CHAPTER FOUR
1.
With a thunderous blast the Robbie V left the plateau,
lifted its nose and jetted off into the sky. Blackley sat in the cockpit, one
hand absently scratching Cranius behind the ear as the beast sat between him
and Chronos. Biggs was snoring loudly in the aft pasenger compartment. With his
free hand Blackley made minute corrections to their trajectory, making their
flight out of the planets atmosphere and into the vacuum of space easier.
Chronos sat back in his pilot’s seat, looking out the view panels into space,
but his friend suspected that he wasn’t really seeing anything. With a discreet
beep, the ship informed the pair that the planets gravity well was safely
behind them.
Blackley
took his hand away from his pet, and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Inside, his
mind was reeling. He wasn’t sure his partner had even realized what he had
commited them to. There were aspects of Chronos’ past that Blackley wasn’t
privy to, just as the same could be said the other way, but there had never
been any sort of connection between his friend and Zayas that he had ever
known. Yet Chronos jumped on the assignment like a man with a grudge. And an
official Government contract on top of that. Twice in less than ten minutes he
had been surprised by the others actions. Suddenly the silence was too much for
him.
“Meena
should be in good hands,” he said.
Chronos
continued his blank stare for a moment, then slowly turned to his friend.
“What’s that?”
“Meena,”
Blackley repeated, “do you think those Agency guys are going to treat her
well?”
Chronos
looked down to the crakkon at Blackley’s side. “I’m sure they’ll treat her
better than she treats her own guests.”
Blackley
turned his chair towards his friend, causing Cranius to get pushed to the side.
With a quiet growl the animal padded down to join it’s den mate. Blackley
leaned forward, then sat back rubbing his temples. Chronos watched his partner
try to think of something to say, and helped him out by talking for him.
“I never met
Zayas face to face, I doubt the bastard even knows I exist, yet I want to kill
him.” Chronos stated bluntly. He turned back to face the star field, Blackley
knowing that he would speak when ready, just sat silently. After a long minute
Chronos spoke again.
“I joined
the Galactic Navy right out of school. I was immediately placed in OTC,
officers training courses, because of my high aptitudes. During training at the
OTC I met a like minded cadidate named Janser. Janser and I hit it off,
becoming close during the next few semesters. The two of us were getting such
good marks that we had to start taking tests seperately because our instructors
thought we were cheating off of one another.
“After OTC I
was given second in command of the battle cruiser Coven. Janser came aboard as
ship medical officer. He was a brilliant doctor. He could make anyone feel
comfortable in any situation. There was an accident aboard our third month
there, some tech lost an arm in the reactors, and Janser just sat there and
talked to the kid and it was like the pain was gone for him. Poor chap never
even realized that Jans was reattatching his arm as they talked.”
Chronos paused,
a smile on his face, but his eyes were sad.
“It was
three weeks past our first anniversary on the Coven. Galactic Command sent down
orders to track a small craft wanted for an act of piracy. At the time I
questioned why an entire battle-ship was being sent out to capture such a
meaningless pirate, but I never vocalized the concern. GC gives the orders, our
job was to follow such orders. Fragging drones we were.
“After three
solid days of scanning omega-space looking for remnants of reactor trails we
finally hit on our target. Homing in on the prey, I received an invitation from
the Coven’s Captain to an informal dinner. I walked into the Captain’s Mess to
see Janser and a few other commissioned officers around the table. The Captain
raised his drink to all of us and started his speech.
“ ‘For
hundreds of years, the Galactic Senate has made laws and kept the peace.’ There
were cheers at this statement, pandering to the senate even when the senate
wasn’t around. ‘Yet our elected government has recently written certain laws
that restrict freedom for every species. Curfews, taxes, high tech monitoring.
All done in the name of democracy.’
“Janser
spoke up, interrupting the Captain. ‘Yes, but these laws are being enforced in
high crime areas, cities or planets were the criminal element is gaining a
foothold. You say that these laws are to restrict freedoms, I say that they are
essential to keeping the peace.’
“ ‘Thank you
Doctor,’ the captain spoke, ‘but that is just one persons opinion, flawed as it
was.’ I caught Janser’s reaction to his, he looked confused, then I saw his
demenor change. He realized what was happening long before I ever did. The
captain continued. ‘While we as citizens are told that we elect our officials
in legal and fully democratic methods, it seems that even the most corrupt
politicians still retain office. Even when a vast majority of people disagree
with said individual.’
“ ‘The vocal
majority, captain.’ Janser interrupted.
“The captain
waved his comment away with a sweep of his hand. ‘There are elements that have
come into power, elements that use their freedoms to try and re-build the
Government into the true democracy that it is supposed to be. Leaders of the
people are rising, and demanding to be heard. Leaders who know that a gathering
of polititians will never be able to truly be just, and that for the Galaxy to
be truly free, one man must lead all. And this man is Zayas.’
“The captain
stood there, hands raised, in front of the assembly of officers who for just a
moment sat motionless. Then one man began to applaud, then another, and soon
everyone in the room, save for Janser, myself and one other were applauding the
captain’s words. Suddenly Janser sprung to his feet, his chair sliding across
the floor behind him. The entire room fell silent.
“ ‘There
never were any orders from Galactic Command was there?’ He said calmly. ‘A
rogue pirate craft needs a battle cruiser to hunt it down?’ I looked to my
friend, then to the captain, and then finally I understood. I spoke up.
‘Exactly who is waiting for us at the end of this omega-space leap, sir?’
“
‘Gentlemen,’ the captain said, ‘Please be calm. Everything will be clear in a
moment.’
“ ‘It’s
clear enough right now Captain,’ Janser spat, ‘And you will not be allowed to
take this course of action any further. By decree of the Galactic Navy I
relieve you of command, and order you placed in the brig for court martial!’
“At that
moment the klaxxons on the ship started ringing. The captain smiled as a
panicked petty officer called over the intercom. ‘Captain, we’ve exited
omega-space, but there are over a dozen Rygarian Cruisers surrounding us! I’ve
issued a red alert, yet the enemy has us severly outnumbered. Orders?’
“The captain
bent over the com and punched a key, when he spoke his voice was heard over the
entire ship. ‘Attention crew, we have been overtaken by an enemy fleet, and
have no chance of winning a battle. I am issuing orders of surrender that are
now being transmitted to the enemy captain. All hands stand down and be
prepared for boarders. Please try to co-operate to reduce the threat of deadly
force, thank –‘
“Before the
captain could finish, Janser shouted, ‘He’s lying, the captain is lying! This
is a trap! Treason! Treason!’ The captain punched his hand down on the
disconnect and glared at Janser. ‘By decree of the Warlord Zayas, I relieve you
of your life!’
“Before I or
Janser could move, the captain raised a blaster and killed him. In an instant
my friend was gone. But that split second was enough for me, using the
distraction I lept from my chair and rolled to the door, which thankfully slid
open. I ran down the halls, heading as fast as I could for the ship bays. I
heard a call over the general com, the captain announcing that I had just
commited a murder, and was to be apprehended on sight. The halls around me were
soon filled with confused men and women, who didn’t really seem to understand
what was going on. I ran and ran and ran, my chest was on fire by the time I
came to the bays. My legs felt like gelatin, I was sure that my heart was about
to give out on me. But I made it.
“The
security in the bays was a bit more on their feet than the general crew, and
opened fire on me as soon as it became apparent that I was trying to escape. I
had my personal SEF prepared and ready for flight, because I was supposed to
have led the capture of the pirate craft once we had found it. I lept into the
cockpit, slammed shut the canopy, and lifted off the deck. In seconds I was in
the launch tube and shooting away from the Coven. Before I could get my
bearings I had the dozen Rygarian Cruisers on my back, turbolasers flashing all
about me. I punched in a quick omega-space route and took off.
“It took me
three weeks to get back to the core. I learned the fate of the Coven then. All
hands evacuated into space, the ship taken by Zayas. No one wanted to believe
my tale of defection, no one could believe that a highly decorated officer like
the captain could even concieve of such a thing. For my report I was driven out
of the service, and discredited. I heard a few years later when the captain was
captured in a butchered attempt at piracy my story was finally believed by the
higher-ups in Navy Command, but by then it was too late for me. I had had
enough of the Galactic Senate and their rules.
“I guess its
sort of ironic that I eventually came to agree with the captain about his views
of the Senate. All it took was watching my friend die and a few years of
poverty.”
Chronos sat
still. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. “But Zayas? Not him. He
could’ve let all those men and women live, given them asylum or at least
jettison them in the escape pods. Instead he chose to murder each and every
single one of them in less than a second. I’ve vowed to never forget that it
was really Zayas who pulled that trigger, who really got me drummed out of the
Navy, Zayas who has to answer for all the pain and suffering that he has
caused, in my life and in others.”
Blackley
waited a moment before speaking. “Wow. I mean it, wow. All you ever told me was
that you used to be in the Navy, and that you weren’t anymore. I guess I
should’ve dug a little deeper.”
Chronos
laughed. “And here you thought your past was flawed.”
“Yeah, from
now on I’m the respectable one, at least all I did was fail my entrance exams.”
Blackley turned to the controls. “Set course for the Empire then?”
Chronos
looked down to the controls. He smirked, and shook his head. “No, not quite
yet. If the President wants this crystal so bad as to start a war with Zayas
there has to be more to it than a simple family heirloom. Head for the Pleetius
system.”
Blackley
smiled largely. “The Pleetius system?”
Chronos
smiled back. “Yeah. Lets go see Pug.”
2.
“Are you sure he’s still out here?” Blackley asked his co-pilot,
as both of them stared out the viewport.
The Pleetius
System was a cold lonely sector of space. It consisted of a dying red star and
a single gas giant. Being far removed from the core systems, it was difficult
to see any pinpoints of light that were distant stars. The Robbie V hung in
space millions of kilometers from the Pleetius star, yet still glowed red in
it’s light.
Chronos
turned to his friend. “Oh he’s here. Where else would he go?”
The ‘he’ in
question was Thaddupuglish Arranov, a brilliant inventor and well known
throughout the galaxy as one of the smartest beings alive. Though many people
claimed to know him, only a few were allowed to call him Pug. Pug’s starship,
the JSL 13, was a retrofitted Andromed science vessel that he had purchased
after an invention had sold particularilly well. It was a large bay ship that
could fit numerous smaller ship inside its interior, and had a special berth
set aside just for the Robbie V. Being a man who liked to stay as far ‘under
the radar’ as possible, Pug frequently turned to Chronos and Blackley for their
services.
Blackley
once again checked the sensors. Then he triple checked them. “There isn’t a
single ship in the system. We’re alone here, pal.”
Chronos
smiled. “Not quite.”
As Chronos
spoke, the space before their ship began to shimmer. Like something coming to
focus through ripples in water, the JSL 13 suddenly appeared before them.
Inside the Robbie V proximity alarms began ringing. Blackley fought the
incredible urge to turn the ship about. Instead he stared at the newly visible
arrival.
“A cloak?”
Blackley muttered. “They don’t make cloaking cores big enough for bay ships!”
“ ‘They’
don’t, Pug does.” Chronos replied. He reached over and opened a channel to the
other cruiser. “Robbie V requesting permission to dock. Please respond.”
After a
pause of five seconds a mechanical voice answered. “Permission granted, Captain
Chronos. Should I transmit co-ordinates or do you remember the way?”
“It hasn’t
been that long Ruzzel,” Blackley said into the com, “Just open the landing bay,
please.”
“Of course
Captain Blackley,” Ruzzel replied. Blackely thought he could hear a touch of
sarcasm, something usually unheard of in bots, but anything went as far as Pug
was concerned. “Always a pleasure conversing with you. I’ll meet you aboard.
JSL 13 out.”
The Robbie V
slid forward in space propelled by its ion drive, and moved into the opening
bay of the larger ship. Chronos piloted his vessel into its usual berth,
carefully manipulated the craft around various crates and debris left behind
from their previous visits. Each pilot was responsible for the maintenance of
their own landing pad. Normally each berth was cleaned prior to departure, but
since this pad was reserved solely for the Robbie V’s use, the pad wasn’t as
maintained as usual. Chronos made a mental note to at least think about
straightening up sometime in the future. He noticed a particularily nice Scarab
class star-ship occupying the pad nearest theirs. The ship was nothing but curves,
no straight lines or hard angles anywhere, and was colored in the shiniest
black he had ever laid eyes on.
As the ship
came to ground, Blackley secured the two crakkons into the rear hold, then hit
the switch to open the loading ramp. The ramp slid down from the ships aft
smoothly and connected to the steel plates of the dock with a dull clang. After
shutting down the drive Chronos joined his partner and the two of them left the
ship.
Standing at
attention near the base of the ramp was a tall, dark red robot. The machine had
a stocky build, with thick arms and legs. Its cylindrical head was smooth all
around, with a LCD screen in the front. On the screen was a shadowy
representation of a terran skull surrounded by blue-silver static. Each time the
robot’s head moved, the skull-image bounced around as if it floated in water.
Chronos and Blackley approached the bot with no apprehension at all.
“Welcome to
the JSL 13, gentlemen.” The robot intoned with a familiar voice. “Thaddupuglish
wishes me to inform you that he is currently with a client, and will see you as
soon as he is free. You are free to wait in the lounge until such time.”
“Thanks
Ruzzel,” Blackley clapped the bot on the shoulder. “Nice to see ya. New paint
job?”
Ruzzel
performed a slight bow. “Thaddupuglish wishes that I retain my after-market
value, in case the day comes he becomes so annoyed by me that he is forced to
sell me.”
Chronos
smiled. “It’s a wonder that day hasn’t arrived yet.”
Ruzzel
turned its head towards Chronos, the skull-image trying to smile. “You humor is
always welcomed Captain Chronos. No matter how lousy it is.”
Blackley
laughed. “I see Pug has left your wonderful personallity intact. Care to join
us for a drink?”
Ruzzel
turned to leave, its face image, however, stayed focused on the pair. “I am
afraid that I have previous orders gentlemen. There is always work to do aboard
the JSL 13, especially with Thaddupuglish in command. He will find you in the
lounge, I presume you remember the way.”
With that the
machine turned its head and walked out of the landing bay. When he was out of
sight Chronos walked over to the edge of the pad to get a closer look at the
black ship. Blackley saw the ship and whistled.
“Scarab
class? You think that’s the latest model?” He asked as he approached his
friend.
Chonos
shrugged. “Looks like it. Whatever model it is, those beasts are mighty
expensive.”
“And fast,
don’t forget that.” He pointed to the underside of the ship where there seemed
to be some additional pieces added to it. “Looks like the owner had added some
aftermarket enhancements. If I’m not mistaken those seams are for retractable
plasma cannons. Not too shabby.”
“C’mon
Blackley, lets head to the lounge. I’ll buy you a drink.” The pair turned from
the Scarab and left out the same doorway Ruzzel had used. Unlike most star
ships, Pug had decided to decorate the interior of the JSL. The halls were
covered with a black carpet with red edges, on the walls hung paintings and
tapestries from hundreds of worlds and species. Just moving around the vast
ship made one feel as though they had entered a museum. Neither of the men
wanted to comment on the value of some of the pieces of art as they passed,
they just subconsciously stayed towards the center of the halls.
After a few
twists and turns the duo arrived at the lounge. It was a largish room, with a
bar set in the center overseen by a drink serving bot. Though there were many
tables, Chronos and Blackley were the only sentients there. They strolled into
the dark lit room and went to the stools set at the bar.
The server
bot turned towards them. “The usual?”
Blackley
looked to the bot. “Yeah, set us up.”
3.
“Gentlemen! My friends!” The deep barritone voice roused
the pair from their respective drinks and turned their attention to the
entrance, and the small man walking in. “Lovely job capturing Meena Thain, the
ComNet is all over the story!”
Pug walked
directly up to them and shook each ones hand viggorously. Thaddupuglish Arranov
was an older man, with deep brown skin and in stark contrast a head of pure
white hair. He stood shorter than most Terrans, he only came up to Chronos’
chest, and had a nice round frame from his lack of exersize. His face was
deeply lined, even more so when he smiled, which was often. After shaking their
hands he grasped each of his guests on the shoulder, his white teeth shining in
the low light of the cantina.
“The
ComNet?” Blackley asked, looking over to Chronos with a suspicious look.
“Of course!
Capture of a criminal that well known was bound to get attention from the
media, even you two cannot stay out of the limelight with that kind of bounty.”
Pug turned to the server bot. “More drinks all around, we have a lot of
celebrating to do! Especially when they hear of the job I have for them!”
Chronos put
his drink down. “We’re already on another job, Pug.”
Blackley
looked back to their host. “Yeah, and it’s a doozy.”
Pug eyed the
pair for a moment, finally seeing the seriousness of their expressions. He
nodded to the bot. “Ignore that order. Come, we can speak more privately in my
office.”
He turned
and led the men to the back of the room. At a keypad Pug entered a quick code,
and a section of the wall slid silently to the side. He entered the room, the
pair following behind, as they crossed the threshold the door glided closed.
The three of them were inside the interior tunnels of the JSL 13, one of the few sentinents in the galaxy that
knew the passages existed. Pug used them to move quickly throughout the ship,
moving from meeting to meeting, avoiding the crowds that could sometimes gather
aboard. It also helped protect the annonymity of some of his clients. Clients
who would prefer that no one knew they were clients. Unlike the ornate
decorations of the exterior halls, the access tunnels were bland with black
flooring and solid silver-grey walls. The way was lit by two bands of solid
lighting tubes that hung along the tops of each wall and traversed the entire
passage. After a few twists and turns, even though Chronos and Blackley had
been through these tunnels numerous times they still became quickly lost, Pug
stopped at a door and held his palm against a scanner. With a beep the door
swished open, and he led them inside.
The interior
of the office was a cluttered unorganized mess. Papers, wires, and other
accutrements littered the room. Along the far wall a bank of monitors displayed
an assortment of programs and videos, there were segments of the ComNet
playing, some dispays showed a variety of blueprints and technological
theories. Next to the wall of screens, to the left of the door, was Pug’s work
table. It was a large metallic thing, lit by three hanging lights which
illuminated the various works in progress that were scattered over the surface.
There were small models of star ships, quite a few sheets of paper and in the
far corner the discarded head of a pilot bot. Tools of all kinds were scattered
amongst the work, a soldering pen, a screw-drill, even a laser torch. Situated
before the table, and just in front of the visitors was a large organic looking
desk. It was behind this that Pug took his seat, offering the few vacant chairs
in front to his friends.
“Please,
sit.” He said, gesturing to the seats with an absent wave of his hand. As
Chronos and Blackley sat, Pug reached for a piece of machinery and started
tinkering with it. Frequent visitors to Pug’s home quickly got used to his
working, most realized that he thought better with something occupying his
mind. As they sat silent, he reached behind his shoulder and picked up the
laser torch from the table, within seconds he was using the tool to cut away a
part of the machine. Finally he spoke up. “So tell me, what brings the two of
you out to my end of the galaxy if you’re not in need of a job?”
Chronos leaned
forward. “We need information, Pug.”
Their host
laughed an amicable snort. “Obviously so. The question is, what kind of
information?”
It was
Blackley who answered. “What do you know about the ‘Blood Crystal’?”
Pug
instantly stopped his tinkering, from the look on his face the machine in his
hands was the farthest thing from his mind. “It doesn’t exist.” He said
quickly. “Not anymore.”
“Lets just
pretend that it does,” Chronos replied, “What is it?”
Pug leaned
further back in his chair, his eyes not even looking in their direction. “The
Blood Crystal. Can it be true?”
Their host
sat silent for a long moment, the two others knew better than to push the
situation. When Pug took time to answer like this it was like he was scanning
his brain for the information. Finally he leaned forward and put the object he
was tinkering with on the desk. He looked at each of his friends, letting his
glance linger.
“The Blood
Crystal has many names, the most famous being the Syanacis Stone.”
Blackley
interrupted. “The legend of Old Earth?”
Pug nodded.
“Ten thousand years ago the Syanacis Stone was said to be responsible for the
destruction of Old Earth, and the loss of the founding Star system. No one
knows how of course, the stories never passed that information down. There have
been four mentions of the Stone since then, each one corresponding with a
galactic catastrophy of some sort. The last one was 700 years ago, and the
stone was thought lost.”
“What
happened then?” Chronos asked.
“An entire
civilization disapeared. Vanished.” Pug answered. “There are many theories and
suggestions as to what the stone may be. But the most educated among the galaxy
are in agreement of its true source. We believe the stone is the scale of a
star dragon.”
Blackley
laughed. “A star dragon? But those are just stories parents tell their kids at
bed time. Aren’t they?”
“There has
been ample proof that the creatures did at one time exist. Nothing physical of
course, aside from the stone. But that doesn’t mean they never existed.”
“Never mind
that,” Chronos stated, “how was the Crystal responsible for what happened?”
“Again,
there are many theories, no concrete proof, but most scholars agree on the
singular truth that the stone has special powers that it passes onto the person
who carries it. There are legends of the dead coming back to life, of people
being able to control others with the power of their minds, massive weapons
being built to utilize the stone’s properties. The second tale of the Syanacis
Stone tells of one being rising above all others and conquering nations and
worlds. Many species had to unite to bring just one Terran down. The cost in
lives was astronomical. Of course the story on its own is a little exagerated,
the conqueror had an entire army behind him, and a seemingly endless supply of
troops. The war did not end however until the Terran was killed, after that his
army disbanded, disapeared.”
Blackley
looked at Chronos with a worried look, then back to their host. “But the legend
does say that with the power of the crystal, one man brought an entire
system under his rule, right?”
Pug read his
companions, he could see the nervousness that both men were trying to restrain.
“What is it you are not telling me? There is something else that has you frightened.”
It was
Chronos who answered. “Zayas. Zayas has the Blood Crystal.”
Pug stood up
suddenly, causing his guests to start. “Give up this job. Go to whoever hired
you and tell them you refuse the assignment.”
Blackley
shook his head. “If what you’ve told us about this Crystal is even half true,
if Zayas has the real thing, then we can’t. I may not like it, but someone has
to get it away from that madman.”
“Zayas’
agents will kill you before you even get close. It is an impossible task.”
“We’ve
accepted the job, Pug,” Chronos said, “and you know that we’ve never renegged
on a deal.”
Pug laughed.
“You act like this is just some other job, like your reputations are on the
line! Trust me, my friends, turn this one down and you’ll earn more respect
than you lose.”
“Pug,”
Blackley started, “if we don’t get this stone back, can you imagine what Zayas
will do to the galaxy? Can’t you see the horrors he’ll inflict? The guy who
hired us was right, a full out invasion force will never work. But with just me
and Chronos? There is a small chance. Even if we fail, we have to try. We have
to get the Blood Crystal back.”
Chronos held
out an arm and placed it on his partner’s shoulder. “No. We won’t be bringing
it back.” He looked back to Pug. “We’re going to destroy it.”
4.
The three men stood together, watching the bustle and
commotion of robots working on the Robbie V. There were loader-bots,
replenishing the ship’s stock of food, ammunition and fuel, a pair of
spider-like robots crawled across the hull, sealing microfractures and making
minor repairs, there were three others inside the engines tweaking the
settings, fixing loose valves, and making a few enhancements Pug had ordered.
As they watched a larger machine wheeled in carrying large rounds of explosives,
the loaders stopped their tasks and went directly to the new stock.
“Consider
these a gift.” Pug said, indicating the ammunition.
Blackley
inspected the dark alloy encasing the weapons. “These aren’t Galactic Navy
issue Pug, what are they?”
He smiled as
he answered. “I call them Dark Bombs. Nasty little things. There are currently
over a dozen interested parties bidding on them. The Robbie V will be the first
ship to actually use them as armaments.”
“Do I even
want to know what they do?” Chronos asked.
“Heh heh,
just know these are not to be used in close range. They do make a big mess.”
The three friends continued watching the Dark Bombs loading for a moment. There was a deep air of nervousness. Neither Blackley nor Chronos were feeling much like embarking on the mission now that they were truly aware of the reprecussions. They knew it would have been dangerous before, but the prospect of their own deaths never really entered their thoughts with any seriousness.
“I’m installing a new transponder ID, just in case Zayas is already expecting you, which wouldn’t surprise me by the way.” Pug said, breaking the silence. “Of course you won’t be able to get past any visual inspections, the Robbie V is a pretty unique vessel after all. It will enable you to get through most tracking arrays however. That should help you get into the Empire. I recommend you go via the Chanzer system, think of it as a back door into enemy territory. After that, whatever your are going to do, you are on your own.”
Blackley shook Pug’s hand. “Thanks man, and don’t worry, we’ll pay you back.”
The smaller man laughed. “No my friend, this is on the house. You’ll just have to take this job I have for you when you two get back.”
“Count on it,” Blackley pumped his hand once more and walked towards the Robbie V. The Scarab that had been berthed adjacent to it was now gone. Chronos wrapped his arm around Pug’s shoulders.
“It has been a pleasure knowing you.” Chronos said. “I always felt that I benefitted from your intellect.”
Pug turned his head, looking up. “Yet here you are, about to volunteer for a suicide mission.” He paused, letting his words sink in. He inclined his head towards the boarding ramp Blackley had just climbed. “Does he know about Janser?”
Chronos nodded.
Pug leaned closer. “Does he know all of it?”
The taller man closed his eyes and slowly took in a deep breath, he let it out in a sigh. “You’re the only one who knows everything Pug.”
“He deserves to know why you are risking your lives.”
“I’ll tell him when we come back.” Chronos said with a tone indicating he was done talking about it. “Thanks again.”
Chronos started towards the Robbie V, the weight of the universe on his shoulders. Pug stood there and watched. Watched as the various machines finished their duties and scampered away. Watched as the Robbie V’s engines started and the ship left the berth. He stood there for several long minutes after the cruiser had left the bay ship completely.
“Goodbye old friend.”
He turned and walked slowly out of the bay, back into the comforts of his home.
END CHAPTER FOUR