He didn’t know exactly how long the flight back had lasted, but it had felt like an eternity. He had been sat in the most unfortunate of places. On his one side was the lieutenant. On the other the sergeant. There had been a constant palpable tension during the flight. As if the two of them could lash out at each other at any moment. Neither of them seemed to mind if that turned him into collateral damage. In fact, both probably considered that an added bonus. At least both of them were wearing helmets with visors that obscured their faces.
They had just docked into one of the spaceport’s landing bays. Both the lieutenant and the sergeant had taken their helmets off, revealing furious faces. The long flight had done nothing to calm them down. Everyone had to remain seated whilst they were waiting for atmospheric pressure in the landing dock to rise to normal. He was trapped between two officers ready to go at each other's throats. Two officers that also had a bone to pick with him. The sergeant spoke to the recruits. There was an odd disconnect between the anger in his voice and the neutrality of his message. ‘We have to wait until full repressurization, men. We landed in an internal dock. The ship’s getting serviced after this mission.’
Voss tried to look anywhere other than the the sergeant's or lieutenant's direction. Afraid that if he locked eyes with either of them, he’d be the trigger that set them off. Not that the alternatives were much better. Most of the instructors and recruits had a grim and vengeful look on their faces. The only exceptions were Hiyo and Tick, who both looked miserable. Especially Tick had it rough. He tried to keep strong, but Voss knew there had to be severe ice burns around where the leg of his suit had been punctured. Any puncture in your suit meant there was a hole inside the insulation that was supposed to protect you from almost absolute zero temperatures. They had been warned that it was similar to having someone blow torch into your suit. Looking at Tick's face, he figured the warnings hadn't been exaggerated.
Voss felt sorry for them. Neither of them deserved to be in this position. He didn’t know what was to happen to himself or Tick, but he did know that it was game over for Hiyo. He had panicked and gone against everything they had been taught. Worse even, he had ignored direct commands from his instructor. The Fifth would never let a man who had proven himself to crack under pressure join their ranks. Mistakes could be forgiven, weakness could not. Hiyo had shown one moment of weakness, and was going to pay for it with forty years of spaceport maintenance. Hiyo was unlikely to ever see anything other than the confines of that drab spaceport ever again. There was no way a man like him would survive forty years of such a monotonous existence without going insane. A true loss. Hiyo was the brightest amongst them. Better even than he himself.
He hoped Tick was allowed to stay on though. He had been injured but Voss was sure that it wasn’t anything medbay couldn’t fix. Losing Hiyo was a major blow, losing Tick and himself too? He didn’t think the group would recover at such a late state of their training. He meant no insult to the other recruits, but except for Emil, Hoog and Dane, the rest wasn't exactly the intellectual type. They all had their strengths, but complex thinking wasn't one of them. With Tick and himself also gone, the group would have lost half their brainpower. Perhaps this could be his saving grace? The fact that they couldn't afford to lose him on the same day they lost Hiyo. After all, he was now the only proper mechanic of the group remaining.
The red light flashed. Pressurization was complete. Before anyone could unbuckle themselves and get up, the sergeant shouted at them. ‘Everybody remains seated until the medic team has come in and taken those who need medical treatment.’. The rear hatch opened and two pairs of medics rushed in. They placed both Tick and Hiyo on stretchers and rushed them out of the Ciklops.
The sergeant now gave the all clear order. Recruits and instructors alike unbuckled and got their things together for departure. Voss grabbed his helmet and a toolkit. His gaze remained firmly planted at the floor. The last thing he wanted now was for eye contact to spark conversation. Not that that was likely anyhow. Nobody spoke. A bleak atmosphere had taken hold over the passenger bay. The rear hatch opened. The sergeant yelled ‘Everybody out’. Meekly they obliged.
Upon exiting the Ciklops, Voss spotted two faceless ones waiting at the end of the onramp. He had never seen one in real life before, but everyone knew what they were. Trouble. The captain had already been informed of what had happened. Probably signaled by the Ciklops’ pilot. Voss looked over at the lieutenant and saw that the anger on her face had been replaced by trepidation.
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To Voss’ surprise, the faceless ones clicked their heels together and gave a salute when he and the lieutenant approached them. He looked over at the lieutenant and saw she was as baffled as he was. Why would the captain's lackeys give proper salutes to them? It seemed odd, especially in a situation like this.
‘Out of my way, you two.’. Voss recognized that voice, as did the lieutenant. Voss saw her shrink at the sound of it. A slight movement. One she managed to catch and suppress before it became obvious. But one he had caught. Not that his personal reaction had been any better. Phantom pains flared up on his back when he heard the voice of the captain. A staunch reminder of the flogging he had gotten on the captain's orders. Voss turned around and saw him walking closely behind them. The captain's eyes were as piercing as always. Capable of sending shivers down anyone's spines. The captain was wearing a pilot void suit and had his helmet locked in underneath his shoulder. Both Voss and the lieutenant took a step aside. There was a haste in their movement that read like a confession of guilt. They knew they were in trouble and that it would be wise to do anything they could not to make matters worse.
The captain had been on board with them. He had witnessed everything that had happened. Just what they needed. This way there'd be nothing they could to to twist the story to their own benefit. This was bad. The captain placed his hands on their shoulders as he passed them. ‘To my office you two. My guards will escort you after you’ve finished up here. I will be with you soon. Sergeant, please be so kind as to walk with me. I believe we have some urgent matters to discuss.’. ‘Damn it!’ Voss thought. The lieutenant had been right. It had been her who got tested today. Something bigger was going on here and he got caught in it. Something told him the lieutenant hadn't been honest with him. Perhaps she wasn't the big shot she made herself out to be after all.
They rushed to the locker room, took off their void suits, stashed everything away and marked their stations for cleaning. The faceless ones were stood right outside the locker room. Everyone who passed them had an uneasy look to their faces. The faceless ones had quite the reputation and now Voss knew why. There was something uncanny about them. Something.. inhuman. The way they just stood there waiting. Neither of them had uttered a single word yet. Just two silent, towering figures who stood there like statues. Statues that lived only to serve their captain. Voss had heard the rumors about how deadly and ruthless the faceless ones could be. He believed them now. These weren't the types to test their limits with, and he wasn't in the position to push anyone's limits today anyhow.
Voss and the lieutenant exited the locker room. One of the faceless ones gave them a gesture to follow them. What followed was a long journey through damp corridors, rusty walkways and two rides on elevators that squeaked in protest when they were forced into action. At least there was some comfort in the noise and filth of the station. The electric lights illuminating damp corridors, and the noises of hissing pipes and moving machinery were a welcome change after the eerie quiet of the dark coldness of the void.
They arrived at a doorway that led them into a dark, narrow room. ‘Wait here for the captain.’. One of the faceless ones spoke. There wasn’t even a hint of emotion in his voice. Voss and the lieutenant sat down on the metal bench in the waiting room. The faceless ones passed through and entered the captain’s office, leaving Voss and the lieutenant alone in the room.
‘Listen carefully, Voss.’ The lieutenant said.
‘You mean like during our void walk? No thanks. You got me into enough tr..’
‘Shut up!’ She snapped at him with a ferocity that warned him not to push things further. He got the message. Now was a time for them to get serious if they wished to stand a chance against the captain. ‘You may think you grasp the severity of the situation, but you don’t. The captain is a ruthless man who will have you hanged within a heartbeat if he so wishes. Don’t try to be a smart ass in there unless you want to see us both dangling up in the air with a rope around our necks. Remember. It was him who had you all whipped over something that you couldn’t help and had no active part in.’
‘So what do you suggest we do then?’
‘First off, cut the act and get serious. The captain detests jokers. Secondly, be honest with him. He can smell lies from a mile away and he already knows pretty much everything anyways. Thirdly, only speak when spoken to and say no more than you have to. I know him better than you do, so let me do the talking. And finally, whatever you do, make sure you…’
The lieutenant didn’t get to finish her sentence. The door swung open. The sergeant appeared in the door opening. ‘You two are up now.’. The sergeant had a gleeful look on his face that reminded Voss of the way kids can look when they know one of their siblings is getting into trouble. Whatever was to happen to them, the sergeant was going to enjoy it.
From behind the sergeant, the captain’s voice sounded soft but stern. ‘You can leave now, sergeant.’. Voss couldn’t help but feel a little glee himself at the captain’s words. The captain knew the sergeant was enjoying this just a little too much and had put him firmly back into place. This captain truly was something. A force of nature. Too bad he and the lieutenant were going to be at the receiving end of that force.