Journeys of the Shepherd

Chapter 23: Last Chance

The prison ship PSNV Weibing landed at Gao Naval Base in the morning, and she was due to depart for Turganov Correctional Facility just two hours later. It was nearing eleven o' clock when she was standing at the landing area; her engines were idly rumbling, as lines of prisoners were led up her starboard ramps.

With a length that barely exceeded a hundred metres, she was a relatively small ship capable of transporting up to 200 prisoners. Unlike other naval vessels, she was unarmed save for an automatic cannon mounted on her stern.

Luke's eyes shifted from the ship to the prisoners standing around him. He had never seen them before, but it did not take long for him to realize that these men were very different from the detainees at Gao Detention Centre. The inmates imprisoned at the detention centre were mostly non-violent criminals; they had been convicted of smuggling small amounts of drugs and stolen goods or had attempted to illegally leave the Union.

But the prisoners that were being led aboard the Weibing were far from non-violent; these men were serial killers, mass murderers, human traffickers, drug lords and terrorists. They were deemed to dangerous to be imprisoned within Union borders, and instead they would serve their sentence at Turganov Correctional Facility, a maximum security prison completely cut off from any form of human civilization.

Among the inmates, there was a genuine and deep fear towards Turganov. It was said that the facility was constantly guarded by warships, and that the number of annual prisoner deaths far exceeded the average death rate of other maximum security prisons.

To what extent these rumors were true, Luke did not know. But there was no doubt in his mind that Turganov meant the end of the line for him, Ash and Daiyu.

Luke exhaled and shut his eyes. He tilted his head backwards, and felt the warmth of the sun on his face. He was going to miss Xindiqui, even if it was the capital planet of the Union. After all, it was on this planet that he would get his last opportunity to enjoy the sun, breathe fresh air, and experience something as simple as natural gravity.

He opened his eyes again, and looked to his right. He took of notice of a black-haired girl in the line of female prisoners, and realized it was Daiyu. She turned her head and noticed him as well. Luke though she smiled at him, but he did not know for sure because of the distance between them.

Luke returned a smile anyway. He raised his hand, and quickly lowered it again to prevent the guards noticing he was communicating with another inmate. Nevertheless, Daiyu had seen him greeting her, and she returned a brief wave.

He smiled at her, realizing this was the last time they would see each other; male and female prisoners were separated for obvious reasons, both on board the Weibing and at Turganov Correctional Facility.

''Get moving, asshole.'' the inmate behind Luke grunted.

Fuck you. Luke thought, but remained silent; the last thing he wanted was to cause a fight with another prisoner.

He turned his attention to the line in front of him again, and realized it was almost his turn to be registered and board the ship. The line moved forward several more times, and after waiting a short while, Luke found himself standing in front of a correctional officer.

''State your name.'' the officer ordered him. He did not look at Luke; his eyes were fixed on the screen of his handheld computer.

''Lucas Geoffrey Brooke.'' Luke answered, and watched the guard enter his name into the computer.

''Put your hands in front of you.'' the officer said, and Luke followed his order. A second correctional officer grabbed his arm, and scanned the identification chip located in the orange bracelet that was locked around his wrist.