They didn’t talk much as they began their journey back to Celentus. Will just stared at the view outside the ship while Debra leaned back in her chair and thought about everything that’d happened. If she’d known about that reward, she’d never had gone to Frank. For that much money he’d sell out his own mother.

“I’m sorry,” she finally said.

“For what?” asked Will turning to face her.

“For being an idiot.”

Will shook his head. “We had to find a way to get to Earth and took a chance. It didn’t work out. We’ll just have to figure out something else.”

“But I vouched for them,” she said unhappily.

“And they disappointed you. It happens,” observed Will. “Now if you’re looking for a true idiot,” he continued with a bitter laugh. “Look at me. I worked with Gwen for almost two years and never once suspected her of scanning the weapons we were destroying.”

“Well of course,” declared Debra after a short pause. “Pretty girls have been fooling guys for eons. All she had to do was bat her eyes and say those magic words.” Debra adjusted her voice to sound cloyingly sweet. “Oh, Will you’re so strong and brave. Take me. Take me.” She started giggling as she finished.

He couldn’t help but laugh and was happy to see Debra smiling.

Yet there was still the problem of getting back to Earth to confront Grandle. Will knew any unknown ship getting anywhere near Earth would immediately be challenged. And since they’d likely changed the security protocols since they’d left Earth, there was little chance they could bluff their way in.

He noticed Debra typing on the computer. “What’re you doing?”

She continued typing. “You’d be surprised at how much stuff gets shipped to Earth every day,” she said. “Everything from luxury furniture to food.”

Will nodded absent-mindedly. “Yeah, people like their off-world luxuries. I remember one state dinner where they made a big deal about serving Wixlenian selmet. I thought it tasted like chicken.”

Debra just stared at him for a moment. “You know transport ships can carry other things.”

“Sure,” began Will, but he suddenly stopped talking as a smile came over his face. “Like us?”

Debra shook her head. “Yes, us.”

“Been a long day,” he replied. “So I assume you’ve been checking out suitable cargo routes?”

“A couple look promising,” she said. “Graxlia ships furniture to Earth every few weeks. Since their own people won’t leave their planet they hire ships to transport their goods.”

Will rubbed his chin. “Graxlia is pretty far from Earth, but they don’t have much of a military. Might make it easier to get on the ship.”

Debra looked down at the screen. “Then there’s Hrela which is known for its spices. They send ships to Earth fairly frequently.”

Will smiled. “Beautiful planet. Haven’t been there in years though. The people were friendly, but were always trying to get you to buy something.”

“Do you think they’d help us?” asked Debra hopefully.

“Normally I’d say yes,” answered Will. “However, with that reward out for us I could see someone wanting to get it.”

“So,” said Debra. “What shall it be, Graxlia or Hrela?”

“Hrela,” answered Will without hesitation. “With Graxlia hiring outside people to take their good to Earth there’s too many unknowns.”

“Agreed,” said Debra.

Will set course for Hrela. “Should be there in three days.”

They spent the next three days going over the schematics of the standard Hrelian cargo ship. Will pointed out several hatches around the exterior of the ship.

“These are primarily for ship maintenance,” he explained. “However, they can be used to get into the ship.” He pointed at one of the hatches. “From this hatch we can get into the ship’s cargo bay. It’s unlikely anyone will be in there once the ship’s in flight so it should be safe.”

In addition, they were able to find some views of the cargo center landing field. It was located on a large valley well away from any major cities and was surrounded by an area of mountains and valleys.

Will nodded. “Looks like plenty of areas where we can land without being observed.”

However search as they might, the one thing they couldn’t find was a manifest when shipments to Earth would occur.

“Guess we’ll have to figure that out once we get to Hrela,” declared Debra. “Would hate to end up on the wrong ship.”

The last thing they did was to gather the equipment they’d need to take with them. They put everything they could fit into two backpacks and onto their equipment belts. Each of them took two blasters.

“Might need this,” observed Debra as she shoved nearly fifty thousand credits into her backpack. Will smiled, but knew she might just be right. Will and Debra were now ready and took turns flying the ship so they’d be well rested.

When they reached the edge of the Hrela system, Will lowered the ship’s power levels to avoid being detected. He then took the ship in a long arc to take them to Hrela. The trajectory was selected so it would be nighttime at the cargo center when they reached the planet.

Will didn’t go into orbit around the planet, but activated the ship’s shields and immediately plunged into the atmosphere. The ship shook as it was buffeted by the planet’s atmosphere and its exterior temperature rapidly increased causing the ship’s shields to glow white. However, within a few minutes the turbulence subsided and the temperatures began dropping. Will headed for the surface as quickly as possible.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

As they drew closer to the ground, they could see a large lighted area. There was a strip of open land around it and beyond that was an area of trees which stretched to the nearby mountains. Smaller lights dotted a wide road which led away from the cargo center. Debra checked the sensors. “Looks like there’s a few dozen people at the cargo center,” she reported. “No sign of any ships taking off.”

“Good,” replied Will as he veered the ship away from the cargo center and headed for the nearby mountains.

“Sensors showing a small valley ahead,” called Debra. “No life signs in the area.”

Will slowed the ship and turned on its landing lights as they came over the valley. They hovered over the valley for a few minutes as he searched for a suitable landing location. He finally found a spot near a small outcropping. He brought the ship down and shut down the engines.

Will and Debra just sat there a few minutes. Finally Debra looked over at Will. “You ready for this?”

He smiled. “I’m always ready.”

They unstrapped themselves strapped on their equipment belts. They’d already put on black overalls to better conceal themselves. Opening the locker by the door, they each took a jetpack and slipped it on. They picked up their backpacks and headed out the door. Warm, humid air hit them as they stepped outside. The door closed behind them.

There was a small half-moon in the clear night sky which provided just enough light to see by.

Will patted the ship. “Hopefully we’ll have a chance to let King Raphul know it’s here.”

Debra nodded knowing they may not have an opportunity to return it in person. She slipped in her radio earpiece as Will did the same.

“Stay low,” said Will. “Unfortunately, we won’t be able to get too close since the field’s so well lighted.”

“Got it.”

They both hung their backpacks on the forward frame of their jetpacks and took off into the night sky. They kept just above the trees and moved through the mountains as they flew towards the cargo center. It didn’t take long until they’d reached a position which overlooked the cargo center.

“Let’s set down here and take a look,” radioed Will.

“Okay,” replied Debra.

They landed in a small clearing and began walking towards the cargo center. Within ten minutes they reached a point where they could see it. Debra brought out her scanner which displayed a close up view of the area below. There was a number of building scattered to one side of the landing field. Most of them appeared to be warehouses with a few smaller buildings.

Several groups of people could be seen directing trucks with crates loaded on them into one of the three ships on the landing field.

“Can you magnify it anymore?” asked Will. “There might be markings on the crates showing their destination.”

Debra pressed several buttons.

They stared at the scanner straining to see any markings on the crates. “Play that back,” called Will. Debra rewound the scanner’s playback and stopped it on the side view of a crate.

“Does that look that Harold’s to you?” he asked.

She squinted at the image while shifting the scanner in her hand. “Not sure. Let me see if I can clean it up.” She pressed a button and the image flashed several times before coming back. However, it was now much clearer. “Definitely Harold’s,” agreed Debra.

Will smiled. “Never been there myself, but I’ve been driven by it enough times to know Harold’s. It’s not far from the Capital Complex and is supposed to have the best and likely most expensive of everything.”

Debra had resumed scanning the area. “Looks like they’re almost done loading the ship, but I don’t see any crew boarding.”

“Hopefully, they’re not leaving until the morning. That should give us enough time to get onboard.”

They activated their jetpacks and began moving closer to the landing field. They continued until they were about a mile away from it.

“We’ll have to leave the jetpacks here,” said Will after they’d landed. “I doubt we could get them through the hatch.”

They took off their jetpacks and hit them under some brush. Throwing their backpacks over their shoulders they moved towards the cargo center on foot. Within twenty minutes, they’d reached the edge of the trees. There was several hundred feet of open space between them and the edge of the landing field.

A large truck was being directed onto the ramp into the ship. It appeared to be the last one as no others had approached the ship. “Hopefully, they’re done for the night,” said Debra. Will nodded his agreement.

After about a half hour, the truck left the ship and headed towards what appeared to be a garage. From where they were, Will and Debra could here laughter and shouts coming from the workers as they walked away from the ship. Debra brought out the scanner. “They’re heading towards one of the smaller buildings. Already a number of people there. Probably a barracks.”

The landing field was quiet now. Will gestured to their right. “Let’s move over that way to put the ship between us and the buildings.” Debra nodded.

They worked their way along the edge of the trees until they were facing the forward end of the ship which had just been loaded. It was about five hundred feet away from them. Debra brought out the scanner. “The landing field looks clear,” she reported.

“Then let’s go.”

Crouching down, the two of them moved quickly towards the ship while keeping an eye on the landing field. “Down,” hissed Debra as the sound on an engine could be heard. Both dropped to the ground and watched as a small open vehicle moved along the edge of the landing field not more than a hundred feet from them. Will and Debra drew their blasters.

However, the car didn’t stop and within a short while was out of sight. The two of the resumed their trek towards the ship and reached it with no further issues. “This way,” directed Will as he led them along the underside of the ship.

Debra held up her scanner. “Doesn’t appear to be anyone on board.”

They soon reached a hatch. Will grabbed the wheel on the front of it and pulled on it until it slowly started to move with a loud squeak. He immediately stopped and both of them looked around, but everything was still quiet. He continued turning the wheel until the hatch fell open. Except for the first few feet, the narrow tunnel inside was dark.

“After you,” said Will.

Debra grabbed a light from her belt and headed inside stopped a short distance from the opening. Will climbed in after her and yanked the hatch shut behind him and turned the wheel until it was tight. “Okay,” he called to Debra.

The two of them slowly began crawling up the tunnel, Debra lighting the way. She soon reached an intersection. “Which way?” she called.

“Left,” answered Will.

The continued on for nearly twenty minutes and finally reached a hatch. Debra reached down and pulled the scanner off her belt. “Not reading anyone on the other side,” she called back to Will.

“Look for a lever to the left,” he answered.

“Got it.”

Debra pulled the lever and the hatch in front of her slid open. Immediately the smell of wood and spice filled the tunnel nearly overwhelming them. Debra shined her light out into the darkness but all she could see were crates stacked up about five feet away from the wall. They were about for feet by four feet and were stacked three high. She crawled out and Will quickly joined her. He pulled the level beside the hatch and it slid shut.

Getting to their feet, they shined their lights around them. The wall of crates five feet from the wall of the cargo bay extended beyond the range of their lights in both directions. “Let’s check out our temporary home,” suggested Will as he started walking.

“Except for the smell, it’s not bad,” observed Debra as they walked.

They must have gone nearly fifty feet before they reached the other cargo bay wall. The crates stopped about ten feet away from it. Will and Debra looked around the corner and could see that four rows of crates extending out into the cargo bay. Slowly moving past them, they peered out into the cargo bay and saw a number of larger crates not far away, but beyond that was only darkness.

“Should we explore the rest of the bay?” asked Debra.

Will shook his head. “Probably best we stay hidden just in case someone shows up.”

“Good point.”

They went to the other end of the bay which was also fifty feet beyond the hatch and again found a gap of ten feet between the stacked crates and the cargo bay wall. Again they saw some larger crates, but nothing else in the cargo bay.

“Having two ways for people to get back here isn’t ideal,” observed Will as they headed back towards the hatch, “but as long as we stay near the hatch we should be okay.”

Reaching the hatch, Will and Debra took off their backpacks and sat down against the wall. It was a few hours later that they felt the vibrations of the ship’s engines firing. With luck, they’d be on Earth in four days.