by Dani Hoots
“I know you have no reason to trust me Amanda, but please hear me out. It’s true; I would have reported to the first Imperial I saw your whereabouts once Rik left me on Garvner. There was no way you all would have gotten away without getting captured. Then something hit me once I saw the key and our old home. I began to remember all the stories Father told us, all the things he did for us. I wanted to do this one last thing for him. Is that so hard to believe?” reported, saw,
“Yes,” she stated without hesitation.
“Touchy,” I sarcastically remarked as I went into the galley for an apple.
“Rik told me what you said about John.”
With my back facing her, I slightly let my lips turn into a grin. I didn’t think he would tell anyone else. I thought he would be too afraid they would want revenge against me. I turned to face her. “Did he now?”
“Yes. You can’t get me to believe that you suddenly care about someone. You don’t care about anyone from the present or the past. You only care about the Emperor,” she accused.
“And that is what you concluded? Because I killed John? Therefore, I could never want to do something for my father after all these years?”
“Not if that something could destroy the Empire. Not if that something could bring harm to the Emperor.”
I took a bite of the apple. “So what are you proposing?”
Amanda watched me with a careful eye. “I think you are staying around so you can destroy whatever we find.”
“That’s an interesting accusation, but there’s one problem. How would I destroy it? With all of you there, how would I get away with it?”
“You will kill us; just like you do to everyone you meet.”
“Now you sound like Will,” I took another bite.
“Because I know what you will do?”
“Because you think I would harm my brother.”
“I saw what you did to him on Anosira.”
I shook my head in disagreement. “That wasn’t me; that was General Draff.”
“You didn’t stop him. I know you would kill him, without even thinking about it. You killed John. Rik told me how he was like an uncle to you after your mother died. Then after the attack, he raised Rik and the others. Yet you still killed him. Rik didn’t believe you did, even though rumors said otherwise. Not until you told him.”
I became irritated. “He needed to know the truth. I wouldn’t lie to him, now would I?”
“You don’t realize how much you’ve hurt him. You don’t realize how much he lost the day that John died. Rik doesn’t take losing someone too lightly,” she sharply retorted.
“Well, then he’s in the wrong game. If he cares too much for the people he works with, then it makes it that much harder when they die during a mission.”
“Is that why you work alone?” Amanda inquired. I became silent. “I think that is the only reason he let you stay. He doesn’t want to lose you. Not again.”
“Then he puts too much faith in me.”
“I know that.” Amanda watched as I bit into my apple.
“What are you going to do about it?”
“I’m going to make sure you don’t hurt him.”
David entered the dining area abruptly. He examined the situation he just came into. area. Abruptly he
“Is everything okay?” David questioned as Amanda pulled out her knife and stabbed an apple that sat on the counter.
“Everything is fine. Just making sure we’re on the same page,” With that she left with her knife still in her apple.
David looked at me quizzically. “What was that about?”
I sat down at the table and took the last bite of my apple. “Oh, just girl talk. Which brings me to my question, what were you boys gossiping about?”
David took a seat across from me. “You.”
“Straight to the point. What about me? How amazing I am? Or more like how horrible?”
“Rik still hasn’t decided whether he believes your reason for staying is truthful or not. Will doesn’t, of course.”
“And you?” I pushed further.
“I think your reason is truthful, but whether you actually believe it yourself or not is another question.”
I chuckled at his statement. “How long until we reach our destination?”
“About a week.”
“Well,” I grabbed the deck of cards. “What game do you want to play next?”
Three days passed and David was stuck keeping me company the entire time again. I had really hoped that they would change guards this time but that never happened. Although I preferred David over the others since he didn’t mock me or start an argument, I was sick of card games. Luckily, he knew a number of different games so we didn’t have to play the same one over and over again.
At the end of the third day, Amanda and Rik came into the dining area. I didn’t think I would see Amanda again for the rest of the trip after our little conversation. They started making dinner instead of their usual grabbing a quick snack as they had been doing since I was on board. I presume they ate in their quarters or on the bridge.
“Want anything?” Rik began pulling things out of the panty.
“For... food?” David asked slowly. No one had ever asked us this before.
“For supper,” Rik answered.
“I’ll have whatever you’re having I guess,” David glanced at me and I nodded. “Make that two.”
“David, clean off the table and wash up,” Amanda started preparing the food.
“What?”
“We are having dinner in here as we normally do. I’m sick of eating on the bridge or in our quarters,” Amanda eyed me quickly then went back to cooking. I was right as to where they had been eating.
David gave me a look of concern. “Alright, I suppose.”
David began to clean all the cards off the table. I simply watched, examining Rik and Amanda as they prepared the meal. There had to be ulterior motives as to having dinner together. I debated whether or not they were going to poison me, but I neglected it since I had made myself immune to most poisons long ago.
David grabbed another chair and placed it at the table. Five chairs were a bit much for the small table that they had but he made it work. David sat down next to me and smiled.
“You smile too much, you know that?” I questioned him.
“Can’t I smile?”
“Only when happy things are happening. Happy things aren’t happening right now. Weird things are happening instead,” I whispered.
“So you want me to make weird faces then?” He crossed his eyes.
I shook my head, holding back a laugh. “You’re a strange man.”
Once the meal was almost ready, Amanda called down the corridor. “Will, food!”
Moments later Will stormed into the dining area. “Why are we eating in here?”
“Because this is the dining area and where we eat every dinner,” Rik stated.
Will pointed at me. “But she’s in here.”
“So?” Rik set some food on the table.
“She’s... Well... Her!”
“Will, calm down, it’s only dinner. Now, please sit down,” Amanda gestured to the chair.
Will pulled out the chair across from me harshly and sat down. He glowered at me.
“Are you going to glare at me the entire meal?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Will!” Amanda slammed down food in front of him, apparently sick of his attitude.
“Fine,” he looked down at the food in front of him.
The rest of the crew took their seats. Rik sat on the other side of me and Amanda on the other side of him.
Nothing was said the entire time we ate. Utensils clattered as they touched the plates. After everyone was done, Will rushed out of the room and Rik and Amanda cleaned up. David grabbed the cards and started dealing.
A few days passed and we ate dinner together each night and it was always the same. No one said a word. Finally, on the fo
urth night of eating together, I started laughing.
“What’s so funny?” Rik questioned, startled by my laughing.
“Am I really that horrible that you guys can’t even have a normal conversation in front of me? The tension in here is thicker than the ice on Ttkas,” I chuckled.
“Yes,” Will looked up at me.
Rik nodded. “I agree, this dinner thing isn’t going too well. What do you suppose we talk about?”
“How about the weather?” I sarcastically remarked.
“There’s no weather in space,” David answered, as if he thought I was being serious.
“Well then, that ends that conversation,” I tore off a piece of my roll and ate it. “How about we talk about where we are going?”
“Alright,” Rik placed a fork-full of greens in his mouth. “We are going to Valle. Should be there tomorrow morning.”
My eyes widened and I dropped my roll that was still in my hands. “What?!”
“Yes, that is where the room the keys open is,” Rik moved food around on his plate. David glanced at me over the cup he was drinking out of.
I slammed my fist down on the table. “Why didn’t you say anything earlier?”
“Because I knew you wouldn’t have come and I wasn’t sure what you would do if you knew,” Rik placed his fork down.
“You would kill us,” Will stated promptly.
“How many times are you going to say that Will?” I shot back.
“Until we are rid of you.”
I turned to Rik. “How do you know I won’t kill you now?”
“Because we are already passed a P.A.E. checkpoint,” Rik began. “If you turn back now, you will have to give codes to leave. If you keep going you will have to give codes to land.”
“You set me up! You are going to give me to the P.A.E.!” I began accusing, mind racing as to how I would get out of all of this.
Will grinned widely. “Now there’s an idea.”
Rik shot Will a look. “I’m not handing you over to the P.A.E. You wanted to know what it opened. I’m taking you to it.”
“Then what happens?” I questioned.
“Well, we will see now won’t we?”
“What if I get seen? I will be killed in an instant,” my voice became faster. I took in a deep breath to calm myself down.
“Wouldn’t that be a treat,” Will remarked. I threw the rest of my roll at him. He quickly stood up.
“Will, sit!” Rik ordered.
He pointed at me. “She started it!”
“And I will end it, so sit,” Rik ordered again. Reluctantly Will sat back down. “We won’t let you get seen.”
“What? Are you going to have me wear a cloak? That worked so well on Garvner.”
“We will figure something out Cadi, don’t worry,” Rik stated. That was the first time he called me ‘Cadi’ on this entire trip. He thought it would make me feel better. It didn’t. It meant he wanted something from me, something else.
“Worry? I have every right to worry. Do you not understand? Every person in this system wants me dead,” I explained.
“And so do we,” Will added. I shot him a look.
“Arcadia,” David interrupted. “I will be there. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
I looked at David. Of all the people in this mess, he was the only one whose word I trusted. I became quiet and went back to eating my food.
Dinner passed. Rik and Amanda cleaned off the table while Will left as fast as he usually came. I just sat there, twiddling my hair tie with my fingers. Neil would have seen me enter the Akaron system already. I wondered what he thought I was doing, whether or not I had been figured out or if I had sided over with them now. I doubted whether he suspected me of betraying him and changing sides but I still worried. I knew what he was capable of and if he thought I betrayed him, I would be in a lot of trouble. All of us would. suspected
I began to think about landing on Valle. Taking out a base on a planet was different. I could get around, I could get away. Here, I was stuck and the only thing that would keep me safe was trusting that my brother had everything under control.
David sat back down at the table after the others had left.
“You’re really worried, aren’t you?” he questioned.
“Wouldn’t you be?”
“I didn’t think you knew how to worry.”
“I don’t, not usually. It isn’t really worrying but more like wondering. Wondering about all the things that could happen and making a plan to get out of each of them. The problem with Valle is that everyone on the planet wants me dead. Not just a handful, not just an army. All of them.”
“But you have to realize the odds of someone recognizing you are pretty slim,” he said.
“Yeah, I suppose. It’s not like you have posters of me saying ‘wanted: dead’ or something.”
David straightened his glasses.
“You guys have wanted posters of me, don’t you?” I asked, not too surprised that they would.
“Just a few. But don’t worry; people don’t pay much attention to them anymore.”
“Great,” I pulled my hair back and slipped on the hair tie. “Why are you so keen on protecting me?”
“What do you mean?”
“You said you won’t let anything happen to me, not we,” I pointed out.
“If I said we, that would include Will and I don’t think he wants to help protect you.”
“I see. Speaking of which, how do I know he won’t betray you guys? That he won’t go off and tell someone about me?”
“He won’t.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“I’m sure. He talks a big game but he wouldn’t go against Rik’s wishes.”
“For your sakes, I hope you are right.”
“Well then,” David grabbed a stack of cards. “What game shall we play next? I’m sick of draw.”
I thought of a game worth mentioning. “We haven’t tried strip poker yet.”
Startled, David fumbled the cards and scattered them all over the floor.
“Draw it is,” I helped him pick the cards up.
Chapter 10
I watched as the planet Valle became closer and clearer through the space-screen. I thought of all the possible things that could go wrong while I was down there. All the different ways I could die. I had heard stories of generals in the past who tried to lead attacks on the old Second Republic capital. They never got past the asteroid belt before they were all killed. The P.A.E. had many checkpoints and many soldiers who made sure the Pandronan Empire never got to their planet. None of the generals now ever attempted it, not until we got word of the attack on Ttkas. It was a lucky break for all of us. I wondered if that mission was underway and whether or not Rik had lied about it. I had been meaning to ask him but I doubted he would tell me the truth either way.
We landed in one of the barely intact space-ports Valle provided. I didn’t know exactly where we were on the planet since things had changed from the maps of the Second Republic but I presumed we were around the Old Capital Palace, where the representatives and senate had all met to discuss things going on with their planets years ago. Rik had said the room the keys opened was in the Second Republic Library, which I recalled stood near the Old Capital Palace. The once massive buildings that towered high above the city floors were now crumbling and needing much repair. Not many of the taller buildings stood anymore and those that did didn’t look like they would for much longer.
“Are you ready?” David approached me.
“As ready as I will ever be,” I turned to face him and grabbed the cloak he offered. Damn cloak.
“You remember the plan?” he questioned as we entered the corridor.
“I try to stay hidden in the cloak and not get spotted,” I answered simply.
“I meant the story.”
“I doubt if I will talk, David.”
“Just let me hear it,” he persisted.
I sighed. “I a
m a rogue from Garvner. I am shy and don’t trust people. The only person I trust is you so I stay near you. No one knows about you all going to Anosira.”
“Correct.”
“I still don’t see what the lie is in that story,” I commented.
“The lie is us not going to Anosira,” he explained, not realizing the sarcasm of what I had said.
“Ah. How do you know that no one knows you went to Anosira?”
“Amanda checked the wanted posts when we were on Garvner. Nothing was broadcasted about Rik or you.”
“Really? That’s interesting. They are keeping it on the down low then, only Imperial officials will be looking for us.”
He nodded. “Which makes it easier for us.”
“You would think,” I went on. “Why doesn’t Rik want anyone else to know you went to Anosira?”
“Because they would get nosy. It was hard for us to get onto Anosira but we figured out a way. They would want to know how and we would have to tell them how we went behind their backs, found old layouts and, well, you know the rest.”
I nodded as I pulled the hood over my head and followed David down the ramp. The rest of the crew was already waiting.
“Ready?” Rik eyed me, noticing I didn’t look happy about the cloak.
“Why does everyone keep asking me that? Does it matter?” I questioned as I walked pass him. “Now where is the room the keys unlock?”
“This way,” David pointed towards a large building in the distance. “That is the Second Republic Library.”
“Still standing then. Surprised.”
“Yes, it was a monument in its time. People from all over the galaxy would come to see it and all that it held. Now it is mostly deserted with only a few who still visit it from time to time.”
We made our way through the city. I kept my head down and stared at the ground. From just looking at the cracked and un-level sidewalks I could tell the city was in as bad a shape as everyone made it out to be, if not worse. Many of the buildings were destroyed in the Great War between the Pandronan Empire and the Second Republic. All the citizens fled and only those who wanted to keep fighting stayed and formed the P.A.E.
The war never ended for them. They were still fighting for what they believed to be the true rule of the galaxy. The Pandronan Empire didn’t take the planet since it had been so damaged by the war and what was left of the people still fought with all that they had. Instead, they just let the resistance linger until it dissipated with time. They just attacked Class Four ships, ships that carried cargo between planets, and took what they wanted. Sometimes they went after Class Three ships but that never ended well for them. They were a real nuisance actually. Other times they tried to start resistances in cities. We did a good job clearing those out, but they still caused some damage.