FROZEN

D. T. H A N N A H

© D. T. Hannah, 1994
 Frozen.
D. T. Hannah

In all her sixteen years, Jan had always been in control. She always prided herself
on her self control and calmness in a tight situation - which weren't very often
admittedly,- but still Jan nearly always dictated what happened to her and to some extent
the other children around her. Jan was the oldest `child` on the long distance trade ship
`Narcissus`, the daughter of the head navigator, and her age made her a sort of leader
among the other crew children.
Despite the Narcissus having a crew of around fifty, the amount of children
traveling with the trader as it hops between distant settlements too far out for the more
bulkier trade ships, was low, around fifteen. If there was a home to leave your child when
on a month long voyage, you did. Jan`s mother was a widow with no family, losing her
husband and job within a week of each other there was no choice but to pack herself and
her daughter (who was ten at the time,) and set sail for the heavens. Jan always thought
six years of growing up in artificial gravity had stunted her growth, why even the eleven
year old Roze McClaren was taller than her.
Well, even with her height problem, Jan led the crew children and now she had to
show it by walking through the crushers. The crusher room as it was dubbed by the five
kids who used it as a hide-out was a dangerous room where none of the adults went,
apparently some large machinery overhead needed counterweights to prevent the ships
navigation equipment being ruined from vibrations. These counterweights were big and
heavy and moved at random, the only warning given were flashing lights two seconds in
advance, barely enough time to jump out of the way before huge chunks of metal came
crashing together. The crushers, as the counterweights had been named could easily kill
someone, but danger was the essence of the gang. If anyone was too scared to run with
Jan`s gang they could run back to the nursery and play dollies with the rest of the
younger crew children.
Jan had studied the the crushers carefully, noting where they crashed together and
parts of the room where they didn't, marking each out on the floor with chalk. This gave
little islands of safety, not that the crushers were very dangerous, smashing together at
about ten times a day - if that.
Jan began to walk through the first crusher, keeping an eye on the flashing lights,
the important thing was to look calm and relaxed, if you bolted you were disqualified and
wouldn't become a part of the gang until you walked through properly, rules were rules.
She was through the first out of three crushers, and looking good. Standing on the
chalk island she studied her four companions. Mex and Sam, both thirteen year old boys,
best friends and very easy (and very fun), for Jan to push around. Val, fourteen and a girl,
a good friend when Mex and Sam were being their most incorrigible. And Roze, who had
yet to walk the crushers and be a real part of the gang. Jan was partly showing the group
how tough she was and partly showing Roze what she was expected to do in a few
minutes time.
Through the second crusher with no hitch and straight on to the third, Jan had
done this dozens of times, more than everyone else in the room put together, maybe it
was this and not just her age that put her in charge.
A few more steps and Jan was out. Easy. Now to make a dramatic end, Jan raised
her arms above her head and bowed like a performer greeting her adoring fans. It all
boiled down to self control, and to her friends, Jan looked like a true professional.
Jan was a true professional. That was all Roze could think of as she saw the older
girl step out from the huge crushers triumphantly. How could Roze possibly be like her?
Though she dearly wanted to be just like her, cool, calm and collected even when in
terrible danger. Roze`s heart beat faster at the thought of walking through the crushers
and here she was getting ready to do just that, Roze wished she had never gotten into this
mess. Oh well there's no way out now, Roze resigned herself to doing it, even Val had
done it once and Val had convinced Jan to let Roze try and be a part of the gang - Curse
her.
The four left Roze at the back of the room ready to start, they made their way
down the side of the room so they could see her come out at the end, if she came out.
Roze was having grave doubts about that ever happening, this morning she was worried
about the embarrassment of bolting from fear but now she didn't think it that be so bad.
Roze studied the smooth opposing faces of the first crusher, any second they
could come smashing together, a flashing light was not enough warning, never. Terrible
images flittered through her mind, of squashed arms and legs and a crushed flat body, all
belonging to her... No! she must not think of that. Under her breath Roze whispered the
rules; walk between the crushers; if you run you are disqualified; flashing lights give a
two second warning and then you are allowed to run; safe spots are marked out in chalk;
you can spend no more than fifteen seconds on a safe spot... Oh no, that was all Roze
could remember.
She began to walk, haltingly at first, her limbs had turned heavy and suddenly she
was afraid of not being able to run if she needed to. Still she was determined to go
through with it, it was that or spend the rest of her life kept company by the little kids in
the nursery and Ethia her dads senner. Roze`s dad had a senner because he was the
captain of the Narcissus and part of the Narcissus` cargo were senners. A senner was a
synthetic human like servant that looked like a human, walked like a human and talked
like a human - but wasn't. That was the extent of Dad`s explanation anyway. Jan`s
explanation was simply `a robot` Ethia was probably looking for Roze right now.
Roze half hoped and half dreaded Ethia finding her now.
Walking between the crusher surfaces, Roze stared at the lights ready to bolt at
the tiniest blink, she forgot the easy and relaxed stroll Jan had displayed almost a lifetime
ago, Roze stayed slightly bunched up ready to pounce for the exit. Almost to the end and
Roze felt her steps hasten, she gritted her teeth and forced herself to go slower all the way
to the first safe patch of chalk.
Roze breathed a silent sigh of relief but steeled herself for the second stage
immediately and began walking through, the sooner over the better. An ice trickle of
sweat ran from her armpit and down her side, she pressed her arm to her side, the room
wasn't hot at all, the sweat was generated by pure tension, or fear.
Out of the second crusher and Roze began to dare that she could do it, She paused
to push back her shoulder length brown hair and continued on. She could see the others
waiting at the end, Mex and Sam looking bored, Val looking proud and Jan happy, happy
for her, happy for Roze! Roze knew she could do it now.
Suddenly there was another person in the room, tall like an adult, Ethia. Roze
knew she was in deep trouble now, caught standing in the middle of a crusher, she could
already feel her fathers temper looming over her, Ethia looked shocked.
Jan screamed: `ROZE RUN!` Roze looked up and saw that the bright orange
lights were flashing out in warning, she had to get out but it all happened too fast, the
walls of the crusher began to move together with Roze in the middle. Faster than she had
imagined she tried to get out but her legs wouldn't work, her arms wouldn't move, she
was locked up. No matter what commands she sent to her feet nothing worked. Roze
suddenly realized that she was going to die.
Ethia reacted faster than all the other children, her artificial body created many
times faster and stronger than those of natural humans. Her first thoughts were to protect
her charges safety and immediately she was at a run for the girl. Speeding between the
swiftly closing crushers she hit Roze like a fully loaded trader ramming a small two man
cruiser. Roze was bowled across the floor just far enough from the reach of the huge
pieces of metal, but in giving all the available momentum to the girl, Ethia had sealed her
own fate.
The crusher shut behind Roze with incredible force and a series of crunches as
Ethia was crushed to death.
Roze looked back and the crusher was closed with only a head and an arm poking
out. Slowly it opened revealing the smashed body that was once Ethia, shaken, Roze
crawled to the mess and cradled the head in her lap. Ethia had been around for nearly
three years, watched out for Roze, cleaned up after her, been a companion, even saved
her life and this was what she got in return.
`I`m sorry.` Was all that Roze could say between sobs.
Ethia tried to speak but only black fluid came out of her mouth, senner blood. Out
from her shattered torso came different coloured liquids, mixing in a steadily increasing
pool on the floor.
Soon the twitching stopped. The senner was dead.

Roze, Jan and the other three kids had been dealt with for playing in restricted
areas and any other `criminal` punishment could be handled by individual parents when
they finished their respective shifts. For now the punishment handed down by the kitchen
helper / babysitter who was assigned to watch the crew children this week was a strict
curfew and restriction of movement throughout the ship as well as huge doses of extra
kitchen duties and clean up chores. The five offenders were also warned not to be seen
together for a while, a very long while. Good.
Roze didn't want to see them ever. The gang had been broken up and it was all her
fault, all through the long lecture in the kitchen she could feel their accusing eyes glaring
into the back of her neck. She knew they hated her now and quailed at the thought of
spending the next few months with no one to talk to.
Roze didn't know how the other parents had dealt with their kids but all she got
was a curt memo from her father instructing her to collect a new senner from the stores
and wait for him at the quarters they shared. She hated getting in trouble with her father,
all she could think of to do now was get the new senner and wait for the inevitable.
The lift doors opened and Roze stepped onto the lesser storage level, it contained
the smaller salable items that the Narcissus sold to the settlements, such as electronic
equipment, appliances and senner units. The greater storage levels hauled the heavy
machinery replacements that settlements needed to replace so often but that floor was off
limits to kids.
Roze walked up to the desk where items on the floor were cataloged and
restocked by an old man ( who spent most of his time at his desk sleeping,) he was awake
this time though.
`Do you need some help getting the senner out?` He offered, obviously Roze`s
dad had called ahead.
`No thanks.` She walked on, she wanted to do something useful by herself for
once, maybe if she did this without stuffing it up she wouldn't fell so bad inside.
The senner room was big, and wall to wall with senner freezer units. When in
storage or transport, senners were kept frozen in a suspended animation fluid to prolong
their lifespan and of course original value, if only humans could be frozen as well, then
maybe voyages wouldn't be so long.
Unfortunately for Roze, the freezer units were stacked up to the ceiling, too high
for Roze to reach and too heavy to lift to the ground. Roze walked along row after row of
neatly stacked to the ceiling white boxes. She was just about to go out and find the old
man and ask if he could help her get one down when she spotted a freezer unit standing
by itself right up in the back corner. Pushing her hair back from her face she walked up to
the lone freezer unit and opened the lid. Underneath the sudden mist caused by the
comparably hotter atmosphere outside hitting the cold suspension liquid, Roze could see
the human-like back of a senner, totally immersed in the cloudy water. With protective
gloves that went all the way past her elbows she reached in and grabbed the figure under
the arms. Straining all her weight, Roze pulled the senner out of the freezer unit, and
gasped in shock. Roze let the form go and it hit the floor still unconscious.
It was human.

Captain McClaren peered around the bridge. His bridge. A room which breathed
control, control over an entire trader, a craft which stood for the vocation of more than
fifty people, and the survival of countless hundreds who desperately needed the supplies
the Narcissus brought to survive in their distant isolated settlements. All of these people,
all of the crew, all of the bridge, all came under McClaren, and there he sat in perfect
control.
Except for now. Nothing was amiss on the bridge of course, the healthy hum of
full power wafted up from the engines, function lights blinked away contentedly, not a
warning sound or buzzer dared make a peep and bridge crew chattered among themselves
because no emergency was in sight, but McClaren had failed to maintain the healthy
order a ship should be in. It was always the little things that smashed the mirror surface of
order but this time the little thing was McClaren`s own daughter, Roze.
Granted she was not on her own when the senner was destroyed but she was the
central cause of the entire incident, she was the one playing among the vibration
reductors, the other children were merely watching. It was true that if McClaren had not
found a better place for Roze to stay, he would have done like so many captains these
days and not allowed crew children at all - better to have only accepted children-less
crew than to have to deal with the trouble that resulted.
Oh what was he saying? banning children because of one isolated incident?
McClaren realized he was more angry about the shattering of his illusion that he had
control over his people as well as the Narcissus. Worse things have happened to traders.
Besides, it seemed only Roze was the problem and a stern talk could be all it takes to
make the problem go away, no punishment, just a father-daughter talk, each treating the
other like a responsible adult.
 McClaren had never been one for punishments, he chuckled to himself, when it
was absolutely necessary he would delegate the responsibility to someone else. Oh well,
he knew Roze always called a talk a `lecture` and considered it a form of punishment
itself so that would be enough, they would talk and leave it at that. Hopefully life would
return to normal as soon as possible, McClaren loved his daughter and hated the tension
that lingered after a fight.
`Captain, there`s no answer from your quarters.` A bright young man of whom
McClaren had asked to check if Roze had returned from getting the new senner, informed
him. Oakman his name was, recently promoted up to bridge crew and still had the formal
touch to his vocabulary when around McClaren.
`Never mind,` McClaren smiled to show he was not worried. `These things take
time.` For a split second McClaren wondered if his decision to send Roze alone was a
good one but he knew Roze was a capable girl and not trusting her again was not trusting
his own abilities at bringing up a child.
McClaren swept his gaze across the bridge, always in perfect harmony, so well
controlled in fact that left alone for five minutes nothing of great importance could
happen. He pushed aside his panel and stood up, Oakman looked up expectantly.
`Just going to check on my daughter.` McClaren explained.
`But...`
`You can take over while I`m gone can`t you?` Oakman didn't answer, he just
stared. McClaren laughed, `Only kidding.` he assured the young man.
`Oh, right.` Oakman nodded quickly, McClaren knew he saw a wave of relief
wash over the man and chucked again.
`Actually, I`m planning a surprise inspection tour of the lesser storage floor, why
don't you come for the ride?` McClaren offered, it would be a good chance to get to know
the new recruit. McClaren liked control over his ship but not at the expense of friendship.
`Oh, okay,` Oakman stammered. He didn't seem to be extremely ambitious. Good.

The suspended animation fluid gradually released its grip on the unlikely subject
and finally the man began to breathe. Roze wasn't sure if he ever would return, senners
took a lot less time and didn't seem to be in so much pain, this man rolled over coughing
out great gallons of cloudy liquid from his lungs, spluttering and groaning all the time.
Roze almost reached out to help him and remembered how strange this all was, though it
felt selfish, fear made her keep her distance.
`What...` He got out before a fit of coughing stopped him, again he tried when it
subsided, `Who... who`s there?`
Roze said nothing. Too scared to speak, she didn't move a muscle, even though
when the unknown man asked the question he was looking directly at her.
`Is anyone there?` he croaked, Roze could sense the edge of desperation in his
voice so she answered:
`I am.`
`Who`r you?`
`Roze.` she realized that meant nothing to him. `Roze McClaren.` still his face
showed incomprehension.
`Where am I?` he asked.
`In the senner storeroom.`
 `Where?`
Roze didn't know what he meant by `where`, did it mean which room; what floor;
or what part of the galaxy. The man didn't seem to need an answer, he was trying to prop
himself up against the senner freezer unit, to be more comfortable.
`Why cant I see?` He asked finally.
Roze was taken aback, he was blind? But how? the freezer unit? was that why it
was illegal to put a human in one of those things?
`Are you still there?` he said, coughing up more fluids.
`Yes.` Roze shook, she wanted so desperately to run away from this scary man
but he was so helpless, just lying there calling for help.
`Who are you?` He repeated the question. Then, `Hey, I can see! sort of- a blur.`
He peered around, squinting at the rest of the room. `No one else here? good.` He seemed
to have calmed down a bit and was thinking clearly. He looked thoughtful for a moment,
still trying to focus his eyes then, looking directly at Roze who couldn't have been more
than a blur to him, said:
`Could you help me up, I think I`m okay.`
Roze cautiously went to his side and put his arm over her shoulder, slowly,
together, they rose, him groping for a hold on the freezer unit with his free hand. He was
heavy and much taller than Roze, soon he stood up by himself, towering over her, when
he realized this he exclaimed:
`Shit! you're just a kid!`
Surprised by his reaction Roze stepped away, he was standing unsteadily leaning
on the side of the freezer, without any help. Roze didn't know what to say, of course I am
or possibly an apology for being so young. Nothing she could think of seemed
appropriate.
Roze began to feel that this man was not so bad after all, he survived being frozen
but he was still just an ordinary man, but the question that kept Roze cautious flitted
through her mind again and again:
`How did you get frozen?` She finally asked.
The man looked at her `blur` for a moment as if deciding whether to tell the truth
to just a kid, then he decided.
`I was a witness to a murder, the guy who did it must have seen me and frozen me
so I couldn't report a description.` He said, a little too quickly it seemed to Roze.
`Why didn't he kill you?`
He didn't get to answer the question, for outside, voices could be heard, someone
was chatting with the old man at the desk. If Roze`s father was the newcomer then he
would help out.
`Someone's coming!` The man behind Roze hissed.
`I heard. If it`s my dad, he can help you.` Roze said hopefully, but the man looked
scared, scared that it would be the man who had put him in the freezer in the first place.
The voices sounded like they were inside the room although Roze couldn't see the
entrance being in the back aisle, she considered calling to the person or persons coming
in.
`Is there another way out?` the man whispered, of coarse not, the room had only
one door... Oh! except for the rubbish chutes located all around the perimeter of the room
for throwing away used freezer units. Roze looked around and there was one of them
right in the corner.
`There but...` she began but he had already walked over, confident enough with
his eyesight not to feel his way, he felt for the open button and with a click a hole slightly
larger than a freezer opened in the wall.
One unknown figure was walking along the edge of the room, looking down each
aisle for Roze, his shadow fell across the entrance to the aisle where Roze and the frozen
man stood, Roze hopeful and the man fearful.
A figure was silhouetted against the comparative brightness of the hall, it looked
back the way it came and called in a voice unknown to Roze:
`Here she is Captain.`
A second figure joined the first, a familiar shape. `Oh there you are Roze.` Dad
sounded relieved, and then he caught sight of the frozen man and gasped.
`Captain?` the first figure asked.
Suddenly the frozen man grabbed Roze from behind and pulled her over into the
freezer unit, she was immersed in cloudy water, then darkness.
Cold.
Nothing.

McClaren`s relief of finding his daughter okay was replaced by horror in seeing
the other figure which was not a senner, grab her from behind and pull her into the
freezer unit. McClaren began to run at the man who had Roze, Oakman ran also. The
unknown man closed the lid on Roze and began to push the whole unit towards the
garbage chute.
Before McClaren was even halfway down the eternally long aisle, Roze`s unit had
disappeared down the chute and into darkness. McClaren vowed the assailant would not
get so far, just before reaching the end of the aisle and the man, he dived. Powering into
the unknown who hadn't quite made it to the chute they both came down in a tangle of
arms and legs each fighting for the death of the other. Somehow the man's hand fell upon
a bar used to prop up the door of the chute and he swung it hitting McClaren in the back
and then in the face.
McClaren rolled off although the blows seemed poorly aimed, the other got to his
feet unsteadily holding the bar up threateningly. Oakman arrived at his side, and with
unspoken mutual planning they circled the man who backed against the wall, his free
hand was groping for something, the open button.
McClaren attacked before he could make an escape, running and ready to make a
grab at the makeshift weapon, Oakman did the same but the man was ready, a wide swing
at McClaren caught him square in the face which sent him reeling. Only a short time was
available to hit Oakman too and the much smaller blow was not enough. Oakman tried to
grab at the weapon but was too slow. The man swung and caught him in the ribs, not
enough to break any bones but more than enough to wind. Before McClaren could get up
he had disappeared down the garbage chute and was gone.
Still dizzy from the pain down the side of his face, McClaren jumped up and tried
to follow, banging his fist against the button to no avail, Roze`s kidnapper must have
jammed it shut with the bar from the inside. Futilely he banged his fist against the un-
openable door and yelled:
`Roze!`
Oakman, still breathing raggedly, was at his side.
`I've got to get this door open.` McClaren grated. Then he remembered the other
garbage chutes, `I`ll just get another bar and pry it open, or go down a different chute.`
`No wait,` Oakman stopped him, `We need more help, we need weapons and we
need experts at doing this.`
`No, I have to go now, Roze needs me.` McClaren argued.
`We cant. If its just us then he could kill Roze.` The word Kill sobered McClaren
immediately.
`What do we do?` he asked in a more worried voice.
`We call the Narcissus security and they will get Roze back safe.` Oakman
sounded so calm and collected, how was it that McClaren couldn't think straight? He
thought about it, no matter which way he twisted the facts he had to admit Oakman was
right.
`Yeah,` McClaren agreed quietly, suddenly feeling faint and still trying to make
sense of all the emotions whirling around inside his head. He took a deep breath and that
had a cleansing effect. `Yes.` he added with more conviction. `We have to call security...
And get that Bastard.`

All was quiet in the security office, two floors below the bridge, so quiet in fact
that only two of the ten security men (or personnel when Jane was around), were
currently on duty, Sergeant Len Penski and Officer Jane Silversmith.
Jane sat, legs crossed on top of the desk doing paperwork across from Len who
was reading a weapon magazine in which was carefully concealed a less socially
acceptable magazine (particularly where Jane was concerned), and one which he was
comparing the legs of the subject in the mag`s photo and those of the blond officer sitting
across from him.
Jane was a hard worker and Len was not, it was a truth Len had admitted to
himself many times, even when Len was Jane`s age, (thirty, not fifty five) he was
comparably lazier, oh well, a fact of life really. It was not that Len Penski hated his work,
he enjoyed it and did a job he felt was more than what the job required but compared to
Jane he was lazy. There was no doubt Jane had her eye on the head of security`s job, as a
matter of fact Len would not be surprised if she wanted the Captains seat, even less
surprised if inside five years she wasn't cruising around in one of her own traders.
Jane Silversmith was ambitious, and good luck to her, Len liked where he was,
enough money to enjoy himself at each settlement the Narcissus visited and quite a
retirement sum built up over years of good service. A while longer and soon Len Penski
could be enjoying the benefit of a lifetime of work, relaxing in the luxury of a well
established settlement...
My God, is anything going to happen today? The phone sat on the desk silent as a
rock and just as useless. A false fire alarm was all that Len needed to make a boring day
interesting, a real fire even. Penski put the gun magazine and its concealed insert in his
drawer, even that mag can get boring now and then.
For a moment Len considered doing some of his overdue paperwork, the one facet
of his job he didn't admire, boy he really was bored. He looked at his computer monitor,
particularly the option: `PAPERWORK`. No, maybe later.
Jane seemed to be finished up with all her paperwork, neatly worded and all
correctly filed no doubt...
The phone rang breaking the unnatural but perpetual, it seemed silence. Len
snatched at it before Jane could react, phone calls usually amounted to nothing but Len
needed to talk to someone other than hardworking Jane Silversmith.
`Hello.` he greeted sweetly. `Security.`
`look, this is Ben Oakman from the bridge...`
`Oh hi, how`s the weather up there?` Penski joked.
Oakman ignored him. `We have a hostage situation down on the lesser storage
level...`
Penski sat up immediately and pressed monitor so Jane could listen in. `A hostage
situation?` it seemed highly unlikely here on the Narcissus.
`Yes,` Oakman continued. `the suspect is an unidentified male, about one hundred
and eighty centimeters tall, dark brown hair and wearing only shorts.`
`Is he armed?` Jane asked.
`No, not really, maybe a metal bar but he had no guns or anything of that's what
you're asking.` this was sounding more and more absurd.
`What about the hostages?` Len asked.
`One, er, Roze McClaren.`
Jane recognized the name. `The Captain`s daughter?`
`Uh, yeah.` There was a pause. `the suspect threw the girl into senner suspended
animation fluid, will that hurt her?`
Len had no idea. Jane said: `If she`s in there for too long, there may be permanent
eye damage, but that's all I know.`
`Has the captain been notified?` Len asked.
`Yes, he`s with me now. Do you want to speak with him?` Oakman asked.
`No thats fine, I`m sure he`s busy driving the ship or something,` Len avoided
Jane`s hard stare `Where are they now?` He asked.
`Not sure, they escaped down a garbage chute and jammed it shut.` Oakman
continued.
`Where from?` Len accessed the computers maps of the ship, Jane was busy on
the other line calling up the rest of the six squad members currently on call.
`The senner storeroom.` All the garbage chutes joined up and ran down to the
main waste room according to the map, from there they could only leave by the waste
room office or by climbing up another garbage chute to another part of the ship, unlikely,
and a quick call to Maize, who runs the garbage room office to lock the door would make
this the shortest hostage situation in the history of hostage situations.
Len smiled to himself, one half naked man holding a girl hostage with only a
metal bar would be an easy job, Len walked over to the special equipment cupboard. `Is
there any clothing from either of them lying around?` he called back across the room as
he searched the cupboard for the right box. `A jumper, shoes, a handbag,` he remembered
the freezer units. `Maybe some rubber gloves.`
`Yes there were some, but I don't know who was wearing them, it was before we
came in.`
`It doesn't matter as long as it was one of them.` Penski assured the other. He
found the box he was looking for, inside was a disk like detector plate mounted on a long
handle so the operator could swing the disk close to the ground without bending over, it
looked like an old fashioned metal detector. `I have just the device we need.`
 It was like drawing her first breath but as if someone had his hands around her
throat. She sucked in as much air as she could but when she tried to breathe out, huge
amounts of liquid bubbled to her throat, she rolled over and let it run out onto the floor.
Huge amounts of white liquid were expelled, more than Roze expected her lungs could
hold. By sheer luck or maybe some drug in the suspended animation fluid was the reason
Roze began to breathe again. She felt normally she would not be strong enough to battle
her way to consciousness without help.
She drew her second breath, still constricted and wheezy but taking in more
sweet, fresh air this time. Suddenly she was coughing, violently, harshly, unstoppable,
she coughed until she knew there could not possibly be any remaining water in her lungs
and she relaxed.
Raising her head she looked around, sitting with his back against the upturned
freezer unit, the man watched her, waiting patiently for her to recover fully. Roze tried to
speak:
`Wh- ` Suddenly she was racked by now painful coughs and he still watched her,
motionless, waiting.
`Why did you do that?` Roze finally got out.
The man did not answer, he just watched her. Finally he rose to his feet and
walked over to her, she tried to flee but was too weak to rise.
`Can you see?` he looked mean.
Too scared to speak, Roze nodded.
`Good. I still can`t.` He grabbed her under the arm and wrenched her to her feet,
still dizzy from the aftereffects of being frozen, she almost fell. Holding her up, he looked
around. `Where are we?`
Roze looked around for the first time, a long room but very thin, the black floor
had an almost rubber feel to it, and littered with garbage. Down one end of the room was
a dull orange light while the other end stretched off into darkness, overhead, holes in the
ceiling dented the otherwise smooth and non decorative sheen. One of those holes had
been the garbage chute up to the senner store room, ending with a four metre drop. Roze
looked at the walls, also shiny and with regular chute openings but weird- was it an
aftereffect of suspended animation or did the walls seem to move? No it couldn't be,
Roze suddenly realized that the entire floor was a giant conveyor belt.
`Well, where are we?` the man repeated the question.
`Some conveyor belt that takes all the rubbish over to there.` Roze pointed to the
orange lit end of the tunnel. the belt wasn't moving very fast, less than half that of
walking speed...
They heard a loud scraping noise from above and suddenly a huge box fell from
above onto a smaller piece of debris and crushed it flat barely meters away from where
Roze and the man stood, the man looked warily up at the various holes in the ceiling.
`Lets go.` he propelled Roze down the tunnel towards the orange lights, weaving
in and out of the garbage scattered all around.
`Why are you doing this?` Roze gasped almost stumbling as the man pushed her
along.
`I cant trust anyone.` he declared. `One of those people might have been the man
who put me in the freezer in the first place.`
`But my dad was there, he could have helped you.`
`What about that other guy, who was he?`
Roze was silent, she didn't recognize the man who was with dad.
 `See?` He said. `That could have been the guy and I can`t see anything, I wouldn't
know until it was too late.`
`But my dad could have helped you, you didn't have to run for it.` Roze insisted.
`Look!` he turned Roze to face him. `I-cant-trust-nobody.` He said it with such
vehemence that Roze cringed down as far as his iron grip let her. He took a breath to
calm himself down and continued walking.
After a while Roze sucked up the courage to talk again. `Who are you?` she
asked.
`I said before, I was witness to a murder and frozen so I couldn't talk.` he said.
`No, I mean what`s your name?`
`Oh,` he looked at her strangely.`Scaroe.` he said, his temper seemed to have
dissipated completely.
Scaroe. It sounded like a pretty silly name to Roze but she kept quiet. He was
dangerous. Now, Scaroe looked thoughtful, as if Roze`s question surprised or even
confused him.
`Is it true? the murder I mean.` Roze said, suddenly fearful that another question
would make him mad again.
`Yes.` he answered, there was a calm and somehow serious tone in his voice,
Roze knew she could believe him, but why couldn't he believe her in that he could trust
her dad? The pair continued down the tunnel, Scaroe determined to survive and Roze
knowing his only chance was her father.
Soon the orange glow materialized into a series of mostly orange lights attached
to a pair of giant robotic arms suspended from the ceiling. The first one they encountered
picked through the rubbish looking for anything salvageable, it probably watched for
people who had somehow found their way down here. Scaroe looked warily as it
systematically pulled apart every box and package with the help of three different sized
claws and four different eyes. `Would that alert someone if it found people here?` he
asked watching it seize a useful piece of junk and lift it to the floor above.
`I think it would,` Roze supposed. `I have never been here, though.`
The robot reappeared from above and began work again, Scaroe looked up, the
hole through which the robot kept disappearing was much larger than the garbage chutes
before, around its edge was a guardrail indicating that was where humans could walk
around and walk out. A way out. But it was too high up.
`We could get that robot to lift us out of here,` Scaroe stated. `but that would alert
people, people I don't want to know where we are.`
`My dad could help us.` Roze said.
`I know he might help us but I just want to know for sure, all I want to do is wait
for a couple of hours and see. Scope out the situation, okay?` Scaroe sounded so sincere
and besides, Roze didn't have much of a choice. Mutely, she nodded.
Carefully, they waited until the sorter robot was busy over the other side of the
tunnel and ran past, it didn't seem to stop so they assumed they had gotten away with it.
The second robot seemed like a younger brother of the first, its job, it seemed,
was to sort the rubbish by material, sometimes tearing something apart and dumping half
of it in one hole at the end of the conveyor and the other half in a different hole.
`Would this report seeing us?` Scaroe asked.
`I don't think so,` Roze conceded. `It looks too stupid.`
Scaroe walked right up to the arm and looked it right in its one big green eye, it
looked back stupidly and then tried pushing him in the direction of a hole marked
`Organic Waste`. He walked out of its reach.
`How can we get this dumb piece of junk to lift us up?` he asked exasperated.
`Maybe it understands speech.` Roze walked to just outside its reach and spoke to
the robot. `Override. Hand control.` the robot ignored the orders, it was possible that it
was such an old model that it only understood sign language. Roze held her hands up,
palms towards the green eye. Immediately the robot stopped, good, it understood. Then
she put one fist to her palm meaning hand controls, a small door in the side opened up to
reveal a keypad, with a bit of experimentation, it would be no trouble getting out.
After climbing over the guard rail and returning the little brother robot back to
work, they looked around the deserted room a huge room with the hole down to the
conveyor belt in the centre, and all around the room was piled high with boxes and piles
of stuff the large robot arm had brought up. It looked like the robot had been set to work
and forgotten for years. the only exit door was locked so Scaroe began into the maze of
forgotten junk, hoping to find a good hiding place, Roze knew that if he expected to stay
hidden for very long he was mistaken.
Then a thought hit Roze, the only way Scaroe could not get caught was to find a
weapon, like a sharp piece of glass and hold it to her throat until he got his way, maybe
he was only looking for a good vantage point for the hostage crisis. Roze looked up at
Scaroe`s face, he seemed to be searching for something, hungrily almost. Would he do
that? threaten her life to get away? he had pulled her into the freezer and if he only just
wanted to hide why did he kidnap her?

Len Penski had never really met the current captain of the ship he had spent half
his life working on, nor had he really yearned to be friends but when the two met on the
lesser storage level they liked each other immediately. McClaren had heard a lot about
this hard working dependable security sergeant and was glad to have this man in charge
of returning his daughter safely, Penski had a lot of ideas about what captains were,
greedy, arrogant, power hoarding, pain-in-the-ass types, but McClaren seemed to him to
be friendly and ready to do anything for his daughters safety.
McClaren watched the six security agents who had arrived at various times with
various equipment, plan out the `attack`. Feeling somewhat left out but not rude enough
to butt in with his lack of knowledge, he watched from the sideline. He realized proper
planning was important but when were they going to get started?
Penski looked around at the other five members of the security squad, `Mardigan,
rope up. You're goin` down the chute.` Mardigan looked shocked.
`Why me Serge? I did nothing, why give me all the scummy jobs?` he
complained.
Wizeass. `Because I think you are the ugliest man on our squad today.` Penski
answered back. `Silversmith,` he nodded at Jane, `Analyze those gloves for a trace.` He
handed her the machine. `Flexer, organize the weapons, small arms only.` There was no
need for anything big.
`Yes sir, serge.` Flexer walked out of the room to get the guns.
`Tramson, help Mardigan, and Smith follow me around,` he delegated minor
responsibilities to newer security officers, unfortunately, Mardigan was the second most
Senior and a real pain in the arse.
McClaren met one of his own men from the bridge who he had Oakman send
down to assist the security squad, Lowen Frazer was the captains most trusted man, a
security officer for a while he was promoted to the bridge but still was resourceful in tight
situations, not that this was a tight situation, Penski assured McClaren that this was just `a
walk in the park`.
Silversmith was chosen to operate the sniffer because she was the most
experienced, the sniffer was a top of the line chemical trace analyzer, point it at
someone's clothing and it can follow the footsteps of that person, two days after they had
been there. Silversmith lifted one of the gloves with a pair of metal tongs and set the
sniffer to search, now it was programmed to follow the little girl or whoever had worn
those gloves.
Silversmith put the disk of the sniffer to the floor where the gloves were found,
following a trail to the door, the machine indicated the trail was getting older, wrong way.
Silversmith followed the newer half of the trail three meters where the trace stopped.
`Sir,` she called to Penski. `The trail ends here.
Penski looked questioningly at McClaren who said:
`Oh, that was where the suspect put Roze in the freezer.`
`The trail is the girl`s,` Penski announced. `We will pick it up if he let her out, he
can`t drag a freezer too far. Transom and Mardigan, keep working. The rest of you, down
to the waste room.`

Silversmith was lifted back up by the large robotic arm. `I couldn't find a trace
sergeant Penski, the conveyer belt seems to have destroyed the chemical trail. There`s no
more traces on any of the chute openings either, all I can say is that the girl is still frozen.
I don't know how he dragged her up to one of those holes.`
Maize, a sharp eyed man who maintained the waste room spoke up: `If they had
of come this way I would have been alerted by the robot, there is no other way up.` He
was not pleased that the security squad believed a criminal had entered the garbage
disposal network without his knowing, he seemed quick to anger and slow to recognize
rank.
`But he could have gained control of the robot before it notified you couldn't he?`
McClaren interrupted, he was not happy with the sharp eyed man's attitude.
Maize shot a venomous look at the captain and admitted: `Its possible.`
`Just check the robots, Silversmith.` Penski sighed, avoiding any unnecessary
confrontation.
Obligingly, Jane swept the sniffer over where she had just stepped off, there was
no trace of the little girl. She walked off towards the smaller robot.
`Now why would they come up that robot?` Maize called after her. `You're just
wasting your time, you're wasting my time, no criminal came in here, ever.` Nobody was
listening so he strode off mumbling under his breath.
Mardigan`s voice came over the radio. `I`m all the way down and no sign, they
came all the way through.`
`Good work Mardigan, clear up and get down here.` Penski acknowledged.
`Down? Technically I`m below you at the moment.`
`In altitude and rank.` Penski shot back smoothly. `Just haul your sorry arse over
here.`
`On my way.`
 At that point Silversmith called out, `Sergeant, We got her.`

`What happened at the murder?` Roze asked Scaroe.

`What?` he said, his mind was occupied. he looked out from the small alcove they
had discovered among the maze of junk, as far back in the huge room as they could get.
He was watching out for any sort of pursuit but Roze knew if they stayed quiet then it
would take days to sift through all the piles of rubbish.
`What happened at the murder?` Roze repeated, `If you were there.`
`Oh,` he said remembering, `The, ah, murder.` It sounded as if he was having
trouble recalling the details, either that or he was trying to make it all up. He sat down
across the alcove from Roze and began. `I was a cleaner working in the High Frontier
Space Port, and one day I stumbled across two guys talking, the first one was a well
known man...`
`Who?` Roze interrupted, if this story was made up Scaroe would have trouble
making up facts at high speed.
`Oh, er, I don't know, Centaur Lexus, I think.`
`And the other guy?`
`I didn't know him. Centaur called him Kale.`
`So they were friends?`
`I doubt it. They did know each other though.`
`Were they arguing?` Roze probed.
`Yes.`
`What about?`
`Centaur was screaming about packages being unloaded without his approval- he
runs the spaceport.` Scaroe explained.
`And the Kale guy shot him?`
`Yeah.`
`What were you doing? just watching?` Roze asked about the one point that didn't
fit in.
`I was walking up behind Kale when he pulled out his gun and just shot Centaur,
he turned around and saw me...`
`Why didn't he just shoot you too? If you're just a cleaner?` Roze asked.
`I don't know.` Scaroe admitted,`I turned to run and there was this other guy
behind me and he knocked me out, the next thing I knew I woke up next to you after
being frozen.`
That was odd. Why did this `Kale` go to all that trouble freezing Scaroe when he
shot the more important man Centaur?
`So this guy behind you, have you seen him yet?` Roze continued asking
questions.
`I didn't get a good look at him, I`d remember his voice though. Anyway I still
can`t see anything except vague blurs.` Scaroe said, looking annoyed at all the questions.
`What about Kale, what did he look like?`
`Look. This isn't getting us anywhere.` Scaroe told her. `What good would
describing him do?`
`If I see him I could tell you.` Roze was beginning to think this line of questioning
wasn't going to work.
 `Alright.` he relented grudgingly. `Right. Kale was, tall; had dark hair; green eyes;
he was very calm and friendly to everyone he met, even Centaur, right up until he pulled
out the gun and shot him; oh yeah,` He added. `on his right arm he had this...`
Suddenly the alcove was full of people all dressed in black, they swarmed over
the pair, three picked the startled Scaroe and rammed him back against the wall. Holding
him in a vice-like grip fabricated from six hands he was held with his feet not touching
the ground. Each held a handgun and pushed it to Scaroe`s face. The others jumped in
between Roze and Scaroe, protecting her from a possible attack, or maybe shielding her
from the ruthlessness behind. They dragged her from the alcove and once safe, they let
her relax. A blond haired woman who she didn't know, hugged her fiercely:
`You're okay now, he's gone, its all over.`
And with the lady`s words, the whole ordeal fell at Roze`s feet, being frozen,
being kidnapped, dragged across the ship by a man making up stories, pretending to be
the good guy when it was he that was the crook. Suddenly all the emotions she had forced
down to stay alive bubbled up to the surface and it was all too much, she hugged the
blond lady back crying, weeping for fear and joy at the same time. Then she heard a
familiar voice:
`Roze!` her father. She left the unknown woman and ran to the man who had just
run in, he caught her up into a big bear hug and nothing felt so good as to be safe and
with her dad. `Are you alright? Are you okay?` He kept repeating to her over and over, as
if he couldn't believe she was alive.
`I`m alright dad, she assured him and kissed his cheek.
`I`m glad to hear it.` he kissed her back.
Then the rest of her black clad rescuers walked out, Scaroe in the middle, in cuffs
and already a prisoner. Roze`s dad set her down gently and looked him straight in the eye
as he was escorted past. Scaroe didn't look back at him, however, he looked at Roze with
an accusing stare, a look of hatred, an: I`m-going-to-get-you look.

`His name is Scaroe Khanis, Disappeared from and currently wanted for
questioning about a murder at High Frontier.` The black clad security guy who seemed to
be in charge read out a communication that had just come in. His voice droned on, all
Roze wanted to do was go back to her quarters and go to bed. She peered around the
office they had assembled in for the debriefing of the security squad, a cluttered room
which monitored and controlled the waste disposal system. In one corner of the room a
pile of junk, mostly metal pipes and glass bottles, most of the room was filled up with
three large desks on which the entire security squad sat during the debrief.
`And he was frozen?` The security man asked Roze`s dad who was deep in
thought.
`Uh, yes I think so,` Dad stammered, `Well, he wasn't when we arrived but he
looked like he had just come out.`
`He was.` Roze agreed. `I pulled him...` Suddenly she realized she was the one
who had actually pulled him out, she was the one who had caused all this trouble, two
things in one day, first Ethia, now this. It was all her fault. Her dad seemed to understand
and gave her a big hug to let her know everything was alright.
`But how did he get frozen?` the security man interjected.
`I guess he did it himself, it seems like the only way he could have gotten off
High Frontier.` Another security person answered, the blond woman.
`-And hoped that who ever pulled him out was friendly?` the first didn't seem
convinced.
The woman shrugged, `Possible, or maybe just easy to overcome.` She indicated
Roze.
The first nodded. `Okay, then we had better ask this Mr. Khanis some questions.`
`Uh, actually my men are handling it.` Dad informed him, `They`ll take care of all
the paperwork and send it off to the High Frontier Board of Criminal Punishment.` The
security man in charge raised a questioning eyebrow. `Lowen Frazer and Ben Oakman.`
Roze`s dad told him.
The other nodded his approval. `Good men, good men.`
The security squad, seeming to have had all its questions answered and all its
work done, filed out of the room for a well earned rest, something which Roze was
beginning to feel she was never going to get. Maybe a subtle yawn would give dad a hint.
Then she remembered Scaroe and the look he gave her as he was led away and
her tiredness was gone, `Dad...` She began but found her fears were difficult to frame into
words. `Are we safe, I.. I mean could he escape and come and get me,... us?` She blurted
out.
`Oh don't worry about that,` He caught her up in a hug comfortingly, `He can`t
touch us ever.
`I`m worried,` she admitted. `Mostly that when he kidnapped me and made up
this story that I believed him, almost. He could have killed me...` she breathed as the
realization hit her. Like Ethia, `I could be dead now.`
Roze`s Dad only hugged her closer, `Well its all over now, there's nothing that he
could do to hurt us.`
But he did not disguise his own feelings quick enough to completely convince his
daughter that he was not a little bit worried himself.

Oakman looked around the small confines of the cell, Khanis sat at a table in the
centre, Frazer sat on one of the lower bunks half concealed by the shadow of the top
bunk, Oakman paced the room. Scaroe Khanis had been a fool to try to escape High
Frontier by freezing himself in the senner freezer units and had paid for it with his sight.
Officer Silversmith said the extended period in the suspended animation fluid had
destroyed his retina to the point where all he could see were just blurry shapes, it was
lucky thing that Roze hadn't been blinded too, no wonder freezing humans this way was
illegal.
`Face it Khanis.` Oakman flung the communication from High Frontier down on
the table where the blind man sat. `The Evidence is all there. You were working at the
port at the time of the murder, that handgun could have been taken by anyone and it had
your prints all over it. You're going to the chamber and there's nothing you can say to
change that, what you can change is how you die.`
Khanis looked up but said nothing.
`If the board of criminal punishment finds you guilty, and they will.` Oakman
indicated the communication. `You will receive an injection of Tathis, a drug which kills
but takes an entire hour to do so, during which time the subject goes through excruciating
pain.`
 He paused but Khanis still remained silent.
`Only I can help you.` Oakman continued. `Talk to me now, tell the truth, and I
can get the board to let you die quickly and painlessly.`
Khanis said nothing.
`You will die. I can guarantee it.` Oakman assured him. `The punishment for
murder on High Frontier has always been death and I've seen it handed out on lesser
charges with lesser evidence backing it up.`
Khanis simply stared at the wall ahead.
`Tell the truth and I can put a good word in, its standard practice to reduce the
sentence for people who have been helpful. And boy do you need it, you assault the
captain of this ship,` He counted out on his fingers. `Kidnapped his daughter by placing
her in a freezer unit- which you would also be charged with had you not already killed
someone...` He looked across to Frazer who had so far been as silent as Khanis, `I have to
make a report to Captain McClaren. Nothing.` He turned to Khanis, `You're a fool, you
could have died and now you are going to be killed.`
`Don't be too sure,` Frazer came to his feet and walked to the table, I may have a
few things to say before you pass judgment.` He looked Khanis straight in the
face.`Maybe to help change his mind.` then he remembered Oakman, `Oh, yes go make
your report to the Captain, say that I`m still having a chat.`
`Sure.` Oakman turned to leave, he knew what Frazer was going to do, threaten to
beat the shit out of the suspect unless he admitted to the crime, it was an old trick which
required the right amount of cunning to fool the man, if he didn't believe you were going
to start punching him it wouldn't work. Although intimidation wasn't Oakman`s style, he
knew all his methods had disappeared and in the long run it was better for Khanis.

McClaren was about to pick up his daughter and go to bed when Oakman entered
the office.
`Has he said anything yet?` McClaren asked his assistant.
`No, not yet,` Oakman said. `Frazer is still with him though.`
`Good. I can trust Frazer to get the truth, he's a good interrogator.`
Oakman nodded his agreement.
`Not that we really need a confession to put him down, its just that...` He suddenly
remembered his daughter. `Look, I think me and Roze need a good nights rest, You and
Frazer can take care of things for now but I expect a full report in the morning.` He
picked up his daughter, she was rubbing her eyes sleepily.
Oakman laughed. `Of course, Captain McClaren.`
McClaren winced, he still used formal language. `Look, you are a friend now and
all my friends call me Kale.`

Scaroe squinted, but he couldn't see the man called Frazer, Frazer had not said a
word since the other man left the small cell. Where was he? was he skulking somewhere
in the dark corners of the room or had he left? no he couldn't have, the cell door was still
open.
Scaroe waited a few more moments, the silence dragged on and still nothing,
maybe he was waiting outside ready to kill and an escape attempt was all the excuse he
needed, or maybe he had become careless and this was a real chance of escape. Damn! if
only he could see.
Slowly and quietly he pushed back his chair and stood up, he turned around and
Frazer was there behind him.
`Remember this?` Frazer said, the voice was familiar to him, the time he had
turned to run from the murder a man was behind him, It was that voice he heard now.
`You.` Scaroe gasped. He tried to swing at the individual but was too slow, Frazer
stepped back and watched the clenched fist fly at nothing. Scaroe could only see a blur in
front of him, he did not see the counter attack. The blow connected with the side of his
face and he spun under its force, landing on top of the table and getting tangled in the
legs of his chair, he rolled off the table and fell onto the floor. Just in time it seemed for
he heard Frazer`s fist hit the face of the table where he had been moments before.
Still his legs were tangled in the legs of the chair, he freed them and kicked the
chair at the blur that was Frazer, the attacker was hit and thrown onto the bunk. Scaroe
knew this was his only chance, he jumped up and threw himself on top of the man on the
bunk, swinging his fists, sometimes connecting, sometimes missing. Frazer swung back,
with greater accuracy even though he was pinned down.
Frazer struck a lucky blow that sent Scaroe reeling. Frazer rolled out from
underneath and got to his feet. Scaroe also stood up, breathing heavily, they circled the
table, Scaroe spotted the chair lying discarded on the ground, it was a good weapon. But
Frazer had other ideas, he pulled out a black thing the shape of a gun, it looked like a gun
but Scaroe could not be sure. `You wrote your own death warrant.` Frazer took aim.
Scaroe jumped at the table and kicked it, it slid across the floor at Frazer and
rammed him but not enough to knock him down, it was enough however to distract him
long enough to dive for the chair and bring it up in front of him. Frazer shot but the small
gun did not have the power to allow the bullet to penetrate the thick jail cell issue chair
back. Before Frazer could squeeze off another round, Scaroe was upon him, the chair
connected with his right side sending the small gun skittering across the room. Scaroe
swung again and Frazer was beaten to the ground, Frazer rolled out of the way of the next
blow and crawled across the floor to where the gun had landed. Scaroe threw the chair at
Frazer to stop him but missed.
Frazer retrieved the weapon and fired, emptying nearly the entire clip into the
Scaroe, Scaroe felt his legs and arms being hit by the tiny missiles, his lower torso being
blasted by the bullets...

Kale. That was the name Scaroe had told Roze the name of the murderer was, he
even described the assailant, tall, dark hair, green eyes, friendly to everyone he met, that
was a description of her father. Roze had never heard her fathers first name, it was always
Captain McClaren or just Captain, and now Scaroe`s story fit perfectly. Centaur Lexus
was yelling about packages being unloaded without his approval, packages from the
Narcissus, Kale shot him, kidnapped Scaroe and left evidence to frame him.
`You're Kale.` Roze gasped.
`What?` her father asked.
`You shot Centaur Lexus.` Roze said stunned. `You're Kale.`
`Now whatever this bad man...` dad meant Scaroe. `..told you, it...it`s all a lie,`
 `He just made it all up to scare you.` Oakman backed up his captain.
`No, he had never met you but he described you perfectly, he couldn't describe
you after coming out of the freezer, he's half blind.` Roze cried as the truth hit her like a
loaded trader.
`No, he lied.` Roze`s dad said but his words lacked conviction this time.
`You were smuggling things onto High Frontier and Centaur found you out.`
Roze accused. `And so you shot him.`
Her father was silent. It was true.
`Is this true?` Oakman gasped, shocked.
`No this is wrong, Roze that was a story made up by that criminal to make you
hate me,` He strode across the office, `I did not kill anyone.` He shouted.
Oakman looked from Rose to Kale, trying to figure out who was right.
Kale was at the door, looking at something in his hand that neither could see, he
smiled to himself and continued, `Well, that`s not entirely true, but who would believe a
convicted criminal and three dead people?`
`Three?` Oakman was confused.
Kale revealed what was in his hand, a gun, he pointed it at Roze. `Sorry honey but
you know too much...`
Suddenly a forth figure was at the door, Scaroe. Covered in blood, limping and
holding his side, in his other hand was a second gun and he raised it. With his vision he
couldn't see who was who so he fired at the tallest blur, Roze gasped as Oakman fell to
the ground, dead.
Scaroe re-aimed at the second tallest, he had to get Kale, the now dead Frazer said
he was still here. Kale was fast, he pointed his own weapon at the newcomer and fired, it
caught Scaroe high in the shoulder and the empty gun went skittering across the floor.
Scaroe now weaponless, dived for the cover of the desk, Kale ran around weapon in
hand, ready to kill, Roze crawled under a desk, for the moment forgotten.
Kale strode around to the side of the desk where the badly wounded Scaroe was
hiding, he was gone, where...?
Scaroe jumped up from the other side, he swung a glass bottle he had grabbed
from a pile in the corner of the room and it smashed against kales face spraying shards of
glass everywhere. Kale spun and hit the desk hard but still holding onto his gun. Scaroe
raised the broken bottle ready to bury it in the unprotected back. Kale dodged the blow
and the bottle smashed on the edge of the desk, glass shards burying instead into Scaroe`s
hand.
Kale got out of punching range and raised the gun to shoot Scaroe, Scaroe could
only see a blur but he instinctively knew what Kale was doing, he raised his leg and
swung a kick at where he guessed the gun would be, his foot hit something, either the gun
or Kale`s hand, and then a shot rang out. Scaroe felt nothing, he must have kicked it in
time to put it`s aim off. The weapon flew across the room and landed a metre from Roze.
Kale ran after the gun, with Scaroe`s sight as it was he would be the only one able
to find it again, suddenly the blind man was upon him, too slow, they rolled to the floor
trading blows, into the pile of bottles and metal pipes. Kale grabbed a pipe and beat
Scaroe, he swung again and again until the other stopped moving.
Roze crawled out from under the table and retrieved the gun, she didn't know her
dad even owned a gun, maybe one of the security men lent it to him, nevertheless Roze
had never seen it used before, was there a safety catch? There was a red light flashing,
did that mean it was ready to shoot or stopped from shooting?
 Suddenly her father was standing over her, shakingly she pointed the weapon at
him and he stopped.
`Roze, you can`t shoot me, I`m your dad,` he said looking shocked at her actions.
`You killed Centaur Lexus.` Roze stated, she was shaking all over.
`You've never killed anyone Roze, you're only a little girl,` he began to advance
on her hand outstretched for the weapon.
`Stay back!` Roze shouted pointing the gun at him more fiercely.
He still advanced, `You can`t kill people, what would you be then, a killer? a
murderer? What would your friends think?`
`No... Stay back...` The words caught in her throat as he loomed over her
`Give me the gun and everything will be alright, this will seem like a bad dream,`
he insisted, holding his hand out for the gun.`
`You..were..going..to..kill..me..` She sobbed as the words stuck in her throat, she
couldn't kill her own father, she couldn't kill anyone, he was so right. All Roze wanted
was to wake up from this horrible nightmare, not even in a dream could she kill...
`There.` Kale smiled coldly as he took the gun from her limp fingers, `That's all
you had to do.` everything's going to be alright, he started to walk away and then turned
around, `time to go to sleep.` He pointed the gun at her again.
Suddenly Scaroe was behind him, he swung the metal pipe and knocked Kale
away, Kale was taken by surprise thinking the severely wounded man was dead, the gun
flew out of his hands again but this time towards the door.
Kale swung his leg up in an arcing roundhouse kick that sent Scaroe and the pipe
flying over to smash against the desk, kale was tired and sore but Scaroe was wounded a
lot more and beginning to tire, Roze knew if he did not walk away from this fight, neither
would she unless she did something. Under the desks she crawled, away from the fight,
towards the door and the gun.
Scaroe dropped the pipe as Kale`s fist hit him full in the face, and it rolled across
the room, Kale ran for the pipe but Scaroe managed to grab his jacket long enough to pull
him around and kick him in he stomach. Again they rolled to the ground punching and
kicking.
Roze crawled as fast as she could but the door didn't seem to get any closer, she
looked back to see how Scaroe was doing.
Kale rolled away and onto his feet and made a grab for the pipe, he had it and
swung at Scaroe catching him in the ribs. Scaroe was forced back and then he spotted the
pile of junk which had more pipes, he ran for the pile and picked up the nearest metal
pipe, heavier but shorter than the first he picked it up in time to deflect Kales descending
blow, from cracking his skull. He counterattacked and defended using the stout pipe,
forcing Kale backwards.
Roze was an equal distance from the door and the gun, she looked back, Scaroe
had come back to help her, he had saved her life twice already and now she was going to
run away and leave him to his death? But what could she do?
Scaroe was beginning to tire, his wounds sapping his energy, He swung at kale
but too slow, Kale counterattacked by flicking away the stout pipe and swinging directly
at Scaroe`s head, the blow connected and Scaroe went down, barely conscious.
Kale discarded the pipe he carried and began to lay into the helpless Scaroe with
his fists, Scaroe reached out his good hand and grabbed another glass bottle from the pile,
bringing it up not fast enough, Kale deflected the bottle with his arm and caught it, first
he smashed it against the floor to create a jagged edge and held it to the nearly dead
man`s throat...
`STOP IT!` Roze yelled, the gun in her hand and pointed at the man she once
considered her father.
Captain Kale McClaren froze, the broken bottle still held to Scaroe`s throat.
Would Roze freeze up again as she had done before? could she pull the trigger if her
father started to walk towards her again? Could she really kill someone? if she couldn't
kill her father he would kill Scaroe and possibly her, but how could she pull the trigger
herself? She had to.
`Roze, you can`t shoot me,` Kale stood up and began to walk towards her, `I`m
your dad.`
The gun shook in her hand as the choice rattled through her mind...