You’ve been replaced.
CHAPTER 35:
Keryn felt her irritation burn through her veins as she and Alcent boarded their ship and prepared to return to the Ballistae. Though they had won every argument they had put forward in the Captains meeting, she wasn’t pleased with using strong-arm tactics in order to get her way. The meeting had not gone at all like she had planned. In her mind, she foolishly believed the other Captains would see reason and let the Ballistae continue its research into the Deplitoxide problem. Instead, she found herself improvising to the point of pulling her pistol on the other gathered Officers. It surprised her then and still did, but the intimidation she should have felt while being in the presence of so many accomplished commanders just wasn’t there. Instead, she had felt only disdain for their haughty attitudes.
Her biggest issue came from Yen. Though the Voice had handled his intrusion into her mind, she still felt violated. More importantly to her, though, was that she felt disappointed in him. The Yen she had once loved would have never resorted to invading someone else’s mind in order to get answers. He had been understanding and an effective leader because of his interpersonal skills. The man who had sat at the head of the table only physically resembled the man she once knew; his personality had been replaced by something monstrous.
Alcent had the decency not to speak to Keryn as they ran through the preflight checks. As the engines started and the Terran ship lifted off the hangar bay floor, Keryn activated the radio.
“Ballistae crew requesting permission to depart the Revolution hangar,” Keryn called flatly to the control room.
“Roger, Ballistae crew,” came the quick reply. “We are depressurizing the bay now. You are clear to depart.”
“Keryn,” Alcent said quietly as he drew his sidearm. “I’m detecting an increase in our ship’s mass compared to when we arrived. If I had to guess, I’d say we have a stowaway.”
Keryn turned sharply, belying Alcent’s caution, and activated the rear compartment’s lights. The sharp halogen lights filled the room with light. In the corner, crouched behind one of the rows of benches, a scared female face peered out. Tears streamed down her face as she shook her head, begging for Keryn’s continued silence.
“Please,” the woman mouthed.
“Ballistae crew,” the control room called. “Is there a problem with your departure?”
Keryn kept her eyes locked with the scared woman’s as she reached over to the microphone. “Negative, Revolution,” she said, still watching their stowaway. “There is no problem. We are exiting the ship now.”
Reaching over slowly, Keryn turned off the lights to the crew compartment, casting the back room into darkness once more. Turning back to the controls, she maneuvered the ship out of the hangar bay and began the short flight back to her own ship.
When they were far enough away from the Revolution, Keryn motioned for Alcent to take control of the ship. She turned the lights back on in the crew cabin and walked back to talk to the stowaway. As she left the helm, Keryn quietly closed the door behind her. Whatever was to come from her next conversation, she didn’t want Alcent hearing.
Keryn sat down on the couch beside which the frightened woman hid. Patting the seat beside her, Keryn invited the woman to join her. Slowly, obviously fearing for her own well being, the woman took the seat, though she kept her tear-filled eyes focused on the ground.
“Would you like to tell me what you’re doing on my ship, Iana?” Keryn asked as the Warrant shook with sobs.
Stifling her tears, Iana managed enough composure to reply. “I had to run away. He was going to kill me!”
“Who was going to kill you?” Keryn asked, suddenly interested in her story.
Iana met Keryn’s gaze only briefly before dropping her eyes once more and shaking her head. “You wouldn’t believe me, even if I did tell you,” Iana whispered.
Keryn placed a hand on Iana’s arm. “I think you’ll find that I’m willing to believe just about anything. Now, tell me who is trying to kill you.”
“Captain Xiao,” Iana mumbled to herself. “Yen is trying to kill me.”
Her answer hit Keryn like a heavy weight in her chest. Her concerns about Yen’s behavior earlier seemed to pale in comparison with Iana’s accusation. Yen had tried to invade Keryn’s thoughts, but she wondered if he was truly capable of murder, especially murdering one of his close friends. In the end, she shook her head.
“I can’t believe that Yen would try to kill you, Iana. He actually considers you one of his closest friends.” Keryn leaned back heavily against the couch and thought again about Yen killing Iana. She just couldn’t fathom him committing that act. “You’re trying to convince me that the Commander of the Fleet is trying to kill one of his pilots?”
“You don’t understand! He already has killed one of his pilots!” Sobs overtook Iana again. Through her tears, Keryn heard her say, “I knew you wouldn’t believe me.”
Keryn didn’t know how to respond to Iana’s tears. As the Warrant continued her fits of crying, Keryn grew uncomfortable and eventually got up to leave. As she pushed herself away from the chair, Iana’s hand shot out and affixed upon Keryn’s arm in a death grip. Keryn looked down, surprised both at Iana’s strength and the strong look in her eyes.
“Promise me,” Iana said, her voice still thick with emotion. “Even if you won’t believe me, promise me that you’ll grant me amnesty on board you ship.” As Keryn tried to pull away, Iana tightened her grip until her nails were digging into Keryn’s forearm. “Promise me!”
“Fine,” Keryn exclaimed as she pulled her arm free. “I will grant you amnesty on board the Ballistae.”
As she walked away, Keryn kept a watch on her emotionally unstable friend. Entering the helm once again, she closed the door behind her, separating herself from Iana. Alcent noticed her troubled expression as he wove between the other Cruisers of the Fleet.
“Would you like to tell me about our newest passenger?” Alcent finally asked, unable to handle the silence.
“She’s an old friend,” Keryn explained while trying to give away as little as possible of her story. Somehow, Keryn didn’t think Alcent was the right man to tell dangerous accusations. “We’re granting her amnesty on our ship.”
“Any particular reason?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” she responded, letting the subject drop.
As soon as they made dock with the Ballistae, they disembarked from their Terran ship and left the hangar bay. Adam met them in the hallway, having obviously rushed from the bridge to reach them before they left the area. He pulled up short, however, when he saw the shaking Pilgrim standing next to Keryn. Keryn shook her head, stopping any probing questions before they could be asked.
“Adam,” she began, “this is Iana Morven, an old friend of mine from the Academy. I need you to take her to one of the living quarters near ours and let her get some rest.”
Iana raised her face, looking back and forth between the two lovers as Adam gently led her away. As soon as they were out of earshot, Keryn activated her internal radio and called up to the control room.
“Wyck, this is Keryn.”
“Captain, my Captain,” Wyck responded. “It’s good to have you back.”
Keryn shook her head. She still wasn’t used to the new title. “Cut the crap, Wyck,” she replied. “I hope you have some good news for me about the Deplitoxide research.”
“It’s…” he paused just long enough that Keryn realized the news would not be good. “It’s coming along. Tora and I have actually made quite a few discoveries during our research together.”