Seven by Matthew Fortuna
so." Dirk said. "But they're going to have a lot of other potential cases to review before then."
"Yeah." Kane sat down behind Dirk. "So did you ever figure out why Earth was being monitored as a no trespassing zone?"
"There had been a misunderstanding between the Overseers and their manipulators."
"How's that?"
"Well, the Overseers had recognized the violent nature of Earth's inhabitants and requested intervention. However, due to unforeseen complications, the manipulators behind the government had secretly moved to eliminate the potential threat."
Kane thought for a moment. "You mean they were thinking Earth had the potential to spark a rebellion?"
"At least, the circumstances pertaining to Earth's state of progressive war had the potential to spark rebellion."
"Did anyone catch the fire?"
"Of course. Everyone who knew about the circumstance was against the manipulators pulling the strings. However, there was only one man who stood up to the manipulators."
"You mean someone actually broke protocol and faced them?"
"Yeah. Anyway, to make a long story short, he started a resistance group, stormed the command ship, and arrested the imposters in turn."
"So... That's it?" Kane asked. "That's literally all it took?"
Dirk gave Kane a questioning glance. "You expected things to end differently?"
"No, well, I just figured it would be more dramatic is all. You know... Haven't you ever read fiction before?"
Dirk shook his head.
"Well, they have a great deal of drama. It's actually kind of relaxing to think other people have it harder than we do, not that I'm complaining or anything."
"Well, life isn't hard in the dramatic sense if that's what you were confused about."
"Well no, I just think it's just happened too fast. They got in. They got out. They eliminated the manipulators behind all the secret expenditures. It just feels like there should have been more to it, that's all."
Dirk pulled the ship out of the docking area and started towards the prison facility keeping Dale under. "Well, personally I'm grateful there wasn't more to it than that."
"Huh, you would be wouldn't you?"
"Yep. Anyway, I've been thinking about you said about petitioning for a wife."
"Yeah? Are you going to do it?"
"Well, I just feel like maybe that's just an option I should consider is all."
"Well, from one guy to another: It's awesome. Let me tell you that much."
"How so?"
"Well, being married is basically like having a big ball of love stuck in your chest to ease whatever pains may be bothering you. It's basically a free painkiller if you can believe that."
"Emotions..." Dirk trailed off. "They sound kind of iffy to me. I told you about that girl Seven right?"
"Yeah."
"Well, if that's love, I'm not sure how much I want out of it."
"Come on man. Every relationship is different but they all hold the same core emotions. You just need to learn to appreciate what you've got. Everything gets easier after that."
"How so?"
"Well, let's see what you have okay?"
"Sure, yeah. I've got a job, some nutty copilot," Kane sounded amused. "And a good deal of time left in my life."
"Yeah. Great right?"
"Yeah. I think my life is pretty good."
"Well, this is what I have. I have someone who welcomes me home, a place to live, a great job, a person who's willing to help me with whatever I need to get done, and the satisfaction of being able to feel like I'm accomplishing something important with the help of my wife." Kane sighed. "Why am I even telling you this? You already know all about being married."
Dirk shrugged. "Well, sometimes we need reminders, right?"
Kane nodded. "Yeah."
Dirk set his brow and seemed to come to a conclusion. "Tell you what, I'll talk to one of the computers and see what they think."
"Fair enough." Kane set his hand on Dirk's shoulder. "It's worth it though. And all you've got to do is ask."
Dirk didn't say anything. He looked off into the void of space, deep in thought.
"Ricky, can we leave now?" Seven asked, waving her hand in front of Ricky's eyes.
Ricky had been recharging back in the ship. His eyes flickered a bit and he turned to face her.
"Are all preparations made for departure?" He asked.
"Jenn's flirting with some of the synthetics and Crystal said she'd be here soon."
"Is Jenn not interested in joining us?"
"I'm not sure. She didn't really react when we'd heard the invasion had been a success. She just kind of kept sleeping." Seven shrugged. "I shook her shoulder to see if she was awake but she waved me off and said she'd heard. After that she just went over to a bunch of guys and started talking."
"You should ask her if she wants to come."
"Okay."
Shane was well aware that the Imposters had been found out. He should know. He was one of them.
He grabbed a glass of water from the counter in his apartment and went over to the interactive window screen. He needed to get in touch with the others.
He pressed his fingers into the glass and made a call to Resten. It only took a moment for a voice to answer.
"You heard?" Resten said.
"Yeah, we need to get out of here."
"I know. What do you have in mind?"
"There are a few systems out of the Overseers' line of sight. We can crash there."
"Shane, they won't tolerate escape."
"Yeah I know. There really isn't any other choice though."
"I'm not going to make a decision without everyone else. I'll call Sarah and see what she thinks. Don't do anything until I call you back."
"You do that." Shane ended the call.
He sipped at the glass in his hand and sat down on the couch in his living room. There wasn't enough time to plan if they wanted to get out of there alive. He was going to have to go ahead if Resten didn't get back to him pronto.
An indicator started flashing on the glass. Shane got up and answered.
"Shane here."
"This is Sarah."
"What happened to Resten?"
"He thought it would be best if I spoke with you."
"Well talk then."
"We've decided as a whole that escape is too risky."
Shane blanched. "What?"
"At least, it's too risky if we're all in one ship."
"Yeah, thank you for the elaboration. I'm not a moron."
"So you're settled then?"
"Yeah, I've got a ship on the roof. Untraceable."
"Good." He could practically hear her nodding. "We're meeting on Earth, western hemisphere."
There was a pause.
"So that's it?"
"That's it. There's not enough time to go into any other details. We'll meet you there."
The call ended.
Shane stirred his glass for a moment before placing another call.
The line was picked up almost at once.
"How can I help you?"
"I heard rumor that the Imposters have been removed from power. Is this correct?" Shane asked.
"That is correct."
"Good." Shane said. "Well, anyway, I know this guy named Marlow who's professed to being one of the Imposters on several occasions. Can you check that out?"
"We'll look into it sir."
"Thanks. I'd like to see these guys brought to justice as soon as possible. Hopefully this helps out a little."
"Thank you for your consideration."
The call ended.
Shane laughed to himself a little and sent the contact information for further review. Marlow was indeed one of the Imposters, as was he, but he'd fallen out of favor once the others caught wind of his back handed deals. Shane considered this a personal favor for the others since they were bound to get out of system before word caught up with them.
He drained the
glass in his hand and set it on the counter. It was time to leave. He checked the premises for any watching eyes and grabbed his rain coat. He'd need it on the roof to combat the endless rain that fell from the sky.
"Well, if you can believe it, I pulled Jenn out of that mess of hormones before anything serious happened." Seven said, dragging Jenn behind her.
"There was no trouble. I can't see why you don't understand that."
"One of them was offering to marry you."
"I would have accepted." Jenn said, sounding like a small child. "He was a total hottie."
"You'll thank me later." Seven said, setting them both down in their seats on the ship.
"Is everyone accounted for?" Ricky asked.
"All accounted for." Crystal confirmed.
Ricky typed in the command for the boarding ramp. There was a buzz as the machinery pulled it closed.
"Wait!" The voice came from the hanger.
"What now?" Jenn asked.
"I think it's that guy." Seven said, getting up to peer through the cockpit window.
"That guy as in that guy who was dead set on asking me to marry him?" Jenn asked.
"No, the other guy."
Jenn thought for a moment. "Oh."
A thin man jumped on board at the last minute, just missing getting his leg caught. They all stared at him until he spoke.
"I want to come with you."
"Well, you can't" Jenn said, rolling her eyes. She gestured towards Ricky. "Open the door."
"No! Wait! I just want to come with you!" He pleaded.
Jenn rubbed her forehead in frustration. "Look, if this is about how awesome you are, please leave."
"Well that hurts." The tall guy said. "It was actually a culmination of our earlier conversation."
"You mean you actually have more to say?"
"Yes!"
Jenn rolled her eyes again. "Ricky, seriously open the door."
"Just hear me out, please!"
"Well, whatever you're going to say, the answer is no."
"Perfect! I was actually going to ask if you thought I was a loser."
"You should probably stop talking Jenn. He sounds like he's dead set on making an impression on
"Yeah." Kane sat down behind Dirk. "So did you ever figure out why Earth was being monitored as a no trespassing zone?"
"There had been a misunderstanding between the Overseers and their manipulators."
"How's that?"
"Well, the Overseers had recognized the violent nature of Earth's inhabitants and requested intervention. However, due to unforeseen complications, the manipulators behind the government had secretly moved to eliminate the potential threat."
Kane thought for a moment. "You mean they were thinking Earth had the potential to spark a rebellion?"
"At least, the circumstances pertaining to Earth's state of progressive war had the potential to spark rebellion."
"Did anyone catch the fire?"
"Of course. Everyone who knew about the circumstance was against the manipulators pulling the strings. However, there was only one man who stood up to the manipulators."
"You mean someone actually broke protocol and faced them?"
"Yeah. Anyway, to make a long story short, he started a resistance group, stormed the command ship, and arrested the imposters in turn."
"So... That's it?" Kane asked. "That's literally all it took?"
Dirk gave Kane a questioning glance. "You expected things to end differently?"
"No, well, I just figured it would be more dramatic is all. You know... Haven't you ever read fiction before?"
Dirk shook his head.
"Well, they have a great deal of drama. It's actually kind of relaxing to think other people have it harder than we do, not that I'm complaining or anything."
"Well, life isn't hard in the dramatic sense if that's what you were confused about."
"Well no, I just think it's just happened too fast. They got in. They got out. They eliminated the manipulators behind all the secret expenditures. It just feels like there should have been more to it, that's all."
Dirk pulled the ship out of the docking area and started towards the prison facility keeping Dale under. "Well, personally I'm grateful there wasn't more to it than that."
"Huh, you would be wouldn't you?"
"Yep. Anyway, I've been thinking about you said about petitioning for a wife."
"Yeah? Are you going to do it?"
"Well, I just feel like maybe that's just an option I should consider is all."
"Well, from one guy to another: It's awesome. Let me tell you that much."
"How so?"
"Well, being married is basically like having a big ball of love stuck in your chest to ease whatever pains may be bothering you. It's basically a free painkiller if you can believe that."
"Emotions..." Dirk trailed off. "They sound kind of iffy to me. I told you about that girl Seven right?"
"Yeah."
"Well, if that's love, I'm not sure how much I want out of it."
"Come on man. Every relationship is different but they all hold the same core emotions. You just need to learn to appreciate what you've got. Everything gets easier after that."
"How so?"
"Well, let's see what you have okay?"
"Sure, yeah. I've got a job, some nutty copilot," Kane sounded amused. "And a good deal of time left in my life."
"Yeah. Great right?"
"Yeah. I think my life is pretty good."
"Well, this is what I have. I have someone who welcomes me home, a place to live, a great job, a person who's willing to help me with whatever I need to get done, and the satisfaction of being able to feel like I'm accomplishing something important with the help of my wife." Kane sighed. "Why am I even telling you this? You already know all about being married."
Dirk shrugged. "Well, sometimes we need reminders, right?"
Kane nodded. "Yeah."
Dirk set his brow and seemed to come to a conclusion. "Tell you what, I'll talk to one of the computers and see what they think."
"Fair enough." Kane set his hand on Dirk's shoulder. "It's worth it though. And all you've got to do is ask."
Dirk didn't say anything. He looked off into the void of space, deep in thought.
"Ricky, can we leave now?" Seven asked, waving her hand in front of Ricky's eyes.
Ricky had been recharging back in the ship. His eyes flickered a bit and he turned to face her.
"Are all preparations made for departure?" He asked.
"Jenn's flirting with some of the synthetics and Crystal said she'd be here soon."
"Is Jenn not interested in joining us?"
"I'm not sure. She didn't really react when we'd heard the invasion had been a success. She just kind of kept sleeping." Seven shrugged. "I shook her shoulder to see if she was awake but she waved me off and said she'd heard. After that she just went over to a bunch of guys and started talking."
"You should ask her if she wants to come."
"Okay."
Shane was well aware that the Imposters had been found out. He should know. He was one of them.
He grabbed a glass of water from the counter in his apartment and went over to the interactive window screen. He needed to get in touch with the others.
He pressed his fingers into the glass and made a call to Resten. It only took a moment for a voice to answer.
"You heard?" Resten said.
"Yeah, we need to get out of here."
"I know. What do you have in mind?"
"There are a few systems out of the Overseers' line of sight. We can crash there."
"Shane, they won't tolerate escape."
"Yeah I know. There really isn't any other choice though."
"I'm not going to make a decision without everyone else. I'll call Sarah and see what she thinks. Don't do anything until I call you back."
"You do that." Shane ended the call.
He sipped at the glass in his hand and sat down on the couch in his living room. There wasn't enough time to plan if they wanted to get out of there alive. He was going to have to go ahead if Resten didn't get back to him pronto.
An indicator started flashing on the glass. Shane got up and answered.
"Shane here."
"This is Sarah."
"What happened to Resten?"
"He thought it would be best if I spoke with you."
"Well talk then."
"We've decided as a whole that escape is too risky."
Shane blanched. "What?"
"At least, it's too risky if we're all in one ship."
"Yeah, thank you for the elaboration. I'm not a moron."
"So you're settled then?"
"Yeah, I've got a ship on the roof. Untraceable."
"Good." He could practically hear her nodding. "We're meeting on Earth, western hemisphere."
There was a pause.
"So that's it?"
"That's it. There's not enough time to go into any other details. We'll meet you there."
The call ended.
Shane stirred his glass for a moment before placing another call.
The line was picked up almost at once.
"How can I help you?"
"I heard rumor that the Imposters have been removed from power. Is this correct?" Shane asked.
"That is correct."
"Good." Shane said. "Well, anyway, I know this guy named Marlow who's professed to being one of the Imposters on several occasions. Can you check that out?"
"We'll look into it sir."
"Thanks. I'd like to see these guys brought to justice as soon as possible. Hopefully this helps out a little."
"Thank you for your consideration."
The call ended.
Shane laughed to himself a little and sent the contact information for further review. Marlow was indeed one of the Imposters, as was he, but he'd fallen out of favor once the others caught wind of his back handed deals. Shane considered this a personal favor for the others since they were bound to get out of system before word caught up with them.
He drained the
"Well, if you can believe it, I pulled Jenn out of that mess of hormones before anything serious happened." Seven said, dragging Jenn behind her.
"There was no trouble. I can't see why you don't understand that."
"One of them was offering to marry you."
"I would have accepted." Jenn said, sounding like a small child. "He was a total hottie."
"You'll thank me later." Seven said, setting them both down in their seats on the ship.
"Is everyone accounted for?" Ricky asked.
"All accounted for." Crystal confirmed.
Ricky typed in the command for the boarding ramp. There was a buzz as the machinery pulled it closed.
"Wait!" The voice came from the hanger.
"What now?" Jenn asked.
"I think it's that guy." Seven said, getting up to peer through the cockpit window.
"That guy as in that guy who was dead set on asking me to marry him?" Jenn asked.
"No, the other guy."
Jenn thought for a moment. "Oh."
A thin man jumped on board at the last minute, just missing getting his leg caught. They all stared at him until he spoke.
"I want to come with you."
"Well, you can't" Jenn said, rolling her eyes. She gestured towards Ricky. "Open the door."
"No! Wait! I just want to come with you!" He pleaded.
Jenn rubbed her forehead in frustration. "Look, if this is about how awesome you are, please leave."
"Well that hurts." The tall guy said. "It was actually a culmination of our earlier conversation."
"You mean you actually have more to say?"
"Yes!"
Jenn rolled her eyes again. "Ricky, seriously open the door."
"Just hear me out, please!"
"Well, whatever you're going to say, the answer is no."
"Perfect! I was actually going to ask if you thought I was a loser."
"You should probably stop talking Jenn. He sounds like he's dead set on making an impression on