Deadly Betrayal (11 page)

Blake kept the Captain’s office sparsely furnished but friendly, not counting my aversion to the entire top deck. Now the walls were completely bare and a conference table took up most of the floor.

Jia’lyn rose when we entered, giving me a flashback to the first time I met her and thought she must be the mythological Medusa. She had dark purple skin with light blue freckles spread over her nose and cheeks. Her large yellow eyes made a stunning contrast to her skin, but still weren’t the most remarkable thing about her. Where a human would have hair, she had a multitude of small gray snakes, glittering like silver. Each snake had bright blue eyes and I often wondered if they had minds of their own.

She said, “Welcome home.”

I sank down on a chair. “Everything is so different. What happened?”

Even the snakes on her head seemed to shrug. “You two probably don’t remember the aftermath of the fiasco with the Grendl. Shortly after you left, Blake was reassigned and Ima went with him. I was next in line for the command.”

John asked in a casual voice, “Isn’t it Confederacy policy not to let the second become captain on the same ship?”

“It used to be. We have a shortage of officers. With Adam gone too they would have had to move me to another ship and replace the entire top crew on the Bell. Command felt keeping me on the ship would give a sense of continuity.”

“I see.” He looked relaxed, but his eyes weren’t.

Jia’Lyn was one of my best friends who had seen me through countless of bad times, so why was I so uncomfortable?

She said, “You’re both welcome to stay as long as you wish, but I must warn you, the ship is more geared against battle now than it used to be.”

“Battle with who?” Asking might not be the smartest thing, but I was curious.

“General unrest. Nothing to be too worried about.”

John leaned back in the chair. “Well, we didn’t want to come aboard in the first place, we’re on our way somewhere. Are we free to leave?”

“Stick around for a few days.”

So weird, it didn’t sound like her at all. And why was she so keen on us staying on the ship?

Jia’Lyn smiled. “Your old room is still there. Why don’t you go relax for a couple of hours? I’d like to see you for dinner tonight. We have a lot of catching up to do.”

*****

I stepped into the lift ahead of John and the door closed behind him, just like it was supposed to. He said, “Deck three” and the lift sank down, just like it was supposed to.

It didn’t stop on deck three.

John muttered, “Now what” and managed to frown and lift an eyebrow at the same time when a hologram of Anya flickered to life.

“Are you going to hit me again?”

She crossed her arms over her chest.

“It doesn’t matter, I don’t have substance in here. Now be quiet and listen to me. You two have to find a way to get out of here. And bring the other one of
him
.” She eyed the lifeless android head under John’s arm.

I opened my mouth and closed it again. The next time I opened it, words came out. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t have time to explain. Trust me. You know I love you both. Leave while you can.”

John clearly paid as little attention to her message as I did. “Why aren’t you furious with me?”

Anya laughed. “You two are adorable. If you were alone together in space for years you still wouldn’t get around to doing anything.”

I said, “We totally would. Eventually”

“Sure you would.” She still sounded about to fall over with mirth. “It’s as likely as Adam and I getting it on.”

“How long do you think it would take?”

“I don’t know, three years, maybe. Why are we still talking about this?”

The lift slowed down and she fell serious. “Find a way to go somewhere this ship isn’t, and don’t come back. It’s not safe.”

John ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t understand.”

She said, “I have to go” and vanished.

I inched myself closer to him. “This is a weird day, isn’t it?”

He moved the android head over to his other side so he could wrap his arm around me.

“Understatement.”

It probably wasn’t safe to talk.

The lift doors opened to a floor that certainly wasn’t ours. I leaned back against the wall and prepared to wait for going up again, but John said, “Oh, we’re down here. Let’s go see Debana.”

Anya must have done that on purpose, sending us where we needed to be.

*****

John led the way into the lab and our orange-haired friend glanced up with a guarded look on her face.

“You’re back!” Once Debana recognized us, she smiled and looked honestly happy.

If talking wasn’t safe in other parts of the ship it probably wasn’t safe here either. I said, “Yes, we’re back.”

Her eyes shifted color. The white turned into a swirling green, but just for a moment. What did it mean?

“I have Sy’bit tea. Come, I’ll make you a cup.”

What the hell was Sy’bit tea?

John said, “That would be fantastic.”

This was probably an excuse to get out of the lab, and I should follow them. I still wanted to look in all directions at once and it was hard to suppress the instinct and look cool.

John stepped through the door to her room and sank down on the sofa as if he’d done it many times before. He
had
made it sound as if Debana provided him with booze. For all I knew they might be old friends and he might have been down here all the time.

I opened my mouth to release at least one question, but the orange-haired beauty in front of me shook her head and mouthed, “Not yet.”

She pulled out an instrument from a pocket, walked around the room, and watched the monitor with a frown. Then, she grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the gigantic turquoise sofa. It matched the thick layers of fabric on the walls, giving the room an underwater quality.

Once I sat down next to John, she turned on music and whispered, “I think it’s safe, but let’s be quiet. Did he find you?”

Should the answer be yes or no? Debana had saved Adam’s life. They were friends. They appeared to be on the same side, whatever that side might be.

John said, “Yes, he did.”

“Good. I couldn’t do much to help him. I hoped he’d make it to you.”

“How did you know he was there?” I didn’t mean to sound accusing, but I had been so sure I was the only one who knew he left the ship.

A thin smile tugged at her lips. “Where do you think he got the bomb?”

She moved closer and hushed her voice even more.

“The Bell was sabotaged from the inside. Someone here worked with the people on the Grendl and everything has gone downhill since. I don’t know how many they are, but key personnel are under constant surveillance. That’s not all. The Captain was removed. He’s on some faraway planet now where he can’t cause any trouble, and several of the crew have… changed.”

Like Jia’Lyn.

Debana fixed her otherworldly eyes on me. “I teleported Adam with the lab’s developmental reactor. I tried to get to you, but you wouldn’t see me, and I didn’t know whom else I could trust. I know this sounds like a paranoid conspiracy theory, but they’re everywhere.”

“Thank you for saving him.”

“You’re my friend. Adam saved my life. I will remember android bitch setting fire to him as long as I live.”

It made sense. The idea of her struggling alone to save the Confederacy was more reasonable than imagining her a traitor.

I said, “What are we going to do?”

John muttered, “To start with, stay alive long enough to get out of here.”

Debana winked at him. “I’ll get you that tea.”

My mug smelled and tasted like tea. John’s certainly didn’t and he looked very pleased. “As always, you are a life saver.”

She bent forward and whispered so quietly I could barely hear her, even though she was right between us. “I don’t know how they do it. I don’t think it’s in the air because not everyone is affected, but they might want to change you too. If I were you I wouldn’t sleep on this ship, and I wouldn’t accept anything to eat or drink from
them.
”

Sound advice, but how could we adhere to it? Especially when Jia’Lyn demanded to see us for a meal? She was definitely changed. How long had she been like this?

John sighed and put his mug down, untouched. “So what you’re saying is, I need to keep a clear head. Dammit, I’ve been sober for a year.”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

Entering my old home felt like walking through a portal to another world. No one had touched anything. I wished I could pack some of Adam’s clothes and things and bring them, but that could awaken suspicions.

Maybe I could bring
some
more of our belongings if we found a way to leave without fleeing.

“This is so weird. I expected someone else to live here by now.”

“We were here for a long time, weren’t we?”

Neutral conversation. I wished we could go home, back to his ship, but
that
would come across as odd when we had a perfectly fine suite here.

Damn.

A soft knock on the door made me jump. The computer used to announce visitors, but it hadn’t said anything. Maybe that didn’t work as it used to either. I hadn’t loved it during my years on the ship, but now I missed its snark.

John stepped up to the door, opened up a hatch that had probably always been there, unseen by me, and used a manual release to open. Adam stepped in and slammed his hand against the closing button.

He looked around with a frown and gestured for silence. Both John and I followed as he crossed the floor to his study and folded up a computer terminal. His fingers danced over the keyboard for an eternity before he nodded.

“The computer was listening in on you.”

I said, “How did you get all the way here?”

“It’s a computer. Avoiding the cameras wasn’t hard, I just programmed them not to see me. Avoiding
people
was trickier.”

Data flickered past so quickly no human could read it.

John said, “Stop that. We don’t need to know what’s going on, not right now. We need to figure out a way to leave, alive, and without having the long arm of the Confederacy chase us.”

Adam made a dismissive gesture. “Knowing what’s going on will help us leave.”

I glanced over at John. “Tell him.”

I was too stressed out and didn’t trust myself to convey everything that happened and get it right.

*****

“You can’t go to dinner with her.”

I was usually the one stating something obvious. Good to see Adam had a talent for it too.

John ran his fingers through his hair.

“I agree, but I don’t know how to get out of it.”

Adam’s steady gaze made me forget about our problems and Anya’s warnings, but only until he spoke.

“I should go with you.”

Both John and I said, “No.”

I elaborated, “The longer we remain free and undetected, the better our chances, for so many reasons. And once whoever is behind this knows you’re alive, you will be a prime target.”

Adam turned to John. “I guess I can’t take your place.”

I gave my head a slight shake. It would have been possible at one point in time, but John and I aged. Adam did not. The resemblance between them was still uncanny, but even if we could imitate John’s longer hair and the silver streaks that had snuck into it, and his characteristic stubble, his face had changed. The fine lines around his eyes were deepening into wrinkles, his skin looked different…

When I first met them the time difference between them was already more than a decade, and as years went by, it would keep growing.

Looking between them I loved them both so much it hurt. I wanted a group hug, but they probably wouldn’t go for it.

The doorbell rang and the computer announced, “Ensign Hurst.”

Already? We had spent quite some time with Debana, but I expected us to have at least another couple of hours before anyone came looking for us.

I took a deep breath and headed for the living room.

A young man waited outside the door.

“Ma’am, the Captain wishes to see you and your friend in her quarters. Right now.”

“I’d really rather stay here. There’s a time difference to our ship, and…”

The young man interrupted. “Right now, ma’am.”

John came out of the study. “And the Captain’s wish is our command. C’mon, honey. I’m sure you’ll get a nap later.”

He was right. Standing our ground wouldn’t make anything better.

I wanted to run back and kiss Adam, just in case this was the last time I met him as myself, but it wasn’t an option.

*****

I had visited Jia’Lyn’s home many times in the past.

Her rooms had been close to ours and so cozy. She had a large wooden table and comfy chairs where we sat for hours, talking about anything and everything. She liked food and cooking, and more often than not the table had been covered in fruits from different worlds, exotic dishes from whatever culture interested her that week, or bread baked by her strong hands.

Now, the ensign brought us to the Captain’s quarters where Blake and Ima once lived and the rooms had an abandoned air. I saw nothing of Jia’Lyn in there, but expected the closets to be filled with Ima’s things.

On the bright side, I didn’t see dinner either. Getting out of ingesting something would be easier if no food was present. I was starving too and might not be able to resist the allure of a meal.

Jia’Lyn met us at the door and nodded towards the sofa. “Sit.”

We obeyed, but I made sure to sit close to John, because it made me feel better.

“You two went down to the labs earlier. Why?”

This wasn’t dinner; it was an interrogation.

I shrugged. “Visiting a friend. Do you remember when Eve took over the ship?”

She should. I sought refuge in her home when I learned about the things Adam’s wicked sister made him do. He had been under duress with half his face burned off, the skin on one arm devoured by small robots, and the crew and ship in mortal peril, but I had still been furious with him.

Furious, and betrayed.

Jia’Lyn made a dismissive gesture. “It was a bad day. Doesn’t explain why you would need laboratories today.”

A bad day? My husband cheating on me while I was kidnapped by the dirtiest aliens anyone could imagine was more than a bad day.

She clearly had no idea what I was talking about.

“Yes it does. I’m sure you remember telling Adam he had to make up for his mistake. He gave me Eve’s cranium to destroy, and the crew down in the labs helped me.”

Since she didn’t seem to remember anything about it, I might be able to avoid mentioning just one person. Debana did not need Jia’Lyn’s personal attention.

She changed the subject. “You’ve been away for a long time.”

Didn’t she say that earlier, or was my mind playing tricks on me?

John nodded and rubbed my back. “Being here still upsets her. Bad memories. That’s why we want to leave. Alex doesn’t need to relive all that.”

“Oh yes, you were distraught when you left.”

Jia’Lyn looked like she had no idea what he was talking about.

I made a grimace. “Distraught? I guess you can say that. Hysterical is a kind of distraught.”

John concealed laughter with a cough.

I bent forward and reached out my hand, and Jia’Lyn stared at it for a long moment as if uncertain what to do with it. Then, she rested her fingers in my palm.

I pretended I was talking to the real her. For all I knew, she might still be in there somewhere. “It’s so good to see you again. I have missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too.”

Yes, that sounded completely natural. This would be a good time to at least try to make a great escape.

“Jia’Lyn, I’m so tired. I know you wanted to have dinner with us and we have so much catching up to do, but can we postpone that until tomorrow?”

John interjected, “Our ship is on another time. It’s in the middle of the night to us.”

This seemed to interest her. “You’re going to bed?”

“We’re thinking about it, yes. I’ve missed that bed. It’s a good bed.”

I didn’t expect her to agree, but she nodded.

“Very well. Go to bed and get a good night’s sleep, it will help clear your heads. I will see you tomorrow.”

When leaving the room I felt like I just escaped a carefully set trap.