When the thrusters suddenly burned, the entire crowd flew across The Disc and struck the hull walls hidden behind a beautiful landscape of alien trees. Jadis Ter held tight to his handhold, his body fluttering like a flag on a pole while he laughed hysterically at the loud smack and groans that followed.
He was a horrible person, he knew this to his core, but it was best to enjoy these moments rather than wallow in the guilt.
It was the sound of the ventilators coming alive that woke Betta. They were still floating in the cold room, clinging to one another. Betta held the taller woman that much tighter. Teena was still unconscious, and Betta felt grateful to be staring down into Teena’s unconscious visage. Teena’s dark hair drifted against them both, the straight strands tickling Betta’s cold cheeks.
Betta was grateful she wasn’t alone at the end. She was grateful she wasn’t trapped in a box or lost in her own mind. She tried to contact Maintenance.
Just as the image of Sera Rankor emerged on a holographic display above her head, Betta was thrown against a wall with Teena’s heavier form pushing the air from her lungs. She fought to stay conscious, huffing out their general location in bursts of breath as the suddenly illuminated room grew dark. Her last thought was for the horrible taste in the air and a final wish to see her father one last time.
Chapter Seven
Blame
Rising slowly from the bed, Jadis flexed his forearm where the automated stimulant activated. The soreness reminded him to switch the mechanism to the opposite arm later in the evening when he decided to rest again. He would prefer to do away with the stimulant altogether, but the risk of falling into another long hibernation was more likely. Already the grogginess was beginning to fade and the fog over his mind began to clear.
Jadis tapped into the station’s interface only to be brushed aside by a heavy firewall that was not in place the day before. A smirk touched his lips as he stretched all the different muscles that fluttered uncertainly through his body.
For the first time in a long time, Jadis didn’t have a gut filled with guilt. It was satisfying to finally do the right thing and not have any regrets about his actions. In fact, he couldn’t wait to leave his room and drink in the compliments from the station inhabitants.
Considering a dip in the pool nearby, he decided to forego it, placing the prosthetic over his forked tongue to continue his Human guise. He dressed slowly. When he was done, he checked all of his weapons, finishing with the charge on the nanite interweaving that concealed the items within his coat. Even as he expected to be praised as a hero, this station had enemies, and he wasn’t so sure the attack hadn’t been retaliation for something in his past.
Leaving his Drafer chamber, he made his way to the bar and sat before T’mos. “What’s good today, my friend,” he said cheerfully to the scaled face that stared back at him.
Without turning his head, Jadis could feel the feds entering the establishment. The chatter from their cybernetic skulls threatened to throw off his own gear. He lowered his awareness and brought up his own firewalls.
“The feds have been asking after you all morning,” T’mos said, nodding in the direction Jadis refused to look.
“Asking? Do feds give rewards these days?” Jadis asked, fingering the collar of his coat.
“Jadis Ter?” asked one of the agents that stood just behind him now.
“Yes?”
“We have orders to take you in for questioning. Will you accompany us peacefully?”
“Gentlemen.” Jadis turned and rose in one swift movement that his sore muscles protested against, though he kept his face free of any hint of the pain he felt.
The other agent was a few paces away and raised his pulse rifle in expectation.
“Whoa.” Jadis raised both his hands. “This is no way to treat a hero.”
“Jadis Ter, you are accused of collaborating with the enemy to create an opportunity.”
“Wait. You think I’m behind this? I had nothing to do with this,” Jadis protested.
The agent beside him paused. “We cannot ascertain whether you tell the truth based on the abnormality of your biology. As such, we must take you in for questioning. I will only ask once more. Will you accompany us peacefully?”
“Yes. Yes, of course,” Jadis said quickly. “No need to shoot. Why’s he so ready to shoot me? I didn’t do anything, but save this station from certain death.”
“Please follow Agent Daniels. I will take the rear,” the other agent said.
“I bet you will,” Jadis said softly.
The emotionless eyes of the agent before him only stared back.
Jadis decided to follow Agent Daniels while keeping his hands above his head.
“You are permitted to keep your hands at your sides, Jadis Ter,” the agent behind him said.
Slowly lowering his hands, Jadis kept up the brisk pace of the agents. The artificial breeze struck him first when he exited the Lizard. He took deep breaths of the sweet-smelling air. There was worry in his heart, but the pride he felt at saving the station was like an energy of its own, forcing its way through all three of his hearts and into his bloodstream.
Jadis tried to ignore the grumbling in his stomach. He also had a craving for something sugary. He’d allowed himself to indulge the day before with the hot chocolate. His body would start to do strange things if he continued to have more sugar and he didn’t want to embarrass himself in a place where others might be watching. It would take him off his guard as well, and with the way his morning was going, he doubted it would be good to be vulnerable.
Once they were in the lift, each agent put a hand to Jadis’ forearm.
“Is this really necessary, gentlemen? Where would I go?” Jadis asked in exasperation.
“The gravity on the lower decks is not as strong. Until you acclimate, we will render assistance.”
Jadis forced a smile. “Well. That’s actually… nice of you?”
Despite the… friendly… tone of the agents, their grip on his arms were strong. The lift’s door opened. He was rushed through the halls of the station and to a white doorway with the emblem of an eagle hanging over the door, its wings spread wide, the yellow beak open and ready to devour anyone near.
The doors slid open as they approached and Jadis was escorted past the welcome desk and into a side room. Tossed forcibly into a metal chair, his wrists were immediately secured by matching metallic bracelets.
Relaxing his body and his mind, Jadis attempted not to get too excited. These were obviously tactics meant to throw him off.
The man that entered the room had a short-cropped haircut and wore an old-fashioned suit with a tie. Jadis sat up rather than slumping in the chair. His wrists strained against the bracelets briefly before he forced himself to relax again.
“Hello, Jadis. I am Agent Brown. I’ll be your interrogator this evening. I hope they weren’t too rough with you. Protocol, you understand?” Agent Brown said.
“Is this how you treat someone that just saved all your asses?” Jadis asked, trying to look relaxed in the uncomfortable chair.
Agent Brown placed a small tablet on the table before them. A smile touched his lips at Jadis’s words. “Yes. We are grateful for your assistance. The problem, you must understand, is that it came so conveniently.”
“What would I gain from attacking Betta’s Station?”
“Not much, but you would gain if you were able to have its proprietor in your debt.”
Jadis rolled his eyes. “Look, Mister Interrogator, I did what I did to save my ass too. Don’t blame me because you didn’t have proper protection against a simple virus. Better yet, what kind of protection are you providing for a battleship to get close enough to launch long range missiles? And how many months were those missiles lining up with Betta’s Station with not one of your patrol’s detecting it?”