Phoenix City, Saraya, Standard Year 404

  Daren looked down at Lorelai’s wide open and panicked eyes with a wince of distaste. The brain chip had been inserted. Control over physical functions went first. That was already done. Lorelai was frozen in place, sitting on her knees with her hands in front of her. The integration of neural functionality typically took a great deal longer. But the ship was helping this time, and the ship’s full AI capabilities would cut down the time it would take to fully integrate neural functions significantly. Everyone wanted answers. And Lorelai Achly, formerly president of Saraya, was about to give them.

  “Complete.” The ship’s voice announced.

  Daren nodded in acknowledgement. The ship got it done in record time. Which was unsurprising. Of course, back on old earth, there had been some resistance. But their ship had never served on old earth. Here, on the far edges of the known empire, there weren’t supposed to be attacks. And yet there had been an attack. It left the ship understandably on edge. She did not like her crew in danger. The Carda’an Empire was the dominant, the only advanced power in the solar system. They were not supposed to be attacked. And Daren planned to get to that, momentarily. “You went after Sophia Hudson.” He said, looking down at Lorelai.

  Lorelai blinked, the panic in her eyes momentarily replaced by confusion. For some reason, the brain chip could never quite control the eyes. It was the only way any real part of Lorelai would show through again. “I… yes?” She said uncertainly. “There was a warrant. For her arrest.”

  “On what charge?”

  “Treason.”

  “And was there going to be a trial? Or was the verdict already handed down?”

  “I… I don’t know.” Lorelai said. And why would it matter, her eyes told him clearly.

  “Let us consider the process, Lorelai.” Daren said sharply. “You accuse someone of treason. The order goes out for their capture. At some point, there is a verdict handed down. You may not care about the legalities of this Lorelai, but they exist. Did you make the request for the verdict to be handed down?”

  “I don’t know.” Lorelai whispered. “I have people for that.”

  “Who?” Daren snapped.

  “I don’t know.” Lorelai repeated, flinching.

  And that, Daren realized, was unfortunately all he was going to get. Because that was all Lorelai knew. And the ship would be getting annoyed with him. Daren refocused on the matter at hand. “You attacked Will Atwater. And you used motion detectors during the attack. Why?” He asked. Even with the ship mapping out the neural pathways of Lorelai’s brain, there were ways to avoid an unskilled interrogation. Daren, was not unskilled. He began with the facts, leaving it to Lorelai to fill in the blanks.

  “I… was told.” Lorelai blinked, her eyes shifting from listless to panicked from one second to the next.

  “By whom?” Daren asked.

  “I… email, text. Electronic.”

  “You were never directed by a person?”

  “No.” Lorelai whispered.

  Daren nodded. The ship was feeding him information on Lorelai’s access codes and details on which electronic channels of communication had been used. They did not need Lorelai to say it out loud. He waited until the information download was complete. “Why did you follow these instructions from an unknown source?” Daren asked.

  “Their information provided had been… valuable. And correct, always.”

  “Anything else?” Daren asked.

  “Money. They gave money. A great deal of money.”

  “Electronically transferred.” Daren said out loud, more of a statement than a question.

  “Yes.” Lorelai replied. Her eyes were on his now. She was trying to be helpful, Daren realized. To take control of the situation in some small way. It was a nice thought. Utterly useless, but a nice thought. And perhaps it could be used to his advantage. After all, Lorelai was in a mood to be cooperative. And that could help with the interrogation.

  “Thank you.” Daren said politely, giving her the connection and approval she was desperately looking for. “And when they told you to use the motion detectors” he continued, “what explanation did they provide?”

  “They said Will wasn’t human. They said he was an alien, a chameleon who could blend with his surroundings and disappear. But motion detectors would work. They told me to do it!” Lorelai continued, the words spilling out eagerly. “They threat…” she stopped, frozen in place, her mouth still partially open on the incomplete word.

  It would have been a lie, Daren knew. But there weren’t going to be any lies. “And why were there motion detectors around my office?” He asked politely, pretending he hadn’t noticed the attempted deception.

  “They said you were one of them as well.” Lorelai replied, her voice softer.

  “Anyone else?”

  “Robert Nagar and Grant Pardo, on Tundra.”

  “Were you given instructions in regard to Robert and Grant?”

  “Yes. We coordinated… assassinations.”

  “And were you asked to coordinate? To do it all at the same time?”

  “Yes.”

  “Anyone else?”

  Lorelai hesitated, and her eyes widened in pain. The attempt at hiding information had not been received well by the ship. “James Hawk.” Lorelai said, the words coming out slowly.

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  Daren cocked his head. That had indeed been interesting. “Were you asked to coordinate the attacks with James Hawk’s capture?” He asked carefully.

  “Yes.”

  “You were provided with instructions. Were you ever asked for information?”

  “Rarely.” Lorelai whispered.

  “And on those rare occasions, what were you asked about?”

  “My plans.”

  “Is that all?”

  “That’s all.”

  They already knew everything else. A message from the ship came through onto his screen. They clearly have access to all communications across the planet. And if they have it on Saraya, they will have similar access on Tundra. And they have access to our communications!

  Daren blinked. He had never seen the ship use an exclamation mark before. “Is there anything else you should to tell me?” He asked automatically. It was how you were supposed to end an interrogation.

  “I can help you! Let me go back. I can get Will back! I can…” Lorelai paused, her mouth once again frozen mid-word.

  “I’ll take that as a no.” Daren said patiently. “But if you think of something, I will let you lie down. Assuming I survive the next day or two, that is. I’m going after Will, you see. And until he returns, you will be waiting for him. He did warn you, didn’t he, Lorelai?”

  Lorelai remained silent.

  “Answer.” Daren said.

  “Yes.” She whispered.

  Daren nodded. It wasn’t like him to be cruel, but he had been frustrated with Lorelai for a very long time. The door of the shuttle opened, and Lorelai walked out. Will’s shuttle was standing next to them now, awaiting his return. Lorelai walked towards it. The shuttle doors opened, welcoming her inside. Lorelai sat down on her knees amidst the green moss, her hands in front of her.

  With a sigh of relief, Daren turned towards Sophia, who was still sleeping. He found Lorelai’s presence unpleasant and oppressive. And it had indeed been a good idea, he thought, to ensure Sophia remained unconscious throughout the interrogation. As far as he was concerned, it would be best if Sophia never saw Lorelai again.

  ---

  Sophia was trapped inside a maze. On one side of her were the thorned purple bushes and barbed wire fencing, heavily reminiscent of the wall surrounding the Sarayan spaceport. On the other side was a wall of ice, reflecting her image back at her. She took another turn, running into another dead end. And another sphinx. The sphinxes were everywhere. The sphinx looked back at her with its inhuman, emotionless face as its golden wings rose high above both of them. “There is something you have forgotten.” The sphinx said. “You have made a mistake.” Sophia turned around, running in the other direction. More ice on one side, more impenetrable purple thorned bushes on the other. She ran on until the sphinx stood in front of her once again. “There is something you have forgotten.” The sphinx said. “You have made a mistake.” Sophia sat up in bed, blinking her eyes at the unfamiliar surroundings of the alien shuttle she had been occupying for the past day as the dream faded away.

  “Are you all right?” Daren asked, studying her from an armchair nearby. “You must have had a bad dream. I completely understand. Let me get you some coffee.” He got up, walking over towards the shuttle’s compact kitchen.

  “I… how long did I sleep?” Sophia asked, trying to orient herself.

  “A while. I didn’t want you awake for the interrogation.” Daren admitted. He had no intention of lying to Sophia. He returned a minute later with the coffee.

  “I… I see.” Sophia said, pulling the blanket more closely around herself. Daren had drugged her. And then admitted it as if it were nothing. He had saved her life, spent the night with her… and drugged her. He had taken Lorelai Achly, the president of their planet. His shuttle had simply destroyed everyone in the vicinity and picked Lorelai up, as if it were nothing. And now he was bringing her coffee. Her mind simply refused to process the reality of her current situation. “What did Lorelai say?” She asked instead.

  “She said her instructions came electronically and she was paid generously for her efforts.” Daren responded, sounding somewhat weary. The wound in his shoulder ached, and his day, had just begun. “It’s time to go.” He said abruptly. The rescue was on its way. And whether he liked it or not, Daren was going to be a part of it. “I’m going to leave you on the shuttle.” He offered. “You will be perfectly safe, no matter what.”

  “And you?”

  “I have to try to help Will. It’s been put off for too long already. The shuttle will be a part of this, so please do not be disturbed when she begins her work. You are perfectly safe as long as you remain here.”

  “Daren, I do not need to remain perfectly safe. Perhaps there is something…”

  “No. I’m afraid your views have nothing to do with it. I need you to be perfectly safe. The rest will work itself out.” Daren paused. “Hopefully.” Honesty compelled him to add.

  ---

  Jonno dumped the smaller car and was now sitting in the back of a much larger van he had prepared for the occasion. Across from him sat a crew of foreign enemy marines. Four men and three women. Clara was driving. And none of them looked particularly happy to see him. He had come fully prepared with papers and IDs, but in the end none of it was needed. Following the completely inexplicable disappearance of Saraya’s president and the Tundran’s announcement that they were about to attack, the spaceport was in complete disarray. Half the security personnel had simply walked off. The Tundrans had named targets to be eliminated in the next twenty four hours, and given the entire planet a chance to help with the evacuation. Given the scope of what was being targeted, nearly everyone would have a friend, family member or distant relative who was in danger.

  “You should have no trouble getting into the prison.” Jonno tried. “They will be thrilled to have the help. And your credentials are beyond reproach. You’ll be in within the hour.” His words were met with a wall of stares as cold as the planet the special forces marines had recently occupied.

  “So they took Alanna.” Tony said abruptly, eyeing Jonno with nothing but suspicion. At least the bastard had shown up. If he was really trying to screw them, Tony would have expected the man to simply walk off, leaving them stranded without any IDs or support. On the other hand, bringing the Tundran marines right into the prison where they would be housed had they gotten caught, might give the beautiful Jonno even more bonus points. Tony, was less than thrilled with the situation.

  “I know. That was the plan.” Jonno said as patiently as he could. “If the warden doesn’t have Alanna, he will not cooperate.”

  “And now he will.” Tony said sharply. “Right? By the time we get to that prison, it’ll be all chaos and freed prisoners everywhere. Right?”

  “It may take some time.” Jonno said, forcing his voice to remain calm and hoping to hell he could do the same for everyone else in the crowded van. “The warden may still think I’ve been captured.”

  “He tried to take Alanna without paying up.” Tony said, stating the obvious.

  “He did. It was not entirely unexpected. But he will fail. And he will pay up. I will make sure of it. But it may take some time.”

  “While Alanna, your dear sister, whom you profess to love, is spending time with the warden at Phoenix Penn.” Tony continued.

  “Yes.” Jonno said. He looked Tony in the eye, trying to get him to understand. “I have two sisters. And I don’t have the luxury of keeping them both safe. Yasmin hasn’t been safe in a very long time. Alanna always understood the plan.”

  “Alanna always makes stupid decisions that put her in danger.” Tony said sharply.

  “So you’ve met her then.” Jonno said with equal sharpness.

  “Yeah well, James Hawk only has one fiancée.” Lisa said, shifting her grip on her rifle, which she was permitted to carry out of the spaceport, no questions asked. So far, she was loving this planet. “And he is gonna be pissed.” She added, just in case anyone had missed the implications.

  “We know.” Tony said with a grunt. He had not missed the implications.

  “No end of pissed.” Prescott agreed with a nod.

  The van drove on in silence.

  “So I’m just going to say this.” Prescott said a while later. “This is definitely worse than I thought.”

  “No shit.” Tony said sourly.

  “I’m not talking about the mission.” Prescott nodded towards Jonno. “I’m talking about him. Just look at him. Worse than I thought.”

  Tony eyed Jonno’s perfectly chiseled face and flowing blond hair sourly. “Yeah, that’s worse than I thought too.” He admitted.