Chapter 18

Evan kept a close eye on his Keeper while the Defiant was inspected and needlessly sanitized. Alex’s temper stayed in check, only flaring up occasionally when asked what in his mind was any foolish question about the precautions taken.

Things hadn’t been right lately, but Evan couldn’t identify the reason. Obvious answers aside, he was having trouble shaking a sense of foreboding. He thought it had started when they'd learned of the plague, but after leaving their odd little white planet, the feeling of dread was impossible to shake or easily explain.

And the worst of it, he couldn’t even bring himself to discuss with Alex. Not yet, anyway. Not until he had answers, or something other than a blank stare of confusion to offer in explanation.

There was only one surviving Sha’erah that Evan knew about since the attempted extinction, and he didn’t have a clue what his name was or who his Keeper was. He was just a face in the crowd on Scotian station.

“All right, Captain Marcase, you and your crew check out fine.”

Evan brought his attention back to the doctor finishing up his scrutiny of two hours’ worth of test results.

“You’re free to go. And I believe there’s a gentleman outside waiting to speak with you.” The doctor began packing up his equipment. “Your crew has been ordered to report to HQ for reassignment.”

“Reassignment?” Alex grabbed the doctor’s arm. “On who’s order?”

“I’m not privy to that information, Captain.”

Evan moved to block the doctor’s exit, but Alex waved him away. “Never mind. I’ll talk to the admiral.”

He stepped aside and the doctor hurried out of the room. “We don’t need a full crew to manage this ship,” Evan offered. “Maybe the admiral’s making good on his promise and giving you the Defiant. We can find new civilian crew.”

“Can we?” Alex straightened his jacket. “I have a funny feeling there’s something going on we’re not aware of.”

Evan opened the door and stepped out of the isolation room first, glancing around before moving so his Keeper could follow. The waiting area was empty except for one man.

“Evan! It’s good to see you.” Doctor Zane approached, smiling somewhat sadly. He gave Evan’s arm a pat, then turned to Alex.

“Hey, doc.” Alex grinned as he shook the doctor’s hand.

“Alex, there’s no easy way to say this, so I’m just going to hit the facts.”

“What’s up?” Alex glanced at Evan, then looked squarely at Zane.

“It's your mother, I'm afraid she's died.”

Evan tensed.

“What?” Alex blinked. “How? When?”

“Just yesterday. I’m very sorry, Alex. She’d been somewhat confused for some time. She was seeing a doctor for it, but she wouldn’t speak to me about much.”

“Confused?”

Zane shook his head sadly. “She killed herself. It’s been a growing problem lately, rampant depression and helplessness. It’s understandable, all things considered. But she was receiving treatment, or so I was told.”

Alex shook his head and moved away from Zane, his eyes glazed over. Evan knew he should say something, or do something, but he was frozen in place, completely helpless. This wasn’t a tragedy he could protect his Keeper from, or shield him against. He couldn’t even offer up any words.

Zane ran a hand through his gray hair. “She was one of four to commit suicide the same day. It’s just too much for some people to accept. All the deaths, all the changes.” He looked at Evan again. “We’re all under Marshall law now. The military has taken control in an effort to save humanity, or so they say.”

Evan was watching Alex, but his Keeper made no outward acknowledgment of Zane’s statement. He just stood there, staring out through the small portal.

“We’d hoped the virus would dissipate within a few years, and people could return to the planets. But that’s not happening. And it’s not going to happen any time soon,” Zane continued.

Alex wasn’t hearing any of this. Evan could tell in his reflection that he wasn’t even seeing the planet visible through the portal. But he didn’t know what to do.

Zane stepped closer and put a hand on Alex’s shoulder while Evan stood, frozen in place, watching.

“Again, I am so sorry, Alex. I tried to reach you but they wouldn’t tell me where you were. I only just found out you had returned. I’d be happy to take care of any arrangements for you, if you like. I know what you’re going through, though I can say it’s been quite some time since I lost any family.”

Alex turned and nodded. “She wanted cremation.”

Evan searched his memory for an understanding of what death-arrangements entailed. Spencer had lawyers, and people who handled that sort of thing. When he’d faked his death, Evan had only to inform the proper people who took care of all the details.

Zane sighed. “They asked that her apartment be cleared immediately. Living space is at a premium. So I packed her belongings, they’re in storage whenever you’re ready.”

“She had other children.” Alex took a deep breath and seemed to snap back to alertness. “I don’t even know if they survived.”

Zane nodded. “There’s a database of survivors, it’s incomplete, but if you give me their names I’ll see what I can find.”

Evan had no idea how to make it right. Alex and Zane were heading toward the door, leaving the docking bay’s isolation ward. There was nothing for him to do but follow, feeling completely useless.

Alex headed straight for the mortuary, calmly making arrangements for the cremation of his mother’s remains while trying to remember the names of her other children. Before Evan could protest, his Keeper had given Zane the names to research, as if the Sha’erah wasn’t even there.

It would have taken Evan seconds to search the database, but Alex very pointedly handed the names to Doctor Zane. With the barest glance in the Sha’erah’s direction, Alex headed off to sort through the stored contents of his mother’s personal life.

Again Evan was left to simply follow. Judging Alex’s oddly calm -- and for him, completely out of character -- demeanor, he deemed it best to stay silent and close.

The public storage facility was small, and tightly packed. Evan stayed at the door while Alex quickly examined the contents of the few boxes. An armed guard stood three feet away, waiting.

“Sir, any items you won’t be taking possession of will need to be signed off. We can no longer store the effects of the dead for more than one week.”

Evan straightened and moved slightly so he was directly between Alex and the guard. He glared at the man and was rewarded by a sudden recognition.

“Don’t worry, corporal. There’s nothing here I want to keep.” Alex stepped out of the small room holding one small, metal box. “Aside from this.” He handed the small robotic butler to Evan and started walking away.

“Sir, you have to sign!” The corporal ran after them, waving a clipboard.

When Alex showed no indication of slowing, Evan stopped and grabbed the stylus, quickly jotting down his confirmation that the storage facility was no longer under claim. He had to hurry to catch up to his Keeper.

“What do you want me to do with this?” He held out Sylvester. The robot had been completely powered down and showed no signs of life.

Alex stopped just long enough to pull his pager out of his jacket. “Destroy it.”

Evan blinked.

“It has my mother’s personal data stored inside. I don’t want anyone else stumbling around in it.” Alex dialed a number on the pager and watched the screen. “Go back to the ship and take care of that thing.”

“Where are you going?”

“I’ve got things to do.” Alex read the information flashing across his small pager’s screen.

“I’ll come with you.” Evan had noticed the strange looks they were receiving from passersby and had caught several whispered comments about who they were. He didn’t like it.

“No.” Alex closed his pager and shook his head sharply. “Go back to the ship and stay there.” He shoved the pager back into a pocket. “I mean it, Evan. I don’t need company right now. Just leave me alone.”

Before he could argue, his Keeper turned and walked away. Evan was tempted to follow, but then he noticed Doctor Zane crossing the main courtyard heading toward Alex. The two met, then continued on together.

Evan stared after Alex, not sure if he should feel slighted, or ashamed for thinking that. When the two men vanished into the distance, he glanced down at the square robot in his hands. “I guess when it comes to losing a mother, you and I have more in common.”

With one last look after his Keeper, Evan took Sylvester back to the Defiant. Erasing the machine’s memory was a simple matter, but on the off chance Alex might regret the action later, Evan chose to store the information in a secure file instead.

It seemed a shame to destroy the robot once the databank was wiped clean. It was a unique design, and could come in handy if altered a bit and modified.

“He didn’t tell me to dismantle you.” Evan turned the small square machine around, contemplating it’s design. It would be pretty easy to change its appearance so it no longer reminded Alex of his mother’s trusted mechanical butler, and still maintain the unique hovering capabilities they could put to good use.

Evan set the machine aside and went to the bridge. There was a lot more going on than the death of Alex’s mother. Things that his Keeper hadn’t the chance to realize, and probably wouldn’t be in the mood to discuss any time soon. But Evan needed to know now. He couldn’t protect Alex from Zane’s bad news, but he could see to it nothing else snuck up on either of them.

The Defiant was a beautiful ship, in both design and function. Even better than the Ascalon, in his opinion. From the bridge, using just one panel to the left of the captain’s controls, Evan could access everything. And using the computers on board to access Scotian station’s control center, his reach was limitless.

Evan melted into the computer system. He bypassed the military safeguards easily and left the ship’s database, following the link to the harbor master’s control center, then through that, hooked into a data stream exchange.

Within minutes he had more information than he’d expected. And none of it good.

# # #

“Admiral, there’s a commander here to see you. He’s on the schedule, sir.”

“Send him in.”

Evan schooled his expression as he walked past the corporal guarding Admiral Rickover’s office door. He’d dressed in black, sporting his Commander’s rank and the Defiant’s insignia, and was giving the guard a look he knew never failed to intimidate the recipient. Putting his name down on the schedule had been child’s play, an almost embarrassing testament to the military’s lack of security. And one he was disinclined to inform them of.

“Commander, I didn’t realize I was meeting with you today.” Admiral Rickover looked startled, and more than a little confused. “I’m not ready to -- ”

Evan walked straight to the admiral’s desk and put both hands on the simulated oak. He leaned forward and enjoyed a flinching reaction from the startled man. “You’re taking the Defiant. Why?”

“I . . . uh.” The admiral tried to clear his throat. “We need every available ship, Commander. Humanity’s situation is grave.”

Evan leaned further toward the man. “You made a deal. Either the Defiant, or the Ascalon.”

“I’m sorry, but it can’t be either. Not any longer.” Admiral Rickover tried to scoot back a bit, but his chair resisted. “Things have changed. The military is taking over, for the good of man kind. We’re rounding up all survivors, and moving all orbital stations closer. Until we can find a suitable new home, our best hope of continuing as a species is to pool our resources.”

“What has that got to do with taking the Defiant from Alex Marcase?” Evan straightened, but the move only added an even darker tone to his dangerous posture. “He’s your best chance of finding a new home. But he can’t do that without a ship.”

“I’m afraid it’s out of my control, Commander. The decisions are being made higher up. I can offer you three days to vacate the ship and find new lodgings.”

Before Evan could reply, the door to the office opened.

“Sir, your twelve o’clock is here.”

Evan spun around and stormed passed the corporal and three other admirals just inside the door. It was time for plan B, only he didn’t have one yet. The admiral was stealing their ship, and he had the force of the military behind him. Alex had to be told, but not yet. There was still time.

On his way back to the Defiant, Evan stopped at a public communication terminal and slipped mentally back into the system. He located the secured laboratory three levels down, where their samples of the air around the empty specimen case were being analyzed. Evan quickly searched their results, then located a security camera and looked down at the men studying the specimens.

A sudden chill ran down his spine as he recognized two men standing near the far side of the control room. They were involved in a heated discussion with an officer and two armed guards. The Sha’erah receiving their scrutiny was shaking his head emphatically and pointing at the screens, while his Keeper pointed to the ring on his finger and shrugged helplessly.

Time had just run out.

# # #

Alex stumbled slightly as he came up the walkway to the Defiant’s main hatch. Two armed guards standing on either side of the entry straightened up as he passed and offered salutes which he ignored. He was in no mood for military propriety. In fact, he was in no mood for anything at all. Seeing that his ship was completely deserted added to the black cloud filling his head.

He palmed open the door to his quarters and found Evan at the computer.

“We have to talk.”

Alex waved a hand in the air and started unbuttoning his shirt as he headed for his room. “Not now.”

“Yes, now. It’s important.”

Alex stopped in the doorway and glared at the Sha’erah. “I just authorized a man to shove my mother into a furnace so I can attend a service around a jar full of ashes in the morning.” For the last five hours he’d managed to pull off a sort of detached calm, but it was all unraveling quickly.

“Have you been drinking?”

“Very heavily.” Alex pulled off his shirt and tossed it to the floor. “I’ve only stopped so I can pass out for a few hours before going to the service.”

Evan hesitated a moment, then followed Alex into the room. “I’m sorry. I know you’re dealing with something I can’t help you with, but I’ve found -- ”

Alex spun around to face the Sha’erah. “I don’t care what you’ve found, Evan. And you’re right, you can’t help me with this, so just leave me alone!”

“You have to listen to me,” Evan pressed.

“You know what I have to do?” Alex’s anger pushed through the scotch, drowning out the small, quiet voice of reason whispering in the background. “I have to bury my mother! She's dead because I didn't want to admit she needed help.” He wanted to throw something, but he didn’t have anything in his hands.

“I don’t understand.”

“No, you don’t!” Alex’s little voice of reason gave up any hope and crawled away. “You don’t understand. The last time I saw her she was crying out for help, and I couldn’t stand being there! The woman was losing her grip on reality, and all I could think about was beating feet away from her so she wouldn’t drive me crazy!” He swallowed as the guilt welled up inside. “I thought she was faking it! Being overly dramatic. Putting on a show for attention and sympathy.”

“It’s not your fault.”

Lacking something to throw, Alex raised a finger and glared at the Sha’erah standing before him. “Don’t even try, Evan! You have no idea what it means to have a mother, let alone lose one! And right now I have got no one to blame for any of this but myself!” He tried to ease up and allow the boiling temper a chance to cool off, but it was fueled by too much scotch, so he put a hand on the door, preparing to shut it. “The only thing I need, is to be left alone. Whatever the hell you found, you can just deal with.”

Alex gave the bedroom door a hard shove, but the servos prevented a satisfying slam when it closed. Even the voice of reason inside his head was only whimpering now, trying in vain to convince him Evan hadn’t deserved his anger. It was right, of course, but he wasn’t about to apologize until he had a good hangover to accompany it.

Alex unbuckled his pants and fell onto the bed. How does a Sha’erah stay with a Keeper who’s lost his mind?

# # #

By morning, Alex wondered if the pain in his head would stand as chastisement enough for his late-night attitude. He didn’t have much time to worry about it, with the memorial service starting in an hour.

He dressed quickly, choosing clothes with minimal Defiant identification, and hurried out to the main living area. Breakfast was waiting on the table, but no Sha’erah waiting with it.

As he reached for the coffee, he heard Evan’s shower turn on. “No time to deal with it now.” He gulped as much coffee as he could in a hurry, then grabbed his jacket and left.

Having the Defiant empty made rushing through the corridors much easier. Alex made a mental note to remember to ask Evan just how small of a crew he thought they could get away with. It’d be nice to have only a few hand picked men and women. After all, if they weren’t giving him the Ascalon back, he’d have no need for a huge team.

Alex met Zane at the cemetery as he stood along side five of his mother’s closest friends. Or at least, those acquaintances left alive who happened to reside on Scotian’s orbital station. He’d found not one of Madame Duvia’s other children still living, and all the people he knew she’d called friends had perished in the plague.

Due to volume, the service was shortened to make way for the next group of mourners.

Zane put an arm around Alex’s shoulders as he led him away from the cemetery. “I’ll buy you a cup of coffee.”

“What ever happened to those kids?” Alex took a seat at the only free table in the café and ran a hand through his hair. “Didn’t you say something about sending them away?”

Zane nodded. “I was wrong about them, you know.”

“Wrong about what?”

“The Sha’erah.” Zane lowered his voice. “I thought I could teach them how not to be Sha’erah, especially starting at that young age. But I was wrong.”

Alex wrapped both hands around the coffee he was handed and sat back, feeling somewhat deflated. “How so?”

“Well, everything I tried to explain to you, about how to relate to Evan, I tried with those kids.” He shook his head sadly. “Turns out, I was wrong. Their training is too ingrained. It’s simply not possible to get past all that they’re created for.” He shrugged. “When the plague hit, I took the opportunity to find good, useful occupations for them.”

“You sold them?”

“I found people I could trust. People who would treat them with respect and individuality. Believe me, Alex, I had little choice. There wasn’t anything they could do to help me, and every minute of my time was taken with this tragedy. I’m convinced it was the right thing to do, all things considered.”

Alex blinked, staring into his coffee.

“How are things with you and Evan? Have you made progress?”

“I managed to piss him off.” Alex laughed slightly.

“What?”

“Last night,” he sighed. “I was drunk, and tired, and it all came crashing down.” He looked up from the coffee at Zane. “He was going on about something being very important and I just laid into him. Told him I had other things to deal with, things he couldn’t possibly understand since he’s never even had a mother.”

Zane nodded knowingly. “You were understandably upset. I’m sure he knows you didn’t mean it.”

“But I did.” Alex set the cup on the table and turned it back and forth, watching the black liquid ripple. “He has no clue what it means to have a mother. To have that love-hate relationship that only a son can have, and the guilt that comes with it. He’s never had a parent, aside from my father, and even then he wasn’t Evan’s father. Spencer was his boss.” Alex shrugged, feeling a slight tinge of guilt as the little voice of reason cleared it’s throat in the back of his mind. “Maybe I didn’t mean to shout it at him last night, but I was in no mood to be calmly reasonable.” He half expected the good doctor to ask if that adjective could ever be used to describe one Alex Marcase, but he didn’t. At least not out loud.

“Anyway, this morning he was avoiding me, and it’s just as well. I’ll head back in a few minutes and apologize, then find out what he was so excited about.” Alex sighed and rubbed his eyes. “What’s it feel like to lose your mind, doc?”

“I seriously doubt you’re losing your mind, Alex. As you said, you were exhausted, and perhaps a little drunk.” Zane lifted his coffee in a sympathetic salute.

“No, I was a lot drunk.” Alex raised his cup, but before he could taste the hot liquid, he spotted three uniformed military police marching up to their table.

The lead corporal stopped to address him. “Captain Alex Marcase?”

“Yes.” Alex set his cup down and looked up at the men.

“Would you come with me, please?”

Both Alex and Zane stood. “What’s this about, officers?”

“Sir, this is between the captain and my superiors.” The corporal touched his cap as he answered Zane. “You’re free to go.”

“Don’t worry about, doc. Probably the admiral’s way of asking me to pay him a visit.” Alex stepped away from the table and fell in step with the cops. “I’ll talk to you later.”

He followed the officers to the main military complex, but instead of heading toward the admiral’s office, they led him to a holding area and told him to wait for further instructions.

Alex found himself in a small room, with one chair and a table holding a communications data display. When he tried the door, it was locked. He pounded on the door.

“Hey! What the hell’s going on here, anyway?” There was no answer. He paced the room and noticed there weren’t any cameras monitoring him. But there must be microphones. He could tell an impending investigation when he saw one, he just wasn’t sure what they thought they were investigating.

He pulled the pager from his jacket and turned it on, then swore at the static filling the screen. They were jamming him. When he tried the display panel on the desk, it too was locked out.

“I get one phone call, remember?” he shouted at the wall, but there was no reply. [“Okay, I give. You can keep listening and hear me curl up in the corner for a nap, or you can get in here and explain all this!”

Alex heard keys turning. He turned to face the door and felt a strange tingling on his finger. He looked down and saw the silver Keeper’s ring liquefy, slip down his finger, and vanish in a cloud of silver vapor.

What the fuck . . .

“Alex Marcase, I’m Captain Stroven.”

Dazed, Alex looked up at the captain standing before him.

“Where are you hiding your ship, Captain?”

“What?” Alex’s brain was no longer processing information.

“Your ship, Captain Marcase.” Captain Stroven slapped a file folder down hard onto the small table. “Where have you sent the Defiant?”

“Where’s Evan?” Alex blinked, staring at Stroven. Someone had shut the door behind the captain when he’d entered, most likely locking it again.

“Evan, your Sha'erah? We’d like to know that, too.” Stroven crossed his arms. “He’s vanished along with your ship. And yet you’re still here.”

“What the hell is going on!?” Alex moved around the table so he could break for the door if it opened again.

“That’s what we’d like to know, Captain!” Stroven opened the file and removed a datasheet. “Twenty four hours ago you returned from the same planet another Keeper and Sha'erah visited just a few months ago. Only when that pair came back, they unleashed a plague on the allied worlds.”

Alex’s heart was racing. It was taking all of his energy to keep from falling to the floor. "You found out who flew that ship?"

“That silver they possess in their bodies is composed of a very interesting metal alloy.” Stroven consulted his datasheet.

I’m going mad. That’s it. I’ve gone fucking mad, and this guy is talking metal alloys? Alex grabbed his finger, but the ring wasn’t there to spin around. Is he dead? No, he can’t be dead, I’d know. Wouldn’t I?

“As it turns out, we can find no record of that metal in our database. It would seem completely alien.” He slapped the datasheets back down on the table.

Alex felt dizzy. The room had gone cold, or was it his blood?

“We have a Sha’erah already in custody. The man who owns him recalled seeing you sitting with another Keeper, having a meeting of what seemed to be a secretive nature several months ago right here on Scotian station. Where is he?” Stroven stepped closer to Alex. “Where is this alien of yours?”

Alex looked at his bare finger. “Where’s my ship?”

“Vanished,” Stroven replied. “There was a false work order scheduling the Defiant for service. Somewhere between docking pad seventeen and the repair bay, it’s gone missing! I presume your Sha'erah has gone with it, under your orders.” Stroven paused, watching Alex. “What exactly are you people planning? Was the plague your first strike, or did it fail to accomplish your goal? Until we can sort this all out, Captain, our governing body has decided any and all Sha’erah -- and their owners -- are to be detained for questioning pending possible charges of high treason against the human race!”

Alex fell back against the wall and stared at the floor. His heart was pounding in his chest, but no blood was circulating through his body. It couldn’t be. He wouldn’t be this cold if he still had life.

“Captain Marcase, at the very least you are facing court marshal for the theft of a military vessel and conspiring with the enemy.” Stroven raised his voice for effect.

“Enemy? That ship was mine. Your theories are full of shit, Stroven. Evan and I went to that planet to find answers! We had nothing to do with the plague. We weren't even in this system. Where’s Admiral Rickover?”

Stroven shook his head and paced back to the little table. “The Defiant is a military vessel, Captain. We cannot afford to extend loans to anyone, especially not possible conspirators. Humanity’s survival depends on everyone falling into line and obeying order.” Stroven pulled out the chair, but Alex made no move toward it. “We’re consolidating all survivors, bringing all orbital stations together, to pool our resources and keep what’s left of our race alive. In the meantime, proscribed military excursions to locate new, viable planets suitable for habitation are taking place. Until we have answers, all Keepers, Sha'erah, and any individuals with knowledge of their whereabouts or origins are to be detained.”

Alex was having trouble taking a deep breath. He couldn’t bring himself to look at the finger now void of the silver ring, but it felt so cold with the loss, he had to keep rubbing it to keep it from breaking off and shattering into a million pieces.

Where did he go? Why would he take the ship and leave? What the hell am I going to do now?

Alex shook his head. “I need to speak to Zane.”

“Who?”

“Doctor Zane.” Alex looked at Stroven. “I need to speak with him, before I answer any of your questions.”

Captain Stroven walked to the data display, typed in a code, then did a search. “Zane, you say?”

“He was one of the researchers here right after the plague hit.” He had to know. He had to have some answers. This isn’t happening. His finger felt so cold!

Stroven tapped out a command and waited, watching the small screen on his handheld. After a moment, he shook his head. “Says here there is no such person.”

“What?” Alex pushed away from the wall, but didn’t approached the captain.

“I can’t find a Doctor, or even a Mister Zane anywhere on Scotian station. Perhaps you’re mistaken?”

Alex shook his head. Maybe I’m still drunk, passed out on the bed, having a nightmare. Evan was sure to wake him any moment. “Let me talk to Admiral Rickover.”

“I’m sorry, Captain. The Admiral was reassigned this morning. He left four hours ago for Earth to oversee the movement of their orbital station. He’s unavailable.” Stroven’s shrug displayed no sympathy or concern. “Now, tell me where your alien friend took the Defiant.”

“Look, you’ve got this all wrong!” Why did the military never see reason when it was staring them in the face? “The person responsible for that plague may well have been a Keeper, but he was acting alone! Did you find him?”

Stroven shook his head. “Not yet, but there aren't many of you. It's only a matter of time.”

"That plague killed people I care about, too." Alex felt his head getting ready to explode. He had to get out of this room, find Evan and get some answers. “Haven’t you ever heard that the enemy of your enemy is your friend?”

“And what about the agent of your enemy? Too few people know too little about these Sha’erah. And right now, Captain, we can’t trust anyone. Our race could have been wiped out. Do you even understand what that means?” Stroven stepped closer. “Over two million people are dead! Oh, but you were gone when it happened, weren’t you? Out exploring some completely useless region of space for monetary gain, no doubt.”

If I attacked this guy, someone would have to come through that door.

“Maybe all this hasn’t really sunk in with you.” Stroven stopped behind the desk and leaned on it, facing Alex. “If we don’t find answers and see to it nothing like this can ever happen again, humans could become extinct by the next century.”

“You’re wrong about the Sha’erah being alien. I’ve been to their source.”

Stroven blinked, but hid any stronger reaction to the news.

He knew. They hadn’t told anyone or discussed it publicly outside of Zane.

The captain straightened. “So it was you, then? You’re the mystery man who found their source and destroyed it?”

Now it was Alex’s turn to try and hide his reaction. “I didn’t say I destroyed it.”

“You didn’t have to, Captain. One of the men on the ship that rescued you told us everything. We just didn’t have any names to put with the actions.” Stroven nodded slowly. “This explains a few things.”

“Not for me.”

“It’s too bad you destroyed it. Evidence there could have helped us in our current struggle. Having done so only adds suspicion to your motives.” Stroven leaned on the desk again and lowered his voice to a more menacing tone. “Now tell me, Captain. Where is the Defiant and where is your alien conspirator? And why don’t you have the ring? Did you sell him?”

All the blood drained from Alex’s face. “No, I didn’t sell him.”

Stroven looked confused. “Then where is the ring? I was told you would have it unless you sold him.”

Weakly, Alex held up both hands for the captain to see. “No ring.”

Frustrated, Stroven straightened up. “Then where is it, Captain? Did he steal that when he stole the Defiant? Did your creature abandon you and run away to avoid the truth? What is he hiding? And why are you protecting him?” He was moving around the table as he spoke, coming closer to Alex. “He ran away, Marcase. Left you here to face the consequences! You’ve been abandoned. Where are your loyalties now? With your own kind, or that backstabbing alien conspirator?”

Alex pushed the chair aside and hit the captain square in the jaw, knocking him flat with one punch. He turned just as the door opened and caught the stun blast high on the right shoulder.

# # #

When the fog cleared, Alex found himself on a cot in a cell, staring up at a camera that was monitoring his cell from the corridor. All the other cells were empty, and Evan was nowhere to be found.

Alex rolled over and sat up, rubbing his sore shoulder. He glanced at his hand but the ring hadn’t reappeared. “So what does this all mean?”

If anyone was monitoring the other end of the camera, they offered no answers.

“What does it all mean, Evan?!” Alex stood, pacing to the far wall as he shouted at the ceiling in vain. “You found out about the other Keeper, didn’t you?” He continued to shout at the air, since there was no one around giving any explanation. “Is this betrayal, after everything we’ve been through? Huh? You take the ring, you take my ship, and leave me here?”

Alex hurled the chair across the small cell. “I teach you how to be independent, and this is how you repay me!?” He turned to the wall, slamming his fist into the metal surface. The action sent shockwaves of pain through his hand and halfway up his arm, but it did nothing to quell the rising anger and even less to ease the growing fear.

He wanted to vomit, but a chill coursed through his body and the feeling passed like a crashing wave. He leaned back against the wall of his cell and slid down to the floor. There was nothing left. He could keep yelling, but there was no one to answer. He couldn’t even throw up since the ice in his belly wasn’t willing to leave.

There was a black hole where his soul used to be, and it was sucking the life out of him. “You were all the family I had left.”

# # #

Evan pulled his hand from the consol. He had to blink hard to rid his mind of the image and focus again on where he was, as well as clear his eyes before Reilly approached.

“Commander, Doctor Zane has just arrived.”

Evan cleared his throat and nodded as the newest member of his crew stepped onto the bridge deck.

“Evan, I can’t quite get over this.” Zane smiled, waving a hand in a sweeping gesture. “How did you manage it?”

“Are you on board with the plan, Doctor?” He had to know, irregardless of familiarity, that he was going to have complete and unwavering support if it was going to work.

“Absolutely,” Zane nodded.

“I told the Commander some of what’s been happening lately, doc,” Reilly offered. “When he approached me with this offer, I jumped at the chance. Better to live free than live here.”

“Evan, tell me, how have you managed all this?”

Evan pointed to the computer panel. “It was easy, really. This military relies on information. So I’ve been controlling everything they see and read. I’ve been changing their data and writing their orders.”

Zane stepped closer and Evan pointed at the view port.

“I created a work order for the Defiant to be transported to maintenance. Then unlocked the docking clamps to a barge on bay thirty seven. When the tug came to retrieve the ship, I changed the designation ID on the paperwork, so it picked up the barge thinking that was the Defiant. No one bothers to check things out themselves, as long as the numbers match, they’re happy.”

Zane laughed shortly. “That’s the sad truth of the matter, isn’t it?”

“It was easy after that,” Evan continued. “I moved the Defiant up three levels, docking it where we are now, in bay thirty seven. The crane arms obscure the ship’s name and numbers from outside, if anyone were to look at it. Meanwhile, as the barge was pulling out, three other ships legally left the station. In order to make it look as if the Defiant had slipped out, I got into the harbormaster’s database and erased the ID of one ship legitimately leaving.”

Zane nodded his approval. “Making it appear as if the Defiant snuck out while the barge was being towed to maintenance in it’s place.”

Evan shrugged. “They now have no record of the Defiant anywhere on this station, one ship that left without authorization that they can’t locate, and five separate reports of the Defiant having been spotted in three other systems, trying to run away.”

“Reports you generated?”

Evan nodded. It had been so easy, it was embarrassing.

“Hide in plan sight. Okay, but how did this all get started?” Zane glanced around the bridge. “And do we have enough crew to man this fancy new ship?”

Reilly walked by, grinning. “We do now, doc.”

“Almost,” Evan sighed. He looked at Zane. “I’ve told the others so there’s no confusion later.” He took a deep breath, feeling relatively confident he could trust this man. “When I realized it was a Keeper and Sha'erah who had been to that planet and then read an arrest warrant put out over the secure channels, I had to act quickly.” He held out his hand, silver-palm up. “They've issued arrest warrants for anyone possessing a silver metal in like this, or distinctive tattoos.”

Zane’s eyebrows arched. “You’re kidding? They think all Sha'erah had something to do with the plague?"

“And their Keepers.” He lowered his hand. “I thought there would be more time to find answers before they realized what Alex and I are. I was wrong. They've already made one arrest, aside from Alex, and there's talk of the death penalty with out public trial.”

“Anything alien is suspect.” Zane let out an exasperated sigh. “That’s why they scoured this ship and all of you when you returned. Everyone’s paranoid, Evan. And they’re using that fear to wield an iron fist over what’s left of our civilization.”

“I tried to tell Alex last night.” Evan’s hands were shaking slightly, so he crossed his arms to steady them. “I should have prepared him for all this.”

Zane put a supportive hand on Evan’s arm. “He had other things on his mind, unfortunately. Besides, as nasty as it seems, the plan works better this way.”

Evan’s mind flashed back on the sight of his Keeper in the cell, sitting on the cold floor believing he’d been betrayed. “If I hadn’t taken the ring, they would have cut his finger off to get it.”

“Evan, it’s all right.”

“No, it isn’t. I took the ring, Zane. He doesn’t know why, he just knows it’s gone.”

“And that’s exactly why they’re holding him and not doing anything drastic. He doesn’t have the ring. They can hold him all they want, but they can see he doesn’t have the ring. They may believe he's no longer in control, or no longer a part of their paranoid ideas of conspiracy.”

“In a few minutes we’ll be dispatched to hunt ourselves down. The harbormasters log shows us as the Riever, a fast scout ship with orders to search for the Defiant. When we’re away from the base, a transport ship will bring Alex out to meet us. Their paperwork will show us as the Bounty, a prison transport bound for Earth.”

“Where they’re housing all dissidents at the moment.” Zane nodded his approval. “What happens if we’re spotted as we leave the docking bay? There’s a chance someone will actually look and see our designation.”

“Reilly has a distraction worked out.” Evan looked at the bridge chief.

“Aye, sir,” Reilly smiled. “An accidental purging of Scotian Station’s garbage bay. Complete with alarms, bells, whistles and a whole lotta runnin’ around sure to keep people’s attention for a bit.”

“As soon as Alex is on board, the Defiant will enter string drive and vanish. Since we won’t file a course, they’ll have no way of finding us.” Evan took a deep breath, then looked past Zane at the crew assembled on the bridge. “Once we pull out, there’s no going back. We’ll be fugitives, probably facing the death penalty, considering the way things have gone.”

Reilly glanced around, receiving affirmatives and thumbs-ups from everyone. “We’re with you, Commander. We’ve all been ready and willing for a while now, and just grateful you came along when you did.”

Zane smiled and gave Evan’s arm a pat. “Now, let’s go get our Captain.”

Evan nodded sharply. He couldn’t bare the thought of leaving Alex to his assumptions a minute longer. “Let’s do this.” He turned back to the consol but hesitated before putting his palm down. Behind him, Doctor Zane drew closer.

“He’ll forgive you, Evan.”

“I didn’t have a chance to tell him. Not any of it.” Evan swallowed the lump forming in his throat. “I should have forced him to listen last night. There just wasn’t enough time.”

“Then let’s go get him and you can explain everything.” Zane gave Evan’s back a pat.

“Ready on your order, Commander,” Reilly announced.

Evan placed his palm on the panel and nodded. “Now, Chief.”

Escaping the Scotian orbital docking bay proved a simple matter. Once the orders were logged for their departure as the Riever, the garbage holds suffered an unscheduled emergency venting, sending the entire station into a momentary panic. Orbiting ships hastily maneuvered out of the way of expulsed trash as automated recyclers scurried about trying to retrieve the refuse. During the commotion, the Riever calmly and legally pulled out and away.

Evan left the ship in Reilly’s capable hands and made a connection with Scotian’s military holding area. He watched, silently and helplessly as his Keeper was retrieved for transport. Evan accessed the audio input, wishing there was a way he could send his Keeper a message, and watched closely via security, following them from the cell through the corridors and out to the waiting ship.

“Since when are detainees sent to Earth?” Alex stood slowly when ordered to by the pair of guards.

“Orders. Let’s go.” One guard drew out a pair of wrist restraints while the other drew his weapon. “And nothing funny, Captain.”

Alex slowly turned, placing his hands behind his back.

“You’re lucky they didn’t find what they were looking for.” The guard snapped the restraints in place, then pushed Alex through the door of the cell and out into the hallway. “I saw what they had to do to the other guy to get that ring off his finger.”

The lump returned to Evan’s throat. He couldn’t help picturing what would have happened to Alex had he not taken off his Keeper’s ring.

"What the hell did that prove?" Alex asked hotly. "They can't steal a Sha'erah."

The guard shrugged. "As far as I'm concerned, if people like you conspired to do this, you're all gonna get the death penalty, and I vote for no trial."

The guards took their charge to the lift and rode down to the lower level where they could board a small ship, carrying their prisoner out to the waiting Bounty. Evan had added a note to their orders, labeling Alex a very dangerous prisoner who would likely attempt escape if not watched very closely. He’d ordered them -- by way of the forged commands they were following -- to keep their weapons on stun and let nothing deter them from transporting Captain Marcase to the Bounty.

Evan knew Alex well enough to realize he’d stop at nothing to escape and try to find answers. But what his Keeper didn’t know, and couldn’t possibly realize, was that the only way to find those answers was to stay put and do exactly as he was told. Evan needed him to do just that in order for this elaborate plan to work.

Unfortunately that just wasn’t a very Alex thing to do.

As they neared the small ship, Evan saw his Keeper preparing to make a move. The armed guard had to holster his weapon in order to access the ship’s locked hatch. Alex moved slightly so his back was to the ship.

Thinking quickly, Evan activated the pager in his Keeper’s pocket, making it beep loudly and startling both Alex and his guards.

The one at the hatch drew his weapon while the other searched Alex, pulling out the pager.

“This was disabled in the brig and locked out.”

Alex shrugged. “Go figure.”

The guard pocketed the pager, so Evan quickly accessed it using his own, to download anything Alex might have wanted to keep. There was bound to be another unit among the many varied supplies he’d procured for the Defiant during the past twelve hours.

Almost home. Evan switched his view from the docking bay to inside the transport vessel and watched the guard secure Alex to a seat. When he was satisfied his charge couldn’t escape the added restraints, he joined his partner at the controls and requested clearance to launch.

Evan couldn’t wait any longer. It would take them five minutes to reach the ship they thought was the Bounty, another three to transfer their prisoner to a waiting guard. He had to trust Alex to at least grasp the idea that something was happening.

By manipulating the small vessel’s interior cameras, Evan focused on Alex’s hands. He drew in a breath and let it out slowly, physically closing his eyes even though he was seeing everything through his mental connection with the ship. Clearing his mind of all thoughts, including the oppressive sense of guilt he was feeling, he concentrated on one thing, and one thing only.

A moment later he felt a tingling in his palm, then saw the familiar flash of silver taking shape around his Keeper’s finger, where it belonged.

# # #

Alex’s heart stopped. Or more accurately, it froze in place along with the rest of him. He was afraid to move his hand to confirm what he’d felt, just in case it wasn’t real, but he couldn’t not confirm it, either.

His thumb acknowledge the reality. The ring was back.

Receiving this confirmation, his heart started up again, but somewhat weak and slow from the roller coaster it had been an unwilling passenger of. Okay, he’s not dead. Then again, Alex had been convince that if Evan had died, he’d have known somehow.

In that case, I’m gonna kill him.

“This is where you get off, Captain.”

Alex hid the ring by clasping his other fingers around it as the guard unlocked the restraints holding him to his seat. Before he could wonder what the plan was, if indeed there was some kind of plan in action, the ship’s hatch opened, revealing a guard dressed in black and holding a data pad. He looked oddly familiar.

Simmons?

“Is this my transfer to Earth?”

“The one and only.” Alex’s guard handed over a data card. After it was scanned and accepted, he gave Alex a shove through the conjoining hatchway. “He’s all yours.”

“Have a nice day.” Simmons smiled, hiding a wink that only Alex could see, then closed the hatch.

“You mind telling me what in the hell is going on here?”

“Aye, sir.” Simmons saluted with a wide grin that vanished almost instantly. “If you’ll come with me to the bridge, sir, I’ll explain it all along the way.”

Alex glared at his former Ascalon engineer and the man jumped, hastily reaching into his pocket for a key.

“Sorry, sir!”

Alex stormed onto the bridge, stopping just inside the hatch. Simmons had done his best to explain the major points of Evan’s master plan, but it had only added to the uncomfortable feeling of spinning out of control that Alex had been battling all day.

“Ah, there you are, just as predicted.” Zane was all smiles, as were Reilly, Wilson, Rivers, Landry, Devine, two men Alex couldn’t readily remember the names of, and Garcia. All former crewmen and women from the Ascalon. And all apparently in on this little concoction that could no doubt be traced straight to Evan.

Alex glanced around the room, avoiding eye contact with the Sha’erah. “So you’re all in on this little scheme?”

Reilly nodded. “If by that you mean did we all have twelve hours to hear about it, consider it, agree to it, pack up and put it all in motion? Yeah.”

Zane cleared his throat. “In my defense, I only had five hours to decide.” He smiled slightly. “But you have to admit, Alex, it’s the only recourse any of us really had.”

Alex turned to face the good doctor. “Do you realize what you’ve all done? We’re illegally in possession of a military attack vessel, and each one of you is now guilty of aiding and abetting the escape of two men accused of high treason. None of you were wanted by the law before this, but you are now.”

“Not actually, no,” Zane disagreed. “Evan managed to erase any records of our having been anywhere. And when you think about it, they’ll probably chalk us up as plague victims, should anyone recall that we ever existed.”

“That was no life, Captain,” Reilly added. “Marshal law, paranoia, people turning in their neighbors for hoarding rations of food and water.” He shook his head as his statement was confirmed around the room. “We belong out here, not locked up in some orbital station.”

Alex still couldn’t bring himself to look up at Evan, but he couldn’t stop himself from turning the ring around his finger over and over again as he took it all in.

“And this ship is mighty fine, sir.” Reilly’s face broke out in a wide grin. “We’ve got Smithers, Falkirk and Scott on board too. Plenty of crew to handle anything that comes our way.”

“So, we’re officially pirates then.” Alex looked at Reilly. “Where are we headed now?”

“Just out, sir. The Commander logged in a course for uncharted space and we launched the minute that little transport was out of the way.”

Alex nodded. “Can you all clear the bridge for a few minutes? I’d like to have a word with our Commander.” He waited until the crew left, then took a deep breath and forced himself to look Evan square in the eyes.

The Sha’erah swallowed. “I tried to tell you last night. It all happened too fast, there was no time to waste.”

Alex lunged forward. Grabbing fistfuls of shirt, he slammed Evan back against the bulkhead wall. “I thought you were dead!”

“You had to know I -- ”

“I didn’t know anything! All I knew was this -- ” He let go of Evan’s shirt and held the ring up between their faces. “Was gone!” His hand grabbed shirt again. “I thought you left me!” Adding emphasis to his point, he gave Evan one more shove then let go and backed away a step.

“I would never do that!” Evan stepped away from the wall. “I had almost no time to figure out how to get you off Scotian station and get this ship, too. Admiral Rickover was taking it from you and leaving you with nothing! Then they declared Sha’erah and Keepers enemies of the state. The plan had to work, every detail of it, or we would have been stopped. I barely had time to plan it, contact enough crew, explain what was happening, and put this all in motion.”

Alex’s face was burning hot, effectively melting away all the ice that had built up there over the past several hours. He stabbed Evan’s chest with an accusing finger. “You could have told me!”

“I tried, but you were otherwise involved with your mother’s funeral.”

“That’s no excuse!” Alex felt a distinct stab of guilt cool his temper somewhat. “You should have made me listen to you.”

Evan shook his head. “Obviously you’ve never tried to make you do anything!”

“Listen, smart ass! The next time something this important comes up, you tell me! I don’t care if you have to knock me down and tie me up to get my attention!” He glared at the Sha’erah to drive home his point.

“I was on top of everything, the whole time,” Evan countered. “The only thing I couldn’t control was you trying to escape.”

Alex remembered the pager. “That was you? You turned on my pager, screwing up my little attempt?”

“If you didn’t get on that transport, they wouldn’t have brought you here.”

They both fell silent for a moment. Alex was so mentally and emotionally exhausted, it was getting hard to maintain the anger. His mother’s funeral seemed like years ago.

“What would you have done if you’d gotten away? Where were you going to go?”

Alex let out a breath and shook his head. “Nowhere.” He looked up at Evan. “I was going to jump.”

Evan blinked. “What?”

“I knew you weren’t dead, though how I knew I’m not sure.” Alex ran a hand through his hair. “You weren’t dead, the ring was gone, the Defiant was gone.” He shrugged. “Zane didn’t seem to exist any more. Mother was dead, there was no one left. No one I gave a crap about, anyway. I was going to jump.”

“Kill yourself?”

Alex had just started to nod when Evan grabbed him by the shirt, spun him around and slammed him into the wall in one swift motion.

“You were going to kill yourself?!”

“I’d just lost -- ”

“You didn’t lose anything!” Evan’s face was burning red with shock and anger. “You knew I wasn’t dead!”

“And that’s all I knew!” Alex retorted. “I thought you left!”

“I would never do that!” Evan gave Alex a shove, then let go. “Not to you. Not ever!” His eyes shimmered with emotion. “You’re all the family I have!”

They stared at each other in complete silence for a full minute, neither one able to speak. Finally, with a cough that lessened the constricting lump, he pushed away from the wall and straightened his shirt. As he did, he glanced around the bridge. His brain seemed to be accepting the flood of information like hot fudge oozing through a funnel. He glance at Evan and was suddenly hit with absurdity of it all.

So much so, he started to laugh.

The Sha’erah looked perturbed at first, then seemed to accept the sudden change of emotional outbursts.

“So now what?” Alex waved an arm. “We have a ship, and we’re wanted by the law.”

Evan shrugged. “Anything we want. I stocked the hold with as much as I could procure. Food, fresh water, as much as we would have been allotted if we’d all stayed on Scotian Station. I found crates of equipment no one’s using, since exploration is now curtailed for all but military vessels.” He shrugged. “We can go anywhere.”

Alex nodded and draped an arm around Evan’s shoulders. “Whaddaya say we go solve the mysteries of the universe?”

- END -