The Raid of Hopewell: Part 1

The officer escorting Jack Cooper did not cuff him, nor did the man put his hands on him. There was simply an expectation that he would and should follow closely.

‘I must not be a threat then,’ he thought.

Cooper eventually followed the officer into a small holding area with five metal chairs lining the wall. A table was situated in the middle of the tiny room.

"Take a seat," ordered the officer as he gestured to one of the metal folding chairs.

"Someone will be in shortly."

Without another word, the officer exited the room.

Cooper remained standing, curious if the man was standing guard outside the doors. It was likely, and Cooper still had no idea what was going on, so he complied and took a seat.

Within seconds the door opened again revealing an Asian man with short hair and brown eyes. He wore an officer's uniform with the sleeves of his shirt rolled up his arm. The man strolled up to the table, eyes on Cooper the whole time as he pulled a chair up and sat down with a datapad.

"I’m Captain Nigama. Name please?" He stated, his eyes totally focused on Cooper still seemingly focus on a point somewhere in the depths of Cooper’s brain.

"Jack Cooper," Cooper stated with a hint of irritation at his abruptness. "Owner and captain of the Aetherwing."

“Very good. Now, what can you tell me about Miranda Cross?”

Cooper raised an eyebrow at the loaded question. “A lot to be fair. She’s the Aetherwing’s engineer. Keeps the airship in tip-top condition, or at least as best as she can. What do you want to know?”

“Where were you, and what were you doing, two nights ago?” asked Nigama.

Cooper was confused by his sudden change of tack in his questioning. “I was on the Aetherwing. We were in the town of Westmore picking some colleagues of mine.”

“And how would you describe your relationship to Miranda Cross?” asked the officer, eyes full of sordid curiosity after having completely ignored Cooper’s question.

Cooper suspected by this point that they had Miranda in custody, which meant she had divulged something about the two of them. The question was, had she lied, or told them the truth? He had to play it safe and perhaps she was aware of that. He needed to get the repairs finished before leaving, and Hopewell was the only place to get the parts he needed. He couldn’t afford to be dishonest right now, especially since they could check his story.

“Just friends and colleagues,” he stated, keeping his eyes steady on the officers.

“Why?”

The captain kept his eyes trained on Cooper for a moment before relaxing and leaning into the table. “We have her in custody. During her background check a warrant was revealed for her arrest in what appears to be a neutral town called Westmore, near Influence territory.”

Cooper paused. Westmore was the last place they had come from. It was a trek to be fair, but they had made no stops in between. It was also where he picked up the Aetherwing’s archaeologist, Allan Fox, and his bride-to-be, Maria Salazar. “What’s the arrest warrant for?” he asked his eyes serious yet curious.

“Kidnapping and theft,” he said leaning back in his chair. “And it didn’t arrive by way of her background check specifically. When our tech scanned her, it matched her facial features with the image of a woman seen leaving someone’s home with a couple and some confiscated items. No name was given.”

Cooper slowly nodded. It sounded as though an innocent bystander had witnessed Miranda picking up Allan and Maria and mistook it for kidnapping. “What do you plan to do about it?” he asked.

The chief stood up, picking up his pad. “We’ve already interviewed your friend Miranda, and we found the couple still aboard the Aetherwing when we went in to do the repairs you asked for. He claimed to be your ship’s archaeologist. We interviewed them as well and have found that while your situation fits the description, it does not appear that a kidnapping took place. As for theft, we can neither confirm nor deny whether it actually occurred. If you’ll follow me.” Captain Nigama stepped outside the room and into the open hall.

Cooper quickly followed him as they made their way down the hall into a very large open area. This had to be one of the towers the airships docked at. He looked up and spied a see-through dome at the top, the pitter-patter of rain started sounding throughout the structure. They stopped near an elevator and the captain turned to face him.

“We’re allowing you and your crew to stay here in Hopewell. We won’t be arresting Miranda Cross, or any of the rest of you for that matter, unless of course you break our laws while you’re here. While we are inclined to cooperate with as many principalities as we can, we aren’t in the business of locking up anyone at the sound of a bell. It was a small neutral village that put out the warrant. It wouldn’t surprise me if it was someone involved in Influence activity that put in the report. Your backgrounds suggest that you’re a bit at odds with them, so it would make sense if someone falsified a report.”

Cooper was surprised. “You’re letting us go, just like that?”

“We had already conducted some interviewing before you ended up in that room. We already had our minds mostly made before I interviewed you. You merely helped solidify it with your answers.”

“Thank you,” stated Cooper sincerely.

“Not a problem. Provisions are available for you if you decide to enter the city.”

Just as they were about to shake hands, a sudden boom sounded and a rolling rumbling was felt throughout the airport. They both nearly lost their balance but found the wall for support.

As the pair steadied themselves, Cooper glanced up at the dome, hoping it was still intact. What he saw instead were the clouds rapidly changing hues. The azure blue clouds were now morphing into teal ones. And as the color continued to spread through the sky, the teal clouds morphed again into a bright green.

The captain had apparently followed his gaze and inhaled sharply. “The Influence!” he exclaimed and steadied himself.

Another rumbling occurred as the police captain grabbed a hold of Cooper’s arm to steady them. “The repairs will have to wait. The Aetherwing is two towers north of here.” Nigama pointed to the hall ahead of them. “That will lead you there.”

A loud klaxon sounded throughout the halls as people frantically scrambled for cover.

Suddenly, the wall and glass at the top of the tower exploded, raining glittering shards everywhere, the wall inexorably started to move inwards.

“Take cover!” Nigama shouted redundantly as people scrambled inside rooms and bathrooms for protection.

The elevator door opened, and Nigama shoved Cooper inside of it, the sound of the elevator shaft straining was intense as the walls began to crumble outside the doors. Cooper rolled and looked out of the door. A large chunk of the wall fell right outside the elevator where they had just been standing. The electric lights inside had fizzled out, and the doors remained open. The rumbling had finally stopped, but the klaxon still sounded loud and clear.

“Seems like it’s stopped. We need to get out of here,” said Cooper, eyeing the boulder in front of them.

Nigama remained silent, so Cooper spun to address him. The man was on the ground on his side, blood trickling out from underneath him. Cooper quickly stooped down to look at the man’s wounds. A large piece of glass was protruding from his back.

“Captain Nigama, you’re wounded badly. I need to get you help. Do you understand?”

The officer’s hand quickly grabbed Cooper’s arm and pulled him down toward him. With his other hand he fumbled for a data-rod from his belt, but could not hold onto it causing it to clatter to the floor. “Take it...Command Tower needs it.”

“No, you’ll be able to do it if I just get help,” he replied desperately.

“Take it,” Nigama pleaded, as his breathing became very hoarse. “No time for me.”

Nigama’s hand released itself from Cooper’s arm and fell limp in front of him. The light in his eyes quickly faded as his heart and lungs stopped working.

Cooper picked up the rod hesitantly. The airport was under attack. Getting a data-rod to the Command Tower was the least of his worries. The Aetherwing was likely in jeopardy and his crew needed to be rounded up.

He pocketed the device, deciding that getting to the Aetherwing was of prime importance. Hopefully Miranda would find the ship too. And if they somehow managed to have the time, he would find a way to get the rod to Command.

He pulled away quickly and bolted for the barricade to climb over.