bridge. He is keeping the ships on eighty percent burn.
When the cable device is ready Rob makes his way to the hold, with a small torch for light. His curiosity may one-day be his undoing. Approaching the steel casket he finds the socket. "Here goes," he whispers to himself and hesitantly guides the pins into place.
There is the expected flash of dull pain that quickly subsides as the boy's conscious spreads into the computer managing the stasis chamber and its life support functions. The software architecture is relatively simple but primitive (and hence unfamiliar) compared to the advanced technology he has been exposed to.
It takes a few seconds of scanning code before he finds his balance and retrieves a deluge of bio-metric data. He can physically feel the extension of his body over the sensors positioned around the prone form in the casket. It is definitely human, and alive, even if the vital signs are almost stationary.
It is a woman, 27 years old, Stephanie Belmont, occupation: 'scientific advisor'. Technical data covering every aspect of her condition before stasis is included. And then, a seemingly innocuous piece of information makes Rob recoil. It is a date of birth. Twenty-Eight August, Two-Thousand-Two-hundred-Seventeen. The woman is three hundred and three years old.
He snaps back but avoids disconnecting the cable; logic being tested to its limits. The thought "this is not possible, she should be dead," crosses his mind. The turmoil in his mind causes a burst of fear into the machine. It activates the awakening program.
Suddenly vital signs begin restarting and the sound of a strengthening heartbeat is almost deafening to the frightened boy. In his terms the woman is rebooting. He tries to calm himself and reach out to the computer to shut down and reverse what he has inadvertently begun. The reanimation pauses for a split second before Rob realises that there is no turning back. This is a one-use pod, not equipped to put people back into stasis. He falters backward, pulling the cable from the casket and disconnecting his makeshift adapter. The green light is flashing urgently. Vapour leaks from the seals.
As the boy drops his torch and it falls away behind the crates the main cabin light illuminates the hold. He dives for stacked cargo on the other side of the room and looks up to see Elroy peering inquisitively at the scene below. There is a loud clunk of locking bolts disengaging and a violent hiss as the lid of the casket flies upward and away. A figure, naked and terrified, leaps out of her tomb; a scream dampened by the fluid that is clogging her lungs. The adrenalin shot that had shocked her back to living subsides and the woman collapses on the cold deck, exhausted. As she falls she locks eyes momentarily with the hidden boy.
Elroy, having assessed the risk of personal danger is minimal from the unconscious naked woman, moves over to the intercom and announces, "Umm, we have a situation in the hold, you might want to take a look at this."
2
Jay moves the prone body into an approximate recovery position. Jemma takes one look at the body and casually says, "I'll go get my bag."
Jay looks up at Elroy, although at every opportunity gazes back at the woman, "what happened?"
"No idea, I thought it was you screwing around," it was true that Elroy had tried to contact Jay moments before he went to the hold when he had noticed the power spike. He had been told, in response "chui se" from the sleepy engineer.
Dexter and Lee watch unsurprised at this latest development. "Only on this ship," they comment to each other.
Jemma returns and uses a hand scanner to check the vital signs of the woman. She is in shock, but appears to be quite a healthy specimen. "Does she need mouth-to-mouth?" Jay offers. He is not joking, merely eager and, thankfully, his coat now provides some modesty to the newcomer.
"We need to get her to the infirmary," Jemma states.
"What about the Captain?" Jay asks.
Jemma looks at the gambler and his associate, "do you think you can move the Captain into a body bag and put him in the infirmary locker? I don't know if that is respectful of the dead or not, but right now she needs the bed more than he does."
"Sure. Great, moving bodies round in the middle of the night. That will give me pleasant dreams," Dexter smirks but leaves with Lee.
Elroy begins to wonder where the boy is but says nothing. He inspects the open casket and notes it may generally be tailored to the occupant, but there is no additional information or clue as to who was interred therein. Jemma determines that the woman is relatively stable, no bones broken, and asks Jay to carry her upstairs.
Elroy follows them up and makes a stop at Rob's room. There is no answer when he knocks. Behind him Rob is flat behind the entrance to the hall. Elroy leaves to go down to the bridge.
Rob makes his way, with all the innocence he can muster, to the galley where he encounters Lee and Dexter. "What happened? Umm I was in the can" he tries to use old slang, but it seems out of place in his voice, "and I heard Elroy."
Dexter simply explains, "the coffin opened up and spat out a naked woman." Lee laughs. "Ha. Jay can't keep his eyes off her!"
"That's crazy. How?" He then turns to see through the infirmary door. "Hey, where's the Captain?" he moves through to enter the room where Jay and Jemma attend to their visitor. As she began to convulse Jay gave her a shot of tranquiliser. It was the wrong one. Jemma luckily has her stabilised again as Rob opens the door.
"Is she alive? How did she get out of that box?" he asks, firing a little too many questions in an effort to sound casual.
"She's fine," replies Cookie, then adds, "now," shooting a glance at the engineer.
Jay's eyes narrow and he questions Rob, "Where were you when all the action was happening?" Rob ignores him and moves to the woman's side. 'Stephanie,' he remembers but stays quiet. Jay is irritated, "hey, whizzkid, I asked you a question."
"And I didn't answer. You don't own me!" he turns to Cookie for support.
"Go Hwong Tong''! Both of you." Jemma looks up. But Jay has already grabbed the boy by the scruff of the neck and is hauling him out of the med-bay. "We have work to do!"
Cookie begins to protest, although Rob is louder, snarling, "let go of me, you Huen Dahn drunk!" Dexter stands to move between them, but not before Jay has noticed an unusual scar or tattoo (or something?) on the back of the boy's neck. He throws him forward. Rob stumbles, shouting back further venomous insults.
The scene is very tense. Rob is shaking with rage. Lee comes to calm him down as Jemma drags Jay back into the infirmary. The small Asian woman has some kind words that seem to make sense to the boy. They are both somewhat naïve when it comes to dealing with other people. Dexter lets her do the talking. He prefers straight talking card players.
Back in the infirmary, "you shouldn't be so hard on him Jay, he's been through a lot."
"Surely you can see he must've been the one that let her out of the box?! He's not normal. There's something on the back of his head, have you seen it? We don't know nothin' about him. He's not so Ta Ma Duh innocent."
She is clearly not having a bar of it. "Only one not normal here is you".and this chick here is covered in goo!" But she generally lets it drop.
Hours pass and the crew return to their rooms to get some sleep. Over breakfast conversation is renewed regarding what to do with the Backdrop and Elroy is also speculating over whether Cookie is fit to Captain the ship. The words have not been spoken but, as closest relative, Jemma is assumed to be the beneficial owner of the ship in the absence of a Last Will and Testament.
Jemma and Rob join the others, several minutes apart. Elroy announces, "we figure the plan is to take Backdrop down planetside and try and find a buyer for the parts. Maybe strip off the weapons and use them ourselves. But it really depends on what you intend doing. Have you been through the Captain's things to see who owns this boat?"
"No. Not yet. It's been pretty eventful since he..." She trails off. Then continues, "I suppose we need to have Dexter here try and make contact with Childs' guy on the ground. Then work out what we gonna do with the icicle woman." Cookie talks quietly, not without confidence, but not completely focused either.
"But what are you gonna do? Assuming the ship is yours," Elroy presses her. The others shift uncomfortably. Rob flashes an angry look at the pilot, given the interrogation of his sister-figure.
"I don't know. I"." she begins to stand. Just then a proximity alert comes through on the Galley intercom. Any options involving turning around or stopping may have evaporated. Elroy runs down to the bridge to find a visual enhancement of an Alliance cruiser coming the other way. It hails them.
"This is Cruiser Dortmunder. You are approaching restricted space. Please identify." The voice is business-like but not especially concerned, i.e. the operator is following routine.
"Um. This is freighter LOST, inbound for Boros."
There is a delay while some offline discussion may be occurring with a superior. Luckily the reply comes back, "Your e-tag is in order. However, you are required to adjust course away from Ares. Failure to do so will have unfortunate consequences for your ship. Have a nice day."
Elroy wipes the sweat from his brow. It appears that LOST is not on a hotlist for the flight from Santo, at least not yet.
Dexter and Jay have gathered around Elroy on the flightdeck. They all breathe a sigh of relief.
Rob leaves the galley after Cookie who heads for the Captain's quarters. An overwhelming curiosity has consumed the teenager. He makes his way to the shuttle level where, previously, he directly accessed into the ship's computer and comms services. Once there he immediately patches into the terminal and experiences the usual flood of information. However, this time there is a difference. It is more like complete mastery of every electronic circuit of LOST. He feels he could pilot, perform diagnostics, cook dinner and do everything else to run the ship simultaneously.
Rob accesses all the Captain's personal, deeply encrypted, records. It is startling because the encryption systems used had obviously come from a high level military source that Rob has enough training to recognise. He cuts right through the firewalls like a knife through butter. The Captain's life, at least every aspect he cared to write down, are revealed to the boy.
Jay checks the woman's vital signs which seem to be normal. Brain activity is beginning to even out and the pulse is steady. He takes some time to study her features; not the first time he has taken a close look at their guest.
She is Caucasian, about five foot six, raven haired and, by most conventions, very attractive; more so now that the stasis-plasm has been cleaned away. As her chest heaves in a slow rising and falling motion Jay's hand hovers over her. Then he jumps back as she violently gasps, as if reliving the awakening process.
"Proteus''!" she shouts, still coming to consciousness, "so many are going to die." frozen in time"..like"..the atrocity of it."
Jay looks around. The galley is empty and he is alone in the infirmary with the recovering woman. She opens her eyes, confused, looking around; down at the bonds that hold her in place.
"Where am I?" she asks, fearfully, but calming down as slow realisation dawns. "Where is everyone else?"
"You are on a space freighter called LOST. Who is everyone else?" Jay replies, trying to remain calm.
"No. When? What year is it?!"
"Er," Jay supposes he should have guessed that she may have been frozen for a few years, so in the circumstances, not an unreasonable question. He answers, "2520."
There is a brief registration of shock before her eyes roll back in her head and she lapses back to unconsciousness.
3
Theyare now two hours from reaching the point where Elroy will have to put LOST into geostationary orbit around Boros. The crew is gathered in the usual meeting place, the galley, sharing a meal. They will reach the planet surface in its morning. The destination is Keenan City, affectionately (or insultingly) known as "Scrapville".
Jemma has been shut away in the Captain's quarters for at least half a day, alone with her thoughts. She now joins the others, purposefully walking into the room she speaks, "OK. Everyone here? Listen up." She reaches the table and slams a piece of paper onto its surface.
"A letter from Denny to me. Don't know how or when he planned on giving it to me but here it is." Everyone is silent as she continues. "He had a bad heart condition, and pretty much knew it. But, like a lot of stubborn men, he wouldn't get treatment. Or maybe didn't want it. Maybe figured his time should run out naturally.
"Anyways. It's all here. He wanted me to have the ship. Don't know how legal this all is, since the letter is only a year old and it might not be officialised and the like. But it's good enough for me. And it should be good enough for you too. What's more, I'll fight for it should anyone try and take it away from me." This causes some uncomfortable shuffling. The veteran pilot especially is not used to this kind of talk from a woman. However, he is forced to admit, whatever presence of authority the Captain had, he could now see some of that fire in his neice.
"Had a lot of time to be thinking. Felt it might be time to go back to the Core, start working as a medic again. Maybe go become a doctor like I always planned before I hooked back up with my Uncle again." She is careful not to sway too far into sentimental territory with this last statement, "but the truth is I have lived more in the last few years than my whole life before it. The Captain had a way of finding trouble, but a way of getting out of it too. Mind you, ain't never been so exciting since you guys arrived." She manages a smile.
"Denny always used to say, 'you can lay down and let life stampede all over you, feelin' sorry for yourself, or you can take it by the horns and wrestle 'til you beat it; or die tryin' and the tone of this letter confirms what he wanted for me. And it weren't no white wedding dress and holiday home on Newhall." She pauses to again search the faces; all of whom remain speechless.
"Now I know I still have a choice, but what I choose is to keep on flyin'. Make a living as best and however I can. I said you guys are welcome to the Backdrop itself. Rip it apart, or fly away with it; I don't care. But the Captain brought all the big guns on board, so they stay here. Might be needin' them." Jemma had a point. Those gathered were beginning to think they were out of a job and/or transport.
"But that brings me to a proposition. The ship stays in my name and I already said that a ship ain't no democracy. You can call me Captain." Rob smiles at that. It is more or less what he had hoped would happen. He whispers a triumphant, "yes''!" to himself.
"However, I am offering a buy-in. An even split of all future proceeds after the running costs are paid out and after the ship is equipped with whatever extra bells and whistles we can salvage from that pirate ship". This is a turn up for the books. The rogues of the crew look at each other quizzically.
Her voice softens, "this is the only time I will apologise for showing any weakness after losing my Uncle. We start fresh from here. You do as I say, when I say it. And if that's not shiny, then you have two hours to pack your bags."
At last she sits down. "To my view, this is how the Captain would have wanted it. Keep the crew together. Pull together".especially you two." She indicates Jay and Rob, who each look at her and then each other across the table.
There is a silence that seems like eternity. Minds race, but ultimately it is a simple yes or no question. Jay reaches into his breast pocket and slowly pulls out a small flask. He tips some of the amber liquid into his coffee cup and lifts it. "To the Captain. ''Gon Beh" It is a cleverly ambiguous double meaning. But Rob is in no doubt to whom he is referring, "To the Captain!"
The others slowly raise their cups, some of the uncertainty of their future alleviated.
The new Captain takes a deep breath, almost a sigh, now that her speech is over. "Consensus seems to be that we detach Backdrop and take her down to Scrapsville with the casket. You are all to go and get that job done. Get a chance to talk among yourselves. I ain't afraid of no plotting, or I wouldn't be making this offer in the first place. I will stay here to go through the rest of the Captain's things. From the Captain's contact book I can find a few mentions of Childs and Boros. His cousin is Vinny Childs," she turns to Dexter, "you need to contact him. And hope that whatever shitstorm is following that casket doesn't get here before you offload it."
The meeting appears to be almost over. Elroy begins to rise as there is a fair amount of prep work to be done to transfer cargo between ships for Backdrops final flight before the scrap yard.
Cookie raises her hand, "and another thing. I think our dearly departed Captain would have seen the humour in putting a body in the casket to make it look authentic. It might seem a little cold, but the Captain is going in. He's just a piece of meat now. My friend is gone, out there in the stars or, I like to think, part of this very ship. We're keeping it flying for him. But ain't no use keeping his frozen bones on board. He can help us out one last time."
Rob sits alone with the Captain's body. He is beyond tears now; a simple acceptance that Jemma's decision is the best one for the crew and their future, including the part about putting Denny in the box.
She watches him from the doorway, having moved past the still sleeping woman. The boy looks up, "Jemma, I was just saying good-bye. There are some things I have to tell you." His words come out like a wave; explaining how he opened the box and hacked into the ship's computer and the Captain's personal records which, incidentally, verifies Jemma's story about the letter. He then stands and faces her, they are of even height, he not yet fully grown to a man. Trembling he reaches behind his head and pulls out the cable providing a direct interface between his organic mind and computers.
While the other news is unsurprising, seeing the boy reveal his dark secret leaves her in silent astonishment. He begins to explain, "I was taken as a baby and implanted with this NIDAI chip. They trained me to talk with computers, in a totally new way. Except as I grew up I never knew what being normal was like. So I escaped and, I found out from the Captain's records, he may have had something to do with it. He knows about what the government and corporations are up to. At least when I was being hunted he appeared out of nowhere and sheltered me. Basically I had to trust someone and he provided an open door. He sent them away. He saved me and brought me on the ship."
"Quite a story. I know he thought very highly of you, got closer more quickly than was his usual way."
"Are you going to turn me in, or kick me off the ship?" There is naked fear in his voice. So unexpected that she actually smiles.
"Of course not!" She says sternly. "In fact, it seems that this may be another chance to carry on Denny's work. Perhaps between us, the written notes and the computer records, we can piece it together, maybe help the other children where you come from."
After the recent despair Rob had been experiencing, this was like a lifeline. Someone he could trust and love like part of a real family. Rob hugs Jemma. She returns the affection but after a short embrace pushes him away.
"Listen, I am the captain now. And it won't work to be playing favourites, 'least not in the open. So you have to show some distance in front of the others. Keep it formal."
"Okay Jemma, umm"Captain Jemma."
There is a knock at the door. Dexter is there with Lee to move the dead captain's body to the hold where Jay is preparing the casket.
As the crew prepare for arrival to Boros Dexter takes some time to visit the woman in the infirmary. As he enters she is awake and watches him keenly. "My name is Dexter Salem. How are you feeling?"
"Better. Pleased to meet you." Her accent is hard to place, but not unfamiliar. Furthermore there is an otherworldly quality to her use of English. The phrasing she uses is".classical. She lies, still bound, on the diagnostic bed.
"Would you like some food or drink?" Dexter is acting on his own initiative and none of the others is aware of this encounter.
"Yes. That would be novel," she replies with a slight smile. "I don't suppose you could untie me. The convulsions seem to have abated."
"Of course." He intends only untying one arm, so she can hold a cup, but she quickly turns to remove the strap from the left arm. Dexter notices and hopes to himself she is not some kind of psychopathic killer. "Come through to the galley. I'll fix something to eat."
She swings her legs around and tests the floor, being some time since she has stood on her feet. There is a sign of minor muscle atrophy but nothing that some exercise will not cure. She makes her way to the door and Dexter returns to support her to the table. "You are so kind. I have been awake for an hour or two and no one came to check on me," and adds, "I am Stephanie."
"Delighted. Some of the people on board can be a little unrefined," he sighs.
Stephanie is somewhat reserved about the bowl of food presented, but slowly tests her ability to eat again. "It looks like humanity made it then. The experiment worked." Dexter looks puzzled. Jay had mentioned the previous conversation where this woman was shocked at the year, but even so her words are oblique. She sees his confusion and announces, "I am from Earth."
He leaves his preparation of two coffee mugs and sits down, staring at her, "who's a what?"
"I am/was a scientific officer on an orbital station, Verity. Surely you must know that the planet was dying and generation ships, like the ones you are presumably descended from, had been built and sent out over a number of years." Dexter hides his shock well. He is even composed enough to sense that she is telling the truth or, he thinks, what she believes to be the truth. This woman might be insane.
"Of course, the Earth's resources continued to dwindle and the whole population could not possibly fit into the ships that were leaving. Slowly people started to realise this and there was civil unrest. Supply lines were interrupted and the last ships were unfinished. The hulls and engines were in place but conventional life support and the means to continue to produce food for the journey could not be completed. We used stasis units from Verity and installed them. We were interred and our ship Diuturnus left Earth on 14 July 2245. That is the last I remember."
"Whoa. I only asked you of you wanted a cup of coffee."
Stephanie smiles, "we were supposed to be woken up when we reached the new system, the ship was obviously on auto-pilot. But where is everyone? How did I get here?"
These were questions he could not answer, "I have no idea. How many stasis pods were there on your ship".Diu"Diut.."
"Diuturnus''. Thousands. I don't even know the exact number. How can you not know where they are? Where did I come from?"
"Listen, we were just on our way to sell you" he stops himself, but too late.
"Sell me?! What kind of a civilisation is this now?"
"Everyone's gotta make a living. We're not so bad. Once you get to know us", and we're not shooting each other, he thinks.
He manages to calm her down as Rob enters the galley with wide eyed bewilderment, any anger she has is overwhelmed by the boy's enthusiasm and torrent of questions. He lets a few things slip in the excitement and Dexter notices that somehow the boy knew she was from Earth before asking the question. It is a small leap then to supposing he must have opened the box. The boy does not deny it.
Hearing voices, the rest of the crew find their way into the galley and are introduced to Stephanie. The Captain reiterates the plan to take Backdrop and offload the casket in the process. Elroy subtly hands her his handgun because, after all, she will be alone with the Earthling. Cookie takes this either as a positive sign of friendship, or very shrewd manipulation. She prefers the former.
The viewscreen flickers into the image of a man whom Dexter finds vaguely familiar in appearance to Lewis Childs. "What?" the man asked.
"Is that Vincent Childs?" the man coughs acknowledgement, "I understand you were waiting to hear from me. I have a package from your cousin."
"Ah, I see. Yes, I been waiting."
A conversation follows. Vinny explains that he can set up a meeting for 3pm that afternoon, with the potential buyer, Hector von Steinhaus. There is a scrapyard on the edge of town where von Steinhaus does business called 'Sam's Scrap Emporium'. Dexter asks if this man may be able to help with selling Backdrop. However, it is better not to mix the business. He gives him the name of another scrap merchant.
Dexter notes that in general Vinny does not seem under undue stress. He is simply the middle man setting up a deal for his cousin. Dexter signs off and disconnects from the public terminal.
Jay and Rob have meanwhile gone to find supplies, the two crew members seeming to have, without a word, buried the hatchet (thankfully in neither's head).
The scrapyard is typically messy but functional. Sparks fly in random directions as Dexter, Lee and Elroy enter the vast hangar. They are greeted by the owner himself, Rex Brown, and get down to business.
"We have a modified Hotaru that we need some parts salvaged from to install on a Scarab. We'd prefer a no-questions asked transaction. Just looking to make a bit on the leftover ship which is in exceptional condition."
They go into more detail based on the plans that Elroy has brought. The positioning of the weapons is discussed. It is decided to mount these in custom built cowlings. The scrap merchant is impressed with the ship. Rex's price is eighteen hundred credits once the modifications have been accounted for. Considering they want to keep a low profile, this is a fair deal.
Dexter then goes on to ask, "when we were looking round for who to come to, the name von Steinhaus came up a few times. Seems he's been buying up a lot of the local places. But I don't like dealing with a major franchise."
"Not too much that I know of. He's definitely a bigger player. I like to keep things under the radar."
"He's Alliance?"
"He's a businessman. Trades with whoever has the deepest pockets. I know there have been allegations of illegal salvage, but that might just be gossip. He keeps his nose clean from the authorities, but everyone on this rock has something to hide."
The exchange does not leave them much the wiser with regard to doing business with von Steinhaus. He is clearly a big player in the scrap game, not the sort to be a collector of antiquities".
The crew reconvene at Backdrop in the early afternoon. For a modest deposit Dexter has commandeered a courtesy transport from the scrapyard. They will, however, need to charter a space ship taxi service to get back to LOST after Backdrop goes into dry dock. Once LOST is in the hangar for the modification work it will take at least a week.
After a light snack they load up the transport and head for the address given to them by Vinny Childs.
4
The streets on the way out of town are dusty and the traffic is light. The day is warm and wearing a ballistic mesh vest under clothes is somewhat uncomfortable due to the heat. Consequently, all the crew is sweating, except Dexter, who foregoes wearing armour in favour of winning charm.
The borrowed transport, a simple wheeled flatbed with a canvas cover, pulls up outside some imposing gates designated 'Sam's Scrap Emporium'. There is a reception/office building to one side and Vinny Childs stands in the shade, next to a hover scooter. He approaches the truck and recognises Dexter. "Afternoon folks, you bring everything?"
"Everything we need," Dexter replies. In fact he is lying or deliberately ambiguous as it was decided to leave the casket on Backdrop. They did, however, make a recording to display as evidence to von Steinhaus that they are in possession of the goods.
Vinny approaches a commpoint at the gate and announces, "they're here." After a few moments the gates rumble open revealing a massive open compound. They had been expecting this as a perusal of city maps had shown a basic layout for the Emporium.
Three huge spacecraft hangars are seen at the far end of the open ground. The wide Boulevard is flanked y large pieces of machinery and high storage lofts. As they drive in Elroy notices a solitary figure overlooking the gatehouse. This is not an especially well fortified property, but barbed wire fences surround it to provide a basic barrier against intruders.
Elroy brings the truck around so that he faces sideways to the entrance. Dexter, at the left hand door immediately sees who is, presumably, Hector von Steinhaus smiling a welcome. "Mr. Salem I presume," he says as Dexter, Lee and Rob climb down from the cab. On the other side Elroy and Jay exit the truck.
The ship's engineer makes his way around the vehicle and curiously enters the hangar, while Dexter engages in conversation.
"A very interesting find you have from what I understand," von Steinhaus begins.
"Indeed," immediately trying to read the situation and any danger he may wish to avoid.
Von Steinhaus puts his arm around him and begins walking toward the rear of the truck. "Childs and I discussed a basic finder's fee. I assume this is still acceptable."
Dexter nods and signals to Rob to bring the Cortex terminal. As they reach the end of the flatbed von Steinhaus notices the truck is empty. "I don't understand. Where is the box?"
"We are just couriers, sir, we wanted to make sure it was what you wanted and a price agreed before ringing it all the way down here." Dexter shows the images on the Cortex terminal. Initially uninterested and slightly irritated von Steinhaus looks closely and appears satisfied the box looks authentic.
"Strange way of doing business. I couldn't give a damn about the box," he pauses, "or what's in it. Just that its out there. You appreciate its not worth an old cent to someone without the salvage capability and the smarts to avoid any official meddling. Childs understood that. Otherwise it'd just end up being beaten into the shape of an Alliance cruiser. Mind you, it might anyway, but no harm in having a middle man, eh?" He laughs.
Hopelessly confused, but at least at ease that von Steinhaus is not about to put a bullet in his head, Dexter nods and smiles.
As the meeting progresses Elroy thinks he notices a moving glint in the sun"among all the other scrap. Jay attempts to get a look within the hangar. The assembled henchmen are not too keen on him wandering deep into the work area. There is a large partially disassembled spaceship, but hardly recognisable in this stripped down state. Jay moves out of the hangar as a message crackled through on the communicator; each of the crew being equipped with an earpiece using Backdrop as a relay station for LOST in orbit, "guys, we have company up here. There's an Alliance patrol boat inbound and it's ha" Jemma's voice is cut off to white noise. Rob is not sure but he swears he hears a voice mocking them. Then silence.
A more astute henchman approaches Elroy who, with a concerned look, is straining his senses toward inbound trouble and understandably nervous about the unfinished message from his captain. A roar of hover thrusters sounds as an ASREV appears over the scrap pile in front of the truck. They are all blasted by its propulsion and hot dust churning up the compound. The cannon of the gunship slowly tracks the ground transport as an announcement blares over loudspeakers. "Halt! For conspiracy to undertake illegal salvage you are hereby bound by law!"
Von Steinhaus's men have reacted by taking up arms, aiming into the sky. There is a tense standoff. Jay slowly tries to uncover the awning on the truck to show they have nothing to hide. The scrap merchant swings around with wild eyes, "you must have lead them here, Childs said you were discreet!" Authentically, Dexter looks baffled by everything.
A henchman's nerve fails and a short burst of machine gun fire bounces off the armour of the hovering tank. It is answered by controlled shots from the ground in front of them. Alliance ground police troops can be seen securing their entry points into the compound. The man falls. His boss yells, "put your weapons down!" He places his hands behind his head and begins to walk forward, "we don't want any trouble officer, I am a friend of the major, I think you'll find I am some kind of victim"
A missile streaks across the yard from the opposite side and explodes against the gunship. It immediately begins to spin out of control as its stabiliser wing is left a wreck. Everyone hits the deck from the pulse wave. Von Steinhaus begins to crawl for cover in the hangar.
Elroy is already starting the engine, having climbed back into the truck at the first glimpse of the gunship. "Everybody in!" he shouts frantically. Leaving barely a moment for his colleagues to climb into the cab, he hits reverse. Shots ring out from behind them and then splintered metal and sparks rain off the truck from frontal fire. The truck swings, backing toward the hangar and the windshield shatters but remains intact. Dexter grabs the rifle and bashes the butt through the window, clearing away glass. Rob is pinned to the floor in the back while Elroy and Dexter attract bullets in the chaos.
Elroy is winded but his mesh absorbs most of the bloody hurt. Dexter, his winning charm losing against caseless pain, begins to bleed.
Foot to the floor, the truck lurches forward on the road to freedom (or a big gate). Unfortunately the gunship, its pilot unable to maintain control any longer, hits the ground in front of them. Dirt and flames fill the air which no amount of expert driving can save them from. The truck ploughs into the cockpit of the crashed machine, bringing Elroy face to face with the dead pilot. Behind him the weapons officer screams as he is unable to free himself from the burning wreckage. Flashbacks send Elroy over the edge. He begins screaming.
Keeping somewhat more dignity, Dexter helps Rob out of the other side as Lee jumps to the ground surveying the situation. They can see soldiers advancing although they do not seem intent of shooting them down.
Jay pulls Elroy, still struggling and babbling, out of the cab. They both collapse. As the veteran pilot looks back at the flames he runs in the opposite direction. Thinking it may be useful the engineer reaches into the cab and retrieves the assault rifle.
Elroy, panic stricken, heads for the scrapped machines where a separate armoured force is emerging to battle the Alliance police. Methodically they move forward and take positions, making their way to the back of the truck. Out of the prevailing smoke from burning wreckage strewn across the compound a dark suited figure walks toward the catatonic LOST pilot. Elroy tries to run past, ignoring him, but the man punches him to the ground. He says, with cold precision, "where is it? The documents don't show a thing. Where is the Armageddon ship!"
He shakes Elroy who, ironically, begins to calm down from his hysterics. "I have no idea."
A second man, dressed identically, appears behind the first, "have you seen the box?" He produces a rod-like implement from him breast pocket. Elroy's hesitation to simply deny the question prompts him to activate it. A searing pain starts in his head, as if his very brain was boiling. He tries to shrink back but the first man is still holding him down.
Through tears, as his last sanity would have evaporated, he sees the head of the standing man contort and break apart. A controlled burst from Jay's assault rifle ends the torment. The device is thrown to the side.
Elroy can see his own reflection in the dark glasses of the other man as he looks up. However, Jay cannot risk a shot with him so close over Elroy.
Elroy holds a grenade in his hand, which is quickly buried deep into the shirt of the suited man to his great shock. It is somewhat difficult to maintain composure in the face of self-explosion and so he rears up, frantically trying to find the small bomb. In the crazed movements Elroy clearly sees the sleeve of some kind of bright blue suit under the black gloves. But he is already turning to stumble away.
Elroy is knocked to the ground as the grenade rips the man apart. Jay is quickly with him, to make their way to the sleek skiff they can see parked in between the rows of vehicle parts.
The other three scramble around the backside of the truck, now swarming with soldiers. Somehow they are not noticed (after all none are carrying visible weapons) and sprint toward where, in the smoky distance they can see Jay supporting Elroy in a disabled lope toward the skiff.
Dexter throws a grenade toward troops holding down positions, this draws some fire and the boy is shot in the back, lucky that he is wearing ballistic mesh. More explosions ring out as shoulder mounted rockets are traded between the opposing forces.
By the time Dexter, Rob and Lee reach the skiff Elroy is in the driver's seat, seemingly kept conscious on adrenaline. He takes a moment to familiarise himself with the controls, it is beautifully designed, and hits the ignition. The craft smoothly rotates full circle and guns it toward a neatly burned hole in the wire fence. At the discovery of the fallen agents (or whatever they are) a few rockets fly into adjacent scrap from pursuing soldiers, but they are too fast. Too gone.
On the cramped journey back to the Port Rob sits in a rear seat with a Cortex terminal adjacent. He activates it and is surprised to be greeted by a holographic logo for the Blue Sun Corporation, rotating above the screen. With some superficial investigation he finds the ship itself is a relative blackspot, with no information for who owns it or where it was built. He notes a peripheral device socket that is very familiar to him. This can be revisited later in seclusion.
Once parked up next to Backdrop they disembark from the skiff. It is a topic of general discussion what they should do with the new vehicle. Due to its unique nature it will probably stick out like a sore thumb, and will not fit into the hold, so abandoning it appears to be the only option"or trying to sell it to Rex Brown in lieu of the truck that is now wrecked at Sam's Scrap Emporium.
Rob stays behind on the sleek black hovercraft and, with the door closed, plugs into the terminal. There is a familiar rush of data and he immediately faces complex encryption which he is trained to deal with.
He manages to access shadow code, not normally visible to standard employees of Blue Sun. This is a private part of the network where he is able to see recent reports submitted by the agents. The men are identified only as HOB 093 and HOB 117. The writing is clinical and concise with no betrayal of emotion or empathy. Both men appear to have origins in Londinium, from the very brief overview that passes as a personal profile. Age and biometric data is also given.
Rob concludes that these men had followed a trail from Santo a few days previously, but not specifically tracking LOST itself. They interrogated and eliminated Lewis Childs although he was of little use in the end. He appeared not to be personally aware of the location of Proteus. He did divulge his plan to have Captain Asheim transport the package, with an escort by the name of Dexter Salem, to his cousin on Boros. The exact buyer was unknown, but it should be assumed that it is a businessman capable of financing a large-scale salvage operation.
Vincent Childs was watched and followed to Sam's Scrap Emporium where there was just enough time to call in armoured reinforcement from assets outside the city. Scans of government channels suggest that local law enforcement had been tipped off from within Hector von Steinhaus' organisation of the prospect of a massive salvage opportunity. The assumption is that other covert Alliance agencies monitor for large illegal salvage operations as a high priority. The risk of Proteus falling into the wrong hands is a clear and present danger to the maintenance of Core stability.
Rob sits back in shock. Blue Sun is behind the private army that attacked the police at the scrapyard. He still hovers in cyber-space, one with the network, seeing the multiple nodes, trying to press deeper into the mystery. But he digs too deep.
Neutralising security measures have thus far worked perfectly, for example his hacking of the Captain's records was flawless, but this is partly because the technology he is equipped with is so experimental that there is no way to recognise its use. The current system is more sophisticated, at least in the sense that its programmers are aware of NIDAI technology.
The system took some time to react to the breech because it has never happened before. Rob notices a subtle alarm tripped when the second agent's records are accessed. It was almost nothing, but then his heart plunges to his stomach. He is being watched. In this virtual environment it is exactly like the feeling when someone stands outside a window in the darkness. Even though the watcher's breathing cannot possibly be heard, its presence is there. Invisible but ominous.
"Welcome back three point nine."
Lee sits alone in the bridge of Backdrop. Jay is patching up Dexter and Elroy in the rudimentary medical bay, not nearly so well equipped as LOST. The commscreen flickers and she is drawn to it as a face coalesces into shape.
The voice is confident, refined, "Hello young miss. I have been looking forward to meeting you and your crew."
Lee looks closely at the features. The man talking to her is vaguely familiar. His face appeared on the identity card found in the stolen Alliance equipment. It is Mark Green. Lee is somewhat speechless.
Sensing the confusion, Mr. Green moves aside from the screen and another, even more familiar face comes into view, with a pistol held at her chin. Jemma puts on a brave face, but it is clear she is a hostage.
5
The dark skinned man moves back into frame on the commscreen. "Now that I have your attention, I have a very simple proposal. You have something of mine; a small cache of weapons and official armour, but more importantly, biometric access cards that are very valuable to me. In return you get your captain, your ship, and no further quarrel. Meet here for docking at LOST in three hours." The screen flickers and goes blank.
Lee, slightly numb, withdraws from the bridge and moves down the corridor toward the hold and the infirmary. She nearly collides with Jay. They blurt almost simultaneously, "we have a problem", "what?", "you too?"
Jay is on his way to engineering to try and find a cutting torch. He relays that the kid has gotten himself deadlocked in the skiff. Lee continues the conversation on their communicators. Various suggestions (to the boy's mounting distress) are tabled to fire a rocket, or use the assault cannon to pry open the armoured skiff before Dexter switches off the link to Rob and the remaining crew have a serious ethical discussion about whether to leave the kid and captain behind, taking Backdrop and sailing off into the sunset.
Back in the stolen hovercraft Rob has time to contemplate the brief conversation he has just had with Dr. Carpathia, a voice he had hoped never to encounter again. The doctor had said that all would be forgiven when he came back. When. Rob stolidly explained that he would be doing no such thing, that his childhood had been stolen and there was such a wondrous world outside the walls of the institution where he was raised.
Unfortunately, after disconnecting himself from the link to Blue Sun's private net, the vehicle had announced in a pleasant female voice, "unauthorised access detected; shutdown initiated. Local law enforcement has been informed. Have a nice day."
Rob is broken from his reverie by the sound of sirens drawing close. Local police had reacted incredibly swiftly. Several hover cruisers race into the Space Port compound.
Seconds later Jay speaks to him over the earpiece. "Kid, we have another idea, Elroy's gonna take off"."
"You're leaving me!?" his voice has raised several octaves.
"and lift you off with the grappling hook. The skiff is too big to fit into the hold. Anyhow, take some cover in there."
"You're harpooning me?!"
Backdrop, its engines already prepped, lifts off to a low hover and swings around. The policemen on the ground have exited their cruisers and taken up defensive positions, having had to assess the situation, which they assumed just to be a routine stolen vehicle callout, very quickly.
They watch, dumbfounded, as a spear ejects from the ship and punches through the rear of the skiff. They can see hooks spread out and catch the vehicle as it is lifted into the air. They begin firing rifles in vain. Rob is hauled to the front of the cockpit as the disabled skiff dips downward. Bullets bounce off the armoured glass.
As Backdrop speeds over the city out into the desert the grappling cable is reeled in, stabilising flight. When at a safe distance, some fifteen minutes flying away, Elroy gently eases the skiff to rest on the ground, disconnects the hook and lands to drop off Lee. She rushes out with the high powered assault rifle and proceeds to blast away at the windscreen. The noise on the inside is deafening and white hot splinters of metal burst around the cockpit. After clearing away the glass Rob, smouldering, emerges. He does, however, manage a profuse "thank you" to his crewmen.
There is a further consultation period regarding how to approach LOST; whether to attempt a full-on assault, delicate negotiation or some combination in between. Rob points out that they can expect an Alliance patrol boat to be present (Cookie had said as much before her commlink went dead), and (noting Elroy's flat refusal to deal with the Alliance) Mr Green is not likely to be acting in any official governmental capacity. The patrol boat is probably stolen.
After much debate it is decided to give Mark Green what he really wants `- the ID cards (it is not possible to synthesize them as is proposed) `- but say that the rest of the weaponry has been sold. They will play the meeting by ear, but since the ships will be directly in line between the moon and the planet and local space relatively teeming with official activity, neither party will wish to attract attention.
After all plans are agreed, the untrusting teenager accesses the ship's computer from a terminal in the medbay, which is not ideal. He installs a Trojan horse to trip if the Backdrop's engines are activated before they are all on board `- essentially to stop Elroy (and possibly Jay as an accomplice) from leaving them in the stardust.
The airlock hisses open at the minor pressure difference. Jay stands guard at the Backdrop end of the umbilicus connecting them to the port side of LOST. On approach they confirm a patrol boat, roughly twice the length of either of their ships, can be seen docked to the other side.
Dexter moves into LOST, followed by Lee and Rob. There is an armed man standing in the flightdeck doorway of LOST indicating that they are to proceed upstairs to the galley.
At the top of the stairs the boy tries to sneak around the corner and detach himself, undetected, from the boarding party. The attempt is unsuccessful. A second mercenary-like soldier spots him and brings him in line to the galley.
Dexter steps forward, "Mr Green I presume," holding out his hand.
Mark Green takes it and shakes with a firm grip. "Yes, indeed. And you are?"
Shifting uncomfortably, considering whether to deliver a fabricated name, but deciding not to bother he responds, "Dexter Salem."
The trio look around the room and note that Jemma and Stephanie appear to be bound but unhurt. There is a woman, presumably Jill Green, standing in the infirmary doorway and two further armed men.
"Well, I do dislike formalities; down to business. You have the cards?"
"They are ready to be handed over. We wanted to make sure there was nothing underhanded involved in this transaction. How do we know we can trust you?" Dexter replies.
"You have my word." Normally such an attempt at rhetoric can be dismissed but, the gambler senses, there is an unreal nobility and sense of honour to this man. Dexter brushes Mark Green's mind and finds an order and purpose never seen in anyone else he has known. It is unnerving and, even though this man is plainly telling the truth, Dexter is ill at ease.
Elroy's voice crackles over the earpiece, "great, say 'good day' and escort him off the ship!"
Rob chimes in "who are you Mr. Green?"
The dark skinned man turns to face the boy, both notice a distant familiarity to the other's character. "Some would call me a mercenary, but I don't believe I have ever been that. Much worse; a killer with faith."
"You are not Alliance. That much I told everyone else. They thought you were."
"No longer; you might say I lost my faith. The central government has a lust for control and maintenance of that control. My job was to protect the Alliance ideal. And I believed it totally," he pauses. Dexter is uncomfortable and wants to move things along. Lee is of a similar opinion, but the young man is clearly eager to learn more. Mr. Green continues, "You will be aware of the Miranda...situation? I expect unless you live in a cave you will be. Well, make no mistake it is true. And, in a way I was part of it. Hiding the truth at least."
Most present are familiar with the stories surrounding Miranda, however, Rob is not. He looks to Dexter who gives a quick synopsis, "apparently the Government tried to pacify the population of the entire planet. They ended up gassing them or something. But it really depends on who you believe. It only happened a few years ago, but there is so much misinformation that, especially out on the border and rim, no one much cared. Some say that when the experiment failed reavers were the result. But it sounds a bit far fetched to me."
"Don't underestimate the lengths that Parliament will go to when they wish to cover something up Mr. Salem."
"Maybe. But why should you care. You had a regular paycheck," Dexter is still wary of the stranger.
"Who now is the mercenary? My reality, everything I had been conditioned to know to be true, was shattered by Miranda. And as a consequence one man gave me a second chance. Redemption; are you familiar with the concept?
"I know what it is!" Rob interjects, but it was probably a rhetorical question.
"So now you parade round the 'Verse impersonating officials and generally causing a nuisance?" Lee speaks up for the first time.
"Young miss, I am more than a nuisance. I have been given a second chance; to redress the balance, in the small way I am able. We identify politicians that present the most threat to that delicate balance of freedom and order and remove them. Call me a moral terrorist. Previously I killed indiscriminately for a purpose. Now I just kill bad people. People who have proven themselves incapable of redemption."
"This guy is a nutcase!" Elroy sagely advises in their private earpieces.
"Look, take your precious cards and leave us the women-folk and the ship like you said." Dexter gestures towards the door. Jemma's eyes narrow. He might pay for the reference to his captain as 'women-folk' later.
"As I said, you have my word. But tell me Mr. Salem, where does the mercenary end and decency begin? Because these worlds are not going to change if left to the official forces that have done such a fine job so far."
Appealing to a sense of honour and duty is not normally the way to Dexter's heart, but Rob answers for him, "it begins when someone is in need. Like on El Dorado we pulled together and helped all those people, with no certainty of success - or even staying alive." Lee rubs her shoulder, still carrying the bullet wounds. Rob looks from Dexter to Mr. Green. "Are you saying there is a chance to help bring down the Alliance?"
Mark Green smiles, betraying humour in one so serious, "Young man, bringing down the Alliance would cause more havoc than has ever been known in human history. I speak of change, not destruction. But yes, there is a place for all of you in this movement."
"If he's got a job then get his number, then ask him to leave," Elroy changes his tune.
Rob's mind is swimming with possibilities. It seems clear that this man knows things that may unlock some of his own secrets. Mark Green hands a small package of contact information to the gambler, smiles at the boy and gestures for his entourage to leave. As they reach the small room between airlocks Jay is there to hand over the ID cards.
Mark Green turns to Rob, who has followed him closely behind, but is addressing them all. "The man who gave me the second chance I spoke of, he was the captain of a fairly unspectacular spaceship with a fairly unspectacular crew, similar to yourselves. But he had honour and courage that I have seen in few. And he made a difference," looking thoughtful as he enters the airlock, the last to exit, he finishes, "his name was Malcolm Reynolds."
The former Operative of The Parliament leaves LOST and the stolen patrol boat disengages and flies away. There is a collective sigh of relief and, in Rob's case, excitement.
"This is the chance for us to make a difference!" for the time being Rob is unable to convince the others of their destiny as saviours of the people; liberators of the 'Verse.
Dexter spends some time speaking with Cookie, checking she is okay and fishing for any information that was not disclosed in Mark Green's lengthy speech. He also gives some attention to Stephanie who was barely acknowledged by their hijackers.
Elroy, having initially failed to ignite the engines of Backdrop now has everything in working order and runs a systems check on LOST to make sure there have been no surprises left by the mysterious visitors. In his concentration he do does not notice a massive flying fortress approaching, not yet within visual range.
"Service ID 17-34-78-114, Freighter Last, you are bound by law. Power down and prepare to be boarded."
Epilogue to follow....everyone is executed.
Following the unexpected death of his heroic captain, Rob was left feeling quite alone once more. The atmosphere of the crew seemed to descend to an unspoken future conflict where he and Cookie might be shunned for profit and greed, leaving Rob feeling even more at risk of being alone, maybe stranded on some god-forsaken backwater planet with no other means of exploring the Black than his imagination.
But then things started to look up. Cookie dealt with her grief and stepped up to her new role as captain. Clearly no replacement for the Captain, but his flesh and blood none the less and a fixed point for him to hold on to.
But much more importantly, Rob found (after some extraordinary hacking) the old Captain's journals. They showed a completely new side to the Captain's life, and his relationship to Rob himself. Rob had thought himself immensely lucky to have been saved by the Captain as he escaped the Blue Sun Corporation. He had come running down the streets of the space port of planet Santos, with Blue Sun henchmen close on his heels just around the corner when he had seen the Captain for the first time. He had been refuelling his ship as he saw the panicking boy running for his life. He quickly opened a small storage compartment on the side of the ship and yelled "In here boy, quick!". Rob had taken a gut decision to trust the stranger. He climbed into the small compartment and the stranger shut the door leaving him in total darkness.
Only then did Rob realise just what a mess he was in. This stranger could be a slave trader. Or maybe he was working for the Reevers in some way. A thousand horrible thoughts were replaced by a single one as he heard a deep voice outside say "Did you see a teenager run past your ship just now?" "Maybe he will sell me back to the Blue Sun!" Rob thought, panic rushing through him again but staying quiet. "A teenager? In a white hospital-like tunic? Yeah, he ran down that street." Rob heard the stranger say. "There is quite a handsome reward for him." the deep voice said with a slight suspicious tone. "Really?" the stranger said with a much more believable acting to him now. "I will be sure to keep an eye out for him then, if he comes back. Where should I turn him in to for the reward?" "The Blue Sun Corporation lost and found." the deep voice responded.
The stranger had cemented his place as Rob's personal hero and father figure within the first minutes of their meeting. But Rob had always thought the Captain's presence and goodness an amazing stroke of good luck and coincidence. But the journals said otherwise. The Captain had been investigating the Blue Sun Corp for some time, finding hints that they were experimenting on children. He had come to the Santos to try and find out more. The coincidence was that his arrival coincided with the only breakout of the NIDAI institution in its history.
So the Captain had known. Known that Rob was not just some run-away kid, but something more. Oh how he now wished that he had told the Captain what he was, they could have been even closer. He could have confided in the Captain, he would not have turned him away. Rob decided to tell Cookie everything. Maybe they could share the knowledge it was now too late to share with the Captain.
Confiding in Cookie went better than expected. She was naturally shocked, but did not turn him away. But they never got much chance to talk it through as events spun out of control as they reached Boros.
The attack of the alliance and the mysterious private army at the scrapyard had been a disaster, but a silver lined disaster. Seeing the strange two men with gloves interrogate Elroy to then turn out to be Blue Sun agents had been shocking, but showed that he might have a greater ally in Elroy than previously expected.
His talk with his old master, Dr Carpathia, had been unnerving, but somehow almost enjoyable. Dr Carpathia had not been speaking of punishment and betrayal. Rob had gotten the feeling that Dr Carpathia was instead impressed and maybe even proud of Rob's ability to escape a maximum security facility and then stay hidden. As if this was a highly amusing game. Maybe it was all in Rob's imagination but the effect one way or the other was that Rob now quietly thought of himself in an extremely exiting and adventurous game of hide and seek. And determined to use all his abilities to win!
Finally, the unfortunate capture of his new Captain, the strange earth girl and the LOST had in the end resulted in the meeting of Mr Green. Mr Green immediately brought back memories of Derek, Rob's Captain forever. They both were righteous and honourable men living above the law, fighting a just cause with passion and determination. Both were strong leaders with real presence, men who could and would make a difference. And Rob had immediately recognized a father figure in them both.
Meeting Mr Green caught Rob off-guard. He knew instinctively that he could not loose track of this man, that he was important, not just to the world but to him personally. But he found no arguments with which to convince his crew to go with him. And then suddenly they were saying good bye. Rob was on the verge of asking to switch crew, but he couldn't bring himself to do it, leaving Jemma with a near-mutinous crew. She needed him.
And so Mr Green left.
Had Rob known the future, he would not have worried about not meeting Mr Green again. He would instead have wondered how he could have known so soon just what an important role Mr Green would come to play in his life.