The Stars At Dawn

The Stars at Dawn.

Chapter One: The Stowaway

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say.

That was bullshit.

I had heard such screams, seen it. I watched my husband be pulled from a shuttle by pirates after blood and money. I had heard him scream for me as I hid in the trap door under the bridge, feeling his voice carry out in that black, pit of darkness and stars.

They had taken him from me three years ago, silence was never truly quiet since, I could still hear those screams as I carried my shuttle though the vast mass of space. It left a trail I intended to follow and had from the instant he left.

The monitor above my head beeped, and I read my com stating it was a call from my home, Verra. I hadn't seen my planet for nearly a year, and the only transmissions I usually received were from my family but the only ones I ever answered were from Catania. A friend who had not talked me down from my quest, though she did not refrain from the string of curses when I had told my plan. Mostly due to the fact I was leaving her. She was a medic on an outpost on the planet's outskirts, Balt 5, one too precious to lose.

I answered and waited for the static image of her tall figure to appear above the transmitter.

“Good morning, well for me anyway” Her strong voice altered with waves of pitch, and I banged the transmitter to aid the issue but with lack of a success. The old rust bucket of broken wires and faulty panels was the only mode of transport I could afford, since my shuttle had been next to nothing after the incident, I got whatever would do the trick and get me through the systems safely enough.

“Morning” I said back groggier than planned, a rough night sleep was interrupted by a small meteorite shower. More dents to fix.

“You’re headed to the Kronox system, guessing you're trying the Lina market again” Always keeping track of me, another request in order to let me go. Though I didn't mind an extra pair of eyes on me as I travelled around the many systems inside the Libraer Galaxy, knowing what dangers lurked amongst these stars. I nodded, I had been to Lina before, the large traders' market on the planet J-5798, a small world covered in rain forest textures that used to be a notorious pirates port. It had been cleaned up years ago and I knew Catania was curious about my return after an empty find last time.

“I’m meeting a contact, someone nodded to them when I had crashed at that station on Georgia” That cold planet was as good as the snow it was covered in, but the people were well versed on the underground markets and more than happy to help. I departed Georgia that next morning.

“How do you know they can be trusted?” Her voice was already sounding of worry.

“I don't” Which was the truth, but a nod towards any lead was better than what I had found. I had too many loose ends and even more dead ones. My unfortunate status as a council member of the Rivkara system made me an easy target to avoid when it came to the criminal rings across the systems, even when I quit, I was constantly marked by my job. Leaving Rivkara had partially aided me and taking on an alias even more so. Enya Ronin, my mother's middle name and the name of my first dog.

“Your parents are going to kill me if anything happens to you, you know that?” She said after a very long and dramatic sigh, and I let out a snort of a laugh at her expression “Oh I'm very aware.”

My parents, unsurprisingly, were not supportive. They had begged me not to leave, not to waste my life chasing after something I had no control over. Chasing a ghost. They believed he was dead, the same as his own family, who said to leave his memory to rest, that I was in denial and using this as an excuse to avoid my grieving.

I had grieved, had poured my heart out to the stars that took him from me and had done my time in pain and sorrow, a feeling I know will never fade with the knowledge he is still out there. Dead or alive. I needed to bring him home, bring home my Kade. I owed him that.

“You care so little about me it genuinely hurts” She mocked a cry over the intercom, bringing me back from my thoughts and I cracked a smile at her projection just as a thump sound from beyond the bridge doors. My head snapped fast to the source and I heard Catania start to question what was happening, but I hung up quickly, making my environment quiet. My ship makes noises from time to time, but all I know well, the occasional croaking of the old steel walkways, or how the storage doors would sometimes open and close by themselves. This was not one of them, this was something I was familiar with but only by the echoes of my own. It was the sound of boots on the steel floor, walking, towards the bridge.

I reached for the small pistol tucked in a harness around my thigh and gripped it tightly, ignoring the beeping that was no doubt Catania trying to call me again, most likely plagued with worry at the abrupt end to our call. The sound quieted as if aware of my position, now tucked by the side of the doors that could be opened on either side, though it wouldn't take a lot to break one down. Damn rust bucket of a ship.

The sound moved, as if reaching for the access button to the doors and I knew that if I didn't move faster, I'd be at a disadvantage. I flexed my hand around the gun and banged the back of it against the access button next to me, before stretching my arms out, both hands locked around the weapon as I walked through the now open bridge doors, and found nothing.

The silence was broken by my heavy breathing, panic sweeping over me as the unsuspecting guest was nowhere in sight. I walked further ahead, checking each dark corner, and over my shoulder. I furthered on, slowly and surely. I knew this ship well and it was not a big one, with limited spaces to hide. Something caught my eye further ahead on the floor, and moved toward the object steadily, it was a long, black piece of cloth, a scarf. Curiously, I bent down to inspect the object, the soft fabric slipping through my fingers and before I could stand, I realised my idiotic mistake.

In a second, my mouth was covered by a hand from behind, dragging my body with impressive strength, pulling me towards the walkway wall. My gun was ripped from my hand as the person grabbed my arms with one hand and held them above me with such a tight force that I was unable to move.

I felt a scream rip through my covered mouth, and finally let my eyes adjust to the captor in front of me, inches from my face in a dark hood. A tanned, dark headed man with scruffy face and pale green eyes pinned me to my spot in fear, his eyes smudged with dark powder and his face solemn. I had no idea who he was and even more so, what he wanted.

My mind raced to the worst possible scenarios. A pirate who didn't like my constant questioning across the systems, or a thief looking for any old parts to sell.

Or my husband's kidnappers, coming to finish the job.

As if my fears manifested at each thought, my blood chilled as the man flicked his eyes across my face and spoke words that had tears slip from my eyes in terror.

“Hello, councilwoman Dawn Kellar”

This stowaway knew me, my real name.

“We need to talk.”

And he was going to kill me.