The man nodded.
“Is this your first mission?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Welcome to space, kid. How’d you guys get so lucky to pull a mission like this?”
“Captain Eckhart is our Academy trainer and volunteered us for it. We were doing routine patrol training.”
Rob looked shocked. “You haven’t even graduated yet?”
“No, sir. We’re four months from receiving our official commissions.”
Rob swore. “I didn’t know that. I’ll send one of my men over to relieve you. He’ll be acting captain. Regulations say I can’t leave someone without a commission in charge unless it’s an absolute emergency.”
“Yes, sir.”
Rob shook his head. “No offense, but why did the ISNC let a crew of underclassmen go on a mission like this?”
“I don’t know, sir. Captain Eckhart kept us in the dark about a lot of stuff.”
“Again, convenient for him.” Rob slid into the command chair and tapped into the computer. After a few minutes, the front vid display lit up. “There,” he pointed. The display showed the Petrovis Skye’s journey from the Ganymede sector to the colony, with a stop at the relay. He activated the in-ship com link. “Attention all hands, this is Captain Robert Elloy of the DSMC vessel Kendall Kant. Dr. Emilia Hypatia has formally relieved Captain Eckhart of duty on medical grounds. I am now in command of this ship. We have taken Captain Eckhart into custody and will transport him to the planet’s surface for treatment. We’ve also isolated, identified, and treated the colonists’ infection, so your orders to evacuate and sterilize the planet are hereby suspended. While I’m off-ship, First Officer Smith is in charge until I send a replacement. Elloy out.”
He handed the command seat over to Smith. “I’ve deactivated and locked down the plasma cannon, just for your information. What you guys didn’t know is that your captain has a personal grudge against Captain Lucio and his crew.”
“I kind of suspected there was something going on. I didn’t think a guy could seem so happy about killing people.”
Rob clapped him on the shoulder. “Unfortunately, you’ll see more like him if you stay in long enough, believe me.”
* * * *
Rob had to go to the K-2 to pick up Sam so he could run him to the Petrovis Skye. “Take these guys and jump back to the relay,” Rob told him. “See if you can get it started again. If you can, send an emergency update to the DSMC and request backup. I want an official stand-down order from them.”
“Right.”
The dose Emi gave Eckhart was more than enough for them to get him to the surface and securely locked down in the colony’s brig. When he finally came to, he immediately thrashed against the energy shackles and started screaming.
Emi stood by the cell gate and stared at him, reading him. “Why did you do this?” she quietly asked.
He sneered at her. “Those lying bastards ruined my life! Their lies got my father murdered! They killed my mother!”
Emi had glanced at Eckhart’s service records while he was still unconscious. “Your mother chose to kill herself. No one is denying that you have suffered horrible tragedy in your life. However, Aaron Lucio and the crew of the Wayfarer Margo didn’t ask to be pulled into your father’s vendetta.”
“It’s all a lie! My father didn’t do what they said he did! They murdered him!”
Aaron walked over and laid a hand on Emi’s shoulder. “Come on,” he quietly said. “He’s crazy. Don’t talk to him.”
He led her away as Eckhart screamed at them. As the hallway door shut, cutting off his angry voice, Emi shuddered. “What’s going to happen to him?”
They stood in the conference room and watched Eckhart through the observation window. Aaron had muted the com into the cell as well as changed the glass to a one-way setting. Eckhart couldn’t see or hear them.
“You, Rob, and I will have to meet with the joint council. We’ll recommend Eckhart lose his commission and be institutionalized.”
Emi watched Eckhart screaming in the cell. Without sound, it was a pathetic pantomime of rage and delusional pathology.
Something bothered Emi. “This is just too coincidental. This is a big frakking universe. How did the guy who hates you and wants you dead, with a ship full of undergrad cadets, get assigned to a mission like this?”
“We’ll figure that out, too. I have a feeling he knew people. More worrisome to me is how a man who is an Academy trainer, not an experienced deep space captain, was assigned to an extremely sensitive security mission from the start.” He sat at the conference table and patted his lap. “Come here,” he quietly said.
She went to him, relieved, comforted. No, they didn’t officially have a cure yet, but she knew with the new information it was only a matter of time before John and his men came through. Sam had a nearly two-day jump to reach the trans-light relay. With Eckhart safely locked up, their worries were over.
She hoped.
Chapter Fourteen
Eckhart’s mental condition worsened in confinement. He didn’t need to eat anything to fly into a rage. Because of Emi’s expertise in psychology, Sascha let her take the lead directing Eckhart’s treatment regimen. That evening, she ordered a cocktail of drugs she hoped would stabilize him, or at the very least make him more manageable. Dr. Martinez helped Taber administer them. Within an hour, Eckhart lay quietly on his side on his bunk and stared at the wall.
His internal rage still seethed, unquenchable. Emi sat down and took a long look at his detailed personnel records and family history. His mother died by suicide a month after her husband’s execution. James Candling Eckhart’s name had been changed by his uncle, who was then an ISNC commodore.
That probably explained his connections.
Raised in military boarding school, he excelled in his classes, although his instructors noted he wasn’t very social. His skills and high grades earned him an early graduation and position in the Academy’s training staff at his uncle’s recommendation. He’d been leading training missions for seven years. Before now, he had an unblemished service record. He had, in fact, earned several commendations and letters of recommendation in his record from superior officers.
She made sure to record her session with Eckhart for evidence. “How did you locate Captain Lucio and his men?”
Eckhart didn’t roll away from the wall, although a wave of sedation-subdued rage washed across the cell toward her. “I’m tapped into the assignment rosters. I’ve kept track of Lucio and his fuck buddies for years. Once they hit the DSMC, I knew it was just a matter of time before they’d be sent on a mission needing ISNC backup. I had to take the chance when it came up. I didn’t know when I’d get another one.”
“Your uncle green-lighted your assignment?”
“Yep. He thought I showed great initiative in volunteering. He didn’t realize Lucio was also assigned. I didn’t tell him that. He signed off on it without even looking. He assumed it would be an easy monitoring mission, that you all would get it figured out before we even got here. Give the kids a safe shakedown jump cruise, a little experience.”
It’d been that and more, unfortunately. The drugs she’d given him also made him tell the truth. At least, the truth as he perceived it.
“How did your med officer die?”
“He saw the official itinerary and questioned why I’d changed it, why we were stopping at the trans-light relay. I couldn’t risk him interfering.”
“You killed him?”
“Yes. I hit him in the head when his back was turned in cargo.” His emotionless voice shocked her. That wasn’t just the drugs. She felt it in him, a bottomless black hole, a lack of compassion and empathy for anyone.
“So you didn’t care that you committed murder and were sentencing innocent people to death?”
He rolled over and looked at her. “Innocent? My father died because of their lies. I never got to know him. My mother killed herself because of their lies! Why should they ge
t to live a happy life when I never got that?”
Emi wanted to rage a little herself, scream at him that his father had been an unfaithful animal without a conscience who sent an innocent woman to her death and nearly got Aaron killed in the process. She bit her tongue. It wouldn’t do any good. Only Eckhart’s uncle’s hand on his career got him to this point in the service.
“Did you view the hearing records?” Emi asked. “Read the transcripts and reports?” Emi had scanned through them after Aaron unlocked them for her. In an attempt to save his hide, Candling had thrown himself on the mercy of the court and claimed he was mentally ill. He admitted to everything, claimed he’d gone temporarily insane with jealousy.
After several of his crew testified he chased any woman he could and had made statements about wanting revenge on Aaron, Ford, Caph, and Kels for her rejecting him, he was found guilty by a unanimous decision. The pre-hearing investigation turned up thirty women Candling had affairs with in the previous twelve months before the incident. Affairs he’d never revealed to his wife, who he’d only married after getting her pregnant so she could receive spousal benefits from the Merchant Marines for herself and her son.
“They were lies. My mother said he loved her.”
His mother had also been a few letters short of a full alphabet. She’d taken various medications for years, prescribed and illegally obtained, according to her autopsy. Antidepressants, antipsychotics, narcotics—a nearly toxic stew of drugs. Her own brother testified at the coroner’s inquest that she’d suffered from mental health and substance abuse problems for over a decade.
Apparently, so did her son. At least the mental health issues. Emi wondered if the woman had taken those drugs while pregnant. If so, it would explain a lot about her son. While some of Eckhart’s earlier school counselor reviews seemed questionable, there were no warning signs in his recent mental health screenings to raise red flags that would disqualify him from service.
Talking to him would do no good and only amplify the tension headache Emi now suffered. She returned to the conference room and sent the recorded conversation to the data banks on the Tamora Bight and Kendall Kant to make it part of the incident report.
Ilse walked in with her husband. They studied Eckhart through the observation window. “Emi, why don’t you and Aaron go back to your ship for the night? Relax. You look exhausted.”
She felt exhausted. “What do you think, Aar? Can we leave him here?”
Aaron nodded. “Better here in a brig with the manpower to keep an eye on him than on a ship where there are weapons. We don’t have a brig on the Bight anyway.”
Emi left orders for the drugs she wanted Eckhart to have and followed Aaron to the lander. She must have dozed, because what felt like minutes later, he gently shook her shoulder.
“Wake up, babe. We’re home.” He’d safely docked the lander in the Tamora Bight’s cargo hold.
Caph appeared and scooped her into his arms. “Welcome home, babe!” As tired as she was, she still enjoyed his enthusiastic kiss.
She nestled in his arms. “I missed you, big guy.”
He leaned over and kissed Aaron hello. “I missed both of you. Jesus, it’s great to have you back.”
Aaron detoured to the bridge while Caph carried Emi to their cabin and curled around her in their bed, his large body engulfing hers.
Ford walked in a moment later and knelt on the side of the bed. “Hey, baby. Welcome home.”
She lifted her head and received a sweet kiss from him. “You coming to bed?”
“Naw, I’m taking night watch tonight.” He stroked the hair away from her forehead. “See? I told you you’d figure things out.” He stood. “I just wanted to welcome you back and kiss you goodnight before you went to sleep.”
Emi smiled and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, their cabin was dark and she still lay nestled in Caph’s arms. Aaron lay tightly pressed against her other side, his arm protectively draped over her waist. Both men were sound asleep.
She started to drift back to sleep when she felt Ford’s presence leave the bridge and approach the cabin. By the time he’d reached the door, she’d carefully untangled herself from Aaron and Caph and met him there.
“What’s wrong?”
He smiled. “Your empath senses tingling?”
“Yeah.”
He motioned her out of the cabin and back to the bridge. “John’s on the horn. I’ve got the video com link up. I didn’t want to wake the guys.”
She slid into the command chair while Ford stood behind her. “What do you have for me, John? Give me good news.”
He grinned. “Very good news. I already sent the info down to Sascha to test. I think we have the cure.”
“What’s the culprit?”
“It’s like a type of anaphylactic reaction. It’s a combination of the proteins in that particular version of wheat from the seed stocks cultivated on-planet. Something about the gluten makes the proteins bind to the melanin and testosterone, and in the process, it short-circuits the prefrontal cortex for a few minutes. It feeds itself off adrenaline. When the person is knocked out, their body relaxes, adrenaline production decreases, and the rage ends. Very strange.”
“What caused the mutation?”
“Don’t know. We’re not even sure what the complete reaction is, we’re just guessing. That’s going to take a while. Probably have to work backwards from the solution to figure out the cause. We tested samples of wheat grown from earth stocks on the planet and can’t find any kind of difference. It’s only that newest wheat stock, not the others. We’ll know by morning if the antidote works or not.”
“And we can start unloading supplies for the colony, too.”
“Exactly. That’s all I had, but I knew you’d want to know as soon as I found out.”
“Thanks, John. Tamora Bight out.”
She stood and hugged Ford. He lifted her off her feet and spun her around. “See? I was right.”
“Yes, you were right. Happy?”
He ground his hips against hers. “Once we get away from here and onto our next mission, yeah, then I’ll be happy.”
She returned to their cabin and carefully snuggled between her men without waking them. Even in sleep she felt their contentment, the stress from the past several days gone from their systems.
As she slipped back into sleep, she wondered if Eckhart would ever in his life feel peace and contentment.
She awoke alone in bed the next morning. Something felt wrong.
Pulling on a robe, she hurried out to the galley. Aaron and Ford sat talking at the table. At her appearance, their conversation stopped as they looked at her.
“What’s wrong?”
Aaron spoke. “Eckhart escaped this morning. He stabbed Taber and got loose.”
Chapter Fifteen
At least Sam got the trans-light satellite relay up and working again. A backlog of DSMC and ISNC messages awaited them in the memory queue. The first and most important one canceled the order to sterilize the planet, sent by the ISNC after having received Emi’s preliminary report that the pathogen wasn’t communicable. Another update informed them a medical research vessel, sent days after they left, would arrive within a week.
By the time Emi and Aaron reached the colony, Dr. Martinez had finished operating on Taber and had him stabilized in their hospital ICU. A group of armed men met Emi and Aaron at the lander to escort them to the hospital, where others stood guard.
“He’s still loose?” Aaron asked.
The guard in charge grimly nodded. “I get a chance at that fucker, he’s dead.”
“Get in line,” Aaron said, pulling Emi closer.
Inside the hospital, Emi was relieved to find Taber stable, albeit still unconscious.
“He’ll pull through,” Martinez assured them.
“And the antidote?” she asked.
“It works.” He smiled. “I can eat cinnamon bread again!”
She gave Aaron a dose and teste
d him by letting him eat some of the bread. Sure enough, no reaction.
Deep relief washed through her.
Donna had already synthesized the antidote in the Kendall Kant lab and dosed Rob. Now all that was left was to take Eckhart back into custody.
“That’s going to take a while,” Ilse admitted. “He took one of the horses and headed out to the hill country north of here. The horse returned to its corral a couple of hours ago. With the iron ore concentrations in those rocks, scanners are practically useless.”
* * * *
Aaron coordinated the unmanned lander cargo drops from the three orbiting ships. They’d have to make another trip to Mars to replenish before their next mission, not that any of them minded that option.
By the end of the day, Eckhart hadn’t been located despite the large number of searchers in the hills north of the colony complex. Taber’s condition had rapidly improved, and Sam was on his way back to the colony with the Petrovis Skye.
Three days later, Eckhart still remained at large. They’d heard from the captain of the Forrester Cross, the DSMC medical vessel, when it emerged from its jump. Most of the crew of the Petrovis Skye had traveled to the surface to help with the search.
Ilse was happy to perform the K-2 crew’s wedding. The Braynow Gaston crew, with the help of the Petrovis Skye, manned the other two ships, allowing everyone to be able to attend the ceremony on the surface. Donna carried a bouquet of Aroykin wildflowers. Emi spent most of the short ceremony trying not to cry.
After, Donna and her men gave everyone a quick round of hugs and handshakes before hurrying to their lander to return to the K-2.
Emi didn’t expect to hear much from them over the next few days. The K-2 had completed all their cargo drops and was now waiting on the other two crews.
As the days seemed to drag, Emi longed to be off Aroykin. Not that the planet wasn’t nice, because she found it beautiful. Unfortunately, knowing a homicidal lunatic lurked somewhere beyond the safe boundaries of the colony borders made her long for the security of the Tamora Bight.
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