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THE HOLDING CELLS were at a pleasant climate-controlled temperature. The kind of weather one would enjoy on a day off, spending it outside with no jackets required. But that was the only nice thing about the cell Daku had been escorted to after the abrupt ending to his court-martial trial. The Fleet had confined him in this sterile white cell for days now. He had a cot in one corner, a toilet and basin in the other, and nothing in between. During what he assumed was the day, as there were no clocks here, bright lights lit up the room. At night there was a faint glow from the large energy barrier that sealed him inside the cell.
He’d taken to pacing the length of the cell, all five steps one way and five steps the other. Sometimes he walked in crisscrossing patterns. He’d been getting a lot of practice at waiting since his second in command, Yan Corth, had taken him into custody back on Geejo. The inaction ate at him.
Not knowing what was happening was worse though.
Daku stalked back to the barrier, being careful not to touch it in case they decided to electrify it. He glared out at the guard posted down the hall. “Why am I being held here when they haven’t even sentenced me?”
The guard remained stoic, his eyes facing the wall across from him, not even flicking his gaze towards Daku.
“Really? Oh, come on, I’m not a criminal. I’m a Fleet officer waiting on a hearing. And I know this isn’t SOP. You know it too.” Because it wasn’t standard operating practice to hold personnel in a cell for days without contact, and even more so when they hadn’t been formally sentenced.
The guard shot him a glance but then went back to standing at attention.
“Fine. How’s your day been?” Daku leant back against the wall next to the energy barrier, crossing his ankles. “Anything interesting happen on that wall you’re staring at so intently? Has the white paint started dancing? If it has, I suggest blinking. That’ll help.”
The guard’s lips twitched, and he flicked him a look again. He glanced the other way, marginally relaxing. “Look, I’m not supposed to talk to you. Nothing personal, I’m just following orders,” the man said.
“Well then, don’t talk to me. That wall looks like it could do with a chat though,” Daku replied, tipping his head back. “But why am I still here? No one’s said anything.”
The guard shrugged. He shifted towards Daku but quickly glanced back down the corridor again. “All I know is that the Admiral has been storming around, and everyone is trying to stay out of his way,” he said, keeping his voice low. “He’s got a real tirade going on. I don’t know what you’ve done, but you’re probably better off down here.”
“What happened?” Daku said. He frowned, thinking back to the admiral’s sudden exit during his trial.
The guard shook his head, his eyes flicking towards the main entrance, and went back to being stoic. Daku couldn’t draw him into a conversation again and eventually, he gave up and sank onto the cot. He let his head drop into his hands, his body sinking inwards. He sighed, defeated and despairing. How long would they hold him here, with no answers, and with no end in sight? He hoped his parents didn’t know about his court-martial. They would be devastated and worried that he hadn’t contacted them. He sat bent over for a long time, uncaring of the passing time, thinking about what he would do if he was kicked out of the Fleet. He wondered if Kara would have a place for him in her life, especially if he was a disgraced ex-Fleet officer. She was a council aide after all; would a relationship with him affect her career? He snorted and shook his head. He must be going loopy. They hadn’t even gotten to that point yet. Neither of them had brought up being in a relationship.
She’d held his hand. They had connected, but that had been while they were tracking down the Dark Raiders. They’d been fighting for their lives. Maybe now that they had been apart, and the adrenaline had worn off, she would no longer care for him. The thought further depressed him, because he may never get the chance to see where they could have gone. What they could have been.
For he admired Kara. His heart tripped and flipped over thinking about her. But he didn’t even know if he would see her again. He scrubbed his face with his hands before dragging them back across his hair. He tipped his head back, as thoughts of Kara filled his mind. She’d promised to help him back on Geejo, but he’d not heard from her since. He’d kept waiting and hoping.
But no news had come, no messages.
Nothing.
He linked his hands behind his head and leant back against the wall. The inaction ate at him, and he didn’t enjoy having to second guess everything. He glared at the toilet in the corner, annoyed at the situation, at his lack of privacy. At not knowing what was going on.
A flicker of movement flashed by the corner of his eye.
He blinked and snapped his head around to stare at the energy barrier. Nothing was there. He must be seeing things. But he’d been positive something had moved out in the corridor.
Daku pushed to his feet and walked to the security field before peering down both ends of the corridor. The guard from before was no longer there. Maybe he’d seen the man leave. Except the guy hadn’t been the quietest person when walking. He would have noticed him stomping past his cell. But no one was out there.
“I’m losing my mind,” he muttered in dark humour while shaking his head at himself.
He turned back to his uncomfortable cot, but right then the barrier flickered. Heart pounding, he froze. The barrier wasn’t supposed to do that.
The entire barrier dropped, leaving his cell open and unsecured. He jumped back, startled and wary. Was someone playing tricks on him? The cynical thought that Jade Fleet command were going to frame him with an escape attempt flittered through his mind. He shifted forward, uncertain and leery.
The wall at the side of his cell shimmered as if it had decided to move. Then a figure detached itself from the wall, coming into clearer focus. Though he had to blink several times and stare, as the person blended with the colour of the walls. His heart gave a hard thump.
Their face came into view, the white colour of the wall giving way to pale skin and grey eyes. Intense, serious eyes. Very familiar eyes.
“Kara?” His mouth gaped open.
He still couldn’t quite wrap his mind around her standing here in front of him, her body blending into the wall from the camouflage effect of her bodysuit. At least he thought that’s what was happening. “Am I hallucinating? I’ve conjured you up with my thoughts.” That had to be it.
She stepped up to him and grabbed his hand. It was very real; solid.
“I have to get you out of here, right now,” Kara said, her voice low and words clipped. “Come on.” She tugged on his hand, and he took a few stumbling steps forward.
She was real.
Elation and hope shot through him. She must have cleared his name with the admiral. Then he frowned. But if that was the case, then why had she appeared camouflaged and worried?
“You’re breaking me out, aren’t you?” His gut clenched.
“Yes. We don’t have time for this right now. I’ll explain later,” she said, before swiftly scoping out the corridor.
“I have to clear my name first. I’ll be in more trouble if I break out.” He reluctantly let go of her hand, wishing he could go with her. Now when the prospect of being discharged from the Fleet truly loomed, he’d realised that he didn’t want to leave it. He wanted to keep protecting the Jade Zone. And for that, he had to attend the court-martial and justify the rescue mission.
Kara went still and briefly closed her eyes as if she was debating with herself. She gave an almost imperceptible nod before turning back to him. “Things have changed,” she said in a flat voice. “Your life is at risk and you’ll not have a fair trial—if you make it to one.” She grabbed his wrist and pulled him forward with ease. “I won’t let you die. So, either you come with me right now, or I’m carrying you out of this cell. And you know I can.” Her face had gone taut and her eyes hard.
He swallowed and glanced down at her small hand wrapped around his wrist. Yes, the top of her head might only come to his shoulder, but he knew she had been enhanced and changed with bio-cybernetics. She most definitely had the strength to lift him, of that he had no doubt. But that’s not what convinced him to go with her. No, it was the small, soft caress of her thumb against his inner wrist. She was here because she cared.
Daku nodded and followed her out of the cell. All the while knowing that this would ruin any chance he had of remaining in the Jade Fleet.
They reached the end of the corridor, and Kara paused, tipping her head to the side, listening intently. He couldn’t hear anything beyond the normal creaks and murmurs of a building, but then he didn’t have bionic implants augmenting his senses.
“Do what I say, when I say it,” Kara breathed next to his ear. “Don’t hesitate.” She pressed the door release and swiftly moved through the doorway and to the left. Daku followed behind her, his nerves taught.
Because now if they were caught, it wouldn’t just be his career that got spaced. Kara’s very life was at stake. The Fleet would be ruthless in dealing with a bio-cyber. At best, they would lock her away in a maximum-security prison for the rest of her days. At worse, they would remove the implants, but—because by their very nature bio-enhancements were integrated completely into the individual’s body—removing them would kill her. He would follow her orders, without hesitation to keep her alive, but he had a lot of questions. Questions that would have to wait until they were somewhere secure.
They slipped down the next corridor, before making it into a stairwell. Daku moved towards the steps heading down, but Kara shook her head and took the flight of stairs going up. He glanced between the two, hesitant and wanting to ask why they were going up when freedom was below. She paused at the first landing diagonally above him and shot him a flat, commanding glare. He set off after her.
Several flights later, with sweat trickling down between his shoulder blades, they stopped again. Kara slipped up to the door leading back into the main corridor, pressing against the wall next to it. With a quick flash of her hand, she had him moving up next to her.
He quieted his breathing, knowing someone must be out there.
He hated not knowing. He hated not being aware of what was happening. Daku glanced at Kara. At her emotionless face. Flat and hard, intently focused on the environs beyond the closed door. Her skinsuit wasn’t camouflaging with the walls right now, and the fabric had a faint sheen over the solid black material. He knew that despite how thin and delicate it looked, much like its wearer, it held hidden strengths and deep secrets. She’d survived the vacuum of space while wearing this skinsuit.
As they stood there motionless, he longed to ask her what the plan of escape was. But he curtailed his words and split his attention between the up and down stairwells in case someone decided to use them. He did not want to end up back in that holding cell. Not after breaking out.
Kara tensed, shooting a look up the stairwell. She briefly glanced back through the small clear pane in the door out to the corridor.
Indistinct sounds filtered past the door, coming increasingly closer to them. Daku’s heart rate kicked up a level. He looked up at the next flight of stairs. Surely they should get out of here? Fleet personnel were out in the corridor right now. All it would take was one of them looking through that small window, and they would be caught.
Daku hesitated.
Kara had her head tipped to the side, intently focused on the sounds coming from the corridor. Why wasn’t she moving?
He took a step towards the stairwell, but Kara shot her hand out, grabbed his jacket and flattened him back against the wall.
He bit back a grunt from the impact. He glared at her, flicking his eyes between the corridor and the stairwell. They had to move. The Fleet would seize them if they stayed here.
She shook her head. She pointed up the stairs, then held up two fingers.
There were two people above them. He swallowed back the curses he wanted to spit out. Unless they wanted to head back to the cells, they had nowhere to go.
Outside the door, heavy footsteps trudged past, voices rising and falling. Daku flattened himself against the wall, while Kara’s skinsuit rippled and matched it. Above them, a door clanged open, and a loud burst of laughter echoed down the stairwell.
Kara remained still, her attention focused on the corridor.
Daku controlled his breathing. He could feel his pulse pounding in his throat, the sound loud in his head. He had to bring his heart rate under control. Panic could end their chance of escape.
Boots clanged against the first set of steps heading down towards them. They were still out of sight, but as soon as the person came to the first landing, they’d be able to see Kara and him. Everything would be over.