by Z. M. Wilmot
~Captain David Steinros, in his speech condemning the use of a multi-planetary crew on the Ambassador expedition
I didn’t mention the murders to anyone, not even to Ezekiel. I waited for someone to discover their murder, but it was never announced. Four day-cycles after my discovery, I heard Korzos speaking with Mather, and he mentioned the work that Abdul had been doing on samples of dust gathered in the Carib system. Was the murderer now playing the scientists’ part, communicating with the rest of the crew through vocal or text interfaces? They had never been social, and I had never seen either of them emerge from their lab. It probably wouldn’t be too hard for someone to pretend to be them, carrying out their communications as if they had never died.
There was something evil afoot – I just didn’t know what it was. I thought about it whenever I wasn’t with Ezekiel (which, sadly, was becoming more and more often, as Joseph was demanding more work of him, even though there were two fewer mouths to feed – although I suppose that was irrelevant because nobody knew that, presumably not even him). No matter how hard I thought, though, I couldn’t come up with a motive. What benefit would there be to sabotaging the mission? It would only get them killed, along with everyone else. Could it be a personal grudge? I doubted it – no one in this crew was stupid enough to let something like that go so far, and if they did, Korzos would put a stop to it.
Or would he? I had become more suspicious of the captain lately. Small things had been going wrong of late, especially with the engines. He seemed less there, and his temper was becoming shorter and shorter. Mather, I thought, was blameless, but Korzos was up to something. Thinking back to that day when I was cleaning the engine room, I remembered Mather taking something out of the engine that Korzos had put there.
Was Korzos sabotaging his own mission? Was he the murderer?
I felt a cold spot form in the pit of my stomach. That would make so much sense – he had the power to cover it all up, and nobody would doubt his word. I was on the bridge when I had this epiphany, and broke out into a cold sweat when I looked at Korzos, again engaged in discussion with Fineas. I hurriedly walked out of the room, not paying attention to anyone around me, and didn’t stop walking until I almost didn’t know where I was.
I leaned against the wall in a remote corner of the ship, thinking myself alone, to think things over.
I was not alone. I don’t know how he did it without me noticing, but Ivor Karanov, the creepy man with the intense stare and tight black clothing, was suddenly in front of me, with a knife pressed to my throat.
“Don’t do anything stupid, boy. You stay silent and answer me a few questions and I’ll let you get off free. Understand?” I nodded nervously. He had a thick Ryussan accent.
“Good. What were you doing in the science lab?”
I blinked. I didn’t think anyone knew about that.
“Yes, I know. There are cameras in there. Lucky for you I got to the files first and doctored them, editing you out. You have a lot to thank me for, foolish boy. So what were you doing?”
I would have gulped, but I was afraid that doing so would carry my skin into the blade of the knife. It looked very sharp. “I – was j-just curious, sir.”
He hissed. “No need to call me sir, stupid boy. What did you find in there?”
“Th-the machine was g-gutted, and the s-s-scientists were dead.”
Karanov sighed in contempt. “Useless, you are. I don’t know why I bothered saving your pitiful life.” If I hadn’t been so scared, I would have been offended.
“Because you would have had to answer to me, Karanov.” Ivor’s head whipped around. Crydgar stood to his right, a pistol aimed at his head, his scythe slung over his back. “I can shoot you dead and not hit the kid, and you know it.” He spoke softly, but his voice carried power.
Karanov growled, but withdrew his knife. It vanished into a sleeve.
“Leave the kid be. Touch him one more time and consider yourself dead.” Ivor spat on the floor and walked away, making sure not even to brush Crydgar as he passed him. The Bajan’s pistol remained trained on the Ryussan until he was out of sight. Then he turned back to me. “Don’t go wandering off alone. This ship’s not safe.” Thanks for the warning.
“Stick with your boyfriend whenever you can. Keep your room locked.” I blinked. How did he know about Ezekiel and me? He must have seen some of my question on my face, for he added, “Ivor’s not the only one who looks at the cameras, and they aren’t just in the labs.” He winked at me, and my cheeks felt like they were on fire.
Crydgar escorted me back to my rooms in an awkward silence (well, more so for me than him – I think he was just amused), bid me farewell, then left. I locked the door and waited for Ezekiel to return, which happened about an hour later. I think I was shaking and sweating a little when he came in, and he sat down next to me and put his arm around me, pulling me close. “What’s wrong?”
I told him (almost) everything, leaving out my discovery of the bodies – which pretty much means I just told him that Ivor had cornered me in a hallway and I didn’t know why. So actually, I suppose, I really didn’t tell him much. Just enough to make him feel sorry for me and hold me close and kiss me to make me feel better. He told me off (half-jokingly, half-seriously) and warned me not to go wandering off by myself like that, because Ivor’s a dangerous man.
Recovering some of my composure, I asked him what he knew about Ivor. Ezekiel shrugged and told me that he didn’t know much, just that he was a former Ryussan ambassador and convicted rapist, pardoned by his country. I guess Ezekiel just assumed that that’s what Ivor was after when he cornered me (rape, not being an ambassador). I felt kind of guilty about misleading him, but I wasn’t going to tell him about the murders. I decided then that I was just going to ignore them and act like a normal crewmember (big mistake – never ignore murders).
We both had to leave about half an hour later to go help Joseph prepare for dinner, and I didn’t have much time to reflect. I wasn’t washing as many dishes as usual (or maybe I was just getting better at it so I spent less time doing them), and so actually got to help throw various items at Joseph as he needed them. Ezekiel was much more practiced at it, but I thought that I got much better. After everyone else was served, the three of us ate the leftovers, like we always did, then shelved and froze the rest. We couldn’t let anything go to waste. The crew knew that too, and did their best to only take what they needed (although maybe that was because Joseph made it very clear that whatever they didn’t eat would be shelved anyway, along with anything they vomited up, and served at the next meal). After that, afraid to wander about the ship, Ezekiel and I retired to our room. Before doing anything else, though, we searched for the camera (I had told him about that at least). It wasn’t that hard to find if you were looking for it – it was a small gray sphere directly above the door. We covered it with part of a blanket, then went to bed.
The next day, I was let off again by Joseph, this time for Methuselah’s birthday, as I would apparently just get in his way. Ezekiel had to go help Fetherkap do something or other (I was glad to see that I wasn’t the only person forced into cleaning and maintenance), so I just stayed in our room by myself (after yesterday I wasn’t going anywhere alone).
I must have dozed off, because my eyes snapped open and I jumped up, hitting my head on the bottom of Ezekiel’s bed, as someone knocked on the door. I hesitated, then slowly stood and walked over to it. I really wished at that time that it had a little viewing glass that let me see who was on the other side, but mere assistants were apparently not important enough for those.
The knocking continued as I tried to figure out what to do. If it was Ivor again, I would have no protection – unless I uncovered the camera. I quickly did so, threw the covers aside, and opened the door a crack. I wanted more than anything to just leave the door closed, but if it was Korzos and I didn’t answer, I would be in trouble.
Before I could even ask who it was, an arm snaked through the
crack, forced open the door, grabbed me, and pulled me out into the hallway, closing the door behind me. The owner of the arm spun me around, pinning me against the opposite wall. I felt his warm breath on my neck and shuddered (not like the way I do when Ezekiel does it - this was a bad shudder, not a good one). Adam Sansson whispered into my ear. “Foolish boy. Covering your camera? If Ivor decided to get into your room, he could have, and you would be dead. He has ways of getting around doors. And he can do it quietly, too – the audio on the cameras wouldn’t have saved you.” I did not know that there was audio as well as visual. I blushed, but I’m pretty sure Adam didn’t see it, as I was facing the wall. I began to wonder just how many people had access to the security cameras.
“No cameras out here either. You should always ask who it is before opening the door. You never know who might be behind it, waiting for you to slip up.” I tested his grip on my wrists, which he was holding together behind my back. He squeezed them together harder in response, and I flinched. “Don’t try to escape. I don’t need to put a knife to your throat. Nor do I need to commit any more murders – just play along and I’ll let you go free.”
More murders? Had I found the scientists’ killer? I was sorely tempted to ask, but felt like that would not be beneficial to my safety.
“I know you recognize me – I sure as hell recognized you, walking down the hall, being dragged by your boyfriend. You saw me get taken down in Raheera. No-one else knows who I am – it wasn’t a well-publicized capture. If you sing at all, you’ll be as dead as Abdul and Uriel, got it?” I nodded. There was no doubt in my mind now that I had found the murderer. “Good. I don’t want to kill you, but I will if I have to.
“Now, what did Ivor accost you for? He was clever and took you away from the cameras, so I couldn’t see. I wouldn’t have been able to get close enough to hear without tipping him off. What did he want?” He said the last words forcefully, pushing me harder into the wall. He hurt my nose. I didn’t think it was bleeding, though.
“Tell me!” He pushed even harder, and I winced as my nose began to compress further. I finally managed to mumble a few words. I don’t remember exactly what I said, but it didn’t matter what they were anyway, because Adam didn’t hear them.
“What was that? Speak more clearly!” He twisted my wrists, and I gasped.
“I don’t know!” Apparently he understood me that time (assuming that was what I said the first time), but he was not happy with my answer. Or so I gathered from him kneeing me in the crotch from behind.
“Have a better answer now?” he asked, his voice sickeningly sweet. I imagined him as an old lady batting her eyelashes at me, holding forward a plate of steaming hot cookies. Not that anyone had ever done that to me. Old ladies only ever gave me lashes for lingering around their houses, looking for food. My interrogator was closer to the second category than the first.
I did not handle pain very well. “He wanted to know why I was in the science lab.”
“Now we’re getting somewhere. What did you tell him?” I wondered why he wasn’t asking me why I had been there. He twisted my wrists again.
“That I w-was curious.” I had never stuttered in my life up until Karanov cornered me, and here I was doing it again, the very next day-cycle.
“You really don’t handle torture very well, do you?” He was very perceptive. “What else did you tell him?”
I tried very hard not to stutter. I failed. “N-nothing.”
He leaned closer. “Lies!” he hissed, clutching my hands more tightly and twisting my wrists until I could hardly breathe from the pain.
“Let him be, Sansson!” It was Crydgar. Again. I felt Adam’s hands leave mine, and slowly turned to look at my savior. His scythe was on his back, but no pistol was visible this time. “He really does know nothing. You should have talked to me before you came here. I could have told you everything this boy could, and more.” I blinked. Were they working together?
Crydgar turned to face me. “Boy, you will not speak of anything that has passed here, got it?” I nodded. I wouldn’t have trouble with that. “Not even to your boyfriend. Swear.” It was not a question, but an order. I nodded again.
“By what?” That was Sansson. I struggled to think of something.
“The stars?”
He and Crydgar exchanged looks. “Fair enough. Now go back into your room. And no more snooping about.” I nodded for a third time. As they both turned to walk away, Crydgar turned back to me. “And Jak?”
I turned and looked at them. “Y-yes?” I wanted nothing more than to vanish into my room and never emerge again. I was in way over my head.
“We didn’t kill the scientists.” He nodded shortly and they both vanished around the corner. I ran into the room, locked the door, flung myself on my bed, and cried for the first time since I was four. I didn’t know what to do…
I lay there, sobbing into my pillow, for about an hour before I managed to pull myself together. I wiped my eyes and flipped my wet pillow over. I didn’t want Ezekiel to ask too many questions. I wasn’t sure I could lie to him again.
When he returned two hours later, I pretended to be happy for him – I laughed and smiled and hugged and kissed him. On the outside, I was perfectly content. On the inside, though, I felt as if something was gnawing at my stomach.
8
“You know that I agree with most of Steinros’ opinions – I have publically said as much several times. The crew is just an explosion waiting to happen. Why do I go then? Someone’s got to. I don’t have much else to live for. It could be exciting. And it really is a noble effort. The real question I asked myself is why not?”