The metallic cover of Halfor feet gears slammed the soft surface of the command center. His broad frames hunched over the main board panel. A warning sign had popped in the far right upper corner, and the sound of the alert was echoing in the entire spacecraft. Halfor sighed before lifting his eyes towards the empty white wall before him then waved a hand. Hexagonal patterns faded the wall to display empty space, the closest thing taking most of the lower left side of the solarwind shield was Jupiter.
Right next to it, a boom occured and in a flash of light, a bigger spacecraft emerged from its travel. Shaped like sets of triangles locked one to the other with magnetic forces, the structure ressembling a low poly quadripedal being. Halfor gulped before looking behind as if he could see Bard eventhough the latter was hidden in the reactor core room.
He faced back at the ship before him then his board glowed blue obnoxiously. He pressed his hand on the board then a screen formed on the solarwind shield, a female figure with a stern look adjusted her posture, amethyst like earrings shaking slighty while also reminding Halfor of her rank…her named popped in his head just as it popped below her face written in Ta'rhunic "Mex'helet"
Halfor: "Fleet Admiral Mex…wisedom guides your sight"
He said before lowering his head slightly and tensing. The lady spoke with a tone and sudden smile that destroyed her threatening look.
Mex: "Oh come on Hal, we are past those formalities and we both know, you could care less of my status"
Halfor: "Not everyday I meet a 10th level…congratulations"
Mex chuckled a bit before looking around.
Mex: "Where are Taffy and Vix ? Did you guys found anything? I heard from Valya that we received a signal from a very dustant system…did not expect it to take us an hour to reach here"
Halfor's expression did barely any effort not to raise Mex's attention.
Halfor: "They…"
The man could barely hold his feelings in check as he looked up at Mex whose expression went from concern to confusion then back to concern and finally she spoke.
Mex: "Halfor…what happened?"
On the side of the fleet admiral, her crew was just as stunned and confused at the implicit response from Halfor. A brawny man rushed from his seat to get close to the screen of the main command board, his frustration clearly at fingertips, a badge on his chest plate let the name "Krelm"
Krelm: "Answer the damn question, Hal!"
Mex turned to him.
Mex: "Krelm, go back to your s-"
Krelm cut her off with a glare betraying more than simple rage, it was pain.
Krelm: "With all due respect, admiral…I want to know what happened to my sister"
Krelm raged another question through the mirco of the board, his words spiking sharply down Halfor's already bad satte.
Halfor: "They are dead…I am sorry…We got so preoccupied by the signal that we did not…I…did not made more analysis of the planet's biosphere…"
Krelm slammed the board but Mex quickly raised her voice.
Mex: "Krelm, Leave, your mind is not clear…I am sorry for your loss but you are no use to me on the board in this state, Vilcro, take the captain to his room…stay with him"
Krelm was barely standing, he was hunched over the board but stared at Halfor through the screen.
Krelm: "Why did you survive…and not her?"
On those sharp words, Krelm was escorted out by another man who rubbed his shoulder and helped him up. Mex turned her gaze back to Halfor who was looking away.
Mex: "What happened?"
Halfor knew he couldn't tell her…if he did, they would know they found a new specie…and same finding caused the end of his two closest friends…
Halfor: "The signal we received, as though crazy as it will sound, was the result of undermagnetic friction aligned closely enough to send a vibration we perceived as a signal from living beings…but we found nothing on that planet…there is life but it is primitive, hostile and extremely agressive. Based on what my analysis resulted before…"
Halfor paused as Mex was listening with her hands folded under her chin, her gaze was dancing from one eye of Halfor to the other.
Mex: "Take your time…I know it must be hard…"
Halfor: "My analyis shows that the planet used to have civilization…but something happened centuries ago, causing some sort of disease to turn their own into predators…they killed themselves to the last…the temperature of the planet also dropped so low that the predators were probably in dormance…when we reached the epicenter of the signal before discovering it was undermagnetic frcition…it was already too late…we got cornered…and we found a piece of their technology…we tried to retrieve it, so that our journey wouldn't have been for nothing....I should have let it all down…it's my fault…I …"
Mex frowned then looked at another captain next to her who just nodded.
Mex: "As per article 6 of Ta'rhuan law, in case of discovery of a hostile life form, within or outside our solar system…a purge must be done on the planet. Hal…I am deeply sorry for your loss…I am your friend so I will plead for you, however, article 6.3B of Ta'rhuan is clear, if any citizen life is shortly taken besides another without any witness during an exploration, said bystander is to be interrogated and held imprisoned until proven not guilty…"
Halfor: "Wait…you can't just…I didn't…"
Mex winced and closed her eyes before opening them and spoke.
Mex: "You…better than I…know that the Architect was very intrigued by the signal…when we get to Ta'rhuan…the fact that Taffy and Vix are dead…would not be brushed off…I know you, they were your closest friends…you would have never killed them…I will plead for you but that's all I can do…Three months from now, a purge will be set to the planet from which the loss was registered…until then, you will be imprisoned while your trial will be ongoing."
Halfor was out of words…he had completely forgot that law…he forgot how shady this looked…it was strange that they all left to a place and only him came out alive…Halfor glanced back as if he could see through the ground to where Bard was hiding and hearing everything through the vent.
Mex: "Hal…proceed to lock your ship…we are going back…"
Halfor simply nodded and the communication was stopped…Halfor remained in the silence of his own judgement…after all he was the one who had convinced his friends to go with him on this quest…guilt crawled under his skin and he cursed loudly before rushing to the reactor core room. Bard rushed to him and was seemingly aware of the situation.
Halfor: "Things are getting out of hand…if we go back to Ta'rhuan…I will be imprisoned, which is not so bad because i will be proven not guilty…but they will find you and then it will be a problem because I lied…and that moment, my friend will not be able to help me…there will be too much confusion in my story and I will be sentence to death for treason and murder…and you will be guinea pig…"
Halfor was trying to think, his breathe was quick which didn't help Bard to relax as he started thinking as well.
Bard: "Then send me back…if you send me back to Earth…you will be free after your trial…"
Halfor widened his eyes and chuckled sarcastically.
Halfor: "Even if I could send you back…It is not a good idea, your planet is going to be pulsed out of existence…"
Bard: "My planet is long gone…If it weren't for your friend's sacrifice…I wouldn't be here"
Halfor: "You…heard…"
Bard: "The grand lines. Look, there is not much we can do…it's not as if there was a miraculous mean to just vanish…and even if there was, we can't disappear forever…"
Halfor: "This is crazy…There is no way I can send you back…and I can't try escaping the law, it will be worse…"
Bard: "Maybe…we can act like the technology piece you mentioned to them…had me inside, which isn't a lie…but in that new story, you never opened the pod…You refreeze me, and they unfreeze me…you will be free"
Halfor: "But you will be an experiment…they will…I don't even know what they will do…"
Bard: "You lied when you said that the undermagnetic friction caused a very coincidental vibration similar to a signal…when you go on trial, you can say that our technology used those frictions as signals in our technology…they will understand it was not your fault…that you really didn't know…"
Halfor: "And that we found something very valuable, I would have done a good deed against the bad crime i would be charged against…it will cancel…"
Bard: "Then you can try to get me out…just don't let them know how to open the pod…"
Halfor: "This is…it can turn bad so quickly…"
Bard: "any better idea?"
A beeping sound, signaling messages from Mex entering the ship…Halfro sighed.
Halfor: "We will do that…but i will lock your pod with a more advance technology…only I know how to unlock that system…i cannot risk them finding a way to get you…"
Bard: "It's gonna be okay…think about your friends…they wouldn't want you to end up dead for …just me…"
Halfor: "They lost their life to get you…they meant all for me…and now I can't lose you…it will be like losing them forever…"
Bard smiled with compassion before patting the big alien's back then spoke.
Bard: "You have a kind heart…your friend was right…you could never be charged with murder…so, let's do this…okay?"
Halfor sighed before looking down at Bard.
Halfor: "Fine…"
They walked to the pod from which Bard was sleeping for centuries and the human crawled back in. Halfor looked at the human and held the edge of the pod, nervous.
Halfor: "I really hope I am not making another mistake"
Bard smiled then grabbed the bigger hand of the alien and guided it to make a sign movement…Halfor was confused.
Bard: "That means, hope…I will wait for you to come back for me…remember you have to show me Ta'rhuan food…"
The human reluctantly let go of Halfor's hand that lingered in the air in the ghost of the sign movement it had done…
Halfor hesitated then spoke.
Halfor: "I promise I will get you back…"
With that the pod closes around Bard and a gas filled the inside, cryogenizing the human. Halfor then worked on the system that was used by the humans to lock the pod and keep the cryo system on, he tweaked it so that no Ta'rhuan technology could access it…he hoped nobody would notice that bit of coding he added in the human format so as to be stealthy as possible. He pressed his big hand on the small glass that let him show Bard's face one last time before ice covered it…he exhaled a breathe he had long kept before letting go. He maneuvered the ship to lock on Mex's ship before they boomed…it would take an hour to reach Ta'rhuan...