by Saxon Andrew
Suddenly he heard, “Stoney tells me that you aren’t as evil as I thought you are. He’s the one that spoke to you after you arrived at your shuttle. I was busy at the time and he told me about it after we left New Sydney. Just so you know, Admiral Fry is still alive; we saved her from your assassination attempt.”
“I sort of figured that after he spoke to me,” Devin replied.
“But you didn’t tell your superiors about your suspicions,” Cami retorted.
“If I had done that, Admiral Bellemy might have believed I was part of the scheme to save her and I would have been targeted for assassination. Keeping silent was the best way to stay safe.”
“You’re not being honest.”
Devin’s eyes widened, “What do you mean?”
“You didn’t tell him because you violated your oath and listened to his thoughts and learned she was being killed because she couldn’t be trusted.”
“How do you know that?”
“The young girl sitting beside you can see your thoughts even if you try to hide them. I considered destroying your ship as it approached Britannia, but she insists that your heart is conflicted, or as she says, misguided, and that you need to resolve the issues spinning around in your head.”
Devin looked at the girl and she smiled brightly. “You should know that the one that spoke to you on New Sydney was the first telepath sent by Admiral Bellemy to spy on us. They currently believe he was killed attempting to escape Britannia, but he decided he could no longer be a part of the evil being perpetrated by the Prime Minister.” The thought paused and Devin heard, “Bellemy lied to you. There is no way for you to escape Britannia in your ship. That’s why a scout has been assigned to receive any information you uncover.”
“Can you prove that?” Devin asked.
“There is a self-destruct circuit on your ship that will burn it down to its constituent atoms leaving nothing to be traced back to the Colonies. He’s been ordered to do that the moment you go onboard and attempt to escape.” Devin stared at the young girl and she nodded solemnly. Cami added, “Come on Devin! You aren’t dumb. You’re a second wave telepath and the Prime Minister sees you as a threat. He’s removed that threat by sending you here on a one-way mission.”
“That wasn’t in Bellemy’s thoughts.”
“That’s because even Bellemy isn’t privy to the Prime Minister’s ultimate plan to rule all of humanity by forcing Britannia and Earth to join the Colonies. If we refuse to do that, then force will be exerted to force us to join. Our military forces will be eliminated to make that happen.”
“So Britannia didn’t stop communicating with the colonies?”
“No Devin. The Prime Minister cut off all communications and told the Colonies that Britannia did it. Did you figure that out all on your own?”
“It’s the only thing that makes sense. The mission to kill Admiral Fry is what crystallized it in my mind,” Devin answered.
“It took Stoney a little longer to figure that out. He didn’t have the benefit of having to assassinate a Colony Hero,” Cami replied.
“Exactly who are you?” Devin asked.
“My name is Cami Henricks. I’m Grady and Taffy Henricks adopted daughter and, like you, I’m a second wave telepath.” Cami paused and then added, “I’m also the elected leader of Britannia.”
“And this little girl?”
“She is my niece and is a third wave telepath. The only reason you’re still alive is that she insists you are a good person and is…misguided like Stoney was when he arrived to spy on us.”
“I could go back to New Sydney and tell you what they’re planning.”
Cami laughed, “I can’t say I haven’t thought about doing exactly that. You could feed the scout false information and go back to New Sydney…however, that won’t happen.”
“Why not?”
“I’m not kidding about the self-destruct device on your ship and there is no going back for you; the Prime Minister doesn’t trust any telepaths and especially an advanced telepath.”
“Just how do you know I can be trusted?”
“Actually, I don’t. Even Coco says you’re so conflicted that she wouldn’t trust you where you are now. But she insists you are a good person and that means a lot to me.”
Devin looked down at the little girl and she turned another page in the notebook. He read, “I know this is a shock to you. It’s like finding out your parents aren’t the good people you’ve always believed. But you see the truth, even if you don’t want to accept it. Don’t let your heart lead you into being part of an evil plan.”
Devin stared at Coco and thought, “What do you intend to do to the Colonies?”
“I intend to prevent a war. If it means Britannia and Earth must become a colony, I’ll do that before I allow the brave sailors in the Colony Fleet to be harmed. I don’t believe in needless killing and especially other humans.”
Suddenly, Devin heard, “After I spoke to you on New Sydney, I saw in your mind that there is a woman you are currently living with.”
“LEAVE HER OUT OF THIS!”
“I can’t. I found her and looked at her thoughts before we left. She agreed to live with you and to report anything suspicious to Admiral Bellemy. Surely you’ve looked at her mind and saw it.”
Coco clearly saw Devin was shocked by the statement and she quickly interjected, “No, he hasn’t. She’s a lieutenant and he kept his oath not to look at anyone’s thoughts in the military.”
Cami quickly said, “But after you found out about Admiral Fry you would have looked at her mind.”
Devin shook his head, “I was sent directly to the training center and didn’t see her. The only contact we had was over our communicators.”
Cami shook her head, “I can give you enough evidence to persuade you what’s going on but overcoming love for another person is not something anyone can do.”
Stoney thought, “She’s seeing someone else.”
“WHO?!”
“A Major Storm. She goes to be with him when you’re out on a mission,” Stoney replied.
Devin’s head was in turmoil, but he remembered a thought that slipped out of the Major in Bellemy’s office, “Does he know?” He assumed it was about Admiral Fry but as he examined the thought, he realized it had to do with something personal. He wondered why he couldn’t contact Vickie numerous times when he was away.
He blew out a breath and Coco said, “You suspected she wasn’t being faithful.”
Devin looked at her and saw the sorrow in her eyes. He realized that Vickie had appeared a week before he was assigned to Bellemy’s staff. It appeared to be an accidental meeting but, as he thought about it, he realized it wasn’t. His heart was breaking but his anger was growing. His life held no value with the Admiral commanding him and he was nothing more than a tool to be used and thrown away. His anger grew and he said, “How do I get out of this situation I’m in?”
“We can do it the easy way, or the hard way.”
“What’s the easy way?”
“Report to the Scout that a soldier is pointing a shoulder blaster at you and mentally scream before you put on a thought helmet Coco has with her. Once that happens you’ll have confirmation we’re being honest.”
“How?”
“Easy. Go back to your ship and see if it’s still there,” Cami answered.
“What’s the hard way?”
“Spend a week or so sending information to the scout before you’re attacked.”
“Is there a benefit to doing it the hard way?”
“You’ll confirm what the Colonies already know about Britannia.”
“Will it be true?”
Cami hesitated and then said, “No, it won’t be.”
Devin stared at the girl and thought, “Don’t tell me what’s true; I can’t reveal what I don’t know. What do you want me to report?”
Coco held the notebook out and Devin took it. He turned a few pages and began reading. Coco stared at him
and he asked, “Do you trust me now?”
Coco nodded with sad eyes, “Yes, but I hate that you’ve had to endure this pain of betrayal. No one deserves that.”
Devin sighed and read from the notebook. That evening he contacted the scout.
Chapter Five
Cami arrived at Grady and Taffy’s home and entered the elevator. She braced herself for facing her parents over going to New Sydney to save Kendal. She took a deep breath as the elevator door opened and she forced a smile. “I’m home!”
Taffy came rushing over and gave her a huge hug, “I’ve missed you! Wash up, supper is about to be served.”
Cami went to the bedroom always saved for her to visit and cleaned up. She wondered why her mother hadn’t read her the riot act but suspected that would happen during the meal. Cami went to the table and looked around, “Where’s Dad?”
“He’s wrapping up a call to RJ and will be here momentarily.” Taffy smiled, “Every time I see you I’m amazed at how fast you’re growing up.”
“Mom, “I’m grown.”
“You’re only twenty-seven. You’re starting to look your age; you’ve always looked younger in the past.”
Grady walked in and joined them at the table; he hugged Cami and took his chair, “It’s good to see you Cami. I’m glad you could join us for dinner.”
“I wish I could come here more often. I just thought it had been too long since I’ve seen you.”
Taffy and Grady made small talk for about thirty minutes and Cami finally couldn’t stand it any longer, “Why don’t you just tell me what’s bothering you?”
Grady and Taffy stopped talking, looked at each other, and turned back to Cami. Taffy tilted her head, “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“You know I went to New Sydney and rescued Kendal, don’t you?”
Grady shrugged, “Yes.”
“Well why aren’t you yelling at me for taking the risk?”
Taffy raised a shoulder, “We didn’t like you putting yourself in that much danger, but you made the decision to do it based on information Grady and I don’t know about. We trust your judgment and know you made the best decision based on what you knew. Des and Louisa have called and asked us to be sure to thank you for saving their daughter.”
Cami’s eyes narrowed, “You’ve always yelled at me in the past for putting myself in harms way. What’s changed?”
“We figured that you believed that you were the only one that could pull it off. Am I right?” Grady asked.
“Yes. It also required having Stoney there to help me find her.”
Taffy nodded, “We figured it was something like that.” Cami shook her head and Taffy took her hand, “Cami, we believe in you and know that you wouldn’t do something stupid. We asked you to lead Britannia because of our trust in you and we won’t be second guessing you on your decisions.”
Grady took a sip of wine and said, “I understand you managed to convince another telepath from New Sydney to join us.”
“Actually, that was Stoney’s doing. Coco and I took part in getting him to see the truth, but it was Stoney contacting him during our saving Kendal that led to him coming here.”
“So, you were right about trusting Mr. Stone,” Taffy stated.
“He’s proven himself. He could have escaped on New Sydney when we went down to save Kendal, but he didn’t. Coco says she likes him…a lot.”
“What about this new telepath?” Grady asked.
“He’s really conflicted.”
“You don’t trust him?”
“I’m also conflicted on that issue, Dad. We’ll see how it goes.”
“Where is he now?”
“Stoney is working with him to develop his telepathic talent. I’m not really sure how I’m going to use him to assist us.”
Taffy smiled, “You’ll come up with something.”
“What are you going to do with Kendal?” Grady asked.
“She’s asked me to use her and I’ve decided to give her the command of the Arrow.”
“Didn’t we just complete its renovation?”
“Yes Dad. Sylvia has said that Kendal should be in overall command of the carriers, but Kendal won’t have it. She says that Sylvia was in line to replace Richard Tarangelo and she insisted that Sylvia remain in Command of the Carriers.”
“She’ll certainly be a great addition to our fleet,” Taffy added.
Cami nodded, “Yes, she will.” Cami relaxed and spent the rest of the evening talking about the past and their growing family. It was a good release from the stress of leading Britannia.
Finally, Cami smiled and said, “I need to be going.”
“Why?”
“I’m planning a trip out to the Britannia Colony to check up on how things are going.”
Grady shook his head, “Perhaps you might want me to go and do that.”
Cami’s eyes narrowed, “Why do you say that?”
“If you look in the dictionary for paranoid, you’ll find a picture of their planet.”
“It’s understandable, Dad. They had their planet destroyed with them on it.”
“They had already fled Britannia when that happened. I’m sure the civil war on Britannia before they left has a lot to do with it, but they can be…difficult to get along with.”
“They consider Grady one of them,” Taffy interjected.
Cami stared at Grady for a moment and nodded, “Let me know what you find out.”
“I’d like to take Kendal and the Arrow out with me.”
“Dad, are you expecting a problem?”
“Not really, but I want to be ready if one pops up.”
“Stay in touch and let me know if you need me.”
“I will Cami. Keep us informed on what’s going on in the Colonies.”
Cami nodded and hugged them as she entered the elevator. She boarded her shuttle and thought about Grady wanting to take the Arrow. She knew Grady kept track of the Colony through officers she had serving there. She wondered what prompted him to want to take the Arrow but trusted him to handle the situation; he had far more experience than she did and knew he might take steps she would be reluctant to take. She lifted the shuttle and headed for her quarters in Fleet Operations; so much to do. She wondered how Stoney and Devin were getting along.
• • •
She landed on the roof of Fleet Operations and went to her office to find Stoney and Devin waiting on her. Stoney smiled, “We were told you were on your way and Devin wants to talk to you about something.”
Cami sat down in her chair and Devin said, “I’m not really helping you by being here. Do you have any plans on using me?”
Cami sighed, “I’ve been struggling with that.”
“Well, I have an idea and want to see if you will agree to it.”
“Go on,” Cami prodded.
“I need to go back to New Sydney.”
Cami sat up straight in her chair, “That is not an option. The threat to your ship is real; you’ll never get off the planet.”
“I will if I have something that forces them to allow me to leave.”
Cami sat back, “Tell me what you mean.”
“What if I tell the scout tracking me that I’ve uncovered some critical information that I can only share with the Prime Minister and no one else.” Cami stared at him in silence with her eyes narrowed and Devin continued, “What if I tell the Prime Minister that I’ve discovered that two or more of the Senior Officers he’s promoted are communicating with Britannia on what he’s planning.”
Cami’s eyes opened wide, “But…”
Devin held up a hand, “I’ll tell him that I don’t have their names but that they are working against him. That will slow him down on taking control of the fleet until he can uncover the traitors. While that is happening, I can be sending information to the scouts you have watching New Sydney.”
“I doubt that Scout will allow you to get away with that. He won’t believe you.”
“That scout d
oesn’t know that I’m aware of the self-destruct device on my ship and will be forced to believe that I’ve found out something that is too important to share with him. He’ll be forced to make a decision on allowing me to attempt an escape.”
“And we’ll help him make it look real,” Stoney interjected.
“And just how will we do that?” Cami inquired.
Devin raised a shoulder, “You’ll give me a job in Fleet Operations allowing me to be close to the Senior Officers on Britannia. He’ll know I’m in an important location and my uncovering something critical is more likely than just sitting outside the building.”
Stoney nodded, “I’ll continue to work with him on his telepathic talent and when he’s able to eliminate the telepathic roar around him, he’ll be able to communicate telepathically with our scouts at New Sydney. They won’t be able to detect his communications above the telepathic roar on the planet.”
“Are you sure you want to risk this?”
“Yes Planet Leader. This is the only way for me to make a difference.”