The Refugee (The Korvali Chronicles Book 1) (38 page)

He saw movement from the corner of his eye: Catherine, gesturing to him. She pointed at her device. He snapped out of shock, stepping around the table where the young men sat talking. They quietly left the apartments and Catherine changed her device. That left them only one spare.
 

Eshel looked around, the feeling of dread still nearly overwhelming. Seeing no one, he turned to Catherine to check the time. He felt her watching him, waiting for explanation. But he avoided her gaze, leading her out the door, down the stairs, and outside again.

The light rain sprinkled upon them, and Eshel was overcome by sudden visions from the past. He stopped and knelt down, hoping they would subside. He barely heard Catherine speak his name. The visions ceased, enough for him to recover and keep going. “One last stop,” he told her.
 

Again they traversed the gardens, Eshel walking swiftly and Catherine jogging a little to keep up with him. He led her into another building and proceeded down endless labyrinthine hallways, dark and in shadow, with no windows and many closed doors. There were few people around. Familiarity washed over him as he quickly navigated the place in which he’d spent so much time.

And then he stopped. “I will not need your assistance here. Please wait until I come out.”

“Check your device,” she said.
 

He did; it blinked, once per second. He changed it, glancing at Catherine. “Do not worry.”

As Eshel stepped into the laboratory, another series of strong memories flooded him—memories of his father, of their colleagues. The clearest one was of the schematic Eshel had made, outlining his plan, the one where he would manipulate his own epigenome and survive his escape. But despite the familiarity of the place, this wasn’t his lab.
 

It was Elan’s lab.
 

Eshel proceeded to the back room. It was silent, except for the quiet hum of the computers. And there, in the back, sat a man in a blue robe. Eshel observed his friend, the one he’d played with as a child, sat with during their schooling, discussed science with, swum countless waters with… who’d given him the codes to their apartments, attended Othniel’s rite of death, and whose daughter he’d played with. Eshel silently walked to where Elan sat, examining the code he’d written, presumably for his next project. He scanned him.
 

He watched the display, the slow processing of the scanner attempting to make a DNA match. Finally, the scan halted and the scanner’s display lit up, offering him the result he’d expected from Ivar. He stared at the display for a moment before putting the scanner back in his pocket. He continued looking at Elan, who worked silently, who would’ve begun work early that morning, after a swim, and would probably stay until well into the evening. Eshel, standing a mere meter away from where Elan sat, disengaged his shell.

“Elan.”
 

Elan turned, his expression one of surprise. “How did you get in here?” he said, standing up and facing Eshel, his gray eyes making contact with Eshel’s. “Did they release you?”
 

“I know you killed my father, Elan,” Eshel said, staring Elan down. “I know you deceived me. I want to know why.”

Elan hesitated, his expression changing slightly. “You are my friend, Eshel. But it is my duty to protect Korvalis. Your father was a traitor. If I did not kill him, another would have.”
 

“I don’t want to know why you believe he deserved to die. I want to know, why you?”
 

“You know why.”

“I want to you to tell me.”

As Elan gave him a chilly look, he no longer looked like the friend he’d known throughout his life. “Because you would not suspect me.”

“You are correct, Elan. I never suspected you.”

“How did you find out?”
 

“You are cunning. But my father was more so.”
 

Elan raised his eyebrows. “You will not reveal your subterfuge? It does not matter. No one will believe the evidence of a traitor. Even if they do, they can do nothing.”

“I do not need them to,” Eshel said.

“Oh? You will attempt to leave us again, to flee and live among the outsiders?”

“Yes,” Eshel said.
 

And before Elan could react, Eshel retrieved the weapon he’d taken from his father’s cache, quickly injected Elan’s neck without touching him, and immediately backed away.
 

Elan, stunned by the attack, put his hand to his neck. He found the micro-syringe and pulled it out. He stared at it, as if attempting to decipher how it worked. But it was too late. Elan began to stagger, and soon slumped to the floor. He started to convulse. Eshel, unable to bear any more, looked away.
 

Once Elan’s body remained still, Eshel faced him again, watching the limp corpse of his friend lie motionless on the laboratory floor. He knelt down, taking a deep breath to control the sick feeling he had, and came very close to vomiting. He calmed himself. After a few moments, Eshel retrieved the tiny syringe from Elan’s hand, careful to avoid touching him. He retracted the needle, put it in his pocket, and exited the lab.
 

“Did you get what you needed?” Catherine said, her expression concerned.
 

“I did. We must leave.”
 

Eshel set to walking again, his pace even quicker than before. Catherine followed him, winding through the numerous quiet hallways, until they reached a door that led them outside to the gardens. They pulled their hoods over their heads as rain fell upon them. They headed south, through the gardens, beyond the curved door of the white stone wall, and away from Fallal Hall. About halfway to the craft’s location, Eshel stopped walking. He turned and looked back at Fallal Hall in the distance, its white stone rising above all, gleaming through the rain.
 

It was time… time for them to return home.

After sitting alone in the quiet for hours, Catherine finally saw Station 10 in the distance. Tom dozed, and Eshel had been asleep for some time. She whistled.

“What,” Tom said groggily, as he sat up.

“We’re in range.”

Catherine sent an encrypted message to the Captain:
Mission accomplished. ETA: 3:12
. Tom slowed the Mosca and pulled into a vertical structure, landing on one of the shielded platforms near the top, designed for smaller ships. He got out and gave a few commands. Catherine watched the robotic arm find their fuel tank and latch onto it. When Tom came back in, he walked past Catherine to where Eshel sat, newly awakened.

“Esh, why’d you put Finnegan in charge of this operation?” he said, pointing at Catherine. “And why’d you give her all the intelligence, and leave me to sit by like an idiot? I’m a soldier with a lot of field experience—I’m trained to do this kind of shit!”

Eshel, visibly surprised at Tom’s sudden outburst, sat up. “Why are you angry? The operation was successful.”

“That’s not the point! Do you have any idea what it was like for me to sit and wait for all those hours with, no offense,” he glanced back at Catherine, “a whitecoat in charge?”

“Only Catherine had the necessary knowledge to do this, Tom.”

“Don’t give me that shit! You weren’t even where you said you’d be. It’s damned lucky she found you in that place. If you’d trusted me with more intelligence, I’d have been more helpful and the op would’ve been far less risky.” He ran his hand through his curly hair. “You don’t trust me, man. And that pisses me off, considering all I’ve done for you.”

Catherine could see Eshel starting to get angry. But he took pause before he finally answered. “I have not adequately shown… what is the word…gratitude, for all you have done for me. I am sorry for that.” Tom deflated a little, glancing at Catherine again. “You are correct. I do not trust you, as I do Catherine, for many reasons. And you are not one who keeps secrets.”

Tom shook his head vigorously. “I can keep secrets when they’re important. For example, when you gave me that bioweapon casing for my birthday, I know you had others made. I know you probably used a bioweapon on those gumiia assholes after the CCFs. I have contacts, Eshel. I know things. And I never said a word to anyone, because we can’t always look out for you and you deserve to defend yourself any way you can against those vest-wearing goons.” He stood, hands on hips, looking at Eshel. “So… what it’s gonna take for you to trust me?”

Eshel stood up. “If you share with nobody what you learned during this operation—nobody at all, including the Captain—you will have earned my trust. Until then…” Eshel bent over and removed his shoes. He began pulling his robe over his head, taking it off altogether and setting it on his seat. He stood completely nude.
 

Catherine gasped. Tom looked shocked… and uncomfortable.
 

“It is forbidden to allow any outsider to see a Korvali unclothed,” Eshel said. “Only Catherine has seen me this way. I deceived you about not engaging in physical relations with her, for reasons I will share with you at another time.” He put his robe back on.
 

They heard a noise—the robotic arm detaching itself from their craft. Tom left and paid for the fuel. When he returned, his expression was serious. “Hey, man… thanks for everything you said.” He laughed a little, shaking his head. “I didn’t need to see you naked… but I appreciate the meaning of the gesture. Look… I’m sorry too, for some of the shit I said… you know, that night after the party.”

“Thank you,” Eshel said.

Tom grinned. “Say ‘thank you’ to the Captain. This trip cost a fortune!” He rapped his hand on the bulkhead. “Alright… let’s go home!”
 

Once moving again, Catherine brought Eshel a cold canteen and ran a medical scanner over him. “How do you feel?”
 

“I am fine.”

“Then why do you keep putting your hand on your shoulder like it hurts?”
 

Eshel gave a tiny frown. “It has ached since the Sunai detained me.”
 

“Let me look.” She felt around until he flinched, and then scanned his arm. “Your rotator is torn. Take this,” she said, rummaging through the medical kit and retrieving a painkiller. “Be still.” She made some adjustments to her device and ran it over Eshel’s shoulder while Eshel grimaced in pain. “When we return, go to sick bay to make sure I didn’t miss anything.”
 

“How do you know this?” he asked, puzzled.

“I learned a few things after working a few extra sick bay shifts, thanks to someone beating me in poker.”

Eshel gave a tiny smile.
 

They reached
Cornelia
several minutes before their ETA. Tom docked the craft and woke Eshel, who’d slept most of the way home. The three of them gathered their things as the bay door shut.

Eshel approached Catherine and Tom. “Before they question us, I want to speak,” he said. “On Korvalis, before Catherine found me, I believed I would not see either of you again. It was an unpleasant feeling.” He paused. “I am grateful to you both.”
 

“We love you, buddy,” Tom said, slapping Eshel on the back. “We’d do it a thousand times over. With me taking the lead, of course,” he added with a grin.
 

Catherine elbowed Tom. “You’re welcome, Esh.”
 

They heard knocking, so Tom opened the hatch. Ferguson and Yamamoto stood with pleased expressions, and Koni and Snow stood behind them. Catherine, Eshel, and Tom saluted.
 

“At ease,” Ferguson said with satisfaction, the gleam returned to her eye. “Welcome back, Eshel. And good work, you two,” she said to Catherine and Tom.
 

“Thank you, Captain,” they replied.
 

Snow slapped hands with Tom and gave him and Catherine a hug. He hesitated with Eshel, until Eshel held out his hand for Snow to shake.
 

As Snow talked with Eshel and Tom, Koni approached her, his eyeshades protecting him from the bright light of the hangar bay. He placed his hands on her shoulders. “I am happy to see you safe. How are you, nonaii?”
 

“Relieved. And tired.”
 

“When you are rested, I have much to tell you.” He looked over at her friends, his gaze settling upon Snow. “Your comrade listened to your warning, yes? He has not consorted with our females.”

Catherine nodded. “Glad to hear it.”
 

Snow had done plenty of consorting with one particular Sunai female, in secret. On their long journey back to
Cornelia
, Tom told her that Snow finally confessed his feelings to him. Envy aside, Tom had not only managed to keep his mouth shut, but he helped Snow continue the liaison by offering up creative ideas for sneaking around.
 

She disliked lying to Koni, especially when he’d done so much for her. But she’d done things for him as well, and would continue to. And she now understood what the old Space Corps adage meant about choosing your long-term mission companions carefully. She knew who her close friends were, who would always have her loyalty.

“Listen up,” Yamamoto said. They quieted down. “Snow, remove the Mosca’s modifications.”

“Yes, Sir,” Snow said.
 

“Eshel, Tom, Catherine… head to the bridge ready room for debriefing.”

“Yes, Sir,” they replied.

Eshel sat in Ferguson’s office, finishing up his debriefing.
 

“Visiting your mother,” Yamamoto went on. “And gathering evidence of your father’s murder… why did you take such risks, considering the consequences of detection?”

“They stole my father’s life, Commander. It was important that I attempt to remove my mother from danger. As I told Catherine, I believed the risk of detection was low, and that is the only reason I made such a choice.”
 

Yamamoto nodded. “I believe I speak on behalf of the entire command when I say you showed tremendous prudence in planning your own rescue in advance, and foresight in developing a plan that avoided unnecessary mess.”