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The man who trusts men will make fewer mistakes that he who distrusts them.
Conte Di Camillo Benso Cavour
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The journey to Utrecht had been a thought-filled one for me. I had never been a very trusting person by nature. With a brother like mine, though, being wary about everything was a must. So I didn't trust Lise Bennett at all in the beginning. I wanted to ditch her on the next available planet regardless of the conditions. Most of those we have placed trust in in the past took advantage of us, some nearly destroying Andromeda in the process. Then, Lise saved my life from that Messinan's attack in the corridor. I considered the fact that it was planned, but then I thought about the severity of her injury. It wasn't necessary for her to actually risk herself if she had made a deal with the Messinan. I still wasn't sure about her intentions, but I felt obligated to give her a fair chance.
Rommie's hologram form appeared. "I'm detecting a heavily armed ship with a malfunctioning cloaking device following us."
"How far away is the ship?"
"Less than two light minutes from our current position and closing in. The ship is powering up its weapons."
"We are being hailed," Rev said.
"Dylan, Tyr, we need you on the Command Deck!" I had a bad feeling about this.
Dylan was the first to arrive. "What happened?"
"A ship was following us. It has just powered up weapons and is hailing us."
"Be ready to go into slipstream, Beka. Open the frequency." Dylan stood confidently at the center of the Command Deck in front of the view screen.
A dark, omnious creature appeared on the view screen. Its glowing eyes were blood red, slanted like that of a cat. As it opened its mouth to speak, I caught a glimpse of its huge pointed fangs. "We have found you. Give us what is ours or we will board your ship, destroy you and take it ourselves."
"What do we have that is yours?" Dylan asked.
"You know what what you have stolen. You have two of your minutes to return it." The communications channel was abruptly cut off.
Tyr appoached the front of the Command Deck with a small book in his hand. "Read this. It belongs to the girl."
Dylan and I read a paragraph from a small log book or journal. It spoke of some sort of plan that she felt guilty about going on with. It said this would all end in two days. It had been almost two days since we found her. Maybe she was deceiving us and working secretly for these aliens.
"Tyr, take us into slipstream and avoid further contact with the aliens. Beka, we're going down to Medical Bay to see what all this is about." Dylan took the book from Tyr.
Tyr went into slipstream, and we hurried down to Medical Bay.
"Is she still in recovery?" Dylan asked Trance.
"Yes. But she isn't conscious."
"Could you wake her up?"
"It wouldn't be advisable, but, yes, I can."
"Do it."
We walked into the room. Trance gave Lise a hypo, and within a few seconds, she opened her eyes. She tried to move and groaned in pain.
"Who are you working for?" Dylan asked, apparently trying to control his anger.
"Working for? What do you mean?" She acted as if she knew nothing about what he was asking.
He pulled up her journal. "'I can't help but feel guilty about the recent expansion of our covert operations. There is no feeling worse than using people, but I've put myself in a position where there is no other choice. I definitely found the wrong crowd to spend time with. And now I'm paying for it. I'm so afraid I'm going to get caught. One of them seems suspicious of my actions and intentions. If I back out now, though, I don't know what they'll do to me. I only have to keep this up for two more days, and then it's all over.' Sound familiar?"
"That's from my diary! Why were you reading my diary?"
"What is this covert operation?" I asked.
"It was to ruin a school dance hosted by a group of people that had humiliated me. I don't work for anyone. Turn the diary back about eight or ten pages and it clarifies what the covert operation is."
"She's right." Dylan was reading a few pages back.
"Then, why are these aliens chasing us?" I asked.
"I plan on finding that out," Dylan said.
"I still don't know how I got into space. Maybe I have something to do with this," Lise said.
"But why would they want you? You don't know anything, and you aren't a leader," I said.
"I don't know, but I can't think of anything else we've taken on board recently," Dylan said.
"This just keeps getting more and more mysterious," I said. "There has to be a reason they want her."
"Dylan, Beka, they're following us through slipstream. You should get back to the Command Deck immediately." Tyr's voice filled Medical Deck.
The man who trusts men will make fewer mistakes that he who distrusts them.
Conte Di Camillo Benso Cavour
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The journey to Utrecht had been a thought-filled one for me. I had never been a very trusting person by nature. With a brother like mine, though, being wary about everything was a must. So I didn't trust Lise Bennett at all in the beginning. I wanted to ditch her on the next available planet regardless of the conditions. Most of those we have placed trust in in the past took advantage of us, some nearly destroying Andromeda in the process. Then, Lise saved my life from that Messinan's attack in the corridor. I considered the fact that it was planned, but then I thought about the severity of her injury. It wasn't necessary for her to actually risk herself if she had made a deal with the Messinan. I still wasn't sure about her intentions, but I felt obligated to give her a fair chance.
Rommie's hologram form appeared. "I'm detecting a heavily armed ship with a malfunctioning cloaking device following us."
"How far away is the ship?"
"Less than two light minutes from our current position and closing in. The ship is powering up its weapons."
"We are being hailed," Rev said.
"Dylan, Tyr, we need you on the Command Deck!" I had a bad feeling about this.
Dylan was the first to arrive. "What happened?"
"A ship was following us. It has just powered up weapons and is hailing us."
"Be ready to go into slipstream, Beka. Open the frequency." Dylan stood confidently at the center of the Command Deck in front of the view screen.
A dark, omnious creature appeared on the view screen. Its glowing eyes were blood red, slanted like that of a cat. As it opened its mouth to speak, I caught a glimpse of its huge pointed fangs. "We have found you. Give us what is ours or we will board your ship, destroy you and take it ourselves."
"What do we have that is yours?" Dylan asked.
"You know what what you have stolen. You have two of your minutes to return it." The communications channel was abruptly cut off.
Tyr appoached the front of the Command Deck with a small book in his hand. "Read this. It belongs to the girl."
Dylan and I read a paragraph from a small log book or journal. It spoke of some sort of plan that she felt guilty about going on with. It said this would all end in two days. It had been almost two days since we found her. Maybe she was deceiving us and working secretly for these aliens.
"Tyr, take us into slipstream and avoid further contact with the aliens. Beka, we're going down to Medical Bay to see what all this is about." Dylan took the book from Tyr.
Tyr went into slipstream, and we hurried down to Medical Bay.
"Is she still in recovery?" Dylan asked Trance.
"Yes. But she isn't conscious."
"Could you wake her up?"
"It wouldn't be advisable, but, yes, I can."
"Do it."
We walked into the room. Trance gave Lise a hypo, and within a few seconds, she opened her eyes. She tried to move and groaned in pain.
"Who are you working for?" Dylan asked, apparently trying to control his anger.
"Working for? What do you mean?" She acted as if she knew nothing about what he was asking.
He pulled up her journal. "'I can't help but feel guilty about the recent expansion of our covert operations. There is no feeling worse than using people, but I've put myself in a position where there is no other choice. I definitely found the wrong crowd to spend time with. And now I'm paying for it. I'm so afraid I'm going to get caught. One of them seems suspicious of my actions and intentions. If I back out now, though, I don't know what they'll do to me. I only have to keep this up for two more days, and then it's all over.' Sound familiar?"
"That's from my diary! Why were you reading my diary?"
"What is this covert operation?" I asked.
"It was to ruin a school dance hosted by a group of people that had humiliated me. I don't work for anyone. Turn the diary back about eight or ten pages and it clarifies what the covert operation is."
"She's right." Dylan was reading a few pages back.
"Then, why are these aliens chasing us?" I asked.
"I plan on finding that out," Dylan said.
"I still don't know how I got into space. Maybe I have something to do with this," Lise said.
"But why would they want you? You don't know anything, and you aren't a leader," I said.
"I don't know, but I can't think of anything else we've taken on board recently," Dylan said.
"This just keeps getting more and more mysterious," I said. "There has to be a reason they want her."
"Dylan, Beka, they're following us through slipstream. You should get back to the Command Deck immediately." Tyr's voice filled Medical Deck.
