by Lesa Corryn
"Isn't that your job, engineer? If you don't know where a corridor processor is, then perhaps you are on the wrong ship." Her words harsh again, like miniature daggers stabbing me.
"Yes, ma'am, excuse my impertinence," I said. Of course I knew where the unit was. Any rookie out of Academy knew where a hall light processor was, but with those fierce eyes penetrating my every thought and action, it was all I could muster.
Defeated and disappointed, I marched off down the hall, knowing that she had forgotten me. But, then she called out, her syrupy voice risen with curiosity.
“Don't I know you from somewhere?” she asked. I turned to find her stepping out from the door frame, her eyes scanning me up and down. “Your arm, why does that seem familiar?” Joy rose, she might have remembered our encounter in one of Athena's atriums. But soon it washed away like the coming tide. “You started a fight a few days back?” she asked. He voice grew stern again.
“I, uh,” I stuttered. I took a deep breath, my arm was stiff with regret. “Yes, ma'am.”
“That was how you pulled your muscle, huh?” she said. Her words flowed together, woven from end to end, which usually sounded sweet and melodic. But at that moment, it sounded like a fiery slur. “Your fight could cost the crew's lives. Do you not realize how important our mission is?”
“Yes, ma'am,” I began, but she stormed back into her office, the swishing door closing behind her. Her words on Athena rang in my ears, “What ever your injury is, make sure it does not endanger the crew.”
“Yes, ma'am, never,” I whispered to the silent corridor.
And so, in attempt to not appear like a complete fool, I returned to the hall with my toolset and dressed in my engineer's work jumper to fix a processor that didn't need fixing. However, I discovered that the unit was right next door to her office and on good days she may leave and pass me by. Given I never say a word to her nor does she even look at me, but still I get a chance to see her.
There are now 24 tally marks in the door, today will be attempt number 25. Today, though, she appears to be having a very important meeting with Captain Margo Gith and Commander Drayo Nemis. They have been having many meetings recently, most likely concerning the numerous attacks in Sector L-47. Which incidentally was where our cruiser now sat. If they found out I heard anything, I would surely be court martialed. I couldn't help it though, Allouette was the most renowned tactician in the Galaxian fleet. Knowing that someone like her could get where she is, gives me the confidence to push my pathetic arm to the limit. I needed to hear her.
"We need something new Allouette, something this galaxy has never seen before," said Nemis.
"They know what we are going to do even before we do it, we're losing men and women, who aren't even given the opportunity to defend themselves," said Gith.
"I don't know what else to give you," Allouette responded, "I have pulled out every trick in the book and whatever trick I know that isn't in the book." There was a long pause, I stopped soldering the red wire back to the multiplexor and leaned slightly closer to the vent. "It's like they know before hand what we are going to do."
"We have no evidence that this race is telepathic,” said Gith. “Their first attacks on local colonies were unorganized and almost disoriented. They seemed to shoot, just to shoot as if ignorant to who or what they were attacking. They can't be telepathic.”
"I know," said Allouette. Her words laced with a sense of knowing, a dark understanding she feared to admit.
"You think there's a spy," retorted Nemis.
"Drayo," said Gith sharply.
"No, he's right, I think we do have a spy and I think it's someone on this ship," said Allouette. Her voice was strong, I could just imagine her rising to her feet and her hands tightly clenched in fists, commanding the room.
"Allouette, I have led this ship for nearly 20 years. Understand that claiming that someone on my crew could possibly be a spy is an outrage," said Gith. Her voice was just as strong. She was tall for an Earth woman and could easily stare down Allouette, who was part Bendalurian, a race descendant of felines. But, Allouette would not give in. She's seen worse, fought worse.
"I never said it was someone in your veteran crew." Allouette's voice lightened though a soft growl still resonated in her words. "This race is new, yes it's possible that someone has been feeding them information for years now, but their tactics don't show that." I nearly soldered my finger to Hera's interface, my body leaning closer and closer to the air vent.
"Until six months ago, the attacks were random. They were devastating, but that was because they were so quick, all at once, and like you said unorganized. At first we thought it was a new elite battle system. A new race seeking to destroy us. Our ignorance caused us to fumble and Hera's first contact, well we know how that ended." Silence fell in the room and seeped out of the vent. Even in the corridor, I could not hear the hum of Hera's breath. Quiet, like the silent white figures that floated from one medical bunk to another, six months ago. A chill rose up my spine and my arm ached.
“But now that I've had the time to review all the encounters from that first month, we've learned that their attacking method was juvenile. We could have swatted them away like bothersome insects, had they not had the element of surprise. And after leaving Athena with my new knowledge I felt confident we could do that. But they've changed. They are organized and their attacks now have clear targets. They are a foreign race getting intelligence about our ships, our technology, even our battle strategies, from somewhere. And I think I know where.”
The air vent went silent again. Nothing but the steady cold hum of the processed air circulating through the hall. Dry and empty, torturing my ears with its stubborn nothingness. I strained for the softest sign of a word said, a whisper uttered. My whole body tensed in anticipation and my right arm could not hold out.
"Who?" said Gith. Her voice was soft and stern, Allouette's choice of words may make or break her relationship with Gith and the fleet. I held my right arm tight, massaging the muscles, leaning closer to the vent, hanging on every word.
"Doesn't it seem odd that right when we left Academy with the new recruits, the attacks made by the new race changed," said Allouette. Her voice rang with wisdom, commanding the room once again. "One particular recruit has been seen near my office on numerous occasions working on a hall processor."
Oh no, I thought. I stumbled back to the unit and scanned the progress I had made. I was only halfway done putting it back in order. I still had to reconnect all the heat sensor inputs, there were nearly twenty in the hallway. I reached for the wires and found that my right arm wouldn't move.
"How often do you think a processor needs work done? Once a year tops, yet he's out there almost every week. Right by my office."
Okay, breathe, think, I can do this one handed if I just breathe, I told myself. I began to use my left hand to carefully remove all the inputs from the multiplexor. It would be difficult to get such a tiny wire placed back into the right port with one hand, but I had to do it, if they found me out here...
"Is this engineer out there now?" Gith's voice was low, but the sound of a creaking chair as she rose was not. They were coming.
Blue with red here, blue with green here, no wait, there, my mind scrambled. It was bad enough that my right arm was shot, my left hand was trembling, shaking, quivering more and more with every passing second.
And then the point of the officer's gun was cold against my skull.
Chapter 4
Alarm
"Step away from the unit and put both hands in the air."
I stepped back, raising my left arm. Sweat dripped down my forehead, the salty water burning in my eyes.
"I said raise both hands," Allouette shouted. She pressed the beam gun further into my skull, striking me hard with its tip.
"I can't," I said. My words were as shaky as my hand, meek and pitiful. "My right arm was damaged in Academy and right now it has locked up."
For a moment the
re was silence, except for the steady electronic beeps of Gith's Companion, a personal CPU with a direct line to Hera. She was looking up my records.
"He's telling the truth, he received a severe plasma gas burn in his last year of Academy. Doctor's report states that it's only partially functional and prone to spasms as well as paralysis," said Gith.
"What shall we do with him Captain," said Nemis with a hint of excited anticipation in his voice. "Throw him in the brig or should I spend some time with him in the interrogation chambers."
Drayo Nemis was full Alladian, a reptilian race with a strong taste for blood. Ever since the treaty was made 10 years ago between the Alladians and the Galaxian Union, Alladian soldiers have become the most feared members of the fleet. Nemis having gained such a respected position so quickly after the treatise is a testament to how fierce of a warrior he is.
"Captain Gith, if it is all right by you, I would like to interrogate him," said Allouette.
"Lieutenant, that's not your place," demanded Nemis. “Being in charge of security, I should...”
"Being the one he's been spying on, I should be the one who interrogates him," Allouette interjected.
"Don't let your ego soar too high there Allouette, you are just a strategist, not the one who has fought in these wars. Until you have tasted blood, you can't claim to have any superiority over me," growled Nemis. I could smell his rancid breath, his nostrils blowing warm air in and out against the nape of my neck.
"That's enough Commander," snapped Gith. Nemis might be a battle worn warrior, but Gith was the real force to be reckoned with. She has been in service for more than 30 years and served on the mission that had ended the war between the Alladians and the Galaxian Union. "Now here's what we are going to do, both you and Lieutenant Pierce, will escort Corporal Thurman here to the interrogation chambers. I have other matters that I need to attend to, but I will meet with you there in two hours to discuss your findings. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Captain," stammered both Allouette and Nemis.
"Good, now get going," ordered Gith.
Allouette directed me down the hall. Gith was standing straight with her hands clenched behind her back, her chin high. She glared down at me with her dark brown eyes. The disgust and anger, penetrating mine.
The hallways all looked the same, cold and white with soft lights that rose a little as we trudged through the corridors. A fleet ship's purpose was purely for military engagements. There was no need for adornments when all members of the ship were to be on the ready for a skirmish or battle. One could get lost in these halls, these pristine ivory shells of nothingness. They offered no comfort, no color, no reassurance. Just uniformity, rigidity, and order. The only character that these halls had been granted was the slight change in light that greeted you as you passed from one hall to the next. A faint glimmer of hope, a sign that you truly do exist.
But then, that glimmer was gone.
The lights dropped and a blaring red alarm flashed in the corridor, accompanied by Hera's mechanical voice, commanding all officers to report to their stations.
"What happened?" asked Allouette. No where did her voice tremble or waver, her question was strictly for information, not reassurance.
"My Companion is down, whatever hit us has fried our internal network," said Nemis.
"A priority in battle is to diminish communication of your enemy, but that is usually just jamming frequencies between fighters and fleet ships. This, this was an attack on an internal unit. But there was no impact so it can't be damaged and the network couldn't have been disrupted by any outside frequencies," said Allouette.
"Someone destroyed the Companion network from the inside," roared Nemis. I didn't realize he had even grabbed on to me until he yanked me up at least one foot off the ground by my right arm, still paralyzed and numb. His eyes rotated around in their fleshy sockets, scanning me. He drew me close. So close that I nearly touched his face and the only air I could inhale was his thick, wet breath.
"Destroying Hera's network seems like a real easy task for an engineer, don't you think Thurman? Maybe not as easy as messing with a hall processor, but even someone with a supposed gimp arm could do that." His breath was foul, smelling of raw meat of some native species from Allad. It curled inside my nostrils and down my throat, pulling at what little food I had in my stomach.
"What's wrong Thurman? Can't stomach the work of a spy? It's easy when you are just destroying lives from behind the scenes, but when you get brought out in the open it’s a little too much to handle." His voice was getting louder and his mouth opened more, taking deep breaths to tame the rage growing within him. The smell was like a cloud encircling my head, I couldn't breath.
"Drayo, that's enough," commanded Allouette, "it’s your breath that's getting to him. Not all of us can handle the reek of raw Gankan meat." Allouette pulled me out of Nemis' grip. To feel her touch, to know she saved me, was the greatest comfort I could ever ask for. That was until her grip tightened and a beam gun was pointed at my head yet again. "Drayo go attend to the soldiers."
"Don't forget Allouette, I'm your superior," growled Nemis.
"And don't you forget that we are under attack and you have hundreds of soldiers' lives on your hands." Nemis contemplated this for a few moments. His small slitted nostrils rose and fell, his dark brown hands clenched and unclenched with every heaving breath. "Fine, if they took down our communication, the attack should be coming shortly. I'll go to deck, Gith is probably already there." Nemis was about to turn, but stopped and looked back at me. In one swift movement he slid forward and grabbed my face from under my chin. His thick sharp claws dug into my cheeks, piercing them. "Allouette, I would have personally preferred to be the one that beat the information out of this sad excuse, but I'll leave that to you."
"And once I find information?"
"A few chambers have an old system hooked up in them in case of emergencies. It is a manual form of communication with a direct line to Hera. As long as the main CPU is still functional we can communicate through that." Allouette must have given some sign of agreement, because Nemis finally released his grip on me and headed towards the deck.
Allouette grabbed my good arm and forced it behind my back, with her other hand she drove the gun into my head, silently but effectively urging me forward. The pristine hallways were now menacing and black as the red lights stabbed the darkness of the corridor. Soldiers were scrambling, some were suiting up for melee combat while others headed to the docking bay to board their fighters for combat outside the ship. None even glanced at Allouette and me.
“I hope you are happy with your results, Corporal,” she muttered. We pushed through the soldiers, heading for a lift down to the interrogation chambers. Her voice close to my ear, tickling it with her light breath.
“Why are you so sure, I've done anything? I promised you on Athena...” I didn't get to finish my sentence. She whipped me across the head with the handle of the gun. My knees buckled, but held me up. My head swam and my eyes moved back and forth as if vibrating from the impact. It was a shallow blow, hitting me enough to make it hurt, but not enough to knock me out.
“You do not have permission to talk,” she growled. The point of the gun found its way back to my skull, jabbing in deep, breaking the skin.
“Then why ask me questions?” I realize my remarks were not only improper for the situation, but also disrespectful considering rank. But, as my head throbbed from the handle blow, as my scalp bled from the sharp point of the gun barrel, as the red lights pounded against my eyes, my sense of duty melted away. She gave me a beacon of light to follow after the accident. Nothing is more disheartening than getting close to your goal, only to find the light is burning you.
This time I dodged the blow, preparing myself the second I felt the tip of the gun leave my head. In retaliation she curled my arm tighter behind my back and thrust me forward down the hall. “There will be enough time for chit chat when we reach the brig.” Her voi
ce rang in the now deserted hallways. Her urging forward became increasingly aggressive, the gun more and more forceful.
She's enjoying this, I thought. All those times I pitied her, reading through the articles at the archives in Academy, studying her valedictorian speech, promising her to protect the fleet. I would not come this close and let the fire burn me again.
“You don't know what you are doing,” I shouted. I twisted my body around, throwing all my weight in the motion. She held tight to my arm and as I turned, her body slammed into the wall of the corridor. Shocked by the impact, she dropped the gun and I wrenched my arm from behind me, bracing my forearm against her chest. “Just listen to me now.” She was naïve. Nemis was right, she knew nothing of battle. With her off guard and pinned against the wall, I took the chance to plead my case.
“Back at Academy, you met me, you knew about my...”
No one ever let's me finish.
Her initial shock, if there was any shock to begin with, had worn away and her hand reached up past my arm and slapped me across the cheek. Blood from Nemis' hold was still trickling down my chin in slow threads of red, when Allouette's long, sharp nails left four thick gashes to join them. I knew nothing of battle either.
The cuts burned. The blood seeped hot down my cheek. My skin numb with pain. Though half human, Allouette's nails were strong and sharp like her feline ancestry. I fell to the floor, the impact shaking the whole ship.
“What the hell?” I sputtered. Another impact and the ship rumbled, a loud roar like thunder coming from somewhere within Hera.
“We've been hit,” she said. Her voice for the first time, hinted to a string of fear pulling within her. Just a string though. She seemed to overcome it rather quickly as she launched her boot at my gut.
My left arm was pinned beneath my body and the right still remained frozen by my side. There was no protection as the boot collided against my stomach. I coiled in, the pain spreading through my abdomen.