The Grey Serpent, Tundran Space, Standard Year 404 after founding

  Alanna dreamed of fire. The ghostly green figures kept coming for her, joined by the silver reflection of light off black Tundran uniforms. The figures were everywhere, too many to count and she had no gun, no weapon to stop them. But it didn’t matter, because of the fire. The figures kept rising up and the walls of flame kept coming, over and over again, destroying them all until there was nothing left and she stood in a field of ash. The fire was coming for them. It was coming from them all. “I’m coming for you all.” Bernard Berhnard’s voice echoed in her ears.

  “Let him come.”

  Alanna looked up into calm gray eyes, as James held out his hand.

  “Let him come.” James repeated.

  “Tell me you’re coming home alive.” Alanna said, walking into his arms. She took his hand and stepped closer, laying her head against his chest, hearing the strong, comforting beat of his heart against her cheek.

  “I’m coming home alive.” James said.

  “He’s coming for us all, James. I know he is.” Alanna whispered. “He’s coming for me.” Her voice rose, a note of hysteria ringing in her own ears. “What am I going to do?”

  “Save them.” James said, his arms tightening around her. “Win.”

  “I can’t.”

  “You can. I’ll help you.”

  Alanna sat up in bed and dropped her head into her hands for a long minute. Oddly, once again, she missed her cell. She missed the sleeping bag James brought for her and the memories of being with him. And for the first time in her life, she found she didn’t want to sleep alone. The sound of Bernard’s voice echoed in her head. What if Danil got scared? What if he talked? Bernard had a way of getting people to talk. No one was better at it than him. What if he noticed Danil was behaving oddly? What if he got suspicious? What if… it had been so long. But she was going up against Bernard Bernhard. The monster of monsters. And she didn’t want to die. She wanted to return to James. She wanted to live. She wanted Bernard’s head, on a pike. But they didn’t requisition a pike. She lay back down onto the bed, staring at the darkened ceiling as thoughts swirled in her head. Her hand strayed to the small gold cuff at the top of her ear. Avalon gold. James would help.

  ---

  Sarayan military outpost orbiting Titan, Tundran Space, Standard Year 404 after founding

  President Lorelai Achly declared martial law. And Aster… Aster was missing. The eighth to disappear. Of course, they hadn’t really disappeared. Just like everyone who had ‘disappeared’ back home, Danil knew what happened to them. They all did. Aster had complained about their ration shortages one time too often, looked at Captain Bernhard the wrong way one too many times, and perhaps she spoke to the wrong crew member, when she should have kept her mouth shut. And now she disappeared. And they weren’t getting resupplied. They all knew that, just as they all knew what happened to their disappearing crew. The captain wouldn’t space them. That would be a waste. Whatever was left would be turned into rations when the time came.

  Danil wiped the sweat off his face and re-focused on his work. Mistakes were dangerous. There were a lot of mouths left to feed. And Aster was the last one foolish enough to act up. Everyone left knew better. Sooner or later, Captain Bernhard would need another reason to lower their numbers. It wasn’t the time to make mistakes. He swallowed nervously, thinking of the messages he had recently deleted from his account. If found, Alanna’s messages were a death sentence. Hell, even having a wrist comm and sending out messages was a death sentence. Hopefully just for himself, but with Captain Bernhard’s influence, one wrong step and the damage could reach all the way back to Saraya, to his family. Danil knew his captain. If he found out Danil tried to collude with Alanna Summers, Bernard Bernhard would make sure the debt was passed down to the family, and paid in full.

  “Need some help?” A voice asked at his back.

  Danil started, feeling the sweat pool in the small of his back, in spite of the mild dehydration caused by water shortages. Dammit. He really needed to get it together. “No thanks. I got this.” Danil paused. “Actually, I’m feeling restless. Let me help out by taking an extra shift. I can check on the turret guns.”

  The other man nodded, a slight smile on his lips. “Sure, I’ll let the captain know. If I were you, I’d be looking to score some bonus points too. What with Aster gone…” He paused, waiting to see if Danil would walk into the trap.

  “Happy to help.” Danil said.

  “Hmmm. Just make sure you don’t get lost up there.” The other man said with a grunt, turning to walk away.

  Danil nodded, maintaining his silence. In addition to the eight crew members who had disappeared, there was Bryce. Good old Bryce, who one day went out on a space walk and never came back. On the one hand, one less mouth to feed. On the other hand, less meat. Now that he thought about it, a nice long spacewalk was starting to sound downright appealing. ‘This is how we get them out alive’ Alanna said. And for the miners of D12, she did. Danil had read the stories from the privacy of his bunk, putting his life in his hands by taking out the hidden wrist comm. And it had been worth it. The wrist comm was his one thin connection to home, civilization, and some semblance of sanity. When D12 was taken by the Tundrans, he read every story he could find.

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  And just like every other Sarayan, when he saw her green eyes looking at the camera, renouncing her loyalty to her people, he hated her. A worthless orphan, with no loyalties. No one by the name of Summers served on their crew, but he felt pity for any Summers serving in the Sarayan military. Someone needed to take the blame. And the orphans were always an easy target. He wondered how Alanna felt about that. She knew the consequences of her actions as well as he did. She didn’t look particularly thrilled, but renounce she did. Right down to declaring her loyalty to the Tundran people. Alanna renounced. She was no longer Sarayan, and she would choose the Tundrans over them. That was a given. But a part of him couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like, if he had continued serving with Alanna, instead of taking the “career making opportunity” to serve with Captain Bernhard. What it would have been like, to be a member of the D12 crew. What it would have been like, to go home. Not that any of it was up to him, not really. He was enlisted and he went where the Sarayan government sent him. It was why he had been on Titan station. Danil rarely had the opportunity to make a choice. But it was his choice to follow Alanna. His choice to take the Tundran ship. He was one of the forty three. And when it was all over, they went home.

  Danil sighed. She would let every single one of them die before risking a single Tundran life. He knew that. And if she hesitated, the Tundrans would kill her for it. He knew that, too. And yet, she said she would bring them home alive. She once got them off Titan, alive. Forty three out of thousands. And they went home alive. The miners of D12 went home, alive. How many other Sarayan outposts had the Tundrans hit? How many dead? And what were the odds of every single member of the D12 crew, going home alive? Danil paused, scratching the back of his neck before continuing to clear the calcified crust from the waste recycling unit. Singularly unpleasant, but it needed to be done. Without effective waste recycling, what little liquid they had left would disappear. And dehydration killed faster than starvation. “One more time, lieutenant.” He whispered softly, under his breath. With renewed patience, he returned to work. And waited.

  ---

  Tundran Space, The Grey Serpent, Standard Year 404 after founding

  “Tony, wake up. Wake up.” Alanna repeated, looking around surreptitiously. She was trying to keep her voice to a low but intense whisper, hoping to avoid the attention of other crew members while actually getting the bastard to wake up. It wasn’t working. With great reluctance she raised her hand and reached for his shoulder. A fraction of a second later, his hands were squeezing her windpipe as her head banged painfully against the side of the lower bunk. Right. That was obviously coming. Alanna forced herself to go limp and hoped for the best.

  “God dammit.” Tony hissed, releasing her throat a few long seconds later. “What in the ever living hell were you thinking?”

  “That you’re a surprisingly deep sleeper.” Alanna hissed back, trying to swallow and relieved to find that she still could, without too much pain. “I need to talk to you.”

  “What time is it?”

  Alanna winced. “Five-ish?”

  “James isn’t this good of a friend.” Tony muttered in sleepy exasperation. “It can’t possibly be worth this.”

  “I’ve been up for hours.”

  “That sounds like a you problem.”

  “We need to talk.” Alanna repeated stubbornly.

  “Fine, talk fast. I want to go back to sleep.”

  “Privately.” Alanna said, refusing to back down.

  “By all means, step into my office.” Tony said sarcastically.

  “The training room.” Alanna said, leading the way.

  With a deep suffering sigh, Tony followed, pausing briefly to splash water on his face and grab a much needed cup of coffee. A few minutes later, they were sitting across from each other, backs against the two rear posts of the triangular post formation. Fortunately, the practice rounds were relatively silent and didn’t interfere with their conversation.

  “I think he’s going to blow up the station.” Alanna said, getting straight to the point.

  Tony frowned, taking out four Sarayans in quick succession as he tried to process her words. “You mean Bernard?”

  “Yes. If he thinks we’re winning, he’s going to blow up the entire station.”

  “He’ll kill his own people?” Tony asked, doubt heavy in his voice.

  “Yes. And he’ll take most of the Tundrans on this ship along with them. Including us.”

  “It’s not what Sarayans do.” Tony shook his head, taking out two more enemy soldiers.

  “I know.” Alanna leaned forward, ignoring the beams of red light dancing across her skin as she took imaginary hits from an enemy that wasn’t real. “But Bernard will.”

  “You’re ruining our score.” Tony said sourly.

  “I. Don’t. Care.”

  Tony paused, taking a few hits as he focused on the problem. “The captain won’t buy it.” He said.

  “I know.” Alanna repeated.

  Acting mostly on autopilot, Tony took out three more soldiers that were aiming for Alanna. “Let’s say we get the captain to believe you. What’s the plan?”

  “We need to make Bernard believe he’s winning and take the bridge before he realizes his mistake. The self destruct sequence will be activated from the bridge.” Alanna paused. “I think.” She added. “The only way to be sure is to take out Bernard.”

  “Before he realizes we’re winning.” Tony repeated.

  “Right.”

  “Can Danil take the bridge?” Tony asked.

  “Alone? Of course not.”

  “Can he draw Bernard away from the bridge?”

  “During an attack?” Alanna shook her head. “No chance.”

  “We’re sending the bomb. Any chance he can take out Bernard with the bomb?”

  Alanna thought about it. “I don’t think so.” She said reluctantly. “I was thinking the bomb would go into the break room.”

  “So why not set it off while he’s having his meal?”

  Alanna shook her head. “We can ask, but my guess is he eats in his quarters.”

  “Can it be planted on the bridge?”

  “It’s not that small of a bomb.” Alanna pointed out. “And Danil has no business on the bridge.”

  “Damn.” Tony said softly. He was getting a truly awful feeling about this. And it wasn’t just because he was up at five in the morning.

  “Ask James.” Alanna said. “Please. I need his help.”

  “James is not magic. He can’t just solve every problem and save you.”

  “Yes. Yes, he is. And yes, he can.” Alanna crossed her arms.

  “Fine.” Tony said in resignation. “Do some shooting and make this look respectable, will you?”

  With a shrug, Alanna got up and moved into the foremost position, re-focusing on her shooting.