Chapter Twelve ~ Back to the station

The truck rumbled down the highway as the sun was crawling upwards in the eastern sky. Nothing but empty highway behind them and just the very tips of downtown buildings on the far horizon.
As they merged on to the road towards the airport Carolyn filled George in about what her responsibility was when they got to the station. And how all he really had to do was keep an eye out for anyone who might suspect them of doing anything other than just hanging out by the transports. George was only half listening. He was mostly staring out the window looking ill.
Carolyn looked over at him. "I thought you were a big strong, brave guy," she said, poking him in the side.
"I don't like flying." he said sullenly.
"Oh this isn't like flying in the normal sense, you know," she informed him "It's more like a roller coaster."
"I don't like roller coasters either."
"Huh. I wouldn't have guessed that about you. But either way, it's not a really big deal. The ride is fast and you'll be there in no time. And if you get a window seat you can look out and see the moon up close and personal."
"I'll keep that in mind. But I don't think I want to sit by the window."
"You can sit by me" Jilly called out from the back seat. "I've never done this before either and I'll hold your hand if you need me to."
"Good to know," he grumbled as he shifted his weight and turned further towards the window.
The CB radio on the dash clicked a few times and Rob's voice came over the speaker. "Hello?"
Carolyn picked up the mic. "Hey, Rob. What's up?"
"I got into the files that lay out the plans for the next few days of meetings. There is a list of who is cleared to fly up to the station. I was able to add all of you to the list with the alias names we talked about. I don't know which transport you're supposed to be on but I'm sure they will tell you when you arrive."
"Excellent" Carolyn said. "So far so good. We are approaching the barrier so if that goes as planned we are good to go all the way there."
"Good luck," Rob said. "Tell Sylvia I'm thinking about her."
"I'm thinking about you too Rob" Sylvia said.
They reached the barrier and slid through without incident and it wasn't long before the exit for the airport appeared.
"Are we ready to do this?" Carolyn asked.
Everyone gave an affirmation except George who grunted unhappily.
They exited the highway onto the airport ramp and approached the entrance where there was a makeshift gate. They pulled up and Carolyn smiled while making sure the guard inside the wooden structure wouldn't recognize her from the previous fiasco. If she weren't the only one who had even the smallest amount of experience with flying the shuttle, she never would have come and possibly jeopardized the mission.
"What can I do for you major?" the guard asked, leaning out of the shack and stifling a yawn.
"We're here to take a transport up to the meeting."
"Names?" he asked, turning back to his computer, stretching noisily while he waited.
"I'm Major Carolyn Owens" she said, giving the fake name they had previously agreed upon. Her real name would surely be flagged in the system by this time. She was wearing one of Frankie's jackets which had Frankie's last name on it.
"And the others?"
Carolyn ran down the list of everyone's names. Their last names had been changed to match the names on the uniforms they had pulled out of storage to use today. Except Joe who was wearing his own uniform. She didn't think anyone would notice if the names didn't match but she wanted to make sure they didn't get tripped up with stupid details. When she got to George's name she stumbled because he hadn't been part of the original plan and she didn't know his last name. And she suddenly wondered if Rob knew George was with them and if he didn't then he wouldn't have included his name on the list.
While she was staring blankly at the guard who was still looking at the screen, he turned and asked "And the last member of your party?"
"Um..."
"You missed one. Is it George Freeman?"
"That's me, sir," George said, leaning forward to look around Sylvia and giving an uncharacteristic smile.
The guard leaned to the side, regarded George for a moment, yawned again then turned back to the computer. He typed in a few things, waited while a small machine spit out multiple pieces of paper then handed them to Carolyn.
"These are your passes. Don't lose them. You won’t get replacements." He reached down and flipped a switch and the gate arm rose in front of them and he waved them on before sitting down, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes.
As Carolyn drove away checking her rear-view mirror, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank heavens Rob is on top of it and that the guard was too tired or bored to really notice anything strange like so many of us packed into a truck instead of there being 2 trucks which would have been protocol. And thank you George for being quick on the reply."
"I should have said I didn't know who I was or what I was doing here and maybe they would have held me for questioning."
Carolyn reached over Sylvia and bopped him in the shoulder. "You're such a kidder!"
"I wasn't kidding" he muttered towards the window.
"OK, so that's another step closer to what we need to do." Carolyn said. "Now we need to get to the terminal and figure out how they are going to get us all up to the station."
"This is so exciting," Jilly called out from the back seat.
"Calm down," Lucas said. "You won't think it's so cool once you're in outer space surrounded by aliens who want to sell you into slavery and you aren't guaranteed you're going to get back to earth before that happens."
"You're just a Negative Nellie!" Jilly said.
"I think you mean a Negative Nancy" Ethan said
"Either way. That's him."
"You're going to change your tune soon enough and then you'll understand."
"YO! People in the backseat" Carolyn  raised her voice to be heard. "Let's keep it down and at least pretend we're professionals."
"Yes ma'am" they said in unison.
 Carolyn maneuvered the truck towards the back of the terminal and pulled it up alongside the other similar trucks. She cut the engine and turned around.
"Everyone needs to stay calm, relaxed and act like they belong here. No one will look twice if you're not bringing attention to yourselves. Joe is going to wander around and see if he can get any more information and we're going to head towards the boarding area. I have to keep my head down in case someone recognizes me from the other day."
The group nodded and piled out of the truck. Joe headed towards an outer building that had some people milling around outside and the rest of the group slowly made their way to where Carolyn remembered that they boarded last time.
When Joe got to the buildings he nodded to a group of men standing outside hoping there was no one who would remember that he wasn't supposed to still be part of the whole operation. But he doubted anyone would remember who chose to do what. At least he hoped so.
Inside there were several higher ranking officers lounging around on couches or standing and talking by the coffee machine. Several of them burst into laughter apparently at a joke. Joe had to stifle the desire to go and punch them all in the face. He didn't know how any of them could be ignoring the fact that there were probably millions of humans being sold into slavery and being taken to other planets for God's sake, and as long they and their families were safe they couldn't care less.
"You look like you just ate a lemon, Major."
Joe turned to see Major O'Dell approaching him.
"Daniel!" Joe recognized his old friend and thrust out his hand.
Daniel shook it warmly. "What are you doing here?"
"Headed up to the station for the meetings" Joe said, hoping Daniel didn't know that he was supposed to have been shipped away with all the other military that didn't want to cooperate. Knowing Daniel like he did, he was surprised that he had gone along with all of this but it was probably to save his family which might have changed his own decision if he had loved ones to protect.
"Yes me too," said Daniel. "So ridiculous that we can't just have the meetings down here except for the fact that our "visitors" won't venture down to Terra Ferma due to security concerns. Of course I don't see why we couldn't just have zoom meetings." He laughed a little then said "There's really nothing to laugh about. None of this is funny in the slightest way." He glanced in the direction of the group by the cooler. "I swear I don't know how most of these people can go around and act like nothing out of the ordinary is happening."
"As long as they are safe and their families are safe that's all that matters. It's always been that way and will probably never change. Anyone they don't consider to be an equal are just faceless bodies in the crowd. Easily expendable to keep them safe or in power."
Daniel sighed deeply. "Absolutely true. But don't let them hear you talking like that. They'll stop your prescription for the pills that keep you from turning into a zombie and enjoy watching you get shipped off as a slave to who knows where."
Joe shivered. "Yeah, that's not a very pleasant thought." He wondered what Daniel would think about what he and the others were doing and if he would approve, or maybe even help them. But he knew better than to say anything.
Instead he asked "So when is the whole caravan heading out and up?"
"Less than an hour. You'll probably want to be over in the loading area in about 20 minutes. Hopefully this whole thing won't take very long. I'm hoping we can be headed home by tonight but knowing how all the top brass like to listen to themselves talk and how long it takes them to get around to actually getting to the point of each meeting, I'm betting we won't be out of there until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest. You got some pj's in your travel bag?" He was looking at Joe's backpack.
"Oh yeah. I come prepared for all possibilities. Pj's, toothbrush, clean undies." He slid the bag up higher onto his shoulder thinking 'and a small bomb for disrupting workflow and starting a general cascade failure of the entire station.'
"Everything I think I'll need. How's the family by the way?"
"Oh they're doing as well as expected. The wife isn't happy that she's stuck so far away from me and the kids are driving her nuts, but that's business as usual for them. I'm not sure anyone where she is fully understands what's actually happening. But no matter how much she complains I can't really let her in on how bad things would be if she wasn't there. I'm just hoping and praying that this will actually all be over at some point even though things will never be normal again."
"We'll have to make a new normal," Joe said. "Maybe it will all be over sooner than you expect."
"I truly hope so. For all we know when we get up there, we're going to find out that there is a whole new level of cooperation we are going to have to concede to. I would ask how much worse could get, but I really don't want to know."
"I have a good feeling about all this." Joe said. "I think things will get better sooner rather than later."
"I admire your optimism, and for all of our sakes, I hope you're right."
Joe made a show of looking at his watch. "I better swing by the bathroom and then head over there. I've got a couple of people in my group and they are probably wondering where I got off to."
"Sounds good," Daniel said. "I'm sure I'll see you up there, maybe we can grab some lunch together later today."
"That sounds like a plan" Joe shook his hand and made a retreat out of the building and across the tarmac towards the terminal.
Inside there were a number of lower ranking enlisted milling around not doing anything in particular. He spotted his group huddled in one corner trying to look casual. Carolyn wasn't with them. He hurried over.
"You all can't stand around like this. You look like a lost herd of sheep."
He shoved Lucas, Jilly and Pat towards the couches and the other towards the snack table. "Where is Carolyn?"
"She saw a guard that she said might recognize her so she ducked into the bathroom over there." Sylvia said.
"OK, go get a snack and sit down and talk to someone. Pretend you belong here."
The group broke up and looked a little less obvious and out of place and Joe went in search of Carolyn. He found the closest bathroom and stood outside and called to her.
"I'm in here, alone. You can come in" she answered.
Joe peeked around the corner. "I feel weird in the ladies room."
"You look weirder with your backside sticking out" She grabbed a hold of him and pulled him in.
"Did you find out anything important?"
"The transport goes up in less than an hour. I met up with a friend of mine who seems like he would be sympathetic to our cause if we got into trouble, though I wouldn't risk telling him anything. He's going to be up there too."
"Well any sort of backup is good."
"And why did you leave the whole lot of them out there by themselves? They stick out like a sore thumb. I had to go break them up into smaller groups"
Carolyn rolled her eyes. "I was going to do that but then I spotted one of the guards that saw me the other day and I didn't want to risk him remembering me. Are they OK now?"
"Well they are less obvious than before."
Carolyn sighed. "I hope we aren't making a huge mistake. But I guess I'd rather die trying than know I only survived because I was too afraid to do anything."
 "I'm not sure that's the best pep talk, but I understand the sentiment,"Joe said. He checked his watch, "It's about time."
"Let's go collect the crew. I'll keep my hat pulled down and hope for the best."
They headed out to the promenade that led to the boarding gates and main area where the rest of the group was sitting on the molded plastic chairs trying to look like they belonged there. The whole lot of them jumped up and headed their way.
"Oh Lord," Carolyn muttered. "They're like a bunch of puppies who just spotted their dinner."
"You head towards the boarding gate and I'll re-divide them into smaller groups and send them that way."
Carolyn turned and headed down the hall to where they boarded the last time. She suddenly noticed George had sidled up next to her. She gasped and stumbled. He grabbed her arm.
"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you. I'm just trying to keep a low profile and hanging with the group isn't helping. I'm supposed to be watching your back so here I am."
Trying to get her heartbeat back to normal, Carolyn thanked him and pulled her hat down further over face and kept walking.
Joe met the group who immediately wanted to know if everything was OK and when they were leaving and what they should do.
He shushed them discreetly. "We need to break up into groups so we don't look like a parade. Each of you get together with your job partner and head towards the boarding area which is down this corridor on the right. Once we are in whatever transport they have for us, we can sit together but don't hover as one big group out here in the open. I might have mentioned that a time or two."
Lucas, who also had his hat pulled down over his face and Jilly paired off, Sylvia and Pat fist bumped and Ethan and Kyle were already heading away from the group. Joe watched them until he was satisfied they didn't look suspicious then followed them slowly.
Once everyone had arrived in the boarding area, Joe wandered over towards Carolyn and George.
"It looks like they are taking us up on completely different ships than the kind I flew last time," she said. "These are much smaller and sleeker. They may only hold 10 or 15 people. There are 3 of them parked outside so it seems they aren't expecting a lot of us leaving from this airport."
As she spoke, people were slowly wandering into the area, some carrying drinks and talking, others heading straight to the windows to get a look at the transports. Carolyn could tell those people probably had never been up to the station before because they each had an extremely concerned look on their face. Much like George who was standing behind her looking like he might pass out at any moment.
"How're ya doing there big guy?" she asked him.
"Dandy," he replied. "I could use a drink."
"They will probably have some refreshments when we get there. None of these guys can go for very long without something strong and smooth. For them, it's always 5 o'clock somewhere."
"That will be too late. I'll just have to suffer."
"You'll be fine." Joe said.
"Have you been on one of these things?" George asked him
"No, but I've been up in a fighter jet with one of my pilot friends and I loved it. This can't be any worse than that. I bet this is even tame by comparison."
"I doubt it."
"You'll be fine. We'll all be fine." Carolyn said, patting him on the back.
Before he could grouse any more, the door to the outside opened and a lower ranking officer stepped in and asked everyone to please slowly make their way outside and get in line to board. "There is no assigned seating, but limit yourselves to 12 passengers per vehicle. Once boarded there will be instructions to make your flight more comfortable. You will be given a map of the station so upon arrival you can make your way to your assigned quarters then find your way to the meeting hall without issue."
Joe leaned over to Carolyn "Where do we find out what our assigned quarters are?"
Carolyn pulled her pass that the guard at the gate had given them and checked it. She pointed to the bottom. "Right here it says 'Cabin 1832 - Deck 4'. Check yours."
Joe looked at him. " 'Cabin 1834 -Deck 4'."
"Well so far so good. We can all meet up and have one last meeting in one of our rooms before setting this whole thing into motion."
"I thought you were going to stay put in the hangar bay?"
"I'll come back down after we get everything started. I think it would look suspicious if I stayed with the ship right off the bat."
"True."
By now they were moving forward and heading for the outside. Carolyn could see Jilly trying her best to relax but she was vibrating with excitement. She caught up to her and put her hand on her shoulder. "Just relax," she whispered. "It'll be OK. Take a deep breath."
Jilly closed her eyes and breathed in right at the moment Lucas stepped in front of her and she walked directly into him.
"Geez, watch where you're going!" he hissed under his breath
"Sorry, I'm just trying to find ways to help me relax."
"Well, whatever you're doing it’s not helping me, so try something different."
Jilly stuck out her tongue.
Carolyn dragged Jilly by the arm back a few steps and shoved her over towards Pat and Sylvia. "Walk with them and pretend we're all mature enough to be here."
"OK, sorry."
Once they reached the staging area everyone started to line up at one of the queues. There was enough room on one of the transports for the entire group and another two dozen people. Joe was at the back of the line with Ethan and Kyle when Daniel walked up and joined them.
 "Mind if I share the shuttle?" he asked.
"Not at all" Joe said "These are friends of mine Ethan and Kyle."
Everyone shook hands. "Where were you stationed?" Daniel asked
Before Kyle could stumble over his words Ethan jumped right in. "Up state at Plummers. We're both engineers there."
"Oh yes" Daniel said "I've been there on occasion. Nice base."
"So where were you when all this happened?" Joe asked before Daniel could ask anything else since they hadn't gone too deeply into cover stories because they were hoping they weren't going to have to talk to anyone for any length of time.
"I was all the way down in Florida. But as soon as this all went down they shipped me up here and I ended up with a middle man job mostly pushing paper. This is going to be my first time doing this whole off world thing. I can't say I'm looking forward to it. But I've got to do what I have to to keep my family safe."
The guard standing at the front of their line unhooked the velvet rope that was blocking their way and stood aside. The group slowly mounted the stairs and entered the ship.
It was like a private jet with three dark brown leather seats on each side of the aisle. The walls were covered in the same creamy beige carpet as the floor. The cockpit was on the left with only a chair for a single  pilot. Everyone filed in quietly until all the seats were taken.
They sat in nervous silence for what seemed like an eternity until one of the enlisted men appeared at the door.
"Sorry this is taking longer than it should folks. Command added some extra passengers at the last minute so we've been trying to make sure everyone has seats without having another shuttle sent down. I think we've got it worked out now. We're just waiting for your pilot to board and you'll be on your way." He excused himself and disappeared back outside and down the ramp.
George leaned over to Carolyn. "I'd be willing to give up my seat if it will help everyone get moving faster."
"Thoughtful but apparently unnecessary."
Another five minutes ticked by until the pilot finally made it aboard. The door slid closed behind him as the ramp was being pulled away.
"Sorry about the delay everyone, I think we finally have it all figured out. I'm Captain Reed and I'll be your pilot this morning. Sit back, buckle your belts and relax. I'll have you up to the station in no time."
Carolyn recognized his giant nose before he even said the first word. She smacked Lucas who was sitting in front of her whispering "It's the Captain you hit in the head."
She sunk down in  her seat and pulled her hat down over her eyes. Lucas jumped a mile out of his seat then landed slumped down grabbing for his hat as well.
"Everything OK back there?" Reed called out.
Lucas lowered his voice about an octave and replied "Oh yes sir, no worries sir just trying to get settled in. I'm fine. Everything's fine."
Reed rocked back and forth to see who he was talking to but Lucas was practically on the floor. "OK then. Make sure your seat belt is buckled properly and that your seat backs and tables are in the upright and locked position."
Everyone started to check but Reed laughed. "I'm kidding. There's only one seat position and there are no tray tables. Just lightening the mood since I know most of you haven't been off planet before." Everyone laughed nervously.
"Take off will be in less than five minutes and I'll try to give you the smoothest ride possible. Think of me like a better looking Captain Kirk if it helps ease your nerves." He chuckled at himself and turned and headed into the cockpit sliding the door closed behind him. Lucas slid up a bit and peered over the top of the seat in front of him. Carolyn leaned forward and whispered "He didn't see us thank God  He may not remember you but he sure as hell will remember me. We're going to have to be careful when we get there to stay out of his way."
"I agree completely." Lucas said, buckling up his belt.
The shuttle started to rumble gently and  immediately began to lift off the tarmac. They could feel the landing gear folding up into its belly. Jilly bobbed and weaved to look out the window and watch the buildings disappear below them. George groaned quietly and leaned forward. "I think I'm going to  throw up."
Carolyn grabbed his shoulder and sat him up. "I swear if you puke I'm going to throw you out an airlock as soon as we get to the station. Stop being such a baby and take a deep breath and relax. You're going to be just fine."
He took several large gasping breaths.
"Look at me. Right in the eyes"
He grimaced as he squinted at her.
"More breathing. Slowly. Relax"
He took a few more breaths, swallowed hard and looked a little bit less green.
Meanwhile the shuttle rose steadily until the buildings below were nothing but small dots on the airport grounds. It stopped rising and hung suspended in the air as it turned 180 degrees and then swung its nose directly upwards. There was a pause during which Lucas whispered loudly "Put your heads back."
The ship shot upwards slamming everyone into the back of their seats. Faster and faster hurtling towards space. Even though she couldn't move her head, Jilly could see the sky outside getting darker and darker until there was no light left coming in through the window. George had reached over and grabbed Carolyn's hand and was squeezing it so tight she worried she'd never be able to use her fingers again.
Ever so slowly the pressure lightened until everyone could sit forward and look out their window.  Sylvia kept trying to see around Pat who had pressed her face against the glass.
"Back it up a little, I wanna see too." Pat moved over just enough for Sylvia to shove her face next to her and cheek to cheek they watched in awe as they rocketed away from earth and towards the moon. Ethan and Kyle also had both of their faces stuffed into the window but Kyle's glasses kept fogging up in the close quarters so he had to lean back and wipe them down with the hankie he always kept in his pocket.
"Look out there, you'll be able to see the moon in a just minute" Carolyn said to George who still had hold of her hand and was leaning back in his seat with his eyes squeezed shut.
"Nope, not going to happen. I'm going to sit here and pretend I'm on an airplane flying to Hawaii and when I open my eyes we'll be landing 20 minutes away from my favorite beach. Don't wreck my fantasy because that's the only way I'm going to make it through this."
"Alright" she said as she squeezed his hand back and turned towards the window. It was just as amazing as it was the last time she did this. The moon was getting closer and closer and the earth was turning into nothing more than a blue marble in the distance. There was barely a sound as everyone in the shuttle (who didn't have their eyes closed) was awestruck with not only the beauty but also the surrealistic feel of the entire experience.
Within moments the moon was right outside the windows so close it seemed like you could reach out and touch it.
"I wouldn't have believed this in a million years," Sylvia said. "I wish Rob was here to see it."
"I would have given him my seat," George said, his eyes still glued closed.
"I can't wait to get back home" said Jilly "So I can tell people what I got to do."
"If there are any people left to tell by the time this is all through" Lucas noted.
"LOOK!" Kyle called out as he got the first look at the giant space station that was looming in the distance.
The sight of the giant alien craft made everyone back up from the windows.
"I knew it would be big, but not THIS big" Joe said.
"I've heard people who've been here talk about it, but I wasn't prepared for this" Daniel whispered in awe.
"It looks like something out of a movie, but much more scary," Jilly noted.
George finally couldn't help himself and he slowly opened one eye and looked towards the window. Once he got a look at it, he leaned all the way over Carolyn, both eyes and his mouth wide open, crushing her back into her seat.
"Oh my God, what have I gotten myself into?" he asked.
The shuttle made a right once it cleared the moon and headed straight for it. The earth disappeared and there was no light except what was coming from the windows and open bays of the station. The shuttle headed for the same hanger bay as the last time, visibly slowing as it began its landing sequence.
It slid effortlessly through what appeared to be an invisible force field keeping outer space out and inner space in and headed to a landing pad directly in front of them. They could feel the landing gear lowering into place and then the craft settling gently down onto the floor.
Shortly after they felt the engines stop vibrating, Captain Reed emerged from the cockpit and Carolyn and Lucas both slid down in their chairs again.
"Welcome to the Collector, as we like to call it," he said. “As soon as they get a ramp situated outside you can head to your rooms, relax for a little while or stop by the cafeteria for a bite to eat until all the other shuttles get here, then the first meeting will be at eleven hundred in the gallery. All directions, maps and information are on the handout that one of the ensigns will provide for you at the bottom of the ramp."
The cabin door slid open from the outside and a young girl stuck her head in. "All set and ready for disembarkation, Sir." she said.
"Thank you Ensign Pratt," Reed said smiling. He turned back to the group. "You're on your own for now ladies and gentlemen. I will see you in a few hours." And he was gone out the door.
The two ladies in the front row got up and followed Reed. Daniel turned to Joe. "I'm going to head over to the cafeteria and get some coffee. Do you want to join me?"
"I'll drop by my room and drop off my stuff then meet you over there." Joe said
"Sounds good."  And he was out the door and down the ramp,
Everyone else sat rooted in place. "Well this is it," Carolyn said. "Let's get to our rooms, go over the plans one last time then get this show on the road."
They all got up slowly and  headed for the exit, hearts pounding and hoping all would work out as planned.