Vely sat in the bridge with Becce, watching her plot out courses from instructions that Captain Warwick had sent her. Becce was alternating between typing in coordinates on a screen built into the console and using her fingers to move the holographic map around, inspecting planets and other nearby satellites.
“Where are we going, exactly?” Vely asked.
“Captain wants us prepared with all the main trade routes already programming into our navigation system,” Becce explained, pinching the map to examine a colony that had appeared. “I assume that Lezal will be sending us out to raid those routes and destroy the Walnad and SSA ships.”
Vely grimaced, her previous enthusiasm for raids dwindling a bit. She hoped that they wouldn’t be reduced to actually killing people. Becce glanced at Vely.
“Do you want to help me?”
“Sure.”
Vely rose from her chair and stood beside Becce at the console. Becce handed her the tablet with the coordinates on it from Captain. She showed Vely how to insert the coordinates into the navigation system and how to plot the course. As Vely entered in the information, the holographic map changed to show the areas in space that related to the coordinates.
“Did you teach any of this to Liza?” Vely asked while she typed in the next set of coordinates. Becce smiled sadly.
“No. Most of her time on the ship was spent recovering,” Becce said. “When we found her in the cargo hold, she was starving and weak. Then, after we finally got her back in shape, her Kathokinesis made itself known, and she completely wiped herself out trying to save us during a raid.”
“What happened?” Vely asked. Becce sat down on a chair, leaving Vely to continue the work.
“We had just finished stealing some precious gems on a merchant ship when we were ambushed by armed men. Our weapons didn’t do much, and we couldn’t use our gamma pistols, or we would have blown holes in the ship and been sucked out into space. We were trying to escape when… well I wish I could remember it clearly. I remember feeling a powerful pressure against my body and mind, but it didn’t harm me. Instead, this invisible force blew against all the men who were chasing us and forced these major dents in the walls of the ship. It was incredible, the power that I felt,” Becce said. “After that, Liza sort of collapsed, but luckily the Captain showed up, and we were able to carry her back to the Star.”
“Wow,” Vely said, pausing for a moment in her work. “I wonder if that’s the first time she ever used her power.”
“I think it was,” Becce said. “She didn’t understand what happened. Captain and Doctor D cleared it up for her.” Vely frowned.
“I heard it was Zimir’s fault that Liza ended up on the ship,” she said. Becce nodded.
“He used Tsuto to lure her onto the ship. He claimed that he was just having fun,” Becce explained. Vely pressed her lips together, frowning. Shifting her gaze back to the map, she crossed her arms and tapped a finger. Something wasn’t right about that. A memory leaked into her mind - the Bloodhounds following her weak scent around the Moon.
“Hmm…” Vely mused. She was going to have to ponder this more. There were too many little events scattered over the last few months to be just coincidence.
The Gypsy Star crew just sat down to eat on the Cove when Captain Warwick appeared, followed by another man. The two men approached their table and stood side by side at the head, staring at the crew. Vely wasn’t paying attention, at least until the entire crew scrambled to their feet and stood at attention. Vely rose, following their lead.
“Crew, this is Captain Thane Lezal,” Captain Warwick said. Vely glanced up at the other man. A mass of black hair covered his head, flowing down into the scraggly beard on his face. Under the hair, his bright blue eyes stared at the crew, appraising them. He didn’t look old, but his face and arms were covered in scars, giving him a grizzled appearance. He was slightly taller than Warwick, and he wore what looked like a stolen SSA officer’s cloak, but he’d ripped the sleeves off, showing off his burly arms. On each bicep, he had tattoo of a symbol that Vely didn’t recognize.
“So, this is your crew, Warwick?” Lezal asked, eyeing the assembled group.
“Aye, sir,” Warwick said. Lezal seemed to be appraising them, his eyes shifting from each person, one after another. Dom stepped away from the table.
“Is there a problem, Captain?” he asked. Warwick smirked, but said nothing. After another awkward moment, during which the crew shifted on their feet, some eyeing their dinner wistfully, Captain Lezal nodded.
“They’ll do,” he said. “Congratulations, Underboss Warwick.” Captain Lezal turned and shook hands with Warwick, who was beaming. The crew glanced at each other. Only Dom seemed to understand.
“Captain!” he exclaimed, though nothing followed, as he seemed to be at a loss for words. Captain Lezal looked back at the crew.
“My previous second-in-command, so to speak, has decided to desert the Galactic Syndicate, and instead take up with those Corsair bastards,” he explained. “Your Captain here has been chosen by me as the new second-in-command.”
Vely shifted her glance from the two captains to Zimir, who had a nasty, wicked smile on his face. It sent chills down her spine, and she forced herself to look away.
“By extension,” Lezal continued, “you are the crew of the Underboss, which means we’ll be expecting a lot from you.” Lezal swept his gaze over the crew once more, nodded his head once, and turned back to Warwick. “We’ll talk more tomorrow.” Captain Lezal promptly spun on his heel and strode away from their table.
Dom dropped back down at the table his eyes wide. Captain Warwick slapped a hand on Dom’s shoulder. “Sorry, Dommy. Lezal didn’t want me to spoil the surprise.”
“What’s the problem?” Vely asked, not realizing she had spoken out loud until everyone was staring at her. She quickly averted her gaze back to the plate in front of her, which was still untouched, though her stomach continued to rumble with hunger.
“No problem, Missy,” Captain said, smiling widely. “Dom here is my second, which means he’s the second to the Underboss. It’s an honor.” The shocked expression hadn’t left Dom’s face. Becce stood up abruptly, smiling cheekily.
“We have to celebrate!” she shouted, slapping her hand on the table. She waved a hand over her head, catching the attention of one of the girls who worked in on the Cove. “Bring us shots of Sun Whiskey!” A moment later, the young woman returned with a tray of tiny glasses of a brightly glowing liquid and placed one in front of everyone at the table. Vely wrinkled her nose. The smell wafting from it was a spicy sweet smell, but it held little appeal for Vely.
The crew picked up their tiny glass, and a few stared at her, waiting. With a sigh, she picked up the glass and raised it up with the rest of the crew.
“To Warwick and Dom!” Becce shouted.
“To Warwick and Dom!” the crew echoed. Together, the crew threw back the whiskey down their throats. Vely grimaced, but she brought the glass to her lips and took a tentative sip. The taste was awful, but Becce nudged her in the side, so Vely did her best and threw back the shot. It burned all the way down into her stomach, where it settled unpleasantly. She pursed her lips to keep from wanting to spit it out. Becce slapped her hard on the back, causing Vely to cough.
“Sun Whiskey. It grows on you,” Becce said, grinning.
38
Liza didn’t see Cedrick again for several days. Without realizing it, she’d gotten absorbed in her own training. She was trying hard to control her temper and her power, but it was proving to be more difficult than she expected, especially when Morre showed up to torment her. Gwen tried to help, but there was only so much advice the other Katho could give to change a personality of anger and distrust that had been cultivated for years.
The Session of the day that Liza had the most trouble with was Test. After the first time, when she’d inadvertently blown an implant out of someone’s neck, it seemed that all the Fakes were out to get her. Liza notice
d a trend that the tallest, burliest, and physically strongest Fake would pair up with her. Instead of practicing his control over his implanted Kathokinesis, he would use his physical strength to overpower her. Liza could do little to fight back, save for using her own power against his physical strength. Sometimes she won, but other times, she’d end up on the floor, usually bleeding, always bruised.
The officers and scientists didn’t seem to care much, and they allowed it to continue. Gwen supposed that the scientists saw Liza’s defeats as being a success for their fake Kathokinesis. These sessions only made Liza angrier and more volatile.
It was another one of those days, when Liza wasn’t quick enough to block the burly Fake, and he smashed her on the shoulder, forcing her knees to crumple beneath her. She landed hard on the ground, little specks of light dancing around her eyes.
“I win again, Strange,” the man said. Liza clenched her teeth and stared up at him, her ability burning against her skin.
“Fuck you, Hayeson,” Liza grumbled from the ground. She pushed herself back up, but Hayeson pulled back his leg and directed a kick into her ribs. The crack and shooting pain Liza felt alerted her to a broken bone. A growl formed in the back of her throat.
“Cut it out, Hayeson!” Gwen shouted, abandoning her own testing and stormed over to Hayeson. Gwen was only a few inches shorter than Hayeson, so it was easier for her to intimidate him. Liza waved a hand while trying to push herself back up onto her feet.
“It’s fine. I got it,” she said. Gwen threw a look at Liza.
“Even I heard it. He broke a rib, maybe two.” Gwen turned back to Hayeson. “She was already down. You don’t need to make it worse.” Liza managed to get her knees under herself and into a semi vertical position. Hayeson pressed his fists into his hips.
“The only rule we have is to not kill each other,” Hayeson said, baring his teeth at Gwen. She glared back. Liza tried to stand, but the pain in her side flared up again, she lost her balance and crumpled back onto the floor. Hayeson and Gwen took up fighting stances and were about to unleash at each other when Morre arrived, chuckling.
“Alright, that’s enough,” he said. Liza lifted her head from the ground and glared at Morre. He said something to Hayeson that Liza couldn’t hear, then he turned to Gwen. “Return to your testing.” Gwen looked back at Liza, frowning slightly, but she nodded and returned to her partner, who had been watching the ordeal. Morre held a hand down to Liza.
“Let’s get you to the medical facility,” he said. Liza ignored his hand and tried to push herself up, but the pain in her side was too much. Reluctantly, she reached up and grasped his hand. His fingers gripped hers tightly, and he drew her up until she was on her feet again.
Morre directed Liza out of the Test room and into the hallway. “How long were you going to let him try to kill me before you stopped him?” Liza asked through her gritted teeth.
“This should be a lesson for you, Liza Strange,” he said. “You need to control your anger to be a powerful Katho. You were beaten because you are not in control.” Liza grunted, trying to ignore his words.
The walk to the medical facility was short, thankfully, and Morre deposited her into the care of the SSA doctors. As a female doctor led her to one of the beds, Liza saw Cedrick. He was lying on a bed, the blanket pulled up to his chin. He appeared asleep, but he was thrashing around.
“What’s wrong with him?” Liza asked, but the doctor ignored her.
“Here, Miss Strange. Lie down here and we’ll get you fixed up,” the doctor said. Liza gingerly lowered herself onto the bed, trying not to feel the shifting in her side. Once she was lying down, the doctor called for the help of a few nurses.
“There’s not much we can do for these injuries,” a nurse said. “Your ribs will heal up in a few months, so the best we can do is pain management.”
“Great…” Liza mumbled. The nurses and doctor wrapped her torso in stiff bandages to minimize her range of motion. She was given a bottle of painkillers and a large ice pack.
“Lieutenant Morre wants you to spend the night here,” the doctor said, then pulled the curtains around her bed and left. Liza stared up at the ceiling, which was white and smooth and distinctly uninteresting.
“I can’t stay here all night,” she said to herself. She began to listen for the sounds of movement in the medical facility like footsteps, whispered conversations, movement of instruments and tools. Outside the walls of the medical facility, Liza heard the low tone, which signaled the end of session. The tone was quickly followed by the sounds of footsteps leaving the rooms and marching down the hallways. Liza knew she should be going to Research now that the room had been repaired.
Before long, the sounds of the trainees moving around disappeared, leaving silence. Liza continued to listen, but it seemed as if the medical facility was empty, save for herself, Cedrick, and whoever else might be lying behind the white curtains.
Easing herself from the bed, she held the ice pack against her side and made her way back towards where she’d seen Cedrick. He was still thrashing in the bed, and now that she was up close, she could see that he looked terrible. His face was pale and lined, and dark circles were under his eyes, spanning almost halfway down his cheeks. Liza reached down to grab his hand.
Cedrick’s eyes fluttered open at the touch, but it took a moment for his eyes to focus on her.
“Liza!” he said, too loudly. She pressed a finger to her lips.
“Shh!”
“What are you doing here?” he asked, his voice lower. He pushed himself into a sitting position.
“Broken ribs,” she said, holding up the ice pack. “What are you doing here?”
“I collapsed in Research,” he said. “I can’t sleep.” Liza rose an eyebrow.
“Why?”
For a moment, Liza wasn’t sure he was going to answer her. His eyes took on a distant look. She waited, trying to quell her annoyance at him for once. Finally, he shifted his gaze to her.
“I keep having visions about you and your sister,” he said. “All the time. Whenever I try to sleep.” Liza noted that he looked sad. “Some are repeats of things that already happened, like Vely being chased by bloodhounds on the Moon.”
“What?”
“And some are new. Horrible things happening to you and Vely, the pirates attacking, you two using your powers but failing. All the worst potential futures that could happen for you and Vely, I have seen.” Liza frowned. She didn’t know anything about this guy’s track record with his visions, but she wasn’t about to start believing him. “You’re going to escape this place.”
Liza blinked. “Well, yeah. Eventually. As soon as I figure out how,” she said. Cedrick grabbed her arm.
“You have to take me with you when you go,” he said. Liza yanked her hand back.
“Why should I?”
“You can hate me all you want, Liza, but I saved your sister. If I hadn’t found her and secured a ship that would take us off the Moon, she’d be dead like all the rest,” he spat at her. Liza certainly couldn’t deny this.
“What did you want with my sister in the first place?” she asked.
“I had a vision. I knew she was going to start the uprising on the Moon. But I didn’t know that they were going to kill everyone. When I realized that you two were Dyads, I knew I had to help her find you.”
“Why would that matter?”
“I don’t think you realize how rare Dyads are, Liza. Together, you could do almost anything,” he said.
“But what would be in it for you?”
“Please. A Dyad and an augur? We’d be unstoppable,” he said. Liza frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. She wanted to question him more, but she also didn’t want to know what he thought they would be doing together that would require them to be ‘unstoppable.’ The feeling she had that Cedrick was a complete crook was strong.
“I’ll consider taking you with us when we escape,” Liza said, only being partially truthful.
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“Us?”
“I’m bringing Gwen with me,” she said. Cedrick stared at her, then shrugged.
“I do care about your sister, you know.” Liza rose an eyebrow.
“We’ll see. Make sure you keep your mouth shut about all this.” Cedrick nodded.
39
The morning following the excessive celebration of Captain Warwick’s promotion, the crew of The Gypsy Star rose extremely late. Vely did not imbibe anything after the Sun Whiskey, so she rose earlier than the rest of the crew. After dressing, she wandered out into the halls of the ship to see how everyone else was faring. She wanted to check the galley first. Approaching the open door, she heard voices. Pausing, she pressed against the wall and listened.
“The Cove’s location is hidden. I can’t tell you where we are,” a male voice said. Vely narrowed her eyes. It was Zimir.
“I want that Tranq. I already have her sister, and rumor has it they’re a dyad,” another voice said, female and unfamiliar. It had the far-away quality of someone speaking through the communication lines. Vely moved slightly forward and poked her head around the open doorway. Sure enough, Zimir was standing at the head of the table, using the holoprojector to speak to someone, their holographic copy hovering in the air.
“It will be some time before we leave here,” Zimir said. “Our ship is torn half apart for repairs and upgrades. We can’t undock or our life support systems will fail.” The hologram grunted in annoyance.
“What about Warwick?”
“He’s got other things on his mind now,” Zimir said. “I am sure he realizes what she probably is, but he hasn’t said anything to me.”
“Have you verified her yet?”
“No.”
“What are you waiting for?” the hologram shouted. Zimir flinched.
“For her to be alone.”
Vely sucked in a breath and stepped away from the door. He’s got to be a bloodhound, she thought to herself. Her skin crawled at the thought of being anywhere alone with Zimir. The Captain is involved, she reminded herself. And they’ve got Liza.
Psychogen (Galactic Syndicate Cycle Book 1) Page 22
