The Space Between Us (WAYHAUGHT)

Chapter 1

Commander Haught stood looking at the lifeless body on the ground. She had seen so much death, so many bodies strewn across floors. She sensed she was losing her ability to feel anything for anyone. Including herself. She wouldn't let that happen. She had seen it in the eyes of others. Those sent to do their duty. Returning a shell. Emptied of their own life.

Doc tapped her on the shoulder.

"We need to go. This was never our mission. Come, before it's too late."

Doc was right. If they were to make it home they would need to leave this planet. She had to get away from this place. Anywhere than standing in front of the brutal consequences of her actions. Under her command.

"Gather the crew and survivors, I need a moment."

Doc nodded. "Don't be long."

He understood Haught well enough to know she needed time by herself before returning to the ship. She waited until Doc was out of sight, one final look at the body before her. So young. Why was somebody this young fighting?

They had been on route to Gideon, their home planet, to pick up supplies. A distress signal was received one jump from their destination. A smaller vessel in the fleet had been ambushed. It made an emergency landing on the nearest habitable planet. Six crew members still alive, fifteen dead. A rebel group had them pinned in a clearing. No escape. They were running out of fuel for their weapons. No chance of departure, their vessel too damaged to break clear of the planet's pull.

Haught had had to make a decision. Leave the six crew members to their fate. Rescue them. Doc warned her it would not be wise to attempt a rescue. If they too were ambushed there would be no one to rescue them. It could turn into a one way ticket to their own end. Haught nodded, agreeing with everything Doc was telling her. She went ahead with the rescue.

She checked no one was near. Turning, she forced her fingers down her throat to relieve herself of the sick feeling she carried into every fight. The senseless acts of cruelty against another. Her stomach empty, she wiped her mouth on her sleeve, knowing this was the only way she could deal with the life she had been forced into. A career dictated by her family, without consent, without consideration of who she truly was. Who she wanted to be.

Ten more missions and she would be free. That was all. Ten more. Two more years if she was lucky. Three tops. Then she could escape the confines of what she was doing. Nothing, absolutely nothing would stop her from leaving the military. She had served her time. Done what was expected of her. Duty and honour. Some fucking honour. Kill for the sake of keeping another alive.

She yearned for freedom. Unencumbered. To explore alone. A role more suited to her temperament. Quiet, studious, curious. In awe of all things new. A planet hopper. Planet hoper. Searching across the galaxy. The colonisation of Mars kick-started the journey to the stars. Keplar 452, Luyten b, Gideon 9, all habitable. All capable of sustaining large colonies. Seeding the immediate galaxy with life beyond Earth. A confederation of five planets. Union. Their successful settlement paving the way for more planets. Humans doing their best in alien environments.

The year: 2415

Haught was coming to the end of her fourth mission escorting ore ships and their precious cargoes. A mission she hated. The ore ships a constant target for those who chose a different way to exist. Criminals in the eyes of the Union, stopping at nothing to pick off smaller ships. Their cargo extracted, parts stripped, crew taken. Sold, or killed if considered a burden. Life was cheap to many who roamed in search of profit. Scum who murdered her father. His life treated as worthless, at their disposal. Who was she to judge? She had had to do the same to her enemies. Wasted opportunities scattered across distant planets.