“How exactly are we going to warn the crew again?” asked Rick, only after they’d been turned away from Garrison’s cabin. The man didn’t have a moment to spare for either of them, believing that any hint of a threat against the ship was preposterous.

Garrison slammed the door in their faces, leaving them without a lot of options.

“We have to get to the actual captain of the ship,” said Alex. “Garrison is just part of the colony program but he has little pull with the crew. We need to find the bridge.”

“On a ship like this, we at least know where the bridge should be located,” said Rick. “But getting authorization to get in will be the hardest task.”

“Just leave that part to me,” replied Alex.

Rick was right about one thing. Finding the bridge on a ship like the Racine was extremely easy. All of these ships were laid out in the same way, using a modular design that made them extremely versatile for different sets of missions. The Racine had been modified to be a colony ship, and her attachments were the O’Neill cylinders that made up the bulk of the living quarters and provided most of the artificial gravity for the colonists.

The O’Neill cylinders were capable of detaching from the ship itself, which is exactly what would happen when they reached Vesta, allowing the cylinders to go into orbit around the planet while the colonists and their supplies were transferred down to the ground. Once the O’Neill cylinders had been detached, the Racine would go back to Earth with a much smaller crew and potentially pick up a new set of cylinders for another group of colonists. Or potentially, she could become a supply ship and pick up a load for another colony.

The beauty of the ship design was that the base model was laid out in the exact same way, so being on one was like being on all of them.

In this case, Alex and Rick moved toward the inner part of the ship until they found the bridge near the front of the vessel. The only problem they had was getting the captain or another senior officer to meet with them, which was complicated by the fact that the arrogant and cantankerous guards wouldn’t let them onto the bridge deck without authorization.

It was a distraction that was overcome with some quick thinking on Alex’s part. All it took was two solid punches to allow Alex past the guard station, and from there, he was able to find the captain’s quarters a short distance away.

The captain, a grizzled veteran who’d been in command of the ship for more than ten years, looked very surprised to see Alex and Rick at his door.

“What is the meaning of this?” he demanded, staring at the two of them and holding up his pulse pistol. “How did you two get past my guards?”

“You mean those two?” asked Alex, thumbing his finger at the two guards who were still trying to pull themselves off the floor. “I asked to get by them politely and they made several derogatory comments about my mother. I think they got off lightly if you ask me.”

The captain could only shake his head. “You wait until I get security down here. I knew it was a bad idea to volunteer for this job. Sending prisoners from Earth to repopulate a colony?” The captain scoffed. “What a stupid idea that was.”

“You’re probably right,” said Alex. “Because at this very moment, several of the prisoners on this ship are plotting to hijack the vessel. They have no intention of going to Vesta.”

The captain scoffed again. “Hijack the Racine? That’s impossible. They’d never get anywhere close to getting on the bridge.”

“I’d hate to burst your bubble,” said Rick from beside Alex. “But how do you think we’re standing here right now? If Alex and I can get through to you with very little effort, you have a major issue with security.”

The captain narrowed his eyes. “That’s a problem that can be fixed very quickly. I have enough security on this ship to watch every single one of you scumbags. You might have gotten lucky tonight but there won’t be a repeat performance.”

“I should hope not because if they hijack this ship, the rest of us are dead,” said Alex. “They plan to take the ship to Dangallu. And to make that journey, they are going to get rid of every useless eater who doesn’t offer something to their cause. You might have already noticed that the ship is locked down because people keep showing up dead. That’s their handiwork.”

“You’re worried about something that would never happen,” insisted the captain. “If anyone was stupid enough to try to take over this ship, they’d be squashed in about three seconds. This isn’t my first colony run, criminal. And I’ve never had an incident. There’s also an open investigation about the deaths of those two men. I think once the results come back, we’ll find that the cause of death was quite natural for both of them.”

Alex shook his head, wondering how any person could have his head stuck so far in the sand.

“I don’t think you understand the kind of people you’re up against,” warned Alex. “These men are very capable and very smart. They are quietly gathering numbers and once the odds are in their favor, they won’t hesitate to attack.”

“Like I said, nothing we can’t handle,” said the captain smugly.

“Does anyone in your crew have any military experience?” asked Rick. “Fighting in the Alliance Navy or Space Marines?”

“Or even paramilitary experience?” asked Alex, recalling his own past.

The captain’s eyes rolled up in thought. “One of my guys was a navigator on a navy frigate before he got kicked out. But that’s about it.”

Alex shared an apprehensive look with Rick before turning back to the captain. “These guys are going to eat your crew alive. If you don’t do anything to stop them, we’re all doomed.”

“And just what would your plan be?” asked the captain. “You expect me to arm you? You both would still be in prison without this program. Why would I trust anything you’re telling me, let alone the prospect of arming you?”

“Because we’re the only two men on this ship capable of stopping them,” said Alex. “You don’t have to trust me until I’ve proven myself. Or until I can show you the troublemakers.”

“What are their names?” asked the captain. “I’ll have my crew launch an independent investigation of this, far from your control. There are official channels and processes that need to be followed.”

“Or we can just take the bulk of your security to their cabins right now and get them to confess their plans,” offered Alex. “It won’t be hard. They’ve been bragging about it openly that I’m sure you’ll hear the full scope of their plan. This isn’t something that we can mess around with.”

“Like I said, give me their names,” insisted the captain. “And I can determine what to do with the information.”

Alex crossed his arms, finding his temper agitated. This captain didn’t know what he was doing, and his ignorance was going to get a lot of people killed. Rick was the one to sprout off the names of all the ringleaders while the captain wrote down every last name.

“I’ll have my security force look into these men at once,” said the captain, now eager to end the meeting. “And you two will go back to your cabins. If I get any word of you playing vigilante, I’ll make sure you’re kicked out of the program and banished back to Earth.”

“You’re making a grave mistake, Captain,” said Alex. “Your men won’t be able to stop them.”

The captain scoffed. “That’s where you’re wrong. Now get out of my office. And if I ever find you past the guard station on this bridge again, you’re going to wish you were still in prison.”

By the time he’d uttered his threat, security forces had gathered around Rick and Alex, escorting them to the entrance to the bridge. The two guards that Alex had punched made sure they got their revenge, striking Alex in the stomach before letting them go on their way.

All-in-all, it was a terrible start to a potential rescue plan.

“So what are we going to do now?” asked Rick as they made their way back to their cabins. “The quarantine order is still in effect for our cabins. And I highly doubt that the captain is going to do anything about Serrano and his friends.”

“I don’t know just yet,” said Alex. “And so far, they outnumber us. Not that we haven’t been outnumbered before but that last time we picked a fight with a big group of men, it didn’t turn out so well for us.”

Rick grinned. “I don’t know. This isn’t such a bad fate. Especially with Nikki around now, and the promise of many more once we reach Vesta.”

“If we reach Vesta at this point,” corrected Alex. “We should be there in just a few days. I heard an announcement that we were entering their star system just this morning.”

Just about everyone had heard that announcement. The Racine had entered the 51 Pegasi system, starting first with the Oort cloud that surrounded the system. For many of the colonists, it was tantamount to seeing the end of their journey in sight.

“If that’s the case, I expect Serrano to move any time now,” said Rick. “We’re just going to have to stop him before—”

“Help! Someone help please!”

Both Alex and Rick shared a look with each other after hearing the cry for help. It was a man’s voice that called out, and he sounded like he was just around the next block of cabins.

Sure enough, they found him huddled on the floor, clutching his knees and weeping moments later. He had a familiar look to him, and Alex remembered that he was in their section, having received his technology and companion at the same time the rest of them did.

“Sam? Sam Reeves?” asked Rick, recognizing the man’s name. “What’s wrong with you? What happened?”

Sam was nearly inconsolable. Whatever was upsetting him didn’t seem to be physical as he didn’t have any marks on him.

“My companion!” wept Sam before burying his face in his hands. “They stole her! They took her away.”

“Who took her away?” pressed Alex. “The staff?”

“No,” said Sam, shaking his head. “Serrano and his men! They stole her from me! Claimed that one of his men didn’t get a companion and he deserved Adela more than I did. I didn’t want to agree but they made it clear that if I didn’t, they were going to kill both me and Adela! I couldn’t do that to her. Not after the night we spent together. She’s such a beautiful soul and now she’s in the hands of those assholes!”

Alex felt his anger building. No matter where he went on this ship, he found evidence of Serrano’s presence. The man was becoming one hell of a pest, and it was about time to see that he was exterminated for good.

Rick seemed to be having the same thought. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

Alex nodded. “I am. We have to stop Serrano. And we have to do it quickly.”