GALAXY AT WAR - Book 4 - A Dark Time

CHAPTER TWENTY - April 2173 - Earth / Moon

AUTHOR'S NOTE

This is a longer chapter than normal due to a lot going on during this day. Enjoy.

S P LAKIN

...Earth...

Rebecca brought the Justice down low, skimming the treetops as she closed in on Jacobsdorf. She had the fighter cloaked to avoid unwanted attention. This was her first visit to Germany. A potential recruit lived here. Michael Rahn. The only information that the Watchers had programmed into her computer was that he had blonde hair and blue eyes, was tall, lived in Jacobsdorf, Germany and worked on a farm.

Jacobsdorf is a municipality town situated southeast of Berlin near the polish border in the Oder-Spree district of Brandenburg. The only farm she could find on a map seemed to be on the outskirts of the town. She was looking for a landmark that she'd picked out from her satellite surveillance images. Three long, rectangular shaped barns with curved metal roofs that looked silver from above. There was a beige-looking, dirt covered, piece of ground on the north side of these barns separating two more long, rectangular shaped barns with similar roofs, a different colour this time.

Rebecca cleared some more trees and saw the farm ahead. She hovered and checked her satellite images with the buildings in front of her. They were a match. Now all she had to do was find Michael Rahn and convince him to join her. Rebecca settled the Justice in a field to the east of the farm and powered down, leaving the fighter cloaked. She remained seated, sending her mind out in search of her target.

Her mind hovered over the yard. She saw a man hammering nails into a fence, but he was older than Michael. She saw a woman behind the farmhouse beating some sheets with a washing bat. There were clouds of dust emanating from the sheets. She saw another man climbing aboard a tractor. So far, there was no sign of Michael.

I'll just have to ask someone then, she thought. I wish Neil was here, she closed her eyes. I miss him and Tanya already, a single tear formed in her eye and she wiped it away with her knuckle. Rebecca took a deep breath then rose from her seat. She entered her sleeping quarters and took her cloak from the clothes rack. She swung it around her shoulders and fastened the clip at her throat. She left the hood folded back and walked down the ramp onto the soft, dry grass.

Above her, a panel slid closed to seal the fighter. Rebecca breathed deeply again, taking in the smell of the fields surrounding her. She squatted and brushed her fingers through the grass, enjoying the sensation. Spending a lot of time in space helped her to appreciate the sights, sounds and smells of being back on Earth. She closed her eyes and listened. She could hear and feel the gentle breeze blowing past her face. She could hear birds singing their joyful songs and the scurrying noise of some animals running through the field.

Rebecca allowed her mind to reach out again to take in her surroundings. That was when she felt someone approaching. She opened her eyes and saw the man that had been mending the fence walking towards her. She smiled and moved forwards herself.

"What are you doing in this field?" his accent was strong but, due to her language training, Rebecca fully understood him.

Speaking German herself, Rebecca said, "Just enjoying the day."

"This is private property. The boss doesn't like people trespassing on his land."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know. Actually, maybe you could help me," Rebecca touched his shoulder and guided him back towards the farm. "I'm looking for a man. I've been told he works on this farm."