Into the Void

Chapter 3

Caldania mobilised its meager fleet. Sending a frigate and a pair of drone controllers into orbit around the planet. The fleet, if it could even be called a fleet, wasn't capable of holding off an enemy for long, best case scenario they'd be able to stop the planet from being bombarded until the Third Fleet arrived from Polaris. Nate hoped they would send enough ships. The fourth wave of colonisation was the top priority for the Alliance right now, they were stretched thin, and a fringe world like Caldania was just a statistic for the politicians in the Inner Colonies, it was best to assume Caldania was on its own.

Nate made his way back to his apartment and called home. His entire family lived near Caldania's capital city and if the situation in obit escalated, the capital would be the first place troops landed, or the primary target for orbital bombardment.

"Hello?" said Nate.

"Nate?" said his father, his voice rough and groggy. "It's 3 in the morning here. What's wrong?"

"A rogue ship just jumped in. Traffic control sent the drones after it and called the fleet in."

"Damn it!" his father swore, before taking a deep breath. "Okay, okay. I'm sending some money to your account. I want you to book some space on the next ship leaving the system, okay? I'll start packing here and we'll meet you in orbit, okay?"

"Okay, see you soon."

Nate ended the call and rushed down to the transportation office on the docking level. The docks were quiet. With no shuttles coming in or out the level was nearly empty. He passed a handful of bored looking dockworkers who shot him a confused glance as he hurried by. He skidded to a stop in front of a small kiosk manned by a plump old woman whose expression simply screamed that she couldn't care less about who you were or where you were going.

"I need to book some space on the next available ship." said Nate.

"Cargo or passengers?" said the old woman.

"Passengers, 3 of them."

The old woman grunted and passed him a thick bundle of papers. "Section 4." she said, staring down at a small computer screen.

Nate found a small bench and dug through his pockets for the stub of a pencil he used for filling out work logs. Section 4 was confusingly stapled into the bundle after section 5 and was written in a lawyers version of english; the kind of language that made him wonder if he needed to go to law school so he could understand what exactly he was agreeing to when he checked the box saying I have understood and accept the above terms and conditions. As he struggled through the form the staccato click of hard shoes running down the metal hall filled the docking level. Nick burst into the corridor and stopped at the kiosk.

"I need a seat on the next ship!" Nick shouted.

"Can't help you." said the woman.

"What do you mean, you can't help me?!"

"There's no more room on the next ship. I can "

Nick paced back and forth, swearing, until he spotted Nate sitting on the nearby bench, filling out the request forms. "Thank God," said Nick. "Nate you gotta help me, I won't make it through a war here. Hell even if the station survives a battle I can't have the Void Corps snooping around this system, you gotta help me."

Nate glared at the little man. "Sorry," he said. "Can't help you."

Nick blinked in shock. "What?!" he shouted.

"I said: Can't. Help. You." Nate signed the form and walked it back over to the kiosk, placing it in front of the bored woman.

"Christ, I didn't want it to come to this," said Nick, pulling a snub nosed laser pistol from his waistband and aiming it at Nate. Nate's mouth went dry and his heart beat so fast he thought it might burst. He took half a step backwards then stopped, clenching his hands into fists, his family was still stuck on the planet and he wasn't going to let them be caught up in the coming battle.