Jason stood up across the table pointing the pistol and his head pained with anger; he so much wanted to kill Grier.
Looking down the barrel, he yelled, “Plausible deniability, Bjorn!”
Grier’s palms seized the table, his muscle tightened when he sprung up with lightning fast speed. After pushing off the table, he lunged at Jason, and knocked him down, causing the pistol to discharge. Grier had clotheslined Jason’s head, slamming him to the floor.
Jason’s internal light switch blinked off momentarily, and when he came to, he was looking up at the ceiling. Groggily, he pulled himself up off the floor, he smelled burnt flesh, and plasma fumes.
“Cork!” he yelled gawking at Cork’s body that was splayed out with a hole in his chest.
“John Grier has activated an escape pod in the payload bay of the Transport.” Lexis spoke over the Chameleon’s sound system.
“What’s Cork’s status, Lexis?”
“Deceased, Jason. His wound was fatal.”
Jason frantically ran down from the galley, chasing after Grier, when Lexis spoke again. “Captain Asaph Hull is hailing you.”
“One moment, Lexis,” Jason excitedly replied. When exiting into the zero gravity payload compartment, where his momentum exceeded a safe acceleration, he nearly knocked himself unconscious, by slamming into the wall.
“Are you alright, Jason?” Lexis now stood inside the hatch of the Chameleon, looking out at Jason rubbing his skull.
“What of Grier?”
“According to the Transport’s log, his Pod automatically plotted a course to Deimos, second moon of Mars.”
“He betrayed us, Lexis.”
“Jason, Captain Asaph Hull is requesting an audience on board his vessel.”
A SAPH H ULL
“With less than twenty hours until we reach Mars, one of your crew has commandeered an escape pod, and prior to this, our sensors had indicated a plasma discharge aboard your ship.”
“John Grier is a criminal who attacked me, causing my pistol to discharge, accidentally killing Corkian Plaskett. He then fled in one of your Pods.”
“Why did he attack you?”
“I am not at liberty to discuss the particulars with you, however you can have access to the footage, and it’ll show John Grier attacking.”
“Let’s see the footage, Mister Bjorn.”
“Lexis, please queue-up the footage.” Jason spoke knowing Lexis would be listening to the conversation through his communicator on his wrist.
“I can’t hear the conversation you two were having but at this point all I see is you pointing a charged pistol, training it on the man, why?”
“Like I said, I am not at liberty to discuss the particulars with you,” Jason reiterated.
“OK, Mister Bjorn, I have no other choice but to hand you over to the Office of Mars Transportation and Trade Commission on our arrival.”
“That’s fair enough, Captain, is there anything else? I need to prepare for our departure.”
“No, you don’t understand, Mister Bjorn, I cannot allow you back on to your ship for any reason. So, I hereby place you under ship’s arrest until I can hand you over to the proper authorities.”
“Captain, first thing we should consider is intercepting that Pod,” insisted Jason.
“It would be impossible, the Pod’s trajectory deviates from our course.”
“Why’s the Pod going to Deimos and not Mars?” Jason asked.
“For rescue sake, the Pod is programmed to travel to the nearest Colony.”
“I need to contact my employer at Polaris, Captain.”
“We are all employed by the Polaris Corporation, Mister Bjorn. Anyhow, you’ll be able to tell your story to the Undersecretary at the Office of Mars Transportation and Trade Commission; they will make arrangements for you there.”
“Listen, you’re really making the wrong decision here, Captain Asaph Hull.”
“Mister Bjorn, you pulled a weapon, threatened a passenger, and you killed another. From my point of view; John Grier escaped fearing for his life, and you, sir, are
Looking down the barrel, he yelled, “Plausible deniability, Bjorn!”
Grier’s palms seized the table, his muscle tightened when he sprung up with lightning fast speed. After pushing off the table, he lunged at Jason, and knocked him down, causing the pistol to discharge. Grier had clotheslined Jason’s head, slamming him to the floor.
Jason’s internal light switch blinked off momentarily, and when he came to, he was looking up at the ceiling. Groggily, he pulled himself up off the floor, he smelled burnt flesh, and plasma fumes.
“Cork!” he yelled gawking at Cork’s body that was splayed out with a hole in his chest.
“John Grier has activated an escape pod in the payload bay of the Transport.” Lexis spoke over the Chameleon’s sound system.
“What’s Cork’s status, Lexis?”
“Deceased, Jason. His wound was fatal.”
Jason frantically ran down from the galley, chasing after Grier, when Lexis spoke again. “Captain Asaph Hull is hailing you.”
“One moment, Lexis,” Jason excitedly replied. When exiting into the zero gravity payload compartment, where his momentum exceeded a safe acceleration, he nearly knocked himself unconscious, by slamming into the wall.
“Are you alright, Jason?” Lexis now stood inside the hatch of the Chameleon, looking out at Jason rubbing his skull.
“What of Grier?”
“According to the Transport’s log, his Pod automatically plotted a course to Deimos, second moon of Mars.”
“He betrayed us, Lexis.”
“Jason, Captain Asaph Hull is requesting an audience on board his vessel.”
A SAPH H ULL
“With less than twenty hours until we reach Mars, one of your crew has commandeered an escape pod, and prior to this, our sensors had indicated a plasma discharge aboard your ship.”
“John Grier is a criminal who attacked me, causing my pistol to discharge, accidentally killing Corkian Plaskett. He then fled in one of your Pods.”
“Why did he attack you?”
“I am not at liberty to discuss the particulars with you, however you can have access to the footage, and it’ll show John Grier attacking.”
“Let’s see the footage, Mister Bjorn.”
“Lexis, please queue-up the footage.” Jason spoke knowing Lexis would be listening to the conversation through his communicator on his wrist.
“I can’t hear the conversation you two were having but at this point all I see is you pointing a charged pistol, training it on the man, why?”
“Like I said, I am not at liberty to discuss the particulars with you,” Jason reiterated.
“OK, Mister Bjorn, I have no other choice but to hand you over to the Office of Mars Transportation and Trade Commission on our arrival.”
“That’s fair enough, Captain, is there anything else? I need to prepare for our departure.”
“No, you don’t understand, Mister Bjorn, I cannot allow you back on to your ship for any reason. So, I hereby place you under ship’s arrest until I can hand you over to the proper authorities.”
“Captain, first thing we should consider is intercepting that Pod,” insisted Jason.
“It would be impossible, the Pod’s trajectory deviates from our course.”
“Why’s the Pod going to Deimos and not Mars?” Jason asked.
“For rescue sake, the Pod is programmed to travel to the nearest Colony.”
“I need to contact my employer at Polaris, Captain.”
“We are all employed by the Polaris Corporation, Mister Bjorn. Anyhow, you’ll be able to tell your story to the Undersecretary at the Office of Mars Transportation and Trade Commission; they will make arrangements for you there.”
“Listen, you’re really making the wrong decision here, Captain Asaph Hull.”
“Mister Bjorn, you pulled a weapon, threatened a passenger, and you killed another. From my point of view; John Grier escaped fearing for his life, and you, sir, are
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