This week's update is inspired by the prompt: "I didn't count on this, to be honest."
I watched everything. I wanted to ask questions, but once Captain issued his orders, the crew moved very quickly. We approached the central planet, and I couldn’t help but wonder at what was coming. Would we succeed?
Deke and Captain were exchanging furious looks, but Captain kept avoiding my gaze while Deke would look at me. Captain finally stood and went over to where Deke was sending orders to the security crew through one of the consoles. They spoke low enough I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but Captain grew more rigid with every stab of Deke’s hand in the air.
“Kohen!” Captain barked my name, and I jumped. I strode over to him, stopping a few feet from him and Deke.
“Yes?” Was he going to order me back to his quarters? I didn’t want to go. I squared my shoulders and took a deep breath, locking my jaw and preparing to argue with him.
“See?” Deke said.
Captain’s shoulders slumped. “It would be safer if—”
“No one on the ship is safe. And if the goal of your cousin and this other guy has been to get me this whole time, me hiding in your quarters wouldn’t do anything but ensure they tear apart the ship until they find me there—though, since Lakshou was a traitor and feeding them information, he probably told them exactly where my quarters were and they’d go directly to that ring anyway.”
Deke snorted, and Captain grimaced. “Arm him.” He turned and walked away.
“What?” I stared at Deke who didn’t look happy, but he did look relieved.
“You made the same points I did. Captain Querry allowed you here, and you’re never going to be safe. You’re too valuable as a hostage, or a patient, or an experiment, or an assassin.” He said it so blithely, like it didn’t even matter what they’d done to me in the years they’d twisted my brain and body. He didn’t shy from it or break eye contact, and that alone was what let me do the same. “So whatever the hell else they want from you, they’re not going to just give up. Not even if we take out these guys. And Captain saying this would only take a few days?”
His gaze flicked over my shoulder. “You should be ready for this to take more than a few days. This could spark another war. Brox has been pushing for too long. This isn’t just a business or a few politicians giving a company contracts for stations and planetary developments. This is bigger. This is power and control. Mind control.”
Like he had to remind me. I knew exactly what had terrified me and forced me to make him trap me in Captain’s quarters until I was sure I wouldn’t be a danger to everyone else. Because if they could do that—turn anyone into an assassin without warning—then no one would be safe. Isolationism would rule the universe.
Easy pickings after that.
“If this is bigger than we know, if we can’t cut the head off the snake, then the decision will have to be made. Run, let the universe take care of itself until it reaches wherever we try to hide away, or stay and fight even if some of us don’t make it.” Deke turned and led me to a corner of the room. He pressed a finger to a sensor on the wall, and it slid open to reveal a cache of weapons. “Though I think you’ve already made that decision.”
I stared at the array of deadly options in front of me. This was more than just thinking I probably wasn’t a threat; this was being sure I was on their side. This was giving me a way to protect myself and Captain too. To make sure I never ended up in that cell again.
My eyes burned, and I blinked rapidly. I cleared my throat. “Yeah.”
“So anything here something you’ve been trained on?”
I pointed to a few, and Deke started handing them over along with the proper shields and attachments to secret them about my body. Accustomed to undercover work, I hid them all away. There was something reassuring about being armed. Most of the time, on the missions I’d been sent on, I’d had no weapons but the ones I’d managed to find in my environment.
“We’re closing in, and our escorts should be joining us at any moment.” Captain stood. “All hands to your assigned stations and quarters. Freska, how close do you need to be to get with the ships for the raid on Intelligence? Do you need to transfer ships?”
“Not as close as they’d like to think,” she said gleefully. “I’m patched in, and they won’t know what hit them. And I don’t need to leave my girl at all.”
Deke returned to his console and I went back to stand beside Captain where I belonged. He stared intently at his screen, watching the increasing traffic on our approach. I didn’t understand all the information on the vid, but I could see the movement and paths plotted. There were at least six on a course straight for us.
“Captain….”
“Everett,” he corrected me.
In front of his crew? Impossible. I opened my mouth, and nothing came out. He brushed his fingers lightly against the back of my hand. “Everett….” It came out wobbly and hoarse. I swallowed. “Six ships?”
“It’s okay. I’ve had pings from each of them on a private channel, one that those traitors could never have learned about. They’re all captained by people we can trust. Only four were assigned to us; two more are tagging along cloaked to everyone but us.”
I nodded. “Okay.” I brushed my hand on the weapon at my waist, only a slight bulge revealing it. Captain caught me.
“You know I didn’t count on this, to be honest, but it makes me feel better that you’re armed. It feels right.”
TBC
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