Ex Nihilo - Abyssal Prophecy

Chapter 25

Captain Gabriel looked around the bridge as he entered. His children looked beyond exhausted. Since the hull breach, they had kept the ship running without complaint or any rest. Kain turned to salute his father.

            “Captain on deck,” he declared.

            “At ease, my children,” Gabriel ordered. He turned to motion to the two guards stationed at the door to take Joshua and Celeris’s stations. “Get some rest, all of you, and that is an order. Especially you, Kain. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. I am calling a general assembly of the lords and ladies to present Captain Void’s plan.”

He handed his son a datapad. “Everything you need to know is in there. You can review it in the morning.”

            Taking the datapad, he turned to leave the bridge with his siblings.

Work crews were hard at work trying to repair the bridge door with the help of a mining loader.

            “Oh, God, I can’t wait to hit the pillow,” Joshua moaned as he and his siblings moved around the workers.

            “At least you don’t got all these.” Celeris held up her bandaged hands. “I’ve got to go down to Medical to get proper treatment. Burns f*****g hurt.”

            There was too much going on for Kain to relax, but his siblings were unaware of the political intrigue aboardthe Alcatraz. It was for the best. His siblings didn’t need to worry about anything more, and his father would expect him to keep the operation secret.  He waved goodbye to his siblings before turning to enter his officer quarters next to the bridge. Dust had settled on the top of his desk, showing how long it had been since he had done any work. With a thought, he sealed his room to ensure he wasn’t disturbed. He sat down and brushed his desk off with his arm.

            From the desk drawer, he withdrew his communication scrambler, set it on the desk, and activated it. He reached out over the neural network to his spies, ordering them to report in, and then he leaned back in his chair. He knew it would take a few minutes for his agents to find a secure location to report from.  He felt exhaustion weighing on his eyelids. In the drawer was a syringe with the potent chemical cocktail designed to keep him alert. He debated using it, but before he could decide, he felt a buzz in his neural implant.

            “This is Operative Fulcrum reporting in,” the distorted voice stated over the neural connection. “I have managed to gather some important information. I am uploading it now.”

Data poured into Kain’s mind from the Lower Wards. He saw images of the Original Sins, with Lady Clotho entering the armoury and Nemesis right behind her. The video showed that whatever the two discussed took several minutes. He watched his sister stride out naked, and then a few moments later, Lady Clotho exited. He knew this wasn’t a coincidence.

Moving to the next file, he watched his operative recording the alien crew talking with Matthew. The audio was sharp and he could make out every word. Nothing seemed unusual about the discussion, but then he saw Captain Void approaching to talk to Matthew alone. Unfortunately, the audio was missing. Transferring the file to his computer, he activated a sound analyzing program. It would take some time, but it might reveal what they were saying.

“My preliminary intelligence-gathering operation has turned up some interesting rumours. Lady Nemesis and Lady Clotho have set in motion some sort of plan. My contacts inform me that they did some sort of ritual involving Matthew. I haven’t been able to get any direct confirmation on the nature of the ritual, but it appears to be pagan in origin. The Lower Wards people call it a reading of one’s destiny. I will report in again tomorrow, and by then, I should have the opportunity to probe deeper. Fulcrum out.”

Kain slammed his fist down on the table. What was Nemesis thinking, involving Matthew? She knew their father was looking for any excuse to dispose of him. This entire recording would be damning in his father’s eyes and give him the justification he needed for a trial and execution. Kain could do nothing, and confronting Nemesis would only tip his hand.

“Operative Insidious reporting in,” another distorted voice echoed over the neural link. “You’re not going to like what I have to report. Uploading data to you now.”

Video footage of Lord Whelsey approaching Lord Drumpf’s tower played in Kain’s mind. He pondered why Lord Whelsey would conduct a secret meeting with Lord Drumpf so late. He watched and listened to the audio. The fact that Lord Whelsey insisted on no communication was troubling, but not definitive proof of treachery. He knew his father would want damning evidence before moving against these two powerful allies.

“Is there any way you could get a listening device installed in Lord Drumpf’s quarters? We know he won’t leave his tower unless he is forced to,” Kain requested.

“Negative. Lord Drumpf has his office swept daily. Any listening device would be detected, but it is a well-known rumour that everything that happens is already recorded. Lord Drumpf keeps these recordings in his chamber. I have managed to get a job on the cleaning crew. It’ll take me a few days to work my way to the lord’s personal servant, but I may be able to steal the actual recording.  I’ll be in touch as soon as I have the recording. Insidious out.”

Kain pulled his hair in frustration. He had hoped that Lord Whelsey and Lord Drumpf were loyal to his father, but this new evidence cast doubts. With the echoes of treachery in the corridors of the Alcatraz, there was no margin for error. He knew it was imperative to discern the truth, and with these two lords, the truth was never easy to learn. He had his suspicions that whatever the plans were, it would involve the Lower Wards.

With Matthew and Nemesis caught up in this situation, Kain felt his heart being torn. Loyalty to his father wasn’t expected; it was demanded. But, he didn’t want to see anything bad befall his siblings. Nemesis and Matthew had both experienced hardship at their father’s hands and needed no more pain in their lives. He tried to connect the pieces of the puzzle, but he couldn’t see the whole picture.

He spotted the bottle of whiskey his father had given him as a gift in the drawer. He pulled the bottle and a glass from the drawer and filled it. Taking a sip, he tried to calm his anxiety.

“Operative Elusive reporting in.  I have managed to infiltrate the Core Ward’s. Lord Hephaestus is not involved in anything other than work, as predicted, and he and the rock alien are too busy working to do anything else. It appears that Lady Freya is not involved in anything either, however, there is cause for concern. Lady Marimba met with Commander Lance and gave him a piece of tech. I have not yet been able to confirm what the nature of the tech is. Her people are loyal and talk far less than one would expect from dramatists.”

“What about Lord Galen?” Kain asked.

“He is secretive, as always, which should come as no surprise, but I did find out something unusual. There was a scrambled transmission from his private lab earlier today. I have yet to be able to break the encryption, but I was able to track where the communication ended at. It appeared to be Lord Drumpf’s tower. I can’t confirm at the moment, but it appears to have ended in the penthouse office.”

“I need you to infiltrate Lady Marimba’s clan Elusive. I will assign another agent to Lord Galen, and, just to be sure, Lady Freya. We can’t afford to be caught with our pants down,” Kain replied.

“Understood. Elusive out.”

With a sip of the drink, Kain tried to still his racing thoughts. He could feel his heartbeat rising, and his hand holding the glass trembled. In one motion, he stood up and threw his glass at the wall, causing it to shatter into tiny pieces. Liquid ran down the wall and pooled on the floor.

Every muscle in his body ached. He peeled his clothes off slowly and with moans of discomfort. Standing there nude in front of his mirror, he almost didn’t recognize his own face. Lines of worry marked his forehead, his eyes were puffy from exhaustion, and he struggled to stand upright. He turned from the mirror and pulled the sheets back on his bed to climb in. With a thought, he turned out the lights in his room and stared up through the darkness.

All he wanted was to sleep, but his heart pounded in his chest. Matthew was naïve in many ways, and he wouldn’t see how people were using him against their father.   Kain swore to himself that he would do whatever it took to protect his little brother--even if that meant betraying his father.