Hyper

[Location: Outside of the Class Three, Planet Earth Refugee Transport, Elysian Fields]

Jozef removed the drain plug from the repulsor and purple lubricant began to empty into a plastic drip-pan. He tossed the wrench and the plug aside and wiped the oil from his fingers with an orange shop rag. While he waited, he disconnected the main electrical bus connector and the gate signal connector and let them dangle freely in the air. The stream of lubricant began to thin as the reservoir emptied, but it would still be a few more minutes before it was completely drained.

As he stood waiting, he leaned back against the tail section of the ship and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small, square shaped tin container and opened the lid. He used his thumb and fore finger to remove a pinch of the aqua blue powder that was inside and lifted his fingers under his nose to inhale the substance. He closed his eyes as the drug entered his blood stream and then trembled slightly as it went into his brain.

Jozef had never bought into the idea that drugs were evil. He had used them frequently since he was sixteen as a way to feel better during tough times. He figured if science had discovered them, it would be a waste not to take advantage of them.

He opened his eyes, exhaled, and placed the metal container back into his pocket. Then he slid his e-pad from his pants pocket and tapped the keyboard. He navigated to the Google search page and typed in his brother’s name. Johan Baca.

Johan was Jozef’s older brother and three years his senior. The two boys had no other siblings and had lived on Earth with their mother early on. Their father had been sent to a work camp on Mount Kashka when Jozef was an infant and his brother was too young to remember. Their early childhood was quite happy, with frequent trips to the park with their mother and time spent playing with other young children.

But as they became older and embraced the world, life became a constant struggle for the two boys as they grew up in a dangerous part of Horodenka. Having someone cover your back was a requirement in the crime-ridden city and the two learned to constantly rely on one another. Gangs, guns, violence, and drugs surrounded them every day and after a few years they found it common place. Men that had built a bond this closely were not only brothers but best friends.

Happy childhood memories frequently filled Jozef’s mind and provided some comfort during the cold, dark days in space, before they were replaced with morbid thoughts of violence and death during the later years of their lives.

He squinted as he mentally sorted through the data that spilled onto the e-pad screen. The full effect of the drug was kicking in now and his ears began to buzz. He located an article from the November 21, 2056 edition of the Alabama Chronicle that had been entitled Baca Receives Final Punishment. He tapped on the link to access it and moved the pad closer to get a better view.

The news article filled the screen, showing the headline and a black and white picture of his brother wearing a prison jumpsuit. His hands were crossed at his waist and secured by a set of hand-cuffs. One could tell that the picture had been taken minutes before he was led to the execution chamber, his head shaved and a cold blank stare on his face.

Baca Receives Final Punishment

November 21, 2056

Convicted killer and mobster Johan Baca was executed today at the Tuscaloosa State Penitentiary in Cottondale. Baca had been on death row for a little more than two years for a string of murders over a fifteen-year period that left thirty-six people dead. Baca had been the muscle for New York criminal kingpin Riley Malone and had the job of protecting the mobster and eliminating anyone deemed to be a threat. Baca, as well as Malone, were captured when The Federal Bureau of Investigation set up a sting operation pretending to be arms dealers. Prison officials have not commented on the execution but to say Baca had been pronounced dead at 2:13 p.m. on November 20, 2056. Baca’s body was buried in the prison cemetery as no family members could be located.

Jozef thought back to the day he first heard that his brother had been convicted and sentenced to death. He decided to withhold the information from his mother because she was elderly and quite sick at the time. He knew if he told her the tragic news it would definitely kill her. So he kept the information to himself and allowed his mother to live out her last days thinking her oldest boy had a good job in America.

The last drop of lubricant left the reservoir and Jozef lay his e-pad on the edge of the metal cart next to him. He reinserted the drain plug and then using a socket wrench, began to remove the two mounting bolts that held the repulsor in place. He tossed the first bolt onto the cart, and then the second. He yanked at the repulsor to mechanically loosen it, then used every muscle in his body to lift the device from its mounting location. He held his breath as he moved the heavy object onto the cart. Finished, he took a second to catch his breath and wipe a few beads of sweat from his brow. He grabbed his e-pad again and returned to his leaning spot.

He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat and turned his attention to the picture on the screen. The caption read Baca being led to his execution by a member of The Deadly Three. He zoomed in to get a better look at the person standing behind his brother. As he focused his eyes on the black and white photo, a sense of realization filled his mind.

The man in the photograph was Charles D. Kennedy, who had been a member of The Deadly Three and was now the Chief Facility Officer of D.D.315.

“Charles D. Kennedy. I knew I recognized that guy from somewhere,” he whispered.

The lump in his throat melted away as anger filled his eyes. Jozef was not a stranger to revenge. He thought of it as a potent acid that pumped through a man’s heart and provided a high unmatched by any narcotic.

Jozef took a deep breath and exhaled as the potent drug of revenge began to travel through every blood vessel. He tossed the e-pad onto the cart and began to push it forward, heading to the heavy lab. As he walked he thought to himself, You, Mr. Kennedy, will soon feel the sting of the ice-cold dagger known as revenge as it claws your back. But your wife, Mr. Kennedy, will be the one to pay your bill in full.