Outside Echo Station - The Nighthawk

Aden walked outside the door, his mind reeling with thoughts.

This job was getting more and more dangerous by every passing hour. He realized that the theft on New York had deluded himself into thinking this was going to be a simple affair. Then Jon Azor dropped the bombshells on him.

Illegal alien technology and now human conspiracies. What the hell had they gotten themselves into?

Aden wandered from the room into the hallways trying to retrace his steps. He wanted to go back to Julian and apologize for getting him into this mess. Aden had wanted a new life for himself, he should have never brought anyone else in.

At some point he found himself face to face with a ladder and Cassandra’s head popping from the floor above shocked him out of his thoughts.

“There you are! Come here I need your help.”

Aden followed her up and found himself in the bridge of the Nighthawk. Cassandra was sitting in one of the two black leather seats and in front of some fancy terminals. She tugged and fought with the control wheel as the ship tried to put some distance between it and Echo Station.

“You were a pilot right? Can you set the destination on this thing? I’ve only flown in-gravity before.” said Cassandra.

Aden dropped into his seat and started to work with the controls. He didn’t go into slipspace very often but all pilots had it as part of trainings. His fingers worked themselves on the terminals to grant control over to his seat and then he switched over the autopilot.

At once the terminals and holograms lit up on his screen. He gently grabbed the control wheel and pushed forward. Aden tried to get some more distance between them and Echo Station. He pulled up a screen and watched the image of Echo Station get smaller and smaller. With his other hand he pulled up a galaxy map and set their destination.

Alsefina.

Cassandra was double checking over his shoulder. She smiled when he zeroed in on their next planet.

“Ooh Alsefina huh? I hear the neon lights are amazing. You must be bigger party animal than I thought”

Aden’s finger hovered over the destination button. Was he really going to do this? He knew he had promised Jon Azor but he was worried. All they had to do was tell Jon Azor’s brother about his last wishes but what about after that? Would he believe the strangers who showed up to his house with his brothers ship and his dead body? And after that Julian, if he even made it out of this, was in no shape to grab another ship.

“This is the button for out next destination but wait until Meren gets here to press it ok?” said Aden, “I need to check on-”

He tried to stand up but Cassandra grabbed the sleeves of his wrist. She wasn’t smiling anymore but looking at him with concerned eyes.

“The surgery lights in the med-bay are still on. Just stay here a while OK?”

Aden plopped back down into his seat. They didn’t say anything, just sitting there watching the lights from the galaxy map.

“I’m sorry about your dad” said Cassandra.

Aden wanted to laugh and sigh and a ton of other actions all at once. It was an innocent question but it made his chest churn with emotions.

“He’s not my dad.” said Aden.

“Oh, sorry I just-”

“No it’s OK. Believe it or not he was my commander back in the war. He just decided to keep us alive after the war too.”

“Been through a lot together huh?”

“Seven years with the same squad? Yeah they become like family”

Cassandra couldn’t hide her double take. She had her head tilted to the side. “Wait what? Seven years in the army? How old even are you?” she asked.

“Almost 23?” answered Aden

“What the shit? You were fourteen when you joined the war?”

Aden was surprised to hear her so shocked. The Galactic War wasn’t just some backyard battle. The Beryons had even made it to Earth.

“Uh yeah lots of us did actually. Once the Beryons got to Earth it was the only way any of us could get something to eat. You never had any friends who did the same?”

Cassandra shook her head. “No my parents were colonists from Tripolotaina. We hung out in space for a bit and didn’t get to Earth until after the fleets went to liberate Union Space.

That would explain it. In the first stage the Beryons conquered colonies like Tripolotaina on their way to the homeworlds of the union species. Aden remembered the refugee ships come in every day as the Beryons got closer and closer. It wasn’t until they got to Earth that they were finally repelled. Aden had joined the fleets then and from there the second stage was Humanity liberating and freeing the systems that the Beryons had controlled. It wasn’t until all the systems had been liberated did the galaxy rally and take the fight to the Beryons. Only once they had detonated the bombs on Halenyx did they finally end the war.

Eleven years of war and Aden had been part of it for seven. It made him feel old. Cassandra however must’ve thought it made her look bad because she chimed in.

“We weren’t important by the way! I know you probably think my parents were diplomats or rich people riding out the war in a ship but it was tough for us too! Obviously not like on Earth but-”

He had no choice but to smile. It reminded him of a countless conversations he had with Julian.

“No I’m the one who should be apologizing.” said Aden, “I kept telling Julian all we talk about is the damn war. How are we going to forget the whole thing if we keep talking about it?”

“It was huge part of your life. Seven years. He must’ve meant a lot to your squad.”

“We were all hungry teenagers who had lost family. Julian didn’t need to be like that for us. He was just doing his job. But he did”

Aden took a long deep sigh. “And he didn’t need to help me when I said I was starving on Earth but he did and we took Jon’s job for it and well. Here we are on the run, half dead, and on our way to rope another person into this mess. ”

Cassandra looked at the galaxy map still glowing and showing their next destination. “Is that why we’re going to Alsefina? Did Jon ask you to do something?”

Aden nodded. “He asked me to find his brother and pass on all the information about the job.”

They both sat there contemplating the decisions that led them to this. Aden knew Cassandra must’ve been thinking the same thing he was.

“Can’t Meren do it?” asked Cassandra.

Behind them a deep voice answered.

“I apologize but it looks like we may need your help for a little while longer”

Meren came up behind the seats drying his face with a towel. He had finally washed his face free of the blood and Aden could now see the cracks in his face where the commander had kicked him. Meren reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small envelope to give to Cassandra.

“Jon made me promise to give this to you now. He wanted to leave as little debts as possible.”

Cassandra took the envelope but didn’t put it away or open it. “Is Jon-?”

“Yes. He has passed.”

“Oh. I’m sorry. I know you two were close.”

“Yes. Humans may find it strange but I was proud to serve him and now the only thing I have left is to fufill his last requests. ”

Meren then turned toward Aden and handed him a small terminal with a glowing silhoutte of a human body on it.

“I went to check on your friend. He is doing OK for now but we’ll need to put him in the stasis pod and get him an actual doctor when we get planetside.” Said Meren. “I wish I could give you your rewards right now and cut you both loose from this mess but Jon made me promise to get your help. He figured a lone alien with his rich boss’s starship and corpse might draw too much attention”

Still wiping the towel on his face Meren leaned on the instuments behind them and buried his face. Aden felt an incredible kinship with the Khrynau at that moment. He was relieved that Julian was OK but he realized how much worse Meren must be feeling right now. To suffer such a loss and still having to continue forward. Aden didn’t want to add to his burdens.

“Don’t worry Meren. I promised Jon I’d go to Alsefina and that’s what I intend to do.”

Meren raised his head and met his eyes and gave him the slightest nods. “Thank you. I wish I could offer more but thank you.”

Aden thought back to the dying mans words. And he thought of Julian laying on the medical bed about to be transferred to stasis. One more job but this time he had to do it himself. He stood up in his seat and moved the galaxy map for Meren to see.

“Right. I’ve already got our destination. Whats the plan? We show up in the city asking for a Mr. Azor?” said Aden.

Meren shook his head and pulled out his own terminal. “No. It is a bit more complicated than that.”

He pulled out a picture of a young looking man dressed in a sharp suit.

“This is Jon’s brother, Takara Azor, the former VP of sales for KhazorCorp”

Aden scratched his head. “Former VP?

“Yes former. Unfortunately for us Takara and his brother had a falling out a little more than a year ago. He since sold all his shares to the board of directors and moved to Alsefina to pursue a career in entertainment.”

“Entertainment? Like singing?” asked Cassandra.

Meren gave a long sigh. “That and so much more. Takara was always the reckless one in the family. Gregarious and very good at making money but also just as good at spending it. When Jon demanded more from him he decided to quit the corporation lifestyle altogether.”

“And now we’re going to show up at his doorstep with his dead brother and drag him into it all over again.” said Aden.

Meren nodded. “And don’t forget about KhazorCorps either. Now that Jon had eluded their grasp they will be going after Takara themselves. We'll have to to get him before them.”

Aden pressed the button on the galaxy map and started to punch in the commands on the rest of the terminals. He to see the black void of space in front of them ripple and shimmer as they began their slipspace jump.

“Then lets get started then”