by Taylor Smith
The beam from Valiant had done a lot of damage to his left side. His left arm was a loss. The doctors would amputate it and replace it with a full prosthetic when they returned to Clew. For now it was cradled in a sling, useless to him. His left leg, while severely damaged, he would keep, but would need some internal prosthetic muscles to replace the ones Andrelli had taken from him.
The rest of the burned areas of his body were what the doctor had called “cosmetic damage.” She’d even lumped in his left eye with that label which dumbfounded him. The doctor had laughed and told him he would soon be seeing better than anyone once they were back home. Like Andy, Dr. Grant had said he was lucky. Cade still had a hard time seeing it that way.
There were few others in the galley, so Cade hobbled right up to the man behind the counter. He was a tall, wide man who looked busy trying to keep everything in order. Once he spotted Cade though, he raised his hand for him to wait, and without saying a word, disappeared around the corner. Cade fought a slight irritation at that. He was really hungry and tired of the mush Dr. Grant had been feeding him the past few days.
After only a minute or two, the man reappeared with a tray and handed it to Cade, who still hadn’t even had a chance to see what his options were. Cade looked down at the proffered plate and found his eyes widening. Roasted vegetables that looked quite fresh lay next to a real steak. A real steak; and it smelled incredible! He looked back up at the cook in surprise, who gave him a slight nod of his head and went about his business.
Cade stared at the man for a moment before thanking him. He turned to find he had many choices of seating, and chose an empty table in the back corner. The room was easily twice as big as Grim Shoals’ galley, and the pain he still felt trying to walk made the difference that much more apparent.
Upon reaching his seat, he slowly sat down, careful not to ruffle the plastic bandages on his sides and leg. Finally, he took a bite out of the second real steak he’d ever had in his entire life. Any other day and he’d be able to enjoy what he thought was an amazing meal, but he couldn’t bring himself to find the joy in it.
“Looks like that steak be agreein’ with ya, Mr. Cade.”
The voice that came from behind him reminded Cade so much of Captain Kova that he twisted around far too quickly and winced at the pain. He took a deep breath and nodded, recognizing the man behind him. “It’s delicious.” The air of command was still there, just as Cade remembered, but more so now that he was face to face with the man and not just watching him on a screen. “Thank you, Captain Torbeck.”
Torbeck rounded the table and sat opposite Cade. “It’s from my personal stock. I don’t dig ‘round in there too often, but it seemed the proper time,” he said in the same slow drawl as most pirate crew. “Those doctors who think they know it all can throw silly-pills around all they want, but I’ll tell ya boy,” he grinned and leaned forward. “A real cut o’ meat will cure what the good doctors can’t, it will.”
A steak from the Captain’s personal stash. That made more sense to Cade. With each bite, he wondered more and more if this was how everyone ate on the Reaper. It seems that’s not the case. “Thank you again. It was just what I needed,” he lied, though he appreciated the gesture.
Captain Torbeck leaned back slowly, his eyes locked onto Cade. “Losin’ the Grim Shoals is bad for all of us, Mr. Cade,” he said in a low tone. “When we came upon that wreck, me heart dropped. Good men on that ship.”
Cade took another bite of meat and nodded. He’d had a torturous first day awake and wasn’t inclined to break down in front of a Clew Captain, so he concentrated on his food. He could tell the man’s eyes were still on him.
“Don’t ya be worryin’, boy,” Torbeck drawled out. “We’ll have ya home in a few days and get ya patched up.” He shrugged in thought. “Maybe you can sign on with another crew, if yer capable.”
Cade looked up from his plate. “I want to kill Andrelli,” he said in a low tone that he found surprisingly steady. “You hunt the Valiant. Let me help you.” He suddenly found that he wanted nothing more. His entire life had been destroyed by this man and now, with all his being, he wanted vengeance.
Torbeck sighed heavily and looked at Cade with a hint of disapproval. “Look at yer arm, boy. Yer no use ta me. I’m takin’ you home.”
“No!” Cade shouted and stood quickly, ignoring the fresh current of pain that surged across his left side. He couldn’t go back to Clew now. There was nothing for him there. “Captain, listen to me. I can still fly. I can help you find Andrelli.”
Torbeck stood with him, his face growing dark in anger. “This isn’t up for discussion, Mr. Cade. You’re goin’ home and there’ll be no more of it!” He shouted back and stormed out of the galley.
He stared at Torbeck’s back as he walked away. Cade’s heart pounded, and his eyes were slits of hatred. He wasn’t going anywhere. At that moment he vowed that he would fight until his last breath to see the downfall of the man who killed everyone he loved. There was no pain, no home, no fear. There was nothing else but Andrelli.
Chapter 8
Haley never imagined she would be spying on a superior officer, but she was fully convinced Captain Andrelli and most of his officer staff was corrupt. In his recklessness, he was endangering the Alliance. Of all people, it was Saundi who had made her realize that she was wrong in her need to adapt to the Valiant. The academy had taught her to follow orders, but she also learned to weigh those orders against Alliance values. She had to report Andrelli’s actions to Alliance Command but couldn’t act without proof.
Break rules to uphold principles. Haley knew she was in a horrible situation but the more she thought about Andrelli’s actions, the more she knew she had to do something about it. If she was wrong, she would pay with her commission and quite possibly her life.
“Hurry up,” Haley whispered, as she watched the corridor for any sign of movement.
“Can’t rush file transfers, babe,” came Saundi’s reply from inside the secondary communications compartment where she hovered over a console. “This little thing only writes at sixty terabytes per second. Should’ve grabbed my other bag.”
Haley huffed and continued her vigil. After Saundi had captured copies of sensor and video logs implicating some of the crew in murder and the Captain as having an implant, the girls had decided to gather as much information as possible to turn over to the Admiralty. The problem they found was that most of the logs were being deleted, which was another grievous dereliction of procedure. They were being replaced by weak fakes and reruns of older operations that showed nothing out of the ordinary.
Saundi had laughed at their blundered attempts at cover-up, but Haley had grown more worried. There were smart people aboard, and the fact that they weren’t even trying hard at covering up their actions made her suspicious that she wasn’t seeing the whole picture.
The deleted files had brought them to the secondary communications center. This room was not only used in the event the bridge systems were unusable, but also as an archival infrastructure for everything that happened on the ship for the past year. It was the Alliance equivalent to a black box. The system wasn’t accessed unless the primaries had been severely damaged, but Saundi had found all the information untouched and was currently copying as much as she could to a separate storage unit.
Saundi finally snapped the small case shut and said, “Done. Let’s get out of here before someone sees.”
Haley felt a slight relief as they left the room and made their way back to their quarters. It was very early in the morning, ship time, so most of the crew was in their racks. Even so, they passed several third-shifters on their way back to officer country.
Saundi elbowed her after the second crewman passed. “Quit trying so hard,” she whispered. “You’re smiling at people like a puppy wanting to hump their legs!”
Haley nodded and tried to slow her breathing. She was so nervous and knew it showed.
They finally reached Saundi’
s quarters and locked themselves inside. “Did you get all of it?” Haley asked as Saundi slid the case under some rumpled clothes next to her bunk.
“Hell no,” Saundi replied with a bewildered look. “This thing can only hold a fraction of the mainframe, but I think I got enough.”
Haley let a deep breath out in understanding. Her nerves were still buzzing, and she shook her hands to try and calm herself. “Well, what did you get?”
“Haley,” Saundi said with her fists on her hips. “I got enough. Crew manifests, course details, sensor logs, video and communications for the past year. Well, as much as I could, anyway.”
Nodding, Haley finally began to relax. “Ok. What about Andrelli?”
“Oh I definitely got all that,” Saundi grinned and sauntered over to sit on her bunk. “Even hacked his personal backups. I grabbed that first, then filled the rest up with anything else I could get my hands on.”
Haley nodded and began pacing. “Saundi, are we doing the right thing? What if we get caught?”
“Stop it. You know something’s wrong here,” Saundi said in a firm tone. “Go get some sleep and forget about it until we can find a way to get this to the stiffs at H.Q.”
Haley stopped pacing, took another deep breath and relented. “Right.”
***
The next morning after a short, fitful sleep, Haley felt as if she’d spent the entire night studying for an exam at the academy. Her muscles were stiff, and she’d discovered horrible bags under her eyes when she woke. She debated on whether or not to skip her morning workout routine and opt for an extra half hour of sleep, but in the end she decided it would be good to work the kinks out, so she headed for the gym.
The Valiant’s gym was a small space, but there was never a crowd, so Haley rarely had to wait long for a machine. She went through her routine quickly and found her stress and the tension in her shoulders eased as she finished. For some reason, her thoughts had wandered back to the academy while she exercised, and she found herself saddened by her current situation. At the same time she was elated that she was doing something about it. The Alliance she had come to love was out there, just not on Valiant.
When she was done, she showered then returned to her locker to dress. When she opened it, she took her uniform out then quickly slammed the door after seeing what was behind it. “No,” she whispered and slowly opened it back up to find the slim case that Saundi had stored the Valiant’s black box data on the night before. Haley found her nervousness returning and secured her locker before anyone else could see inside. She couldn’t believe her friend had hidden that there and wondered why she hadn’t even warned her. No matter. Haley would meet Saundi for breakfast soon and find out just what the girl was thinking.
She’d cleaned up as best she could and was on her way toward Saundi’s quarters where they would meet, then make their way to the Galley for breakfast as they did every morning. Nearing Saundi’s quarters, she rounded the corner and froze at the scene playing out in front of her.
A mass of armed crew stood in the corridor in front of Saundi’s quarters. One man, hefting what looked to be an assault rifle, turned toward her and motioned for her to stay put. All her anxiety returned in a flood. She had to take deep breaths to keep from panicking outwardly.
Then, to her horror, two crewmen dragged an unconscious Saundi from the room and carried her by the arms toward her. Haley stiffened as they passed, and she noticed a trickle of blood running across her best friend’s cheek.
“With me,” Captain Andrelli said in a grave voice upon seeing Haley.
She hadn’t even noticed him until he spoke, but now he seemed the only thing to fill the corridor. “Yes, sir,” she managed to squeak out and followed him the opposite direction in which they drug Saundi. Haley guessed they were taking her to the brig, and she would soon join her.
Andrelli led her into the same war room in which they first met. Indicating a chair, he sat heavily in his chair at the end with folders and papers spread before him, his face dark from anger.
Haley tentatively sat, feeling her heart rate climb and the drilling eyes of her Captain on her. “What’s going on, Captain?” she asked, now afraid for her life. They’d obviously found out they’d been sneaking around last night, but she wasn’t sure how much they knew.
Andrelli stared at her for a long moment before glancing over several of the reports before him. “How long have you known Saundi Adair?” he asked in a strong tone.
“Four years, sir. Did she do something wrong, Captain?” she asked again, hoping for some inkling into what he knew.
“I ask the questions, Ensign,” he ground out quickly, returning his hateful gaze her way.
Haley nodded and averted her eyes as her fear grew exponentially.
Andrelli stared at her for a moment, then leaned back with a sigh. His next question came out in a softer tone. “Your friend’s in the brig, Ensign Marks. Can I call you Haley?”
At once she knew this was a witness or low-level co-conspirator type interrogation. Haley had taken the required information mining and interrogation class at the academy. It was a standard tactical specialty course that taught cadets a bit about how people think, therefore how to beat them. That class had instructed her to take different approaches to people depending on their involvement in a situation. She wished she could remember more, but she never thought she’d find herself interrogating anyone, least of all being interrogated herself. She just hoped she was right and nodded at the question but didn’t say anything.
“All right, Haley. Your friend is in some serious trouble,” the Captain started, crossing his arms. “From the moment you two arrived on board we’ve been digging into your past.” He raised a sheet from one of the many folders and read aloud, “Haley Marks, born aboard the Allied Fleet Cruiser Sunspark during a long-duration mission. Parent’s names, Alice and Roger Marks. Your father died before you were born as a result of an illness on Torj Colony. The Sunspark was unfortunately lost in combat several months later during its return voyage, along with your mother. You and thirty others survived for six days inside various escape pods until they picked you up. Since your birth, you’ve been in Alliance care until your graduation and boarding the Valiant.”
Haley noticed the pause in his reading and said, “Yes, sir. That’s correct.” Bringing up her parents deaths stung, but it was a pain born of loneliness, not loss, as she never had the chance to know either of them.
“We have your entire history, Haley.” Andrelli nodded and laid the sheet down in exchange for another and began reading again, “Saundi Adair, birthplace unknown. Birth name, unknown. Parent’s names, unknown. Adopted by Joslyn Adair on Eden three at the age of seventeen. Immediately joined the academy.” Andrelli let the paper fall to the table and said, “Now don’t you think that’s odd?”
Haley found herself wondering what this was about. Certainly this wasn’t about the stolen data or surely he would have taken a different approach talking with her. This was sounding more like information mining, but why would they have beaten Saundi and dragged her to the brig? Her hope rose a bit, but she kept control of herself saying, “No, sir.”
Her answer took Andrelli by surprise. “No, sir? Care to elaborate why there’s no record of your friend since before she was seventeen?”
“Sorry, sir,” she said shaking her head. “Saundi’s file has been redacted by the Alliance itself. The Academy Admiralty to be more specific, Captain.” She paused in thought. Saundi hadn’t spoken much of her past and Haley knew from those rare times that she was ashamed of it. But what Haley did remember, she didn’t think would hurt anything by telling it. “During our first year at the academy, Saundi got in some trouble with another cadet. She always had a… an aggressive personality. A councilor approached me trying to help her, and I found out that Admiral Jonas had redacted her file so the instructors wouldn’t treat her differently than the others because of that past.”
Andrelli squinted and looked away, appa
rently trying to put pieces to a puzzle together. “Why was her file hidden? What would make an instructor treat her different?”
Haley shook her head and said, “I don’t have all the information for you, Captain, but I know that her past was violent. She never knew her parents and those that did look out for her sold her to a work camp at a young age. I’ve read that it’s very common in the less fortunate and lawless areas on Eden and most other worlds.” She thought about what Saundi had told her and finished with a shrug. “I know that it was an Alliance operation that shut down the company that had her and that the camp was a less than ethical place. I don’t know anything more than that. She doesn’t like to talk about it.”
Andrelli thought about this for a moment and then shook his head. “I’ll follow up with Admiral Jonas then. Haley,” he said with a pause of thought. “Why would Ensign Adair be editing internal communication and sensor logs?”
And there it was. Haley dared not react outwardly, but knew they’d been caught. The fact that the man who faced her now wasn’t ripping her head off made her believe he didn’t know exactly what they’d done. Or at least didn’t think Haley had anything to do with it. She decided to trust her friend, hoping she’d edited everything out before she was caught. “I don’t know, sir. Her specialties at the academy were data and comms. We helped each other study, but I wouldn’t know her job.”
The Captain stared at her for several long moments, as if trying to judge her truthfulness. “You’d submit yourself freely to an Alliance interrogation team at that statement?” he asked.
“Yes, sir,” she answered as steady as she could, hoping he didn’t smell the fear in her voice.
“Very well, Ensign Marks,” Andrelli said stacking papers back up and returning them to their proper folders. “You’re dismissed.”
