The Lost Star Episode One (16 page)

After several minutes of trying, Ava seated
on a metal bench, her elbow and wrist locked in place by robotic
arms, B'cal took a sharp step back. “There’s only one thing for it.
We’re going to have to remove the armlet.”

Ava stiffened, her head tucking low as she
snapped her gaze away from B'cal.

“
I know, I know – you’re not allowed to.
Don’t worry, I’ve met enough Avixans to know this isn’t the done
thing. But unless we do it, your life’s going to be in danger. I
have no idea how long your armlet is going to hold up against the
gel, but it won’t be able to do it forever.”

Ava withdrew into a pressured silence, her
gaze locked on the opposite wall.

“
She can’t remove it,” Hunter found himself
rising to her defense automatically, “Apparently they don’t come
off.”

“What?” B'cal frowned. “What are you talking
about?”

“There’s a note on her file. Look it
up.”

B'cal didn’t waste time. He looked up her
file on a holographic panel.

He pushed a breath through his thin lips.
“I really don’t see any way around this. Ensign, your file says we
shouldn’t try to remove them, but—”

He didn’t get a chance to finish. At that
moment Harvey and Shera walked in.

Ava’s gaze locked on Shera so quickly it
was a surprise her purple eyes didn’t spring from her
head.

Her breathing became short, her chest
barely shifting as it seemed she devoted all attention to watching
Shera.

Harvey drew to a stop and nodded at B'cal.
“I was informed we have a potential neural gel contamination. Have
you cleaned it?”

B'cal looked uncomfortable as he shook his
head. “The contamination is on one of her armlets. I’m not sure
why, but I can’t clean it with standard procedures. Nothing’s
working.”

“Then remove the armlet and dispose of it,”
Harvey ordered easily.

“We can’t remove it,” Hunter interrupted at
once.

“
Why not?” Harvey challenged. “I’m well
aware of Avixan protocol around their ceremonial wrist bands.
However, considering the direct danger this poses to my ship, I’m
ordering you to take it off.”

“
I understand,
captain, but there’s a note on her file saying we
shouldn’t attempt to remove it,” B'cal said
diplomatically.

“
Ensign
, explain this to us. How do we remove your armlet?” Harvey
demanded.

Ava couldn’t look at him. As she sat
there, her face became blotchy and she drummed her left hand
against the metal table in a flighty, nervous move.

S
he was barely breathing.

“
Ensign
,” Harvey snapped.

Hunter’s hackles rose. “Captain, I don’t
think this is that simple,” he said through bared teeth. What he
really wanted to say was Harvey was completely out of
line.

“
Fine
. Lieutenant commander,” Harvey turned to Shera, “How do we
remove that armlet?”

Shera
hadn’t looked away from Ava once. Her expression… was
enough to curdle his blood.

“You can’t remove the armlet. I suppose you
could chop her arm off.”

Hunter lurched, his limbs jolting at the
mere suggestion. “What the hell?”

“
You do that and it’ll kill me,” Ava said
in the smallest voice imaginable. Finally she turned and looked
right at Shera.

“
Sorry, ensign?” Harvey
demanded.

As Ava looked at Shera, something
happened. The terror that had been pulsing through Ava’s gaze
seconds before hardened. “If you attempt to remove them in any way
or chop my arm off, you will kill me,” for the first time she spoke
loudly and directly, all the time staring at Shera. “Which is
something you already know, lieutenant commander.”

“
I’d would watch your tone,” Harvey snapped
almost immediately.

Shera
didn’t move a muscle.

“Are you serious, it’ll kill you?” Hunter
asked.

Ava nodded.

Harvey still looked angry, but Hunter
could see as he cast a nervous glance from Ava to Shera. “Is she
telling the truth?”

Again, Shera didn’t move a
muscle.

You didn’t need to be a genius to realize
Shera was trying to make her mind up. Nor did you need to be a
genius to realize how much animosity she held for Ava.

Or maybe you did. Because Harvey still
turned fully from Ava and nodded at Shera. “Is the ensign telling
the truth?”

Shera
opened her mouth.

Was it just Hunter, or was there a flare
of cold victory flicking in Shera’s gaze.

Ava put her left arm up, dipped her head
low, and stared up at Shera. “I would be very careful, lieutenant
commander. They’re all witnesses. Tell them the wrong thing, and
the Avixan government will find out.”

There was so much tension surging between
them, he was surprised the air didn’t crackle.

“
How dare you threaten a—” Harvey
began.

Shera
cleared her throat and dropped her gaze to the floor. “I
didn’t mean to suggest cutting your arm off was a safe option. It
was merely a logical extension of the captain’s question. Not a
practical one.”

“
No, because it would kill me.” Ava still
held her hand up, still looked at Shera with an unflinching
gaze.

“…
Yes, it would kill you. I apologize if my
words were mistaken. I will clarify: there is no method to remove
those armlets,
captain,
without killing her.” Shera’s voice was cold, emotionless,
withdrawn.

The voice of someone who’d just lost a
gamble.

Harvey looked shocked. The guy usually
controlled his expression, even in the toughest circumstance, but
now he looked floored. “Shera?”

B'cal was still in the room, so was Ava.
As a captain, he shouldn’t be talking so informally.

“
Captain
?” Shera appeared to smooth a nonplussed expression onto
her face, then flicked her gaze up and nodded.

Nerves mixed with anger in Hunter’s gut.
“Why would you suggest that if you knew—”

“
It was not a suggestion, just a comment. I
now realize it was an inappropriate one,” Shera replied
smoothly.

“Bullshit,” the word exploded from Hunter’s
mouth before he could control himself.

“
Lieutenant
, outside, now,” Harvey barked.

Hunter stood there, stock still.

Fuck Harvey.

Fuck the Coalition.

This wasn’t right.

He was seconds from punching his brother and
buying himself a court martial.

“
It’s fine, lieutenant,” Ava broke the
tense silence.

There was a direct, controlled, gentle
quality to her tone.

It saw him slice his gaze over to her.

She nodded evenly.

“Outside, now,” Harvey barked again.

Reluctantly, Hunter followed.

Just as they reached the doors, Harvey
hesitated. He glanced at Shera over his shoulder. “Lieutenant
commander, thank you for your assistance here. You can return to
your duties now.”

Shera
nodded low, turned, and strode past him.

Not once did she look at Ava, letting her
gaze slip along the floor like a river avoiding a stone.

She strode past, down the
corridor
, and quickly
out of sight.

The doors closed behind Hunter and Harvey.
Harvey waited until
Shera was completely out of sight before he turned on
Hunter, his face pressed with livid anger. “What the hell were you
doing in there? That was way out of line.”

“What the hell was I doing? What the hell
were you doing?”

“
Do not argue with me, lieutenant. I will
have to reprimand you for this.”

“
You go ahead,” Hunter spat, “Because I’m
going to look forward to the opportunity to explain to the
probation committee why a captain suggesting chopping the arm off
one of his ensigns.”

Harvey paled. Not just with indignant shock
– with what Hunter hoped was realization.

“
You do realize what just happened in
there, right?” Hunter barreled on. “An ensign told you removing her
armlet would kill her. And you were willing to override that advice
with nothing more than the word of a woman who clearly hates
her.”

Harvey opened his mouth.

Hunter still wouldn’t let him speak. “Do
you have any idea how bad that would look,
captain?”

Finally the penny dropped.

Harvey’s face – once red with rage – paled
considerably. “It wasn’t like that,” he finally managed.

“
Bullshit, Harv, it was exactly like that.
If Shera had told you to remove Ava’s arm, you would have made the
order. What the hell were you thinking?”

“
I would not have made the order,” Harvey
tried in a firmer tone, but his gaze was weak.

“
Harvey, I know you, and this is not you.
Shera clearly has deep seated animosity towards Ensign Ava. It is
affecting her ability to work. She should not be in the same room
as Ava, let alone in a position to decide about Ava’s physical
wellbeing,” as Hunter spoke, some of the strident anger evaporated
from his tone, being replaced with concerned
exasperation.

Despite the fact Harvey was Hunter’s
brother, he was still the captain. At any moment Harvey could end
this conversation and put Hunter in the brig for
insubordination.

He didn’t.

He just stood there and stared at his
brother.

“
I have no idea what’s going on between Ava
and Shera, but you can’t afford to ignore it. Nor can you afford
only to take Shera’s side. You’re the captain of this crew. You
have a responsibility to everyone.”

That comment reached Harvey like nothing
else could. All the blood appeared to drain from his face as he
took a hard step back. “Lieutenant, that’s enough.”

“Prove it. Do something,” Hunter
challenged.

“Hunter, stop,” Harvey snapped.

Just before Hunter could fear he’d booked a
one-way ticket to the brig, Harvey dropped his gaze.

He looked disappointed. Hunter could guess
who
he was disappointed
in.

Himself.

“
Harvey, this morning I was just like you.
Then I realized there’s always two sides to
a coin.”

“What does that mean?” Harvey asked, tone
measured, most of his anger gone.

“It means I made a snap judgement based on
one person’s story. It means I made a mistake, and this is me
trying to fix it,” Hunter said, realizing the truth of his
statement as he said it. He was making up for what he’d put Ava
through.

In the tunnels, she’d earned his
loyalty.

Harvey didn’t appear to know what to
say.

Hunter did. “Guilty until proven innocent,
brother, you always say that. Now live by it.” With that, Hunter
turned back around and entered the decon room.

Ava hadn’t moved. She was staring at the
wall, lost in nervous thought.

She looked up as he entered.

He nodded low. “We’ll figure out what to
do, Ava. Any luck figuring out a work around, chief?”

B'cal was ready to answer, but stopped as
Harvey strode back in.

Maybe he was trying to hide it, but Hunter
could tell Harvey looked chastened.

As he should.

Hopefully now he’d do the right thing.

Harvey cleared his throat. “What are our
options, chief?”

No, Harvey – Hunter thought – this is where
you acknowledge your mistake to Ava and apologize.

B'cal looked warily around the room. It was
clear he had no idea what was happening. Or maybe he did. Was it
just Hunter, or was B'cal standing protectively close to Ava. “Just
as long as no one suggests cutting anyone’s arm off again, I should
be able to come up with a solution eventually.”

It wasn’t exactly a pointed comment, but it
was close.

Harvey tensed.

Come on, Harv – Hunter thought – do the
right thing and apologize.

Harvey’s stiff posture deflated somewhat.
“Ensign, I’m not entirely sure what just happened. I don’t know
what exactly went on between you and Lieutenant Commander Shera.
However, in light of your circumstances, I will not note a
reprimand on your file. That being said, I am ordering you to tell
me everything you can about those armlets. We need to find some way
to remove the neural gel without endangering your life.”

At first Ava withdrew into an edgy
silence.

“
Ensign
, please,” Harvey tried once more, and this time his tone
was genuine. Not stiff, not strict.

“I don’t know too much about their design. I
do know they form a neural link with my brain. If someone tries to
forcibly remove them, or the arm they’re on, it’ll fry my nervous
system.”

“Wait, they must be electrified then,” B'cal
interrupted.

“Chief?” Harvey asked.

“
Ah, hold on.” B'cal put up a hand, walked
over to the equipment locker on the other side of the room, and
removed a huge field scanner. He returned to Ava and scanned her
arm. Anyone smaller than B'cal would have had to anchor the scanner
on a table, but the chief’s massive form hefted it easily. “Ah,
there we go. Very subtle.” He whistled through his teeth. “I
couldn’t pick it up with the other scanners. You’re right, ensign,
forms a permanent link with your nervous system. And that very same
energy field is why I’m having so much trouble removing the
remaining gel.”