“What?” Th’arn shouted through the view panel. “How would the Emperor know that we were preparing for an attack? That information was only known by certain individuals in our group. We have an imperial spy in our ranks!”
“So it would appear,” agreed No’tok. “It can’t be anyone on my ship. I never informed anyone of our mission. I only gave the coordinates to the navigation officer to set a course. Nothing else.”
“I personally recruited everyone that knew of the plan,” Th’arn said, his jaw tightened. “That makes this betrayal very personal.”
"Perhaps a communication was intercepted?” No’tok thought aloud. He was nervous seeing Th'arn this upset. If Th'arn believed him to be the source of the leak of information, true or not, it would be a very bad situation to be in. No'tok knew his survival meant staying in Th'arn's favor.
"We must figure it out quickly before the others find out that we have a problem," Th'arn said with a slight trace of fear in his voice.
No’tok reassured him. “We will, Legate. We will find the treasonous fool and deal with him or her accordingly.”
“Return to V’drell Prime immediately,” Th’arn ordered. “Report to my office as soon as you are on the surface. We have much to discuss.” Th'arn ended the comms signal, and the screen went blank. I must find out how K'oron learned of our plans!
***
The pain was getting better. Danielle was able to sit up a lot easier now than when she first woke up after surgery. She thought it had only been a day, but time was hard to keep track of without a clock. She had a small window, but in space, it was always night, so it didn't help in that respect. She had asked K'oron for a mirror the previous day so she could see how bad the injuries to her face actually were. She didn't look when he brought it though. She wanted to wait until she was alone. This morning, if it was in fact morning, she decided it was time. She raised the polished metal in front of her face. Her left cheek was dark black with some shades of blue and purple mixed in, in contrast to her otherwise pale skin. She gently touched it. Yep, that's broken. She had various small scrapes on her forehead from the strap they had used to restrain her with. She had braided her auburn hair into a regulation ponytail before leaving the Expedition, but now much of it had worked loose. Her left eye was reddish, making her iris appear a richer green than normal. The right side of her face was dirty but unharmed. The only blemish was a small scar just under her right eyelid that she received during her second day at the academy during physical training. She heard a swish sound as the door opened, and K'oron entered. She quickly laid the mirror down.
"How are you feeling today?" he asked. "Up for a little bit of company?" He walked back out the door and came back pushing a floating chair containing a familiar face.
“I heard there was a lazy bum at this end of the corridor. Should have known it would be you.” Lakeisha laughed, then groaned and held her stomach.
Danielle could barely contain her excitement. “Keisha!”
“Behave yourself,” he cautioned Lakeisha. “I don’t want us having to stitch your guts back in again.” Turning back to Danielle. “Use the intercom and call me if you need anything. I’ll be back in a while.”
After K’oron left the room, Lakeisha awkwardly maneuvered the chair closer to the bed. “I guess I need more practice driving. Maybe that is why the Fleet puts you in the front seat, huh?” When she felt like she was sure no one was listening at the door, her face turned serious. “I’m so glad you are okay. He told me you were shot too. He said you were pretty bad off.”
“I’m okay, just pretty sore,” Danielle replied. “Are they treating you well?”
"I've been through worse," Lakeisha said. "I don't have purple goons trying to beat me to a pulp, and I got some food and a bed. Pretty good set up compared to where we were. All it took was getting shot," she smiled grimly. "Looks like they are treating you pretty good too."
“Yeah,” Danielle agreed, “but I’m not so sure that’s a good thing. K’oron told me that there is a ‘black cape’ on board, and he ordered my treatment. Probably yours too.”
“That makes sense,” Lakeisha said after giving some thought to what she just heard, “and I don’t like it either. Didn’t think the commander that shot me had a change of heart. A ‘Black Cape’, huh? I guess the ghosts are more real than any of us thought.” She leaned closer to the bed, her facing becoming more serious. “If we get a chance, we’ve got to escape and warn the Queen.”
Danielle nodded in agreement. “Absolutely, but you’ll be able to move faster without me. I can’t even get out of bed yet, and we can’t afford to wait. If you get an opportunity, take it.”
Lakeisha shook her head. “I’m not leaving you here, girl.”
Danielle gave her a serious look "I'm not asking, Keisha. That's an order. If you get a chance, go. The Queen needs to know about all of this. We have no idea what anyone outside the QZ knows. They may still think everything is okay. You've got to warn them." Then they heard muffled voices outside the door and changed the conversation to lighter banter.
As the door opened, they heard the end of a conversation K’oron was having with a guard. “…you will notify me immediately.” He walked in the door, pushing an empty floating chair, and parked it against the wall. Then he walked directly to Lakeisha. “Visitation is over for now, both my patients need their rest.” Lakeisha turned her chair around and started moving toward the door.
Danielle called out to her. “Remember what I told you.”
Lakeisha stopped at the door and looked back. “I still don’t like it, but I understand. Hope I can come see you again soon.” She then addressed the guards outside the door. “Alright guys, let’s go back to my room now.”
After Lakeisha left, K’oron pulled the sheet back to change Danielle’s bandages. She turned her head away from him, as he looked at her chest. He began carefully removing the existing gauze and dressing. She felt helpless as this alien man studied her body. She knew he was probably just doing his job, and doubted that he was getting any pleasure from seeing her nude, but it still made her feel violated.
“Did your visit brighten your day?” He pulled the sheet back up over her when he finished applying the clean bandages.
“Yes, thank you,” she replied turning to face him again. “It was nice to see a friendly face.”
“Well, your wound is healing faster than I anticipated,” he told her. “You should be up and able to move on your own in no time. Now for something more pleasant.” He looked at her and smiled. “How would you like to get out of this room for a while?”
Danielle’s face lit up. Heck yes, I want out of here! Her mind immediately began thinking of escape plans. Show me everything on this ship. Give me the grand tour! Her thoughts were filled with hope. If she could see more of the ship layout, it would help her figure out their best method of escape. She realized that her face was betraying the excitement she felt and decided to play it off as being excited to have a change of scenery. “I’d love to! Can you do that? I mean, you’re not going to get in trouble, are you? Yes, I'd love to see something besides these four walls."
K’oron answered. “You’re under my supervision. Just don’t try and escape again, and it will be fine.”
Excited at the prospect of leaving the room, Danielle tried to sit up in bed to quickly and was rewarded with a sharp pain in her upper abdomen from her wound. She winced. “I don’t think that will be a problem right now.”
K'oron helped her into the chair and began pushing her down the corridor. "I wish I could show you better scenery. I wanted to take you up to the battle deck so you could see the stars all around, but the Commander refused. A security risk, I think he said."
Danielle shrugged. “Can’t say I blame him. We did cause a bit of chaos before.”
They reached the end of the corridor and entered a lift. K’oron pushed a button and the lift started moving. When the door opened, they exited the lift into an empty hanger deck. �
��The view isn’t quite as nice from the bay doors, but it should be better than the blank walls of your room.”
“It’s nice, but I need to ask you a question,” Danielle said as her face became serious. “Why are you being so nice to me? We’re enemies. You don’t know anything about me.” In other words, what kind of game are you running here?
K’oron looked out the door at the stars. “Exactly. I don’t know you. So, I have no personal reason to dislike you. If you ever give me such a reason, I promise my attitude towards you will change.”
“Well, you are definitely unique among your people then, based on what I’ve heard of V’drellians,” she said, not sure if she actually believed him. “I’ll try not to change your opinion of me,” she paused and smiled, “unless trying to escape counts.”
K’oron gave her a pleasant look. “Let’s get you out of that chair first, shall we? Now it’s getting late. We should probably get you back to your room.”
They left the hangar deck and followed the same path back to her room. K'oron helped her back into bed. "I'll check in on you again tomorrow."
“See you then,” she replied almost smiling.
***
After leaving Danielle's room, K'oron went to his assigned quarters. He sat down at the small table provided and pulled a device from his pocket. He sat the device on the table and pressed a button. "Log entry. Prisoner 1 suffered projectile damage to the left side of her chest. Projectile missed what we believe is her heart, but did penetrate what we believe is a lung. She is being treated with pain management medication as well as cellular growth accelerators and appears to be healing rapidly. Interesting side note, our cellular growth accelerators seem to have a much stronger effect on Terrans than our people. She should be fully healed in a few days. Responding very well to passive interrogation methods. I expect to see results soon."
K'oron paused before continuing. "Prisoner 2's wounds were relatively minor. No apparent organ damage. Projectile passed through body cleanly. The wound is almost healed, but the prisoner is being administered a mild toxin to stimulate pain receptors to convince her that her wounds are not yet healed. She has been indifferent toward my gestures of kindness, almost acts like she isn't a prisoner. As if this was a normal medical facility, and she a normal patient. Therefore, I would have to say she is not responding to interrogation but is a lesser ranked prisoner, and as such, is inconsequential."
He pressed the button again to pause recording. He sat for a few moments contemplating Lakeisha. She wasn't being receptive, unlike Danielle. He doubted that she would know anything important that Danielle wouldn't also know. She didn't show any signs of fear for her situation, even though a small amount should be evident because of the circumstances. It struck him as odd, but he wasn't familiar with Terran psychology, so perhaps that is normal. Danielle's responses seemed to be more appropriate. With that In mind, he made a decision and pressed the button again. "It may be time to remove Prisoner 2 from the equation."
CHAPTER 6
Gaelon didn't like being summoned. He was First Minister of the Rylan Protectorate, and here he was on Mars acting as an ambassador. The Terran queen sent a request to the Protectorate for a meeting to discuss recent events inside the Quarantine Zone, and Prime Minister Hobarth dispatched Gaelon immediately. I am the second most powerful person in the Protectorate. We should have dispatched a lower level minister as a delegate to handle treaty matters. Although his thoughts were hostile, his outward manner was warm and friendly. He smiled at everyone he passed, as though being here was a great joy. In truth, he couldn't wait to get back home. He hated everything about this world of domed cities on a red desert planet.
The Rylan Protectorate was home to many races of people, including some separatist Terrans who had decided to break with the Commonwealth. Gaelon himself was of Valuvian descent. He was tall, probably close to seven feet, but very thin. He couldn't have weighed more than a hundred pounds, including his robes. His skin was a soft pink, and his eyes were at least twice the size of human eyes and solid orange in color. Valuvians had no hair on their heads, only a narrow ridge of scales slightly darker in shade than the rest of their skin that ran the middle of their head, then down their backs.
His aide was a hulking Androsan. The Androsans were a race of very large and skilled fighters. Their skin varied in shade from light gray to onyx black and was tough enough to deflect glancing blows from bladed weapons without leaving a scratch. In addition, their skin was rough and scaly which gave it the appearance of stone, which had led to their unofficial designation as 'living rocks'. Androsans were usually mercenaries, serving in armies for money, power, or both. Gaelon's aide served not only as a messenger but also has a bodyguard. This was the only person in the entire universe that Gaelon trusted with his life and his secrets.
Upon entering the palace, he was met by a member of the Queen's staff who would escort him the remaining way. As they began walking, the first thing he noticed was the large statue of a man. As he walked by, he noticed the plaque on the base of the statue. It read, "William, First King of the Terrans". He noted the small frame of the man represented in stone. Not exactly the look of a man who builds empires. Beyond the statue was a hallway, and a set of double doors at the end. The staff member opened the doors, and he was ushered into a meeting room with a long table. Probably where she has formal meetings with her advisors. He thought as he walked in. He counted twenty-two chairs, eleven on each side. So many advisors. She must need a great deal of help to play the role of queen. Seated on one side in the middle were the Terran Queen and one of her officers. Gaelon and his aide walked toward the seats across from them. At his approach, the Queen and her officer both stood up.
"First Minister," Queen Constance welcomed her guests, "thank you so much for taking the time to come here today. Allow me to present Fleet Admiral Hawthorne, the senior military officer of the Commonwealth." Hawthorne made a quick bow of his head. "I hope your trip was uneventful?"
“Nothing worth mentioning, Your Majesty,” Gaelon replied with a smile as he sat down. “Though I do wish my journey to your lovely world was under better circumstances. This is my personal aide, Hardaath." Hardaath offered a deep bow. "Do you have any new information on the attack against your ship? Has your reconnaissance of the Quarantine Zone revealed anything?”
Queen Constance and Admiral Hawthorne took their seats. “No First Minister,” she answered, “it has not. We’ve lost numerous people trying to find out what is happening, but we still are no closer to an answer. Have your people discovered anything on their borders with the Quarantine Zone?”
Gaelon shook his head. “We’ve sent three scout parties inside the Zone near our border, but they have encountered nothing on visual or sensor scans. It appears that these occurrences are only happening along your borders."
"This is maddening!" The Queen's frustration was beginning to show. "What is out there that is destroying my ships? We've only been able to get a few sensor readings, and those were only from the first attack. I'm not going send any more ships into harm's way until I know what were are dealing with."
Gaelon forced himself not to smile. She is weak. So easily she would lose her composure in front of a foreign dignitary? Pathetic. “If Your Majesty would care to give me a copy of your sensor data, I can send it our scientists and perhaps we can help analyze it?” Gaelon offered. “I believe the Terran expression is ‘Two heads are better than one’? We would be pleased to help in any way we can.”
"That would be greatly appreciated," the Queen replied gratefully. “I’ll have the information sent over to your ship immediately. Please let us know what your findings are. It is a bad feeling when the wolf comes knocking at your door."
"Wolf, Your Majesty?" Galeon seemed confused.
"It's an old story told to children in our world about three pigs and a wolf that comes to eat them," the Queen clarified.
"Ah, I see," Gaelon replied, the meaning behind her statement lost to hi
m. How barbarous! Telling children stories of animals eating each other! Despicable creatures, these Terrans. "I will forward the data as soon as I return to my ship. With your permission, I will take my leave and return to Rylos," he said as he and his aide stood. Queen Constance and Hawthorne stood up as well.
“Thank you very much for your time, First Minister.” said the Queen. "Do have a safe trip home."
Gaelon and his aide left the room and started walking back down the hallway toward the statue and the exit. Once outside, Gaelon turned to Hardaath, "See that their data is analyzed immediately. I want to know everything they picked up on their scans."
Hardaath gave and bow. “At once, First Minister.”
***
Danielle was lying in bed resting. She looked over at the bag of purple fluid being pumped into her. It was the second one of the day. She decided that the easiest way to tell how many days had passed was simply to ask K'oron to tell her when his first visit of the day was. He had agreed to provide her with that information. It had been three days since she first woke up after being shot and the major surgery to save her life. K'oron told her that the purple fluid was some kind of medicine that sped up the healing process when she had asked him originally, and that seemed to be the case. She could definitely tell a difference in how she felt as each day passed. The bandages that had originally covered almost her entire chest now were much smaller. She could move on her own power now without the need of the floating chair, although K'oron did leave it in the room in case she felt like she did need it.
She decided that she was tired of lying in bed, so she carefully got up and walked over to a chair that was by the small window. She was looking forward to when K'oron would turn off the machine, and remove the tube from her arm. Most of all, she looked forward to Lakeisha's daily visits. K'oron had told them that he thought that each other’s company would help them both heal faster. Usually, Lakeisha would have already come by before she started her second bag of the fluid. Maybe she found a way out. Danielle was both excited and pained by the thought. She was startled back to reality by the sound of the door opening. She saw Lakeisha walk in.
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