Chapter 1 - Out of the Spider's Web

Note from the author: I really hated the way Chapter 1 originally started off. And, inspired by the comments from other readers, I've endeavored to make the individual chapters substantially longer. I hope it's enjoyed.

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She awoke beneath a sheet.

The fabric clung to her skin like gauze--damp, too heavy, the kind meant to shroud the dead. For a moment, she couldn't move--couldn't even remember how to. Her limbs felt foreign, stiff and slow, her thoughts wrapped in the same haze that filled the air around her. Something about this place was wrong. It was dark. It was cold. And it smelled like metal, mildew, and antiseptic.

When she finally forced her eyes open, the world above her was stone. A low, arched ceiling loomed like a mausoleum vault, old masonry stained and wet in places. The only real light came from surgical lamps positioned over other gurneys--ghostly white pools glowing in the dark, casting long shadows over glass tanks and medical trays. The hum of equipment echoed beneath the static in her ears.

She sat up slowly, pushing the sheet down with trembling hands. Her feet dangled above the floor. The gurney was tall. Not by much, but enough that her heels couldn't quite reach the ground without a stretch. She stared at the polished surface below her, then at the curved floor drain that ran under the row of tables like a silent witness.

She wasn't naked. That realization came with a slow exhale she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Her clothes were unfamiliar but not humiliating--functional, even modest. A soft green shirt covered her chest, rising high on her collarbones and shoulders, ending just short of her elbows with subtle frills at the seams. Its weave curved slightly inward, a decorative flourish woven a few centimeters beneath the neckline. The fabric hung loose at her waist, touching the top of tight black pants that reached her knees. No shoes. No socks.

Her hair was partially braided--neat, intentional. The loose strands hung to the top of the gap between her shoulder blades.

She swung her legs gently, then braced herself on either side of the gurney. The surface was slick with condensation. She eased her weight forward, using her arms to slide off the table and lower herself until her bare feet found the floor.

It was cold.

Not just the surface--but the air. The kind of cold that whispered of stone walls and deep places, of things hidden where no sunlight ever reached.

The floor was damp--just enough to leave her feet clammy, but not wet or sticky. She grimaced at the sensation, then looked around and listened.

Silence.

She focused harder, hoping to hear a voice, footsteps--anything human. But there was nothing. Just the faint hum of power, like a resting machine waiting to wake.

A doorway stood at the far end of the room.

Brynn moved toward it slowly, her bare feet making no sound. As she reached it, she found the top of a descending staircase. A stone shelf, flat and dusted with age, ran along each side of the stairs. She rested her hand on the nearest one--testing. Then she stretched her fingers, feeling the texture beneath her skin, and closed her grip around it to check its stability.

She leaned forward, peering down the steps to make sure no one was waiting. The stairwell was clear.

Holding the stone rail, she began her descent. The stairs were shallow but long, each step extending just far enough to demand her balance. She counted them--fifty, maybe more--before reaching the bottom in the middle of a dim hallway. Light spilled faintly from branching corridors every few meters, but most of the space was cloaked in shadow.

She turned right, keeping to the side of the wall. The corridor narrowed--barely a meter above her head, and just wide enough for her arms to stretch and touch both walls. The stone was cold, worn flat by time, but not seamless. She crept forward cautiously, avoiding the pale rectangles of light where she could.

As she neared the next intersection, a figure emerged from the adjacent corridor.

A guard.

He wore a long-sleeved uniform and boots. No helmet. No visible weapon--just a sidearm. His eyes locked on her instantly. Brynn spun and tried to run.

Too slow.

His hand clamped around her wrist. She turned toward him, fear flaring--but not just fear. Something inside her surged.

A pocket of heat bloomed between them.

It started as pressure. Then light. Then a pulse--like a bubble bursting. The shockwave threw the guard backward, his boots skidding across the stone as he slid down the hall on his back.

Brynn hit the floor too, but not as hard. She winced and pushed herself upright, bracing a hand against the nearest wall. Her vision cleared just in time to see debris scattered across the floor--and a hole blown clean through the opposite wall.

Then--movement.

A face appeared through the hole. Then shoulders. A man--young, with a curious expression--ducked partway through, examining the inside of the hole, then the wreckage.

His gaze eventually landed on her, his expression still confused and curious.

"Hi," he said casually. "How are you?"

Brynn had managed to stagger to her feet. She pressed one hand to the wall for balance, eyes wide as she stared at him.

"Um. Hi. Hello." Her voice was uncertain, dazed.

He gestured to the rim of the hole. "So... did you do this?"

She blinked, looked at the damage again, and shook her head faintly. "I think I did," she said simply.

His expression brightened. "Really? Do you think you could do it again?"

"I... I think so. Why?"

He swung his leg through the hole, straddling the inside, and then pushed off to drop to the ground beside the hole. "Well, I just think it might be handy if you're able to repeat these results on demand. It's likely to be beneficial in helping us... Well, leave?"

She raised her brows. "Oh? I don't even know where this place is."

He waved that off. "That's not the important part. The only detail that matters is: you're here, I'm here, and neither of us want to be."

She huffed a laugh. "Right. Okay."

"I don't suppose you know the way out?"

She shook her head. "No. Not even a little."

He made a slightly disappointed face, but then seemed to shrug definitely. "Oh well. I'm sure we can figure it out." He extended a hand. "By the way, I'm Captain Idris Chariton."

She hesitated, then took it. "I'm..." She paused for a moment, the information eluding her at first. Then it seemed to well up from the back of her mind, all at once. "I'm Brynn. Brynn Phytrelia. I don't have any kind of title though." Her thoughts lingered on this for a moment, as if mentally double checking. She shook it off then. "Thank you, Captain."

"Oh no, don't thank me yet. And call me Idris. No need for formalities between fellow breakouts. Besides, first we have to get out of here. Or at least back to the surface."

She nodded. "That seems like a solid plan."

"Well, at least it's the beginning of one."

They walked toward the next corridor intersection. Light spilled in only from the left side--no passage to the right.

Suddenly, three more guards rounded the corner.

One pointed. "You! How did you get out?!"

Idris raised his hands, more diplomatic than surrendering. "Gentlemen, please. Surely we can handle this in a civilized, nonviolent manner..."

They pulled weapons from holsters and pockets.

Idris shrugged. "Well, it was worth a try..."

The first man lunged. Idris caught his wrist with both hands, yanked him forward by the arm, and slammed his forehead into the man's nose. The guard stumbled back, clutching at his face and dropping both items he'd been holding. Idris snatched them up without hesitation. They looked to Brynn like some kind of hybrid between stun batons and drum mallets.

Idris seemed to have a clearer grasp of their use as he didn't waste any time. He swung one into the man's cheek, spraying blood and teeth out of his mouth. Then Idris stabbed with the second stick, jabbing hard into his abdomen.

The guard doubled over, vomited all over the floor, and collapsed on his side

The next two came in waves. The first guard lunged. Idris deflected the blow with his right-hand weapon and jabbed him with the other--the same result repeating as before. The man spewed vomit onto the wall and collapsed. Before the last guard could react, Idris grabbed the vomiting man by the arm and spun him into the path of the stun bolt, a fraction of a second before it fired.

The guard dropped to the floor like a bag of sand.

Idris crossed the meter of space between them, deflecting the barrel of the guard's weapon with the sick stick in his left hand. He grabbed the top of the gun with his right and yanked forward. The guard held on, but stumbled toward him.

Idris drove his elbow into the man's face, then yanked the gun free with his other hand.

It dropped from his grip.

He spun the weapon in his hand, flipped it to face forward at the guard he'd stolen it from, and fired. Then, for good measure, he shot the last conscious guard--the first who'd attacked him--and tucked the weapon into his waistband.

He turned to Brynn. "Well, now that we've been properly introduced..."

Brynn's hands were still raised in surrender, as if waiting for the guard to take her. Everything had happened so fast, she hadn't even realized she'd frozen. She looked around--four guards, all lying in heaps around them. A flicker of trepidation passed through her as mixed feelings about the stranger began to surface.

Idris watched her silently, giving her time to catch up. The pause dragged. He shifted, clearly uncomfortable with the lingering silence--until finally, she lowered her hands.

"Sorry. I... I didn't realize. But, how did you even end up in here if you can handle three guards by yourself?"

He made a face, obviously not in a hurry to relive it. "That's... Complicated, I guess."

Brynn watched him for a long moment, but then decided to accept his cryptic response. "Okay. Well, now that that's handled..."

His expression brightened. "Right. Yes. Let's go then!"

He held out his hand again. She looked down at it, but then sighed, resigning, and placed her hand in his.

She was nearly pulled off her feet as he latched on and started forward, running all out down the hall.

The passage was dark, musty, and seemed constructed of ancient masonry.

They turned another corner and then stopped. Idris looked around, trying to orient himself, and then they were off again.

They came to the end of another hall, turned the corner, and then dead-ended into a room with several hatched chutes.

"Is that what I think it is?" She said, shoulders slumping.

"Yep." He seemed just as enthusiastic, but steeled himself, sighing, and then moving to open one of the hatches. It was locked, so he pulled out the gun and looked to be tuning some setting on it. He waved her back and shot the latch.

It sparked brightly and slagged, melting apart.

"Are you sure? There's no other way?"

"Nope. But how else are we going to get out of here?"

Brynn groaned, taking his hand as he helped her up to the lip of the hatch, little more than a meter from the floor, and then she swung herself into it, feet first. She screamed as she disappeared down the chute.

The chute dropped fast, curved, and spilled her into a pile of garbage.

She fell on her back with a grunt, the landing momentarily winding her.

She had the presence of mind to roll aside just as Idris dropped, his boots hitting the pile just right. He even knew to bend his knees and landed without toppling over.

He saw her lying on her back, stunned, and moved to help her up.

"I don't advise you do that. You don't even want to think about what is in this stuff."

She took his hand and made it to her feet, then winced. He frowned and then jumped down to the bottom of the pile, where the stone floor was visible. He held out his hands to her. "Here. Jump. Then you don't have to walk bare foot on this."

She leapt and he caught her under her shoulders. He fell on his back, with her on top, and grunted. She rolled off him.

"Oh my gosh! I'm sorry! Are you alright?!"

He rolled on his back, groaning just a little, and then pushed up off the floor and got back to his feet. "Yep."

The assertion came breathlessly, and through gritted teeth. "No problem."

Brynn looked back to see the wall went high on three sides, forcing the garbage to spill out in a single direction.

She saw track marks where a loader had scraped the stone to grab the garbage, but after that, all she saw was a high, dense forest.

Idris went walking down the steep incline that led into the trees.

Brynn followed. "Where are we going?"

"Away from the garbage."

"Do you know where we are?"

"Of course!"

She gave him a look. "Are you always this optimistic?"

"Every day!"

She hopped on one leg a moment when something stabbed into her foot. She groaned.

He turned. "We are just beyond Janx City on Adrondonas. We just escaped Euclides Prison."

"There's a city?" She spared a glance back but only saw a high wall that encompassed the facility they'd just escaped.

"Yes, but we're not going there."

She looked down at the long, cross-hatched grass underfoot. Ahead, the ground grew rougher. She clenched her teeth and kept walking.

"Don't worry," Idris said. "There's a path down here easier on bare feet."

She squinted. "So you've been here before?"

"Not for a few weeks. But the trick is knowing which sun to stay closest to."

She looked up. Two suns--one larger, nearer.

"Is that difficult?"

"Of course not. Just follow the one furthest away."

She rolled her eyes just as she winced again and something poked her. "Right."

He stopped, looking at her, and frowned. He rolled his eyes, sighing, and pulled his boots off. He held them out to her. "They may not fit, but it's better than going barefoot."

She wrinkled her forehead. "But what about you?"

He shrugged. "I'll live. Maybe it'll motivate me to find Atalanta a little faster."

She tilted her head at him. "Ata... Who?"

"Atalanta," he said patiently. "My ship. She should still be in the forest in... hibernation."

"How far?"

"A few kilometers at most."

Her eyes got wide, but she made herself follow closely next to him after she took a moment, wiped the debris from her feet, and slipped his boots on.

"It shouldn't take too long to find her. Don't worry."

The trees grew thicker as they pressed deeper into the forest. The ground underfoot shifted from packed dirt to loose moss and brittle roots, forcing Brynn to watch every step. The boots Idris had loaned her were slightly too big, and they caught on everything--stones, branches, the occasional half-buried tree root. She was quiet, but her discomfort was obvious.

Idris moved with the kind of oblivious confidence that suggested he'd been through this area before--though not recently. He walked several paces ahead, occasionally glancing up at the sky through the canopy. The twin suns filtered down in layered beams, and from time to time, he paused to reposition or tilt his head, as if mentally recalculating their heading.

After nearly half an hour of walking, he stopped.

"This should be it."

Brynn blinked and looked around. "This? Where?"

He didn't answer. Instead, he walked forward, brushing aside a curtain of ivy draped between two trees. Beyond it, the ground dropped into a shallow ravine. The air was cooler there -- still, silent. A subtle click-whir sound echoed--three notes in a rising sequence, like an alert chime dulled by distance.

Idris smiled faintly. "There you are."

He scrambled down into the hollow, slipping once but catching himself on a low branch. Brynn followed, slower, more cautious. When she finally caught up to him, she saw it: a dark, angled hull half-buried under a mess of netting and fallen leaves.

Idris almost fell before he reached the lowest point of the valley. Then he began talking, and for a moment, Brynn wondered if he'd forgotten she was there--or just preferred to talk to himself. As she got closer, she heard him more clearly.

"Ophelia? Ophelia, I'm back. Can you let me in?"

A large turret extended down from the ship's belly and turned, locking on Brynn.

Brynn froze, her breath caught in her throat. She didn't dare move.

He waved his hands. "No! No, she's a friend! No threat. No threat!"

The gun turned back to its starting trajectory and then retracted again. Then Brynn heard the sound of a loud clang as the alloy of the landing ramp clipped away from the hull and descended.

Vents exhaling dust-laced air came in plumes from around the outside of the ship. The lights around the perimeter started to glow.

Brynn hesitated, momentarily stunned. It looked... alive. Wounded, maybe. But alive.

Idris turned and gestured her forward. "Come on. It'll warm up."

She stepped carefully onto the ramp behind him. She stopped to lean against the supports and pulled off the boots, pairing them together in her left hand. The Interior of the ship was dark at first, the air cooler than she expected. But as they crossed the threshold at the top, lights flickered on--slowly, then in succession--illuminating a narrow corridor ahead of them. The ramp behind them groaned shut, sealing the light of the forest away.

The corridor lights stayed dim for a moment, then flicked on fully the instant the landing ramp sealed shut.

Idris reverted to his previous, oblivious state, strolling toward the cockpit. Brynn followed, assuming she was meant to.

He dropped into his seat and strapped in, reaching overhead to flip a few switches.

He glanced at the copilot's chair, then turned to find her. He waited a moment for her to sit down beside him.

"Ophelia, can you bring up sensors and navigation?"

Brynn shot him a look. "Wait--are we leaving? Like, right now?"

He turned to her. "Oh. Sorry. Did... did you want to stay here?"

She hesitated, then slumped. "I mean... I don't know. I don't even know where here is. What if I'm supposed to stay?"

Idris glanced uncomfortably at the console, then back at her. "I mean... you were imprisoned and stuff. So, there's that. If you stay, you'll probably just end up back there."

She shifted, thinking for a long moment. Idris tilted his head. "We didn't really get a chance to talk about it -- but why were you there?"

She looked at the floor and sighed. "I have no idea. I don't remember. The last clear thing I recall is waking up in... well, it looked like a morgue. I had a shroud over my body and no clue how I got there."

The color in his face seemed to drain a little as he took this in. "Oh. Well, that's... I mean, that's not what I was expecting. I can see how you might be conflicted about this."

She nodded, still looking at the floor.

He waited a long moment, and when she still didn't say anything, he let out a blast of air. "Look, why don't you just... come with me, and if you remember why you were there, we can always come back. It's not like this placing is going anywhere anytime soon."

She lifted her head and looked at the console, then sat up and turned to him. Her shoulders swayed slightly, her head rocking side to side as if weighing the thought aloud. Then she stilled. A shrug--small, noncommittal--followed by a slow nod.

"I suppose you're right," she said.

"Great. Let's get going then."

She tilted her head at him. "Why are you in such a hurry to get out of here anyway?"

He stopped, still facing away from her, and then slowly turned in his chair to look directly at her. "I told you: it's complicated. I guess you could say that I was supposed to make a delivery, and when the buyer showed up, instead of giving me the money, they took the delivery and had me... removed from the picture, so to speak. Thankfully, even though this has not ever really happened to us before, Ophelia took it upon herself to put the ship into a hibernation mode and hide it."

She nodded slowly, but then seemed to realized something. "Wait, who is Ophelia? Is she not here?"

It was then that a short, projected image coalesced on the cockpit's control board, standing near the center, barely fifteen centimeters tall. "I am Ophelia." The image then turned to regard Idris. "Captain Chariton, why do we have an extra passenger?"

The suddenness of the voice startled her. Brynn jumped slightly. She'd seen virtual assistants before, but they'd never had shape or form like this. The figure had long brown hair that fell over her shoulders and her blue eyes seemed perplexed, not angry. She appeared more curious than anything. The light green, uniform-style shirt and darker pants covered her appearance in a very conservative style. While she looked like an adult, and her silvery soprano sounded like one, her demeanor felt younger--more childlike than the mature design implied.

"We have a passenger because... well, because she had nowhere else to go, obviously."

The image looked over at Brynn and then slowly tilted her head to the side. "I see. And what is your name, Miss...?"

"Brynn. My name is Brynn Phytrelia."

Idris motioned at the image. "And this is Ophelia. She is... well, that's also complicated." He pursed his lips uncomfortably, his head snaking back and forth as if to mentally evade the conversation. "But usually, it's just her and me here."

"I see," Brynn said, looking to Idris with a smile.

She started strapping in as Idris turned and began working at the console.

"Sensors are fully online, Captain. I detect no patrols or other anomalies in the vicinity. Departure appears safe."

"Wonderful. Let's get out of here."

Brynn felt the ship rising off the ground--at first. She saw them soaring through the air, up out of the trees and into the clouds, but couldn't feel it. As the blue sky faded into a star-filled darkness, she relaxed into her seat, trying not to think about what she might be leaving behind.

Then the darkness parted as a bright green-and-blue hole opened ahead. The moment the antispace generator's indicator flipped from red to green, they were pulled in--engulfed by the viridian and azure streaks of antispace.

She let out a soft sigh once everything seemed calm. "That... was... fun. So, where are we headed now?"

"I'm not sure, actually. For now, we're en route to Baramasta--my next planned stop. Or it was, at least. Honestly, I don't even know how late we are."

Ophelia's voice rose from the console. "Approximately twenty-two weeks, Captain. At least, by Baramasta's calendar."

Idris rolled his eyes and shook his head. Then he stood and walked out of the cockpit, heading into the corridor that connected to the rest of the ship. It hit him, suddenly, just how long it had been since he'd had a real meal.

Brynn felt a little self-conscious, and more than a little unsure of herself, talking to a computer. She wasn't really sure what kind of expectations she was supposed to respect, much less follow, in regard to what Captain Chariton would or would not want her discussing with his ship's computer. Or was it more than that? What it even an "it" in the first place, or was the system worthy of a "she"?

She began to follow Captain Chariton out of the cockpit. At the last second, she turned, feeling it would be poor manners not to say goodbye, even if it was a computer. "It was nice to be able to meet you, Ophelia."

As she caught up with him, she started talking to him immediately. "I think we should discuss sleeping arrangements. I'm sure this isn't a very big ship, so I'll be fine with whatever amenities you are capable of providing me with. It is unlikely it would be the most uncomfortable place I've slept in before."

The machine he'd been facing chimed and he reached into the opening, taking a bowl from it. Steam swirled off the top as he moved over to sit at the booth-style seat that surrounded about half of the galley, a table extending around in front of it. He placed his food on the surface and looked up at her. He was going to have to give it a moment to cool down before he could eat it anyway. At the edge of his peripheral vision, he noticed Ophelia's image sitting on the edge of the table, legs dangling.

"Or I can just sleep outside..." she muttered, then after a pause, "or maybe I'll just throw a blanket over your lifeless body and see how comfortable that is."

He was still contemplating how he would manage everything. He didn't feel right about making her sleep on the floor, or any other place on the ship that might be just as uncomfortable.

"Captain, would you like to provide me with our destination so I can verify the course and provide you with updates on the estimated time of arrival?"

Idris sighed. "Give me a moment to eat, Ophelia. We can discuss it at greater length after I have had a chance to adjust." He looked over at Brynn. "Are you hungry?"

Her gaze moved from him to the bowl of food he'd procured from the dispenser. She hadn't realized she was hungry until that moment, but guilt followed her hunger. She had already strong-armed him into letting her aboard, so the impulse to beg for food was hampered by her ambivalence over her status on the ship. She moved to sit down at the table, and then startled a little when she noticed Ophelia. She was going to have to get used to it... to her? To Idris' computer popping up without warning. She shook her head a little feigning distraction to cover the delay in her response.

"I'm sorry, am I what," she finally said. "Hungry? A little. I'm sure I can hold off until morning."

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, arching an eyebrow at her. He stood, leaving his bowl on the table, and walked over to the dispenser. He looked at it for a long moment, thinning his gaze as he tried to decide what to do next as if the machine might tell him. He turned around to look at her for a moment, studying her, as if her very appearance might somehow allow him to glean something. He turned back and she could hear him punching a request into the device before waiting a few moments. When it chimed again, he took the bowl from the machine, walked back to the table, and slid it onto the table in front of her. He then dropped a spoon in her bowl and then a second spoon into his own bowl. He sat back down at the table and started sipping at it as quietly as possible.

She looked at the food, and then looked up at him, before looking back down at the bowl again. His back had been towards her when he was preparing it, and a different kind of butterfly fluttered in her stomach. She was not sure what to do.

He looked up at her and arched an eyebrow interrogatively. "Is there something wrong with it?"

She looked up at him and then shifted, pausing for a long moment. "No, just... instincts."

He pursed his lips, nodding, and went back to eating his soup.

Without looking up, she said. "Thank you." Her response was sincere, but she was still hesitating. She tried not to think of the last time she'd actually had a warm meal and took the spoon and started stirring the soup, blowing gently to try and cool the liquid, and kept herself quiet until she had sipped. "Thank you, for the ride. I am sorry about the soup, I just... "

The ship shuddered, and almost at once, the sound of alarms filled the entire ship. The image changed and started screaming at him. "CAPTAIN! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"

As the ship rocked again, Idris dropped his spoon and stood up from the table. He looked forward at nothing, listening for a moment. He swore loudly, leaving Brynn at the table as he ran to the cockpit.

Brynn's heart leapt into her throat just as Idris stood up from the table. She watched him run out of the galley but stayed at the table. Chasing after him wasn't going to help anyone.

Idris dropped into the pilot's seat. "This isn't Baramasta! Where are we?!"

Ophelia's image again coalesced on the middle of the control board. "About eight hours short of our destination, Captain. Somewhere just outside of the Klendastan System."

"What happened?!"

"We were knocked out of antispace by something."

Idris gaped, open-mouthed, and then pointed at the viewscreen. "What do you mean 'by something'?! There isn't a black hole or gas giant within two light years of here!"

"Sensors read that the anomaly is coming from that direction, just up off to port and straight ahead about eight hundred kilometers." Ophelia pointed out of the viewport, but it was too far to see anything.

Idris groaned and looked out the viewport anyway. "Are we picking up anything else from it?"

"It is not anything in any of our charts. It might be a ship. I'm getting readings consistent with concentrations of tetrastrand and redidium."

Idris paled. "Oh no... "

"Captain? What is it?"

Before he could answer, Brynn came through the doorway to the cockpit.

"It's... it's them... the... THEM!"

"We're being hailed, Captain."

He looked down at the control board, stunned into inaction for just a moment. "Put it on speaker."

"Atalanta, stand down and your ship will not be harmed. Leave your engines at a full stop and we can promise the most conducive, painless interaction during our time together. Failure to comply will result in your slow, prolonged, and painful demise, followed immediately with the destruction of your vessel." The deep baritone sounded impatient, but still calm.

"Battleship... " Idris went to say the name, but there was no transponder to speak of. "Identify yourself! This is a civilian vessel! You've no jurisdiction here. It'll be a cold day in hell when I surrender and go quietly into the night, especially for strangers, pirates, or mercenaries."

A new voice filled the cockpit now. She had a lilting, feminine voice. "Oh, you wound me, Captain Chariton. You and I both know we're not strangers. You couldn't have forgotten me already, could you? Back on Jastar."

"Captain, who is this woman?" Ophelia's image had hands on her hips now, sounding enraged by what she was hearing.

Idris held up his hand to silence her.

"Oh, and the lovely Ophelia is there too? I am confident that if you analyze the odds, it's far more in your interest to cooperate than to make a pathetic attempt to resist."

The image looked at him, nodding grimly. "I am afraid she is correct, Captain."

Idris moved to boost the sublight engines to full, but when he went to throttle, a short in the console almost started a fire. Both he and Brynn jumped back in surprise.

"Captain, it would appear that the force of our reversion caused the sublight engines to burn out. They are now completely offline. Life support and emergency lighting are still functioning, but we've lost propulsion."

He swore again. "Is there anyone else in the area?"

"No, but they're jamming us, Sir. There is no way we can get a transmission out of here anyway."

He slammed his fist onto the control panel and felt defeat washing over him. "Go ahead then. Take your prize and be on with it."

"Ah, see, Captain, that wasn't so hard now, was it? See you soon... " And with that, the ship fell into silence again.

Idris shut his eyes and shook his head. He had no idea what to do. He was most concerned with saving Brynn.

She reached out cautiously to place a hand on his shoulder. "Idris. What's happening? What's going on?" She asked her final question in a firm voice, expecting full honesty out of him right now. Determination and worry were painted across her face.

Idris shook his head, and his entire body seemed to sag. He turned slowly to look at her. "I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do. And there is nowhere that I can send you to be safe.

"Idris, what do you mean? Who are these people?"

"I don't have time to explain it, but they're just... bad people."

She scoffed at him. "'Bad people? Don't patronize me, Idris."

Idris called over her shoulder. "Ophelia, how soon until they are here?"

"You have approximately two minutes before we are in range of their tractor beam."

"It... It doesn't matter, okay? They're going to drag my ship aboard theirs, throw black bags over our heads, and then beat us. Who they are is not going to change that outcome."

Brynn looked at him sideways. "And how do you know all of that?"

"Because. That's what she did to us last time. To me, I mean."

"Last time? What? When?!"

Idris shook his head and stepped away from her. "Just... look, I don't have time to answer all your questions. Our best bet is to try to smuggle you into one of the crawlspaces and see if they notice you. Otherwise... well, I don't know what they're going to do."

He walked away from her, and she followed after him. "The crawl space?! Do you think I'll be able to fit in there?"

He squatted down and pried up one of the panels. He slid it away from the opening and gestured inside. "I guess we're going to find out." He reached for her arm, but she leaned away from him.

"I'm fine. I can climb down on my own." She squatted down and then slid one leg into the space ahead of her. She slid to the edge of the floor and then dropped into the hole. She screeched, misjudging the depth, and grabbed for a handhold to slow her descent, clunking onto the floor with a grunt.

He peered down. "I did offer to help. Are you alright?"

"I said I'm fine, okay?"

He held up his hands in surrender and then slid the panel back in place, shrouding her in darkness.

She was less than twenty centimeters on a side and the panel was high enough over her that only her fingertips could touch it. She considered the space and decided that it could have been a lot worse.

"Mistress." Ophelia's image appeared inside of the chamber, looking at her. "If you would like... I can allow you to see what is happening... so you don't have to sit in here and wonder. My system is quite capable of allowing you to view it remotely... or would you prefer not to watch?"

Brynn stared at Ophelia, not sure if she wanted to know what was going on, but she finally nodded to her, whispering, even if it wasn't necessary. "Yes, show me."

***

Idris moved to the landing ramp, waiting at the top as the ramp touched down. He slowly held up his hands in surrender and waited. He saw the entourage of people, their deep purple and black uniforms distinguishing their affiliations clearly.

The woman at the head of the group wore a skin tight uniform that covered her from boot to neck. Her face was pale, almost colorless, but somehow her complexion was still beautiful, in its own way. The skin of her arms and face had dark, purplish lines that seemed blended in with the pale skin, almost like she been injured, perhaps even at the brink of death. Her eyes were vibrant and full of life. Her dark hair flowed elegantly down to her shoulder blades. She was almost taller than Idris. When she reached him, she reached out with her right hand, very slowly, and touched his face, her fingers gently resting on his cheek. She had long nails, and several rings. Then that same, lilting voice escaped her lips as she spoke, her words coming slow and hushed. If it was possible, the voice felt even more threatening in person. "Captain Chariton. It's been so long since I was able to see you last. I'm just delighted that we get to see each other in person. How unfortunate it had to be under these circumstances, what with the issues you seem to be having with your ship. Antispace travel can be ever so tricky, can't it?"

When he didn't answer her immediately, her happy expression was quickly replaced with rage. Her right arm came back with lightning speed, and she backhanded him across the face so hard that it split his cheek open and knocked him off his feet.

He grunted and moved to stand again, but two men rushed up from behind him and clamped their hands above his elbows and held him kneeling on the deck.

She leaned down so her mouth was closer to his face, her voice soft again. "What are you carrying aboard this ship, Captain? I sense that you are not alone."

He shook his head. "No, no, I promise you, it's only me, and... my cargo, of course."

Her eyes looked up and away from him, glancing up the ramp. She turned around and snapped her fingers. Two more men, these now a head taller than Idris. "Hadir. Thelo. Check the ship and find whatever it is Captain Chariton is hiding from us."

The men nodded at her. Their rifles were slung around to their back as they hurried up the ramp and into the ship. She looked back down at him, smiling again. "I'm curious if you've managed to put it together yet. You've had so long to think about it, but I wonder. Tell me: did your contacts ever manage to confirm my identity?"

He shook his head. "Ulratia, I doubt, has had the pleasure of dealing with you personally. I remain confident that someday they'll find you. I await the day with excitement." He scowled at her then, which only seemed to trigger her rage once more.

She struck him across the face with the back of her hand with enough force to break his lower lip against his teeth. Idris spat blood on the ground and looked back up at her defiantly.

She smiled at him now, grinning, teeth bared as she reverted back to that slow, hushed voice.

"I am Moranna. I am the Delethirian Empire. I am the embodiment of all its power and glory."

Suddenly, his defiance was replaced with shock and disbelief. His jaw bobbed as he fumbled to find his words. "You. That's... that's why... that's why SI is pursuing you... and why they refuse to identify you."

Her head rocked back in full-throated laughter. "Ah, there, you see. Now you have it all figured out, don't you, Captain." She leaned down, her fingers returning to his face, smearing the blood on his skin. She snatched his chin and jerked his head to the side. Her lips moved to his ear. "I hope you live long enough to tell your friend about this... "

Idris shut his eyes and shivered. He tried to wince away from her face, but then she stood straight again and the men on either side pulled him to his feet.

The two men, Hadir and Thelo, returned from inside the ship. They both bowed deeply to her. "Mistress, we have completed our search and found no one else onboard."

She turned to Idris and scowled. Her eyes filled with rage again. She grabbed him by the throat and lifted him from the deck, pinning him to the bulkhead. "You think me a fool, Captain?"

Idris flailed against her grip, choking, his hands desperately trying to free him of her grip.

"I know you are hiding someone. But is it an innocent traveler or just another operative?"

She smashed him onto the deck and held him down, the guards now just standing back.

He tried to shake his head. "You may possess the power to kill me, Mistress, but my death will not change the fact that there is no one else on this ship."

She scowled and released him, standing straight again. He gasped and coughed, desperately filling his lungs with air.

"It may very well come to that, Captain, if you do not acquiesce. Perhaps you'd like a front row viewing as my ship blasts your vessel into oblivion."

Idris looked at the floor and shook his head. He felt himself sinking into despair. What good would his death now be if it simply followed Atalanta, and Ophelia, into oblivion. He shook his head again.

"Very well... " She turned to one of her servants. "Bring him to my bridge, then jettison this heap and obliterate it."

He looked up, fear in his eyes. "No! Wait... "

***

Brynn was now sitting on the floor, her eyes still glued to the image Ophelia's systems were providing. She realized that if she stayed there, hidden, she might die anyway.

"Ophelia, I can't stay here. What's the point of hiding if they're just going to blow away the ship with me still on it. I'll just climb up and... and try to reason with them. I mean, they probably don't have any issues with me, they just want him, right?"

She smiled uneasily, completely unconvinced by her own words, but not knowing what else to do.

***

"Wait... " He was pleading with her, hands together in front of him as if in prayer. "Who is it that you are searching for? I promise, I no longer work for SI. I'm just a merchant now. Just... please, let me go. Allow me to take Atalanta, and Ophelia, and leave. You've nothing to gain from killing me or destroying my ship."

She spun on him and knocked him to the deck once more. "You are more than mistaken if you believe you are in a position to negotiate with me, Captain. Look around you: you're as good as dead, or worse, if I see fit."

He shut his eyes again. He nodded at the floor, his voice almost silent. "Very well... "

She stared at him, waiting, her scowl consuming her face.

He pointed without looking up from the floor. "She's in the maintenance shaft, under the floor panel."

She lashed out at him again, kicking his face and then stepping on his throat. "You lied to me, Captain."

Idris was sprawled on the floor, but didn't try to free himself, gasping between words. "What... was I supposed... to do? Give... her up... freely... and let you... kill her?" He rasped, feeling himself starting to brown out.

"Kill her?" She smiled, shaking her head.

Just then, Hadir and Thelo appeared with Brynn held suspended in their grip. Idris hadn't even heard them leave. He tried to spare a glance at her, but he was too light headed.

Moranna's foot left his neck, and he found himself gasping again. She leaned her face down near his and then glanced over at Brynn, momentarily looking away from Idris. She frowned. "She is a pretty little thing, isn't she, Captain? And to think you almost killed her. Such a bad habit you have of murdering your companions. What a pity it would have been for her blood to be spilled so pointlessly."

Then she stood, walking over to Brynn. She stared into her eyes for a long moment, looking her over, and then her eyes went wide with surprise. "Oh my... " Her face suddenly filled with excitement, an expression that horrified Idris as he moved to sit and watch from the floor.

He swallowed, hoping. "I-I know... she's... lovely, isn't she?"

Moranna's face swung around back to him and she laughed with that same, chin up, head back laugh she'd had before. She smiled at Idris, before her lips moved to Brynn's ear, whispering to her. "Mmm... you haven't told him, have you, Little Girl. Mmmmm... but I can feel it. The power inside you resonates against me like... like the warmth of a new sun. I can see why you wouldn't want to trust him." Brynn felt the tip of her tongue flick against her earlobe, and she flinched away. "I don't think he realized what a prize you are, but we both know better... Don't. We?" Then her face swung towards the guards. "Bind her. She'll come aboard Astaria with us."

Idris leapt to his feet, screaming in shock and fear. "No! Please! Wait! Mistress... "

She turned on him, watching with pleasure as he humiliated himself before her. "Oh my, Captain. Developed a little soft spot for your prize, have you? Mmm... it's so dangerous... for them. They don't seem to have very good luck with you around, do they?"

He shook his head. "Please... What purpose would she serve you? What use would you even have for her?!"

She glanced at him, and then looked to Brynn. She grinned at her. "I'll free you then, Precious. But first... "

Before she could react, two hands latched onto her head, fingers digging viciously into her skin, pressing against her skull. The moment her arms were released, she realized it didn't matter. She was still trapped, feet dangling, weightless, completely vulnerable. She jerked, struggling as a sharp breath escaping her, but the hands only clenched tighter, like a cargo clamp locking into place. Her heartbeat pounded against her ribs, every nerve in her body screaming with the realization that something was terribly, terribly wrong. Brynn felt her body being consumed with the most blinding pain. She screamed, and then her body radiated with heat, until flames spread over her body. She'd never been the source of so much heat, her power never having manifested this way.

Idris sprang to his feet. "NO! PLEASE! STOP! MISTRESS!"

A guard knocked him back to the ground, wrapping his arm around his throat and holding his face so he was forced to watch. Idris reached towards her, but there was nothing he could do. He felt tears stinging his face as he was forced to watch, forced to witness another death.

And then, Brynn's body fell to the floor. He felt the guard release him. The flames had disappeared, and Brynn's body was completely unharmed. Moranna, however, was bent over with her hands on her knees, panting. She was obviously winded.

Idris frantically looked from Brynn's lifeless form to a seemingly spent Moranna. His face was filled with shock, but before he could make sense of it, Moranna seemed to recover. Slowly, she stood up straight, sighing, and then turned to look at him. He felt himself recoil from her as she smiled at him. She held out her hand, palm up, and suddenly a little flame manifested in her hand. She looked at it and then looked back at him.

"I've seen my share of Gifteds in my day, Captain, but never one like this." Her hand closed into a fist, extinguishing the flame. "And to think: you never even suspected." She smiled again and then looked down at Brynn's body. Her expression conveyed her apathy over Brynn's death, but then Brynn sucked in a gasp of air, her eyes still closed.

Idris nearly screamed. He felt himself jump away from her body, the body he'd been sure had been drained of any life. This only made Moranna laugh again.

"Captain. I'm disappointed. I thought you knew me better than that. Did you really think after all that, after everything I just went through, that I'd elect to extinguish her life like that?" She seemed very impressed with herself and her choice of words. Then she shook her head. "Death is a very fitting end for some, but not for all. Think of how she'll thank you," she looked down at the body again, grimacing, and then looked back at him. "When she wakes up, that is. Oh, the fun you'll have with her. She can't hurt you now, of course. I've seen to that. Perhaps you should be thanking me."

Idris glanced from Brynn, still lying on the floor, unconscious but somehow still breathing, and then looked back at Moranna. "She... she's a Gifted?"

He saw Moranna's chest jerk with silent laughter. "Well, she was. But now you've helped free her of that, haven't you?"

He felt the color drain out of his face as he looked back at Brynn again, and then looked back at Moranna. "You... " He shook his head, still not understanding.

Moranna rolled her eyes and shook her head in disappointment. "Honestly, Captain, sometimes I think it's a miracle you can latch your own boots without help." She rolled her eyes again and sighed, once again shaking her head with disappointment. She moved closer to him, and he steeled himself out of reflex. "You see, after you got away, after they took me, eventually I was able to free myself of their hold. After I escaped the suppression tank, I discovered something. And now, I'm filled with a new, divine purpose: find them and consume them."

He recoiled in horror, his face consumed with disbelief. He shook his head. "No. There's no way. That's... Not possible."

"Oh, but it is, Captain. The proof stands before you. And soon, very soon, I will become the most powerful Gifted your little universe had ever witnessed." Her smile nearly touched her ears.

He took another step back, struggling to wrap his head around it, to accept it. "But... why... Why tell me? I'm... I'm no one."

She frowned at him again. "Yes, but just think of how that will change once they find out that you broke her. Once she realizes what you've done, eventually everyone will know. A secret, such as this, cannot stay hidden for long. Or stay silent. And in the meantime, just imagine how you'll be able to pass the time knowing that it was your fault, all over again, and how another life has been ruined by your ineptitude and reckless incompetence."

He felt like she'd punched him again, but he clenched his fists and forced himself to remain composed. "They'll... they'll find you... They captured you once, certainly they can do it again."

She seemed to cross the space that was between them in a single step. Her face was instantly millimeters from his. "Oh, I'm counting on it, Captain. Let them come. By then... I'll be more than ready." She grinned wickedly at him again and then her head suddenly smashed into his face so hard that his body dropped to the floor, limp and unconscious.