The Jovian Conflict

Chapter 13

The Jovian Conflict

Ladderman

Again they began their journey, unsure of exactly where on Callisto they were or what direction they should take. Aimlessly they all followed Romeo, since he had a tendency to walk with enough confidence everyone assumed he knew what he was doing. Together they got not even ten steps away before a soft, hesitant voice broke through their radio.

"Um, excuse me…"

"What is it?" Romeo's harsh bark responded immediately.

It was the miner that had been a part of Ronson's crew. So far, she had yet to match any of the steps they had taken. Romeo thought about ignoring her. It would be best to just separate into their own group by this point. Yet something – compassion, maybe? Curiosity? – commanded that he stay put and wait for her to answer.

"There's a miner's rest stop about an hour drive from here. Um, I think… I think it's the only way… th-the only way we could survive. The crew car can get us that far, I think."

Shelton didn't even wait for the others. By the time she had finished talking, he had already made a mad dash back to the car, removed the dead Ronson, and had the vehicle running again. Romeo, too, was in such a hurry he almost dropped Riedel. The damage done to the outside of the vehicle wasn't significant by any means and it appeared to be running just fine. Had the doors not been blown off by the escape lever, they never would have thought about leaving it behind.

The five piled in and Shelton sped off toward the location given. With only four hours of oxygen left in their suits, they were running out of options.

As the group traveled onward, a newcomer was reaching Callisto's surface. Frankie and a few tagalongs landed at the JOC port without warning, which caused quite a ruckus on the base. Simon was alerted and had to rush with a small crew down to the part in order to formally greet him. Yet when Frankie stepped out of the shuttle, he completely ignored Simon's presence.

First, he allowed a doctor to assess that he and his fellow travelers had arrived without any health effects from the descent. Then, he pushed past everyone in his way as his marched away from the port and toward JOC Patrol HQ. Simon and his lackeys had to do their best to keep up. The sight of him caused every ragtag worker to stop and stand at attention, as though an Admiral was making rounds on a warship.

Their journey ended when Frankie made a grand entrance at the JOC Patrol HQ. All of the workers stopped dead in their tracks, their mouths sealed tight, and their hands halted just above their computers. Only the slight humming of the machines could be heard in that large room. Simon came barreling in next, nearly out of breath as he had to jog to catch up.

Frankie made his way around the large interactive map that took up the tabletop in the center of the room. His eyes danced briefly around it as he took in all the happenings that JOC Patrol monitored. Once Simon had composed himself, Frankie stared him down. Finally, he calmly said, "You have something to tell me."

The way he stated it, rather than formed it as a question, caused Simon to twitch. Frankie really was a pain in the ass. Simon stuttered, "I- I don't –"

"Why did you shoot down the Interceptor and Quantum?" Frankie asked.

Simon couldn't answer; his shock caused all functions in his brain to grind to a complete halt. All he could was stare at Frankie, mouth agape. Aware that his intense gaze was probably more hostile than necessary, Frankie turned his attention to the map. Lightly, his fingers brushed across the smooth display, lighting up all the options available to him. For a few more seconds he pretended to be involved with the device.

When he looked back at Simon, his eyes were hard enough it forced the JOC Patrol commander to take a step back. His tone was even more biting. "Don't lie to me, Simon. Or did you really think I was so stupid I wouldn't find out?"

"Of course not, sir!"

"Then why did you shoot them down? Or are you going to try and blame it on smugglers and terrorists?"

Frankie had placed his hands on the map and leaned forward. The beep of the computer as it tried to process the sudden force was the only sound anyone heard as Simon tried to formulate a proper sentence. Frankie was perhaps the only man that could speak so coolly, yet with enough heat to pierce through even the toughest of men. Simon could feel any command he may have ever held slipping through his fingertips with each passing second.

Finally, the beeping ended as Frankie removed his hands and stood up straight. He said, "I have spent my entire life working on the Saturn project. It's going to be the difference between whether or not we Jovians survive. I made it very clear, that the JOC Patrol was to guard and protect people, not murder them."

"But, Mr. Hedrick, you told us to recruit talent – "

"Recruit, not blow up."

"Of course, sir."

Then, the silence of resignation. Simon could only bow his head and seal his lips, as he knew all too well that he simply could not argue or compete with Frankie. The conversation wasn't over, however. Frankie continued, "No doubt the Grand Marshall of the Earth Police is on his way right now. Fedorov and Maes are working double time trying to gut me from afar but it's not going to happen. Now, I have reason to believe there's someone else that's trying to gut me. Someone… a little… closer…"

Simon gulped. Before he could even move an inch, Frankie had snaked his way around the table and all the chairs. He was standing so close to the Patrol Commander than their feet were touching. Simon was taller, so Frankie had to look up to meet Simon's eyes. They never made contact, as Simon made sure to divert his attention to the ceiling. Frankie's gaze couldn't be matched and he wasn't about to try.

"Brrrep. Incoming report. Brrrep. Incoming report. Mining team causalities in Sector Delta, Zero-One-Six-One. Six dead. Homicide. Brrrep…"

Simon twitched at the news before his entire body stiffened. He could feel a new intensity emitting from Frankie. As red began to rise to Frankie's cheeks, Simon could only gulp in fear.

"I told you to halt all operations!" Frankie screamed.

Simon felt himself leaning back as Frankie jammed his finger into Simon's chest. "I relayed the message, Mister Hedrick!"

"Who attacked them?!"

"Probably Doctor Braun and her party, sir!"

Frankie suddenly shifted expressions from enraged to confused. The finger that had relentlessly poked Simon's chest withdrew and curled itself away. It took a couple of blinks before he recovered from his shock. "Her party?" he repeated.

"Yes, Mister Hedrick. Her party. Doctor Braun and three others survived the sinking of the Interceptor. I tried to offer them help, but they attacked us and took off!"

Realization hit Frankie hard enough it nearly caused him to collapse. It made sense, now. If someone had contacted Antanas and brought his attention to the situation in Callisto, the aristocrat would suddenly find the little Jovian outpost interesting. Someone had seen something and relayed the information to him. Of course, no doubt Doctor Braun and her crew were smart enough to gather their ship hadn't crashed on accident.

This time, when Frankie spoke, it was much quieter and without any hostility. "Relay the order again. Halt all operations. Put a finder on the entire satellite. If anything moves, send the Patrol after it. I need all camera feeds relayed to this room right now. Get me Doctor Braun and her crew, and get them to me alive."