“Tara?”
“Oh!” Tara startled and looked up at the tall blue Mecha who had appeared beside her. Her hand went to her chest as her heart raced at having been jarred so suddenly out of her thoughts. “Good morning.”
“Morning.” Ethan raised an eyebrow and looked down at her, then back to the door where her bright green eyes were still staring intently. “Is everything alright?”
“Yeah. It’s nothing.” She felt stupid for just standing in the middle of the hallway, but her feet had taken her here as soon as she left her quarters that morning, and then they had refused to budge.
“What is?”
“I…” She rubbed her temple. “I don’t know. I’ve just been getting this weird feeling every time I walk by this door. I feel like I should be stopping and asking the person on the other side if they want to have breakfast or … if they just want to talk… but there’s no one on the other side. I swear I’m going crazy.”
“It’s been a long and disappointing mission, Tara.” Ethan patted her shoulder lightly. “You’re probably just tired. We haven’t had a guest in C-6 since we dropped off that Kilarian princess last month. Maybe you’re thinking of her?”
Tara huffed a laugh. “Doubtful. That stuck up twat is the last person I’d like to sit down with and have breakfast or a chat.”
He chuckled lightly. “She was a handful, wasn’t she.”
Tara leaned in to the door and pointed as Ethan’s laughter faded. “How did that happen?”
Ethan looked to where Tara was now pointing. On the right edge of the doorframe at the vertical mid-point was a small indentation. His head tilted in confusion as he stepped closer to examine it. “I don’t know. Zera, examine and report on the compression seal system for room C-6.”
“Command confirmed.” The non-sentient monotone female voice of the Zera’s A.I. responded. A small beep followed after a few moments of silence. “Door compression seal for room C-6 has been compromised by door frame structural failure. Recommend immediate repair to ensure inner hull integrity.”
Ethan’s confused curiosity grew. “Zera, when and how did the door frame structural failure of room C-6 occur?”
Zera gave an argumentative mix of beeps. “Unknown.”
“Unknown?” Tara glanced over to Ethan. “Doesn’t she have a running log of all damage to her systems?”
“Yes, she does.” Ethan scowled.
“Hey you two.” Captain Hankarron Eros rounded the corner and looked over the shoulders of Tara and Ethan as they were bent over and peering at the doorframe in front of them. He rubbed the unshaven stubble of his chin. “What’s up?”
“I’m not sure yet, Hank.” Ethan stood back up straight and turned to him. “But I think I’m going to have to put Zera into the maintenance hangar when we get back to Central for more than just the deflector. She’s getting a little glitchy.”
“Glitchy?” Hank ran a hand through his wavy brown hair and mirrored the Mecha’s raised eyebrow.
Ethan wasn’t given time to respond as Zera alerted them to an incoming vessel that was hailing the ship. They all turned back the way they had come and headed for the bridge. They ran into Brommrigor Torregathos, the ship’s weapons specialist, on the way there. Ethan gave the bald-headed and orange scaled Orellian male an apologetic look. “Sorry Brom, but breakfast will have to wait. We have an incoming vessel.”
“Awe.” Brom’s large muscular shoulders slumped, but he turned and led the way onto the bridge. Heading over to his station, he glanced at the readout and sighed with relief. “It’s just Merik.”
“Better late than never, I guess.” Hank smirked and sat down in the Captain’s chair. “Go ahead and patch him through.”
The main view-screen lit up with the image of Merik’s black Trexen eyes staring at them. His usual cold smile was on his lips as he surveyed the three on the bridge through his own view-screen. “Aren’t you going the wrong way?”
“No.” Hank cocked his head to the side. “We’ve already been to Entarsk, without any help from you I might add, and we’re now on our way back to Corwint.”
“That’s not physically possible, especially with how slowly your ship is limping along. I was on my way there, but found your engine signature heading this way. You really should fix that hole in your graphene shielding.” Merik scowled at Hank, then turned his eyes to Ethan. “What is going on?”
Ethan shrugged. “We went to Entarsk, but it turned out to be bad intel from the Tir information trader. There was no genetics laboratory there, and at this point we aren’t even sure there was a plague on Ventaris to begin with.”
“What?” Merik raised an eyebrow. According to when he had received the last transmission from Ethan and the time it would take a ship at normal speed, it just didn’t add up how they had already been to Entarsk, infiltrated the facility and come back this far into Tharsan space. “Feh. Well that makes no sense to me, but whatever. I’m too tired to care.”
“Had some fun with Brogen, I take it?” Ethan smirked.
“Dumb shit got me shot. Twice.” Merik’s eyes looked back over the three people standing on the bridge of the Zera, and a small concern entered his mind. “So tin-man, I guess a congratulations is in order!”
“For what, exactly?”
Merik’s concern deepened. “What you said in your message, of course. I know it’s hard for you, but stop playing stupid. I don’t want to ruin the surprise if you haven’t told everyone. Where is she?”
Ethan wondered where the Trexen was going with this. “She who?”
“Orynn.” Merik watched as all three on board the Zera looked up at him as if he had lost his mind. “For fucks sake! Your wife, Ethan!”
“My what?!” Ethan glanced around at everyone as they all looked to him with confusion. He shrugged at them and turned back to the view-screen. “Did one of those shots hit you in the head?”
“Un-fucking-believable! You went and lost her, didn’t you!?” Merik’s anger poured into his voice as he hissed and bared his bestial upper and lower canines in frustration. “You stupid fucking machine! Hank, stop your damn ship and prepare for docking. I’m coming on board.”
The com-line cut and the view-screen went dark. All eyes fell on Ethan as he turned to his crewmates. All he could do was shrug and blink at them in a shared confusion. In the small period of silence that hung in the air, a whispering echo filled his mind, and the whispered word haunted him.
Velstrae.
*** *** ***
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C.E. Kilgore, Ghost in the Machine (Corwint Central Agent Files)
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