The Last Atonian

Chapter 6:

Don, Sareen, and Melody sat in the back passenger part of the ship. Chris Chase sat up front, flying the craft itself. The silence that fell over the cabin was deafening, and Don picked at his tweed jacket absently. Melody was staring at her lap, apparently smarting after Sareen's insult of saying it would be as if she didn't exist. She would occasionally glance up and smile at Don, but he was too anxious to respond to it.

What could the slavers be doing to Xander and the others? He shuddered, hoping nothing was happening to them. Sareen was scrolling through a tablet on her lap, paying little attention to anything. Her brow was furrowed in concentration. Don looked down at his feet, a little embarrassed from staring at her. Nervously, he continued pulling at a thread on his jacket.

The door to the cockpit opened and Chris looked in on them. "So, plan," she said. "Anyone got one?"

Sareen met the eyes of the captain with a small smile. "I have one. You and I land the ship while Don and Melody hide. There's no way that the slavers won't know that we're landing there, so we have to be the bait."

"Why us?" Chris questioned, a concerned frown coming over her face.

"We're obviously Federation. If Don shows up, they'll question it and know I was involved. Melody isn't even technically a member of the Federation yet, which means they'll suspect that you're involved. We're the two obvious choices," Sareen explained in a voice that was like speaking to a child.

Chris narrowed her eyes at Sareen but said nothing. It was Don who protested. "This is insanity! I don't know how to fight!"

"I'm a doctor," Melody added. "I've got no experience fighting either. How do you expect the two of us to fight our way to free the slaves?"

"I don't expect you to fight," Sareen snapped. "Do you not know the meaning of the word 'stealth'? Both of you need to remain calm and use your heads. You're supposed to be doctors. Use those brains inside and think of a plan to free us. Otherwise, we're all being slaves and there won't be any saving us."

Chris still didn't look happy, but Don assumed she'd look even less thrilled if it were Melody who was risking her life. Don himself wasn't pleased with the turn of events, but he had to admit that Sareen had a point. In order to not look suspicious, they had to sacrifice their two greatest assets. Chris tossed her red curls. "We're landing in ten minutes," she said. "Do I have permission to shoot if they fire on us?" Her voice was heavy with sarcasm.

"Permission granted," Sareen said, either not noticing Chris's sarcasm or choosing to ignore it. "We don't want to make it too easy on them, and there's a slim chance that we'll outshoot them."

"Slim," Chris muttered. "Where are we going to hide the others?"

Sareen pried open the steel floor, revealing a hidden compartment. "All the Federation ships have them in different areas," she explained. "Don, Melody, in."

Although Don wasn't overly fond of enclosed spaces, he crawled inside. It was an unfortunately tiny space, resulting in Melody's elbow digging into his abdomen when she squeezed in with him. He grimaced, particularly when Sareen threw some kind of old rug over them. Where she'd found it, he didn't know.

Once the rug was over them, Sareen lowered the lid of the compartment, sealing them both in. Melody squirmed uncomfortably, which dug her elbow further in to his stomach. "I don't like this," she whispered.

"Me neither," he answered in the same tone. His glasses were crooked on his face, knocked askew by the rug. "But we've got to deal with it."