Back at the crash site, Vlad and Sonya took an inventory of their supplies and decided to
stay put for two days and then try to make their way out. On the morning of the second day, they
heard a large boat pull up to the shore below camp. Several men disembarked from the vessel
and searched around, after a few minutes Vlad heard one man giving orders to the rest and they
all started to walk up the slope.
With no ability to run and nowhere to hide Vlad, Sonya and Veronika huddled together
and waited. The men were all wearing similar uniforms with camouflage patterns in the material
appearing to shift depending on their surroundings.
All of the men appeared well armed with some interesting weaponry. The team was
surprised to find the crewmembers at the site and immediately halted as they looked toward
their leader. Erik, the Captain, was a seasoned Marine and quickly adapted to the presence of
the large wounded man and his two female companions.
Erik's immediate assessment was the people they found were no threat, he shouted,
"Team, hold positions and secure the perimeter of this site." Erik approached Vlad with his
weapon drawn but pointed down, he asked "Who are you, what are you doing here and where
did you come from?"
Vladimir not one to be intimidated, even with a gunshot wound answered directly, "Who
exactly are you to intrude upon our camp and ask these questions?"
With a stern look on his face and a glint in his eye, Erik replied, "Sir I see you are
wounded and we could be of assistance, I am Erik Kursk of the European Unified States Marine
Border Security. We have the authority of the European parliament to verify the identity and
nationality of people in this zone, so I ask again...What is your name and where are you from?"
Vlad furrowed his brow, he knew a lot has changed since they left Earth, and now they
just got in a little deeper over their heads.
Veronika was the next one to speak, and boy did she have a lot to say, "Erik, my father
the Major is wounded and our friend over there, our intelligence officer is in a coma. If you
could assist us with immediate medical attention we would be grateful, the information
surrounding our mission and us is of the highest level of top-secret government clearance, you
would be doing an honorable service to assist us. Also, because you are an agent of the
government taking all of us into your protective custody I would be remiss if I did not advise you
that on behalf of our entire team we are now making a formal request to speak with the highest
level of attorney representation you can provide."
A soldier through and through Erik was taken aback by this girls speech. She was a
teenager at most, but an exceptionally smart teenager indeed. He cleared his throat to gather his
thoughts before speaking. "As per our directives, I am placing the four of you into our custody,
we will provide medical care and load you and your belongings onto our ship and get under way
to our port where you will be processed and provided representation as requested."
With that being said and obviously frustrated, Erik turned toward his second in command
to give instructions before heading back down to his ship.
Vlad and Sonya both looked at Veronika and smiled, knowing now at least she had
bought them a little more time to figure out how best to tell their story. Sonya addressed the
second in command, "Our colleague over there in a coma cannot be removed from her suit or
helmet until she is at a medical facility, her condition is critical."
The lieutenant nodded to her and carried on with his work as the three detainees grabbed
their belongings and walked down to the ship.
Vlad paused for a moment and bent over to grab the box of Petorium, then limped along
after the girls to catch up.
YOU ARE READING
Space & Time
AdventureWritten in 2014 the storyline involves an almost crystal ball view of Putin's growing aggression towards Ukraine. Mikhailya Groschev was born in the year 1952 in the Soviet Union controlled Ukraine. Her father is an Astrophysicist and a Cosmonaut...