spread against the glass above his head, and the palms of his hand pressed on the cold shinny transparent surface. He could see in the distance the control tower and within it Gonzalo directing the departure of the fleet. Wolfe looked down into the terminal and could see movement of personnel retreating in his direction, moving to safety before the ships engines powered up to tease these gigantic craft out into the open channels of space.
The terminal technicians entered the departure lounge through an air lock; static could be heard from their radios as they contacted the control tower. ‘Terminal clear of personnel, continue with departure protocol.’
A response came back ‘Roger that.’
A moment later the first ships engines powered up, and the noise level around the spectators in the lounge increased until Wolfe could feel vibrations through his fingers on the glass. Suddenly he felt the presence of someone behind him. It was one of the technicians, and in a split second before he could turn the man had his hands in cuffs painfully locked behind his back.
‘Wolfe Magellan,’ the man said. ‘You have been placed under arrest, pending trial, for the manslaughter of the four men killed today. We have been ordered to bring you in front of Commander Gonzalo to take a statement. With a look of disbelief on his face, Wolfe watched the nearest cargo ships movement. Through a window, the face of Ariel Galieo looked directly back at him. He knew as she solemnly waved goodbye that she had survived the explosion, however he was quickly running out of friends and allies.
Wolfe turned to hide his face from more people who appeared at the crafts windows, angered by the circumstances and the manner of his arrest he looked his captors in the eye, he should have known it would be a couple of Gonzalo's personal guards.
‘That was easier than I thought.’ One guard said.
‘Not particularly resourceful are you.’ The other chirped.
‘No point in delaying the inevitable, lets get on with it.’ Wolfe retained some dignity, but resigned himself to a humiliating walk through the space station.
‘We will escort you to the main control tower Mr Magellan where your questioning will begin.’
Gonzalo was studying the large radar screen as Wolfe entered the control room, escorted by his personal guard. Wolfe surprisingly sensed that the atmosphere was relaxed considering the day’s events. Gonzalo took a side-glance at Wolfe and then continued to look at the coded numbers displayed on the monitors, he watched as the ships moved slowly away from the station.
Wolfe surveyed the command room. Gonzalo’s guards had also replaced all of the usual personnel, and as a result the layout of the room had been changed. It was now a complicated maze of command points and banks of screens, which monitored the zones of the station and the space terminal. Some new screens had also appeared there purpose unknown. He could see that complicated coordinates appeared and then were added to a long list of stored numbers. It was a course being plotted through space.
Suddenly from outside in the terminal there came a large increase in light and a thunderous noise. The last remaining ships were throttling their boosters as they accelerated out of the terminal.
He could see the last ship leaving on a monitor, the ship left a red glow directly behind it, its engines at full throttle until it disappeared from sight. Now it was just a number on a radar screen making its way along the Milky Way. How he wished his family could be aboard one.
Gonzalo finally turned away from the monitors and walked through the control room fixing his eyes on Wolfe with a glare of rage. His motions were confident and precise; as he approached his prisoner he squared up and stood face to face like a prize boxer eyeballing his opponent before a fight. Wolfe backed off a little. The exchange of words had not yet begun, but Gonzalo's body language said more than was needed, this was going to be a punishing interrogation not a dressing down by a colleague sharing the same uniform.
The commander’s eyes blinked then a split second later he slammed his fist onto a desk and ordered his men to clear the room. Wolfe could feel tension in his arms as the cuffs bit into his flesh, he now realised how vulnerable he was with no means to protect himself from an assault.
Gonzalo unable to control himself paced back and forth like a caged animal. Wolfe’s eyes never left his opponent, but fixed permanently on the commander anticipating an attack. Suddenly the Commander surprised him with a torrent of abuse. ‘My superiors are not happy with the way the evacuation is being handled.’ Gonzalo slammed his hand on the desk. ‘For the first time in all of my career, I have been pulled up about my methods.’ The commander ran his hand through his hair then looked directly at Wolfe. ‘This is the last thing I need right now. Just what the hell went wrong to result in an explosion? Why were not your men more careful? Gonzalo paced some more.
‘This is going to cause complications.’ He mumbled to himself. ‘Repercussions! And it is all your fault.’ Gonzalo looked in pain as he spat the words out.
A chair was the first of many objects, which sailed through the air as the true character of this career officer boiled to the surface; a paperweight struck Wolfe on the jaw. Blood filled his mouth instantly as he spat a tooth out onto the floor.
The man of authority pointed directly at Wolfe. ‘I have never come across such complacency in my entire career. This is the worst accident recorded in modern space exploration, and it is happened on my shift,’ he continued. ‘But I’m not the one who is going to get labelled a failure over this my friend, because I’m going to write the report as the officer in charge, which means you are in serious trouble. There has been too many short cuts taken in the procedures you agreed, and now we have twenty four body bags and a hospital ward full of seriously ill patients.’ The blonde haired figure looked directly at Wolfe, he looked genuinely upset. ‘This accident should never have happened! It is a wonder anyone got out of the accommodation block alive, especially your family.’
Wolfe’s mouth became extremely dry as he cleared his throat; the comment had made him feel sick. Wary of starting any dialogue he searched Gonzalo's body language as he peered over a desk spitting out insults, challenging his experience as an engineer and his ability to delegate work to the right members of his team. The engineer could feel his blood boiling as he sat back and took the character assassination until finally he spoke unexpectedly with a calm manner. ‘If you think you can blame me for this you are mistaken. I have taken every possible variation into account whilst planning for the safety of the station’s inhabitants and the engineers carrying out their tasks, and I have the documentation to prove it!’
‘Would that be this documentation,’ Gonzalo opened a drawer and pulled out a project folder full of papers and charts. ‘All your electronic files have been erased, and this book is the only way you can confirm any of your detailed instructions to the crew which you sent to their deaths! You are a murderer Wolfe, and I’m going to make sure you pay for the mess you have caused, the taint on my name and my command,’ the blond haired man shouted.
Wolfe could not believe what he was hearing. ‘I thought you were an untrustworthy character the very first moment I met you. Now I have my doubts to the true nature of your mission here, especially with the dispatching so many unauthorised probes and the station wired with explosives. You are the one who will feel the heat of this avoidable accident. If only you had the backbone to stand up and admit what you are doing, whatever that maybe before more lives are lost!’
The two men looked at one another intensely before Wolfe spoke. ‘I would not have believed you could sink this low trying to set me up, I will challenge you all the way on this!’
‘The records will show whatever I want them to show.’ Gonzalo smirked toward Wolfe.
‘You coward.’ Wolfe reacted as he rushed from his chair towards Gonzalo. His rage pushed him forward until he realised he could do nothing. His hands were bound behind him.
Gonzalo who had the advantage swung at Wolfe and landed a punch, a single punch was all that was needed to have Wolfe lif
ted off of his feet and reduced to heap on the floor. ‘I ought to have you executed.’
The commander looked down on Wolfe and shook his head. ‘Guards,’ he called. ‘Take him away.’
As the two men wrestled Wolfe from the floor, they escorted him away to holding cells. Wolfe challenged his jailer one last time. ‘You’ll pay for this Gonzalo, you wait and see.’ But the warning seemed to fall on deaf ears, as he was dragged into the corridor and imprisonment.
On reaching the holding cells the guards could not help themselves, Wolfe was dragged into a secure room whilst blows were directed at his body, one blow punched the air out of his lungs and rendered him doubled over in pain. The other guard ripped Wolfe’s dog tag from his neck and bent down to the kneeling prisoner before him. ‘That will teach you to mess with Gonzalo, by the time he has finished with youyou will wish you were dead.’ The guard pulled out Wolfe’s IGE Community card from its dock on his wrist. And took off the handcuffs. Now he had no way of communicating with his family.
This statement burnt an impression into the back of Wolfe’s mind, but it was not of fear but determination to expose the dictator who was coldly manipulating the truth for his own benefits.