And it had been real. Nobody could fake that.
Now she was convulsing.
“Computer, call the med bay,” I began, terror ripping through my tone.
Her body was convulsing so badly, I could barely hold her in place. My boots skidded across the floor.
The computer didn’t respond. “Computer!” I screamed.
No response.
Then I heard footsteps pelting towards me.
I yanked my head to the side, still using all my strength to hold Jenks in place. With every spine shattering convulsion, my boots skidded across the floor as I struggled to keep her steady.
“Help me,” I screamed out to the footsteps. “Call the med bay.”
Finally I saw somebody round a corner.
It was Commander F’val.
I hadn’t been informed that he was coming. Then again, Commander F’val seemed to have a privileged position with the resistance. He was our man on the inside, our informant inside the Enforcement Unit. Without him, the resistance would be nowhere near as powerful as it was.
Now he skidded towards me.
As a lieutenant commander, I’d had to learn how to recognize the facial expressions of every alien I might come across. The subtle differences. The body language, the emotions.
Well now, despite the desperation of holding Alyssa in place, I caught sight of F’val’s face.
His expression was… I couldn’t place it.
Cold. But more than that. Victorious.
Whatever it was, though, it passed quickly as he finally skidded to a stop beside me.
“Help her,” I screamed. “She’s having some kind of fit. The computer won’t let me—”
“Hold her steady,” F’val snapped as he fell down to one knee. He was holding some kind of medical device in one hand.
Before I knew what he was doing, he grabbed Alyssa’s neck roughly, yanked her head to the side, and jammed the device into the soft flesh just under her jaw.
“What are you doing?” I screamed.
Then Alyssa went slack.
Totally limp.
My heart burst. Then I realized she was still breathing. Just a soft movement of her chest against my arm, the same arm that was completely strained from holding her convulsing body in place.
F’val rose to his feet. He did not take his eyes off Alyssa.
I didn’t move; I still had my arms locked around her body, my legs splayed out in the same position used to try to control her bucking form.
I watched F’val swallow, watched as the slightest twitch travelled across his upper lip.
He took another step backwards, and finally wrenched his gaze off Alyssa. “It was lucky you were here, Shepherd.”
“What’s going on?” the words cracked from my throat.
“What is going on, is that we have finally incapacitated our spy.”
His words shouldn’t have shocked me, but they did. I stared at him. “What the hell are you talking about?”
I heard more footsteps, and looked up to see the Captain and Williams.
The Captain sliced her eyes towards Alyssa. “Is she incapacitated?” she asked F’val.
F’val looked at Alyssa, then he slid his gaze towards the Captain. He nodded slowly. “Yes. She will be no more trouble.”
The Captain came to a stop. She looked surprised.
Me, I knew I looked terrified.
I still held Alyssa, even though she was as limp as a dead body. My fingers were stiff, arms locked in place. It felt as if I’d never move again.
“You can get up now, Lieutenant Commander,” F’val said. “I’ll explain everything. Trust me, that thing there is not worth your time.”
“Sorry?” my voice cracked with emotion.
“She’s a spy,” the Captain announced. “F’val here figured it out. He accessed her secret file through his contacts at the Enforcement Office. I can’t believe… that I trusted her.”
All I could do… all I could was think of how she’d cracked down and repeated her name.
Alyssa Nightingale.
Alyssa Nightingale.
That’d been the name they’d taken from her.
It hadn’t been an act. Christ, my heart knew it hadn’t been an act. Nobody could just pretend to shatter like that.
I didn’t move.
“Lieutenant Commander, I know that must have been a shock for you,” F’val said in a smooth tone as he nodded at me once more. “But get up, leave her on the ground, and I’ll explain everything.”
I couldn’t just sit there. But I couldn’t get up either.
In fact, it took F’val leaning down and bodily grabbing Alyssa from my arms. He latched a hand around her collar, and tugged her free, her head lolling against his arm.
Then he just dropped her. She was nothing but meat. Right by my feet.
My stomach gave a lurch. I thought I’d throw up.
Instead my anger-filled gaze snapped towards him.
I made no attempt whatsoever to hide my emotions.
“Lieutenant Commander, we can explain. Still,” the Captain swiveled her gaze to F’val, “despite the fact she is a spy, we should maintain proper decorum around prisoners.”
F’val commented, “I wouldn’t bother. You aren’t the first ship Ensign Jenks has tried to destroy.”
I finally got to my feet. Reluctantly. And I had to press a sweaty white-knuckled hand into the wall for support. I made eye contact with Williams briefly.
She wavered between looking confused and looking at Jenks with anger.
“What did you do to her?” I turned to F’val and asked through clenched teeth.
“I incapacitated her with the environmental controls. It wasn’t hard. I pumped a specific compound into the ship.”
“How did you know it would work?”
“Information from the Enforcement Unit,” he said smoothly. “Now, come with me, and I’ll explain everything.”
“What, you’re just going to leave her here in the corridor?” I couldn’t control my tone. There was no way in all hell that I could control my tone.
Alyssa lay there at my feet, where F’val had dumped her. Her head was at an uncomfortable angle, that short hair a mess over her face.
If I couldn’t see her chest softly moving up and down, I would be sure she was dead.
To think, a few short minutes ago I might not have cared. I’d been so convinced that she was the spy.
Now….
“It’s lucky that I got here in time,” F’val said. “She would most definitely have attempted to destroy this ship again.”
I found myself nodding. It was nothing more than a movement. The simple shifting up and down of my chin.
“What are you going to do with her?” I asked.
“She will have to be taken to my ship and placed under watch. Due to her abilities as a telekinetic warrior, it is unwise to keep her in the Ra’xon’s brig. She will stay there until we decide what to do with her.”
I nodded again. Again, it was just a movement.
I couldn’t feel my heart anymore, or my ragged breath, or the sweat slicked along my brow. The only thing I was aware of was F’val. Standing two meters in front of me, Alyssa a comatose mess at his feet.
“So she’s a telekinetic warrior then?” I asked.
F’val nodded.
“She must be pretty powerful,” I commented.
There it was again. That strange look in his eyes. The one that he smoothed over with such ease.
“She is relatively powerful. Well-trained and very well-equipped,” he commented. “The Star Forces know how to arm their spies.”
I nodded.
The Star Forces know how to arm their spies, ha? Then why didn’t they give her compound 78? Why did they make her steal Omega weapons to synthesize it? When doing so was what had led to her ultimately being found?
That question slammed into my mind like a heavy cruiser at light speed.
I didn’t share it with anyone.
&
nbsp; I couldn’t speak, and I didn’t want to.
“I will arrange to have her shifted to my ship,” F’val said once more. Then I will explain everything.”
I nodded.
“Do you need assistance?” The Captain asked.
F’val appeared to consider the question. “She should be fine. The compound,” he threw the medical device in his hand up and caught it, “will incapacitate her for several hours. We will not have to worry about her telekinetic abilities.”
The Captain nodded.
Briefly I made eye contact with Williams again. She was staring at Alyssa. There were flashes of anger, but there was also just plain confusion.
Was she starting to ask the same questions I was?
If Alyssa was meant to be so goddamn dangerous and so goddamn well-equipped, why was she half dead on the floor by our feet?
Why had she allowed herself to be captured?
“Please move aside, Lieutenant Commander,” F’val said as he leaned down and picked up Alyssa.
He wasn’t careful as one of her arms swung around and banged into the wall.
My stomach lurched.
I wanted nothing more than to throw myself at F’val.
I didn’t.
I just stood there, sweat drenched down my back, watching.
Waiting.
“This will only take a moment,” F’val assured us.
Then he walked off, Alyssa over one shoulder.
I couldn’t tear my eyes off the sight of them.
Finally the Captain cleared her throat. “None of us could have expected this,” she said in a quiet clearly shocked tone.
Like the Chief, I fancied the Captain had grown to like Jenks. Or Alyssa, as it appeared she was really called.
“Williams, I would like you to personally search Ensign Jenks’ quarters. Try to find the missing compound 78,” the Captain said.
It took Williams a while to nod. “Yes,” she said in a small tone.
The Captain swiveled her gaze onto me. “Accompany me to my ready room. F’val won’t take long.”
I began to nod but stopped. “Hold on, Captain – there’s just something I want to grab from my room.”
She nodded.
Then the Captain’s eyes briefly swiveled towards the spot where Alyssa had fallen.
Most people wouldn’t be able to tell, but she looked scared.
As she should.
The Captain turned and walked away.
Williams did too.
I suddenly ran to catch up to Williams. “You okay?”
She didn’t answer immediately. Then finally she tugged her head towards me. “That was a shock. I can’t believe it was Jenks.”
“Me too,” I lied.
I hadn’t shared a word of the fact I’d found out about Alyssa before F’val had arrived.
And I had no idea what I was doing. I should tell the truth.
But I couldn’t.
Wouldn’t.
I’d trapped it in my chest under lock and key.
Because something wasn’t right.
I cleared my throat. “What’s going on here?” I asked directly.
She shook her head then stopped, dead gaze locking on the wall. “Jenks is a spy. A telekinetic spy. That’s what’s going on. She sabotaged the ship, she stole the Omega weaponry—”
“If she was a telekinetic spy sent here by the Star Forces, why wouldn’t they equip her with her own supply of 78?”
Williams actually flinched.
“You’ve thought about that, haven’t you?” I pried further.
Eventually she nodded, letting a hand fall down her face as she gave a slight shiver. “But there must be some reason. Maybe her own supply got compromised somehow?
It wasn’t a statement. It was a question. She looked up into my eyes as she asked it.
“… Maybe,” I conceded with a weak voice.
I kept holding her gaze until she looked away sharply.
“F’val will tell us what’s going on,” she said weakly.
“Yeah,” I conceded, voice even weaker than before.
Williams gave a brief nod and then walked away.
I watched her go.
Then I turned on my foot and headed for my quarters.
As soon as I reached them and the door shut behind me, I went straight to my workstation.
“Computer, access any data files on an Alyssa Nightingale.”
“There will be multiple files referring to that name. It is suggested you restrict the search variables.”
I leaned up and accessed the holographic controls, typing in whatever I could think of. Alyssa’s probable age, when she might have joined the Star Forces, anything that might help. “Run the search again.”
“There are approximately 155 possible individuals with that name. It is suggested you restrict the search variables.”
I sighed, clutching a hand over my face and digging it into the skin above my eyes.
Then I stopped. I let my hand drop. “Cross-reference with the Ra’xon’s current database. Find any Alyssa Nightingales that are dead, and died in the last five years.”
The computer beeped. “There is one possibility.”
I let out a breath of relief. “What files do you have?”
A summary of the files appeared next to the holographic controls.
I scanned them quickly, the movements of my eyes like the snapped movements of a hand trying to grab onto something.
It appeared that Alyssa Nightingale had been a Star Forces recruit, only to die from an unexpected illness.
“Is there any footage? Any pictures?”
“There are both,” the computer replied.
“Show me her face,” I said, voice cracking for some reason.
A full face bio scan appeared on screen.
It wasn’t Jenks.
Didn’t look much like her.
But… there was something.
“Play the footage.”
“Select footage. There are assessment reports from the Star Forces Academy. There is her entry interview —”
“Show me the entry interview,” I snapped.
The entry interview wasn’t as bad as it sounded. In fact, it was pretty informal. It wasn’t meant to be scary. On your very first day at the Academy, you were asked to share your history with the other recruits from the class. Why you joined the Academy, what you wanted to achieve. It was meant to be a bonding exercise.
There was a flutter of nerves in my stomach as a holographic feed appeared over the desk.
I saw a smiling Alyssa Nightingale. It was such a beguiling smile too. The kind of smile that reached high into someone’s cheeks until it almost took over their face.
She was laughing with another group of recruits until one of the teachers told her to begin.
She stood up in front of the class, clasping her hands in front of her.
There was that smile again. Didn’t shift from her face. Seemed like it was engraved into her cheeks and mouth.
She gave a soft laugh, made brief eye contact with her friends who gave her the thumbs up signal, and then she began. “I’m not really sure where to start. I don’t have much of a history. I have an ordinary life. I just… guess I joined the Academy to make a difference. I know you’ve heard that a lot today, but it’s true.” Her gaze shifted off to the side, and her smile became more thoughtful. “I’m not sure if I can make much of a difference, but I want to try.”
I found my expression softening, softening to the point where I could barely feel my face anymore.
This wasn’t what I’d expected.
This was… so real. So unashamed. Just a fresh faced innocent recruit talking about her hopes and aspirations.
Somewhere on my file was the same entry interview, though I hadn’t been nearly as honest. I’d rehearsed exactly what I was going to say for about half a year before I’d stood up in front of my class.
I joined the Academy to keep the Alliance safe, to
serve, to be loyal.
Alyssa kept laughing, kept looking at her friends, kept laying her heart right out for everyone to see.
I felt cold and sick as I watched.
And finally the interview stopped.
I did nothing and said nothing.
Then I jolted as nerves shot down my back. I didn’t have time to waste. “Computer, do an analysis. Take the biometric data of Ensign Jenks and compare it to everything you have on Alyssa Nightingale. I want your assessment – is it possible that they are the same person? That Alyssa underwent medical procedures to change her identity?”
“Analysis will take several minutes,” the computer informed me.
“Fine.”
They would be several minutes of hell.
I found myself pacing through my room, arms locked in front of my chest, fingers bent until they indented the skin around my ribs.
I paced back and forth, back and forth, shoes wearing a hole in the plush carpet of my room.
I kept shooting worried, almost terrified glances at the holographic panel.
Waiting.
Waiting.
Until it was finally completed. “There is a significant possibility that Alyssa Nightingale is Ensign Jenks,” the computer confirmed.
“What kind of possibility?”
“Approximately 98.3%. Findings cannot be confirmed until a full DNA comparison is done.”
98.3% was good enough for me.
I brought a hand up and let it hover in front of my mouth until I clamped it over my lips. I let my lips pucker up through the indents between my fingers, let my hand push down further and further until I felt pain twist into my jaw.
Jenks hadn’t lied. She was Alyssa Nightingale.
And Alyssa Nightingale….
My gaze drifted up until I locked it on the hologram of the now stopped footage.
Alyssa Nightingale had once possessed one of the nicest smiles I’d ever seen.
How the hell could they be the same person?
What had happened to Alyssa to turn her into Jenks?
And more than that – more importantly than that – was she working for the Star Forces?
I just couldn’t… imagine it. Not after her breakdown.
She’d cried, smashing a hand into the wall repeatedly, screaming that they’d taken her name.
And the way F’val had treated her….
It hadn’t escaped my attention that F’val was well-placed to be a double agent. He still maintained his position with the Enforcement Unit. And while that meant he could funnel critical information towards the resistance, if he was so inclined, it meant he could funnel information back to the Star Forces too.
The Crucible- The Complete Series Page 25
