My cheek was resting in something wet and I tried to wipe my face only to find my hands were bound together. I jolted awake and tried to sit up on autopilot only to slam my head into the support for the bunk above me, nearly knocking myself silly in the process.

As the spots faded from my vision and the ringing faded from my ears I became aware someone was laughing. I reached up and wiped the drool from my cheek before turning my head to see the only other person in the room.

A man, maybe about twice my age, was sitting on the bottom bunk of beds across from me, his hands also bound. "You okay man?" He asked me. "That looked like it hurt." He was still chuckling.

"It did." I grumbled, as I tried to sit up. It wasn't easy with my hands bound. Looking around the room I tried to remember what happened. The room was very small. I could walk the length of it in three strides. Two bunk beds against the opposite walls and a toilet in the middle. The walls, floor, ceiling and the door were a solid grey metal with a grilled vent the size of my fist in the ceiling. "Where are we?" I asked

He shrugged and said "some kind of cell. I honestly don't know. Probably still on Olympus. They tased me and dumped me in here too. I've been here 3 days and outside of mealtimes I hadn't seen anyone until they dumped you in here." He said

I leaned my head back against the wall and closed my eyes. My head was still pounding. "Why are you in here?" I asked him.

"Murder." He said it so bluntly I looked at him in surprise. "Got into an argument with my C.O. about the bullshit he was trying to make me do. It escalated till he punched me in the face. I returned the favor with the wrench I had next to me." He said, miming the swinging of a heavy object. "He was a pussy bitch and never got back up. What about you?"

I didn't think this guy would be a person to show weakness to so i decided to lie. "Same, murder. I shot my captain right in front of the admiral."

"Gah, ha ha. No half measures huh?"

"Wasn't time for anything else." I mumbled. I didn't explain further and when the room grew quiet I layed back down. Closing my eyes, I rolled away from him. I needed to think, needed to process what happened.

I was still in shock. The admiral killed Captain Mcgillicuddy and framed me for it. Now who knew what was in store for me. Nothing good. What was I going to do? I kept running the scenario over in my mind. The way the Captain's head had snapped back was quickly becoming an image that was more and more difficult to put out of my mind.

As the scene played out again and again in my head, something the admiral said suddenly stood out. What kind of abilities did my father have? Do I have them? I squinted my eyes shut hard and tried to remember my father.

He was a giant in my childhood memories. He had dark hair and kind eyes. I remembered riding on his shoulders as he ran through some grass at a family picnic. It was my most clear memory of him. But it was fragmented too. Even the bits and pieces of other memories, nothing, I couldn't remember anything about him having any kind of special ability.

Jenny might know, but when was I ever going to get another chance to see her. Who knows how long this trial will be, and what will happen after. Thoughts about Jenny hurt. She had just started accepting me in the Starforce and now this happens. I'm not dead but I may as well be. If Wilks can get a guilty verdict I will probably be executed.

As everything was bouncing around my head the door suddenly swung outward. I was shocked. It was as thick as a bank vault. It helped the reality of my situation sink in just that much more. Standing framed in the door were seven fully armored security personnel. The visors on their helmets were dark and I couldn't see anyones face. The leader took a step forward and said "Starman 2nd rank, Lee Graves and Cadet Jonathan Kaine. You are being transferred. Come with us and do not resist."

"Where are we going?" Graves asked as the two of us stood.

"No questions." The security man said. Once out of the room we were led down grey hallways and through a security checkpoint. Graves and I both had a guard on each side of us holding an arm. There was a guard walking in front and two behind. We entered a plaza with people walking around and turned for the docking ring.

When the guards turned us towards a gate labeled B8 Graves became agitated. He started looking around and tried to plant his feet, only to be hauled forward by the two guards holding his arms. "What, no, you can't do this. I ain't even had no trial yet." He began to struggle. "I ain't goin to that hell hole." The guards were having a hard time holding onto him.

"Don't resist." The guard behind me said.

Graves slammed his forehead into the guard on his left causing the man to stagger back. He then used his larger bulk to force the guard on his right into a neighboring support pillar for the plaza. Finally free, he took off, sprinting with everything he had to get away.

"Stupid." The guard to my right muttered. As the one behind me took a few steps toward the running Graves, raised a gun and shot him in the back. Graves collapsed immediately; his momentum causing him to tumble once before coming to a stop. He just layed there. "You get any ideas kid the commander will do the same thing to you." He said before pulling at my arm to get me moving as another guard called for 'clean up.

I didn't resist. "Where am I going?" I asked the guard to my right. He seemed more talkative than the rest.

"We're taking you to the ore mines on Miranda. It's one of the moons of Uranus." He said. "You will be there for the rest of your life."

"With no trial? I won't even get a phone call?" I asked

"You're in the military kid. Civilian law doesn't apply. Admiral Wilks is the head of JAG. The office of the Judge Advocate General. That makes him officially head of all courts in the Starforce. And, he saw you murder the Captain with his own eyes. So no, he doesn't need to try you. Now stop yammering and com'n. Don't got all day." He finished with a grumble.

I was taken directly to a very small shuttle. At the doors I was jerked to a halt by the guards on my sides. A man emerged from the shuttle and was handed a data pad. He was dressed differently, presumably he was the pilot. He briefly looked over the pad and asked the guard, "where's the other one?"

"Tried to escape, he's not coming."

The pilot pressed his thumb to the pad and handed it back. He then turned and looked me up and down. "Come with me." He entered the shuttle and I followed him. The interior was tiny. It was broken up into two sections, the cockpit was in the front and in the back was two seats. He had me sit in one of the back seats, then strapped my ankles in. Next he removed the handcuffs and strapped my arms to the armrests of the chair. Standing, he took a step back and a glass door came down and sealed me into the tiny box.

Watching through the glass door, the pilot joined his copilot and the outer hatch closed. I could see their view screens but I couldn't hear anything. Both pilots were wearing helmets but were obviously engaged in a conversation of some kind. It may have been technical but it seemed more casual. They kept looking at each other and gesturing with their hands.

I leaned back. I'd been in space for less than twelve hours and I'd already seen two people killed right in front of my eyes. Is this what space was like? It's always been said that space was dangerous, but I never would have expected this. Could never have expected anything like this. And now I was doomed to live the rest of my life mining ore.

It was hard to tell but I realized we were in zero G after we launched. I couldn't even enjoy that, strapped in like I was. The shuttle's engines whined for a moment and space around us blurred. After about an hour of warp we dropped back into local space.

The beautiful field of stars shifted and Uranus came into sight. I marveled at the soft blue planet quickly growing larger on the screen. We were aimed off to the side and I glanced at the nav-board; Miranda was on the far side right now so we would need to do a partial orbit to get there.

Suddenly a red light flashed on the console and both pilots exploded into action. The star field and the planet shifted position wildly as the pilot swerved this way and that. The copilot was calling into a handheld mic that he threw down onto the console in apparent frustration. I clung onto the armrests of the chair to hold on as the pilot madly evaded whatever it was pursuing us. Then the world blew up.

Maybe not the world but part of the shuttle. A massive spike punched a hole through the ceiling of the cockpit and impaled the copilot. It completely skewered him through his chest into the seat by the five foot long spike. The impact was slightly muted by the door but it was still enough to knock me senseless for the moment.

A jerk to the ship caused me to look up. The co-pilot was dead and his blood was floating around the cockpit. The pilot was pawing at his throat and blood was coming from the front of his head. With a shock I realized the cockpit was decompressing, or already had. I was watching this man die in front of me. The ringing in my ears faded and with horror I noticed a quiet hiss. The door wasn't airtight, or it's seal was damaged. Either way the box I was in was losing air.

I struggled frantically against the bonds but couldn't get free. The soft plastic cuffs tore into my skin as I used all my strength to try and get loose. It was no good. I couldn't even get one hand free. This is how I'm going to die. Jenny will be so upset. "I'm sorry Jenny." I said out loud as tears came to my eyes.

There was a sudden jerk and I felt gravity momentarily. The blood floating in the cockpit floated down to the deck and I realized the spike was actually a harpoon. I could see where it was struggling to keep a secure grip as it was used to haul the shuttle into a hanger. The view screens were dead but looking up through the hole made by the harpoon I could see a ship above.

Inside the hanger claws grabbed the shuttle and a few moments later the hissing stopped. They must have pressurized the hanger. But who were they? Had I just exchanged one horrible fate for another. My mind was reeling.

Light to my side caught my attention and I saw sparks coming from the hatch. Somebody was cutting through it. I watched the line of sparks make a large oval shape before the center fell out. From this angle I couldn't see out of the hole and I held my breath. Images of horrifically grotesque aliens popped through my head one after another.

Then the head of a man poked through the door, looked around, spotted me and smiled. He stuck an arm through the hole and even waved. He squeezed the rest of himself through and stood in front of me. He was tall, at least six feet, with short spiky blond hair and a five o'clock shadow. He was wearing a long brown trench coat over brown pants and a black shirt. As he moved I could see pistols on his belt under the coat. His blue eyes were bright with mischief and he grinned at me.

He saw there was an empty seat next to me and looked shocked. Turning he shouted out the hole then hit the button to open the glass door. It rose slowly and when it stopped he asked me "where is the other guy? There are supposed to be two of you."

I was taken aback by the question. "He tried to run, they shot him."

He closed his eyes. "Fuck." He pinched the bridge of his nose and let out an exasperated sigh. "Alright, let's get you out of these restraints." He said and started undoing the cuffs strapping me in. "I am Captain Aaron Briggs by the way." He said as he worked.

I'd never heard of him but decided it would be in my better interests to play nice until I knew what was going on. "Jonathan Kaine." I said in reply.

"So which do you prefer? Jon, Jonny or Jonathan?" He asked

I shrugged, "I don't really care. None of them bother me."

"Alright, that should do it. Com'n follow me." He pushed off the arm rests and floated backwards out of the small room, caught the door frame and floated backwards out of the hole.

I pushed off the chair and nearly rocketed across the room. It took longer than I expected to figure out how to move in zero G.

"Hurry up, we need to jettison this junk before the Starforce shows up." I heard him shout.

I finally managed to get out of the hole. The hanger was well lit and large enough to hold a second shuttle the same size as mine; but nothing else was currently docked. Captain Briggs was off to my right near an open door and I pushed off in his direction. He grabbed my arm, pulled me through the door and hit a button to close it.

Captain Briggs floated over to a panel on the wall and pushed a button. "Kasey, we're in, dump it." He said. I looked through the thick glass window on the door and saw the floor open beneath the shuttle. The claws holding the shuttle from either side extended, pushing the ship back out into space before retracting again.

After the door closed I felt pressure as we started moving. It quickly faded as the ship went to warp. Captain Briggs gave me a disarming smile and said. "Let me show you around." He waved and gripped a slide handle in a track along the wall. I gripped onto one too and pushed off. The handle slid easily along the track and I was able to use it to maintain a steady path. As I followed him I could only wonder, what would happen next.