Chapter 24 - Into The Storm

                                    

                                          
Denton zipped up a faded brown leather jacket and glared at the person he saw staring back at him in the dirty mirror of the orbital barracks. Torn, faded black pants and heavy black boots completed his outfit. His face had been smeared with grease and oil and his hair infused with a variety of substances in an attempt to emulate an untidy, dirty look.
                          
"Who are you?" he whispered to himself and ran his hands through his hair. He wiped the resulting greasy hand on his pants. He was quite sure that no-one at home would recognize him in his current state.
                          
"Is this really necessary?" he shouted.
                          
Moments later, Leah's head appeared in the doorway behind him. Her eyebrows went up momentarily, and he saw the hint of a smile on her face. "Looking good."
                          
"Right. I look ridiculous."
                          
"No, I'm serious," she said as she stepped into the room, dressed not very different from him. Her hair that had been red the last time he saw her was now jet black. A variety of rings lined her earlobes and fingers while her uniform had given way to a black jacket with a chain around her waist. Blue jeans and a pair of black boots that matched his completed her transformation. "The place we're going, no one can suspect we're from up here. We'll be dead in a heartbeat. Or worse."
                          
Denton rolled his eyes. "How can anything be worse than being dead?"
                          
"You don't want to know," Leah said. "Come one, we need to get going. Our pilot is waiting."
                          
"You make it sound so dramatic," he said as he stepped towards her to follow.
                          
Leah, who had turned and stepped halfway out of the room, stopped and took a step towards Denton, her face only inches from his. "Don't kid yourself, space boy. Where we're going, no-one goes voluntarily, and few ever escape from there. If they figure out who you are, you don't leave."
                          
Denton put his hands up in the air and took a step back. "Alright, alright. Lead the way."
                          
Leah stared at him with a grim look for a few more seconds and then disappeared through the doorway. Denton quickly followed, and as they made their way through the corridors of the orbital station, Denton couldn't help but wonder what he was getting into.
                          
As they stepped into the hangar, Denton froze as he saw a small, rusty contraption in the middle of the hangar. Technicians and refueling personnel swarmed the ship while smoke hovered around the craft. He hurried to catch up with Leah, who had continued to walk towards the craft.
                          
"What is that? That's not our ship, is it?"
                          
"Why, what's the problem?"
                          
"It, it, it's a rust bucket, that's the problem," he said as he gestured towards the ship.
                          
Leah stopped and put her hand on Denton's arm. "Listen, Denton, if your goal is to complete your investigation, this rust bucket, as you call it, is your ticket to that goal. It may not look like much, but it was a gun runner for years before we confiscated it in a raid. There's more to it than you think."
                          
Denton sighed and shook his head.
                          
"Are you coming?" Leah said, hands on her hips.
                          
Denton's ear came alive as Tanner patched through. "She has a point, Denton. Our goal is to complete this investigation. From my research, this ship does appear to be what she says it is. Proceeding carries a certain degree of risk, but in comparison with our mission, the risk is acceptable."
                          
"Thanks, Tanner, for your vote of confidence. That's easy for you to say, you're not riding on this thing," Denton grumbled and then nodded once towards Leah. "Yeah, I'm coming."