by Cheree Alsop
“Yes, Captain,” Straham replied, his voice grave.
Devren left the control room. He paused when the door slid shut and looked at Liora who followed close behind him.
“Any chance I can convince you to stay here? If I remember correctly, the Coalition managed to kill you the last time you dealt with them.”
The memory of her heart stopping after Colonel Lefkin’s torture made her heart skip a beat.
“Not my best moment,” she replied, keeping her tone light. “At least we can hope it’ll be better than that.”
“You’re setting the bar pretty low,” Devren said as they walked down the ramp toward the waiting officers.
“That way it’ll only be uphill,” Liora replied under her breath.
A Gaul with the stars of a major on his shoulders met them at the bottom. Calypsans armed with automatics stood on either side of him. “Devren Metis, I am under orders to escort you to General Stratus’ office.” The Gaul speared Liora with a glare. “You and only you.”
Devren gestured calmly to Liora. “Liora is my Second. She has a right to be at whatever conference the General calls.”
The Gaul opened his mouth to argue, then shut it again and turned.
“Remove their weapons,” he barked at the biggest Calypsan.
The hoofed giant obeyed. He pulled their weapons free with callused fingers and tossed them to a gilled Salamandon.
“We’re expecting those back when we return,” Devren said.
Liora glanced at him, wondering where the sarcasm came from. Perhaps it had always been there, she just hadn’t noticed.
“Follow me,” the Gaul said in his gruff voice when the Calypsan was finished.
The Calypsans fell in on either side of them. Liora felt dwarfed by their escort. It was an intimidation tactic. If the General knew how many Gauls and Calypsans she had fought in her life, he wouldn’t have bothered. As it was, she hoped it meant he didn’t know who she was. The less the events with Colonel Lefkin came up, the better it would be for them.
To her dismay, the first face that met them when they entered the General’s massive meeting room was that of the colonel himself. Other armed officers waited at stations around the room; Liora didn’t see anything but the colonel.
Liora’s steps faltered. Devren must have felt her hesitate because he glanced at her.
“It’s going to be alright,” he whispered. “I won’t let him hurt you. I promise.”
His hand slipped into hers.
The action caught Liora off-guard enough that she stepped forward. The cruel smile that spread across the colonel’s face said he had noticed her hesitation. He crossed his arms in front of his chest.
“Liora Day, I’ve been counting the seconds until we could be together again.”
It took every bit of Liora’s Damaclan training to keep from launching herself at him. Fear, the true, cold tendrils that traced down her spine, spurred the fight or flight of adrenaline through her veins. The man had killed her, actually and intentionally caused her death. Her skin burned as if her nerve endings remembered the pain of the electricity surging through her.
“You won’t lay a finger on her,” Devren said.
“I’ll do whatever I want,” Colonel Lefkin shot back.
“You will not,” General Stratus said from behind the desk at the end of the room.
The colonel’s face paled at the General’s tone.
“But General,” he protested. “These two almost killed me. They attacked Titus. They’re a threat even now.” He glared at Liora. “You can’t trust a Damaclan. She’ll stab you in the back if you so much as look at her wrong.” He gave the General a pleading look. “We have unfinished business, Liora and I. I’d be happy to take her to a private room for questioning if you would allow it. I am extremely efficient at extracting information.”
The General’s tone showed his distaste when he replied, “I’ve heard of your particular skills. I didn’t come halfway across the Macrocosm to let you have your way with young girls.”
The colonel sputtered. “B-but General, don’t let Liora fool you. She’s got a beautiful face, sure, but she can flay you with her eyes. She may look young, but she’s got the heart of a murderer. I’ve lost more men to her than—”
“Shut up, Colonel.”
The man shut his mouth so fast Liora heard his teeth click together.
The General rose from behind his huge mahogany desk. “Don’t mistake camaraderie dictated by office to be a form of friendship, Colonel.” He crossed the room. “I’ve seen the recordings from Titus on the last occasion Liora Day was there. That is the particular reason I have traveled halfway across this blasted Macrocosm like a chenowik on a wild tarlon hunt.”
“General?” the colonel said, his tone one of complete confusion.
The General let out a sigh as if the man’s incomprehension annoyed him to no end. “Colonel, you were accused of despicable actions to the point that circumstances proved necessary we bug any room you had access to.” He glared at the colonel. “Unfortunately, a man of your standing has access to practically every room on Titus, so it required a lot of bugs. Fortunately, our obstinacy paid off. After Liora escaped with the help of her comrades, every recording on Titus was reviewed. Do you know what we found?”
The General motioned and the wall behind him turned into a screen. A view from the corner of the small room in which Colonel Lefkin had tortured both her and Tariq was revealed. Tariq sat cuffed to the chair in the middle of the floor while Liora stood fastened to the loops on the wall.
To Liora’s dismay, the General then proceeded to show the entire torture session. By the end, she couldn’t bring herself to watch. Instead, she studied the General. She had seen unreadable people, but General Stratus beat them all. He watched the screen with his hands behind his back, his face expressionless. She didn’t know if he was happy about it or upset. She told herself that there was no reason the General would be mad besides the fact that the colonel had completed the torture without his express approval. He would be on Colonel Lefkin’s side.
Brandis burst into the torture room and shot the guards. Liora remembered how strangely the sound of the bullets had echoed around the room. She heard Tariq calling her name. The colonel was on the ground with the guns of Brandis’ men aimed at him. Liora was lowered down. She turned away at the sight of them carrying her from the room. She knew soon after that her heart had given out from the stress of pulling Tariq’s torture to her so that it didn’t kill him.
“What do you think about that?” the General asked, his tone level, almost amiable.
The colonel didn’t know how to react. He sputtered, then said, “Well, General, I should have had more guards at the door. The fact that the rebel scum could take Coalition prisoners from the room was something I hadn’t considered. I should have been armed and—”
The General cut him off. “Colonel Lefkin, you are hereby under arrest for the torture and attempted manslaughter of prisoners who should have been under the Coalition’s protection when they were captured on Titus.”
The colonel’s mouth dropped open.
Chapter 12
The General grabbed Colonel Lefkin by the lapels and pinned him against the wall. “Your treatment went so far below the standards of even simple humanity that you revealed a new low I have only seen matched amongst the scum of Pion Seven.” His face drew closer to the colonel’s rapidly growing red one. “You are stripped of rank and position within the Coalition and will go on trial as soon as we return to Titus.”
The General threw the colonel into the waiting hands of the Calypsans.
“Get out of my presence,” the General growled.
“This was all a ruse?” the colonel sputtered.
“This was a necessary ploy to uncover rumored illegal and unethical activities by members of our governing officers. The only way to solidify the case against you was to ensure that one of the many you have tortured survived. I thought we would
be fortunate to find Devren Metis for testimony, but now that we have Liora Day, your trial can go forward.”
At the General’s nod, the Calypsans dragged the protesting colonel toward the door at the other end of the office. Colonel Lefkin struggled in their grips, but couldn’t make any headway in escaping.
“She’s Damaclan scum,” he yelled over his shoulder. “She hid the Omne Occasus; it’s Coalition property!”
The door shut behind him.
The General rubbed his forehead with the appearance of a headache before he returned to his seat. He glanced up and found Liora and Devren staring at him.
“Please, have a seat,” the General offered.
Liora and Devren looked at each other.
“It’s alright,” the General said. “We have a great deal to talk about, but I need to start with the matter at hand.”
Liora let go of Devren’s hand and sat on one of the chairs across the massive table from the General. Devren followed.
“Liora Day, will you sign a complaint against Colonel Lefkin for his ill treatment of you and your comrade….” He paused and glanced at the paper near his hand, “Tariq Donovan?”
“I will,” Liora replied quietly.
The General looked at Devren. “Does Tariq Donovan happen to be aboard your ship? Another testimony would help significantly with this case.”
Devren shook his head. “Tariq died in an explosion saving the Macrocosm.”
His words sounded so casual, yet so important. Liora would never have been able to summarize that moment so succinctly.
The General’s gaze showed his surprise for the briefest moment before the detached expression returned.
“Is that so? Unfortunate. We could have used him in this case.” The General looked at Liora again. “Will you undergo questioning in a trial to ensure that Colonel Lefkin is held accountable for his actions on Titus?”
Liora nodded.
“I need a verbal answer,” the General said. “Your words are being recorded.” He gestured to a small black box in the middle of the desk. It was the only object there besides the papers near his elbow.
“I will,” Liora replied.
Devren sat forward in his chair. “General, as we speak, my crew is sealed inside the engine room of the S.S. Kratos to protect themselves against a hostile takeover.”
The General gave one shallow nod as if the information didn’t surprise him in the least. “Your father would have ordered the same thing. I’m pretty sure he did on a few occasions, actually.”
“He was betrayed.”
The General nodded. “I’ve heard rumors of such a circumstance. Unfortunately, we have no hard evidence to hold against the colonel. But with Liora’s testimony and the recording of the torture session, he won’t escape justice any longer.” He met Liora’s gaze. “I need to ask you about the Omne Occasus.”
“I destroyed it,” she replied. “The orbs are gone, as they should be. It was a trap to allow the spread of a cosmos-wide plague that would have affected planets and all members of mortalkind alike. That is what Tariq died destroying.”
The General watched her for a moment. When he finally nodded, it was with respect. “I am grateful for his sacrifice. His father and I were friends before the death of his mother. It was through his recommendation that I approved Devren Metis and Tariq Donovan’s entries into the Coalition.”
Liora glanced at Devren. The surprise on his face was genuine. “I had no idea.”
The General nodded. “Edron Donovan is a good man, a very good man. I lost track of him for a while after your admission. When you were placed on the Kratos under Captain Metis, I guess he figured he had done what he needed to ensure that his son was taken care of and he joined our ranks again in the administration division.”
Liora spoke up. “General, can I ask a question?”
He nodded. “Of course.”
“Are we prisoners aboard your ship?”
The General rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
“Liora, you have a questionable history with the Coalition. I have reports that you are responsible for the deaths of more than a few of my officers.” He tipped his head to the side. “While my initial reaction was to question these reports in light of your small stature, I have to take into consideration the Damaclan tattoos that mark your skin, and also the footage taken on planet F One Zero Four of the Cetus Dwarf Galaxy showing an individual with the same tattoos taking down numerous Coalition officers. As such, we will detain you for further questioning to be done before a trial of your peers.”
“A trial of her peers?” Devren replied. “Are you going to find a Damaclan jury?”
The General shook his head. “There is no way—”
“Then how is it a trial of her peers?” Devren shot back. “That’s ridiculous. Liora was merely defending my crew. The Coalition turned on us on Colonel Lefkin’s orders.”
“Again, we have no proof of that,” the General pointed out.
“But she saved the Milky Way Galaxy when she destroyed the Omne Occasus and it nearly cost her life,” Devren said with a hint of desperation in his voice. “If it wasn’t for her, you wouldn’t even be here. The moss would be sucking away the life of your precious Titus and the rest of Jupiter’s moons. The Coalition would be nothing more than the memory of an overlord federation unable to unite long enough to do more than argue about the type of currency they should use.”
“That’s not in question here,” the General replied calmly. He lifted a hand and two more Calypsans stepped forward. “Please escort Liora to her cell.”
Her muscles tensed. The General speared her with a look.
“Let me remind you of your crew members on the Kratos. At this time, we are allowing them to remain where they are. If you fight, we will bring them to trial as accessories to your actions. Do you want to see them tried for murder as well?”
Ice ran through Liora’s veins. She rose without another word.
“Liora, you don’t have to do this,” Devren protested.
He stood as well, but at another nod from the General, two Calypsans pushed him back into his seat.
“We’re not through, Captain,” the General said.
Liora didn’t want to leave him there, but the thought that fighting would bring the rest of the Kratos crew to answer for her crimes made her follow the Calypsans out the door. She was led down another hallway into a room where she was searched more thoroughly before being escorted into a bare room without so much as a bench. The door slid shut behind her. After pacing around the room so many times she lost track, Liora sunk to a crouch against the far wall.
She couldn’t stop thinking about the crew. The thought of them waiting sealed in the engine room without knowing what was going to happen was nearly unbearable. She wondered if Devren was alright. Her thoughts strayed back to the reassuring feeling of his hand in hers. It hadn’t felt awkward, and perhaps that was what surprised her so much. Instead, it had felt right, like his reassurance was something normal. It had felt the same way during their training session when they settled into a smooth rhythm of blocks and punches, winding around each other in a fierce dance, laughing, teasing.
Thoughts of Tariq rose to her mind. What would he say?
She countered the question with what would he say about what? They hadn’t done anything.
That was the truth. So Devren helped her work through the guilt she felt at Tariq’s death. She was there for him the same way. Yet she had left him alone in the General’s office. After the things Colonel Lefkin had done, even with the General’s promise that he would get the proper punishment for his crimes, she didn’t trust any member of the Coalition that wasn’t impaled on the knife she was so aware was gone from her sheath.
The door slid open and a man stepped inside. He waited for it to close again before he met her gaze.
“Liora Day?”
She looked him up and down. He carried his gun like a seasoned veteran, not a rookie who entered a room
with the safety on planning to ready the weapon when the prisoner attacked instead of before. His finger rested beside the trigger, tapping quietly as though her lack of response bothered him.
“Are you Liora Day?”
There was something familiar about him. She couldn’t put her finger on whether it was his stance, his eyes, or the line of his jaw. Whatever it was, her instincts whispered that she should trust him.
“I’m Liora Day.”
Relief showed in his gaze. “Liora, come with me.”
She rose warily. “Where are we going?”
“To your ship,” he replied. “You and Devren need to get out of here.”
He put his hand to the panel beside the door and the door slid open. He checked both directions, then motioned for her to follow him.
She hesitated at the door. “Why are you doing this?” she asked.
“I’m a friend of Devren’s. He’s waiting for us outside the landing bay. He refused to go any further unless I came back for you.” He shrugged and gave a wry smile. “I can’t argue with that.”
Liora stared at him. The smile. It was Tariq’s smile.
She made herself ask, “Are you related to Tariq Donovan?”
He nodded, pushing his dark hair off his brow with the back of his hand. “I’m his father, why?”
Liora shook her head. She couldn’t find the words to speak.
“It’s clear,” Edron said. “Let’s go before the sweep comes back.”
Liora followed him up the hallway. Edron had beat Tariq, causing fractures and pain to the point that Devren’s parents had adopted him into their own home. Edron had disappeared shortly after that. It was all she knew about him. Tariq had seldom spoken of him. As much as Liora’s heart had gone out to the thought of a small boy raised under a heavy hand, she had grown up beneath Obruo’s staff of needles and various methods of torture designed to make her fail. She wondered why being raised Damaclan made that alright, when being raised human had turned such actions into cruelty.