Dreams among Stars (10 page)

“
A friend of Agatha is always welcome with us.” His voice resounded with a firm baritone and radiated with a pleasant warmth. “I won’t stay for long, my target is in section II” when I explained this his look darkened.
 

“
There are bad news. Flying Hustlers have been spotted on their way there.” Agatha whispered “I’ll explain this later” into my ear and then turned to Eirik exclaimed “Then we’ll stay here for the night and decide at the morning how to continue. Is the tribe safe here? Won’t they attack you?” “Oh I doubt we are an attractive target, but we keep scouts close to them, your sister is with these Agatha.” Couldn’t help but notice her worried look.
 

“
But let us dine together, then we will show you were you can spend the night.”
 

To my pleasant surprise this tribe was keeping fowl, so there was chicken spiked with very intense herbs.

And while we were having dinner and conversation, slowly the looks of the men and woman lose their resentment, until finally at the end of the meal loud jokes were being made.

I repeat a few of the stories I heard at Agathas village and then report that keeping up the resistance throughout the B decks is continuously demanding a huge toll and slowly I am accepted as a resistance fighter.

This makes me wonder if this is really only a character I play and I have to think of Mark.

Later that night we were lead to a small hut, which usually was used as tool shed and which hurriedly had been readied for us.

Nonetheless it was clean and both cots were looking comfy.

When finally we are alone I received a history lesson from Agatha, which obviously she would have liked to evade. “Helen, as you might remember we, well the staff designated to the outer decks, were organized in small tribes right at the start. Until the incident this worked pretty well. I won’t forestall Rab, but you can imagine something pretty severe happened.” At this Agatha pauses and ponders her next words with great care. “Before the rise of the first Benefactor we all only had been known as the Shell Tribes. After that there were us, the Open Eyes that refused to obey the Benefactor. Still there were those that stood with the Benefactor and those ore the ones that are called the Flying Hustlers. At first there weren’t many, working as mercenaries and assassins, from their offspring though there came a number of tribes, yet as much as we would like to deny it they come from the same roots as we do.”

Rapt in thought I mumbled a thank you and asked myself yet again what it was that had happened. The agreement with Rab was, that as soon as I had an overview of the ships status I would return to their tribe. He had promised to tell me everything that had happened completely unadorned and then help with the further planning.

But now it might become a huge deal more difficult to reach the maintenance center. Agatha reinforced my assumption that the Flying Hustlers were scouting the section with the maintenance center because of me, also she explained that not all the tribes of the Open Eyes were supporting the resistance.

Some tribes, especially the resident ones - to which she included our hosts village - preferred the comforts a cooperation with the Benefactor promised. This did not surprise me, it wasn’t in the human nature to endure endless struggle, especially not if there were families to be fed.

“
But my sister is a hundred percent loyal to the resistance. Anyhow here in the outer decks there are many gray areas.”
 

We decided to try and find the scouting troop the next day, after that we would continue to the maintenance center. Maybe right now everything around us was already falling apart, but I already had gotten used to that thought back at the waking area. Some would accuse me of fatalism, yet I had witnessed how fatal it could prove to act unprepared through my predecessors.

This night I couldn’t sleep well. I dreamed from my journey to the outer decks and was chased by drooling monsters through the maintenance tunnels. The scene where racing along the ceiling I hurtled towards the tower repeated completely with the cat like creatures chasing me, only that this time when I hit them they don’t fall away, but suddenly mutate like straight from a cheap werewolf movie into hounds with wings like from a Pegasus.

Dead still I only can watch as the whole pack glides towards me and wake screaming as the slobbering maws are about to tear me apart.

Agatha stands chalky-white before me and I ask what happened, only then I notice that she holds my left lower arm tightly.

My gaze follows hers until my eye lands upon one of my pistols in my hand to then spot the the hole in the roof only slightly beside her face hovering above me.

Sharply I breathe in “Oh, oh! I am so sorry.” I manage to say falteringly.

Agatha swallows heavily and slowly color returns to her face. Her eyes blink slowly, then she looks around nervously. Her sight moves to the roof and back again to the gun now lying limply in my hand.

After taking two deep breaths unexpectedly she exclaims “We have to disappear right now!” Confused I looked at her.

“
Your weapon is not very loud, but extremely bright, at the latest when the others see the hole in the roof they will know who you are. We have to make a run for it right now, the risk of them being after the bounty on you is much too great.” I also swallow heavily now and nod, then I shake off the rigidity and while throwing my clothes on and grabbing my backpack I have Marple scan the area.
 

There are two heat signatures closing in, but else the incident didn’t seem to attract any more viewership.

We hurry out of the hut and around it, before anyone can spot us the forest swallows us.

Only with effort I am able to keep pace with Agatha, who is moving with an incredible speed. At that rate we could cross the complete ships length in half of a day, which quite plainly showed me on how little space the people were living.

After a short quarter, which for me dragged on like forever, abruptly Agatha halts and says “We have to find my sister somehow, if possible without her scout troop.” A difficult task, while we discuss I learn that the name of Agathas sister is Melissa. She had meant to introduce us directly, but that had not meant to be. One possibility that Agatha can think of would take some while. She is pretty sure that as soon as Melissa would learn about the events she would visit an old hideaway the two used. It was a tree house the two sisters had built as kids and which nobody else knew about. Still that would take some days and we knew we didn’t had the time. As soon as the Benefactors followers would learn about my presence in the area, I would be searched for with vengeance.

There was only this one chance to get into the central.

As the status screen on the outer hull had shown a working connection I was sure that the maintenance center would be in working order. The entrance area had a similar robust design for all the centers and with Marples help I would be able to get access without problems, so we only had to get in fast enough.

All other problems could wait until we had successfully gotten entrance.

It only took another 10 minutes more and we already were close enough to reconnoiter.

Marple displayed multiple heat signatures around the center, which arose as a quadratic block in a small clearing and surely stretched on below the surface.

The backwards area was less guarded than the entrance side, probably it were only two guards to be taken care of there.

I set both guns to stun and to Agatha how to use one, after a trial shot she was sure that she would be able to hit a target if she could get close enough.

Although I wasn’t comfortable with the aggressors role, it was a good feeling to be one step ahead of danger. We slowly sneaked forward, as Agatha was able to move faster I took the closer of the two guards. A young man that was intensely looking towards the clearing had made himself comfortable in the tree above me. I took aim and waited, when a snapping from the direction of Agathas target is to be heard I push the trigger without hesitation.

The fellow slumps, but had secured himself so well that he remained in spot.

Silently I hurry to the other guards position and spot Agatha lying partially under the guard collapsed over her, silently she was swearing away.

With gladness I find her to be well and help her up.

She shook the dust from her and explained that the guard had turned right when she fired, she did not have the heart to just let him crash to the ground, so she had tried to catch him.

A rugged bloke laid unconscious on the ground, too bad that he wasn’t on our side. The fur garbs did not differ much from what I already had seen.

“
Lets hurry. In fifteen minutes they’ll be awake again.” I explained to Agatha and approached the backside of the central. “Marple, notify me as soon as you are able to open the entrance” I whispered and noticed Agatha following me from the corner of my eye.
 

I looked around one corner first, here the wall would show us like sitting ducks, so I sneaked to the other corner and to my relief there was a small hedge. I notified Agatha about my intentions with a crawling movement of my hand and off I went crawling towards the front.

After a bit more than half of the distance Marple reports that the entrance could be opened now.

The hedge is ending before the next corner is reached, so I turn slowly to Agatha and whisper to her “As soon as I jump up you have to run close by me!” She nods and so I order Marple to open the door.

First I go into a squatting position, then I sprint off , with Agatha closely following.

Before reaching the corner a hail sounds from one of the trees around the clearing. Without stopping I hurry around the corner and saw the door gliding open and the lights in the dark central coming to life, only a meter separates us from the entrance as I glimpse a spear darting towards us.

It falls short and we vanish through the door to quickly search caver to the left and right side behind comfortingly thick walls and while the door slowly closes a few occasional arrows and one more javelin zip through the narrowing door crack.

Only now Agatha and I find time to examine the room before us, but as we recover our breath a laughing fit takes hold of both of us and for a short time I feel carried back to my school years and like I just finished an especially well done trick.

From the outside a few more arrows and spears pound the door ineffectively, much like a fading rain.

It might get tricky leaving, but first we had a task ahead. While I still was catching my breath I took a look around. Even before I realize that my eyes had locked on a large console my feet were already carrying me there.

The tension firmly had me in its grip and the next few minutes the world only consisted of the monitor before my eyes. It must have been quite a while, when I feel Agatha handing me a hot cup, which turns out to be coffee and I mumble a silent thank you before being lost in the status readings again.

With Marples help I manage to perform a thorough analysis which would normally take a day in only two hours, after that I am so tired that I had to sleep straightaway. Agatha beset me and wanted to know how bad it was, only then I realized there were tears streaming over my face.

Like in trance I move towards one of the cots and I explained and only then comprehended that those were tears of relief, because there was hope. Sure a lot was damaged, maybe even irretrievably, but there was hope.

With that I fell fast asleep.

Only the dark corridor is visible on my camera.

Why - no - for what am I waiting?

Movement.

Right, at movement I was supposed to open.

There were times, at least my logs tell me so, in which I could open and close more than a hundred times a day and my condition was checked and my motors were well looked after.

At least I have power, so I wait.

Sometime I may open again.

I awoke full of zest for action and brushed the premonitory feeling of hunger aside.

A bit further down the wall was another cot, on which Agatha slept the deep sleep of exhaustion. Marple laid on a side table and I took her.

During the analysis I had taken a number of notes and prioritized them.

The most important topic was a tear, stretching from C 2 I to C 5 II.

I went to the consoles and checked what details I could find about the damage. The rift was relatively young with an age below a hundred years.

The greatest damage was in sector C 3 I, only there he pierced completely through the hull, but was sealed by something. I had rated the priorities by influence on the ships structural integrity, this tear had to be examined thoroughly, as it could lead to catastrophic consequences whould the engines be fired.

Sadly even if it was the most important one it was not the only item on my list by far.

Also there was a very good reason for the engines to be used and I had to talk with someone about it.

Hence I gave in to the urges of my stomach and tried to create some sort of breakfast from the nutrient paste in the small kitchen, what once had been coffee powder was just an odorless lump of brown powder, from where Agatha had conjured up the coffee last night was a mystery.

But the water was good and got hot enough to use some of the tea leafs from our inventory.

So I woke Agatha with hot tea and we sat down for a small breakfast.

I couldn’t barely hold it in, already after the first sip of tea I dropped the bombshell “The mission is a success! We are nearly there!” Agatha looked at me startled and asked “Mission?” I saw it in her eyes how the jigsaw pieces came together before she exclaimed “Mission! A planet! And is it habitable?” I replied “Well strictly speaking its not a planet, but a moon, a bit similar to Europa in our solar system. But yes - it is habitable! Well at least the chances are as good as they can be. There is just one problem.”