<This is also something that I have worked on over the last 6ix months.>

I was sitting in a bar, on a small planet, far out of the way, drinking something I didn't even know the name of but it burnt like hell. I already had two drinks so I was starting to feel the effects. All around the other patrons were going about their business; ordering drinks, playing some card game or greeting friends. Strange smells invaded my head and it made me lightheaded on top of the crap I was drinking. The bar keeps' busy trying to serve everyone as they entered the undersized building. I took a sip and shuddered as it went down and looked up at the door. I saw three men walk in. I sat up slightly as they all looked around suspiciously. One made off for the stair case and stood with his back to the hand rail. Another headed to the booth behind me and the other walked straight to the counter and waved off the barkeep as he took a seat. I had another sip and placed the cup on the table in front of me. I watched the man at the bar out of the corner of my eye. Below his vest line I saw a flash of metal. He was carrying a gun! I stood up, drained my cup and slowly pretended to stumble towards the door. As I placed my hand on the door, the man at the booth stood up, pulled a gun from his back and pointed it at the barkeep. The man at the counter pulled his gun out and spun on the stool pointing it at the patrons and the other man at the staircase pulled out a rifle and aimed it right at me. I instintivly ducked and pushed through the door. I stumbled into the street and dived to the right just as gun shots were heard from inside the bar. The door exploded in splinters of wood. The gunshots stopped for a moment and I stumbled to my feet and ran. Gun shots followed me down the street. I turned down a side street and stopped, my heart thumping against my chest. I heard hurried footsteps coming closer. I looked around and I saw a door. I pushed through it and closed it shut just as the footsteps came around the corner. I looked to the left and saw a table. I launched myself towards it and managed to squeeze myself under it and pull a chair in front of me just before the door was bashed open. Just then I noticed that this was someones house as a woman just came into the room. She saw me under the table before the men came into the house.
"Hey, excuse me, what are you doing in my house?" She asked the men as they stepped inside. she turned away from me.
"We are hunting a fugitive, we saw him come through. Tell me where he went and I won't shoot up the place." One said, lifting his pistol up and tapping it against his other fist while looking around.
"Is he the man wearing the dark green jacket? He came running through saying not to tell anyone where he was going. He went through the back door. Now go, before I call the guards." She said. The men gave the woman a withering look before they departed. She waited untill the sounds of the thugs had gone before she looked at me. As I pushed the chair out of my way and got to my feet she walked a little closer.
"Tell me why I just risked my life for you stranger." She asked in a not too gentle voice.
"I don't know, but I'm not a fugitive. I'm a simple honest worker, having a drink in a bar. I don't know what they wanted but I need to get away. Thank you for not giving me away." I said to the woman. From this veiw she looked young and rather pretty. She looked into my eyes.
"Your welcome. You owe me though." She said. I walked towards the door and as I reached it there was a low rumbling sound and the ground trembled slightly.
"What was that?" The lady asked. I looked around.
"I don't know." I answered. "Lets take a look." We both stepped outside and turned on to the main street. The skyscrapers in the far distance had been enveloped in a massive fireball which was getting bigger. My mouth dropped open as did the lady's next to me.
"What in the...?" She said. She hurried back inside. I just stared at the sight. There was more rumbling and I watched as the towers began to crumble from the extreme heat that their foundations were experiencing. As the flames slowly disappeared I could see the once building-filled horizon now just a rubble filled debris pile. I turned to the sound of footsteps. The three thugs had came running from the direction of the blast.
"There he is! That bitch lied!" The leader said. They stopped and raised their guns. I dove behind the building and ran into the house again. The woman was inside; it seemed that she was packing something into a bag. She looked up as I came in. I slammed the door shut and toppled over the stand next to it. She watched me in surprise before I grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to the back door just before someone smashed on the front door. I ignored it as I pulled her through the door and shut it.
"What's going on?" She demanded, trying to yank herself free but failing. I let her go and she stood in a huff looking at me.
"I don't know. Those men are trying to kill us both, And the city just got destroyed. We need to get away from here. There is a space port thirty kliks south of here, away from the city. I'm heading there if you want to follow." I said. I grabbed her again and we ran off just as the thugs broke through the front door.
We travelled south, past many houses not looking back, fearing if we did a gun would be fired. Cars had stopped in the street with the sight of the bomb. As we passed a cross road, I paused for a second to catch my breath.
"What's your name?" I asked her. She turned to look at me, a little out of breath.
"Mira. What's yours?"
"Dale. You won't mind if we borrow a car?" I asked. She shook her head and we both moved to closest car. The keys were in the ignition and the doors were open. I looked around and no-one was near enough to see or intervine. I started up the engine, and sped off. I looked behind us and saw three distant firgures entering another car. I groaned and floored it.
"What's wrong?" Mira asked.
"Those guys really want me. They're right behind us. Just hold on, it's going to get really rough."
"Just don't crash." Mira said. I took a deep breath and sped up the road. People on the side walk watched on in interest. I took the next right turn and then the next left. Hopefully they won't notice. We sped along the sidestreet screaming past parked cars. Just then there was a flash of the brightest white and I was momentarily blinded. My vision returned quickly and I looked over my shoulder. I could see a gigantic explosion in the far distance.
"What the hell?" I said. Mira mirrored my movement and her eyes went wide.
"What's happening?" She asked, horrified.
"I don't know, I think we're being invaded." I said. Behind us I knew that the thugs were chasing us. I sped up as fast as possible, my mind reeling from what was happening. I turned left and turned back on to the main street and pushed the car as fast as it go. Behind us the explosion was still visible. Ahead the road was clear but I knew that the car was still behind us. Why they were chasing me, I have absolutely no idea, especially while bombs were exploding all around us. I concentrated on driving up the road. The houses were starting to thin out meaning we were reaching the outskirts.
The thugs were still pursuing us although they seemed to be loosing ground. Thats good, I thought as we made it on to the highway.
Only twenty five kliks left untill the starport.
Minutes after that thought, there was another blinding flash and I knew that another bomb had landed some where behind us.
What the hell was going on?
We made it to the starport without incident, and I knew that they were only minutes behind us. It was extremely crowded and it struck me as to why the port wasn't hit first. I pushed the thought away as I looked at the lines of people queing to get of the planet. There weren't many ships available to lift off, I found out. I made some quick decisions.
"Mira, I need you to stay here for just a few minutes. If those guys come in just run that way," I said pointing to the spot I planned to go. She nodded and I could see the fear in her eyes.
"I'll only be a little while." And with that I was off. I planned to find a ship, any ship. I jogged past crowds of people, looking for the access door that would lead to one of the star ships. I found one and I casually walked near it. Security guards were everywhere. I waited untill they all had there backs to me or were distracted with something and I quickly opened the door, slipped inside and shut it. Just then I heard screaming and some guns shots. I swore and opened the door a fraction to see Mira running full pelt. I thrust the door open and she saw me. She turned slightly and came tearing through the door. I quickly shut it.
"They're here." I heard some more gunfire. "They shot one of the guards then they saw me." She said in hysterics. I grabbed her arms.
"It's ok, we're about to leave. Just calm down." There was more gunfire. "Tell me what happened."
"Ok, once they shot the guard, other guards came out of nowhere and they started to shoot each other, then their boss saw me. He would of shot me but I ran. I don't know how far they are." She said, her breathes starting to be more controlled.
"Ok, we're moving now." I said and I grabbed her hand and pulled her along the passage, listening for the sound of a door being beat down. We reached a spiral staircase and we ran up it. Once we reached the top, a single passage lead to the engine maintanance entrance. I quickly looked around making sure that there was nobody waiting and we stole across the passage. I opened the door and waved Mira through. I shut it and looked around. I had worked once on a ship much like this one so I knew where to go from here.
"Follow me, and don't touch anything; it could be dangerous." I said. She grabbed on to the back of my jacket and I lead the way. We weaved through the passages and the winding walkways to a computer console. I found the lack of personel slightly disturbing. I quickly typed away and pulled up a schematic of the ship. I burned the image into the my mind and memorised the passage ways and the doors we would have to go through then shut the cosole down. I looked around, and the way was clear so we stalked off.
The halls were empty which was odd.
I found what I was looking for; the cargo hold. I figured that if we needed to get away unseen then it would best be as a stowaway. I stolen or lost ship would leave to much of a trail. I opened the door, thankful that our luck had held for this long and stepped inside. I waited for Mira to enter behind me.
"Where are we?" She asked looking around at the containers stacked ten high in some areas. I grabbed her hand and pulled her forward.
"It's the cargo hold for this ship. It would be better to stowaway then steal a ship." I answered. Silence fell as Mira looked around the gigatnic room. I looked at the containers and judged which one would be the best. I found one which had been stacked seven high, and was nestled nicely into the sloping sealing. It would provide the perfect place to hide if anyone decided to look in here and we couldn't fall off too easliy.
"Up here." I said.
"What..." She trailed of as I lifted myself onto the container. It was about shoulder height for me but head height for Mira.
"I cant get up there." She said. I lowered my hand.
"I'll help." She grabbed my hand just as I heard the cargo hold door open. I quickly pulled her up surprised at how light she was. I covered her mouth with my hand and pushed her to the ground. Her eyes widened in protest but she heard the voices and stopped struggling and listened.
They were getting nearer. I could hear their footsteps and I knew they would be getting nearer. The way we were laying was getting uncomfortable quickly and I knew by Mira's eyes that she thought it inappropriate but necessary. The two men walked by.
"I just checked the manifest everything is here. Once the civilians are on board we'll be heading off."
"Good, I had to check myself. We've been having some problems with slackers lately in this company and it's my job to weddle them out..." Their voices trailed off and I was left with some thoughts. I noticed that Mira was looking at me funny. I quickly got up.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean..." She got up and dusted herself off and gave me a look.
"Uhh, we've gotta get up here," I said, a little distractedly. I pulled myself up then lowered my hand to pull Mira up. We managed to get to the top without any other incidents. I looked around and saw that it was flat and it was cut off at to corners by the walls.
"I suggest we get some sleep. Interstellar travel does take some time." I said. "I'll have first watch."
"Thanks." She said. She took a seat next to the wall and closed her eyes. I looked at her for a few seconds, then took a seat on the other wall. I realised just how uncomfortable it was. I took off my jacket and was about to place it behind my back when I noticed Mira squirming to get a better seat.
"Here take this it should help." I said. She hesitated, but took it.
"Thankyou Dale." She half smiled and stretched out into a laying postition and placed it beneath her head. I realised I was staring again and quickly looked away thinking about the very strange events that had taken place within the last few hours.
I made sure that I was in an uncomforatable position so I wouldn't fall asleep, but after a while I knew that I wouldn't be able to fall asleep anyway. I noticed that Mira wasn't sleeping either. I thought about what she might have been doing before I entered her life.
"What did you do, before now?" I asked her quitely. She looked up directly into my eyes.
"I had just finished visiting my grandparents and I was getting ready to head back home in Juna." She answered. She shifted slightly so that she was turned to me. "I work as a waitress in a small club back home. The pay is small but it helps me get along." She said. I left it at that. I knew that her life was completely ruined, and she seemed to be dealing with it really well and I didn't want to stop that.
What felt like hours later I felt a shudder through the container. A low rumble followed and suddenly the gravity felt as though it had increased by a hundred fold and I was pushed back against the container top. I felt myself being compressed and I knew that the ship had taken off but hadn't set the enertial dampeners in the cargo hold. I looked over to the left and saw Mira in the same predicament. I reached out to grab her hand but my arm felt like lead and I could barely slide it across the metal surface.
"Just hold on, it will be over soon!" I said through clenched teeth. I managed to grasp the ends of her fingers, and I felt them squeeze mine. I felt the gravity ease very slowly and soon I could get to my knees. I didn't let go of Mira's hand and I pulled her up, so that we were face to face.
"This is the worst part. Hold on to me as tightly as you can and don't let go. We're going to be flung side ways, but I'm not sure which direction it will be in." I felt the gravity and I knew it was about to happen. "This is the part were the ship makes the jump." She looked at me listening. "It's going to be really rough. I'm going to hold on to the container," I said, and I felt a violent shudder. It was about to happen so I spoke quickly. "Adjust yourself quickly to what ever I say or you feel. Grab me now!" I said as I felt a build up of energy. I layed on my stomach and grabbed the handle at the top, and the handle at the bottom with my feet. The build up was deafening and Mira quickly grabbed me around the stomach.
The built up energy was released and the ship lurched forward. I ship felt as though it had slipped out from under me and I realised that it was the container the had slipped forward and slammed into the wall slamming both Mira and I into the wall. We landed in a tangled heap with our body parts pressed against each other and the wall. Both of us couldn't move and I felt blood run up my face from my mouth; I had bitten my tongue. The pain was excruciating but I pushed it aside as I tried to move my head to see Mira. I felt her arm under my back and her left leg was wrapped around my right one. I tried to open my mouth to speak but I could barely form any words.
"Mira, are you ok?" I asked over the rushing sound. I tried to lift my self up so she could move her arm but she didn't. I turned my head which took a lot of effort and saw a thin trickle of blood dripping from under her hair somewhere and her eyes were closed; she had been knocked unconcious. Just then I saw a container come hurtling towards where we were laying, it had broken free of it's restraints. I tried as hard as I could and rolled over Mira and used my momentum to yank her over me. I repeated the same process and the edge of the container crashed into the blood pool that both Mira and I had created. I looked around for any more loose containers and saw another one. It was still tethered but I could see the stress it was causing.
The gravity had lessened slightly and I was able to get to my hands and knees. I looked at Mira and she was still knocked out.
I looked up and saw the container just as it slipped. I launched myself forward and pulled Mira ahead of me and braced myself for the hit. I heard a crunching sound and opened my eyes to see that the container had caught on the container that Mira and I had been laying on minutes before. I let out a breath and turned to Mira. She was still laying there. I got back to my knees and managed to slowly get to my feet but I felt as though I weighed alot more. I staggered to Mira and I finally got to her. I grabbed her arms and crossed them on her chest and grabbed her by the back of her jumper and slowly dragged her close to where the ground would normally be. The effort used exhausted me and I collapsed next to Mira knocking my head against the ground.
I hissed in pain but other wise kept quite. I could feel the gravity weaken again slightly and was thankful for it. I slowly lapsed into an unconcious state.
I could see a giant fireball in the distance, and another behind that. Suddenly a city flashed before me and it slowly collapsed. Then I was in car and Mira was driving. Her face was covered in blood then everything disappeared and I was falling.
I blinked and I saw a flash of metal as it came flying at me. Then I felt a blinding pain in my leg as it hit the cargo bay floor and I heard a crunching sound next to me and I knew that Mira had just crashed into the ground. I saw her next to me though the clouds of pain in my eyes. She looked peaceful laying there despite the blood almost covering her face. Her arm was at an angle above her head and the other was across her chest and her legs were layed out straight. I ignored the several areas of my body that were now experiancing a great deal of pain and crawled to where she was laying. I felt her chest and could still feel a heart beat and I could feel her breath when I put my hand near her mouth.
I put my back against the wall and rested her head on my crossed legs. I passed out again.
Everything was black for a while and slowly I forgot everything untill the only thing that was left was a swirling blackness.
The swirling fog became a soft female hand and it began stroking my hair out of my face. It disappeared and I missed it's presence. I felt my body move around and I felt myself on my back. I closed my eyes's and asked for the hand the hand to return. Moments later it did and I felt relaxed. A voice both near and far spoke and the hand stopped.
"Thank you for this." It said. I couldn't recognize it and the hand went back to stroking my hair. Everything went black again.
I jerked awake moments later and opened my eyes. Mira's bloodless face swam into view; she had cleaned herself up a little and by the feel of it, she had swapped places with me and I now had my head on her lap. I tried to speak but my voice cracked. I coughed and tried again.
"How's your head? You smashed it bad back there." I felt the indents in my tongue were I had bitten down.
"It's fine, it hurts though." she said softly. I felt relieved. I relaxed slightly and the legs under my head began to feel really warm. "What happened?"
"Well my plan didn't work out as well as I had hoped. The ship jumped much quicker then it should have and we both smashed into the wall. You got knocked out and I had to move us down to the ground so that we wouldn't fall when the gravity fixed itself." I felt the lack of inertia and sat up, startling Mira.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
"We've stopped. We weren't supposed to stop for a long, long time. Something's wrong." I said. Instinctivly Mira reached out for my arm. I turned and saw her face. Then suddenly I heard a hissing sound.
"What is that?" Mira asked. She clenched my arm tightly. I looked around and saw a greenish gas entering from the vents high in the room. I turned back to Mira and tried to stand but my legs felt as though they had turned to jelly. Everything became hazy. I looked Mira in the eye and I saw her eyes drooping.
"Just stay awake..." I said lazily. I grabbed her shoulders and pulled her close to me. "Don't let me go Mira..." I felt her lift her face into my shoulder just as her arms came around my neck.
"I won't Dale..." And I felt her collapse into me. I tried to force my eyes open but they wouldn't and I fell backwards with Mira over me. Then everything was black, truly black and I knew no more.

I opened my eyes and the first thing I could see was a deep red cealing. It looked slightly organic. I was laying on my back and as I looked around I figured I was in some sort of holding cell. The walls were the same color and texture as the cealing and the room was about two metres across and two metres long. I lifted my self to a sitting position and could see the bars.
I was alone.
I shifted over to the wall and sat against it.
"Mira!" I said quietly remembering my female companion. I could see her so I went to the bars and tried to get my head through. It wouldn't fit so I tried to see as far as I could but the only thing in sight was the same red wall.
"Mira?" I yelled hoping she was in a cell on the same side as me. No answer. I swore and sat back down wondering where she might be.
I was contemplating how I was going to get out of the cell when I heard some voices very far away. They were getting closer.
"I was told to keep him sedated and bring him to the captain." I heard one gruff voice say. "Someone will pick him up at the rendesvous." They were still a very long way away so I quickly layed back where I woke and closed my eyes and listened as hard as I could to hear what they were saying and I heard a grumble.
"The girl?" The gruff voice said, and I knew he was answering his companions answer. "I don't know why she was with him but it's gotta mean something so the captain said to question her then throw her out the airlock." My eyes opened in fury. The low voice said something inaudible again and I closed them again.. "No Thresher. I'm in charge of the prisoners and I say what will happen and you will not touch the girl." The gruff voice said. I heard the footsteps approach and I knew they were near. They stopped just outside my cell. Here's my chance I thought.
I heard the sound of metal keys jangling. Seconds later I heard the key enter the keyhole and the metal bars being lifted.
"Grab his legs, drag him." The gruff voice said. I let my body stay limp as I felt my legs being lifted and I was dragged out. The metal bars came crashing down almost making me jump.
I was dragged down the hall with the gruff voice behind me. We turned the corner and I began to loose my sense of direction as we began a series of sharp turns. Suddenly we straightened out and began down what I figured was a long corridor.
I heard a girl scream and my body tensed up, and the man holding me felt it and dropped my legs to the ground.
"He's awake." Said the low voice. I opened my eyes and saw them both. They had pistols pointed at me.
"Ok Holphite, just take it easy, I don't want to shoot you." The gruff voice said. I was confused at what they called me. "Stand up, nice and easy." I obeyed and got to my feet with my hands slightly upraised and my palms up to show that I had nothing. "Now walk." He said. I turned but turned back sharpy and dived at the gruff voice just as I heard another long scream. The man behind me didn't shot perhaps to afraid to shot his friend so I ignored him. I wrested the gun from the mans' hand just before both of us hit the ground and it was knocked out of my hand just as we hit the ground. It went flying under something in the corner but I ignored it as the man I tackled quickly got up and ran after the other.
That was confusing but it was driven from my mind as I heard a drawn out scream ahead of me. I ran forward through the corridor and the sound of crying grew louder. I turned left at the next junction and there was another long corridor similar to the one outside my holding cell. I slowed to a jog and looked in each cell. I knew I was getting closer because it was getting louder. Then I heard a mans' voice.
"Tell me what I want to hear and it will stop!" He yelled.
"I don't know- No! No, please don't! No!" Mira cried out just as I turned the corner and I saw a man approach her. He raised his fist and smashed it into the side of Mira's head. She cried out in pain and I rushed in through the door and slammed my body into the man. I kept my momentum going and I tackled him into the other wall as hard as I could. We both hit the ground and I pummelled his head untill my fist were red with blood that was both his and mine. I got to my feet and he didn't so I turned to Mira. She was crying uncontrollably, slumped over in the chair. Her hands were tied behind the chair, and she would have fallen off if she wasn't. Her hair was wild and full of blood.and it fell across her face. I walked over to her and as I touched her arm she cringed away. As she moved away her hair parted and I could see her face. Blood was dripping from her open mouth and the left side of her face was bruised and bloodied.
"Mira, it's me." She cried out and fell limp sobbing. I dropped to my knees and went around the back to untie the rope that was holding her hands around the back. I untied it and had to rush around the front to catch Mira as she fell forward. I turned her around so that her back was resting on my front and I held her while she cried.
"I'm here. No ones's going to get you now." While she laid there I cleaned the blood off her face. I hugged her tightly to let her know that she was safe. She felt so fragile laying in my arms.
A while later I figured that we had to move otherwise one of the men that would come back to find me.
"Are you ok to move Mira?" I asked her gently. "We need to get away from here."
"It hurts." She choked.
"I know, I know." I said. "Can you stand?" I asked.
"I'll try." She said, her voice breaking. I stood up and helped her to her feet. I draped her arm around my neck and held her around the waist to stop her from falling.
"Ok. Let's keep moving." I helped her hobble out of the cell and thankfully we didn't see anyone. I took the next right then stopped to think.
There wasn't anyhing I knew about this ship so I didn't know where to go. We started walking again and I led us to the place where I wrested the gun from that man. I checked under the place where I saw it slide and it was still there. I helped Mira to the ground and I grabbed the gun. I placed it in the back of my pants, and I helped Mira up. We made our way forward and I decided to go the same way that I saw my captors run. I pulled Mira higher onto my shoulders, thankful that she was small and light. We made it through the corridors without incident, which I found odd.
I didn't know which way I was going so I just made our course up as I went. I figured that we were getting close to the bridge because the walls were taking on a different texture and the low rumble from the engines had slowly dispersed.
Suddenly, from up ahead I heard men speaking. They seemed worried and were speaking in low voices. I stopped dead. I didn't know what to do now.
"Come on we're going back." I whispered to Mira. We turned and headed back to a small side room I saw previously. I looked around and saw nobody.
"Ok Mira, just rest here. I have to go ahead and do something." I said as I helped her into a seat.
"Will you be back?" She asked.
"Yes I just have to do something first. Will you be fine here?" I asked.
"I should be, just don't be too long, I'm so scared." She said sitting up in the chair.
"Good." I said smiling. "Just yell out for me if you need me. Now theres going to be gunshots so block your ears, ok?"
"Ok." She said. I looked around the room and saw nothing out of place so I left the room and shut the door quietly. I walked up to the voices and crouched next to the wall. I quickly looked around the corner and then pulled my head quickly back to avoid being seen. I saw two men standing in the middle of the corridor, side on. I pulled the gun from my pants and held it at the ready. I stood up and aimed it at chest height and walked out. I shot the first man and quickly aimed at the second just as he jumped and looked towards the sound. I aimed at him and fired again hitting the second in the chest.
The force of the shot sent him flying to the ground. I passed both men as they lay on the ground clutching the wounds I had inflicted. The corridor had a slight bend in it and as I passed it I saw that the bridge was right down the end. As I walked someone shouted out.
"Stop or we will open fire!" The voice sounded scared. "Put the gun down and kick it over." Then it hit me that these men wouldn't shoot me or they would of from there positions even to wound me so I stepped forward.
"No. Put your guns down or I will shoot you." I said.
"Stop!" Shouted the voice. "God damn it, everyone fall back!" The voice shouted. I heard footsteps receading and I rushed into the room. There was no-one; they had all left already. I looked around the bridge and saw the control systems. It looked as though it could be piloted by one person. I looked around at the exits' and saw the one I came through and one other. I walked over to it and opened the door and saw a long corridor. I shut it and looked around trying to find something to block the door with. I saw a couple of crates behind the captains' chair. I put the gun back in my pants, and hauled one of the crates over to the door. It was fairly heavy so it took a few minutes to get both in front of the door. I had a quick look in them and they contained food and clothing.
I stood and left the room and walked to the place where I had left Mira.
I passed the men still in the room lying in pools of their own blood. I left them and entered the room slowly.
"Mira, it's me. I found some food and a nice place for you to rest." I said walking over to her. She looked up and I could see that she had cleaned the rest of the blood from her face. I could also see the marks where the man had hit her and it made me angry inside to think he would do that. I quickly crossed the room to help her up and pulled her arm across my shoulders.
"It's ok, the bridge is clear."
"Thanks." She said, and I helped her walk out of the door.
"Close your eyes'." I said and she looked up at me.
"Why?" She asked, and from this close her eyes looked beautiful despite the bruising and blood trickles.
"Just close them please." I said. "You won't like what you would see."
"Ok." She said and she closed her eyes and grabbed my arm. I lead her around the men. They seemed to be unconcious and I helped Mira step around the blood.
Once we reached the bridge I helped Mira sit down in the captains chair. She sat at an angle to watch me as I rummaged through the crates. I found plenty of clothing and a few rugs which I pulled out.
"So where are we going now?" Mira asked with the lesser bruised side of her head resting on the chair.
"I'm not sure. I'll check the computers in a bit." I answered while I layed the rugs out next to the chair she was sitting in. "Space travel takes a while and I'm assuming that they were going to take... us," I felt it better that for the time being, Mira didn't need to know just how close she was to being killed. "A long way away from where they captured us." We were quite for while as I pulled out packages of dried food and piled them next to the crates. At the bottom of the first crate I pulled out a medical kit and I opened it. Inside where a bundle of bandages and other bits of medical inventory that I had no idea what were used for.
"Great." I said and pulled the bandages from the pile and rose to my knees in front of Mira. She saw what I was going to do and sat forward.
"Thanks." She said. I unravelled one bandage at a time and tightly wrapped it around the bruises on her face. Once I finished I put the rest back in the crate. I looked at the food packages and picked out some and threw the rest on top of the bandages. I handed Mira some of the food and she took it gratefully, and we began to eat.
"Do you know what we're going to do when we get to where ever we're going?" Mira asked between mouthfulls.
"First, we need to get you to a doctor to check on you and once your safe I'm going to find out why two groups of people are chasing us all over the system." I said.
"Do you have any guesses?" Mira asked.
"I have no idea. It just doesn't make sense why our planet was attacked either." I said, thinking back to the giant clouds of flame and dust enveloping the city.
"I hope what we saw was all that happened..." Mira said, breaking me out of my thoughts. I looked up at her from where I was sitting on the rugs and found her looking at me.
"I better find out where we're going." I said. She nodded and I got up to help her out of the chair onto the rugs. I grabbed her waist and she grabbed me around the neck as I gently lowered her onto the makeshift bed. Once she had her full weight on the bed she pulled me down so that our bodies were softly touching and my face was within inches of hers.
"Thank you so much for this." She said breathlessly. She looked beautiful and before I knew it she had her mouth on mine and once I realised what was happening I kissed her back fiercly but softly enough not to hurt her. I pulled away minutes later breathless.
"I uhh... should go see where we are going..." I said standing up. I sat down in the chair next to her, knowing that she was watching me. I was replaying the whole incident in my head and I knew that a silly grin had appeared on my face. I ignored it and typed at the keypad. I had worked at consoles much like this one for a long time so I knew what to look for. I went through the charts of where the ship had been and couldn't find anything; it had been erased. I looked at where our next heading was. It was a moon on a planet near here. Clearly they weren't planning to go too far. Unfortunatly I couldn't change the destination because it was locked in the navigation system. Maybe that's why they ran, I thought, thinking of the men that gave up the bridge without a fight. I looked at the time untill arrival; another three days. I sat back in the chair and looked down at Mira.
She looked so peaceful laying there but I knew that wasn't asleep and I knew that had just been looking at me just before I turned to her. I smiled and looked back at the screen and typed other commands on the keypad. I brought up the security cameras. I looked through them all and found a group of four huddled around talking in what seemed like the engine room.
Interesting, I thought. I had a look through the command screen and saw the door locking mechanism for several areas including the engine room. I looked at the three cameras that showed the whole room and could see no other escape so I shut the door and turned all power to the room to emergancy only.
I watched their reaction through the camera as the warm yellow light turned to a dark green one and the doors seemingly shut by them selves. They jumped and ran for the door and tried to pry it open but they couldn't. I ignored whatever else they were going to try knowing that they couldn't get out and looked over the other cameras and I saw the two men probably now dead in the hall and the man I killed in Mira's cell. There was no-one else on the ship and I was thankful for that. I decided to move the dead men to another part of the ship.
"Mira?" I called softly.
"Yes?"
"I'm going for a little bit, I have to sort a few things out." I said. "I've locked everyone on this ship in the engine room and they can't get out. We have three days until we get to our destination."
"Ok, I'll stay awake until you get back. Don't be too long." She said. I stood up careful not to tread on Mira and strode out of the room. A little onwards I saw the men and they were definatly dead. I dragged them one at a time to the room that Mira was in not long ago. I pushed him against the far wall and walked back out to the other man and did the same. The blood on the floor was dry by now so I ignored it. I decided to go check on Mira.
I poked my head in and she had sat up with her head on her knees watching the door. When she saw my face she smiled.
"I've just got one thing left then I'll be back." She nodded and I walked down to the engine section. I saw the door and the switch on the wall next to it. I pulled the gun out.
"Can you hear me?" I called through the door. I heard some muffled scrambling.
"Let us out of here!" A voice called.
"One of you will came out, the rest will back away to the wall. I will shoot to kill if anyone tries anything." I said. One of the men agreed and I stood to the right of the door and crouched. I opened the door and the man with the gruff voice stepped out and looked around until he saw me. I closed the door and pointed the gun at the man.
"Walk to the cells now." I told him he walked ahead and led me to the cell I was placed in.
"Give me the keys and empty all you pockets." I said. He gave me the keys and a few other unimportant items and I gestured to get in the cell. He slowly walked in and I closed the bars. I locked them and snapped the key off in the lock.
"Hey, I can't get out now!" He proclaimed. When we get to where we're going I'm sure your friends can find a way. Now I want some answers and you will give them to me." I said pointing the gun at him. "Where are we going and how long until we get there?" I asked.
"This ship is headed to the moon of the planet Prunoa and we have about three to four days untill we get there." He answered. Good, I thought.
"Why am I so valuable?" I asked. The man looked at me in surprise.
"Because you are Holphite." He said.
What did that mean? I thought.
"And that is..?" I asked. He looked at me in more surprise and there was a little anger in his eyes.
"How could you not know? It is your purpose, it is your reason for being. You are the Bringer of Peace." The man said. I looked at the man blankly. "I have no idea what else your supposed to do, that's all I know, that was all that was in the contract."
"Who was the contract for?" I asked.
"I don't know." He said.
"Who would?" I pressed.
"No one does. We just got this contract like everyone else."
"Everyone else? What do you mean?" I asked. The man turned slowly to look at me.
"It means that every bounty hunter in the galaxy is looking for you." He said. Shock raced through my brain impairing thought for a moment. I pushed it away.
"What was going to happen on the moon when we got there?"
"We were going to do a blind trade. You on the planet and the money would of been dropped off an hour later." He said. I thought deeply about what my next move would be.
"How much money?" I asked.
"Five million creds." He said bitterly. My mouth dropped open and my plan was made.
"How would you like to still get that money?" I asked. He looked up confused.
"What do you mean?"
"I want to find out more information," I said. "So here's my deal. You kill all your companions, so you have no one to split with and you get the five million to your self. Mira, the girl that travels with me needs to be checked over by a doctor, so I want you to get her to the Melkorians. I don't want her harmed in any way or I will find out. You will give her enough money to live off for a while then you can live out your life with your money. Understood?" I said. He looked at me oddly.
"Why is she so valuable to you?" I ignored the comment and the flashback it brought up.
"Do you understand? Do we have a deal?" I asked again. He looked as though he was thinking.
"Ok I'll do it."
"Good now stand back." I said and I raised the gun and aimed it at the lock and fired off a few shots. The bullets blasted the lock apart and I easily lifted the bars up. The man exited and stood facing me.
"Lead the way to the bridge," I said. He walked ahead and I kept the gun in my pants to show that I trusted him. We walked into the bridge and Mira jumped up at the sight of the man.
"It's ok Mira, He is going to help us." I walked ahead and helped her stand just as the man sat in the captains chair. I lead Mira to the back of the room.
"Ok, I have a plan." I said. "I'm going to let my self be captured so I can find out why they want us so much." Mira began to protest but I cut her off.
"I have to find out. He is going to collect the money that is out for me and take you to the Melkorian Kingdom where you can get properly checked out. Then he will give you some of the money to help you rebuild. When I find out what's happening I'll come back and find you, I promise." I said. She looked at me fiercely but then looked away.
"Ok." She said halfheartedly. She stood up and walked over to the crates and took a seat looking out of the view port. I felt a pang and stood up ready to walk over to her.\par
"Ok, It's done." The man said. So I walked over to him instead. I could see the camera to the engine room and it looked as the engine coolant had been diverted into the tanks in the room. The heat and fumes appeared to have killed the men inside. He stood up from the captain's chair and walked out of the door. Mira looked from him to me.
"What's done?" She asked. I looked at her.
"He just had to reconfigure something on the autopilot." I lied. I walked over to her and sat down on the crate. "We need to know why this is happening." I said, trying to reassure her. She looked sideways at me.
"I know." She said. I gave her a quick squeeze and we talked about our lives before all this.
A while after, once Mira had laid back down I walked out of the bridge and followed to where I assumed the other man would be. I walked down to where he was imprisoned for a short time and he was sitting with his back to the wall. He was startled when I walked around the corner.
"We need to talk for a while." I said and I took a seat next to him.
"What is your name?" I asked.
"Marcus Dollen." He answered. I figured he already knew mine and didn't need to ask. We spoke of what was going to happen and the plan was made for when in three days we would make the exchange.