After the thorough exploration of his new ship during the flight back to the Mereus Cluster and another inspection during the week they had waited for the others to arrive with the Hubble, the excitement had died off.
They hadn’t made any noteworthy breakthroughs with their dictionary and as such didn’t get more control over the ship. That meant not only were the blast shields still closed, but most of the doors were the same, preventing Robin and Timothy from entering essential parts of the ship. The dim lights, the dark corridors and the lack of any view outside began to press on their mood.
After the third week Timothy came to Robin and apologized for his lack of compassion when he told him about his lost color vision. Only after experiencing a part of that himself did he understand what it really meant to live a life without colors. Now, at the end of the seventh week on the ship, Timothy had to fight an approaching depression. Robin shared some of his experiences and ways to brighten up his mood every time it threatened to overwhelm him, but they both knew it was time for them to leave this ship.
It wasn’t their place to be… yet.
***
“They are here!” Robin heard the excited shout from his friend who sat at the other station and monitored the little information they could get from the scanners.
“Finally, it was about time…” He muttered when he too spotted the angular chassis of the Hubble in the hologram.
“Let’s go, it’s time to meet the others!” Robin said and Timothy immediately abandoned his seat to rush for the door, a cheer escaping his lips.
They took the lift to the lower deck and double checked their suits and helmet before stepping into the second elevator that took them down the ship’s leg and out into the depths of space.
“Wow…” Robin marveled after he stepped off the platform and began to drift through the void, “That’s completely different from how it was on Ruca II!”
“Of course it is.” Timothy said over the comm, “There is no planet or moon close enough to affect us. We should be subjected to less than 0.05G out here.”
“It is like swimming, just without the water…” Robin chuckled.
“Uh, and less control!” He quickly added after his body turned upside down despite his attempts to frantically rotate his arms.
“You’ll get used to it quickly. Just make sure to stay close to the ship or Niu has to save you from drifting off into the unknown.”
Heeding Timothy’s advice, Robin quickly grabbed one of the armor-plates on the ship and looked around.
Even though everything was dark out here in space, it was different from the oppressing feeling on the Keeper’s ship. The vastness of the void was unimaginable and Mereus, the little glowing dot far in the distance, sent at least some light all the way to the border of the system. The Hubble was also highlighted by this; a long, white cube slowly cutting through the darkness.
When the ship was close enough, the two men pushed themselves off the hull and towards the waiting research vessel. It wasn’t as risky as one might think as Happy could easily collect them even if they messed up the aiming, but Robin felt some pride nonetheless when he drifted towards the open hangar on his first try.
With a hiss the huge door closed behind them and fresh air was pumped into the room by the life support system.
“Atmosphere reestablished. Oxygen level normal, gravity normal.” A monotonous voice blared through the ship and Robin saw Niu rushing in, followed by Landom, after he took off his helmet.
“Welcome back!” The small woman happily shouted and came to a stop right in front of Robin. For a moment it looked like she wanted to take him into a hug but she changed her mind at the last moment and just gave a friendly wave while awkwardly scratching the back of her head with the other hand.
“So, you didn’t die. Great!” She said with a forced smile, set on ignoring the looks of the others.
“Yeah, that’s great. I feel the same!” Robin laughed and turned to Landom to give him a nod, “Everything went well with the Hubble? No problems during the take-off?”
“Nah, it was a child’s play!” Niu waved him off, “How was your trip?”
“Dark and depressing!” Timothy whined before Robin could answer, “We really need to get that ship under proper control. I won’t survive even one more week in there otherwise.”
“You’ll have to return at least once after we had a quick meeting.” Landom said.
“You’ve found a place to hide the ship for the time being?” Robin asked, his face brightening up.
“Yeah, we have something like a plan, but we should start moving. The others are waiting and there also is an incoming comm-request from the UAS. Must be important: they don’t seem to have much patience.”
“Okay, let’s get this over with.” He said and led the others to the meeting room while Timothy was already using his tablet and the renewed connection to the UAS network to catch up on what he had missed.
***
“You are the Captain of the Hubble, right? What the hell took you so long to reach the comm?” Thomas M. Eston asked, sounding more annoyed than actually angry.
“Ah, you know how it is. There is always something to do - it’s a big ship…” Robin lied without putting much effort into it.
“You just have finished a seven-week flight without any outside interference. How could there be anything left to do?” The UAS officer grumbled, “Whatever, we need to have a proper meeting. There are many people asking questions about your mission and why the heck you left the system even after we canceled the contract.”
“We actually have some questions, too.” Robin said and his voice became stern.
“Oh?” Eston perked up, “How bad was it?”
“It was a shit show. We were betrayed and attacked. I’ll give you a complete report later. But right now I need some time to prepare the re-entry to UAS territory.”
“You were attacked? By who?”
“Long story. You can schedule the meeting in three hours. Also, please organize a spot in a medical facility that specializes on complicated cases with shattered bones. Sevastian Vlasov sacrificed much in order to protect the rest of us. I want the best treatment for him.”
“Alright, I already got your report about that incident. We will take good care of him and I’ll see to it personally that the meds fix his arms to a state as good as new.” Eston promised somberly, “Have… there been any more casualties?”
“No, everyone else is fine.”
“Good. Captain, you have three hours to prepare, then it’s time for your report and time to return home!”
“Yes, Sir.”
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When the comm was closed, Robin spoke into the silence of his empty cabin.
“Is there any word from Guard already?”
- Status: pending…
- Connection with UAS network established
- Welcome-Message to main system has been send
- No response from main system
- Retrying to contact…
“Damn, just where is this guy?”
***
“Good to see you all well and healthy!” Robin greeted his crew that had assembled in the meeting room, “We have three hours before I have to give my report to the UAS. I’ll not be able to haggle out another rescheduling. Where is Happy?”
Before anyone could answer, the small woman shuffled through the door, balancing a tray with drinks in one hand.
“Already here, Captain Sir!” She said and tried to give a sloppy salute with her free hand.
“Damn!” Robin scolded.
“We need to dock at an established station, soon.” Niu complained while she handed out a drink for everyone, “These are the last cocktails until we get new booze!”
“You’ve heard the girl!” Patience rumbled, “Stop stalling and start talking - we need to go!”
Robin had to restrain himself from facepalming but at the end, he couldn’t suppress a grin creeping on his face. He had missed his friends. While it had been a dangerous adventure and not without sustaining heavy injuries, he really enjoyed the trip with them.
The grin slowly faded away when he remembered that their time together would soon come to an end.
‘They have their own lives to live…’ He thought and shook his head. Then he raised his drink and gave a toast.
“To us, that we managed to fulfill the mission, came back in one piece and that we had a crazy adventure in which we all became friends and even family!”
“To awesome adventures!” Happy shouted and everyone joined in.
“Good, let’s begin. First of all, as I just said, it’s great to see that everyone has returned home in one piece.”
“Well, I have some more pieces than before…” Sevastian interrupted and clumsily waved one of his mangled arms.
“Yeah.” Robin sighed, “Thanks again, mate. We all know and appreciate what you’ve paid to protect us.”
“It was a sacrifice worthy of a hero!” Patience teased and gave him a kiss on his cheek.
“So, to start off with good news: I already got confirmation from Mr. Eston that the UAS will fix you up and get you back in tip-top shape. No lasting injuries.”
“That…” Sevastian began but didn’t know how to continue. When he entered the fight with the Alpha Stalker he put his life at stake. He ultimately survived but effectively losing both arms was a heavy price to pay. He tried to play it down with the others, but deep down he was scared. He never dared to dream of the possibility of regaining his mobility. What if he was just clinging to false hope?
“...thank you, Robin. I mean it!” He stammered and Patience encouragingly bumped his shoulder.
“Of course, you’re welcome. It’s not like I can take much credit for the UAS’ support.”
“Bullshit, no one here believes that. We all know how often you turned down immediate personal gains just to increase your standing and give us all more leeway on this mission.”
Looking around, Robin saw all his friends nodding and his heart warmed.
‘That’s my job, protecting my crew, isn’t it?’ He thought and gave them a solemn nod.
“Next I want to talk about the Keeper ship. Landom, you said you had an idea where we could hide it?”
The security officer just looked at Niu who took a quick sip from her cocktail and stood up.
“I think I found a good place for it, yes. No one will find it there. No one will even look there.” She said.
“But? What’s the catch?” Robin asked and when he saw her pout, he laughed.
“There always is a catch. Things are never that easy.”
“Yeah, you are right.” She winced, “We need the UAS to agree…”
There was a collective “What?” in the room and even Ang’Tue raised an eyebrow. While the Eltaran had learned about the relationship between Robin and the UAS over the last weeks, he still was the one least involved.
Happy raised a hand to shut them up and continued, “I’m thinking about the asteroid field where I had to take my exam. It’s not far away and on the way to Rucasur. There are some huge rocks with deep craters floating around in there and the territory is property of the UAS flight academy. No one is allowed to trespass and the next exam is months away.”
“UAS property?” Robin mused and scratched his beard.
“Yeah, that’s why we need permission to enter. But that shouldn’t be a problem. We can just tell them that the Hubble is done for and we need a new ship - which is true, by the way. The shortest way would be through that area and with a ship as small as the Hubble there isn’t much risk involved. The Keeper ship, untraceable as it is, follows us in and gets parked in one of the huge asteroids.”
“Won’t the UAS track the Hubble as soon as we reenter the Mereus Cluster? They will notice when we suddenly stop for no reason. If they ever suspect anything, that would be the first place they will search.” Robin asked after hearing her suggestion.
“They will track the Hubble, sure.” Niu agreed, “But it’s much less suspicious to stop while crossing an asteroid field than stopping at some random spot in the Mereus Cluster. Especially since our ship really is a broken mess. It’s more than believable that we have to make a stop every now and then while crossing dangerous territory. I can also add in a few more stops, just to be sure.”
- Considering your options, this plan has the highest chance of success
Robin thought that over for some time and could only agree with her reasoning, as did ROMAS. Still, he looked at Landom and Alena.
“What do you guys think?”
“Sounds like a plan.” Alena said with a shrug.
“I think it’s a good idea. Maybe we could be able to find a better spot, but we have to start moving soon or else the UAS realizes that something is amiss. I say go for it.” Landom said.
Robin looked at the others and saw them all nodding. Only Timothy still had his nose glued to a datapad.
“Okay, Happy. We’ll do it like that. I’ll inform Eston when we have our meeting. Thanks!” He said.
“That also solves the problem with the Hubble. You’ll have to ask them for a new ship that we can use to travel to Rucasur. The Hubble can only dock at a station and isn’t fit for an atmospheric reentry anymore.” Patience said.
“Yeah, I figured as much. Will be done.” Robin nodded and then took a deep breath. He stood up and walked to the window to look outside.
With his back turned to the others he proceeded. “Use the next few days to think about your future. You know already what my plans will be - now it’s up to you to decide how your journey shall continue. This is your last chance to return to your old life. If you stay with me, traveling the stars in a Keeper ship, you will burn all bridges with the UAS.”
There hung a heavy silence in the room as everyone solemnly thought about their next steps. Just as Robin wanted to end the meeting and sent them off, the oppressing silence was interrupted by Timothy, who suddenly dropped his tablet. Completely off-character for him, he totally lost his cool and loudly began to curse.
“Oh… Oh shit… Oh holy fucking shit. Burn in Plasma!"
“What is it, mate?” Robin asked, a bad feeling welling up in his stomach.
“I… I messed up.” The researcher stammered and looked at his hands in disbelief, “Damn, it really worked… I… My… My plan worked! They really did it!”
“Damn you creep, just spit it out already!” Patience scolded, “Who did what?”
“The UAS!” Timothy shouted with wide eyes, “They really went through with my plan and caught the hacker.”
Robin frowned, “The hacker that you assumed to be an AI from the Starborn?”
“Yeah and I think I just got confirmation. I have a report from one of my colleagues… Robin, look at this!”
Timothy picked up the datapad and turned it for everyone to see. There was a picture of a dark room. One display was turned on, its light not enough to fight off the darkness. It only showed a few simple lines of text, one short message:
What kind of bullshit is this?
Who dares to trap the great me?
Damn, move your ass and get me Robin Tulward on the line!
“Rob, are you sure that that Guard was made by the Drel and not a construct of the Starborn, that was just hidden by the Drel?”
Robin’s face sank, when he saw ROMAS responding in his Interface.
- Mr. Reed is correct
- The entity Guard is a product of the Starborn
- Rescuing the main system is strongly advised
“Oh fuck, please tell me this is just a bad joke…”