The Broken Peace

Peterson paced around the spacious accommodations provided for him and the crew. During the daylight hours, the crew was allowed to go outside what could best be described as a barracks. The crew was not locked in their barracks at night; they were expected to remain inside at night. A single guard kept watch over them at night. Where were they going to go anyway? The crew of the Preston Brooking was stranded on this planet far away from the nearest civilized world.

While they were comfortable and had plenty to eat, Peterson still felt imprisoned on the planet that a few weeks before they were going to survey. Peterson grew increasingly restless as the days passed.

During the day, Peterson began to make note of the comings and goings of his hosts. Each day, he and several handpicked crewmen watched from the limits of the area assigned to the Preston Brooking's crew. A fence marked the limits of where they were allowed to go. The fence was not electrified nor heavily guarded, but armed patrols kept a vigil day and night.

Peterson and his select band took note of the guard's movements. They looked for weaknesses in the fence and spots where they could not easily be seen. After a couple of weeks, Peterson believed the time was right.

"Alright, let's go over this again. At 0100 hours, we make our move. Remember, this is a recon mission."

Peterson laid out a hand-drawn map of the area around their compound. He gathered three people he trusted most for his plan. The first person he approached was Francene Gillis. Peterson and Gillis served together for three years on the Preston Brooking. He chose Nick Shuler and Rachel Nichols because of their service in the Anatolian army. Shuler was assigned to a reconnaissance platoon, while Nichols was a supply sergeant.

"Our target is this area here, a few klicks from the spaceport. We need to find out what is going on here before we make our escape. Gillis, were you able to procure some binoculars?"

She laughed, "That was an easy task, EXO. All it took was batting my eyes at that skinny guard several times."

"Good. Are you still on good terms with him?"

"Oh yeah. He won't be a problem. What do you need?"

"Time. Tell him a couple of us would like to observe star patterns."

"No offense, EXO, but I've got a better idea about how to distract him."

"Gillis, I'm not asking you to throw yourself at him. Just distract him."

"There's no better way to distract a man. I'll be fine."

"Your call, Gillis. Shuler and Nichols, you two are with me. We'll sneak through the weakness in the fence and then take up a spot to observe their little project. The idea is to get what information we can and then get back. Once we've got an idea of what they're doing here, we can finalize our escape plans. Any questions?" Peterson waited, looking at the people around him. "Alright, let's get ready."

At 0100, Gillis made her move on the half-asleep guard. He sat behind a small desk, wearily looking at a video pad, trying to stay awake. She approached him, noticing his struggle. "Hi," she said as she sat on the corner of the desk.

"Uhm, hi," he said, suddenly more awake. "You're supposed to be in your rack."

"And you're supposed to stay awake. Which one of us would be in more trouble for breaking the rules?"

"You've got a point. Is there something I can do for you?"

"Maybe. My friends are a bunch of scientists, they want to go outside and observe some star pattern or something. So they wanted me to ask you if it was okay."

"Well, rules say you have to stay inside."

"Oh, come on, they're scientists. What trouble could they possibly cause? Besides, you could consider it a favor to me,"

"To you?"

She leaned closer to his ear and whispered, "To me." She leaned back and smiled. "It has to be lonely out here, all by yourself."

"Well, there are others here-"

"You have someone already. I knew it. Nevermind." She got up from the desk to head back to the bunk area.

"No, wait," he said. A sly smile crossed Gillis' face. She turned back toward the man. "I didn't say that. But why me? Why are you interested in me?"

"Like I said. My friends are all scientists. Do you know what it's like to be stuck on a ship for months, if not years at a time, with a bunch of scientists? They're all interested in instruments, charts, computers, and other boring stuff. I sat day after day at my station, and that's all I heard about. Now I'm here, and I don't even have that to keep me interested. I'm looking for someone interested in something more exciting. But, if that's not you."

"Wait. You said your friends wanted to observe some star cluster?"

"Our mission was to observe stars, survey planets, and whatnot."

"Maybe, I can help you with that. If you would keep me company."

"I'm not a whore, Mister."

"Oliver. Trent Oliver, I don't think you're a whore, but I have a small bottle of Corcyrean Schapps. I promise not too much, just enough to take off the edge."

"As long as you let my friends go observe and as long as the edge is the only thing you expect me to take off."

"Deal."

"Good, I'll let my friends know."