Age of Lies (Original Version)

Chapter 14

Markelium glanced at the clock on his holo-pad which sat snugly in its sleeve located on his left forearm. The clock glowed a bright blue and showed that it was a quarter till eleven. "Still got time to spare" he smiled to himself as he rounded the corner. He proceeded down the narrow hall and passed by several rooms. As he made his way down, he began hearing some chatter from what must have been some off duty marines in one of their recreational rooms. Bits and pieces of their conversation became clearer and clearer as he neared the room they had gathered in.

".. ... all of ..e secrecy ab... our dealing with the civilians? It's not like we haven't dealt with the terrorist like that before." Markelium paused as he heard this and quickly made the decision to listen for some information. Another man began replying to the first man's question. "The only reason we are all hush hush is because of some new guy on the ship. I don't know why, but apparently it's classified, something from up top." A third voice spoke up from the other side "Do you even know who this new guy is?" The rest of the group remained silent until a fourth guy replied "I don't think he's a special case anyway. Wouldn't the officers know some info on him and from what I hear they don't even like him. Surely he can't have much worth to his name."

"Fools, all of you. You have no idea what could be happening here" said the third voice. Markelium could hear the others agitated movements as they stood up in what sounded like fighting stances. Markelium decided that he had overheard enough and backed away from the door way to take a side route. A second later as he was about to round the corner he heard the steps of people he had been eavesdropping on near the doorway. He quickly turned the corner and headed out to meet Captain Kelly.

A pair of light brown eyes caught the shadow of someone who had just rounded the corner. They paused a second wondering if they had been over heard and then moved quickly to the corner and caught a glimpse of an unfamiliar officer just as he disappeared down the next corridor. The person contemplated on what to do for a second and then headed to their quarters.

Markelium soon reached the Captain's cabin and he knocked on the door. The door scanned him and then alerted the captain. A moment later the door slid open and Captain Kelly stepped out in his dress uniform. A variety of medals adorned his chest and he wore an emblem depicting a lion with a crown surrounded by stars. Markelium was curious as the emblem was one of the few that he didn't recognize, "What does that represent?" he asked in an inquisitive voice.

"Ahh direct and to the point. That is an emblem that depicts my family and status. Almost like a family crest, but it's a bit more complex than that. Anyways we need to get going before we run late." With this Kelly lead the way down to the airlocks that connected the Prince to massive station. A marine detail covered the airlocks and provides security to any possible threats. After Captain Kelly and Markelium made it past the check point they entered the airlock and let it cycle till it was even with the stations. The doors opened and the two walked out onto the walkway. Markelium's eyes widened as he was able to get a good look at the Prince from the outside. Her hull was pitted in a few areas where the shots from the other vessel had managed to take a few chunks out of her armor. But even with the slight damage she still looked like a deadly beauty. The planet could be seen in the backdrop of the open bay and several other small craft could be seen flying around doing their business. Kelly stood beside Markelium, "Tis a beautiful sight. Fills a man's heart with awe." Markelium smiled "That it does Sir."

The two proceeded to make their way to the station and soon entered the next airlock. After a moment it cycled the air and the door slid open. On the other side an attendant warmly greeted them and she then informed them that Mr. Greva would meet them in the dining hall. Captain Kelly thanked her and they continued on to their destination. After several minutes of walking they arrived at a set of elevators and Kelly pressed the button and waited. Markelium's eyes had barely stopped exploring the station as they had walked through it and found his curiosity to be aroused. "I thought this was a shipyard for the military, so why so many civilian sections?"
Kelly chuckled, well it's a large station so they figured that the dock workers would want to be living with their families so at the end of construction, it was like a small city that sprouted around a dock yard."
"Things sure have changes while I was gone." Replied an awestruck Markelium.

"You have no idea" whispered Kelly. Markelium missed hearing this as the elevator chined open and an A.I voiced called out a greeting. "Deck 25 please." called out Kelly as the stepped on board. Markelium looked around surprised at riding an elevator controlled by an A.I. "First time I've even seen one of these. I had heard that they had plans for one but I guess I missed the debut." Kelly laughed, "Yep was in 2260 when the first few were integrated into a business building back on Earth. Since then they have become a big hit."

"Here is your deck gentlemen. I hope you have a wonderful experience here." Said the A.I as the elevator slowed to a stop. The two men stepped out into a luxurious hallway filled with many fine restaurants and other grandiose stores. Kelly and Markelium soon made their way to the assigned meeting place and a butler greeted them at the door. "Good evening Mr. Kelly. I was informed that Mr. Greva will be here shortly so if you would like to go ahead and sit down we can get you started on drinks."

Markelium looked around at the breathtaking scenery and followed Kelly to a dining table set with fine table wares. He sat down at his appointed spot and ordered a glass of water and a moment later a loud voice called out, "Kelly you darned scoundrel! How have you been?" Markelium turned to face the voice and saw an older man in a dark fancy suit court two women into the room. "What type of welcome is that old friend?" asked Kelly as he stood up with a laugh.
"A better one than Winston's that's for sure" said the man who must be Greva.