by Cheree Alsop
The back hatch was wide open. Armed Coalition officers stood in atmosphere suits beyond the landing bay awaiting the Kratos.
The computer buzzed.
“Captain, we have an incoming transmission,” Hyrin said.
“Put it up on the screen,” Devren replied.
He held his hands loosely behind his back and gave all appearance of being calm. Liora admired his ability to project nonchalance despite the tension she knew ran through him whenever his crew was in danger.
A Coalition officer appeared on the screen. He had dark hair touched with gray at the temples and wore a black uniform without any stripes or decorations.
Devren’s shoulders immediately tightened and he straightened, lowering his arms to his sides.
“General Stratus. To what do we owe the pleasure?” Devren asked.
“General?” Hyrin whispered.
“We’re in trouble,” O’Tule said in an undertone.
Duncan leaned over to Liora and told her in a low voice, “General Stratus is the head of the entire Coalition. He seldom, if ever, leaves Titus.”
“That depends on who I am addressing,” the General replied.
Devren held his gaze. “I am Devren Metis, son of the late Rius Metis, Captain of the S.S. Kratos.”
The General’s eyes narrowed. “In order to be a captain of one of the Coalition’s Iron Falcons, I assume you have been sworn in by a colonel?”
“I was sworn in by Colonel Lefkin. But the colonel is a coward who gave orders for my father’s death, tortured members of my crew, and sent mercenaries after my ship when I refused to bring in the Omne Occasus. I have since destroyed the Omne Occasus and removed myself from any affiliation with the Coalition,” Devren replied.
The General didn’t look at all surprised. Liora realized he knew exactly who Devren was and the history of the Kratos. A thrill of warning ran across her skin.
“Yet you still fly one of our Iron Falcons,” the General said. “If you are no longer a member of the Coalition, then it is time to turn your ship back to its rightful owners. Land, Captain,” he said, emphasizing the word with irony. “We shall discuss your relationship with the Coalition in more detail.”
The screen went black.
“What should I do?” Hyrin asked, his eyes blinking rapidly.
Devren looked at the surrounding Falcons. If they tried to run, the Kratos would be shot to pieces. Devren gave the only order he could.
“Land.”
“Yes, Captain,” Hyrin replied; his voice taut.
Devren looked at Duncan. “Inform the crew that we’re landing on a Coalition carrier. I want everyone to lock themselves in the engine room. Tell Branson to bring every gun he can carry. If the General wants our crew, they’re going to have a fight.”
Duncan repeated Devren’s orders as Hyrin carefully steered the ship into the landing bay. As soon as the wide doors slid shut, the armed officers marched out to meet them.
Devren looked around the room. “O’Tule, Zran, go to the engine room. Have them seal the door from the inside. I don’t want anyone opening it without me present unless it’s a last resort. Duncan, go with them as well.”
As soon as they were clear of the control room, Devren looked at Straham. “You, too.”
Straham shook his head. “I politely refuse.”
A wry smile crossed Devren’s face. “How is refusing polite?”
“If I may be frank,” Straham replied. “You’re not a member of the Coalition and we’re landing on a Coalition carrier. You have no authority here.”
“This is my ship,” Devren pointed out.
“Not if the General has a say in it,” Straham replied calmly.
Liora realized Devren had expected an argument, otherwise he would have ordered Straham to go with the others. There was a light in the Captain’s eyes that showed his approval of Straham’s rebellion.
“What should I do?” Hyrin asked.
Devren turned to the Talastan. “I leave it up to you, my friend. I’d recommend going to the engine room before they seal it. Otherwise, you can stay here with Straham and keep the engines running in case we need a quick escape.”
“I’m going with you,” Straham said.
Devren set a hand on the older officer’s shoulder. “You were my father’s second. I trust you with my life. I need someone here to protect our ship and crew as the first line of defense.” He gestured to the rows of officers below. “You’ll do me no good down there. If they open fire, you have my orders,” he gave the man a steeling look. “My Captain’s orders, to take off with the crew and get free of this carrier if you can.”
“Yes, Captain,” Straham replied, his voice grave.
Devren left the control room. He paused when the door slid shut and looked at Liora who followed close behind him.
“Any chance I can convince you to stay here? If I remember correctly, the Coalition managed to kill you the last time you dealt with them.”
The memory of her heart stopping after Colonel Lefkin’s torture made her heart skip a beat.
“Not my best moment,” she replied, keeping her tone light. “At least we can hope it’ll be better than that.”
“You’re setting the bar pretty low,” Devren said as they walked down the ramp toward the waiting officers.
“That way it’ll only be uphill,” Liora replied under her breath.
A Gaul with the stars of a major on his shoulders met them at the bottom. Calypsans armed with automatics stood on either side of him. “Devren Metis, I am under orders to escort you to General Stratus’ office.” The Gaul speared Liora with a glare. “You and only you.”
Devren gestured calmly to Liora. “Liora is my Second. She has a right to be at whatever conference the General calls.”
The Gaul opened his mouth to argue, then shut it again and turned.
“Remove their weapons,” he barked at the biggest Calypsan.
The hoofed giant obeyed. He pulled their weapons free with callused fingers and tossed them to a gilled Salamandon.
“We’re expecting those back when we return,” Devren said.
Liora glanced at him, wondering where the sarcasm came from. Perhaps it had always been there, she just hadn’t noticed.
“Follow me,” the Gaul said in his gruff voice when the Calypsan was finished.
The Calypsans fell in on either side of them. Liora felt dwarfed by their escort. It was an intimidation tactic. If the General knew how many Gauls and Calypsans she had fought in her life, he wouldn’t have bothered. As it was, she hoped it meant he didn’t know who she was. The less the events with Colonel Lefkin came up, the better it would be for them.
To her dismay, the first face that met them when they entered the General’s massive meeting room was that of the colonel himself. Other armed officers waited at stations around the room; Liora didn’t see anything but the colonel.
Liora’s steps faltered. Devren must have felt her hesitate because he glanced at her.
“It’s going to be alright,” he whispered. “I won’t let him hurt you. I promise.”
His hand slipped into hers.
The action caught Liora off-guard enough that she stepped forward. The cruel smile that spread across the colonel’s face said he had noticed her hesitation. He crossed his arms in front of his chest.
“Liora Day, I’ve been counting the seconds until we could be together again.”
It took every bit of Liora’s Damaclan training to keep from launching herself at him. Fear, the true, cold tendrils that traced down her spine, spurred the fight or flight of adrenaline through her veins. The man had killed her, actually and intentionally caused her death. Her skin burned as if her nerve endings remembered the pain of the electricity surging through her.
“You won’t lay a finger on her,” Devren said.
“I’ll do whatever I want,” Colonel Lefkin shot back.
“You will not,” General Stratus said from behind the desk at the end of the roo
m.
The colonel’s face paled at the General’s tone.
“But General,” he protested. “These two almost killed me. They attacked Titus. They’re a threat even now.” He glared at Liora. “You can’t trust a Damaclan. She’ll stab you in the back if you so much as look at her wrong.” He gave the General a pleading look. “We have unfinished business, Liora and I. I’d be happy to take her to a private room for questioning if you would allow it. I am extremely efficient at extracting information.”
The General’s tone showed his distaste when he replied, “I’ve heard of your particular skills. I didn’t come halfway across the Macrocosm to let you have your way with young girls.”
The colonel sputtered. “B-but General, don’t let Liora fool you. She’s got a beautiful face, sure, but she can flay you with her eyes. She may look young, but she’s got the heart of a murderer. I’ve lost more men to her than—”
“Shut up, Colonel.”
The man shut his mouth so fast Liora heard his teeth click together.
The General rose from behind his huge mahogany desk. “Don’t mistake camaraderie dictated by office to be a form of friendship, Colonel.” He crossed the room. “I’ve seen the recordings from Titus on the last occasion Liora Day was there. That is the particular reason I have traveled halfway across this blasted Macrocosm like a chenowik on a wild tarlon hunt.”
“General?” the colonel said, his tone one of complete confusion.
The General let out a sigh as if the man’s incomprehension annoyed him to no end. “Colonel, you were accused of despicable actions to the point that circumstances proved necessary we bug any room you had access to.” He glared at the colonel. “Unfortunately, a man of your standing has access to practically every room on Titus, so it required a lot of bugs. Fortunately, our obstinacy paid off. After Liora escaped with the help of her comrades, every recording on Titus was reviewed. Do you know what we found?”
The General motioned and the wall behind him turned into a screen. A view from the corner of the small room in which Colonel Lefkin had tortured both her and Tariq was revealed. Tariq sat cuffed to the chair in the middle of the floor while Liora stood fastened to the loops on the wall.
To Liora’s dismay, the General then proceeded to show the entire torture session. By the end, she couldn’t bring herself to watch. Instead, she studied the General. She had seen unreadable people, but General Stratus beat them all. He watched the screen with his hands behind his back, his face expressionless. She didn’t know if he was happy about it or upset. She told herself that there was no reason the General would be mad besides the fact that the colonel had completed the torture without his express approval. He would be on Colonel Lefkin’s side.
Brandis burst into the torture room and shot the guards. Liora remembered how strangely the sound of the bullets had echoed around the room. She heard Tariq calling her name. The colonel was on the ground with the guns of Brandis’ men aimed at him. Liora was lowered down. She turned away at the sight of them carrying her from the room. She knew soon after that her heart had given out from the stress of pulling Tariq’s torture to her so that it didn’t kill him.
“What do you think about that?” the General asked, his tone level, almost amiable.
The colonel didn’t know how to react. He sputtered, then said, “Well, General, I should have had more guards at the door. The fact that the rebel scum could take Coalition prisoners from the room was something I hadn’t considered. I should have been armed and—”
The General cut him off. “Colonel Lefkin, you are hereby under arrest for the torture and attempted manslaughter of prisoners who should have been under the Coalition’s protection when they were captured on Titus.”
The colonel’s mouth dropped open.
Chapter 12
The General grabbed Colonel Lefkin by the lapels and pinned him against the wall. “Your treatment went so far below the standards of even simple humanity that you revealed a new low I have only seen matched amongst the scum of Pion Seven.” His face drew closer to the colonel’s rapidly growing red one. “You are stripped of rank and position within the Coalition and will go on trial as soon as we return to Titus.”
The General threw the colonel into the waiting hands of the Calypsans.
“Get out of my presence,” the General growled.
“This was all a ruse?” the colonel sputtered.
“This was a necessary ploy to uncover rumored illegal and unethical activities by members of our governing officers. The only way to solidify the case against you was to ensure that one of the many you have tortured survived. I thought we would be fortunate to find Devren Metis for testimony, but now that we have Liora Day, your trial can go forward.”
At the General’s nod, the Calypsans dragged the protesting colonel toward the door at the other end of the office. Colonel Lefkin struggled in their grips, but couldn’t make any headway in escaping.
“She’s Damaclan scum,” he yelled over his shoulder. “She hid the Omne Occasus; it’s Coalition property!”
The door shut behind him.
The General rubbed his forehead with the appearance of a headache before he returned to his seat. He glanced up and found Liora and Devren staring at him.
“Please, have a seat,” the General offered.
Liora and Devren looked at each other.
“It’s alright,” the General said. “We have a great deal to talk about, but I need to start with the matter at hand.”
Liora let go of Devren’s hand and sat on one of the chairs across the massive table from the General. Devren followed.
“Liora Day, will you sign a complaint against Colonel Lefkin for his ill treatment of you and your comrade….” He paused and glanced at the paper near his hand, “Tariq Donovan?”
“I will,” Liora replied quietly.
The General looked at Devren. “Does Tariq Donovan happen to be aboard your ship? Another testimony would help significantly with this case.”
Devren shook his head. “Tariq died in an explosion saving the Macrocosm.”
His words sounded so casual, yet so important. Liora would never have been able to summarize that moment so succinctly.
The General’s gaze showed his surprise for the briefest moment before the detached expression returned.
“Is that so? Unfortunate. We could have used him in this case.” The General looked at Liora again. “Will you undergo questioning in a trial to ensure that Colonel Lefkin is held accountable for his actions on Titus?”
Liora nodded.
“I need a verbal answer,” the General said. “Your words are being recorded.” He gestured to a small black box in the middle of the desk. It was the only object there besides the papers near his elbow.
“I will,” Liora replied.
Devren sat forward in his chair. “General, as we speak, my crew is sealed inside the engine room of the S.S. Kratos to protect themselves against a hostile takeover.”
The General gave one shallow nod as if the information didn’t surprise him in the least. “Your father would have ordered the same thing. I’m pretty sure he did on a few occasions, actually.”
“He was betrayed.”
The General nodded. “I’ve heard rumors of such a circumstance. Unfortunately, we have no hard evidence to hold against the colonel. But with Liora’s testimony and the recording of the torture session, he won’t escape justice any longer.” He met Liora’s gaze. “I need to ask you about the Omne Occasus.”
“I destroyed it,” she replied. “The orbs are gone, as they should be. It was a trap to allow the spread of a cosmos-wide plague that would have affected planets and all members of mortalkind alike. That is what Tariq died destroying.”
The General watched her for a moment. When he finally nodded, it was with respect. “I am grateful for his sacrifice. His father and I were friends before the death of his mother. It was through his recommendation that I approved Devren Metis and Tariq Donovan’s entri
es into the Coalition.”
Liora glanced at Devren. The surprise on his face was genuine. “I had no idea.”
The General nodded. “Edron Donovan is a good man, a very good man. I lost track of him for a while after your admission. When you were placed on the Kratos under Captain Metis, I guess he figured he had done what he needed to ensure that his son was taken care of and he joined our ranks again in the administration division.”
Liora spoke up. “General, can I ask a question?”
He nodded. “Of course.”
“Are we prisoners aboard your ship?”
The General rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
“Liora, you have a questionable history with the Coalition. I have reports that you are responsible for the deaths of more than a few of my officers.” He tipped his head to the side. “While my initial reaction was to question these reports in light of your small stature, I have to take into consideration the Damaclan tattoos that mark your skin, and also the footage taken on planet F One Zero Four of the Cetus Dwarf Galaxy showing an individual with the same tattoos taking down numerous Coalition officers. As such, we will detain you for further questioning to be done before a trial of your peers.”
“A trial of her peers?” Devren replied. “Are you going to find a Damaclan jury?”
The General shook his head. “There is no way—”
“Then how is it a trial of her peers?” Devren shot back. “That’s ridiculous. Liora was merely defending my crew. The Coalition turned on us on Colonel Lefkin’s orders.”
“Again, we have no proof of that,” the General pointed out.
“But she saved the Milky Way Galaxy when she destroyed the Omne Occasus and it nearly cost her life,” Devren said with a hint of desperation in his voice. “If it wasn’t for her, you wouldn’t even be here. The moss would be sucking away the life of your precious Titus and the rest of Jupiter’s moons. The Coalition would be nothing more than the memory of an overlord federation unable to unite long enough to do more than argue about the type of currency they should use.”
“That’s not in question here,” the General replied calmly. He lifted a hand and two more Calypsans stepped forward. “Please escort Liora to her cell.”
