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THEY HAD BEEN travelling for several days now, further and further away from other spacecraft and civilised inhabited space. Out here there were only a few dotted settlements, but even those were few and far between, instead massive mining rigs dominated the region, moving ponderously through asteroid belts, stopping to mine one asteroid deposit before moving to the next. Few Imperials wanted to work out this far, isolated from family and friends, but the few that did were paid exorbitantly. If they could last the full contract. Many did, but some started going crazy from staring into the blank vastness of space and were quietly and discretely shipped back home.
Kara could understand that feeling, though it was the confined and very limited space available on the Brognan that was getting to her. Several times she’d contemplated going into the cargo bay and sitting in the freezing cold bay, sans oxygen and warmth. The only thing holding her back was the strain it would put on her augmentations. She couldn’t take that kind of risk, not while there was a traitor still out there.
Not to mention she’d have to see Tarsk for a check-up. Anger spiked inside her. She stood at the top of the ladder leading from the crew area to the lower level, glaring down the shaft. She knew Tarsk was in the med bay and she didn’t want to pass him on her way to the rec room. He’d try to talk to her, or just gaze at her with his large, annoying, far too expressive eyes.
She spun on her heel and stalked back to the quarters she was sharing with Daku. It had been the only logical division of the rooms, or at least that’s what Isra had said. Isra and Tarsk had one each, and Daku and Kara had bunked up. They seemed to want her to be in an actual relationship with him. But she didn’t even really know what that meant. She paused outside of their bunk, staring down at the floor.
She could do this, couldn’t she? Think of it like another mission, learn what to do, and carry it out. Be the best at it. She wanted this. Wanted to be held by Daku, to be loved. But where would she learn the correct parameters? She rubbed the back of her neck, Tarsk would know. But she couldn’t speak to him. He’d let the world know about her. He’d let everyone know she was a freak.
Broken.
She slapped the door release, and even that act annoyed her as she had to control the force of the blow. Always measuring her actions, always watchful, always weighing up the consequences. But then one vid was released and there she was, revealed to the galaxy. The only tenable part was that she hadn’t been identified yet, but that would only be a matter of time.
With a sigh, she entered the small quarters. Again, it was just as cramped as the rest of the ship; freighters, after all, were built for economy, not for luxury, but it was wearing thin on her. As she stalked into the room, Daku glanced up from his flexi. He sat curled up on the double bed, a drab green blanket bunched untidily beneath him. The bed could expand from where it was attached to the wall, but it left a minuscule gap between the edge of the bed and the other wall. There was no chair in here, just the fold-down bed, a closet, and a fold-down table. Cramped was an understatement. She snagged a bottle of water off the table and gulped down the tepid liquid.
Daku wisely watched her in silence, waiting for her to speak.
She stood for a moment more before sinking onto the edge of the bed. She couldn’t lash out at him because of what Tarsk had done. How would that solve anything? She tipped her head back and stared up at the metal ceiling, unadorned by any paint, only a sealant that gave it a slight glossy sheen.
Daku placed his flexi on the table, before moving next to her, wrapping his arm around her. “You’re going to have to speak to him eventually,” he finally murmured.
She’d told him how she’d felt. That’s what couples did, didn’t they? There were memories of her parents flitting at the edges of her memory. Raised voices, weary sighs, quiet words. Kara curled into him. His touch no longer made her want to skitter away. “Not if I can help it,” she muttered into his shoulder.
He stroked his hand down her back in long soothing sweeps. “That’s not feasible, and you know it,” he said pointedly. “Hell, if you were two of my troops on a mission, I’d have locked you in a room already to sort this thing out between you. Isra appears to be more patient than me, though,” he snorted.
She raised her head and glared at him. “Aren’t you supposed to be supportive of me? Isn’t that what you do for loved ones?”
Daku stilled and carefully watched her. “Is that what I am to you?”
Kara suddenly felt nervous and swallowed. Despite everything they’d been through, even with what Queen Samorn had said about them, neither one had actually brought it out into the open between them. Except now she had. She chewed her lip, considering, thinking, weighing it all up in her mind. The fear of rejection loomed, and she hesitated, but then narrowed her eyes. Fear and uncertainty hadn’t conquered her before, she wouldn’t let them now.
“Yes,” she said and reached out to trail her fingers over his hair, which was no longer regulation short. She took another deep breath and gazed directly into his warm brown eyes. Being this close to him, she could see tiny striations of black and gold threading through the iris. “I love you,” she breathed out, then bit her lip, her eyes questioning, gut clenched.
Daku’s eyes softened and warmed even more. “I love you, too,” he said. “Never doubt that, Kara.” He gathered her close again and she closed her eyes, relieved and elated in equal parts.
Quiet moments slipped past as they embraced, at peace and with joy. Vastly different from the last time they’d been on a spaceship together. When they’d first been on the Agate, she’d been keeping her identity hidden from him and then when he’d found out, the trip back to Outpost 7JZ and Geejo, the mining settlement it protected, the ship had been so crowded there had been no privacy.
Eventually, Daku broke the silence. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten why you’ve had such a short fuse. And don’t think I’m letting you off the hook.”
She huffed in annoyance, but warmth spread inside her. Was this what a relationship was? “You might have fled the Fleet, but the Fleet definitely hasn’t left you, Commander Nightwyn,” she said, but there was humour in her voice.
“Tarsk made a mistake. Can you honestly claim you’ve not done the same at some point as well?” He narrowed his eyes at her in warning.
“I will deal with it, just give me time,” she whispered. “I’m still getting used to feeling at all, and sometimes it overwhelms me. I can only do so much at once. But I’ll try not to be so overtly aggressive, alright?”
He considered her, his lips tight, but then sighed and nodded. “Just don’t take too long. Rifts between friends only get worse with time. Trust me on that.” He stroked her back again before crawling off the end of the bed. “Come on, let’s go grab some food.”
Kara frowned at the thought of coming across Tarsk, but then blew out a breath. She could be professional about this.
They had the galley to themselves, not that more than two people could fit in there at one time. Heating and rehydrating the nutritionally balanced, long-lasting pre-packaged meals hadn’t taken more than a couple of minutes. Daku made a disgusted face at them, but Kara simply accepted them. For many of the years when she’d been a prisoner, a test subject of the Dark Raiders, she’d not even been given the choice to eat, they’d fed her intravenously. The dark thought caught her out, and she clenched her hands. That was not going to happen to her again, and she took a simple pleasure in eating, even if it tasted like flavoured, shredded cardboard.
The low murmur of voices came from the rec room, and after a pointed look from Daku, she picked up her bowl of food and followed him into the slightly larger room. A round table dominated the right side of the room, even though it was situated in the corner. A curving padded booth wrapped around the walls of the corner, and two chairs, which could be concealed back in the floor, were in front of it. Tarsk lounged on the left part of the bench, while Isra sat in one of the chairs. The freighter was on autopilot, and Isra had a flexi on the table beside her that monitored the helm and nav systems. On the wall across from the seating area, the vid screen was on. A news channel turned to a low volume, though neither of them seemed to be paying attention to it at the moment.
Tarsk eyed her warily, sitting up straight when she walked in. Daku moved forward and took the remaining chair, forcing her to sit on the bench. She had the petty wish that it didn’t wrap around to meet the side Tarsk sat on. Daku caught her gaze with a level stare, and she gave a minute nod, turning her attention from Tarsk to her food instead. The Morus settled, and the other three drifted in and out of speech.
Kara finished her meal and pushed the bowl to the side as she lounged back in the booth. She didn’t join the conversation and instead let her gaze wander the room. At one point it would have been a crisp white, but now time had changed it, yellowing the bulkheads. She picked out scrapes along the walls, dints and pocks from a room well used. She wondered if this would have been her life if the Dark Raiders hadn’t attacked Alkath. The slow movement of time, the interminable waiting, the back and forth between the same ports, seeing the same people, carting the same cargo. A steady routine, a calm existence. Or maybe she would have signed on to the Fleet like Daku—sought out more danger and excitement—but that was not an option left to her once she’d been taken as a child.
Beneath the talk around the table, a low, insistent voice rapidly spoke, urgent and sharp. A split second later she pinpointed it with her aural implant and heard the words, distinct and clear coming from the news playing on the vid screen. She sat upright, shushing the others, her voice and hand movement abrupt, all the while staring intently at the news anchor.
They looked at her in annoyance, then growing concern, as they saw she was focused on the news.
Daku turned and flicked up the volume, as they all fell silent.
The vid shifted from the newsroom to a Morus with silver striped fur, who spoke loud and clear, “This is Kutal, for Four Zones News, reporting live from the Queen’s Council Chambers here in Catera, Rhaslok Prime.” Behind him, the wide staircase led to the front entrance. Flags flapped and snapped in a brisk wind, and the Onyx Fleet guards stood stoic and severe, but there was a rapid movement of people in and out of the building, many clustering at the top. “As you can see, there has been a flurry of activity in the last few minutes. The Council has been demanding answers from the Jade Fleet after allegedly links were found between them and a suspected bio-cyber earlier this week. Law-abiding citizens of the Empire deserve an answer.”
He reached up one paw to the earpiece hooked over his ear.
“Yes, Councillor Badal of the Onyx Zone, and current Speaker of the Chambers, is about to make a statement.” The Morus’s eyes were wide with excitement, the tension palpable around him. More and more people gathered on the steps, their murmurs coming as a rustle over the vid.
Isra rocked back in her chair, her shoulders stiff, attention locked onto the screen.
Beside her, Tarsk muttered under his breath, “This can’t be good.”
The camera refocused to the top of the stairs where Councillor Badal stood. His hair had gone pure white over the last three years since becoming the Speaker, and stress had wrinkled his dark skin, but the human still stood straight, eyes piercing. He raised a hand, and the crowd, mostly consisting of reporters, went quiet. Kara also picked out a few aides, both civilian and Fleet, as the news drone camera panned over the crowd. Many she recognised from her time working in the capital.
“Grave allegations have been made,” Councillor Badal stated. “And the Council has deemed it necessary that all Imperial citizens should be made aware of them.” The noise of the crowd rose again, before quieting as he raised his hand. “After the release of the footage from Gaklun Two spacestation in the Jade Zone, it has been a priority of the Council to ensure the Empire’s safety. We have instigated a thorough investigation of the allegations against the Jade Fleet and Commander Nightwyn.”
“How thorough can it have been if they haven’t even talked to me?” Daku said angrily, crossing his arms.
Isra frowned at him and he fell silent.
Badal had continued talking. “—dishonourably discharged from the Jade Fleet for disobeying orders, and we have ruled out direct ties to the Fleet. However, additional, unsettling, information has come to light that has caused much concern.” He paused for effect.
Both Tarsk and Daku cursed. Isra remained absolutely silent and still, almost drawn within herself.
Badal gazed over the crowd, his face becoming very serious. “I am addressing the rumours that have started, and I wish all to know we will be fully investigating the new claims.” He paused, waited for a beat, then continued, “It has come to our attention that the Royal Family may have been aware of the existence of this bio-cyber.”
At his words, a roar went through the crowd. People shouted questions, some looked shocked, others angry, but most were afraid.
Isra lurched to her feet, her lips pinched. Kara jerked forward, wishing she could make the councillor take back the words.
Badal raised his arms. “Please, please be calm,” he spoke over the crowd. “I know you have questions, and justifiably, but rest assured we are taking this allegation very, very seriously. If there is any basis for the Royal Family hiding the presence of a bio-cyber within our great Empire, then the Council will find it. Queen Samorn is fully cooperating with our inquiry as well. You will be made aware of developments in the situation as they arise, but be reassured, my priority is ensuring the safety and security of all Imperials and the Empire. We will find out who this bio-cyber is. And if the Royals are involved, we will hold them accountable!” Badal’s voice had risen at the end and he banged his fist on the podium.
A roar of approval rose from those standing on the steps, but the rec room of the Brognan was deathly silent as shock and fury set in. Kara wanted to reach through the screen and knock Badal’s head off his shoulders, her anger sharp and acute, yet she couldn’t imagine what was going through Isra’s mind after hearing both her mother and herself accused of a high crime, by one of the most powerful Councillors in the Empire.
Tarsk hissed, and for a moment Kara forgot her animosity towards him.
Daku stared at the news in disgust, his eyes flicking towards Isra as well. Yet Isra still stood there, frozen, lips pinched white. Hands clenched tight down at her sides.
But worse was to come.