New Elysium: Breakout

Being "Captainly" Part 21

Despite Red's distrust of the New Caledonians, not-withstanding, the transition of the passengers to the Ember went without major incident. There were tensions between the make-shift crew/former prisoners. It should have been expected. Red had after all killed some of their friends.

Andrea and Dag acted as mediators. Red they regarded with obvious mistrust, but he was the leader. For now. A position he didn't plan on occupying for long.

Just drop them on New Elysium where they will be someone else's problem, he repeated it like a mantra in his own mind.

Ember hid in her room on the ship. From there she could hear every whisper, everything said against her. She remembered lecturing Red on not taking his time in the prison with him. It felt stupid now, but she hadn't actually expected to run into the survivors of her own attack. Guilt gnawed at her. They might hate her, want to punish her but she was still going to take them to safety. She knew Red thought it was foolish. Would you stop martyring yourself? He'd practically yelled at her. She couldn't understand why he was angry at her. They were both messed up in different ways. For the time being they avoided each other and their new passengers.

Red stayed in the pilot's office. He thought about moving a bunk in there but just ended up with a blanket and crashing on the floor. He didn't want to run into the passengers. He didn't want to run into Ember. The dirty looks had been bad enough. How the hell did I get roped into this, again?

The incoming news wasn't good. The breakout had been widely broadcasted and they'd received the news like anyone else. Ember wouldn't risk sending a message out from their own vessel. Like everything else their signal would be located and sourced back to its original location.

She kept them off the major travel routes in favor of lesser known ones. It was a bit circuitous but they hadn't run into the massive flotilla they'd encountered when leaving Helion.

Yet.

Neo-Tokyo continued to pour out propaganda. The breakout had been the work of a sophisticated criminal cartel, he was the head. The break out had been masterfully executed by ex-military. The break out was the work of a start up rebellion. By all accounts Red found himself a criminal mastermind with a military back ground, a cold blooded murderer, whose only concern at the end of the day was the payout. That made traveling with a bunch of strangers who knew the news bulletins were about him exciting. He stayed in the pilots office, but he was bored.

Yet it was those same news broadcasts that brought the crew in line with him.

The uproar on the Ember was so loud Red could hear it in his chair. He jerked up from where he'd been slouched asleep and rubbed a hand over his face.

What the?

"Red, you need to see this." Ember's voice was calm, and collected but even at that he could hear a sense of urgency in it.

"What's going on?"

"Get out into the common and see the news."

"Put it on screen in here."

"Trust me, you are going to want to watch it with them." Something in her tone struck Red and he was moving toward the door without remember he'd gotten up and walked there. He slapped the controls and the door flicked up revealing a somber Dag with his hand raised to knock. He lowered it just as fast.

"She's faster than I am."

"Yeah well she's the ship." Red eyed his friend's cautious expression. "What's going on?"

"Come on." Dag turned and they moved towards the common where he could hear everyone talking at once. A hush fell over the room when Red entered but he ignored that. His eyes flicked toward the screen.

New Caledonia. Contingent of enemy combatants. Gone. Aided in the breakout of Helion 7.

He froze. Everyone he had left behind in that settlement was dead. And their legacy was that they'd helped a criminal. Nothing could be further from the truth. They had stayed behind because they couldn't stand to travel with a man who had killed a few of their own.

The whispering had started up again. Angry, a few yells, fists were shaken. Red just stared at the screen, numb. "Gone." He repeated feeling stupid as he said it.

"Guess we're on the same team now." Dag muttered from his right.

Red, it was Ember in his head.

What? He snapped back at her. He didn't feel like arguing with her right now about whatever it was she was upset about. He almost apologized but she went on.

Red, I want to send a message back.

Back?

That was a message to us. My father is ruthless. They knew we were there.

You send a message and they'll know where we are.

They'll know where we were...

She went silent. Dag stared at him. "Sorry," he said out loud. "Internal conversation..."

"You may need to talk to them." Dag pointed to the rest of the room. Most were staring at him or whispering among themselves.

"Me?"

Andrea moved up next to Dag. "As far as everyone is concerned you are the leader of the ship. Not me, not Dag. Especially after that display at..." She stopped to take a breath and compose herself.

"Great." Red ran his fingers through his hair. He just wanted to drop them off at New Elysium, they weren't his responsibility.

Go out there be "Captainly." Engage or whatever you called it.

You are going to watch some of those classical re-runs when we get a chance.

"You two stop that." But he smiled as he said it. Ember didn't reply to his attempt at a joke. His stomach turned into a twisted knot. Andrea looked confused for a minute but didn't ask. Considering her willingness to put Ember on trial just a few days ago, he wasn't in a hurry to let her in on any of his communiques.

He glanced at the screen, besides the news he could make out his own reflection. His red and black hair stuck out in a million directions. He had a five o'clock shadow. He was definitely a mess.

So much the image of a Captain, he thought sarcastically. He remembered how he'd used to look. Crisp grey uniform, pressed, short hair, always kept regulation short, the ultimate image of professionalism.

They took that, he reminded himself. It wasn't something he was ever going to go back to. That identity was gone forever. It was someone else's life. He couldn't even remember what it felt like when duty was something that was important to him.

He turned to face the waiting roomful of people. They went silent. What the hell was he supposed to say to them?