other room. "Unlock the door and let me go." She kept an eye on Kane who was moving for his weapon. "Don't touch that. Put your hands behind your head."
Kane moved his hands up to his neck.
There was some discussion between the ground crew behind the glass. After a while the first crewman addressed the woman.
"We'll let you go. What do you need?"
"I need a ship."
"Is that all?"
"No. I'm taking this man with me. I know you're going to take me out if I go alone."
"That's fine. Can we guarantee the safety of your hostage if you are allowed to leave?"
She laughed. "That depends on whether or not he's cooperative."
"I'll be cooperative." Dirk said.
The woman rolled her eyes.
"Okay, we're unlocking the doors." The first crewman said. There was a sound from the door as it unlocked.
"Step back." She said, moving towards Kane. Kane complied, making an 'I'm sorry' face at Dirk. Dirk just shrugged.
"Don't follow me." She said. "Where's my ship?" She asked.
"It's in the hanger. Just go down the hall. It's at the end."
"Is this true?" She asked Dirk.
"Yep. We just landed."
"Can you fly?"
"I'm not even going to answer that."
She shook him. "Can you fly a ship?"
"Yes! Yes, I can."
"Good." She started backing towards the hall, making sure Dirk was between her and Kane.
It was slow going, but they eventually made it to the end of the hall and out to the ship."
The woman whistled. "That's a nice ship." She said.
"Yeah. It's just great. I'm going to lower the ramp now." Dirk said. He activated the panel and the ramp came down.
"Get in and get the ship primed for flight."
"Sure thing boss." Dirk said, walking up the ramp and making his way to the pilot's seat. The woman was just behind him. She took Kane's seat.
"Is everything ready?" She asked.
"Yeah, I'm closing the ramp now."
There was a hiss.
"So, if you don't mind me asking, who are you? You're definitely not Tehn like the report says you're supposed to be, so who does that make you?"
"Get us out of here." She said, pressing the gun into the back of his head with a shove.
"Okay. Okay. Just a second. We're leaving."
Dirk pushed his hands onto the surface. The docking door was open. "When we're out, where would you want to go? And please say it doesn’t' involve me coming with you."
"Sorry, they’re going to shut me down unless you're there. No take backs."
"Well fine. If you're going to take me along, at least treat me with respect. I'm helping you with whatever it is you want right? Isn't that enough?"
"Sure. Whatever. What's your name?"
"Dirk."
"Nice to meet you Dirk. Let's please get out of here."
"We're already out of the docking bay."
"What?"
"We're already gone."
The woman looked up. There was nothing but stars and a distant nebula.
"That's fine then."
"So where do you want to go?"
"Go?" She laughed. "Everywhere! Anywhere! Do you have any idea how long I've been under? Years? Decades? That's what you think don't you?"
"I never said that."
"Well, that's what you probably think. But the answer is I've been under for the past seven thousand years. Do you know what that's like? To be living a crappy dream for seven thousand years? Do you know what it does to you?"
Dirk didn't say anything.
"It kills. Over and over again. You die inside a hundred times a day without relief. Do you know how I know this is the real world?"
Dirk shook his head.
"Because you're all a bunch of clueless morons. Spineless morons too." She leaned back. "If I were back in the simulator, I'd have been detained by now. That's how it works right? You do something dumb in the simulator, they put you under again. You serve lifetimes upon life times in there. But out here? There's nothing but human error. It's wonderful." She sighed. "Absolutely wonderful."
Dirk spoke up. "Where did you want to go?"
"Some place you've probably never heard of."
"Where's that?"
"Earth."
Dirk didn't answer.
"What? Do you need directions or something?"
"What's your name? Dirk asked.
She rolled her eyes. "Jennifer, or Jenn for short."
"Jenn," Dirk started slowly. "Earth is a dead planet now."
"What? No."
"It's true."
"Take me there anyway. And no funny business. I want to see this with my own eyes before you do anything stupid like call your friends."
"That was never my intention."
Then prove it by taking me there."
Dirk set the trajectory for planet Earth.
"You know," He said. "I was sent to pass sentence on a couple who trespassed on planet Earth just a little while ago."
"Is that supposed to scare me?"
"What? You honestly think I'm trying to scare you?"
"How should I know?"
"I'm just telling you to let you know. Someone might follow us there is all I'm saying."
The woman grimaced. "You think so?"
"You've been under for a long time. Things have changed a bit."
"Not enough apparently."
"Yeah, well the world is always watching what we do no matter what so the only suggestion have for you is make the smartest moves you can make."
"Why are you helping me? Why are you telling me this?"
Dirk shrugged. "I'm not sure. I thought it was important to help you. Even though you're taking me as a hostage, I want you to know that I'm willing to help you no matter what until everything is cleared up. Whether or not it ends well for you, I'm here until that point."
The woman seemed shaken by this. "You're going to help me anyway?"
"Yeah. My better judgment says I shouldn't but I want to get everyone out in the best way possible."
There was silent in the seat behind Dirk for a while.
"I know what I need to do." She finally said. "Set me down on the nearest inhabited planet."
"They're going to find you no matter what."
"I know. I don't want to hurt anyone."
Dirk pursed his lips. "I'll tell you what. I'll tell the others I'm not going to help them in their search for you. I want you to see that I can be trusted."
"Why would I want to trust you?"
"You're from planet Earth right?"
"Yeah? So?"
"That means you don't know what really happened."
"Happened to what?"
"Your planet."
"Well, you said there was a war. If that's true then I doubt I want to know anything else."
"Then let me tell you something."
"What?"
"That couple I'd sentenced? One of them had been travelling in a ship when the planet fell into chaos."
"What?"
"He's being held in a prison facility like the one you just came from."
She seemed to think for a moment. "I'm not really interested. If he's under then whatever. That's not my issue."
"I just wanted to let you know."
"For what purpose?"
"Anyway, we've landed."
"Answer my question. Why are you telling me this?"
"I just thought you'd like to know is all. Maybe you could feel like you're doing some good by helping him out."
"You're really full of it." Jenn stood up and went back to the docking ramp. "I'm leaving. Just let me live in peace."
"Will do. But maybe you can talk to someone I know? Her name is Seven Twenty Five."
Jenn just shook her head in an irritated way. "You're still mumbling. Just lower the ramp."
"Sure thing." Dirk said.
The ramp lowered.
/>
"Nice talking to you." Jenn said, waving as she stepped down.
Jenn sighed when the ship was finally gone. She'd been looping endlessly in that simulator for an incalculable amount of time. Incalculable as in time he’d the appearance of no beginning and no end. But, the cruelty of it was she'd been in control of that knowledge from the very beginning. The computer made sure to tell her every moment of her futile existence how long she'd been in that machine. Seven thousand, nine hundred and eighty three years. Enough to make anyone wonder what kind of people would do such a thing.
It had given her time to think and to contemplate until life had grown meaningless for her. This opportunity though, meant she could try living again.
There was nothing in sight, no matter how far she looked. All that seemed to populate this world was dirt; Dirt and kind of slag metal that covered almost everything.
She sighed again and started walking towards the highest point she could see; a hill that stuck a short ways above the others.
The light was shining down pleasantly, occasionally passing by as clouds of gritty material drifted over head.
She shielded her eyes when she reached the top. There was a knot of slag slumping over the edge of the hill. She sat down for a moment.
There was a tower in the far distance; a black spire that sat in the shadow of a much bigger machine. Jenn thought it her best chance of finding her way off the planet.
She stood up and started walking again.
The tower was much further away than the hill had been. It took her a good portion of the day to finally make it to the base of the tower.
To her dismay, no one seemed to be around. She started to circle the tower.
After a while, she found a door. She knocked.
She wasn't expecting anyone to answer, but when they did, only a girl answered.
"What do you want?" The girl answered. Her cheeks seemed to be stained with salt that trailed back to her eyes.
Jenn barged in the door. "Do you have somewhere I can stay?" She asked, looking around. She was in a hallway with some kind of terminals on either side.
"Well, yes. Who are you?"
Jenn looked at her suspiciously. "Does it matter?"
"Well, no."
"Goo. Then I'm no one." Jenn said. "I'll be gone soon. Don't mind me."
"Gone soon