"Pilot! Pilot, where is he?"
Chiana's sudden rush onto the command tier startled Zhaan. She straightened up from the control board she was working over and regarded the younger woman.
"Where is who, Chiana?" the curious Delvian asked.
Chiana spun toward her as if she hadn't realized the Pa'u was present in the Leviathan's command center.
"Berret, he's gone," she answered. She turned back to look at the still inactive clamshell. "Pilot!" she called again urgently. The holo-comm flickered to life and Moya's helmsman appeared.
"I'm sorry, Chiana. I was busy monitoring some of Moya's other systems. How can I help you?" he asked.
"Where's Berret? Where did he go?" the half-panicked Nebari asked again. Zhaan looked on in confusion, still wondering where the ex-assassin could possibly be. The Leviathan was in deep space between systems. Where else could Chiana's friend and her crewmate be but somewhere aboard Moya?
"Berret left Moya in the Wraith several arns ago," Pilot reported. The being looked a little apologetic as he added, "I assumed you and he had another disagreement and he left in his ship to be alone for awhile."
Zhaan looked back at Chiana for confirmation just as the girl turned to her and shook her head.
"No. No, we didn't have an argument," Chiana denied. "He's been secretive lately," she said as she rubbed a spot on the back of her neck. "I think he knocked me out with something. When I woke back up he was gone and he's taken all his things with him. Zhaan... he took everything!"
"You must be mistaken, Chiana. Where would he go out here?" Zhaan said. Chiana vigorously shook her head and grabbed onto the Delvian's arm.
"I'm sure of it, his room is empty. His clothes, his weapons... all gone. Except for these."
Chiana held out a pouch that clinked with the sound of metal credit chips. Tied around Chiana's wrist was a braided bracelet that had the silver Delvian mediation talisman Zhaan had given Berret woven into it. It was the first possession the ex-assassin had that hadn't come with him or that was found in the Wraith when it arrived. Zhaan knew that after she given it to him that the Shrike made a habit of always carrying it with him as sort of a good luck token.
"I found the money on the bed beside me and the bracelet on my arm when I woke up. Zhaan, this is almost all of Berret's credits. He didn't think I knew where he hid them, but I'm sure this is just about all of it."
Zhaan began to get a cold feeling in the pit of what would have passed for her stomach were she human.
"He took all his weapons but almost none of his credits?" she repeated.
Chiana nodded. "Yeah, I know. Wherever he's going he doesn't think he's gonna need money as much as weapons. That's what's bothering me." She turned to the still watching Pilot. "Pilot, why didn't you tell someone?"
Zhaan answered her question before Pilot could. "You know we are all free to come and go aboard Moya at anytime, Chiana. It is not Pilot's fault."
"Moya and I are sorry, Chiana," put in the hologram. "Had we suspected something that Berret was going off to someplace dangerous we would have alerted the rest of the crew. We have learned from past experience that there are times when it would be best if we did interfere with our passengers business for their own safety."
Zhaan gave the being on the clamshell a tight smile. "Thank you, Pilot. It is still not your fault, as you had no reason to believe that anything was amiss with Berret. If you can... does Moya know which way the Wraith went when it left the ship?"
"I believe we should be able to plot a imprecise course path based on the Wraith's last know trajectory. I'm sorry that we can not be more exact than that, Zhaan," said Pilot.
"That will be good enough for a start, Pilot. Thank you," replied the Delvian.
A few microts later Pilot announced, "We have it. Placing the Wraith last know course trajectory on the main viewer now."
Moya's main screen changed to reveal a starchart with a pulsing blue line to indicate the flight of Berret's ship.
"That just goes off into nowhere," said Chiana.
"I know, child," muttered Zhaan as she studied the chart. "Pilot? Is this all the information Moya was able to collect?"
"I'm afraid it is, Zhaan. After that Berret was outside of Moya's sensor range... and you know the Wraith is designed to be difficult to track."
The Priestess continued to mutter to herself for a microt. "Pilot, using Moya's navigation data-base, increase the starchart view scale by a factor of two." The chart blurred for a split microt and then refocused to show a larger section of that space. "Again please, Pilot," she asked once more. The view on the screen shifted. "Again, if you will."
Zhaan studied the new view and her attention fell on a marked sector at the very edge of the chart. "Pilot, magnify that marked sector of space," she asked him.
The screen flickered. Chiana and Zhaan both sharply inhaled as they read the label.
"Oh no!" Chiana muttered in denial.
"Pilot!" Zhaan shouted at almost the same time, "Call the others!"
"He's heading where?" asked John.
"To the Imperium... into Scarren space," replied Zhaan.
"You're sure?" Crichton asked again in disbelieve.
"He's heading straight for it," confirmed D'argo as he rose from rechecking the data on the command panel.
"Why would he do that?" asked Aeryn.
"To betray us to his masters, that's why," put in Rygel. "I knew we couldn't trust him."
"No."
Chiana's tiny moan was so heartfelt that it cut over the other crewmate's discussion. Andar was the closest to her and he turned to ask, "Why do you think he's gone, Chiana?"
The Nebari turned heavy eyes on her companions; even Rygel's eyebrows drooped at the sad sight of their friend.
"Arckatius... he has gone to kill Arckatius," she finally told them. The girl looked as if all life had drained from her. "It can be the only reason."
"Well, that's a good thing, right?" asked Sean. "This Arckatius dude is the bad guy if I remember right."
"Of course he's the bad guy, you stupid bag of useless pink skin!" Rygel shot in. "Do you know what he's done! The Black Syndicate is the most powerful underworld organization in both the Charted and Uncharted Territories. They know he was traveling with us. When he fails the rest of us will be marked for death!"
"Let them come," sneered D'argo while he fingered the blade of his Qualta sword.
Rygel swung his thronesled over to face the big warrior. "You're just as stupid as Crichton. Both Crichtons! We are defenseless with only two Prowlers and a handful of Hell-Storm and Nova missiles. The Syndicates resources are so vast they can afford to throw away men and equipment just to get revenge. If I still had my armed forces we would have nothing to fear, but as it is now..." The Hynerian let his comment trail off as he shivered thinking about the way that the Syndicate might chose to kill them.
"Maybe he won't fail," Andar offered up.
Malika shook her head and hugged both of her slim arms closer to herself as if she'd received a sudden chill. "This Arckatius will have an army of Shrikes surrounding him," she said. "He'll never make it." The Delvian girl frowned deeply and lowered her head to stare idly at the deck. "Berret's done some frelled up things before, but this..."
Chiana hugged herself in a copy of Malika. "Shenna said he might do something like this if he got the chance," the Nebari murmured out loud to the group.
Malika muttered a low curse and then looked up and found Zhaan's eyes.
"We should have seen this coming!"
The others might not exactly understand the younger Delvian's comment but Zhaan understood it perfectly. They had been in the ex-assassin's mind and had witnessed the torment there. They had healed him the best they were able at the time. They... she, should have known.
Aeryn stood up from her seat and walked around the control pedestal.
"There will be time for incriminations later. Right now with the Wraith gone, we've lost a third of our tactical firepower to protect Moya. We need to figure out how much danger we're in and how much time we have left to either fix the situation or escape," she told the rest of the group.
"You don't get it, do you?" snapped Rygel. "The Syndicate will think we helped him plot his revenge. After they kill him, they'll be coming for us. There's not going to be any escape."
"Chill, Butt-munchkin!" put in Sean. The younger human casually drew one of his weapons and check to be sure it was loaded before sliding it back into its holster. "We've been in tougher spots and managed to pull our bacon outta the fire."
"Frelling idiot," muttered the Hynerian under his breath as Aeryn broke back into the discussion.
"Enough," she said. "What's done is done. We have to start planning now." She glanced down to regard Rygel. "Unless that is, Rygel... you prefer to just give up now and just sit and wait for the assassins to show up to kill you?"
The Dominar frowned and shook his head in the negative.
"I didn't think so," the ex-Peacekeeper said. "Now Chiana, tell us exactly what happened before Berret left the ship. Maybe you'll remember something that might come in useful."
The Nebari girl rubbed at the back of her neck once again as she thought over the question.
"Its all still a little fuzzy," she began. "I remember we were in the gym for a while. Like I said, he'd been acting real secretive lately..."
Berret whirled the oar-shaped bladed weapon around his head in a blur. The wide blade cut the air with a continuous whistling hiss that only halted when the ex-assassin suddenly stopped the weapon or changed its direction to alter the angle of his attack on his imaginary opponents. Chiana involuntarily shivered from her place off the training floor as she watched her friend practice. She remembered using the exact same staff weapon to attack Crichton when she was first brought aboard Moya by Salis and Durka. Luckily, John was able to disarm her before she could serious maim or kill him. If she'd had the skill Berret was now displaying with the long arm, John never would have had the chance to offer a truce and give her a home. She hugged her arms tighter around her knees as she thanked the Goddess that she lacked the skill that day... otherwise her life would have turned out very different indeed.
On the floor, Berret twirled the blade around in a figure eight in front of him and then suddenly whipped it around low behind him. Chiana swallowed as she realized that if it had been a real fight, anyone who was trying to sneak up behind the Shrike would have had their legs cut off somewhere below the knees. The whole time he practiced, his face remained emotionless, which she found somewhat disturbing. While the others trained, herself included, they either had a look of intense concentration or they slipped into the role of fighting their imagined attackers... in which case, they'd have a look fury or anger as if they really where in the middle of combat. This blank look of Berret's bothered her, as she believed violence should have its roots in the anger or fury of self-protection, not in this calm efficient manner. It made her friend look too much like a soulless killing machine instead of a person.
A few microts later, the Shrike brought the weapon down along his side in a move that Chiana recognized meant that he was ending the routine. Berret stepped outside the marked off training area toward her and went to replace the staff in it's wall rack. Chiana rose to her feet as he neared her.
"Its about time," she quipped impishly. "I was beginning to think you like that pole more than my company."
Berret give her a tight smile as he put the weapon up. "No," he said simply.
Chiana's own smile fell slightly. She'd been hoping that he would have responded better to her playful chatter. Lately he'd been more withdrawn then usual and she was doing her best to break him out of his mope.
"Well, that's good," she put in, "because if I have to play another hand of 'Busuko Trump' with Rygel I'm gonna scream my shelling head off."
Berret glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "Has he beaten you much?" he asked.
The Nebari's spirit lifted for a moment, this was as much interest that Berret had shown about anything going on around him aboard ship in over two weeken. It seemed he mostly spend his spare time working out in the gym lately. "Well... actually I've won quite a few credits off the little Toad," she added chipperly. "But he's driving me crazy trying to win them back. You know how he is about anyone being better at a gambling game then he is."
"Ah," said Berret absently as they headed out into the corridor. "That's nice."
Chiana's heart sank as she saw that she was losing him again to whatever was preoccupying him.
They walked back to his quarters and Chiana followed him inside. To her surprise, he began to pull his workout clothes off as he headed to his shower unit. She went right in with him wondering if he'd bother to stop her from following further. He didn't, so she hopped up to sit on the basin counter and idly continued to chat with him through the stall curtain. Occasionally, the man rewarded her with a generic reply to a random comment. She thought about doing something totally outrageous, like turning the hot water supply off or stripping down and joining him in the stall... anything to get a reaction from the man. Before she could act on any of her plans to capture Berret's attention, the water shut off and he stepped out of the unit. Chiana absently threw him a towel.
"So, are you going to join us at dinner tonight?" she asked as he dried himself off. "I have a box of Sultanian chocolates left. I was thinking later tonight I can drop by and we can spend some time talking," she offered.
Berret wrapped the towel around his waist and looked up and gave her the same half-empty smile he'd had of late.
"I'm sorry, Pixie," he apologized. "I have some work I want to finish on the Wraith tonight."
"I thought Aeryn said it was flight ready?" she asked.
"It is. This is something extra I'm working on."
Chiana frowned deeply. "Can't it wait? We're in the middle of nowhere and haven't seen another ship since last planet fall." She moved in closer to him. "Look... I know we were fighting more than usual for a while, but we haven't lately. I miss you and I just want to spend some time together like we use to. You're always too busy lately."
Berret actually seemed like his old self for a few microns. "No. No, its nothing about our disagreements. I just have this project and I guess I'm taking a little after Andar with it by not stopping for anything until it's done. I'm sorry, I never meant for you to think I was ignoring you for any reason."
"So you'll take tonight off and we'll 'hang' like Crichton says?" she asked.
Berret looked sheepish and then shook his head. "I'm sorry but not tonight. I'm almost done. Tomorrow night we can talk and 'hang' if you want."
Chiana cocked her head to one side. "You promise?"
She realized than in an instant she saw a gauntlet of emotions play across the Shrike's face, among them she was sure she saw a look of intense sadness. In a microt they were all covered over again by Berret's calm facade.
"Yes... I promise," he said after a moment's hesitation. She was pleasantly surprised when he reached up with one hand to gently caress her cheek. He lowered his hand a microt later and the fake smile again graced his features.
"Okay, I'll hold you to it," Chiana told him as she left his quarters.
Outside in the corridor she couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that Berret had just lied to her.
She hadn't seen the Shrike for the rest of the day and he didn't appear at the evening meal with the rest of the crew. Chiana considered that Berret hadn't missed much seeing it was Rygel's turn to cook and he'd prepared the usual overabundance of Hynerian delicacies and very little in the way that was appealing to the non-Hynerian members of the crew. Most made due with a few warmed up leftovers and food cubes.
After dinner on a hunch, Chiana wandered by Berret's quarters only to find the converted cell's door closed and the heavy drapes drawn. Something heavy fell inside the room and something about the noise put Chiana's instincts on alert. She silently tiptoed to the door and listened, the sounds of more heavy objects being moved about came to her. Breaking ship's protocol, she triggered the door without announcing herself and asking permission to enter. She brushed aside the drapes and entered the room to find Berret dressed in his armor and packing several bags.
"What's going on? What are you doing?" she asked abruptly.
Berret spun to face her, obviously not having heard the door open through the heavy drapes covering it.
"Chiana," he said half guiltily. He stood and looked at her, offering no further explanation.
She moved further into the room and looking around saw he'd packed up all his belongings.
"What is this?" she asked again in bewilderment. "Are you jumping ship? Why?"
"This is something you wouldn't understand," he finally said as he picked several items up and dropped them into a bag. Chiana tilted her head hard to one side and half-thrusted her chin out in the way she had when she was about to confront somebody over something they were doing.
"Well, why don't you just try explaining it to me so I can understand then?" she demanded.
Berret glanced down at her, obviously wrestling with some inner demon.
"I can't," he said, "There's not enough time to explain it all, love."
"Well, you better damn sure make the..." she started as the endearment registored, "Wait... what did you just say to me?"
Berret's eyes soften as he stepped closer to her. He again reached up to caress her cheek. His fingertips were warm but the ballistic cloth and leather of his half-gloves were cool as they touched her skin. He seem to be studying her face for a few microts and then his hand gently moved from her cheek to rest at the back of her neck.
"I said, there's not enough time left to explain," he said again in a low voice.
Before she could ask another question there was a barely audible click and Chiana felt a sting at the back of her neck where his hand rested.
Her eyes flew open in the shock of betrayal and she found that she'd suddenly lost the ability to speak. Her limbs quickly went numb and she felt Berret pick her up so she wouldn't fall. He brought her over to the bed and tenderly laid her out on it. He sat down beside her and stoked her hands as her body began to feel heavier and her eyes started to close of their own violation. The last thing she could recall after that was Berret whispering he was sorry.
"...And then I woke up with the bracelet and charm Zhaan gave him tied around my wrist and the credit bag besides my head," Chiana finished telling her story.
John stood back and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "It would figure he was on a time schedule. He timed his departure for when Moya was going to be at her closest to Scarren occupied space."
Aeryn nodded her head in agreement.
"But why now?" the ex-Peacekeeper asked. "What's so special about choosing now to go of all times? We've been through this sector a number of times in the past, what's different about this time?"
"Uh-oh," mutter Sean. The man looked as if Aeryn's question had just flicked a switch somewhere inside his head.
"What is it, Sean?" asked Andar, the human's reaction peaking his interest.
"Maybe the question shouldn't be 'what's different about this time around' but rather, what did he learn this time around," said the younger Crichton.
"What are you getting at, bro?" asked the elder Crichton.
"Yes," half-growled D'argo, "And speak plainly and not in more riddles."
Sean rolled his eyes at the huge warrior but said nothing else, having long ago gotten use to the Luxan's gruff manner and short patience. "You guys remember, the commerce planet two weekens ago?"
The rest of the crew nodded. "Remember that pickpocket who tried to snatch Rygel's package of marjols thinking it was his credit bag?"
"I do," grumbled the Hynerian. "Why you didn't kill that miserable fralp on the spot is beyond me."
"Because he would have been doing the rest of us a favorite, your Rectalness, if he had stolen those disgusting snails from you," put in D'argo. "Go on, Sean," he said, turning back to the human.
"You remember how freaked out he got when he saw Berret in his Shrike armor? He started begging not to be eradicated."
"Yeah, he was gibbering so much I stopped listening to what he was saying," John said.
"Same here," replied Andar. "But Berret did not. In fact he spoke with the fellow for quite sometime if I recall correctly."
"I remember," added Malika. "I heard Berret asking a lot of questions about the Scarren Syndicate Houses. I just assumed he was collecting information that might be useful to us sometime in the future to avoid them."
Aeryn frowned. "He was collecting information all right," she drawled, "But not so we could avoid them."
"Yeah, it was right after that, that he started to get moody," Chiana thought out loud.
"You mean you can tell when he's not moody?" quipped Sean. Zhaan gave him a pained look. "Sorry," he apologized right away. "I was just trying to lighten the mood with some humor... as always."
"Huh... let us know when you're going to start," shot in Rygel brusquely.
Sean looked as if he was getting ready to retaliate against the Dominar when Aeryn cut him off.
"Enough prattling, children!" she said. "The question right now is... what are we going to do. We need to plan."
"What plan? He's as good as dead," Rygel said. "One man against a Scarren Black Syndicate House... its madness. We have to get out of here and do it right now!"
"I thought you said there was nowhere to hide if they wanted us dead," asked the Luxan.
"Yes," answered Rygel. "But at least lets make them frelling work for it."
Chiana looked from one crewmember to another. "What about Berret? We can't just leave him out there. We have to go find him."
Malika slammed her fist down on the chart table making the others jump slightly at the sudden noise.
"Weren't you listening?" she snapped. "We're talking a High Syndicate House, one of the major ones... Do you know how many Enforcers they can field at any one time? Have you ever seen what a full Shrike can do... and I'm not talking about Shrikes like those three from that minor Syndicate house that boarded us awhile ago?"
Chiana swallowed, not use to being the blunt of the younger Delvian's anger.
"Yeah, I've seen Berret... and that other one, Val'Cirrus," the Nebari replied.
"Well, multiple that by about a hundred because that's what they'll send against us," Malika spat.
"You have no idea of what a Shrike Enforcer on the hunt will do. They're unfeeling, unrelenting... and almost unstoppable." Unbidden the memory of Yesler rose up in her mind, the man who had blackmailed her mother into agreeing to Malika serving as a bodyguard in order to gain access to medical equipment needed to save the girl's life. She could still recall the blinding speed of the assassin's attack, the feeling of dread as her knife blade bounced off what she knew now could only have been armor plate, the stunning blow that had sent her hurling away from the Shrike as he tore Yesler to pieces before her and her mother's eyes, the victim's mind bending shrieks that filled her ears. The helpless terror of believing that she and her mother, Samnatha, where going to die next. Malika gritted her teeth as she remembered the Shrike Enforcer picking her up off the ground and looking into those soulless eyes that regarded her. The emotionless way it announced that she and her mother were not "specified targets" and then let her fall back to the ground as if she no longer mattered. Berret, she knew had been like that once... something she doubted Chiana or any of the others except for Zhaan could truly understand in her estimate.
"Berret was a Shrike," Chiana said defensively. "He'll be able to handle whatever they throw at him."
To the Nebari's bewilderment, Malika threw her head back and laughed almost dementedly.
"Don't you frelling get it?" the young Delvian female announced as if speaking to a slow child. "He's not anymore. You... We've changed him. He doesn't think he's changed much but he has. He doesn't have that Enforcer mindset, now he's saddled with a conscious. He's going to think when he should be killing and he will die for it." Malika's eyes hardened as she stared at the Nebari girl, her words starting to sink into Chiana's mind and those of her companions. "He's lost that edge and he doesn't even realize it."
The young Priestess paused a microt to look around Command at the rest of Moya's crew. She picked up a diagnostic tool from the chart table and began idly turning the metal cube over in her slim blue fingers.
"I was all for going off to Scorpius' Command Carrier that time to help John because there was no other alternative other than letting John die... or worse. I had no problem with the risk helping Zhaan repair Berret's mind because despite how I feel about Shrikes, helping Berret was the right thing to do and its what my mother would have expected of me. This needless vendetta against the Syndicate that he's gone off on..."
The woman's words trailed off as she suddenly turned and whipped the tool against a bulkhead in sudden fury. The device shattered as it hit.
"Frell me! But I'm ashamed to say we should have let him remain a vegetable," she growled as she turned her back on her crewmates. "Rygel's right... he's as good as killed himself and endangered us all for nothing." Her voice dropped lower as is she were surrendering to the inevitable, "We're all going to be 'specified targets' now."
Without a further word, Malika walked out of command to leave her friends silently looking at one another.
Chiana's sudden rush onto the command tier startled Zhaan. She straightened up from the control board she was working over and regarded the younger woman.
"Where is who, Chiana?" the curious Delvian asked.
Chiana spun toward her as if she hadn't realized the Pa'u was present in the Leviathan's command center.
"Berret, he's gone," she answered. She turned back to look at the still inactive clamshell. "Pilot!" she called again urgently. The holo-comm flickered to life and Moya's helmsman appeared.
"I'm sorry, Chiana. I was busy monitoring some of Moya's other systems. How can I help you?" he asked.
"Where's Berret? Where did he go?" the half-panicked Nebari asked again. Zhaan looked on in confusion, still wondering where the ex-assassin could possibly be. The Leviathan was in deep space between systems. Where else could Chiana's friend and her crewmate be but somewhere aboard Moya?
"Berret left Moya in the Wraith several arns ago," Pilot reported. The being looked a little apologetic as he added, "I assumed you and he had another disagreement and he left in his ship to be alone for awhile."
Zhaan looked back at Chiana for confirmation just as the girl turned to her and shook her head.
"No. No, we didn't have an argument," Chiana denied. "He's been secretive lately," she said as she rubbed a spot on the back of her neck. "I think he knocked me out with something. When I woke back up he was gone and he's taken all his things with him. Zhaan... he took everything!"
"You must be mistaken, Chiana. Where would he go out here?" Zhaan said. Chiana vigorously shook her head and grabbed onto the Delvian's arm.
"I'm sure of it, his room is empty. His clothes, his weapons... all gone. Except for these."
Chiana held out a pouch that clinked with the sound of metal credit chips. Tied around Chiana's wrist was a braided bracelet that had the silver Delvian mediation talisman Zhaan had given Berret woven into it. It was the first possession the ex-assassin had that hadn't come with him or that was found in the Wraith when it arrived. Zhaan knew that after she given it to him that the Shrike made a habit of always carrying it with him as sort of a good luck token.
"I found the money on the bed beside me and the bracelet on my arm when I woke up. Zhaan, this is almost all of Berret's credits. He didn't think I knew where he hid them, but I'm sure this is just about all of it."
Zhaan began to get a cold feeling in the pit of what would have passed for her stomach were she human.
"He took all his weapons but almost none of his credits?" she repeated.
Chiana nodded. "Yeah, I know. Wherever he's going he doesn't think he's gonna need money as much as weapons. That's what's bothering me." She turned to the still watching Pilot. "Pilot, why didn't you tell someone?"
Zhaan answered her question before Pilot could. "You know we are all free to come and go aboard Moya at anytime, Chiana. It is not Pilot's fault."
"Moya and I are sorry, Chiana," put in the hologram. "Had we suspected something that Berret was going off to someplace dangerous we would have alerted the rest of the crew. We have learned from past experience that there are times when it would be best if we did interfere with our passengers business for their own safety."
Zhaan gave the being on the clamshell a tight smile. "Thank you, Pilot. It is still not your fault, as you had no reason to believe that anything was amiss with Berret. If you can... does Moya know which way the Wraith went when it left the ship?"
"I believe we should be able to plot a imprecise course path based on the Wraith's last know trajectory. I'm sorry that we can not be more exact than that, Zhaan," said Pilot.
"That will be good enough for a start, Pilot. Thank you," replied the Delvian.
A few microts later Pilot announced, "We have it. Placing the Wraith last know course trajectory on the main viewer now."
Moya's main screen changed to reveal a starchart with a pulsing blue line to indicate the flight of Berret's ship.
"That just goes off into nowhere," said Chiana.
"I know, child," muttered Zhaan as she studied the chart. "Pilot? Is this all the information Moya was able to collect?"
"I'm afraid it is, Zhaan. After that Berret was outside of Moya's sensor range... and you know the Wraith is designed to be difficult to track."
The Priestess continued to mutter to herself for a microt. "Pilot, using Moya's navigation data-base, increase the starchart view scale by a factor of two." The chart blurred for a split microt and then refocused to show a larger section of that space. "Again please, Pilot," she asked once more. The view on the screen shifted. "Again, if you will."
Zhaan studied the new view and her attention fell on a marked sector at the very edge of the chart. "Pilot, magnify that marked sector of space," she asked him.
The screen flickered. Chiana and Zhaan both sharply inhaled as they read the label.
"Oh no!" Chiana muttered in denial.
"Pilot!" Zhaan shouted at almost the same time, "Call the others!"
"He's heading where?" asked John.
"To the Imperium... into Scarren space," replied Zhaan.
"You're sure?" Crichton asked again in disbelieve.
"He's heading straight for it," confirmed D'argo as he rose from rechecking the data on the command panel.
"Why would he do that?" asked Aeryn.
"To betray us to his masters, that's why," put in Rygel. "I knew we couldn't trust him."
"No."
Chiana's tiny moan was so heartfelt that it cut over the other crewmate's discussion. Andar was the closest to her and he turned to ask, "Why do you think he's gone, Chiana?"
The Nebari turned heavy eyes on her companions; even Rygel's eyebrows drooped at the sad sight of their friend.
"Arckatius... he has gone to kill Arckatius," she finally told them. The girl looked as if all life had drained from her. "It can be the only reason."
"Well, that's a good thing, right?" asked Sean. "This Arckatius dude is the bad guy if I remember right."
"Of course he's the bad guy, you stupid bag of useless pink skin!" Rygel shot in. "Do you know what he's done! The Black Syndicate is the most powerful underworld organization in both the Charted and Uncharted Territories. They know he was traveling with us. When he fails the rest of us will be marked for death!"
"Let them come," sneered D'argo while he fingered the blade of his Qualta sword.
Rygel swung his thronesled over to face the big warrior. "You're just as stupid as Crichton. Both Crichtons! We are defenseless with only two Prowlers and a handful of Hell-Storm and Nova missiles. The Syndicates resources are so vast they can afford to throw away men and equipment just to get revenge. If I still had my armed forces we would have nothing to fear, but as it is now..." The Hynerian let his comment trail off as he shivered thinking about the way that the Syndicate might chose to kill them.
"Maybe he won't fail," Andar offered up.
Malika shook her head and hugged both of her slim arms closer to herself as if she'd received a sudden chill. "This Arckatius will have an army of Shrikes surrounding him," she said. "He'll never make it." The Delvian girl frowned deeply and lowered her head to stare idly at the deck. "Berret's done some frelled up things before, but this..."
Chiana hugged herself in a copy of Malika. "Shenna said he might do something like this if he got the chance," the Nebari murmured out loud to the group.
Malika muttered a low curse and then looked up and found Zhaan's eyes.
"We should have seen this coming!"
The others might not exactly understand the younger Delvian's comment but Zhaan understood it perfectly. They had been in the ex-assassin's mind and had witnessed the torment there. They had healed him the best they were able at the time. They... she, should have known.
Aeryn stood up from her seat and walked around the control pedestal.
"There will be time for incriminations later. Right now with the Wraith gone, we've lost a third of our tactical firepower to protect Moya. We need to figure out how much danger we're in and how much time we have left to either fix the situation or escape," she told the rest of the group.
"You don't get it, do you?" snapped Rygel. "The Syndicate will think we helped him plot his revenge. After they kill him, they'll be coming for us. There's not going to be any escape."
"Chill, Butt-munchkin!" put in Sean. The younger human casually drew one of his weapons and check to be sure it was loaded before sliding it back into its holster. "We've been in tougher spots and managed to pull our bacon outta the fire."
"Frelling idiot," muttered the Hynerian under his breath as Aeryn broke back into the discussion.
"Enough," she said. "What's done is done. We have to start planning now." She glanced down to regard Rygel. "Unless that is, Rygel... you prefer to just give up now and just sit and wait for the assassins to show up to kill you?"
The Dominar frowned and shook his head in the negative.
"I didn't think so," the ex-Peacekeeper said. "Now Chiana, tell us exactly what happened before Berret left the ship. Maybe you'll remember something that might come in useful."
The Nebari girl rubbed at the back of her neck once again as she thought over the question.
"Its all still a little fuzzy," she began. "I remember we were in the gym for a while. Like I said, he'd been acting real secretive lately..."
Berret whirled the oar-shaped bladed weapon around his head in a blur. The wide blade cut the air with a continuous whistling hiss that only halted when the ex-assassin suddenly stopped the weapon or changed its direction to alter the angle of his attack on his imaginary opponents. Chiana involuntarily shivered from her place off the training floor as she watched her friend practice. She remembered using the exact same staff weapon to attack Crichton when she was first brought aboard Moya by Salis and Durka. Luckily, John was able to disarm her before she could serious maim or kill him. If she'd had the skill Berret was now displaying with the long arm, John never would have had the chance to offer a truce and give her a home. She hugged her arms tighter around her knees as she thanked the Goddess that she lacked the skill that day... otherwise her life would have turned out very different indeed.
On the floor, Berret twirled the blade around in a figure eight in front of him and then suddenly whipped it around low behind him. Chiana swallowed as she realized that if it had been a real fight, anyone who was trying to sneak up behind the Shrike would have had their legs cut off somewhere below the knees. The whole time he practiced, his face remained emotionless, which she found somewhat disturbing. While the others trained, herself included, they either had a look of intense concentration or they slipped into the role of fighting their imagined attackers... in which case, they'd have a look fury or anger as if they really where in the middle of combat. This blank look of Berret's bothered her, as she believed violence should have its roots in the anger or fury of self-protection, not in this calm efficient manner. It made her friend look too much like a soulless killing machine instead of a person.
A few microts later, the Shrike brought the weapon down along his side in a move that Chiana recognized meant that he was ending the routine. Berret stepped outside the marked off training area toward her and went to replace the staff in it's wall rack. Chiana rose to her feet as he neared her.
"Its about time," she quipped impishly. "I was beginning to think you like that pole more than my company."
Berret give her a tight smile as he put the weapon up. "No," he said simply.
Chiana's own smile fell slightly. She'd been hoping that he would have responded better to her playful chatter. Lately he'd been more withdrawn then usual and she was doing her best to break him out of his mope.
"Well, that's good," she put in, "because if I have to play another hand of 'Busuko Trump' with Rygel I'm gonna scream my shelling head off."
Berret glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "Has he beaten you much?" he asked.
The Nebari's spirit lifted for a moment, this was as much interest that Berret had shown about anything going on around him aboard ship in over two weeken. It seemed he mostly spend his spare time working out in the gym lately. "Well... actually I've won quite a few credits off the little Toad," she added chipperly. "But he's driving me crazy trying to win them back. You know how he is about anyone being better at a gambling game then he is."
"Ah," said Berret absently as they headed out into the corridor. "That's nice."
Chiana's heart sank as she saw that she was losing him again to whatever was preoccupying him.
They walked back to his quarters and Chiana followed him inside. To her surprise, he began to pull his workout clothes off as he headed to his shower unit. She went right in with him wondering if he'd bother to stop her from following further. He didn't, so she hopped up to sit on the basin counter and idly continued to chat with him through the stall curtain. Occasionally, the man rewarded her with a generic reply to a random comment. She thought about doing something totally outrageous, like turning the hot water supply off or stripping down and joining him in the stall... anything to get a reaction from the man. Before she could act on any of her plans to capture Berret's attention, the water shut off and he stepped out of the unit. Chiana absently threw him a towel.
"So, are you going to join us at dinner tonight?" she asked as he dried himself off. "I have a box of Sultanian chocolates left. I was thinking later tonight I can drop by and we can spend some time talking," she offered.
Berret wrapped the towel around his waist and looked up and gave her the same half-empty smile he'd had of late.
"I'm sorry, Pixie," he apologized. "I have some work I want to finish on the Wraith tonight."
"I thought Aeryn said it was flight ready?" she asked.
"It is. This is something extra I'm working on."
Chiana frowned deeply. "Can't it wait? We're in the middle of nowhere and haven't seen another ship since last planet fall." She moved in closer to him. "Look... I know we were fighting more than usual for a while, but we haven't lately. I miss you and I just want to spend some time together like we use to. You're always too busy lately."
Berret actually seemed like his old self for a few microns. "No. No, its nothing about our disagreements. I just have this project and I guess I'm taking a little after Andar with it by not stopping for anything until it's done. I'm sorry, I never meant for you to think I was ignoring you for any reason."
"So you'll take tonight off and we'll 'hang' like Crichton says?" she asked.
Berret looked sheepish and then shook his head. "I'm sorry but not tonight. I'm almost done. Tomorrow night we can talk and 'hang' if you want."
Chiana cocked her head to one side. "You promise?"
She realized than in an instant she saw a gauntlet of emotions play across the Shrike's face, among them she was sure she saw a look of intense sadness. In a microt they were all covered over again by Berret's calm facade.
"Yes... I promise," he said after a moment's hesitation. She was pleasantly surprised when he reached up with one hand to gently caress her cheek. He lowered his hand a microt later and the fake smile again graced his features.
"Okay, I'll hold you to it," Chiana told him as she left his quarters.
Outside in the corridor she couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that Berret had just lied to her.
She hadn't seen the Shrike for the rest of the day and he didn't appear at the evening meal with the rest of the crew. Chiana considered that Berret hadn't missed much seeing it was Rygel's turn to cook and he'd prepared the usual overabundance of Hynerian delicacies and very little in the way that was appealing to the non-Hynerian members of the crew. Most made due with a few warmed up leftovers and food cubes.
After dinner on a hunch, Chiana wandered by Berret's quarters only to find the converted cell's door closed and the heavy drapes drawn. Something heavy fell inside the room and something about the noise put Chiana's instincts on alert. She silently tiptoed to the door and listened, the sounds of more heavy objects being moved about came to her. Breaking ship's protocol, she triggered the door without announcing herself and asking permission to enter. She brushed aside the drapes and entered the room to find Berret dressed in his armor and packing several bags.
"What's going on? What are you doing?" she asked abruptly.
Berret spun to face her, obviously not having heard the door open through the heavy drapes covering it.
"Chiana," he said half guiltily. He stood and looked at her, offering no further explanation.
She moved further into the room and looking around saw he'd packed up all his belongings.
"What is this?" she asked again in bewilderment. "Are you jumping ship? Why?"
"This is something you wouldn't understand," he finally said as he picked several items up and dropped them into a bag. Chiana tilted her head hard to one side and half-thrusted her chin out in the way she had when she was about to confront somebody over something they were doing.
"Well, why don't you just try explaining it to me so I can understand then?" she demanded.
Berret glanced down at her, obviously wrestling with some inner demon.
"I can't," he said, "There's not enough time to explain it all, love."
"Well, you better damn sure make the..." she started as the endearment registored, "Wait... what did you just say to me?"
Berret's eyes soften as he stepped closer to her. He again reached up to caress her cheek. His fingertips were warm but the ballistic cloth and leather of his half-gloves were cool as they touched her skin. He seem to be studying her face for a few microts and then his hand gently moved from her cheek to rest at the back of her neck.
"I said, there's not enough time left to explain," he said again in a low voice.
Before she could ask another question there was a barely audible click and Chiana felt a sting at the back of her neck where his hand rested.
Her eyes flew open in the shock of betrayal and she found that she'd suddenly lost the ability to speak. Her limbs quickly went numb and she felt Berret pick her up so she wouldn't fall. He brought her over to the bed and tenderly laid her out on it. He sat down beside her and stoked her hands as her body began to feel heavier and her eyes started to close of their own violation. The last thing she could recall after that was Berret whispering he was sorry.
"...And then I woke up with the bracelet and charm Zhaan gave him tied around my wrist and the credit bag besides my head," Chiana finished telling her story.
John stood back and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "It would figure he was on a time schedule. He timed his departure for when Moya was going to be at her closest to Scarren occupied space."
Aeryn nodded her head in agreement.
"But why now?" the ex-Peacekeeper asked. "What's so special about choosing now to go of all times? We've been through this sector a number of times in the past, what's different about this time?"
"Uh-oh," mutter Sean. The man looked as if Aeryn's question had just flicked a switch somewhere inside his head.
"What is it, Sean?" asked Andar, the human's reaction peaking his interest.
"Maybe the question shouldn't be 'what's different about this time around' but rather, what did he learn this time around," said the younger Crichton.
"What are you getting at, bro?" asked the elder Crichton.
"Yes," half-growled D'argo, "And speak plainly and not in more riddles."
Sean rolled his eyes at the huge warrior but said nothing else, having long ago gotten use to the Luxan's gruff manner and short patience. "You guys remember, the commerce planet two weekens ago?"
The rest of the crew nodded. "Remember that pickpocket who tried to snatch Rygel's package of marjols thinking it was his credit bag?"
"I do," grumbled the Hynerian. "Why you didn't kill that miserable fralp on the spot is beyond me."
"Because he would have been doing the rest of us a favorite, your Rectalness, if he had stolen those disgusting snails from you," put in D'argo. "Go on, Sean," he said, turning back to the human.
"You remember how freaked out he got when he saw Berret in his Shrike armor? He started begging not to be eradicated."
"Yeah, he was gibbering so much I stopped listening to what he was saying," John said.
"Same here," replied Andar. "But Berret did not. In fact he spoke with the fellow for quite sometime if I recall correctly."
"I remember," added Malika. "I heard Berret asking a lot of questions about the Scarren Syndicate Houses. I just assumed he was collecting information that might be useful to us sometime in the future to avoid them."
Aeryn frowned. "He was collecting information all right," she drawled, "But not so we could avoid them."
"Yeah, it was right after that, that he started to get moody," Chiana thought out loud.
"You mean you can tell when he's not moody?" quipped Sean. Zhaan gave him a pained look. "Sorry," he apologized right away. "I was just trying to lighten the mood with some humor... as always."
"Huh... let us know when you're going to start," shot in Rygel brusquely.
Sean looked as if he was getting ready to retaliate against the Dominar when Aeryn cut him off.
"Enough prattling, children!" she said. "The question right now is... what are we going to do. We need to plan."
"What plan? He's as good as dead," Rygel said. "One man against a Scarren Black Syndicate House... its madness. We have to get out of here and do it right now!"
"I thought you said there was nowhere to hide if they wanted us dead," asked the Luxan.
"Yes," answered Rygel. "But at least lets make them frelling work for it."
Chiana looked from one crewmember to another. "What about Berret? We can't just leave him out there. We have to go find him."
Malika slammed her fist down on the chart table making the others jump slightly at the sudden noise.
"Weren't you listening?" she snapped. "We're talking a High Syndicate House, one of the major ones... Do you know how many Enforcers they can field at any one time? Have you ever seen what a full Shrike can do... and I'm not talking about Shrikes like those three from that minor Syndicate house that boarded us awhile ago?"
Chiana swallowed, not use to being the blunt of the younger Delvian's anger.
"Yeah, I've seen Berret... and that other one, Val'Cirrus," the Nebari replied.
"Well, multiple that by about a hundred because that's what they'll send against us," Malika spat.
"You have no idea of what a Shrike Enforcer on the hunt will do. They're unfeeling, unrelenting... and almost unstoppable." Unbidden the memory of Yesler rose up in her mind, the man who had blackmailed her mother into agreeing to Malika serving as a bodyguard in order to gain access to medical equipment needed to save the girl's life. She could still recall the blinding speed of the assassin's attack, the feeling of dread as her knife blade bounced off what she knew now could only have been armor plate, the stunning blow that had sent her hurling away from the Shrike as he tore Yesler to pieces before her and her mother's eyes, the victim's mind bending shrieks that filled her ears. The helpless terror of believing that she and her mother, Samnatha, where going to die next. Malika gritted her teeth as she remembered the Shrike Enforcer picking her up off the ground and looking into those soulless eyes that regarded her. The emotionless way it announced that she and her mother were not "specified targets" and then let her fall back to the ground as if she no longer mattered. Berret, she knew had been like that once... something she doubted Chiana or any of the others except for Zhaan could truly understand in her estimate.
"Berret was a Shrike," Chiana said defensively. "He'll be able to handle whatever they throw at him."
To the Nebari's bewilderment, Malika threw her head back and laughed almost dementedly.
"Don't you frelling get it?" the young Delvian female announced as if speaking to a slow child. "He's not anymore. You... We've changed him. He doesn't think he's changed much but he has. He doesn't have that Enforcer mindset, now he's saddled with a conscious. He's going to think when he should be killing and he will die for it." Malika's eyes hardened as she stared at the Nebari girl, her words starting to sink into Chiana's mind and those of her companions. "He's lost that edge and he doesn't even realize it."
The young Priestess paused a microt to look around Command at the rest of Moya's crew. She picked up a diagnostic tool from the chart table and began idly turning the metal cube over in her slim blue fingers.
"I was all for going off to Scorpius' Command Carrier that time to help John because there was no other alternative other than letting John die... or worse. I had no problem with the risk helping Zhaan repair Berret's mind because despite how I feel about Shrikes, helping Berret was the right thing to do and its what my mother would have expected of me. This needless vendetta against the Syndicate that he's gone off on..."
The woman's words trailed off as she suddenly turned and whipped the tool against a bulkhead in sudden fury. The device shattered as it hit.
"Frell me! But I'm ashamed to say we should have let him remain a vegetable," she growled as she turned her back on her crewmates. "Rygel's right... he's as good as killed himself and endangered us all for nothing." Her voice dropped lower as is she were surrendering to the inevitable, "We're all going to be 'specified targets' now."
Without a further word, Malika walked out of command to leave her friends silently looking at one another.