Mitchell's Revenge

It had taken hours to get through the asteroid belt without further incident. Pavel was exhausted. Anja was asleep on the floor nearby. As soon as they were in clear space Maxim despatched Elena and Sergey to the damaged section of the ship to repair the breach in the hull again.

Nadezhda monitored their progress from her command board. The piece of debris lodged in the skin of the ship was small, but it was heavy and radioactive. The radioactivity threatened to interfere with their instrumentation during their final jump towards Tarasov. Removing it would cause more damage to the Zond, so they elected to leave it where it was. Sergey adjusted the filament composition to take this into account. He and Elena worked swiftly to seal the breach and secure the fragment into place.

“I think it will hold, Captain,” said Nadezhda. “The filament has doused the radioactivity enough that our instruments should be unaffected during FTL flight. This is only a short jump anyway.”

“We’ll just have to risk it,” replied Maxim. “I want to get home. We all need a rest. Look at Pavel!”

He pointed to their pilot who was slumped back in his seat. His eyes were closed and his mouth was wide open, a rumbling snore came from his throat. Anja was now curled into a ball on the floor by his side.

“We’re almost done,” came Elena’s voice through the coms. “Do you want to re-pressurise down here and see how it is?”

“When you both get back up here, we’ll take a look,” replied Maxim. “I don’t want to risk anything happening to you.”

Half an hour later when they were back on the bridge, Nadezhda ran final checks on the hull integrity. Elena stood near Pavel, looking down at the sleeping man and the child on the floor.

“We still can’t close the shields over that part of the hull,” Nadezhda advised. “But we are in our home galaxy and we should be safe. It’ll just have to do for now. Better wake Pavel up so he can plot our last jump home.”

Elena squeezed Pavel’s shoulder and leaned close to his ear, suggesting quietly that he should wake up. Another snore erupted from him in response. She shook him this time and he snorted as he opened his eyes. He stared at her. Elena laughed.

“What, where?” he stuttered. He shook his head and blinked. “I fell asleep.”

“You sure did,” said Elena. “You need to pilot us home. We’ve re-sealed the hull. I’ll get you some coffee.” She disappeared in the direction of the galley. Pavel sat up and stretched.

“How long was I asleep?” he asked. He looked at Anja who was still curled up in a ball on the floor, unmoving.

“Long enough,” replied Maxim. “It’s time to get us home. Nadezhda’s sure the hull will hold for this last jump, so let’s get going. We have to deliver the child to Achernar spaceport as soon as we get back.”

“Sergey, take the girl back to her cabin and lock her in,” Maxim went on. “She can sleep there out of our way.”

Anja stirred slightly as Sergey scooped her up from the floor. She settled her head against his shoulder as he carried her back to the cabin. Elena returned from the galley with extra strong coffee for Pavel, who got to work on getting them home.

“You know that kid should be in flying school, don’t you,” he said quietly as he worked. “She’s a natural.” Nadezhda and Maxim nodded in agreement.

“I’ve heard the brother is a talented pilot too,” said Maxim. “It obviously runs in the family. But Yuri must have plans for her and we must do as we’re told if we want to get paid.” He sighed as he turned to his command board. Sergey returned to the bridge.

Anja lay completely still on the cot in the cabin where Sergey had placed her, feigning sleep for as long as she could. She knew Nadezhda would be watching for her to wake up. Her mind raced as she thought about the information Maxim had let slip thinking she was fast asleep. She had heard of Achernar. She knew it was the largest city on Tarasov, which was the headquarters of the IGM. It was galaxies away from EQ2 and she now had no idea how she was going to get home.

She turned over onto her stomach and cried softly into the pillow. She realised with a stab of fear that she might never see her family again. She turned her face to the wall of the cabin and let tendrils of her long blond hair fall across her cheek. She hoped Nadezhda would not see her crying.

The Zond lurched as it exited FTL flight some hours later. They were as close as they could get to Tarasov without entering the atmosphere of the planet. When they settled into a geosynchronous orbit above Achernar, Elena went to fetch Anja. Their instructions were to send her in the ship’s landing drone to the spaceport at Achernar. She would be met by Anton Orlov and escorted to the family compound at Noo.

The door of Anja’s cabin slid open to let Elena in. She was shocked to see the tear stained face of the child who had been so brave, so far. She sat on the edge of the cot next to Anja and put her arm around her shoulders. She drew her close and whispered to her so quietly that Anja had to concentrate hard to hear.

“If I ever see a chance to help you get back to your family, I will take it,” Elena said. “Don’t repeat this to anyone. None of us agree with what Yuri is doing. We think you are incredibly brave and should be in flying school, not doing whatever he has in mind for you. Be brave. We will help you if we can.”

Anja reacted by burying her head in Elena’s shoulder and sobbing loudly. Then she pushed her roughly away and sat up straight on the cot. She rubbed her eyes and tugged at the hair which had come loose from its ponytail. Tears ran down her cheeks as she secured the escaped strands of hair back into its fastening.

In a more normal tone of voice Elena went on to explain what their instructions were. She showed Anja an image of Anton Orlov on her handipalm so that she would recognise her escort and not run from him. As the child studied the image, Elena reflected that they could be brother and sister with their blond hair, blue eyes and fine features.

Anja took her jacket from the robing unit and pulled it on over the too big shipsuit. She zipped it up. She checked that her shoes were securely fastened. She wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand. She stood facing Elena in the small space in front of the cot.

“Can I get my handipak back now?” she asked.

“When we get to the drone,” Elena replied.

“I’m ready then,” said Anja.