Astrophysical (completed)

Chapter 19

That night Cassie, SA, Louisa, and Howard all sneaked out quickly under the cover of darkness. They were grateful too because as they left, they saw large black and blue ships entering the docking bay. Cassie was told that this was very irregular, and Cassie guessed it was her fault. She still felt terrible about blowing their covers.

The Reeces however had expertly grabbed what little belongings they wanted to bring with them, one of which included the photo album Cassie had perused through and were more than ready to go. They travelled through the village quietly and drew to the shadows as they made their way to a smaller repair shop.

Supposedly, Howard had always been best friends with the owner until Ash's scandal rocked the village and the repairman refused to fix any of the Reeces' privately owned vehicles. One of them was still in the shop and was on display and Howard believed that it was fixed and just sitting there so they could just rub the scandal in the Reeces' faces. If this plan didn't work out though, SA calculated that nearly everyone on this planet had vehicles and it would have to be a matter of quickness to steal the next nearest one.

Outside the repair shop, Louisa bent down and very carefully began to pick the lock. Cassie watched her closely in awe and wondered what type of work she did for the Sovereigns. Nearly as quickly as SA had, she popped the door open, and the party sneaked inside. Howard and SA shown small lights around the place until they came into the chamber housing the small spacecraft they were after.

The room was over twenty feet tall and fifty feet wide. There wasn't anything else in it except for a small one-foot platform that housed the sleek silver and blue craft. It was smooth and long with two pointed ends in the back and a large window in the front. Howard quickly ran up to it and touched the smooth metal with a small smile. "It's been a while since I've seen it. But all the scrapes are gone so I'm assuming it is like new."

"How do we get it out of here though?" Louisa asked quietly.

Cassie scanned the room with her noticing there didn't appear to be any doors. SA went over to one of the wall panels and quickly began hacking his way in. They all watched him while Howard unlocked the craft and let the entry platform open.

"I can get us out as long as that thing is ready to go," SA called. "Please double check and then we can go."

Howard quickly boarded followed by his wife and Cassie walked over to SA and stared at the computer.

"Can we trust them?" he suddenly asked, turning to meet her gaze.

Cassie looked back towards the ship but nodded. "If they wanted to turn us in, they would have just waited for the Sovereigns to come into their home. All they care about is seeing their son again."

"Which by the way, do you know where he is?"

She sighed and shook her head. "Not accurately, but if we go to one of the ports that they frequent then I'm sure he'll turn up eventually."

SA just nodded and looked back at the screen. The two heard footsteps though and saw Louisa quickly making her way back off the ship. "It needs a little bit more fuel otherwise she is good to go," she called making her way to the nearest wall and sliding down a wall full of other parts that mechanics used. She then began to pull off a hose that was extruding from the wall.

Cassie quickly ran over and began to help her as she hoisted it towards the ship. "Will this take long?"

"It shouldn't take more than a half hour," Louisa replied as they began to secure it to the side of the ship.

"And if they come for us, will we be able to quickly pull away and go?"

Louisa bit her lip as she heard the fuel pump begin to work. "I think so, but that is Howard's area."