by J. N. Chaney
“I think he’s talking about me,” I said, looking to the others.
“Go, but be careful,” Arun said. “Don’t let him get into your head.”
“No worries about that,” I said, tapping the side of my skull. “Nothing gets through here.”
I left the room before Stacy could make a joke and entered the long hall. There was a pair of suits outside the door right next to ours. I nodded to them before going in.
“Ahhh, there he is,” Trevor said, looking up at me with his battered face. “The man of the hour.”
“I’m not sure about that, Buttercup,” I said, pulling up a chair to him and turning it around so I sat on it backward. “You seem pretty popular yourself right now.”
“You and I are brothers, feathers fallen from the same bird,” Trevor went on.
His eyes were wild, dark but darting all over the place, almost as if he were reading something.
“How’s that?” I asked, playing along to get any more information out of him.
“I see the animal in your eye. You’re a warrior just like me. A skilled fighter,” Trevor said as if he were giving me a compliment. “You and I are survivors. I can see the pain that lives deep inside of you. What you must have been through.”
“Listen, I’m not sure why you’re gazing so longingly into my eyes, but you’re wrong,” I said, trying to get the conversation back on track. “Now what is it that you wanted to tell me?”
“I wanted to tell you that you are destined for great things, as am I,” Trevor said. For the first time, he looked serious, like he was actually telling the truth, or at least he believed he was. “You and I are about to embark on an adventure together, like two swords poised for battle.”
“Well, if you haven’t noticed, we’ve already embarked on an adventure,” I said, looking around the room. “And I hate to break it to you, but the only thing you’re going to be seeing for a long time is the inside of a cell on the Orion, and maybe the inside of a cell once we establish the colony on Kronos Five. Is that all you have? Is that all you wanted to say? That you think we’re friends about to go on a road trip?”
“I never used the word ‘friends,’” Trevor said, looking deep into my eyes once more. “Not friends. The very best of enemies.”
“There you go gazing deeply into my eyes again,” I said with a sigh. “You got to at least buy me a drink or something if you’re going to look at me like that. Why don’t you tell me something useful for a change? How many of you are on board?”
Trevor grinned. “I will not tell you, brother. No, that is your journey.”
It was my turn to laugh. I chuckled, filling the room with the noise. “I’m not your brother, Trevor. I can guarantee you that.”
There was a knock on the door just before it opened, and Arun walked in holding a long needle.
Trevor’s gaze rested on Arun before turning to the device in her hand.
“What is that?” he asked through clenched teeth. “What are you doing?”
“It’s time to have an honest conversation for once in your miserable life,” Arun said, and stalking forward, she slammed the needle into Trevor’s neck and pressed down on the plunger with her thumb.
“What? No!” Trevor jerked his body and neck as far to the side as he could, but the restraints kept him in place. The needle’s point disappeared into his neck a second later.
I was no stranger to pain, but even I winced at the ferocity that Arun stabbed him with. I realized what she reminded me of. She was like a momma bear, and those on the Orion were her cubs. Her anger came from the fact that they were in danger.
Arun finally extracted the needle from Trevor’s neck, taking a step back.
Trevor shook his head and worked his jaw like he was trying to get water out of his ears.
“Iris, how long will the truth serum take to begin its process?” Arun asked the room. “How will we know that it’s working?”
“The serum will take effect in the space of a few seconds,” Iris said, phasing through the closed door. “You will know, trust me.”
Trevor blinked at the Cognitive a few times then grinned. “A Cognitive. One of the enemies of humankind.”
“What’s your real name?” I asked as Trevor continued to grin. “Your accent tells me that you’re not from America. The name Trevor Bishop doesn’t fit.”
“You are correct, my friend.” Trevor grinned. He pursed his lips as if he were deep in thought. He swayed a little in his chair as if he were drunk. “My name—my birth name is Maksim Aleksandre Kuznetsov Petrov.”
“Yeah, that’s a mouthful. I’d probably go by Trevor too,” I said.
Maksim smiled and actually laughed, almost genuinely.
“Maksim,” Arun took over the line of questioning, “I need you to tell me if you planted any other traps or anything else that could be dangerous or destructive to the Orion or those it carries.”
Maksim looked over at Arun. Previously, his eyes had always been full of hate when he looked at an Eternal. Right now, it was more like fear that washed over his bruised face.
“Why don’t you just leave us alone?” Maksim said, looking at Arun like he truly wanted to know. “Transients only want a better life, but you make this impossible, placing yourself at the top of the food chain with your boot on our necks.”
“Maksim,” Arun said while using a softer voice, trying to calm the man. “Please, I need you to focus right now. Are there any other traps set to go off on the ship? Anything that would harm the people on board the Orion.”
“I have not,” Maksim said with a heavy, regret-laden breath. “I did not have enough time to set the toxins to rotate through the air filtration system. My brother here was fast enough to stop me.”
It took me a second to realize that Maksim was talking about me.
That serum was one hell of a drug. Maksim’s eyes were glazed over, and he sported a silly grin on his lips. He could have easily passed for someone who had been out all night drinking.
“My brother, my brother,” he kept on repeating. “My brother, there are great things in store for us. Two swords. Two blades pointed away from one another.”
“Maksim,” I said, trying to get the conversation back on track. “How many other Disciples are on the ship?”
Maksim shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe zero, maybe a hundred.”
“You just said there were others on board,” Arun pushed. “You told Stacy and Elon there were others here.”
“I lied to get into their head,” Maksim said, shaking his own head. “I don’t know. The Disciples would never tell me if there were others on board for this very reason. If I were caught, I could expose their plans. This way, I am unable to. That’s the truth.”
I looked over at Arun. I believed him. There was no reason not to, now that he was high on the happy juice. It made sense anyway.
Arun’s brows were knit in a line of thought.
“Iris,” Arun finally broke the silence. “How sure are we that the truth serum is actually working?”
“Ninety-two point nine percent,” Iris explained. “It’s highly improbable that he is able to lie at the moment.”
That was it, then. There could be no more threats to the Orion, or there could be a dozen cloaked Disciples just waiting to be activated. Only time would tell.
19
The suits were going to question Maksim more, of course. While he was still high on the drug, they’d use the time to get out anything more that they could. The piece of information we needed most was beyond our grasp.
I went to bed that night battered and bruised, wondering how Arun and Elon were going to break the news of the water shortage to the Orion the following day. I didn’t envy them that conversation.
Ricky was still out, probably drinking, definitely gambling with some of the other mechanics or passengers on the Orion. I fell into a fitful sleep.
When I woke, dull memories of a ruined building touched at my thoughts. I had woken bef
ore my alarm even went off. I sat in the lower level of the bunk Ricky and I shared.
I quickly realized what had interrupted my sleep. Iris’ familiar voice reached my ears over the comm system that traveled the entirety of the Orion.
“Good morning, passengers and new colonists of Kronos Five,” Iris said in a warm tone. Or at least the tone would have been warm, had I not known what was coming next. “Many of you are asking why the water system is unavailable on your levels. Please do not worry. We are working on the issue now. We are asking everyone to either meet at the Assembly level or stay close to a comm unit. At 0900 hours, we will be holding a conference to answer all of your questions. Thank you for your calm understanding.”
I blinked a few times in my bunk, rubbing my eyes.
“What—what the heck is going on with the water?” Ricky asked, swinging his head down over the edge of the bunk so I could see him in the faint light of the room. “Hey, what happened to your face?”
“Oh, right,” I said, touching the bruised places on my cheek and jaw. I had thought about not telling Ricky, but he was going to weasel it out of me one way or the other.
I told him everything. From fighting the cloaked Disciple, to being recruited by the Civil Authority and the issue with the water. Ricky was the closest thing I had to a friend, and as much as I wanted to deny it, it felt good to talk to someone about it.
As I went on, Ricky’s mouth grew wider and wider. He nearly fell out of his bed when I told him about the poisoned water.
“Man, I hope you’re getting paid for all of this,” Ricky said when I finally finished.
“Really?” I asked, getting out of bed and dressing for the day. “I just told you we have to ration water for the next five and a half weeks and that there could be cloaked Disciples ready to sabotage the air we breathe, and all you can think of is money?”
“Well, all I’m saying is that if you’re going to be involved with the higher-ups in the new colony we’re creating, maybe you should consider having a manager.” Ricky swung his skinny legs off the bed and reached for the lights in the room. “I mean, you gotta get paid for your services.”
“I’m assuming you could be my manager?” I asked, buckling on my long cargo pants.
“If you want me to, then yes, I accept the position.” Ricky shrugged, tapping his right pointer finger on his chin. “You should be compensated for putting your life on the line. There’s a term for that. What is it?”
“Hazard pay?” I answered.
“Yep, that’s it,” Ricky said, hurriedly dressing. “You should get hazard pay along with your normal hourly.”
“Pump your brakes there,” I told Ricky, shoving my feet into my boots. “I told them I didn’t want a job.”
Ricky stopped midway through putting on his shirt. “Dean, are you serious? You didn’t even negotiate with them?”
“Nope,” I grunted as I lifted my arm to put it in through my shirt. Pain raced up my body from my ribs to the area where I had been shot by Stacy. That memory brought a sardonic grin with it.
“We can still get you a reasonable deal. I’m sure of it,” Ricky consoled himself as he continued dressing. “We’ll tell them there was a misunderstanding and we’re back at the table accepting offers.”
“I’m not sure it works like that,” I told him.
“Please, please, Dean.” Ricky patted me on the arm. “Let me do the talking.”
I shrugged with an amused smile, and we exited the room together, heading for the male restroom on our level. Not to our surprise, there was no running water. Amongst the groans and complaining of the others on the level, Ricky and I made do. I cleaned my face with a wet disposable cloth that had been provided, then rinsed out my mouth with some mouthwash. My long unruly hair was an easy fix. It went behind my head in a knot.
As we were getting ready, the complaints from the other users of the restroom were growing. Every time someone came in, there was the same conversation to be had.
“Are you serious? No water?” one hefty man said to another. “What’s going on now? Problems with the pipes?”
“Not a good sign so early on in our trip,” another large man said as he disrobed. “How am I supposed to use these little disposable wet nap towels to clean my whole body?”
I wasn’t fast enough to look away before he dropped his towel. That was an image that would be burned into my corneas for a very long time to come.
“Stranger nudity is like looking at the sun, man,” Ricky said as he used one of the small hand towels to clean behind his neck and ears. “You get a glimpse of it somewhere in your peripheral vision but then look away. Never glance directly at it, or you’ll go blind.”
“Noted,” I said as we finished our meager baths at the sink.
“I guess I’m just cleaning my pits and bits today,” a little boy said as he ran into the bathroom next to his father. “That’s okay with me.”
“They need to get this water working fast,” his father said with a frown. “This can’t go on for long.”
We walked out, heading up toward the spiral staircase on the end of the level that stood next to the elevators. We were only a few levels from the Assembly area, and it would be easier to take the stairs instead of wait.
“Man, I still can’t believe that there could be invisible Disciples on board, just waiting to slit our throats while we sleep,” Ricky said, letting a puff of air escape his lips. “I mean, that’s terrifying.”
I pressed a finger to my lips, signaling him to shut it. A woman passing us on the stairs stopped to stare at us with wide eyes.
“Sorry, ma’am,” I said, pushing Ricky along. “Nothing to worry about. Just talking about a premise for a book we want to write.”
I’m not sure she believed me, but I didn’t wait around to find out. Ricky and I walked on, joining a gathering throng as we made our way to the Assembly level.
Although it was still full, the level wasn’t as packed as when we had the initial launch speech there days before. The windows lining the gigantic room were all displaying the wonders of slipspace. The multicolored light that played across the glass windows was still something everyone was getting used to.
Iris walked to the podium, set to address the crowd as both Arun and Elon joined her. The sounds in the Assembly level quieted while we waited for their explanation.
I didn’t see Stacy in the room, but I knew she was there somewhere toward the front of the crowd.
“What’s happening with the water?” someone shouted.
“Tell us, is there something wrong?” a woman screamed from the middle of the pack.
“Please, all your questions will be answered in a moment,” Iris said, trying to pacify the crowd. “There is no reason to worry. We have things under control.”
“Then why don’t we have water?” another voice shouted.
“Yeah!” more angry voices added.
“I can see that you are all concerned and rightly so,” Arun said, taking the podium while Iris moved to the side. The microphone allowed her to drown out the questions being hurled at her. “We can start the meeting a bit early, and we will have time to answer questions. Please, allow us to tell you what is going on.”
The room seemed to realize they weren’t going to get anywhere with everyone throwing questions at her at once. A stressed silence filled the area.
“Thank you,” Arun said. She stood straight, wearing her grey uniform. Her white hair was braided in a long design behind her back. “First, allow me to tell you that we have enough drinking water for every single member until we reach Kronos Five. Once there, we will be able to pull moisture from the atmosphere and tap into the water reserves found on the planet.”
Murmurs rippled through the crowd. Heads nodded in agreement and smiles were exchanged. An unexpected relief descended on those gathered.
“There’s been an issue with the water that we are currently working on,” Arun said. “Understand, we have our best minds on it. In th
e meantime, water will be rationed and the use of the showers, washing of clothes, and dishes will be minimized. We will figure this out together, but the main thing is that we stick together. There is no reason to panic. We are hoping to have a solution to showering soon. I’d be happy to take anyone’s questions now.”
“Well, what happened to the water in the first place?” a woman asked, somewhere to the right.
“We’re looking into that, and we should have answers for you soon,” Arun lied.
I was torn as I stood and watched. I understood exactly why she was lying to them. Telling them the truth would start a mass panic. Cloaked Disciples on board, poisoning their water and tampering with their air, would put everyone on edge and having neighbor accusing neighbor.
Then why was I so disheartened by it? I would do the same thing in her position. It just left a bad taste in my mouth to lie to so many people.
The meeting went on with more questions asked and answered. By the time we were done, the colonists of Kronos Five weren’t exactly happy, but it seemed they understood what was going on and that it was being worked on now.
Ricky caught my eye as the meeting was adjourned.
“What?” I asked.
“So that’s it?” Ricky motioned to the space around him. “That’s all there is? You’re just going to report back to Boss Creed like that? It’s all over?”
“It’s all over,” I said. “There’s not much we can do now. I’m sure Iris and the Eternals will come up with a plan to sniff out any Disciples if there are any more. In the meantime, we go on like business as usual.”
“As mechanics,” Ricky added.
“Yeah. What’s wrong with being a mechanic?”
“There’s nothing wrong, but we could be secret agents, like super spies or something,” Ricky said, shaking his head. “Did you talk about me to Arun at all?”
“What? No,” I said, confused at first, then realizing why Ricky would ask the question. “I’m not sure you’re her type.”
“What? Incredibly smart and entrepreneurial?” Ricky asked as we made our way to Boss Creed’s office and our next job.