It was the Uligart Councilmember who spoke next. “I believe that, after watching that correspondence with Captain Hodge, the last one we received before her death, that you can imagine our interest in this situation. We have discussed this issue for the past few hours, which is a great length of time for men as old as we are. We have come to the following conclusion: we believe that Captain Hodge’s concerns were valid. It is the only way we can account for the Captain, Horace, and Vangore all dying in a single attack on the Revolution. If Captain Xiao truly did commit the murders of three more Officers of the Fleet in an attempt to cover his first murder, than he is growing careless. A careless man with deadly power is apt to continue using that power for ill gains. We don’t believe that he has stopped committing murders. In fact, he may very well be choosing his next target as we speak.”
Keryn’s thoughts jumped to Iana, who had hidden onboard her vessel, fearing for her life and claiming Yen was trying to kill her. Her claim no longer seemed so far fetched.
The Pilgrim Councilmember, her face full of the wrinkles of age, finished for the High Council. “Magistrate Riddell, we are tasking you with a mission most severe and important to the continued success of the Fleet. We are tasking you with killing Captain Xiao for the good of the Alliance.”
The Councilmembers let the declaration hang in the air as Keryn absorbed their request. Her heart stopped beating at their words, unable to believe that they would choose so drastic an approach to dealing with someone they perceived to be a threat. More importantly, Keryn couldn’t fathom why they would choose someone who once had an emotional attachment to Yen to be his hired assassin. Regardless of whether or not she felt the accusations were true, Keryn wasn’t sure if she was strong enough to follow through with blatant murder. Killing an enemy would always be easier than killing a friend.
The Pilgrim Councilmember continued. “We have already conceived a plan that will succeed, but we need your support. We understand the depth of the request that we have thrust upon you, which is why we do not expect an answer soon. However, we feel that you must move against Captain Xiao during the next conflict. If his ship is destroyed during the battle, then he will no longer be a threat to the Alliance. Think about our request, but think quickly. We will be expecting an answer soon.”
The screen faded back to black with the symbol of the High Council emblazoned in the center of the console. Eventually, that too faded, leaving Keryn alone to her thoughts. She shook, feeling cold all over and numbness spreading through her limbs. She wanted to leave her chair, but feared that her legs would not support her.
“How can they ask me to do this?” she asked the air, knowing only one other entity heard her cry.
Because if he is allowed to live, the Voice replied, you could be the next to die after Iana. Maybe he’ll kill us because I insulted him during our meeting. Or maybe it will be because you are granting amnesty to his chosen prey. Who knows? Psychopaths rarely make sense to the sane.
“Why me?” Keryn sobbed.
You want a justification for killing your former lover? it asked. Maybe you should walk two doors down the hall and talk to the woman he’s already traumatized. He already tried to kill her. Maybe she will have the answers you seek.
“Iana,” Keryn whispered into the room as she got to her feet. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she left her room and walked down the hall. Stopping in front of Iana’s door, Keryn knocked softly. In her heart, she hoped that Iana wouldn’t answer. The soft padding of feet on the far side of the door told her otherwise.
The door slid open, revealing a worn and exhausted woman. Iana’s blond hair was disheveled and face swollen from crying. Keryn could see the look in her eyes and knew that she didn’t look much better. They stood in silence in the doorway, sharing an unspoken bond of kinship.
“I owe you such a huge apology,” Keryn said finally, choking back the tears that threatened to spill down her face. “I’m so sorry. Please forgive me.”
Her tears started to fall as Iana stepped forward, embracing her tightly. Standing in the doorway of Iana’s quarters, the pair released months of pent up emotion as they sobbed into each others’ shoulders. After minutes had passed, they slowly pulled apart until they were holding hands across the chasm of the doorway.
Softly, Iana started to laugh. “We look like hell, don’t we?” she asked.
Keryn laughed with her. “Yeah, I really think we do.” Reaching up, she wiped away the tears once more before continuing. “Iana, I am truly sorry. If you’re up for it, I really need to hear your story.”
“I’ll pour us something stiff to drink,” Iana replied, suddenly serious.
Keryn followed her inside and sat at the table as Iana poured them both drinks from a clear bottle of liquor. Sitting across from her, Iana sipped her drink as she began telling her story. Keryn finished three drinks and felt lightheaded by the time Iana was done talking, finally finishing with her flight from Yen in the hallway and eventually hiding on board Keryn’s ship. When she was done, they both sat in silence.
“What are we going to do?” Iana asked, seemingly relieved to finally be able to tell someone the truth.
“I don’t know, Iana,” Keryn replied, shaking her head. “I just don’t know.”
CHAPTER 36:
Keryn awoke in a strange bed in a strange room. Groggy and disoriented, she rolled to her side and was surprised to see the mop of blond hair splayed across the pillow beside her. Keryn remembered her long talk with Iana the night before and, knowing that she probably felt as emotionally drained as Keryn did, slipped out of the bed without waking her. Though she looked disheveled from a night full of heavy emotions, Keryn quickly got dressed and left the room, heading back toward her own room. As the door slid open to her quarters, she noticed Adam sitting at the table.
He eyed her curiously before he spoke. “You look like hell, love.”
Keryn nodded. “I’m fine, just still exhausted even after sleeping through the night. Iana and I had a lot of catching up to do and a lot of tears to share.”
“Is everything alright?” he asked. Keryn could tell that he wanted to pry, but wouldn’t.
“Everything’s fine now,” she answered as she walked over to pour herself a cup of coffee. “We just had a whole lot to discuss. Girl stuff, mostly, you know how it is.” Noticing his look of skepticism, she quickly changed the subject. “So, I’m surprised to see you still awake after such a long shift on the bridge.”
As if on cue, Adam yawned loudly. “I’m beat. I was just worried about you after I got home and saw the place untouched. After everything that’s been going on, I have a tendency to fear the worst.”
“You really are a sweetheart,” she said as she leaned over, kissing him softly on the cheek.
“It’s why you keep me…” he was interrupted as red fire warning lights illuminated the room and sirens sounded throughout the hall. The screeching siren pierced through their door and drove a spike into Keryn’s tired mind.
“That noise is Gods awful!” she yelled to be heard over the sound. Activating her radio, she called to the bridge. “Where is there a fire?”
Alcent’s voice called back. “It’s nothing serious. We’re shutting down the sirens now.” As he finished, the lights and noise ceased.
“What the hell was that?” Adam asked, activating his own radio.
“It was a fire, but it was quickly contained,” Alcent answered.
“What was the location of the fire?” Keryn asked dubiously. She knew how dangerous an uncontrolled fire could be onboard a ship. With only a limited amount of breathable – and flammable – oxygen and all the explosive rounds, fires could be deadly in space.
“The location was the science wing, laboratory three,” he replied.
Keryn and Adam turned to one another. “Wyck,” they both said as they leapt to their feet and hurried toward the door.
They reached the lift quickly and tapped their feet impatiently as the elevator slowly too
k them upward, toward the science wing. Used mainly for the Terran’s biological research, the science wing was a converted wing of living quarters on board the ship. After its discovery, the new crew had added some modifications, making it the optimum area to conduct their research into the Deplitoxide cure. Wyck and Tora had been working in the lab most of the night, which left Keryn dreadful of any fires that might have broken out.
As the elevator doors opened on the floor, however, laughter flooded from down the hall. Keryn came around the corner just in front of Adam to find both Wyck and Tora collapsed on the floor, giggling like children to one another. A group, mostly technicians with a mild amount of scientific knowledge, gathered around the pair. On the floor, both the young geniuses were covered in soot, their hair unkempt and singed from an obvious burst of flames. Undaunted, though, they continued to laugh as they shared insights into their obvious failure.
“Next time,” Tora said as she was overcome with laughter again, “we probably shouldn’t be looking down on the results when we mix the chemicals.”
“Oh yes,” Wyck added sarcastically, laughing as well. “Mixing the chemicals with our faces a mere foot away was the only mistake we made tonight.”
“How do you feel about robots?” she asked, trying to sober up from her fits of laughter.
“They’re not really my type,” Wyck replied, laughing again. Tora punched him hard in the arm and humor fled from his face.
“I’m being serious here,” she said, feeling little sympathy as he rubbed his bruised limb. “What if we designed a robot that could mix the chemicals remotely? I think we could make it out of one of the loaders, but we’d have to cannibalize it for parts.”
Wyck still sulked, but his scientific curiosity got the better of him. “Combine that with the blast shield off the front of one of the fighters, and I think we could conduct the experiment again under much more controlled circumstances.”
Keryn cleared her throat loudly as she and Adam stood above the pair. Looking up in surprise, they both scrambled to their feet. Though they were both still smeared with ash and parts of their clothing had obviously caught fire in the blast, the dominant look on both their faces was embarrassment.
“So,” Keryn said, drawing out the first word, “what experiment?”
Their faces brightened as they both tried to explain at the same time. Having only worked together over a short time, the two technological geniuses were now inseparable. Adam held up his hand, stopping them both in mid sentence.
“One at a time or I can’t understand you,” he said, talking to them both like a patient father. He quickly turned his open hand into an accusing point. “Speaking of understanding, keep all your scientific jargon out of the conversation.”
“We think we found your answer,” Tora started, elbowing Wyck in the ribs when he started to talk too.
Keryn looked around the corner at the destroyed laboratory. White circles stood in stark contrast on the blackened table, marking spots where beakers and plates had once stood. Shattered glass lay strewn throughout the room and was noticeable in the areas that the flame-retardant foam hadn’t covered the floor. Both chairs were ruined; their foam backs had obviously caught fire, smoldering long after the rest of the fire was extinguished.
“That’s my answer?” she asked.
“Well, not so much now, but it was,” Wyck answered, stepping in front of Tora before she could explain. “What that was just prior to the explosion was a mixture of Deplitoxide and a new chemical formula we devised using the Terran data we recovered as a baseline.”
“The counteragent for Deplitoxide is an explosive chemical?” Adam asked, arching his eyebrow inquisitively.
“Well, not exactly,” Tora said embarrassed, reasserting herself in the conversation. “The Terran data was woefully incomplete. If we had followed their guidelines exactly, we wouldn’t have managed a real solution to the problem. So, we made a few modifications to their formula, adding some elements that we thought might make it more effective.”
Keryn stared into the scorched room as a plan began to formulate in her mind. “Can you do it again?” she asked.
“Do what again?” Wyck asked.
“Can you make it explode again?” she clarified.
The two smiled. “Exploding isn’t a problem. We were worried you wanted us to find a way to make it not explode!”
“No, I like it just the way it is,” Keryn said. She turned toward the beaming pair. “What do you need from us?”
Wyck looked around at the gathered workers. “Well, we have enough of a labor pool to get the necessary equipment up here, so that’s not really a necessity.”
“Um…” Tora added. “Would it be possible to turn of the fire alarm?”
Keryn smiled. “We’ll get right on that. You two, get back to work and call me as soon as you have it ready to be presented to me, Adam, and Alcent.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Wyck replied. He turned away and started barking orders to the workers.
“What are you thinking?” Adam asked as they made their way back to the lift.
“I’ll explain as we walk,” she replied as they climbed into the elevator.
As the lift descended through the ship, Keryn explained in brief detail the extent of her plan. Adam laughed at her as she used her hands to demonstrate aerial maneuvers and the necessary strategies for the bulky Alliance Cruisers. By the time the elevator stopped and the doors opened, Keryn had finished describing her plan.
“And you thought of all of that after listening to Wyck and Tora?” he asked.
“More or less,” she said distractedly as she continued refining her plan in her head.
“That’s why I love you,” Adam said, kissing her on her forehead.
Though she tried to focus on their new plan, her thoughts kept drifting to High Council’s message. She wasn’t supposed to tell anyone of their mission, but she wasn’t sure if she was strong enough to do it alone. Keryn stopped. Adam made it a few more steps before he realized she was no longer following.
“Keryn?” he said.
“Adam,” she said, trying to read his body language as she continued. “Please hear me out before you say anything.” More than ever, Keryn worried that Adam and Yen’s friendship would get in the way of her mission.
“You’ve known me for a while now,” she began. “We’ve become so close, even though you’ve seen me do some horrible things that would scare away most men. But every time I’ve ever done something bad – like killing a man or torture – I’ve always felt it was justified. Most of all, I knew that you thought it was justified. I never worried about you leaving me. What if we ran into a situation where you didn’t think killing someone was justified? Even if it was necessary, could you support me if I suddenly decided to kill someone like Alcent or Wyck or Tora?” Keryn lowered her voice until her tone became almost sheepish. “Would you stay with me, even if you didn’t support me?”
“Keryn,” Adam said, his brow furrowed in confusion. “I know you well enough to know that you would never harm one of your friends. On Othus, you did everything you could to save Penchant, even being willing to risk your own life to save his. I can’t imagine a situation where I wouldn’t support you. Hell, I don’t know where this is coming from, but I will always support you. I don’t know why you would even think I might leave.”
Keryn nodded as they began walking toward the bridge again. She stole glances in his direction, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that he wouldn’t have been so quick to agree if he knew the truth.
It took over a day before Wyck notified everyone that they were now ready for a more effective display of their new counteragent. Alcent joined Keryn and Adam as they entered the newly redesigned laboratory. The scorched interior had been removed and replaced by clear blast shields surrounding a collection of mechanical contraptions. The mechanical arms extended over a table placed in the center of the room, on top of which rested two Petri dishes full of a black substance.
Wyck and Tora hurried over to their side as they entered. “I really think we have something great here,” Wyck began, skipping the mundane formalities.
Tora placed a patient hand over his. “First of all, welcome. Secondly, before we begin the demonstration, you really need a little background information.” Tora led them toward the blast shields, through which she pointed toward the two dishes. “We’ve isolated two samples of Deplitoxide in the dishes on the table. As you know, the big D is an organic compound created from plants on Beracus. On a cellular level, the compound absorbs direct and ambient heat from its surroundings, emitting a dark tar.”
“Basic Deplitoxide 101,” Wyck interjected, smiling at his own humor.
“What you may not know,” Tora said before Wyck could continue, “is what the Deplitoxide does with all that heat. If I can draw your attention to the screen, I can explain a little clearer.” A monitor to their right flickered to life, showing a microscopic view of a collection of cells. Within each of the cells, a reddish mass swirled just beneath their surfaces. “When the big D absorbs the heat, it converts it to a nucleic mass, trapped within a thick outer membrane. The superheated mass jumpstarts a process within the cell that results in cellular fission. The two new cells, having shared the superheated mass as well, have now cooled and are now capable of absorbing even more increasing amounts of surrounding heat. Using this process, the Deplitoxide is able to organically spread and, as we’ve seen, cover an entire sun.”
“Fascinating,” Alcent said, “but I’m not quite sure where you’re heading with all this.”
“That was just the background information,” Wyck retorted. “The real fun begins when we introduce our special sauce. I’ve named our chemical Torazine.”
Tora blushed as Wyck told everyone the name. Quickly, she tried to change the subject. “If you look back at our setup,” Tora explained, “you’ll see that we have two mechanical arms perched above each of the dishes. At the tips of the arms, small droppers filled our… of Torazine are ready to inject the chemical into the Deplitoxide. I think you’ll be impressed with the results.”
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