Fifty-two
An Alliance officer visited Jeremy Kael on the second
day following Myla's death. The man wore the avatar of a warrior, lean
and muscular. Jeremy had told himself that he would physically attack the
first person to enter his cell and die resisting the Alliance. Sizing up
his adversary, he rolled over on his bunk and faced the blank wall.
"I am Primary Relay Officer Jak Odrey. I have been
sent by Phil Biester, Commander of the Amikol, to speak with you. It
would be in your best interest to cooperate with me. Is there anything
you need before we proceed?"
Jeremy snatched at the opportunity. "I want to see
Myla."
"The girl who accompanied you aboard this vessel?
She is dead."
Jeremy already knew that, although he could not
believe it. He could not even function without some kind of
confirmation. How could she have died? They would have nothing to show
him, because it was not possible that he could have lost Myla.
“Come with me,” the officer said.
Jeremy did as he was told. He could stand no more of
his claustrophobic cell.
The cell opened directly onto a tube
car dock. He suspected the tube itself was airless, and the
suspicion put a
quick end to any fantasies of escape. He sat facing the Alliance officer
in the car when it arrived, but refused to meet the man's steady gaze. The four-seater
accelerated quietly for a time and opened onto a broad, dark corridor
somewhere aboard the Amikol. Jak led the way through a narrow hall and
into a chamber that Jeremy recognized as a biological laboratory of some
kind.
Myla's remains were spread upon a shiny table.
Nothing much remained of the upper body except bits of charred bone and
unidentifiable masses of dark material. Jeremy kept his distance and
didn’t look at the rest of it, the two parts that were still pink and
intact. It was hard enough to accept that this had been Myla, and his
lack of emotional reaction warned him that even this was not enough to
fully convince him.
But he spotted her precious coin gleaming undamaged
in the debris, and it jolted him badly. He drew closer to the remains and
pointed to the shiny artifact. If she was dead, it was the only memento
he would ever have of her.
Jak picked up a clipboard and scrolled through its
contents. "It's an old Tenesian message coin cleared for disposal.
Nobody seems to have taken an interest. If you want the coin, take it."
It took Jeremy a moment to build up the courage. He
lifted the coin free of the ashes, inspected its gleaming chain for
damage, and then defiantly slipped it over his neck.
"Is there anything else you need?"
Jeremy glanced at the man, assuming the compassionate
treatment was intended to encourage him to talk. He shook his head.
Despite himself, his anger had receded and his curiosity piqued.
"Do you wish to be returned you to your cell?"
Lee shook his head a bit more adamantly.
"You pose no physical threat to the Alliance or the
fleet. Commander Biester has authorized you to be held in a standard
crew's cabin until your scheduled execution."
Jeremy backed away from the man, appalled that
he could speak so casually about impending death.
"You are part of the writ of execution of Covonia.
There is nothing we can do."
A bulkhead stopped Lee’s slow retreat.
"One of the cities has been destroyed. Another
committed itself to the void. Many of the colonies are protesting. Some
have intervened, although they are of no military significance. Credible
threats have been made to the core worlds that are currently being
considered by the Alliance.”
Then the execution of Covonia was not yet a sure
thing.
“You could be of service to your people,” the man
said cryptically.
Jak crossed his arms against his chest and sat on the
edge of a desk. "You may be a source of information to us. We have not
been able to accurately assess the danger the girl, the autonomous avatar,
posed, and may still pose, to Alliance security. She left modified
technology in the hands of a Covonian Executor General, a man named Gorlon
Hague. She interacted with the Hive, and the Hive has been acting
strangely since its defeat. It seems to have achieved some kind of truce
or stalemate with the Executor General."
Jeremy frowned, unable to imagine what they would
want with him? He would have no information of any use to the Alliance.
"You and the girl committed yourself to the void.
How did you manage to find your way back, and why here at the Amikol?"
Jeremy had no way to answer the question.
"Do you wish to continue this discussion in more
comfortable surroundings?" Jak asked gently.
Jeremy glanced again at Myla's remains. What more
was there to discuss?
"If you cooperate, all information we obtain will be
used to reassess the Alliance's analysis of recent events involving
Covonia. Our ultimate goal is to ensure the security of all of humanity."
Cooperation?
Never.
"We will authorize your release and allow you to
return to Covonia if you will serve as a conduit of information."
Calmly Jeremy waited for the rest. His silence
seemed not to annoy the Alliance officer.
"You may refuse, if you think you will betray your
people in some manner. If the information we obtain indicates that
Covonia poses no remaining threat to the Alliance, the writ of execution
may be suspended until Executor General Gorlon Hague can be dealt with."
Tentatively, Jeremy shook his head. What did they
expect of him?
"We’ll use an implant, a sensory interface. What you
hear and see will be relayed to us."
Betrayal for certain.
"You may save your city cooperating with us. There
is nothing you can do at this stage to cause your friends further harm."
“When?” he said, his voice hoarse.
"Now, if it not already too late."
A vague nod set a new branching of events into
motion.
