The Only Witness

Part 1: Chapter 2

The door shuts fully behind me, and the pressure increases slightly. Rafael gestures for me to sit, the ship has no where to go anyway. I do as I'm told and rest my head against the side of my seat. I shut my eyes and focus on the humming of the engine. It's calming, It reminds me of home.

After a few minutes of foggy dreams and words just too far away to hear, I open my eyes. The air is bland, but to me it's full of life. My eyes have adjusted to the dim, slightly foggy light and I stare around the capsule. Grey from floor to ceiling, with rows of more, grey, seats. Officers sit on the other stairs, and I remember blushing as they stared when I first stepped into the pod, but now all, but one of them, are preoccupied again. I avert my eyes from the man in the red uniform. It isn't Rafael. I try to look like I'm busy which is highly ineffective. When the pod evens out, he unbuckled his seat belt and comes in my direction.

"Harmony? Harmony Grace is that you?" I look up. He smiles. "Definitely you dear!" He sits next to me. I shake his outstretched hand. "Good to have you back on Earth." I nod briefly. The conversation has broken the silence and Rafael is watching with rapt attention. The man continues his greeting, and my mind wanders. Onto nothing of importance, just drifts into space**. He comes and sits on the other side of me, breaking my drifting.

"Raf!" The other, easily excitable man says exuberantly.

"Tobey, it's always a pleasure." Rafael nods curtly and looks at the man.

"Well, as I was just saying to Harmony here, I'm going to be her guardian while she's at Star Fleet with no official ship."

I'm dumbfounded. "You, You were?"

"Impossible!" Raf spits. "I'M her guardian until her ship is assigned and her fathers will spread out."

I look between the pair. I don't know either of them. Toby looks at me and smiles at Raf.

'Well, I suppose we'll know soon anyway! We're here."

I look out the window behind me. Dazzling lights, harsh compared to bleak space background, catch my eyes. The officers barely blink. I however, am transfixed by their beauty. When the pod goes into land, I feel an uncanny sadness.

"Welcome home, Harmony." I hear Rafael say. I look at him and Toby is nodding excitedly. "Oh yes! This is so exciting!" I look at him with eyebrows raised. For someone who's been an officer for, what looks like, a very long time, he's certainly enthused about getting out of this pod, into a place I'm sure he's been to many times before.

Then again, so have I. The head pain starts again, even worse than before. I'm on the brink of remembering so much, but I can't. I distract myself and the pain diminishes.

The door slides open and the pressure returns to normal. A stream of yellow, blue and (mostly) red file past me, into the bustling port. I clamber to my feet and grab my crutches while the two officers wait patiently. I walk through the dimly-lit pod for the final time and step into the port.

I'm almost straight away knocked over by some maniac. My eyes adjust again. In stark contrast to the dimness of the pod, this is overly-lit. The artificial lighting streams down, reflecting harshly on the white walls and grey floor. I look over my shoulder and see row, after row, after row of space shuttles. All smaller craft. The officers are already ahead, and I briskly... well, limp, after them. As I.. limp, I can feel eyes boring into my head, and hear people whispering. "Is that her?" "I thought she was dead." "That's Captain Grace's daughter." I blush and try to keep up with the two men in red uniforms. We get to a security door, and for the first time, they look to check I'm still there. They both show and I.D card and get nodded through. I follow and the doorman winks at me and whispers; "Welcome back, Miss Grace." I smile at him and go through the large, metal, swinging doors, after the silhouettes of the two men in front of me.

The first thing I notice, is the massive windows. I peer out of them, into the bleak abyss of nothingness that is space. I see some of the biggest star ships I've ever seen in my life. There are more people in coloured uniforms. Still mostly red. I go faster and start playing a very childish game; I'm trying to see whether I can just step in the big light circles cast by the massive glowing spheres hanging from the roof.

My two comrades are going through yet another door, I hurry and manage to slip through after them.

"Well, here it is. Seems a bit lifeless eh?" Toby says to Raf. The latter of which, looks over his shoulder and beckons me over. I step into line next to him.

'What, What is this place?"

"Lodging rooms. You'll be staying here, until your father's will is distributed, and you get an official guardian, or assigned to a ship. That'll be in a week."

I nod as I take this in. My eyes scan the bleak room, with balconies with more rooms above me. The lighting is softer here which I'm grateful for. The secretary is an alien, but a very pretty one. Her skin is whiter than normal and has an eerie glow. Her hair is stark black and her eyes are an unnatural shade of yellow. She smiles her welcome to us. Toby goes to the desk first. She hands him a key.

"Well, it certainly was a pleasure to meet you Miss Grace. An absolute PLEASURE!" He gushes, and heads to an elevator.

Raf turns to me, "Harmony, listen. I'm here to look after you this week. Some very dangerous people are after you, and your father's legacy. Tobias included. If you need anything just ask. Okay?"

I'm taken aback. But I nod. "I understand." That, was the first time I hadn't stuttered.

"I knew you would, you're a smart girl." Raf smiles, like properly smiles and I subconsciously smile too.

We head to the desk and retrieve my key.  The tense silence in the elevator is almost unbearable. I want to ask him so many questions, but I have the feeling I wouldn't like the answer, and that he wouldn't like to answer them.

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**No pun intended