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  “I understand, sir.” She avoided telling him that it sometimes felt like a prison, and Clio had served enough time in one to know.

  She knew the Commander’s speech was coming up soon. How the fleet usually didn’t accept people who started out in the correctional integration program. How she’d be foolish to throw such an opportunity away. How unity would see the Confederation in good stead should humanity ever find itself at war with the Krags again or any other race.

  Blah, blah, blah.

  “But do you understand, Evans?” He tugged at the bristles on his chin and sighed. “This is what happens when we’re at peace for too long. We forget who our enemies are and turn on each other.”

  “You want another war, sir?” Changing tack was a risk, but talking herself out of the situation obviously wasn’t going to work.

  He stared at her as though trying to solve a puzzle.

  "I mean, all this training and preparation," she added quickly. "Sometimes it feels like a waste, and I just can’t help but want to fight.”

  It wasn’t a complete lie. Those didn’t work on Commander Grimshaw. Clio had no desire to traipse across the galaxy killing and avoiding being killed, but war provided opportunities to advance, and she’d already wasted precious years before getting a place on the pilot training program. She graduated Fleet Academy later than most.

  “No.” The Commander looked exasperated, or concerned. She wasn’t sure which since he hadn’t shown a shred of emotion in her six months on-board.

  “No one wants another war. Not me. Not the Confederation.” He paused for a moment. “And neither do you, no matter what romantic notions you might have. Those who seek war are the first to loathe it.”

  “But they say you were a hero during the Kragak war, sir.” Her eyes flicked to the medals on the wall behind him.

  “That is neither here nor there.” And just like that, the steel returned to his voice, the iron to his face, and he slid back into his chair. “You’ve put me in something of a predicament given our current mission. As you’re aware, the starship Goliath is along for the ride to Colony 115 this time, and all mission reports will make their way back to Admiral Thatcher. The last thing we need is a disciplinary action registered with high-command.”

  She was about to sigh with relief when he continued.

  “As punishment, you will assist maintenance for the duration of this mission, starting with the faulty navigation terminals on the bridge.”

  Fire swelled in her belly, and for all her trying, it reached her mouth.

  “But I’m the best damn starship pilot in my category!”

  Addressing a superior officer in such a manner was more than stepping over the line, and her rage instantly turned to regret. Clio expected the Commander to chew her to pieces, but he kept his cool.

  “You are the best simulator starship pilot in your category.”

  She had flown her share of fighters and short-haul transports, but he was right. However, there was little difference between simulations and actual flight controls; a point she decided not to argue. In fact, she found herself in the rare position of being lost for words.

  The Commander filled the resulting silence.

  “Even so, no Confederation officer gets a golden ticket, at least not under my watch. Skill and passion are not enough to fly for the Fleet. You need discipline, leadership, respect. And I’m confident you’ll learn these in time.”

  She didn’t need any damn confidence. She needed time with the Bakura’s flight crew.

  “I have to shadow—”

  “You’re lucky you aren’t spending the rest of the trip in the brig. Good people have suffered a great deal more for assaulting a fellow officer. And you might still suffer yet. The O’Donovans have strong connections with Fleet. If I were you, I’d keep my head down.”

  Her shoulders sagged. “Understood, sir.”

  “And while we’re on the subject, you’ll issue Officer O’Donovan with a written apology before we reach 115. If you work hard on maintenance, I’ll consider reassigning you to the flight crew on our return to Fleet Academy. Dismissed.”

  She nodded and made for the door. Writing an apology didn’t bother Clio, but being assigned to maintenance was a setback.

  “One more thing, Evans.”

  Cio turned back to the Commander.

  “Yes, sir?” Coming off as respectful while gritting her teeth wasn’t easy.

  “Control that temper of yours. Don’t make me regret allowing you on-board. We still don’t know why the Goliath is along for the ride, but the Captain sure as hell wants to impress them.” He rapped the metal desk with his knuckles. “And I can assure you; she’s a lot less lenient than me.”

  Loathe as she was to admit it, the Commander had thrown her a line. She knew how important it was that the current mission succeed. They whole crew was tense while under the admiral’s watch.

  The Bakura regularly made the run to Colony 115 alone. Clio had been part of a dozen such exercises since joining the crew. When the starship reached the human colony, the cadets would get their first taste of the field before returning to Confederation Fleet Academy Fourteen.

  Clio had speculated about the Goliath’s presence. Whatever the Confederation’s reasons, they must have been severe enough to warrant Second Fleet’s flagship. She wondered if it was somehow related to the data she was supposed to retrieve for her contact. If the rumors were true and Aegi were on-board the Bakura, it meant she’d have to be even more careful.

  “I guess with Aegi on board; I should be more cautious, sir.”

  The Commander’s pupils dilated, and he briefly lost his composure to anger. It barely lasted a second, but by then she already had it worked out.

  He doesn’t know, does he?

  She cheered internally and fought back a smile.

  “Report to maintenance at once,” he snapped. “And I expect a copy of that apology.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Doors hissed behind her as she made her way to the bridge and allowed her smug smile free reign. She wondered why the Commander hadn’t been aware of the Aegi. She wouldn’t have known about them either if she hadn’t overheard mention of them in the mess hall before the fight.

  Commander Grimshaw had her on a tight leash, but she savored the taste of victory, as bitter-sweet as it was.

  Working in maintenance wasn’t ideal, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized how much it worked in her favor. Working on the bridge terminals meant access to systems that were otherwise barred to her — systems she needed for reasons known only to her.

  Her timing had to be perfect if she planned on keeping it that way. If anyone discovered the real reason she was there, they wouldn’t just send her back to Morigan. They would send her back in a box. Contrary to what Commander Grimshaw believed, everyone on the Bakura was her enemy, and she was theirs.

  They just didn’t know it yet.

  UNEXPECTED GUESTS

  The thunder of ship systems pulsed through the Bakura’s walkways, mirroring the storm brewing inside Grimshaw. He hurried along the central atrium and balled through a group of bewildered cadets who got in his way.

  If there existed a scale capable of measuring one’s anger, his mood would have obliterated it.

  That Aegi had been kept a secret from him was terrible. But hearing it first from that constant thorn in his ass was almost too much to bear.

  Evans had a temper and caused nothing but trouble since coming on-board. Sometimes Grimshaw wondered why he cut her so much slack, but deep down he knew he had a soft spot for her. She reminded him of a particular young soldier he used to know. She was also extraordinarily talented. But that didn’t mean she didn’t infuriate him, and to make it worse, Captain Desmond wouldn’t answer his calls.

  Ever since the Goliath appeared, she’d been avoiding him. It wasn’t his place to question orders, so he could live with that. But Aegi boarding the Bakura without his knowledge was something else
entirely.

  Other than the undue power and influence granted them by the Galactic Council, he had nothing against Aegi. That he was supposed to be responsible for all personnel on the ship was what bothered him.

  He turned a sharp corner and almost knocked the chief of engineering off her feet. He carried on without so much as a glance back.

  Lieutenant Chekhov called after him. “Is everything okay, sir?”

  “Peachy.” His jaw hurt from clenching his teeth.

  “I didn’t realize we had Aegi on-board, sir!”

  It sounded like a jab.

  “Hilarious, lieutenant.”

  Like most starship engineers, Chekhov had an uncanny knack for pushing people’s buttons. He wondered if it came with understanding complex ship systems. Working out human minds was probably child's play in comparison.

  He turned onto a recently refurbished walkway, his lousy mood worsening with each step.

  Before the Bakura’s departure, he wondered why Captain Desmond had ordered the refit. He couldn’t piece together who she was trying to impress. Now he knew.

  When the damn woman wasn’t currying favor with some ambassador, she was tickling the ears — and possibly other parts — of some merchant. She would have made an excellent politician. If the Captain knew one thing, it was how to get her way. Sometimes Grimshaw wondered if that was all she knew because she didn’t seem to know jack about running a military vessel.

  Grimshaw knew he could do a much better job. Not that he wanted to be in charge of the Bakura. If he ever served as a captain, it would be on a capital ship of his own, preferably in First Fleet.

  Yet here I am. Half a life dedicated to the Confederation, and what has it got me? Service under an incompetent superior that would sooner ply her crew with spice and wine than ready them for battle.

  Since the end of the Kragak conflict, humanity had enjoyed relative peace and prosperity, so a combat situation was unlikely. But Grimshaw knew that peace didn’t last forever. One always had to be ready, especially when it was one’s job. He was all too familiar with the consequences of a complacent military.

  Grimshaw’s heart raced suddenly, as sights and sounds of Gorthore flashed in his mind. His breathing quickened, and ringing pierced his ears. He grappled with the panic before it could take hold and forced it back into its box, just as his therapist had taught him.

  His hands touched something cold, and he realized he was white-knuckling the walkway railing. He looked both ways and was relieved to find he was alone. It had been a long time since the last flashback. The Aegi business was doing a number on him.

  He wiped cold sweat from his brow, smoothed the front of his jacket, and resumed his mission.

  Before reaching the bridge, he made a right into a shallow recess that led to the Captain’s quarters. The status light on the wall glowed green, indicating that she was present. He pressed the buzzer and waited for an answer. When none came, he raised a meaty fist to pound on the door.

  Before his hand came down, the door hissed out of existence.

  “Ah, Jason.” Captain Desmond gestured with a glass from a couch opposite the entrance. She sounded like she had just climbed out of bed and, smoothly pressed uniform aside, she looked like it too. “Come in. Come in. I was just pouring our guests a drink.”

  Before accepting her offer, he scanned the cabin out of habit: a habit he developed when he was a Marine.

  A bottle rested on the table in front of the Captain; its bright yellow contents frantically slushed around of its own volition, like it desperately reached for freedom. Grimshaw knew better than to ask what it was. The room’s other three occupants held twisted ornate glasses containing the same vile fluid.

  Two Shanti females and a human male reclined on a second couch. They wore state-of-the-art armor decorated with Aegi winged crests.

  That two were female was something of a surprise. Little was known about the Aegi, let alone their structure, but the stories had always painted them as male.

  He stepped into the cabin, trying not to seem overly contemptuous. The aroma of sweet perfume tangled with stale alcohol and the familiar musk that Shanti produced permeated the air.

  “Nakamura was just finishing an exciting story about the uprising on Tlalox Prime. A tale worthy of the finest Claracian wine. Care to join us?” The Captain offered him a glass.

  “I’m on duty, sir.” He didn’t point out that she shouldn’t have been drinking either. Their relationship was anything but formal, but in the company of guests, she expected him to observe rank.

  “Excuse my poor manners. I haven’t introduced you, have I?” She gestured to the Aegi with her glass, and the yellow goo looked like it was going to jump free. She flicked her wrist, and it slid back into the glass looking defeated. “This is Commander Grimshaw, the great hero of Gorthore. Grimshaw, these illustrious ladies are Aegis Inx and Aegis Eline. The handsome fellow is Aegis Nakamura.”

  “It’s an honor to have you with us.” Grimshaw nodded respectfully.

  The human, Aegis Nakamura, returned the gesture.

  Despite her graceful appearance, Aegis Inx looked upon Grimshaw with what he could only describe as disdain.

  Her much younger colleague, on the other hand, beamed at him with large yellow eyes. Grimshaw never understood why, but it was difficult not to feel insignificant under the gaze of the cat-like race.

  “To what do we owe the pleasure?” Captain Desmond smiled wryly.

  “I’m here regarding our guests, sir.”

  “Of course. It explains why you’re in such a fluster.”

  “A fluster. I—”

  “You’ll have to forgive the Commander.” She tipped her glass in his direction, and the yellow gloop made another vain attempt at escaping. “Sometimes he takes his job a little too seriously.”

  “Is this how Confederation personnel behave in the presence of their superiors?” The undercurrent of sultry purrs, characteristic of Shanti, flavored Aegis Inx’s words. “When friends on Shantalla told me that humans were more animal than sentient, I didn’t believe them. After meeting this one, however, I’m not so sure.”

  She turned away as though looking at him pained her. The younger Shanti appeared amused.

  Captain Desmond had set it up. Once again, Grimshaw found himself a pawn in one of her schemes.

  He attempted to salvage some dignity, turned to the Aegi and bowed deeply.

  “My apologies for the intrusion.”

  Inx snorted, and Eline cocked her head sideways like a bird would before devouring a worm. Nakamura simply smiled.

  “With all due respect, sir,” Grimshaw addressed the Captain. “I should have been informed about our guests.”

  “And how would you justify this need to know, Jason?” She was clearly enjoying the game.

  “As second-in-command, I’m responsible for the welfare of everyone on board the Bakura. I cannot fulfill that duty when passengers are missing from my registry.”

  “I don’t disagree with you, but my orders came directly from Admiral Thatcher.” She took a sip of her drink. “Until this morning, no one was to know but me.”

  “I understand that Aegi prefer to travel…” Grimshaw searched for the right word “…subtly. But why such secrecy, sir?”

  He offered the Aegi a semi-apologetic side-glance.

  Captain Desmond crossed the room to meet Grimshaw.

  “I’m glad you asked.” She smiled up at him. “Had you waited twenty minutes longer, you would have found out in the briefing room with the other officers.”

  “The other officers aren’t responsible for all personnel.”

  “Your uptightness can be so tiring sometimes, Jason.” She spoke to him as a mother would an ignorant child, and she took great delight in every second of it. “As I’m sure you suspected from the Goliath’s presence, this isn’t our usual exercise.”

  “The thought had crossed my mind.” He trod carefully.

  The Aegi had lost interest in
him and were conversing among themselves, but there was no telling what selective ears might pick up and include in their reports.

  “Our Aegi friends are on a mission to investigate a classified project at Xerocorp Labs on Colony 115. It is believed that third parties are trying to track their movements. Therefore, it was imperative to keep their presence secret until we neared the paraspace exit gate.” She checked her exo-tool for the time. “It’s why they’re not on the Goliath. It would have been much more difficult to keep them hidden there.”

  Her eyes flicked to the Aegi then back again, and for a brief moment, Grimshaw thought he saw worry.

  “You know the secret would have been safe with me,” he whispered. “What if we encountered trouble on our way here?”

  “Jason, outside of pirate raids, there hasn’t been a hostile encounter in this system since the Kragak war. Besides, the Goliath is escorting us.”

  Lights flickered and a familiar tingling sensation washed over Grimshaw as the Bakura exited paraspace via the jump gate.

  Captain Desmond’s exo-tool bleeped. She raised her left arm, and Lieutenant-commander Gargan appeared in holoform.

  “What is it, Garland?” Her light-hearted disposition had suddenly fled.

  “You’re needed on the bridge, Captain.” Gargan was obviously trying not to sound overly alarmed. “Immediately, sir.”

  “What’s going on, Garland?”

  “It’s an unidentified vessel, sir. Dreadnought class. Biggest I’ve ever seen.”

  LOW ROLLER

  He scrunched his eyes shut and brought up a hand to shield his face from the blinding lights above. Moving took more effort than it should have, and it set the room spinning in opposite directions.

  Like a damn blender inside a blender.

  Randis Kahn would have patted himself on the back for being so witty if it didn’t mean throwing up. His ears rang, and a slick metallic sweetness clung to his tongue: signs of a good night or a bad night depending on how one looked at it.

  Randis wasn’t entirely sure where he was or how he got there, but given the lights, he guessed it was Doctor Kira’s clinic again.