by Eric Warren
Evie grumbled and wiped her eyes, mad that she was letting him get to her again. This is exactly why she didn’t call. But with no other living relatives, Dad didn’t have anyone else. It was either her or no one, and no matter how good Macha and the others were, they weren’t family. She’d talk to Greene tomorrow about her request. He deserved at least one last visit.
Standing, she avoided glancing at the sword as she made her way to the shower.
4
“You might find this strange.” Cas walked beside Zenfor as they made their way to Starbase Eight’s high-security brig. Behind them, two security officers from the station kept their distance but stayed close enough that Cas couldn’t help but notice them.
“Why is that?” Zenfor asked.
“Because I’ve seen your way of restraining people. And judging them. We do things differently.”
“How so?”
“We don’t immobilize our prisoners.” Cas tried not to think back to how he’d been held, completely unable to move, against that wall for longer than he could keep track of. It had been nothing short of a test of pure endurance and will not to lose his mind.
“Immobilization is the most efficient way to ensure the prisoner will not escape,” she replied.
“It’s also inhumane.”
“Interesting choice of words.” She glanced down at him. “In your language it means cruel. But it also could translate to mean non-human. Which is a very fitting description.”
“Semantics aside, keeping prisoners long-term completely immobile isn’t practical.”
Her voice hardened. “Which is why we do not keep prisoners. They are captured, evaluated, judged, and disposed of.”
“And what about the innocent?”
She narrowed her eyes. “Those occasions are rare.”
“Like me.”
“You are not innocent. But you also have proven yourself helpful and trustworthy. Your case is unique.”
These people weren’t much for nuance. Things were very binary for them. He’d have to keep that in mind. “Here,” he said as they approached the main doors to the brig. A security officer stood to the side, stationed by a small desk. She glanced up when they approached, her eyes going wide upon seeing Zenfor. “Robeaux and guest to see him. We have clearance.” Cas held out his hand for her to scan. The security officer tore her gaze from Zenfor and scanned him, not even giving him a second glance.
“Approved.”
Cas turned to the security officers following them. “Would you mind waiting out here?”
“Sir, we’ve been ordered—”
“This involves classified Coalition information,” Cas replied. “And unless you have clearance you don’t need to be in there.”
They exchanged glances before the lead officer nodded. “You don’t mind if I call it in to check.” It wasn’t a question and the man’s tone made it clear he didn’t believe one word coming out of Cas’s mouth. He tapped his internal comm and spoke into his hand in a hushed voice. After a moment his eyes met Cas’s as he muttered a “Yes, sir.” He turned back to Cas and Zenfor. “We’ll be right outside the door.”
The doors to the brig opened, revealing a wide space with six different walls. Each wall was taken up by a force barrier and while the other five were empty, the one closest to the door—and also the largest—had a single occupant: the former Admiral Daniel Rutledge.
“What is this?” Zenfor growled and stomped into the room. Rutledge was seated in a large chair reading a book.
Cas held up his hands as the security officers made a move to follow them in. “She’ll be fine. There’s nothing she can do in here.”
They stepped back and the doors to the brig closed, leaving Cas and Zenfor alone with Rutledge who had glanced up with curiosity. Zenfor stood centimeters from the force barrier itself, staring at the man. “Such lavish accommodations. Is he a prisoner or a diplomatic envoy?”
“He’s in there for the rest of his life,” Cas said. “He has a right to have space to live.” The brig unit itself was quite large, composed of many rooms, all of them sharing a common wall with the force barrier.
“When you said serving life in prison was worse than death, I assumed you meant you kept him under constant torture. However, it seems as if he’s made comfortable.” Zenfor said.
“That’s not how the Coalition does things. No, he’s not under constant pain, but he can never leave. That knowledge in itself is debilitating for many of our species.”
“Your people are willing to waste resources in order to maintain a grudge?”
He shrugged. “That’s one way of putting it.”
“Caspian,” Rutledge said, laying his book on the table beside the plush chair. “Welcome back. And you’ve brought a friend.”
“Consul, this is Admiral Rutledge.”
Zenfor sneered. “This pitiful specimen is the mastermind behind the capture of one of our vessels? I don’t believe it. He’s so small and weak. When you first told me of him I assumed he could be nothing other than a god among your people. But this…is just disappointing.”
Cas had to struggle to hide his shock and amusement. He’d never heard anyone refer to Rutledge that way and he could already see it had angered him. He’d stood from his chair, pulling himself up to his full height, which was still nowhere close to Zenfor’s two-and-a-half meters. But soon his anger was replaced with curiosity as his facial features softened. Cas noted he’d decided to keep his full beard and moustache, even while incarcerated.
“I don’t recognize your species,” he said approaching them. “You have me at a disadvantage.”
“That would be the outcome no matter the situation,” Zenfor said, staring down at him.
“This is Consul Zenfor of the Sil Alliance,” Cas said, keeping his eyes trained on Rutledge. His old commanding officer gave a slow, disbelieving shake of his head before his shield went back up and his face fell into a neutral gaze. After all his machinations and subterfuge, Cas had managed to beat the man at his own game. And that in itself felt more satisfying than just about anything else he could imagine.
“I’m…humbled.” He stopped short of his side of the barrier.
“You should be. The only way you could have captured one of our ships was by pure luck. You don’t have superior skill or intelligence.”
Rutledge worked his jaw, trying not to get upset. It was something Cas knew about the man after years of serving under him. He had a temper and for the most part could keep it under control. Except when someone insulted him personally. Rutledge never did have an ego that could handle criticism.
“It wasn’t me who performed the job. It was Captain Soon, of the USCS Achlys.”
“Yes, I know. Caspian has told me all the details,” Zenfor replied. “Loss of all hands on board. That must have been quite the blow to your program.”
“Nothing we couldn’t recover from.” Rutledge glared up at her.
“Yet, you had to send the one operative you tried to kill to find out what happened. Because your people obviously didn’t understand the concept of multi-dimensional armaments. They tested the weapon under your orders, correct? That’s the reason you’re in here.”
Rutledge didn’t respond, only flicked his gaze to Cas, hatred burning in his eyes. Cas had given Zenfor as much information as he could about what had happened to her ship and the one that had captured it. Including the building and testing of the weapon itself and how upon using it had killed the entire crew in an instant.
“I must have done something right,” he said. “Because you’re here. And I’m assuming it is to help us.”
“I’m here because we face a mutual threat. We have no interest in the Coalition, we are only using you to gather information and to test defenses. You are our…guinea pig as you put it.”
Even through the beard Cas could see the reddening of Rutledge’s cheeks. He wasn’t used to being put in his place. When Cas had known the admiral, he’d always had the upper hand. E
ven behind this field he seemed to exert a certain authority or control. But all of that had fallen apart the moment Zenfor had entered the room.
She turned to Cas. “I’m ready to depart. He’s not worth killing.”
Cas did a double-take. “You…were going to kill him?”
“As a trophy for my people. But seeing him now he wouldn’t be worth the slaughter. Plus, I like your idea of having him suffer, if that’s what you call this. Not only for the lives of the people he killed in your Coalition, but for all the Sil who died on that ship as a result of it being pulled from multi-dimensional space.”
“Robeaux, what is she talking about? Multi-dimensional space?” She had his interest now and Rutledge leaned even closer to the barrier.
“It isn’t your concern, prisoner.” Zenfor held her hand up.
Zenfor couldn’t have insulted the former admiral any worse if she’d tried. Cas hid his smile.
His face had visibly reddened even more. “My actions were for the good of the Coalition. Maybe you don’t think we’re worth saving, but I do. Everything I did was for the survival of my people and I would do it all over again.”
“Too bad you weren’t more effective at your job,” Zenfor replied, turning toward the door.
“Robeaux,” Rutledge snapped before he could follow her. “I don’t know how you did it, but…good job. We’ve never been able to get the Sil to play ball, but it looks like you found a way.”
Cas narrowed his eyes. “Because I warned them. About you,” Cas replied. After disobeying Rutledge’s order to fire on the civilian ship, Cas had sent a coded message to the Sil letting them know what was happening. It had been the only thing he could think of to get Rutledge to back off. But even that hadn’t been enough.
“Then you may have just redeemed yourself, son. Those twenty-four souls on the Achlys didn’t die in vain after all.”
“They only died because you were too stubborn to leave. Their deaths aren’t on my conscience.”
Rutledge smirked. “Don’t kid yourself. We’re all at fault. Every last one of us. But I’m glad it was you who made the connection. It might just end up saving us in the end.”
“I guess sending me to Kathora wasn’t such a good idea after all.” Cas dropped his voice.
“That was a…complex situation. The only reason we didn’t pursue you after you escaped was because I decided anyone who had enough balls to claw their way off that hellhole deserved whatever they wanted.”
Cas stepped back, unsure if he was lying or telling the truth. He’d never openly admitted to being the one who gave Cas his parole which was how he ended up mining cyclax ore on Kathora in the first place. But to find out it had been Rutledge who’d stopped any further pursuit after his escape? He wasn’t sure how to reconcile that. Regardless, it didn’t matter. He followed Zenfor to the exit where the doors opened allowing them to leave. A security team escorted Lieutenant Page past as they made their exit. He didn’t look at either of them, but kept his head high as the team guided him to the cell opposite Rutledge’s. Admiral Sanghvi stood at the entrance of the brig his hands clasped behind his back, watching the team move him in.
“I expect you got what you needed?” he asked.
“I was disappointed,” Zenfor replied, not breaking her stride.
Sanghvi caught Cas by the arm and leaned in. “You’re building up quite the collection, Mr. Robeaux.”
Cas surveyed the brig. Tangible proof his presence made a difference. Had someone told him a season ago this would have been the result of him returning to the Coalition, he never would have believed them. “Guess it’s a good thing I came back.”
Sanghvi nodded. “I need to inform you I don’t know if we will continue to hold Lieutenant Page. The council is deliberating on the rights status of your robot. If they don’t hold, we’ll be releasing Page.”
“Sir, his prejudice didn’t just extend to the robot, but to me as well. What about disobeying orders?”
He leaned in closer, dropping his voice. “This isn’t about prejudice. And it isn’t about who disobeyed who. This is about some powerful people in the Coalition keeping a close eye on your actions. Take my advice. Accept your commission. You’ll have more leverage for the future.” The admiral gave him a knowing look, then proceeded to follow the security team into the brig leaving Cas to ponder his fate.
More leverage for what?
5
After the spectacle at the brig, Cas escorted Zenfor back to her quarters on Tempest, longing for nothing more than a shower himself. Most people were either on leave or working overtime to make sure the ship was ready for its journey. Not that they wouldn’t have opportunities to stop and get help if necessary, they had eighty or ninety days of travel before they even left Coalition space. Still, it would be a long trip and Cas had never been to that border of Coalition space before, having spent most of his time on the Sargan side.
But he did know someone who was familiar with that side of space, not to mention he felt as if he needed to apologize for his earlier behavior.
He returned to his own quarters and showered, throwing on a fresh set of clothes then took the hypervator up to the officers’ level.
“Cas?” The door swooshed open to reveal Evie in her civilian clothes.
“Oh, I thought you were still on duty. I can come back,” he said, glancing down the hall.
“No, I’m pulling a double today because of the accelerated schedule. I just wanted a few minutes out of uniform. Do you…come in?”
He wrinkled his brow. “Are you sure? You don’t look…have you been getting enough sleep?” She made a noise and turned away from the door, retreating into her room. He stepped inside and let the doors close behind him.
“Was there something you needed?” she asked.
His planned apology no longer seemed appropriate. Maybe it just wasn’t the right time. She was obviously upset about something and he had to admit he felt somewhat hurt she wasn’t willing to share it. Not as if they’d become close, but they had been through a lot together in the past season. She’d literally saved his life from the Sargans and stopped Page from disassembling Box. So why was she being so standoffish?
“You should have been down there when Zenfor got a look at Rutledge,” he said, a smile creeping across his face. Evie stood by her small sink and poured herself a glass of water, drinking only a small sip.
“Yeah?”
“Called him pitiful. His face…it was priceless.”
“Sorry I missed it.” Her expression remained impassive, and she only continued to stare at some random spot on the wall. This wasn’t making things any easier. He might as well take the plunge.
“Hey, I’m…uh…sorry about earlier. I’d been down to visit Page and I was all worked up so Box and I—”
“Went to the bar, I know.” She took another sip of the water. “It’s what you do when things get tough.”
That stung. Cas tried to keep his cool, but she was being so damn cagey it was like she was itching to start a fight. “At least I don’t withdraw from everyone around me.”
Her eyes snapped to him. “Right. Because getting intoxicated is much healthier.” She clamped her mouth shut and looked away, setting the glass down. “Sorry, this is just…it’s a trying time.”
Maybe he needed to cut her a break. If she would just tell him what was going on it would all make sense. What if she didn’t think she could trust him? He’d managed to hold on to more Coalition secrets than he’d been comfortable with for years. If that didn’t make him the prime candidate to vent to, he didn’t know what did. “I’ve been told I’m a good listener. I have to be, after living with Box for five years.”
That brought a small smile to her lips. “Thank you, but not right now. Look, I’m getting ready to change. I need to go back on duty. Clear my head.”
“Yeah. I need to get back too. Zenfor has this ceremony thing she needs to do in a couple hours before we depart. Are you going?”
; “Maybe.”
Why did this feel like a breakup? He hadn’t had many lasting relationships in his thirty-four years, but the ones that had been the most meaningful often included something like this. The other person pulling away for a reason he couldn’t understand. He thought about confronting her with it, then decided it was better off left alone. After all, what were they to each other, really? Colleagues? Acquaintances? She didn’t owe him anything and vice versa. Cas turned and exited back through her doors.
Once out in the hall he recalled he’d meant to mention the commission thing again. After what Sanghvi told him about other people watching him he’d been re-evaluating everything. He’d already been somewhat on the fence. But the pressure was growing. Could all of this be nothing more than an attempt by the higher-ups at the Coalition to keep better tabs on him? With his rank re-instated he’d be accountable. But he’d also have more authority. Could he really put everything they’d tried to do to him in the past? After all, wasn’t the person primarily responsible for his misery behind a force shield at this very moment?
Still no better off, Cas headed down the corridor toward the mess hall.
***
Evie let out a long breath. The last thing she needed was Cas butting in right where he wasn’t needed. It was nice of him to want to help, but no one could help her with this. Her family’s problems were her own and the less everyone else knew the better. In a way it was fortunate not many people had heard of her or her father by the time she got to the academy. Not like on Sissk where it seemed everyone and their brother knew her last name. The lack of a mother figure in her life hadn’t helped things either. It wouldn’t have been so bad if her father had some pictures of her or at least some memories, but there was nothing. Her father refused to talk about Evie’s mother and wouldn’t even confirm she’d been a crew member aboard the Austin.