Kalayjian entered the cabin simulator adorning his spacesuit once more. He looked around and sighed. He had spent so much time preparing for the unknown—inside this very room. Even he was beginning to lose hope that Biancuzzo would join them. What was taking him so long to connect? He was kicking himself for not fighting harder to get the captain to leave with them—that last StarForger be damned.
The fact of the matter was that both men were stubborn as all get out—but Kalayjian still would never disobey a direct order. Especially one that was given by someone he respected—like the captain.
He rubbed along the topside of a simulation helmet and smiled. It would have been nice to escape reality—even if only for a few minutes. To think he used to complain all the time about the simulator’s difficulty settings and now he was kind of missing it. This life was illogical. And unpredictable.
He approached the mission control and waved his hand over the panel. The door slid open as he was instantly greeted with a bird’s eye view of an unknown pink planet. It was massive in comparison with the Yellow Rover.
Wow, would you look at that?
Moore was at the controls while Roko stood beside the captain’s perch. They seemed to be lost in this magnificence as well.
“Unbelievable, isn’t it?” He said.
Roko turned around to face him. Kalayjian crossed to the command post and set his helmet down. Roko joined him a moment later.
“Hey!” Roko whispered.
“Hey yourself. What’s up?”
“Look, I know where you were coming from earlier—when Delly called you Cap. But—I think we’re all getting a little bit antsy. What are we gonna do if Biancuzzo doesn’t return?”
For as long as Kalayjian could remember knowing Roko, this was the first time he actually seemed worried. It was one of the things that made him so endearing in the first place. The guy was a rock—something he had proven during their escape from Sehnack. However, if fear was starting to effect Roko—then they were in even worse shape than Kalayjian had thought.
“I understand your concern. I do. But this is exactly why we have the hierarchical structure. Pete knew that. The three of us here are soldiers. Which means what?”
He motioned to Roko—waiting for him to answer.
“We follow orders.”
“That’s right. Unless, of course, those orders would put us in harm’s way. Then we would have to re-evaluate. So far that hasn’t happened.”
He turned his attention to the command post. He brought up the system map and zoomed in. The same way Moore had shown him.
“Take a look at this.”
Roko moved beside him. Kalayjian pointed at the map.
“Now, the way I see it, if we stay the course, we should reach this planet within a few weeks to a month tops. Knock on wood.”
“Yeah, but at some point, isn’t Delly gonna need to sleep? Or are we just relying on the autopilot to take us there safely? Cause from where I’m standing—that asteroid belt doesn’t look too inviting.”
Kalayjian rubbed the back of his neck—honing in on the asteroid belt that resided between the Yellow Rover and their final destination. He had given him something else to think about.
“Good point. We’re probably gonna need to activate the second duplicate android. Cause the last thing either of you want is to have me at the controls.”
“Ditto.” Roko laughed.
Kalayjian smiled. He turned his attention back to the post and brought up the communication channels. Their channels remained active—while the rest of the crew had faded out. He scrolled further down and did a double-take. The channel to the last StarForger was active. Biancuzzo had caught up to them after all. He smiled and tapped the channel.
“Well, it’s about time you joined us, old man.” Kalayjian remarked. “What took you so long?”
He turned to see Roko wearing a grin. This was just the shot in the arm they needed.
“Now, now. No need to be rude, Sammy. The captain would expect you to have more respect for him than that.”
Kalayjian’s eyes enlarged. His jaw nearly dropped to the command post. Roko on the other hand—looked as if he had just seen a ghost. And quite truthfully—hearing Ono’s voice over the telecommunicator was having the same effect for him. This was more unbelievable than the planet ahead of them. She was dead. They had killed her. He didn’t know how she had done it, but if she was the one piloting the StarForger—then that could only mean that Biancuzzo was unable to make it. Somehow, Ono had survived being shot in the head from point blank range.
“Tess. What did you do with the captain? Tess?”
He looked at the command post again to discover that the channel to the StarForger was faded once more.
“I don’t believe it.”
Kalayjian looked towards the front to see Moore shaking her head back and forth. Reality was sobering to say the least. Biancuzzo was dead and Ono was within proximity—there was no doubt in his mind that they were her targets. All of a sudden, a siren sounded in the mission control.
“What the hell is that? Are we under attack?”
“Checking now.” Moore said. “Oh shit.”
“What?”
“She’s opening the loading bay.”
“Well, stop her. Close it back.”
“What do you think I’m doing up here?”
He turned to Roko and clapped his hands.
“Hey. Get ready. We may have incoming.”
“Copy that.”
Roko hurried back to the captain’s perch. He secured his helmet to his spacesuit. Once that was done, he grabbed his shotgun next. At this point, a showdown with Ono was inevitable.