Purge of Prometheus (48 page)

His heart beat loudly in his chest as Keryn entered the room.
 
Though Yen always remembered her as the pilot wearing her grey flight uniform, he found her new look exotic and enchanting.
 
Her long hair flowed freely over her shoulders and framed her tan face.
 
Keryn’s violet eyes sparkled with an inner confidence that he didn’t remember from before.

“Captain Riddell and Captain Alcent,” Yen called from across the room.
 
“We have reserved a pair of seats next to me for the two of you.
 
You are, after all, the heroes who freed Othus and commandeered a Terran Destroyer for your own.
 
Please, come and join me at the head of the table.”

As the pair came around the table, Yen yearned to make eye contact with Keryn.
 
But, instead, she continued to scan the room, nodding politely to a number of the other Captains.
 
When they reached their seats, they both sat with mumbled words of appreciation.

Yen let his eyes linger a moment longer on the profile of Keryn’s face before he began speaking.
 
“I called you all together because, with a change of leadership at the top level of this Fleet, I felt it necessary to meet face to face with each of you.
 
I know that, were the decision yours, you would have placed yourselves in charge of the flagship instead of the
Revolution
’s second in command.
 
Unfortunately for all of you, the decision was made by military protocol, which leaves me in command of the Fleet.
 
I expect your full support as we continue with our mission.

“I wish I could say that I knew what Captain Hodge had planned for this meeting before her untimely death.
 
Unfortunately, she left nothing behind that could be used as a baseline.
 
So, instead, the heavy weight of preparing you all for what’s to come falls squarely on my shoulders.”

Yen glanced around at the assortment of races sitting before him.
 
“The fight ahead is not weighed heavily in our favor.
 
Twelve of our ships were completely destroyed during the last battle, making the number of ships on each side nearly even.
 
Unfortunately, aside from the
Ballistae
,” Yen nodded to Keryn and Alcent, “there isn’t a ship in the Fleet that isn’t damaged in some way.
 
The Terrans have also fired little of their ammunition, whereas all of our ships are already halfway through their stores.
 
What I’m saying is that we need ideas, and we need them fast.

“Over the next week, we’ll be flying as fast as our physiologies will allow in order to reach Arcendor before the Terrans have a chance to destroy it.
 
We’ll be coming into the battle tired and damaged, but it doesn’t change the fact that we are fighting to preserve the capital of the Alliance.
 
It’s more than a city, it’s a symbol of the strength of the Alliance.
 
If we let Arcendor fall, there will be chaos amongst the races.”

Yen remained stoic, but applauded quietly to himself.
 
Though he had only been a Captain a few hours, he felt that this meeting was, thus far, sounding very much like one of Captain Hodge’s motivational speeches.
 
He cleared his throat before the other Captains could begin side conversations.

“I don’t expect an answer from you all now.
 
I wouldn’t expect you all, after such a difficult battle, to be able to make intricate tactical decisions.
 
However, our timeline is short.
 
Within the next couple days, I need each of you to submit tactical courses of action for the defense of Arcendor.”

Yen let his eyes fall back to Keryn, who still stared into oblivion, hardly seeming to listen to his speech.
 
He felt a touch of annoyance at her blasé attitude, but continued to stare in her direction.

“There is still one bit of information that we need to discuss before we separate.”
 
Yen gestured to Alcent, offering him the floor.
 
“Captain Alcent of the
Ballistae
has information that will prove invaluable to our future fight.
 
Captain?”

“Thank you,” Alcent said with a barely discernable nod to Yen.
 
His attention remained focused on the other Captains.
 
Eyes burning passionately, Alcent spoke to each of them with an edge to his words as though daring them to speak out against him.
 
“Our fight to get to this point has been as brutal, if not worse, than your own.
 
For those not aware, Keryn…”
 
Alcent shook his head, struggling with the change.
 
“Captain Riddell was on a mission from High Council to find the source of Deplitoxide and, if possible, a counteragent.
 
I am proud to announce that her mission, and by proxy our mission, was a complete success.
 
We have both the Deplitoxide and the scientific formulas necessary to counter the blackness that has engulfed all of our suns.”

The room erupted into surprised conversation as the Captains discussed amongst one another the implications.
 
While many of the Captains expressed relief at the discovery, the dominant conversation quickly turned into political jockeying between the different ships.

“The whole crew of the
Defiant
thanks you for your contribution,” an Avalon Captain said, standing to be recognized.
 
“I would like to volunteer our ship as a research vessel for your continuing experiments.”

“The hell you will, Nitella!” a gruff Oterian Captain roared, clambering to his feet.
 
“The
Phalanx
will be the research ship, if anyone will!”

Other Captains jumped from their chairs to add their arguments and cite reasons for their selection as the research vessel.
 
The conversation, however, quickly degraded from argument to thinly veiled insults toward one another.
 
Yen felt his irritation rise as the pettiness of the other Captains, and saw his feelings mirrored on the faces of both Keryn and Alcent.

“Ladies and Gentlemen,” Yen yelled, trying to get their attention.
 
His voice, however, was lost in the dull roar of conversation.
 
Few of the Captains paid him any mind, noticing his attempts only briefly before returning to the arguments at hand.

Yen was startled, though, when Keryn pulled a pistol from beneath her jacket, loaded a magazine, and slammed the weapon down on the table.
 
Its echo rolled across the room, drawing the attention of nearly half the Captains, who responded with sheer disbelief that one of the newcomers had drawn a loaded weapon.
 
They slowly took their seats, as though moving in a dream, and nudged the Captain next to them.
 
Word was passed down the table and the Captains quieted, until only two remained arguing at the end of the table, oblivious to Keryn’s threat.
 
Reaching down, she turned the barrel of the gun until it was facing the pair, then loudly cleared her throat.
 
Irritated, they both turned.
 
Their faces dropped as they noticed the loaded pistol pointed their direction, and they both quickly sat down.
 
Yen, though awed by her straightforward techniques, frowned at the confident Wyndgaart sitting next to him.
 
This was not the woman he remembered.
 
Something had happened; something had changed her.

“You’re bickering amongst yourself like children deprived of your parents’ affection,” Keryn growled.
 
“Grow up, every one of you, and get over yourselves!
 
At the end of this war, I don’t care which one of you is promoted to Fleet Commander or Minister of whatever house.
 
What I care about is that the sacrifices that have already been made by so many Alliance citizens are not in vain because we’re too busy arguing between ourselves to focus on the bigger issue.”

Keryn leaned forward, casting dark shadows around her face.
 
The desired effect was instantaneous as the other Captains leaned away from her.
 
“All we have is a few rockets with Deplitoxide and some scientific data that we still don’t know whether or not will work.
 
I’m not about to entrust so important a task with people who are more interested in personal gain and less interested in the good of the Alliance.
 
The bottom line is that you can argue amongst yourself all you want, but the Deplitoxide and the counteragent data stay with the
Ballistae
.”

She raised her hand, stopping any complaints.
 
“Before any of you open your mouths to tell me why you don’t like my idea, realize that I will only harbor questions that are spoken with a significant level of respect.
 
Whether Alcent and I look like Captains or not, we have done more for the Alliance than you will ever comprehend.
 
If anyone has any issues with that…”
 
She left the sentence hanging as she tapped her hand on the pistol that still sat on the table.
 
“Now, let’s discuss why you think you’re better than me.”

This was not the romantic reunion Yen had imagined for so long.
 
Yen had envisioned the return of the same affectionate lover who had left him months ago.
 
He had imagined stolen glances while discussing tactics, leading to a quiet dinner alone, and passionate love making that night.
 
So far, Keryn hadn’t stolen a single glance his direction.
 
She was distant and cold, completely professional and seemingly unapproachable.
 
Something had happened in the months away, something that changed her drastically.
 
Yen wondered, not for the first time since she arrived on board, if Keryn was thinking about him at all.

“What do you offer in the way of scientific research?” one of the Captains asked from further down the table.
 
“Why should you be granted all the research to keep.”

“I’m not asking anything be ‘granted’ to me,” Keryn replied.
 
“I already own the research and the Deplitoxide.
 
However, I also have some of the most talented scientists in the Fleet on board the
Ballistae
.”

“I find that hard to believe,” another Captain guffawed.

“Our crew managed to hack the Terran defensive network on Othus, hardwired a Terran Destroyer, stole the counteragent plans from a dilapidated facility on a forgotten world, and faked the Terran Fleet codes so that we could safely approach and destroy the Terran flagship,” Alcent added to the conversation.
 
“I think that makes us more than capable of handling this little research project.”

The conversation droned on as both sides made counterarguments, but Yen was hardly paying attention anymore.
 
He yearned to know what Keryn was thinking and if any of her thoughts strayed to their time together.
 
Memories of their shared love haunted Yen; he found it impossible to believe that Keryn had so casually and callously pushed those thoughts aside.
 
Though Yen hated the idea of invading her privacy, he couldn’t resist the temptation of stealing a glance at her thoughts.

Narrowing his vision, Yen reached out with his mind, trying to not just read her thoughts but also actually see her memories.
 
Slowly, the first vision began to appear in his mind.
 
The room melted to a pure white landscape.
 
Straining to see as far as he could, Yen was unable to differentiate between the end of the white land and the beginning of the white sky.
 
Looking all around, Yen saw that the horizonless landscape stretched on for eternity in all direction.
 
Pushing the vision aside, he searched for the next memory but, instead, found himself back in the white landscape.
 
Releasing himself from the visions, Yen was startled to realize that he had seen nothing.
 
The white land had been an extension of a mental block within Keryn’s mind.
 
Somehow, she had stopped his psychic probe.
 
From her continued conversation, Yen assumed that she was blissfully unaware of his intrusion.

Now angry at her disinterest, Yen focused harder on penetrating her thoughts.
 
Crowning around her head, a soft white halo appeared in his vision moments before he plummeted back into the white landscape.
 
Startled, Yen leapt to his feet in the white world, searching wildly for something on which to take out his frustration.
 
Feeling irritated at his inability to break into her memory, Yen close his eyes and released his probe.
 
Opening his eyes again, he was stunned to find himself still trapped within the white realm.

“How?” Yen asked, unable to formulate the questions he really wanted to ask.

Yen shook with anger.
 
He now knew the answer that had eluded him before.
 
Something had happened while Keryn was gone: some other entity was in Keryn’s mind.
 
It was not unheard of with exploration into the unknown space.
 
Parasites existed that could share a person’s body and subtly alter their moods and interactions with others.
 
Her behavior changes and seemingly distant attitude toward him now made more sense.
 
It was now Yen’s mission to free Keryn of whatever entity had taken possession of her.
 
In order to set her free, however, he needed to get free himself.
 
That meant confronting whatever now shared her mind.