by Rick Bentsen
Chapter 33.
2.8.2136
0519
Brentax III
Brentacchia Prison
UNABLE to sleep on the torture table, K’Alan fidgeted. He’d tried to reach the tools he needed to free himself, but he couldn’t. He cursed himself for keeping his lock pick kit on his belt. He decided that, if he were to ever get out of this situation, he would find a way to stick a lock pick in the cuff of his uniform jacket when he went on a mission.
Just my luck, K’Alan thought. I have the proper tools to get me out of my situation, and I can’t even reach them.
The Star League officer gently put his head back against the board he was lying on and sighed.
“OK, Lords,” he called out to no one in particular. “If I get out of this, I promise to never go on a foolish mission like this again. Or at least to never get caught on another foolish mission like this again.”
There was no response, although K’Alan wasn’t expecting one. He closed his eyes and waited. Unsure of what information the Brentax wanted from him, the young Duterian could only wait for the torture to begin.
Crovax was an interesting puzzle for him. The Cor’vat obviously hated working for his Brentax masters. He wondered if he could use that to his advantage. Probably not. But K’Alan would be foolish to not look for any opportunity that might present itself along those lines.
Not for the first time, he wondered how Mario was doing. Did he follow orders and leave? And would he try to come back and rescue him? No, he decided. Erin Sykes would play it by the book and not let Mario come back. That was why he had wanted Erin for his XO. But the captain knew that he was on his own.
What did he have on his side? He still had his weapons, but he had no way to use them with his hands shackled like they currently were. He had one ally on this planet, but that man was also a prisoner slated for execution.
He felt a twinge of guilt as he thought about G’Kiron. The old chancellor had been arrested because he truly believed in a peace that may or may not ever exist. K’Alan was interested in the Great Thinkers that G’Kiron spoke of. What had he said? There was a great darkness on the horizon that the Brentax must ally itself with another power in the quadrant. What darkness? Could the Star League and the Brentax Empire push back whatever darkness it was together? Or was the old man just crazy? He didn’t think G’Kiron was crazy, but he just wasn’t sure what to make of the prophecies that the old chancellor kept referring to.
A slight breeze brought K’Alan to the present. His eyes snapped open, and he was instantly alert. The Star League officer looked around at the bare walls surrounding him. The wooden door was slightly ajar. He thought he could hear the sound of a chitinous material on stone clacking. Or was it just a figment of his imagination?
No, there it was again. The clacking sound was definitely getting closer. Whatever it was that was making the sound was definitely coming his way.
Perhaps, he thought. Perhaps it’s Crovax and it’s time to start the torture. At least, I hope it’s Crovax. Maybe I can get through to him and get him to set me free.
The Star League officer waited patiently, watching the door to the room with interest. The clacking sound grew louder, and soon the door opened and Crovax slinked in. The Cor’vat was carrying a medium sized rectangular box. K’Alan wasn’t sure he wanted to know what was in the box, but he assumed it was the tools of torture. K’Alan noted with interest that the Cor’vat’s appearance wasn’t as unsettling as it had been the first time.
Perhaps, he mused. It’s that I know what to expect this time. Last time, I was expecting a Brentax officer when I opened my eyes after all.
“Good,” Crovax smiled, his smile disarming at best. “You’re awake. I have been instructed to begin the torture.”
The Cor’vat moved behind the bench K’Alan was lying on and pulled a small table from under it. He moved the table to the side of the bench so K’Alan could see everything he did and placed the box on it. He opened the box and began pulling out implements of torture, many of which K’Alan had never seen the likes of before.
“I suppose I don’t want to ask what you’re going to do with those,” K’Alan sighed. His mind was working double time to try to come up with a way to get the torturer to release him.
“Duterian, do not ask questions that you truly do not want the answers to,” the Cor’vat said. “Before I begin the torture, I would like to have a conversation with you. You are, to say the least, an interesting person, and I would like the opportunity to speak with you one more time before your brain no longer will support such a tiresome task.”
“Great,” K’Alan groaned. “What would you like to talk about?”
“I’d like to talk about your Star League,” the insectoid said. “There are some questions that I have based on our last conversation.”
“All right,” K’Alan shrugged. “I’ll do my best to answer them but If you ask anything that would be considered classified, you know I’ll have to decline answering.”
“I won’t ask anything classified, Duterian,” Crovax said. “I am interested in learning more about the Star League. You said that you found slavery to be an atrocity. How does your Star League view slavery?”
“Much the same way as I feel about it. Any race that joins the Star League must not hold slaves. We believe very strongly in an individual’s rights. Any individual has the right to be free,” K’Alan explained.
“Would the Star League put that as part of a peace treaty?”
“They may,” K’Alan said after a moment. “But only if they know about the slavery. They would require all slave races to be freed. The problem is that I don’t think the Star League knows that the Brentax Empire holds slaves. You’ll remember, I didn’t know until you told me earlier.”
“True.” The Cor’vat sighed deeply as his antennae twitched. “Would you be willing to tell them if you were freed?”
“Crovax, I’d be willing to set up an appointment with one of the Admirals for you to tell them your story yourself.”
Finally, he thought to himself. An opening.
“I could not do that while still a slave though,” Crovax frowned.
“I can offer you political asylum, Crovax,” K’Alan said, hope for his future blossoming. “You would be considered as if you were a citizen of the Star League.”
“You would do this to me despite the atrocities I have committed to those of your kind?” Crovax asked, surprised.
“The torture you have inflicted on members of the Star League, you did under orders. You will not be held responsible for actions you committed while following orders. Especially as you were a slave when you were following those orders.”
“Then, I shall request asylum from you, Duterian. I wish my people freed.”
“I grant it, Crovax,” K’Alan smiled.
“Good.”
K’Alan barely flinched as Crovax broke the shackles that bound his hands.
“Before we leave Brentax III, there are two things I need to do,” K’Alan said.
“I understand. But hurry.”
Chapter 34.
2.8.2136
0811
SLS White Knight
Main Conference Room
COMMANDER Erin Sykes was early for the morning briefing. The briefing was scheduled for 0830, but the young commander was feeling restless, so she arrived in the conference room early. She noted that she was the first person there. Well that was fine. It gave her a few minutes to gather her thoughts. She made a point of going by the Captain’s seat and sitting in her Executive Officer’s seat. She had no doubt that her appointment as commander of Gamma Strike was a very temporary one. She hoped it would be a very short command.
The stars streaked by outside the conference room windows as the White Knight cruised along at maximum fusion drive. She could not imagine the stars not moving, it had been so long since she’d been on a planet for any length of time.
She smiled as the other members
of the command staff started to file in one by one. They began to fill the seats at the conference table each one sitting at their own place, leaving two seats conspicuously empty. The captain’s seat and Mario Bonetti’s seat had been empty for days. One would be filled again tomorrow. The other…
She didn’t want to think about how long it would be before K’Alan was back in command of Gamma Strike.
“We all here?” she asked, more to pull herself out of her dismal thoughts than anything else. There were nods of assent from around the table. “Great. Let’s get started. Before we get to the sit rep, I want to go through and do department reports. Let’s start with communications. Kath?”
Erin noted with interest that Katherine and Suela Yeuid refused to look at each other. She made a mental note to talk to the young communications chief about that at some point.
“Well,” Kath started. “Comms are working good at this point. We’ve been receiving Shuttle Kiarin’s telemetry beacon steadily.”
“Weapons and scanners. Masha?” Erin continued.
“Weapons are ready. Scanners are on full screens. Our cloak is working perfectly. Not even any trace emissions. We are currently undetectable.”
“Good. Sciences?” Erin looked at Suela Yeuid.
“I’ve been working on getting stellar cartography and astronavigation working properly. They’re not a necessity during this mission as we know where we are and where we’re going, but I estimate it’ll be another month before those systems are online. The other sciences are ready to go when they’re needed.”
“Keep working on stellar cartography, Suela,” Erin nodded. “Engineering?”
“Fusion drive’s working better than I anticipated with a ship this size. I had expected problems, but we’re consistently and safely surpassing my expectations as far as speeds and power conservation. I’m extremely pleased as to how the constant cloaking isn’t causing the severe power losses I’d been fearing.”
“Excellent. We’ll be asking a lot of the engines the next couple days. Keep me appraised if there are any problems.
“Of course,” Sarah chuckled. “My crew will be constantly monitoring the engines. Someone will be monitoring the situation at all times. You’ll know if there’s the slightest problem.”
“Good,” Erin smiled. “Medical?”
“Well, we’ve managed to clear out the last of the cases from the Duterius Prime massacre. We’ve been going fairly non stop since the massacre. We’d greatly appreciate a break. If you could avoid sending us casualties for a while, we’d greatly appreciate it.”
“We’ll do our best,” Erin chuckled. She paused before continuing. “All right. As you know, we’re en route to rendezvous with the Shuttle Kiarin. Colonel Bonetti is on board with Brentax Supreme Commander M’Bek Tarmos. Unfortunately, Captain Bryce is still on Brentax III, where he will remain until he can either get himself off the planet or a rescue mission can be sent after the peace conference starts.”
“We can’t just leave him there,” Jewel said. “If nothing else, the Duterian people need him.”
“I know. I had much the same conversation with Colonel Bonetti, Jewel. But as the captain himself would tell you, he is expendable for now. Don’t worry. We’re not going to forget him. Sooner or later we’ll get the captain back. I’m voting for sooner myself. I don’t want his chair after all.”
“I told them they should have let me go with them,” Masha grumbled.
“Be that as it may,” Erin sighed, a headache beginning to form in her right temple. “As soon as the shuttle lands, we are to make our best speed for the Gamma Epsilon station. Gamma Strike will be standing down and attending the peace conference. As the honor guard.”
“I don’t like this, Commander,” Masha sighed. “Do you really think the Brentax are just going to turn their war machine around and accept peace?”
“Let’s just say I’m hopeful that they will, Masha. Now, I’m going to need everyone to give one hundred and fifty percent over the next week. I’m afraid we’re going to have food and sleep as catch can for most of the next few days. We are, from this moment on, on full battle readiness. Dismissed.”
She watched the other officers file out of the conference room and sighed.
Come on, K’Alan, she thought to herself. Find your way back to the White Knight before we head back into Star League space. I hate your chair.
2.8.2136
0922
SLS White Knight
The City
K’Itea Bryce walked along the streets of the city. It was amazing how her people had adapted to life on board the White Knight. Life was already returning to some semblance of normalcy. It was good to see.
She was due to be at the palace any minute, but she dreaded going into work. She decided today would be a stroll through the city day instead. It made her feel good to see how everyone was doing.
Her stroll took her past the park that her husband was going to turn into some form of a baseball field and smiled. She hoped that he would do so. She believed it would be good for morale. And it would give Elam and K’Alan something to do together. Elam had perked up so much when his father had began teaching him how to pitch. It was good to see her son and her husband bonding.
Chuckling softly to herself, she continued past the field and started down a narrow street. The temple was at the end of this street, and she found herself drawn to the peace that the temple always provided her.
The High Gentlewoman of the Duterian people smiled to herself as she headed towards the temple. She’d been trying to get her husband to spend more time at the temple. She believed that the priests could do much good for his soul. She worried about him.
The door to the temple swung open at her approach and she entered the temple, letting the warmth of the peace of the Lords of Duterius wash over her. It was a good feeling.
“High Gentlewoman, you honor us with your presence,” one of the priests said.
“I came seeking peace,” the young woman said. “This place, so much like the temple near my home in the Braga Valley, is the best place on the ship to find peace and hope.”
“Peace and hope are best found inside a person,” the priest smiled.
“How can one find peace when one is surrounded by war?” K’Itea sighed. “My husband is off on a mission to end this war, and I worry that he will not return.”
The priest smiled and laid his hand on her shoulder.
“Fear not, child,” the priest intoned. “Your husband will return. He walks a long and dangerous path however. Have faith. His love for you shall be his beacon home.”
“His love for me?”
“His love for you is strong, child. I have seen it. It is stronger than the metal that holds this ship together. It is more durable than the engines of this vessel. And it will be his beacon home. You will see.”
“I pray you are right,” K’Itea smiled. “I do not know what I would do if he didn’t return.”
2.8.2136
1001
SLS White Knight
Forward Observation Lounge
Suela Yeuid stood staring out at the stars as they streaked past the ship. Her tech crews were working on yet another problem in Stellar Cartography. Somehow the computers weren’t registering new stellar data properly. She considered the idea of pulling out all the consoles and just starting from scratch, but she wouldn’t have even known where to begin as to building the consoles. The ones that Sarah Hodge had made for Stellar Cartography should be sufficient…
If only she could get the damn things to work right!
There was a light footfall behind her. She didn’t bother to turn around.
“Madeline, I told you to just put the new data on my desk,” Suela sighed. “I’ll get to it at some point.”
“It’s not Madeline,” Kath said, a touch of anger in her voice. “It’s Katherine.”
“Well, Katherine,” Suela said, rubbing her temples. “What is it? You haven’t said one word to me in
days.”
“I don’t know who or what you are, but I do not have a sister. Least not in the records I can find on me. Frankly I don’t care who you are. All I want is to have us work together professionally. Is that clear?”
“Crystal, ma’am,” the other woman said in a clipped tone. “But you don’t have all the records. I can make the proper records available to you if you wish.”
“Perhaps in time, I may wish to look at those records,” Kath growled. “But for now, no. You are not my sister. That’s the way it needs to be.”
With that, the communications officer stormed out of the observation lounge, leaving a very confused Suela Yeuid shaking her head in disbelief.
2.8.2136
1013
SLS White Knight
The Gym
Masha had the gym to herself. Mostly because when she stormed in everyone else had cleared out, knowing the look on the face of the security chief meant trouble. Masha was angry. And she was taking out her anger on the bag.
She’d warned Mario that she should have gone on the mission too. Now, with the Captain missing, she couldn’t help but feel like screaming “I told you so!” at the top of her lungs.
Not that it would have done any good. Nothing seemed to do much good when all she could do is wait for the situation to resolve itself.
Meanwhile, she was angry.
Masha didn’t wear gloves when she used the bags. She claimed the gloves cut off the circulation in her hands, which caused her to have ineffective punches. So she swung freely with her bare fists.
Masha continued to pound the bag, each time she hit it imagining she was wailing on a Brentax soldier that was responsible for the disappearance of the Captain. It did little to make her feel better.
She gave the bag one last vicious punch, tearing the bag in two and spreading its stuffing everywhere.
“I’ll buy a new bag when we get to the Gamma Epsilon station,” Masha snarled at the head trainer as she made her way out of the gym.
