The Summit Beyond Our Galaxy - An Apple Loving Individual space opera

Chapter 11 - A Deadly Bargain

Chapter 11 – A Deadly Bargain

Saturday, May 16, 2176
3:55 PM
Abandoned Satellite Array, Mars

Larkin and her crew woke up in the control room of the satellite. She noticed herself tied to a chair, her hands were placed behind her back via handcuffs. Larkin looked around and saw Luna, Rahul and Lance all tied up and handcuffed. "What the hell just happened?" said Larkin. Lance then looked towards her. "What do you think? It was a trap!" said Lance. "Whoever did this to us, they knew the authorities would come looking for them!" Luna then looked up at everyone. She was shaking in cold fear. "Hell, I didn't think I'd end up dying this way." She said. "I should've said goodbye to my boyfriend!" Larkin then looked at her. "Shut up! No one's gonna die this way!" she said. "We need to get out of this!" They tried to find a way to get out of the mess.

Suddenly, a voice spoke up. "There indeed is only one way out of this!" said the voice. They looked towards where the voice sounded from and saw a tall figure standing. The figure appeared to be a man, about thirty years of age. Standing about five feet, eleven inches tall. "Who the hell are you?" said Rahul. The figure looked at him. "My name is Christopher Miller." The man said. "I'll let you go, but in exchange of that, the four of you need to listen to me and do as I say!" "You're in no position to give us orders, asshole!" said Larkin. "We have our orders through our commanding officer!" Larkin worked a little with a small device in her hands. She carried that device in preparation of any contingencies. "Not anymore, you're not!" said Christopher. "You will do as I say, or each and every one of you, will face deadly consequences!" Lance then decided to be reasonable. "Guys let's just hear what his bitch-ass has to say to us!" he said to the rest of the crew.

Then he looked towards Christopher and said. "Proceed!" Christopher then looked at Lance. "Thank you!" said Christopher. "As you know, I've been targeting this ore of uranium, in my own purpose to rip apart the Earth. Most of y'all have evacuated that Godforsaken planet, and the heat emitting from the expanding Sun, is coming to Mars. Earth and all crap between it and us is passing on the heat towards us!" Larkin then looked at Christopher in anger. "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR GODDAMN MIND?" screamed Larkin. "My family still lives there in Burns Flat, Oklahoma; you bastard!" Christopher looked at her. "SILENCE!" he screamed. "I can stop this right now, but you must have to do something for me!" Larkin continued to stare in anger. "On Kanzen Dome, there lives a man from Houston, TX who's been here for the last four years!" said Christopher. "Found out through my associate on Phobos, he's been hitting on my ex-girlfriend! I want you to bring him to me!" Lance then looked at Larkin. "Boss, you wanna endanger a fellow American's life for the sake of your family?" said Lance. "Shut up, Lance!" said Larkin. "I also will pay each of you a handsome fee of 150,000 cloud jewels ($567,000), if you get the job done!" said Christopher. "No deal!" said Larkin. "I won't endanger my fellow American for your stupid-ass plan!" Christopher then began to laugh maniacally. "I figured you'd say no!" said Christopher. "But, here's the deal! You don't do this job, not only do I kill the four of you, but your precious Earth will pay the price!" Lance and Rahul gulped.

Luna glared in anger as she shed a few tears. "I did not sign up for this!" said Luna to herself. "Saving the world and protecting my people is one thing, but killing my own? I just can't do it!" Larkin sighed, took a deep breath and sighed again. "We have no choice!" she said. "We're going rogue! Otherwise, my family dies!" "Boss?" Lance said in a shock. "You're not serious! Are you?" Larkin looked at him without any sense of humor. "Oh, I'm more than serious at this point!" said Larkin. "More than serious!" "We can't kill one of our own!" "We won't kill him!" said Larkin. "We're just sacrificing him for the better of everyone else!" Then she looked towards the team, smiled and winked at them! "It's all part of the plan, trust me!" said Larkin. Everyone remained calm, as they trusted their commanding officer.

Meanwhile, on Phobos...
6:20 PM

Jerry did feel good that Alyssa had forgiven him for that night, at her best friend's wedding. Of course, unbeknownst to him, Alyssa also began to slowly reciprocate his feelings for her, yet she herself was unaware of that. The two went into a restaurant, where Jerry booked a table for two. "Jerry?" said Alyssa. "Hm?" said Jerry in response. "You never told me about your family. About your parents, and whatnot." Alyssa said. "May I ask why?" Jerry felt a little perturbed. "If you don't mind, it's personal. I really don't want to talk about it." Alyssa looked at him and smiled. "I understand. I'll let you know my family is on Mars. Every now and then, I visit them. However, I only do when given a chance!" said Alyssa. "I thought one day, I'll get married after finding a good man, and never have to work again! But Christopher turned out to be a psychopath." Alyssa bit her lip and felt lost and perturbed. "Jerry, I lost all faith in being in any sort of relationship with the opposite sex." Alyssa explained. "He treated me like a doormat, and I don't know if any other man doesn't treat women like that!" She continued to bite her lip, as she took deep breaths to remain calm.

Jerry gave her a pat on her back. "Look, it's really none of my business, this is your personal matter!" said Jerry. "However, one thing life taught me is you don't let others define what or who you are. You are who you choose to be! Don't let that negative energy get to you, as positive energy always will be there to help you, even in the worst of situations!" Alyssa smiled and hugged Jerry. "Thank you!" said Alyssa. Jerry and Alyssa sat down on a table. "My parents are still on Earth, in Houston, TX!" said Jerry. "I broke off contact with them five years ago, following my divorce with Michaela. My father is a brigadier general of the United States Army, whereas mother is a psychologist. When Michaela chose to leave me for good, I chose not to show my face to anyone down there. I broke off all contact with my family and left Houston, following my job acceptance in Kanzen City, on Mars; because it was too painful to be there!" Alyssa felt a little concerned. "And you've not been in contact with them since?" asked Alyssa. "Truth be told, I ain't even sure they're still alive. It did hurt them that I chose to leave." Jerry said. "Why it was painful for me to, but it was something I needed to do." Alyssa then patted his shoulder. "But, did you ever regret it? Did you ever feel bad about it?" said Alyssa. "Everyday, Alyssa!" said Jerry. "Everyday!" Then he closed his eyes for a while. He then opened his eyes and looked towards Alyssa. "Ready to order?" said Jerry. "Yeah, more than ever!" said Alyssa. Jerry then called for a waiter. A robot came to take down his order. "What can I get for you, sir?" said the robot. Jerry then placed his order, so did Alyssa.

The two began to eat their supper. Alyssa continued to stare at Jerry, as Jerry also looked back every now and then. It was an amazing moment for them both, Alyssa realized right there she did love Jerry. She felt she should tell him, however because she felt Jerry may have still been upset with her over that night, she decided to keep it to herself. However, she knew this would be the best time to get to know Jerry more. Within twenty minutes, both Jerry and Alyssa finished their dinner. Jerry then got up and held Alyssa's hand. "I promise you I'll curb my feelings for you, and we will only remain friends!" said Jerry. "Thank you!" said Alyssa. "I forgive you for everything!" Jerry then asked Alyssa, "Would you like to get some dessert, at least? After I pay the bill?" said Jerry. "Sure!" said Alyssa. "I'd love to!" Jerry went to pay the bill, as Alyssa felt perturbed, as she did not wish for Jerry to leave her ever.

Priya and Arjun witnessed this from the digital realm. "Dude's missing his chance!" said Arjun. "The girl clearly loves him and he's not being able to see it!" Priya then sighed. "Arjun, you do realize she doesn't wish to tell him herself, after whatever happened between them." She said. "I think he's giving her time to herself! Knowing him very well, he could be doing so!" Arjun smiled. "Yeah, perhaps you're right!" he said. "I also would've done the same in his shoes." Arjun and Priya kissed, as the digital realm turned dark. "Goodnight, Priya!" said Arjun. "Goodnight, Arjun!" said Priya.