HAWK

CHAPTER NINETEEN: INFERNO (1/6)

With the F-88 travelling at speeds Kas hadn't thought possible, the ragtag group of escapees assembled in the main cabin to discuss their plan. It was a little cramped at first until Astrid pointed out that the ship was still in combat mode. The F-88 apparently had several modes: ground, flight, combat, stealth and transit. Kas and Mack agreed to switch to transit mode, and the main cabin suddenly began to stretch and widen to a much more comfortable size. A simple square table rose up out of the floor, as did three stools of varying heights, and all three of them gathered around it to talk.

It took a little while for Mack to alleviate Kas's concern that Governor Swanne would catch up with them. Between him and Astrid, they eventually reassured her that the F-88 was designed specifically to be faster and harder to track than any other ship known to science - that's why they had to take it. Swanne had demanded the best and her engineers had come up with the goods. As Mack had taken to saying: if they weren't safe on there, they weren't safe anywhere.

Even so, Kas instructed Astrid to change their heading at least once every thirty minutes to throw off any would-be pursuers. Their general direction was to return to the centre of the solar system, but they couldn't agree on a final destination. Kas wanted to go to Polo, saying it would be easier to sneak to surface unseen, but Mack insisted it was too risky.

'Then where do you suggest?' Kas asked him.

Mack stroked his black-and-white beard as he thought, then nodded to himself. 'Xeo.'

Kas's mouth fell open. 'Xeo? Xeo?!'

'Swanne would never look for us there.'

'Because she'd be looking for our bodies! It's a machine world, nobody lives on Xeo!'

'Actually... that's not quite true.'

Kas blinked. 'Excuse me?'

'I've got friends there.'

'On Xeo?'

'I know it's hard to believe.'

'The surface is 500 degrees!'

Mack shrugged. 'They're underground.'

'And who are they, exactly?'

'Former soldiers, mostly. Discharged by the Federation after they refused to obey certain orders.'

'So they're fugitives?'

'Some, not all.'

Kas shook her head. 'Look, Captain, even if this is true, I've had a really long trip as it is. I just want to go home.'

'You go home and Swanne will be waiting for you.'

'And I'll be waiting for her.'

Mack sighed. 'If that's how you want to be then I guess that's your choice, but right now, we're all on the same ship and any risks you take affect all of us. Now, I can guarantee that if we head to Xeo, not only will we be safe, but I can have someone smuggle you to any planet or moon of your choosing. It's the best and only option we have.'

Kas pursed her lips as she thought about it. Mack had certainly piqued her interest but it still seemed crazy.

'What do you think, kid?' she said as she looked over her shoulder, but Worm wasn't there. She heard a scuffling sound and turned to look at the black cart at the side of the hold. A curl of blonde hair was poking out from within. Kas walked over to find Worm struggling to lift the X1 computer out.

'Need a hand?' Kas offered. Worm didn't nod, but she didn't shake her head either, so Kas reached in and took some of the weight from her hands and between them they managed to haul the glassy black sphere up and over the side of the container. Kas lowered it as carefully as she could, though it still made a loud thud as it hit the floor. Worm clambered out of the cart and knelt by the computer's side. It was perfectly black and lifeless, just as it had been when Kas had last seen it.

'Is it dead?' Mack asked. Worm raised her hands and began signing.

'Not sure,' Astrid translated. 'Swanne downloaded all of his data onto her archives, but it's possible he's still in there.'

Worm then turned to look at Kas who was surprised to see anger in her eyes.

'This is all your fault,' Worm signed.

Kas baulked. 'Me? What do you mean?'

'You left me behind on Lysan and took Hik with you. You should have told me.'

'I'm sorry, Worm, but I couldn't take you with me. I thought you'd be much better off on Lysan, and I was right.'

'Yeah, until that cap came along and kidnapped me. He threatened to kill me unless Dante told him where you'd gone, then he put me in his cruiser and took me to the asteroid belt. Said I would be good leverage when we caught up with you.'

Kas felt a sudden pang of guilt - Astell had been right about that.

'Then I find out you'd gotten yourself captured and Hik melted down to ore. If you'd just told me where you were going, I might have been able to help you, but you didn't because you're selfish.'

Worm curled up over the X1 and hugged it tightly. Kas looked at Captain Mack who shrugged.

'I'm sorry, Worm,' Kas tried, but Worm didn't even look up at her. Unsure what to do, Kas turned and made her way back to the cockpit. Mack followed her through and shut the door.