“Captain,” Okoye replied. “Is there a problem, sir?”

  “No, not at all. We’re beginning the transfer of non-essential personnel to Metro. Do what you need to do and meet us at the primary seal.”

  “Aye aye, Captain. My team will be ready.”

  Tyson disconnected from Sickbay. He looked at the controls for a moment before calling out to one of the bridge crew. “Ensign, do you know how to ping personal comms?”

  The ensign at the nearest station looked back at him. “Me, Captain?”

  “Yes. I haven’t got a full handle on the comms yet.”

  “I can do it for you, sir. Who do you want to contact?”

  “Commander Siraj.”

  “Aye aye, sir.” She tapped on her workstation and then looked back at him and nodded.

  “Commander, this is Grant.”

  “Captain,” Siraj replied, her voice slightly groggy. “Is there a problem?”

  “I’m sorry to wake you, Commander. I’ve decided to move forward with the personnel transfer to Metro. I’d like you to present them to Governor Nash with me.”

  “Of course, Captain.”

  “Guardian Prime is meeting Lieutenant Wall in the main hangar. Please join them there.”

  “Aye aye, sir.”

  “Thank you. Grant out.”

  He looked at the ensign, who did something to disconnect the comm. It was easy to contact someone from badge to badge, all he had to do was say their name. Why hadn’t they made the general comms as simple? He would make it a priority to learn all of the bridge’s systems as soon as things settled down.

  He reopened the comm channel to the hangar. “Lieutenant, I’m authorizing your crew for transfer to Metro. Guardian Prime and Commander Siraj will be down shortly to escort you to the main seal. I’ll meet you there.”

  “Yes, sir,” Wall replied. “The crew will be glad to hear it, sir. Thank you.”

  Grant unstrapped himself from the command station, walking around the holotable to the ensign in the rear station. “Ensign, what’s your name?”

  “Kaminski, sir,” she replied.

  “Ensign Kaminski,” he said, scanning her face. A little round, with a small nose and blue eyes framed by short blonde hair. He assigned the face to her name in an attempt to remember it. “Lieutenant Commander Novitz should be back in a few minutes. Until then, you have the conn.”

  Her face flushed with surprise. “Me, sir?”

  “You’ve never had the conn before, Ensign?”

  “No, sir. I was commissioned after the war started.”

  “You’ll be fine. You know more about the controls than I do.” He smiled. “Come on.” She unstrapped herself from her workstation, following him back to the command platform. “Go ahead, sit.”

  She sat, grabbing the harness and clicking it into place.

  “How does that feel?” Tyson asked.

  “Uncomfortable, sir.”

  “I felt the same way my first time. All you need to do is sit there until Novitz comes back. If you have any questions, you know how to contact me.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Thank you, Ensign Kaminski.”

  Tyson circled the command station and headed off the bridge, crossing to the nearby conference room. He had one more call to make, and he didn’t want to do it in earshot of the rest of the bridge crew.

  He took a seat at the head of the table, sighing as he tapped his comm badge. “Governor Nash.”

  His badge flashed red for a few seconds, and then turned green.

  “This is Governor Nash’s office,” a young voice answered.

  “This is Captain Grant,” Tyson said. He was trying to contact Nash directly, but had gotten his office somehow. “I’m looking for Nash.”

  “He’s in a meeting right now, Captain.”

  “Did he leave his personal comm with you?”

  “He said he doesn’t like to be interrupted, and quote, they didn’t put a do not disturb on these damn things.”

  Tyson shook his head. That sounded about right for Nash. “Can you inform him that I’m initiating the personnel transfer, and if he wants to be involved to meet his new citizens at the primary seal in one hour?”

  “I’ll relay the message, Captain.”

  “Thank you.” Tyson disconnected the comm, feeling like he had just dodged a bullet. Maybe Nash wouldn’t bother to show and they could make the transfer without any complications.

  He already had enough of those.

  43

  Grant

  Pioneer. Main Entrance to Metro. 11.12.2052. 1700 hours.

  The entrance to Metro was closed when Tyson arrived, though Okoye and two nurses from the medical team were already waiting outside, along with Guardian Nori. The former Marine was dressed in civilian clothes and sitting in an automatic wheelchair, and if Tyson didn’t know any better he would have said the man was completely healthy.

  They all greeted him as he approached. Nori tried to get up to stand at attention only to fall back into the chair with his hand on his chest, one of the nurses pulling out a small tablet and checking something.

  “You aren’t ready for that yet,” the nurse said to Nori. “Give it time.”

  “Captain,” Nori said softly. “I don’t want to go to Metro. I belong with my squad.”

  “I respect that,” Tyson replied. “I’m sure Doctor Okoye explained, it’s the best option for you.”

  “Don’t I get a say, sir?”

  Tyson shook his head. “No. You don’t. I’m sorry, Guardian. I’ve made my decision.”

  Nori slumped back in the seat. Tyson shifted his attention to Okoye. “They’re on the way up. Has anyone responded from the other side?”

  “No, Captain,” Okoye said. “Not yet.”

  Tyson shook his head. He had contacted both Nash’s office and the Sheriff’s office to inform them they were on the way, and to remind them of the protocols that were part of the document Nash had signed. It was already distressing they had to go through so much formality to ensure everything was handled as intended, but he never thought the Governor might go so far as to renege on that agreement. He had nothing to gain by keeping Metro shut, especially since Tyson could force the issue if it came to that. He had the means to override Nash’s lockout as a last resort. After all, Command wasn’t about to let civilians have that much uncontested control over the ship.

  He tapped on his comm badge. “Sheriff, this is Captain Grant.”

  His badge LED turned solid green a moment later. “Captain, sorry for the delay. Are your people at the entrance?”

  “The transfers will be here momentarily. I’m here with Okoye and his team, plus Guardian Nori, who was injured and will be transferring to Metro as originally planned.”

  “Roger, Captain. It’s a bit of a trek up from the city, but we’re approaching the seal now.”

  Tyson picked up the sound of boots clacking on Pioneer’s metal floors behind him. The footfalls grew louder as nearly two hundred personnel transfers approached the corridor adjacent to the entrance, Joseph and his Guardians no doubt leading the way.

  In front of him, the primary seal to Metro unlocked with a thud, and Tyson moved to the front of the group, facing the heavy blast door as it began to slowly slide up out of the way, revealing legs and then torsos. Tyson’s heart sank a little when he recognized Governor Nash’s flashy black shoes and slacks flanked by a pair of uniform pants. Sheriff Shaw and one of his deputies no doubt. He had hoped Nash would decide not to bother attending. He should have known he wouldn’t get that lucky.

  Tyson looked over his shoulder as Joseph and two of his Guardians—Hoffman and Bourne, if his memory was correct—came around the corner of the short passageway. All three wore black utilities with the telltale rubbery neckline of basic body armor beneath and carried rifles.

  Joseph’s eyes narrowed for a moment, a look of angry surprise flashing over his face before it turned to hard stone. Confused, Tyson returned his attention to the opening blast door, which was high enough now to reveal the faces of the people behind it.

  Nash, Shaw, and…Levi?

  The former Marine was the other Law Officer with Nash, standing just behind his left shoulder, a pistol on his hip, a deputy’s badge on his chest. He had a smug smile on his face, matching the smirk Nash wore for the occasion.

  “Captain Grant,” Nash said, the smirk extending to a smile. “Good to see you as always.”

  Tyson glared at him, eyes flicking over to Levi. Why hadn’t he guessed that the Governor would bring Levi along? He should have known it was too great of an opportunity for the man to pass up. At least it explained Joseph’s fleeting look of fury. He spared a quick look over at Nori on his left. The other Guardian was eying Levi with a look of confusion.

  “Governor. I wasn’t sure you were going to make it. You’re a hard man to reach.”

  “I’m easy to reach for the people I want to reach me,” Nash replied.

  “We don’t have to be enemies, Governor,” Tyson said.

  “No, we don’t,” Nash agreed, his tone suggestive. The smile faded slightly. “Let’s get this over with, shall we?” He raised his voice. “I’m sure all of these brave men and women are eager to be reunited with their families, the way Deputy-Sheriff Levi here was last night.”

  Tyson heard low murmurs behind him, the workers wondering why Levi got to go into Metro ahead of them. “What’s your game, Nash?” he asked softly.

  “You had an opportunity to do right by me, Captain. You chose to be stubborn. It’s obvious you didn’t read my file closely enough because if you had you would know I always get what I want. Always.”

  “Not this time,” Tyson replied.

  “We’ll see.” Nash looked over at Nori. “Welcome to Metro,” he said, putting out his hand. “I’m Governor Holden Nash.”

  Nori took his hand and shook it, one eye still on Levi. “Good to meet you, Governor. I’m Priv…Niko. Niko Nori.”

  “I hear you were injured protecting us,” Nash said.

  “That’s right.”

  “From what?”

  “That’s none of your concern,” Tyson said. “We have the situation under control.”

  “I think I have a right to know,” Nash insisted.

  “No you don’t.”

  Nash glared at Tyson. “Okay, Captain. Have it your way.”

  He went past Tyson, approaching the others, including Joseph and the Guardians. Smiling, he shook their hands, perfectly playing the politician. “Welcome to Metro, all of you. Thank you all for the hard work and dedication that got us out here alive. I’ve got a special treat ready just around the corner back there.” Nash looked back over his shoulder. “Sheriff, let them come.”

  Shaw nodded. “Let them come,” he shouted.

  Tyson watched as a relative stampede of people came around the corner, men, women and children rushing up the corridor toward the open seal. He had no idea what was happening until Nori’s face lit up, a big smile expanding across his face.

  “Lin. Akiro.”

  Two of the children ran up to him, both throwing themselves into his open arms. He tried to hug them, but started wheezing from the excitement.

  “Children,” Doctor Okoye said. “Please, step back. Your father needs medical attention.”

  The children stepped back, watching with frightened faces as the nurse administered something to Nori.

  “Wait,” Tyson said, putting his hands up. “Prime Cross, we need to keep these people under control. There’s protocol to follow.”

  Joseph and the other two Guardians moved across the corridor, blocking the incoming civilians from reaching their family members in the crew. “Hold up, please. You heard the Captain. We need to follow protocol and ensure everyone is transferred properly.”

  “Come on,” one of the techs said. “Just let us see our families. We have time to sort everything out.”

  “Captain’s orders,” Joseph said. “Please. Everyone will be reunited. You need to have patience.”

  “We’ve been patient,” a female crew member said. “I see my daughter there. Hi Carlie. Mommy will be with you soon. I just want to hold her. What’s the harm?”

  “Yeah, what’s the harm?” Another of the crew asked.

  Tyson glared back at Nash, knowing he had arranged this on purpose. To get under his skin, or for something more devious?

  “As long as you’re out here, you’re still a member of the United States Space Force,” Joseph said. “And you still fall under chain-of-command. Show some respect.”

  The crew grumbled but gave up the argument, settling for waving to their husbands, wives and children from behind the Guardians.

  Tyson went back to them, pushing through the families. “Form two lines for processing. The medical staff will reprogram your ID chips for inside Metro. The Guardians will double-check them, and then you’re free to enter the city with the Governor’s permission.”

  “You all have my permission right now,” Nash said. “It’s Captain Grant who’s holding you up.”

  “Two lines!” Joseph shouted. “The longer you screw around, the longer all of this takes. Let’s go spacers!”

  The crew fell in line at his barking, quickly shuffling into two lines. Okoye’s nurses moved forward, handing the scanners to Joseph’s Guardians. Joseph controlled the line, motioning each crew member forward in turn.

  “Captain,” Nori said behind him. Tyson turned around. “My chip is already reprogrammed, sir. Can I go in?”

  Tyson hesitated a moment. The Guardians hadn’t checked it. But he was sure Nori was okay. Even if he still had security clearance, he was too loyal to be a risk. “With Governor Nash’s permission.”

  “He already has it,” Nash said. “Welcome to Metro, Mr. Nori.” He smiled like a car salesman. “Is this your wife?”

  Tyson noticed the woman holding hands with the two children for the first time. She was young, with long black hair and a pretty face. She had tears running down her cheeks, though he wasn’t sure if they were from joy, sadness, or both.

  “It is,” Nori said. “Mariko.”

  “A pleasure, Mrs. Nori,” Nash said. “Your husband is a real hero.”

  “Yes, he is,” Mariko agreed.

  “Captain Grant, can you tell Joseph that I said thank you for everything he did. For saving my life. And for being the best damn Sergeant and person I’ve ever known.” He smiled. “After my wife, anyway.”

  “I will,” Tyson replied.

  “I hope he gets to meet my descendents when Pioneer reaches Avalon. He can tell them stories about me.”

  “I’m sure he will.”

  “Thank you, Captain Grant.”

  “Thank you, Guardian Nori.”

  Nori tapped on the controls for his chair. It rolled over to Mariko and began moving with her as she and the children headed into Metro.

  Tyson watched them for a moment, interrupted when Levi approached.

  “Captain Grant,” he said.

  He turned to face the former Marine. “Deputy Levi. How can I help you?”

  Levi stared at him for a moment.

  Then he punched Tyson in the face.

  44

  Cross

  Pioneer. Main Entrance to Metro. 11.12.2052. 1710 hours.

  Joseph heard the familiar sound of knuckles against flesh, and the looks on the faces of the processing crew confirmed something was happening behind his back. He whirled around just in time to see Captain Grant collapse onto the deck clutching at the side of his face, Levi standing over him.

  “You son of a bitch,” Levi spat. “You tried to kill me.”

  Joseph ran back toward the pair, glaring openly at his former Guardian.

  Levi saw him coming and put up his hands, taking a step back. “Hold on, Sarge. Hold on. I don’t want any trouble with you.”

  Joseph passed Grant, grabbing Levi by the arm and swinging him back into the bulkhead before pressing his forearm across the man’s throat to hold him there. “You just created trouble with me,” he hissed. He still had no idea what Levi was doing here or how he was alive. But from the looks of things, it appeared the Captain had saved Levi’s miserable life instead of spacing him for treason. “You should be on your knees kissing the captain’s ass for letting you live, instead of punching him in the face. I ought to kill you right now.”

  “You’ll do nothing of the sort,” the other man in uniform said, putting the muzzle of his pistol up against the back of Joseph’s head.

  “Stand down, Shaw!” Nash snapped.

  “Governor?”

  “Now!”

  Shaw took the gun away and backed up.

  “You too, Prime,” Captain Grant said. “Let him go.”

  Joseph stared at Levi, who started smiling. “You heard him, Sarge. Let me go.”

  He didn’t. He couldn’t. He pressed his forearm harder into Levi’s throat until the man began to gasp for air.

  “Prime, that’s an order,” Grant said.

  Reluctantly, Joseph let Levi loose and stepped back, but he continued glaring at Levi, his face taut with anger.

  “It was your idea, wasn’t it, Sarge?” Levi asked, his voice rasping out as he cleared his throat and rubbed at his Adam’s apple. “To jump me and pump me full of sedative. You don’t do that to take someone to Metro. You do that so you can space them while they’re asleep. You sadistic son of a bitch.”

  Joseph’s jaw clenched even tighter. He wanted to bash Levi’s face in, and at the same time, he couldn’t deny the man was right. It was a sadistic way to fix a problem. According to Grant it was the only way.

  Except he hadn’t actually done it.

  “It’s not personal, Levi. I have a job to do, and I’m trying to do it to the best of my ability.”

  “I know, Sarge. That doesn’t make it any less messed up.”

  “No, it doesn’t.” Joseph looked over his shoulder at Captain Grant, who was getting back to his feet under his own power. He met Joseph’s gaze, his expression one of forced calm.

  “Keep processing the crew,” Grant said. “The show’s over.”

  “Aye aye, sir,” Hoffman said.