Untold Stories of a Galaxy - Kysaek: The Beginning
The Rain

Kysaek had had a long and detailed conversation with Douglas and then, with advance warning, had him immediately placed in solitary confinement. She returned to the Nebula, which remained in the vicinity of Anuket for another two days, and waited for a reply from the requested reinforcements. Kysaek was eating in her quarters and hoping, but unfortunately her request was denied. The majority of the Council of Elders were against it, although they regretted the decision. She understood, however, and was not resentful. The Consulate had already done an extreme amount for her, which was an understatement, but she had not been idle and was employing a backup plan. “Bridge, this is Kysaek,” she announced via vortex cuff with her mouth half full. “Make preparations to depart, set course for Inkanthatana Four.”

“Finally,” said Selok relaxed. In his opinion, keeping a ship stationary was a waste of life and he had made that clear over the days. “Departure will be in just under fifteen minutes and we should be there in fourteen standard hours.”

“Very well, and send Lieutenant Stemford the recognition code so that he knows we’re on our way to Cipi afterwards.”

“He’ll get it. Bridge out.”

The flight to Inkanthatana Four went without a hitch, which was certainly due to the fact that the ship was neither being chased by anyone, nor did it suffer any setbacks due to the asteroid on the way. There was just one thing to worry about as the Nebula approached the planet.

“As I thought, the violent storm in the atmosphere is interfering,” Selok reported over the hangar speakers. “I can’t get a connection to the colony and the scans aren’t giving reliable results on energy and life signatures.”

“To be on the safe side, scan the surrounding space again. We don’t need any surprises,” Kysaek ordered. She preferred to be cautious rather than indulgent and stood ready with Wolfgang, Tavis and Thais at a bolt dropper. Vorrn didn’t want to come with her as he wanted to save himself for the grand finale. “If you give the green light, we’ll fly to the colony.”

“I’m curious to see how the survivors fared,” Wolfgang said. He tried to contain his excitement, but the prospect of seeing his fellow sufferers from the secret PGI facility again made that almost impossible. “I hope they took my advice and stayed there.”

“If you did it with your unrivalled charm, they certainly took the advice,” Kysaek nodded before putting on her helmet, which was part of her combat equipment.

“With good and reasonable people, I don’t even have to be charming.”

Kysaek climbed into the open side of the Bolt Dropper first. “So to anyone who doesn’t disagree with you. Isn’t life pretty monotonous if everyone just says yes?”

“Only when I know better do I expect something like that, because any discussions would then be a pointless waste of time,” argued Wolfgang on his high horse. “It’s a burden to be so intelligent. Otherwise, I’m extremely sociable and interested in fruitful conversations. The crux of the matter is that I find such conversations extreme rarely.”

“Tell me, aren’t you a weapons expert?”

“One of the best - why?”

“Have you ever thought about turning your ego into a weapon? Because then we’d have an easy time with everything.”

Wolfgang stroked his beard as Thais and Tavis climbed in behind him and the dropper’s door closed. “What purpose would such a weapon serve? In the end, no one would be able to handle the resulting power,” the scientist replied, becoming quieter and more concerned towards the end. “Or it would once again fall into the wrong hands.”

“Mh?”

“Nothing! You’d better focus your thoughts on the colony and be persuasive. Every extra hand will only do us good,” Wolfgang said as the transporter took off.

Kysaek was sure that she didn’t need to be overly persuasive. The formerly enslaved labourers had good reason to take action against PGI, she thought. Surely not everyone who could would come along, because there were hardly any fighters, and who would voluntarily face death after barely escaping it last time?

“It’ll be a while before the colonists have tamed this planet,” said Kuren from the pilot’s seat, assessing the shaking storm shaking the Bolt Dropper. “But it’s ideal training for pilots, although it doesn’t come close to cosmic superstorms.”

“Cosmic storms,” Dios reminisced. “I’ll never forget our first one. We got there before anyone else.”

“We were the only ones at the finish line. Unfortunately, the rest of the convoy didn’t make it.”

“If they had listened to me, they would have made it: modifying the shields and transferring fifty per cent of the reactor power from the drive to them. That was the difference.”

“And because I fly so well.”

“And a bit because you fly so well.”

“At least they’re both having fun,” commented Tavis, who was holding on tightly even in the secured seat.

Thais stood and held on to one of the hanging handholds. Her eyes scrutinised the Palanian and she lifted the corners of her mouth. “Are you all right?”

“Yes, why?”

“You won’t fall out and you’ve been on worse flights with us.”

“We’ve never flown in thunder and lightning,” Tavis replied, and there was a particularly loud crack outside that made him wince. “I’m not a fan of it.”

“While flying?”

“At all.”

“Hm,” Thais murmured thoughtfully. The occasional jerking of the transport didn’t make her sway an inch. “Caught in hopeless firefights, used as bait for xenophobes, confronted by creatures from nightmares and you fear thunder?”

“I merely have a healthy respect for the elemental forces of nature, the spirits,” said Tavis meekly. The thunderstorm didn’t make him seem as confident as usual. “I can outwit or fight criminals and monsters. All you can do in a storm is keep your head down until it passes.”

“Or defy it, and so far you haven’t given the impression of being a devout Palanian.”

“Just because I don’t openly show it to anyone doesn’t mean anything.”

Thais did not mock the Palanian faith per se, but this Palanian made her grin in disbelief. “Now I know why you like Themis so much. Everything is underground and goes much, much deeper.”

“With the fact that there are and can be no thunderstorms on Themis.”

“So you like the planet because it has no real atmosphere and can’t have thunder.”

“Themis has completely different advantages, but I still prefer to have a roof over me. When solar storms hit the atmospheric shields, the loud sound is identical to thunder,” Tavis shook his head. The Palanian didn’t flinch in fear, but every rumble of the sky made him stiffen even more, which was saying something considering the angular features of his species and the tougher exoskeleton. “I volunteer to guard the transport, by the way.”

“Guarding?” Kysaek repeated from the opposite seat. Apart from the Palanian’s obvious reason, she saw no need for it and understood even less the fear of the storm. “The colonists are friendly to us and we didn’t guard the transporter last time. Nobody will steal it from us. Besides, Dios and Kuren are staying with it.”

“Even though I appreciate their piloting skills, they’re not fighters. They need someone who knows how to wield a weapon.”

Kysaek couldn’t help but quip. “You really don’t want to go out, do you?”

“No, I really don’t.”

“You know, there are often storms on Cipi,” Kysaek remembered and wondered whether that could be a problem for the Palanian. “What if one starts in the middle of our attack on PGI?”

“I don’t know,” Tavis replied thoughtfully. Apparently he had never encountered this obstacle in his work. “Just hope we’re already inside somewhere by then? Can you see the unpredictability of nature now? But when it comes, I won’t make my problem your problem. Trust me.”

“I do, I do,” Kysaek nodded as the transporter stopped abruptly and her head was thrown slightly forwards. “What was that all about? Are we there yet?”

“No, but take a look at this,” Dios announced in an ominous voice. She transmitted the images from outside into the transport area, which were faintly washed out by the onset of rain: Damaged housing containers without roofs, craters from explosions in the ground and in the torn-up streets, burnt-out construction vehicles lying - sheer destruction. “What should we do?”

Kysaek took a moment to assess the situation. “Any sign of life?” she asked calmly. “Or whatever has been ravaging this place?”

“No, nothing. No signatures at all. There’s not even any white smoke. The destruction must have happened a few days ago. Shall we go on?”

“We’ll-”

“Of course we’re going there!” Wolfgang raised his voice. Not even God could have contradicted him. “The damage doesn’t have to mean anything! Maybe the people are hiding!”

“Yes, but we’re not rushing in headlong,” said Kysaek. An attempt on her part to put her hand on the scientist’s shoulder was rebuffed by the latter. “Dios, Kuren, try to get a message through to the Nebula and find us a protected landing position on the edge of the colony.”

“I’ll let the crew know,” Dios replied and the Bolt Dropper continued its flight. Between a rock formation, near an unfinished landing pad for small transporters like Bolt Dropper and with the basic structure of a hangar, the machine went down.

“All right,” Kysaek took a breath and picked up her assault rifle. “We don’t know what happened here, but we have to be careful - we stay together.”

The side door of the dropper slid open and immediately Wolfgang broke the order. “Do what you want!” he growled unrestrainedly and stormed carelessly out into the rain.

“Hey! Hey!” said Kysaek, trying in vain to hold the scientist down. Prismatics was still an option, but an exaggerated one and she didn’t use it. “Crap! Thais, we’re looking around! Tavis, you guard the ship!”

“As planned,” the Palanian nodded, but he wasn’t joking like before. He at least went out into the rain and secured the perimeter with his pistol while staying close to the dropper.

Kysaek and Thais tried to follow Wolfgang, who had run ahead, at a brisk pace. In contrast to the man, the women scurried from building to building, always with as much cover and visibility of the streets as possible.

“Hello?” Wolfgang shouted through the village. The usually know-it-all and bearish researcher had thrown all reason to the wind. “It’s me, Doctor Wolfgang Alexander Schaefer! We’re here to help!”

“If there are any unwanted visitors here, he’s just warning them,” sighed Thais, staying in the back.

“There’s nothing we can do about that now,” replied Kysaek. She had to take the situation as it was, although she noticed that there were no bodies yet. She wondered if PGI had taken back its prisoners and bagged the colony at the same time? “The battle scars and damage are clear, but where are the inhabitants?”

“Possibly abducted.”

“That’s what I thought. PGI could have taken them back.”

“I was thinking more along the lines of pirates and slave hunters. New colonies are their favourite targets if they know their location. There are other monsters in the dark of space, too.”

“No matter who was here, they seem to have taken everyone,” Kysaek surmised, or rather hoped. The alternative was worse. She continued to follow Wolfgang, but securing the area at the same time caused Kysaek and Thais to fall behind and eventually the scientist disappeared from their sight. Only his loud shouts gave them a clue as to where the worried man was.

“We can’t get a connection to the ship,” Kuren reported over the radio. “And even after repeated scans, we’re only getting your signatures.”

“Maybe the colonists have a shelter that can’t be found easily,” Kysaek replied as the rain thickened. “That’s standard for Alliance colonies. Maybe the people here were just as careful.”

“Let’s hope so. We’ll keep trying to reach the ship.”

“Understood, ground team out,” said Kysaek. The situation was bad enough, but the constant, bright light of lightning played tricks on her eyes when the shadows of facades or objects moved and the rumble of thunder covered everything. She could no longer even hear Wolfgang’s voice because of it. At least that’s what Kysaek thought at first. “Doctor Schaefer?!”

“Doctor?!” Thais called out. “Where are you?!”

Kysaek gave a strained sigh. “Dios, Kuren,” she made contact again. “Please scan the colony permanently and send the data to our interface, otherwise we won’t be able to find our scientist again.”

“A tether would be a passable option for the future,” Kuren suggested. “Degrading, but effective.”

“Not now,” Kysaek denied the wicked humour. “Send us the data.”

“We’re sending.”

“There he is,” Kysaek murmured. It was amazing to her how far ahead the scientist had got by now, but judging by the constant signals coming in, he had stopped moving and was in a large square surrounded by previously completed residential buildings.

Now they were just ruins, although they were still halfway standing. But one of them was not - Wolfgang. The man had long since been completely soaked and was on his knees, his back upright but arched forwards, as if he was about to fall backwards and his arms were frozen in the air. What had been intended by the colonists as a public square had now become a testament to ruthless cruelty.

“So many,” escaped Kysaek’s throat weakly and she lowered her weapon with one arm. There was no longer any reason to fight, for all that lay before her eyes were the charred remains of the colonists, piled in a heap in a bomb pit

“But by no means all of them,” Thais said darkly, and how right she was, unfortunately. The last time the group had visited, they had encountered many more inhabitants and the small pile there certainly only contained a fraction of the colony. “They weren’t pirates.”

“Too surgical,” Kysake agreed. Her biggest concern now, however, was the scientist, who wasn’t making a sound. “Doctor ... You don’t need to see this.” Her eyes lingered on his hunched back, but he didn’t answer.

Instead, Wolfgang’s head spasmed towards the weeping sky and what at first sounded like a croak was merely a prelude to a hysterical scream and tears of rage. “How could you let this happen? Hasn’t enough innocent blood been shed? Haven’t the hardships of those who escaped been great enough? Damn it all!”

Kysaek lowered her head. The scientist’s lament cut her to the heart and she wanted to comfort him, but she felt Thais’ gentle yet firm fingers on her shoulder, holding her back. Kysaek looked back and Thais shook her head leisurely.

The look on Talin’s face alone gave it away. She was probably of the opinion that Wolfgang needed to let it all out and not hear any words of regret. “There’s no point talking to him now - he’s deaf to everything.”

“Maybe,” nodded Kysaek, but she saw things differently to Talin and gently released herself from her well-intentioned but patronising grip. Weapons were unnecessary right now and she simply placed hers on the ground before approaching the angrily cursing scientist. She took off her helmet, allowing the rain to soak her hair in an instant, and crouched down beside him. “I’m sorry, we should have come back here much sooner to see what was wrong.”

“No,” Wolfgang groaned guiltily. His gaze dropped from the sky to the muddy ground in front of him and it was like a revelation. The complaint against God turned into self-hatred. “I shouldn’t have brought these people here in the first place! This was my foolish doing.”

“No, it’s the doing of the powers that think they can do just everything they wan. You, in turn, did everything they could to bring the people to safety.”

“And failed miserably! No! I failed more than miserably! I tried to use the colony as a hiding place and killed even more innocent people!”

“If we are all to blame. We should have kept the survivors with us, but we thought the colony was the better way.”

Wolfgang’s eyes narrowed. “Your group was just my bait,” he grated dismissively. “So don’t you dare come at me with your simple -one for all and all for one- mentality. My plan, my will, my failure.”

Kysaek held out her right hand. “Doctor, I know wha-” she stopped because the man was flicking mud against her cheek and mouth and she had to blow the dirt off her lips. “What do I know, eh?”

“Yes, what do you know,” Wolfgang breathed out angrily and got to his feet. “We’ll keep looking! I have to be absolutely sure we don’t miss anyone!”

Survivors? Unfortunately, Kysaek didn’t believe that and she could see that in Thai’s eyes. Nevertheless, she wanted to at least give the scientist this peace of mind. “We will,” she nodded. “I’ll let Dios and Kuren know. Tell them to get every available man from the ship and equipment for tracking.” She waited for a response from Wolfgang, but instead he just went off on his own again and Kysaek followed with Thais.

A short time later, the available crew members had gathered at the colony. Since Stemford had already taken a large part of the battle group to Cipi, there were just over a dozen of the crew who were taken from the engines and other stations. Dios, Kuren and Re’Lis also took part in the search. Even Vorrn was there after hearing what had happened in the colony, but the Hishek did not seem to be enjoying what had happened, but was extremely serious and obeyed every order without a word. Unfortunately, his obedience was in vain, just like the search itself. All the crew of the Nebula found were more piles of burnt bodies or charred corpses lying side by side, their execution shots still visible on the walls behind them. It was impossible to tell who was who and only just possible to assign the respective species. There was no trace of the perpetrators or any indication of who had done this - the absolute purge. Hours and hours passed and the search remained fruitless as the storm grew stronger. Everyone realised that there was no point.

Only Wolfgang refused to accept it. “You want to give up?”

“Unfortunately, there’s nothing left here,” replied Kysaek regretfully but objectively. “And the longer we stay here, the greater the danger that we might come across a rearguard from PGI.”

“Since when do you fear this corporation? Are we that far along yet?”

“Doctor,” said Kysaek, becoming brutally honest. “There’s no point staying here any more - everyone’s dead and the storm is getting worse. We’ll return to the ship now and fly to Cipi!”

“To hell with you and the rest!” replied Wolfgang, throwing up an arm. There was no sign of his usually scientifically calculated nature at the moment. Only the caring and difficult nature of the scientist was still there, drenched in anger and sadness, which made him completely unapproachable. “Get out of here! I’ll keep looking! Someone, somewhere, must still be here! And if not, I’ll at least pay my last respects and bury them!”

“I’m certainly not leaving you here!” Kysaek made it clear, while some of the crew stood around her and listened to the conversation. She could see in their faces how some of them were infected by the scientist’s emotional outburst. If Kysaek didn’t put an end to the whole thing soon, it could have meant uncertainty and falling morale so close to the attack on PGI. “Doctor, please. There are too many dead and it would take forever to bury them properly. There’s nothing more we can do for the people here, but if we expose PGI, we’ll give meaning to their deaths.”

“And what do the dead get out of it? They’ll still be dead!”

“And heaven?” Kysaek replied. All faith was alien to her, but she knew that. “They were good people. Don’t you think they’ll go to the promised land?”

The words promised land brought a barely definable expression to Wolfgang’s face, but he was definitely pissed off. “Your half-knowledge, your ignorance! You don’t know anything about what you always say! Stupid, stupid, stupidest!”

Suddenly, Re’Lis appeared behind the raging man and stabbed him in the neck with an injector. He immediately lost consciousness and Galig supported him as he fell over. “Somebody help me, please,” the doctor murmured caringly and two crew members came to her aid. “I’ll look after him. He’ll need some rest and time.”

Kysaek was relieved. Re’Lis’ intervention had defused the situation. At least for the time being. “Thank you, Doctor Askar,” she nodded and finally gave the order over her helmet radio. “Kysaek to all - finish your rounds. Anyone who doesn’t find anything, come to the landing site. We’re retreating.”

No reinforcements, lives once saved wiped out. These were poor starting conditions for what lay ahead and the journey to Cipi was a silence. Everyone attended to their work or took their time. This was especially true for Wolfgang, who woke up a day later in the infirmary, but contrary to fears that he would rage again, the scientist was more composed and just wanted to go to the lab, where he began to build something. Nobody questioned this and let him do it, even though the bridge kept an eye on the man via the surveillance images. Not far from Cipi, the Nebula took up position in empty space, far from any space stations or planetary security patrols, although thanks to its modern technology the ship didn’t have to worry about being detected by conventional sensors anyway. The crew readied the Bolt Dropper, loaded it with materials and those who were destined for battle flew the engines towards the planet. Considering what the next task was, the route to Cipi was extremely unspectacular, as if it were an everyday occurrence, and yet the Bolt Droppers flew to the less populated side of the world. However, the transporters were just a few of many, as these machines bore no colours or identification and there were many others that used the droppers on Cipi. They simply blended into the masses and took normal routes to the capital of Auranis, where there was also heavy rain at the moment, but it wasn’t a storm.

The base chosen by Stemford’s team was located in one of the city’s unsafe industrial districts, below a huge foundry. The cool rain made the heated steel in the area steam mightily, resulting in a light blanket of fog that shrouded the base. It was a landing bay for container ships, part of a whole network of such self-contained bays, all connected to an underground freight depot of maglev trains. Stemford had assured us in a preliminary report, however, that the overflow outside the bay was not a problem. Everyone was doing their own thing here and no one was sticking their nose into each other’s business, with the odd currency going into the pockets of the right foremen, and the protection gangs had clearly been put in their place by Stemford’s team. Nobody knew who exactly was in this bay and who had joined them. All that mattered was that they knew how to defend themselves. “Nice to see you all safe and sound,” Stemford greeted the arrivals with a Consulate salute. He had already been informed about Inkanthatana Four.

“Likewise,” Kysaek nodded to the lieutenant. While her companions began to unload the transporters and spread out around the base, she enquired about the current status. “I see everything’s all right here? Have there been any changes?”

“Not many. We’re still bringing in equipment, scouting and probing.”

Kysaek tried not to be too downcast. “Good work, Bruce. We’ll settle in for now. Keep doing whatever you were doing before.”

“Thank you ma’am! Will do ma’am!” the soldier saluted again and stepped away.

Kysaek let her gaze wander carefully, wiping discreet sweat from her forehead with one hand. The oppressive heat of the foundry was present and, coupled with the cool rainy air from outside, it was unpleasantly humid. Despite this, she could see that Stemford’s squad was still showing plenty of enthusiasm. There was no sign of diminished morale, in contrast to the rusty-looking new arrivals. Perhaps it wasn’t so much the shock of the colony or the disgusting temperature. Perhaps the rearguard simply needed something to do after the quieter days. Kysaek couldn’t allow herself to rest, however, because she wanted to look at the information gathered by the vanguard. She took her seal unit to her room, a blind alley with an old-fashioned cot, and saw a data log laid out ready for her. She hadn’t had most of the information sent to her in advance, because despite the encryption and code names, she didn’t want to run the risk of the long-distance message exchange being intercepted and the endeavour being compromised. Kysaek read in and was amazed at the amount of work Stemford’s group had accomplished in just under a standard week.

Just over an hour later, Galaen appeared in the room. “May I come in?”

“Do you have ice with you?” Kysaek asked, looking up and with sweat glistening on her cheeks. “Entry with ice only.”

“...Ice?” Galaen replied, confused. “No, I don’t have that. Is that really necessary?”

“Sorry, that was a bad joke,” sighed Kysaek and put the data log aside. “But can you at least tell me how you can stand this air?”

“Is there anything to endure?” asked Galaen, until she realised she was sweating. “I feel fine, but I’m not a mammal either. Ask me again with fifty, sixty degrees more and higher humidity.”

“Lucky you. What can I do for you?”

“I wanted to enquire about the information I’ve gathered,” said Galaen, standing up straight. “And whether you are satisfied with the Vanguard’s performance, which certainly depends on my first concern.”

“There’s definitely a lot to read,” Kysaek replied casually. She leaned back against the wall behind the cot and handed the Palanian the data log. “I’m not all the way through yet, but according to the Vanguard, PGI has apparently massively beefed up its security after the second terrorist attack. Higher walls, a revised checkpoint at the gate, more automatic guns and guards. Stemford strongly advises against a frontal assault.”

“Well even with fewer defences and reinforcements, a frontal assault would not be recommended,” Galaen noted as she grabbed the data log and skimmed it in a few footsteps. “Apart from the unnecessary waste of lives, it would be inefficient. We want to gather information, not carry out a conquest. In and out.”

While the data log was out of her hands, Kysaek allowed herself a break and lit a cigarette. Her thoughts, driven by everything that had happened to her and others, went further than the actual task at hand. “The information thing may be true, but I also see the attack as a long overdue punishment for PGI. We need to do as much damage as possible.”

“Excuse me, but I don’t see it that way,” Galaen formally objected, looking her seated counterpart in the eye. “Your anger is justified, but what would be the point of this rage-fuelled destruction?”

“Please, who’s talking about destroying everything? I’m just saying we should send as many PGI bastards to their graves as possible.”

“That’s neither right nor fair,” said Galaen. The Palanian put down the data log for good, took a stand and stood her ground rigorously, even shedding her usual stiff demeanour and speaking with the fervour of a passionate soldier who held life sacred. “PGI has done bad things, or rather allowed bad things to be done, but I hardly think the men and women from headquarters were involved. There is still a face under every helmet and not all of them are pure evil or cruel butchers. There is no honour in slaughtering all enemies in blind rage.”

“Maybe, but the soldiers, guards and everyone there could choose not to work for PGI anymore. But they don’t, so they’ve chosen their path.”

“Perhaps our attack would be a rallying cry for many,” Galaen mused. Her eyes literally focussed on Kysaek and she took a step closer. “Like an attack was once a call to leave for you.”

“Don’t give me that!” Kysaek retorted before leaning forward. She thought of all that PGI had done in pursuit of her and one thing was clear to her. “Maybe I would have stayed with PGI back then, but as soon as it came to murdering innocents or shipping highly illegal goods, I would have been out!”

“Galaen wasn’t fazed by this. “Who says that would have been required? Maybe you’d be sitting in a comfortable, well-paid guard post right outside Skarg’s office today? Your career took off after the first attack, didn’t it?”

“Of course I’d be sitting there,” Kysake rolled his eyes. “No. If I’d heard about things like Trayd-”

“Would you have? You once served in the military, like me. What does the common soldier know, or the lowly officer, if he wasn’t there, and if he was, he may have acted out of a sense of duty. Wasn’t Trayden perhaps a nest of insurgents for PGI’s troops, with a known terrorist in there as well? Or do I have to start from Ark, the outlaw mercenary hoard that PGI brings order to? Inkanthatana ... well, I can’t think of anything. Sure they were Skarg’s loyal troops, but the point is - don’t see the great masses as cruel or criminals whose vision is being manipulated. We have to fight them and we have to kill, but we don’t have to be like Skarg.”

“Tell that to Vorrn, he’ll give you a different lecture,” Kysaek grumbled in annoyance, puffing more than actually smoking. Was this the fate of a leader? In the military, neither she nor her comrades-in-arms had questioned their officers constantly or at all, but instead stood by them and followed their orders. Trust was necessary and adherence to the hierarchy, otherwise there would have been a lot of deaths very quickly. So did that mean that her people didn’t trust her because everyone was constantly approaching her with their opinions and sharing their views or questioning Kysaek? Or were they just doing their best to help her and protect her from harm? “Or tell that to the rest. After Inkanthatana, I’m sure I’m not the only one with anger in my belly.”

“Vorrn follows you, like everyone else. It’s up to you to rein them all in.”

“Rein them in,” Kysaek murmured, tapping her temple thoughtfully. Now Galaen was speaking against her, but what had happened before? “I admit I hadn’t considered it, but we brought death and destruction upon Arche just to create a distraction. To save Thais and Tavis, we were prepared to sacrifice a ship full of prisoners. So much destruction - why did you remain silent? Why are you talking about reining in now?”

Galaen lowered her gaze and once again the angular Palanian expression made it difficult to interpret her emotions, but it wasn’t shame. She spoke rationally. “I wasn’t happy with it, but what my feelings say is only secondary in the service and in the short time we had, those were our best options.”

“And now? Now your feelings have the upper hand?”

“No, my responsibility as a soldier and in this case it coincides with my moral judgement,” said Galaen, raising her chin confidently. “And that tells me that your desire for revenge could cost us unnecessary lives, on both sides, and perhaps even cause our mission to fail. I don’t give orders, you do and I’ll follow, but I won’t remain silent if I think we’re in danger and could lose our way.”

“You don’t give orders? I don’t think so,” Kysaek remarked as she stubbed out her half-smoked cigarette on the steel wall. When she heard Galaen talk like that, it seemed very familiar: Honour, responsibility, protecting lives - she hadn’t felt so reminded of the military since she’d left the Alliance. Perhaps this was a sign of an overdue decision, and even if Kysaek’s stomach was churning because of the Palanian, she felt it was the right thing to do. “You are now my XO, as they say in the Alliance. My Executive Officer or simply my deputy ... if that’s what you want to be.”

“On my honour!” Galaen saluted in consular fashion. She accepted the offer, regardless of time and place, and her previous criticism did nothing to change her respectful behaviour. “I will justify your trust.”

“And I will consider your advice. I don’t want to be like Peeks, believe me. But I also want revenge. Let’s hope we hit those who deserve it the most.”

Galaen put her left hand over her mouth, thinking, and seconds later, she sank to her right knee so that she was at eye level with her leader. Her back injury was apparently no longer causing her any problems. “If Skarg is there and we can catch him with the data, it’ll be the worst of them all.”

Kysaek’s lips formed a cheerful smile. “Are you suggesting an extension of the mission?”

“Well, there are always primary and secondary targets,” Galaen said with connection. Two soldiers among themselves. “Why change this tradition?”

“Yes, traditions should be honoured,” Kysaek nodded in full agreement and the burgeoning notion that this kind of revenge was the best of all. “That’s how we do it when he’s there.”

“Excellent,” Galaen replied, straightening up again.

Kysaek still saw no signs of pain, but she wanted to be sure. “You know, if it hasn’t healed completely, everyone would understand.”

“I feel ready and Doctor Askar shares that opinion,” Galaen said, taking a stance. “We’ve only been travelling for a few weeks, but it feels like an eternity to me. It’s time I did my bit on the field and not just in the organisation off it.”

“Then let’s get to work,” Kysaek said as he stood up and had the data log handed back to him. “Let’s find our way into the heart of Peeks.”

“Yes ma’am!” saluted Galaen.

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