The Hollow Man

Oct. 24 - Caliban

Kurtz: Are you an assassin?

Willard: I'm a soldier.

Kurtz: You are neither. You're an errand boy, sent by grocery clerks, to collect a bill.

"Apocalypse Now"

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The doors over the landing pad slowly slid shut and the air hissed into the chamber to pressurize to life sustaining levels.

I flicked a switch on the transmitter and broadcast a message: *static* Mr. Krenshar... This is Major Siamendes...I have your bear... do you have my wolf? *static*

I did not wait for a reply. I climbed out of my X-313, opened the inner blast doors and began my ascent up the long ramp.

Someone times it's good to walk in unannounced. Surprise folks. Catch them with unaware. Other times a warning is in order. Draw people out. I had broadcast the message on the general channel. Anyone with their radio on would have heard that. My voice would have thundered across the dome.

I had Captain R ____ tracking Cody Winterwolf. It was she who contacted me to tell me that he and LilyBell had been captured and taken to Caliban. I decided to move fast in order to preserve the package. Winterwolf was worth more alive than in pieces.

I did not know what to expect on Caliban so for the first time in a while I was armed. I wore a breathing apparatus as I figured the immediate risk was someone cutting off my oxygen in the tunnel leading to and from the dome.

I came to the main airlock door. As I stood weighing the option of making my way to the surface and using the sewers to gain entrance, Alliance Door 7243 opened. There stood the replicant Krenshar Magic.

"Good day Ms Pepper," he said.

"Your bear," I said as I tossed it to the floor of the airlock. I wanted my hands free.

Krenshar looked at the bear, "I have nothing to pay for this with."

"You have Winterwolf. A bear for a wolf. A fair exchange."

Krenshar sighed, "I don't have him anymore."

"Oh?" I asked.

Krenshar continued, "I could not let the one I love be unhappy. I will find another path to take."

"Then perhaps you can get him for me."

"That would hurt the one I love and I cannot do that."

"I see," I added. I picked up the teddy bear and slipped it into the pouch on my leg. "So where is Winterwolf now?"

The inner door of the airlock slid open revealing a small crowd gathered just inside the dome. I recognized JJ from MacLaren's Drift.

She gasped. "Kren... just.... oh my God..."

She looked back over her shoulder as the door slid shut, tears running down her cheeks.

Krenshar continued, "It would be best to just take me now because I will not be able to pay for any of this.."

"Very well ..." I said.

"I will not struggle," declared Krenshar, "I will except my fate without a fight."

"Come along then," I said.

I opened Alliance Door 7242, and let my prisoner pass. Together, we walked down the long, dark tunnel back to the landing pad and my waiting craft.