"So this is our Bunker Hill, huh?" Brendan said, walking up.
"Quite a place."
"I sent one of our guys to help Rommie." He said. "She's looking well."
"Yeah, its like she never ages." He couldn't resist saying. "What about you, man? How are things?"
"Well, since you left, we've gotten organized. And we've actually had families. A lot of the children we liberated from the slave camps live with us. We were all sons and daughters at one point. Seems right they would be with us."
"How about you?" Harper asked, pointing at his cousin. "I'm more worried about your condition."
"I'm fine." He nodded. "I'm not running through meadows or anything, but I've got good friends. And family."
"Brendan!" Darin shouted. "Kole is down!"
Brendan and Harper rushed to a screen where Darin, their security monitor, was now getting information from one of the recently placed cameras.
"Two Nietzcheans." Harper said. "Look at that they're just beating him."
"I've got to help him." Brendan said. He started walking out.
Harper ran with him and without a word they both navigated the streets. Harper followed Brendan since he had no idea what had changed about Boston since he had been a younger, abeit already handsome, Seamus Harper.
When they reached Kole, he was lying down on his back, unconscious. Harper and Brendan quickly ducked into an alleyway and watched from the shadows, making sure the guards had left already. Brendan could see his wound on the side of his head. Blood dripped down onto his shirt and he knew it was serious and he would die unless he got the right attention soon.
"I don't think they're around." He whispered to Harper. Seamus nodded.
"What the--" He heard shouts and gunfire. He saw a large group of guards rushing onto the scene and then a group of humans running in, weapons blazing. Only their aim was less than spectacular. Harper internally groaned.
"What do we do?" Harper asked.
"The only thing we can do." Brendan said. He charged his force lance. "That's Michael and his unit. I didn't send them and I don't know who the hell did." He looked angry, but he ignored his own feelings as he prepared to help his friends.
They burst out of the shadows and aimed, hitting the guards. Out of the corner of his eye, Harper saw another figure jump down from the impossibly high roof of the nearby building and he did a double take.
"Trance?"
Another figure jumped down.
"Vina?" He squinted. He wanted to rub his eyes and pinch himself.
"Came for the fight, don't mind if we join." Vina said, pulling out her force lance. She quickly disposed of one guard. Harper shrugged and aimed. He had rid himself of two guards before one ran from behind and hit him over the head. He fell down and in an effort to keep himself out of the way of the fighters, he pulled himself into a corner. He rubbed his head and his vision became blurry. Then it went black.
Soon things became chaotic. The guards were all but dissipated but instead of a triumphant cheer, the resistance turned to look at their two unexpected guardians. Kole, now conscious, was being held up by two fighters.
"Who are you?" Brendan asked. He was still angry at the order that someone gave to attack the guards. But during the battle, he noticed them helping their side. He eyed Vina visciously, as he knew she was Nietzchean.
"My name is Trance. We're from the Andromeda. We came to help Harper." She said.
"I'm Vina. You obviously noticed by now that I am Nietzchean. Don't worry, I don't bite." She said, not without a little sarcasm. She had dealt with human ignorance before, it was not the first time. She certainly hoped that Harper's cousin, whichever one he was, was as smart as Harper. "Brendan?"
"Who wants to know?" Brendan asked.
"I do. And since Harper is--decommisioned." She saw him slowly blinking his eyes and probably wondering what he was doing on the pavement. "You're the only ones who can help me."
Trance looked at Brendan and he knew she knew who he was. "Brendan."
"How do we know you're not spies?" He asked. "Nietzchean scum aren't neccesarily welcome here."
"Who are you calling scum?" Vina asked, venom coming out in words. "Last I checked, I wasn't the one who assembled the rag tag team to fight a whole patrol team of Dragans. It was a stupid move, you could have all been killed." She looked at the injured. "And a whole lot of you are injured. If we hadn't shown up--"
"We don't need your insult and ridicule." He said, just as venomous. "We've spent our entire lives losing to your kind and we're not going to take anything from you, no matter who you say you are."
"Can we stop yelling?" Trance said. She knew Vina could sound harsh, and yes, Vina was harsh sometimes. But she cared about Harper. And whatever it was she would decide to say, whether it was complimentary, or the brutal truth, she knew Vina's only intention was to help. "These people need help and we can't help them by standing around and arguing."
Vina cast one final look at Brendan before she stepped back. She went to Harper, who was now sitting up, and crouched. "Are you okay?"
"My head hurts a little, but I think I'm all right." He said. He looked up, upon realizing who was speaking. "Vina?"
"Looks like you've got a case of amnesia." She said, smiling. "You said that to me before you were knocked out."
"I remember now." He said, wincing. "How did you know--"
"Dylan. I ran into him and he told me where you were." She helped him up and they walked to the group.
"You know these people, Seamus?" Brendan asked. Harper stared at his cousin. His eyes pleaded, don't do this to me. Don't bring me a Nietzchean.
"Yeah they're my friends." He said. "Actually they're not." He looked at the two women, who were looking at him questioningly. "They're family."
"We need to get out of here." Brendan said. He waved and the entire group moved as one, Brendan leading them back home. Harper, Trance, and Vina trailed behind.
"Nice seeing you again." Harper said, feeling slightly nervous. He wasn't sure if the feeling in his stomach was hunger, pain from his fall, or because he didn't know what to do around Vina. "Looking nice."
"Save it for later, Harper." She said, rolling her eyes.
"You got it, babe." He looked at Trance then and smiled.
They made their way into the tunnels, weaving past checkpoints. Vina made it a point to look up at some of the security cameras.
When they entered, Kole was immediately taken for treatment and a group of angry humans confronted them. The rest of the room stood in stunned silence as a Nietzchean was admitted into their midst.
"What the hell is the Nietzchean here for?" Mason asked, his eyes irate.
"She's--" Brendan turned to Harper.
"She's my friend. And this is Trance. They both came to help us." Harper said.
Shouts of disbelief and 'how do we know?'s rose up to a dull roar.
"Hey, quiet down!" Brendan said. He didn't have to trust her, but he couldn't let a mob mentality rule. "If Seamus--" He looked down. "If Seamus says they are his friends, then they're our friends too."
He stepped next to Vina. "At least until we have our suspicions." He muttered to her.
"Words of a true leader." She commented. "They listen to you."
"I teach them to listen to each other and themselves. I'm not important."
She looked at him in surprise. "Most Captains and Commanders would try and save themselves, but a real leader prepares and trains his crew to perform as well with or without him. He ensures their chance of survival by simply making them depend on their own abilities. Nice job." She said.
"I don't trust you." He said bluntly.
"Good idea. I don't trust you. I only trust myself, Harper, and Trance."
"You're Seamus' friend, so you're all right."
"I've watched you since we arrived. You need strategy. A lot of your units are blindly wandering, you're losing too many lives on simple and stupid mistakes." She said. "Not to be blunt."
"My people are risking their lives--"
"And if they do so, they should risk them knowing that their unit leaders know what they're doing. Trust me, they don't. They're running around blind."
"And why should I trust your judgment?" He asked, crossing his arms. Harper, Rommie, and Trance were looking at them from a distance.
"I think they make a cute couple." Trance remarked to Rommie, momentarily forgetting Harper was there.
"Gee, thanks, Trance." Harper said. "As if I'm not tired of Dylan and Tyr getting all the babes. Sure they've been evil and conniving and homicidal. But she isn't. Now I have to compete with my own cousin."
"Nietzcheans are very selective." Rommie said. "I doubt you or Brendan have to compete."
"Thanks." He said sarcastically. But inside, he was feeling a blow to the ego.
"I had originally planned an attack tonight. You have that knack for strategy." Brendan said slowly, reluctantly, as if he was being forced to accept her.
"It's one of my specialties." She said, a smile appearing.
"I guess for now, I'll have to accept that you're here." He said. "I'll never trust you."
"I'll never trust you, and neither the twain shall trust." She said.
He turned and walked away. He stopped to talk to someone, then disappeared into aother room. Vina joined her friends. Harper looked at her, wondering if she had ever thought of Tyr as acceptable. Acceptable to be selected.
"Brendan says to show you the war room." Darin said, walking up to them. He looked at none of them directly. He began to walk away and Rommie noticed several members, leaders, she knew, walking into a long corridor, another part of the labrynth of hideouts.
The war room was an old conference room a part of an old office building that was now covered in grids, maps, charts, and monitors. Each monitor had the city laid out in a map with zones and designations.
"The Nietzcheans are planning to export a large group of people to one of their camps. We don't know where it is, but we do know that we won't ever hear or see them again if we don't stop the Dragans. Since their slaves are pushed into the barracks at night, if we can cause a distraction over here-" He pointed at a location on the central map. "-Then we set off some explosives near their floaters, and get these people out. They're only planning on moving one section tonight."
"And how do you expect to do this?" Vina asked. "If you set off an explosion here, they'll automatically halt all attempts to move anyone off the planet. Your objective will be reached, but how do you expect to move these rescued refugees en masse? Your men will all be fighting the Dragans."
"That is where strategy comes in. If we can free them at this point, they'll have nowhere to run except into the city. The Nietzcheans don't feel as comfortable in the city as they do in their own territory. We've destroyed sections enough that things are shifted and they won't be able to update their maps fast enough to know where they're going. We can relay to them where to go."
She shook her head. "What prevents them from placing one of their own people inside the refugee camp? One knows where you're hiding, they all will."
They fought openly while she was always in shadow, working for the Dragans and for herself, never really revealing which she had an agenda for. They long found out that they could not confine her to a chair on a ship and expect her to obey orders. She was too keen, too quick for it. Then they started letting her go, letting her do what she wanted, take what she needed. And when the missions came, she accepted them, because in exchange, they realized they could not control her. After all, the last one who tried....well he was no longer available to talk about it.
"But they'll have to move their prisoners sooner or later. And when they do, they won't be able to spare the manpower to guard everyone." Brendan said.
"Then it's your show." Vina said, smiling. She was glad he had proven her wrong. Even if he had tried to and failed, then she would be content in knowing that this Brendan Lahey was no fool. Even if upon further discussion, Vina would have eventually destroyed his basis of claims. She would let him run through his folly. It was her duty to inform him of what he was doing, not embarass him in front of everyone.
"We'll set up here, here--" He began to point out spots on a large grid, marked by camps and rebellion territory.
"Move your second unit west." Rommie said. "If you do that, then you'll be able to redirect forces easier, in case either unit gets overwhelmed."
Brendan nodded. "We've got eyes and ears at these locations. The Dragans have been losing a lot of manpower to the war. They're depleted and it's our time to make ourselves known again."
Everything's a speech, isn't it? Vina thought. It was hard putting hope into the hopeless. If you could do it, then do it to the best of your ability.
"Unit one, we move into position as soon as we're ready." He looked at Harper. "Seamus?"
"While you're doing this, Rommie, Trance, Vina, and I are going to do some damage here in their center of operations. This is where they get information and send information. Dragan ship to Dragan ship. It's too guarded for a large group to get into but four makes for perfect."
"All right then. We have eight hours til they arrive, start preparing."
When they had dismissed, Harper, Vina, Trance, and Rommie stood together. Their talk was hushed whispers.
"If you're right, and we do have a collaborator in the group, then tonight a lot of people are going to get hurt." Trance said. Her gold-brown skin contrasted the drab grey concrete of the room.
"Then for the sake of them, I hope I'm not. But it's what I think. Since I arrived, I've thought it possible." Vina said.
"They seem so loyal." Rommie said. "Almost developing a worship- complex."
"Shame. Those are the worst complexes." Vina said. "Loyalty is an odd thing. The unwise might mistake a desparate act to save oneself for loyalty. The resistance is on a precarious point. Someone who was convinced that the Dragans would win eventually might position himself or herself in a place to say...."
"Exchange the resistnace for their life?" Rommie finished. She nodded. "Very likely."
"So who is it?" Harper asked. "My money is on Darin. But Brendan trusts him completely."
"Do you trust me?" Vina asked Harper. He nodded. "Are you sure?" She smiled and he became worried. He nodded slowly. "If I pointed a weapon at your head, how trusting would you still be?" For effect, her hand reached toward her force lance, holstered to her leg. She saw his eyes follow the weapon. "Do you trust me to deliberately miss? Trust is a tricky thing. The leader of any group will always be the most vulnerable when it comes to trust. Because he cares for everyone and there's always one that wants his own way."
"So let's find out who the traitor is." Rommie said. "Whover it is, they'll be leaving the compound and heading to the Nietzcheans to tell them. This actually narrows some of it down, because it's most likely that the traitor is top ranking. Someone that was in this room."
"Darin." Harper said.
"You've got some grudge against him, Harper?" Trance asked, puzzled. "You seem awfully quick to say it's him."
"Maybe. Maybe not. But there's something off with that guy, I'm tellin' ya, he's not right."
"Well, let's take a head count of who was in here and who isn't here now." Vina said. They left and entered the main room where people were milling around, either discussing plans or packing equipment.
"I see four that are unaccounted for." Rommie said quickly, and most efficiently, since she had stored in her data banks the exact roster in the room. "Darin Fait, Wesley Brachel, Nikai Veiner, and Rachela Modken."
"Darin, what did I say?" Harper said, snapping his fingers.
"Stop jumping to conclusions. Just because you don't like him--"
"It's not that I don't like him, it's that he gives off this weird vibe, you know? This I'm-not-so-normal-I'm-actually-a-homicidal-robot kind of feeling." He circled around Trance. "I don't like this."
"Let's find out where everyone is. Let's each take one of the four and ask everyone where they are. Whoever's stories aren't corroborating, we'll find." Rommie said. They separated and each went on their own questionaire. It was harder for Vina and Trance, since they were new and unknown, but people took to Trance's gentle voice and Vina...well, they still didn't like any Nietzchean.
"I'm Jaguar. I thought they'd like the side that hates their enemies." She said once they regrouped.
"Sometimes people are unresponsive." Trance said, shrugging. "What did you find out?"
After sharing their stories, and piecing it together, there was only one name left on the list.
"Rachela." Rommie said. "Makes sense. From what I know of her, she has always been the most outspoken about their defeats."
"Well, let's find her and ask her to politely explain why she isn't where she's supposed to be." Vina said.
"Quite a place."
"I sent one of our guys to help Rommie." He said. "She's looking well."
"Yeah, its like she never ages." He couldn't resist saying. "What about you, man? How are things?"
"Well, since you left, we've gotten organized. And we've actually had families. A lot of the children we liberated from the slave camps live with us. We were all sons and daughters at one point. Seems right they would be with us."
"How about you?" Harper asked, pointing at his cousin. "I'm more worried about your condition."
"I'm fine." He nodded. "I'm not running through meadows or anything, but I've got good friends. And family."
"Brendan!" Darin shouted. "Kole is down!"
Brendan and Harper rushed to a screen where Darin, their security monitor, was now getting information from one of the recently placed cameras.
"Two Nietzcheans." Harper said. "Look at that they're just beating him."
"I've got to help him." Brendan said. He started walking out.
Harper ran with him and without a word they both navigated the streets. Harper followed Brendan since he had no idea what had changed about Boston since he had been a younger, abeit already handsome, Seamus Harper.
When they reached Kole, he was lying down on his back, unconscious. Harper and Brendan quickly ducked into an alleyway and watched from the shadows, making sure the guards had left already. Brendan could see his wound on the side of his head. Blood dripped down onto his shirt and he knew it was serious and he would die unless he got the right attention soon.
"I don't think they're around." He whispered to Harper. Seamus nodded.
"What the--" He heard shouts and gunfire. He saw a large group of guards rushing onto the scene and then a group of humans running in, weapons blazing. Only their aim was less than spectacular. Harper internally groaned.
"What do we do?" Harper asked.
"The only thing we can do." Brendan said. He charged his force lance. "That's Michael and his unit. I didn't send them and I don't know who the hell did." He looked angry, but he ignored his own feelings as he prepared to help his friends.
They burst out of the shadows and aimed, hitting the guards. Out of the corner of his eye, Harper saw another figure jump down from the impossibly high roof of the nearby building and he did a double take.
"Trance?"
Another figure jumped down.
"Vina?" He squinted. He wanted to rub his eyes and pinch himself.
"Came for the fight, don't mind if we join." Vina said, pulling out her force lance. She quickly disposed of one guard. Harper shrugged and aimed. He had rid himself of two guards before one ran from behind and hit him over the head. He fell down and in an effort to keep himself out of the way of the fighters, he pulled himself into a corner. He rubbed his head and his vision became blurry. Then it went black.
Soon things became chaotic. The guards were all but dissipated but instead of a triumphant cheer, the resistance turned to look at their two unexpected guardians. Kole, now conscious, was being held up by two fighters.
"Who are you?" Brendan asked. He was still angry at the order that someone gave to attack the guards. But during the battle, he noticed them helping their side. He eyed Vina visciously, as he knew she was Nietzchean.
"My name is Trance. We're from the Andromeda. We came to help Harper." She said.
"I'm Vina. You obviously noticed by now that I am Nietzchean. Don't worry, I don't bite." She said, not without a little sarcasm. She had dealt with human ignorance before, it was not the first time. She certainly hoped that Harper's cousin, whichever one he was, was as smart as Harper. "Brendan?"
"Who wants to know?" Brendan asked.
"I do. And since Harper is--decommisioned." She saw him slowly blinking his eyes and probably wondering what he was doing on the pavement. "You're the only ones who can help me."
Trance looked at Brendan and he knew she knew who he was. "Brendan."
"How do we know you're not spies?" He asked. "Nietzchean scum aren't neccesarily welcome here."
"Who are you calling scum?" Vina asked, venom coming out in words. "Last I checked, I wasn't the one who assembled the rag tag team to fight a whole patrol team of Dragans. It was a stupid move, you could have all been killed." She looked at the injured. "And a whole lot of you are injured. If we hadn't shown up--"
"We don't need your insult and ridicule." He said, just as venomous. "We've spent our entire lives losing to your kind and we're not going to take anything from you, no matter who you say you are."
"Can we stop yelling?" Trance said. She knew Vina could sound harsh, and yes, Vina was harsh sometimes. But she cared about Harper. And whatever it was she would decide to say, whether it was complimentary, or the brutal truth, she knew Vina's only intention was to help. "These people need help and we can't help them by standing around and arguing."
Vina cast one final look at Brendan before she stepped back. She went to Harper, who was now sitting up, and crouched. "Are you okay?"
"My head hurts a little, but I think I'm all right." He said. He looked up, upon realizing who was speaking. "Vina?"
"Looks like you've got a case of amnesia." She said, smiling. "You said that to me before you were knocked out."
"I remember now." He said, wincing. "How did you know--"
"Dylan. I ran into him and he told me where you were." She helped him up and they walked to the group.
"You know these people, Seamus?" Brendan asked. Harper stared at his cousin. His eyes pleaded, don't do this to me. Don't bring me a Nietzchean.
"Yeah they're my friends." He said. "Actually they're not." He looked at the two women, who were looking at him questioningly. "They're family."
"We need to get out of here." Brendan said. He waved and the entire group moved as one, Brendan leading them back home. Harper, Trance, and Vina trailed behind.
"Nice seeing you again." Harper said, feeling slightly nervous. He wasn't sure if the feeling in his stomach was hunger, pain from his fall, or because he didn't know what to do around Vina. "Looking nice."
"Save it for later, Harper." She said, rolling her eyes.
"You got it, babe." He looked at Trance then and smiled.
They made their way into the tunnels, weaving past checkpoints. Vina made it a point to look up at some of the security cameras.
When they entered, Kole was immediately taken for treatment and a group of angry humans confronted them. The rest of the room stood in stunned silence as a Nietzchean was admitted into their midst.
"What the hell is the Nietzchean here for?" Mason asked, his eyes irate.
"She's--" Brendan turned to Harper.
"She's my friend. And this is Trance. They both came to help us." Harper said.
Shouts of disbelief and 'how do we know?'s rose up to a dull roar.
"Hey, quiet down!" Brendan said. He didn't have to trust her, but he couldn't let a mob mentality rule. "If Seamus--" He looked down. "If Seamus says they are his friends, then they're our friends too."
He stepped next to Vina. "At least until we have our suspicions." He muttered to her.
"Words of a true leader." She commented. "They listen to you."
"I teach them to listen to each other and themselves. I'm not important."
She looked at him in surprise. "Most Captains and Commanders would try and save themselves, but a real leader prepares and trains his crew to perform as well with or without him. He ensures their chance of survival by simply making them depend on their own abilities. Nice job." She said.
"I don't trust you." He said bluntly.
"Good idea. I don't trust you. I only trust myself, Harper, and Trance."
"You're Seamus' friend, so you're all right."
"I've watched you since we arrived. You need strategy. A lot of your units are blindly wandering, you're losing too many lives on simple and stupid mistakes." She said. "Not to be blunt."
"My people are risking their lives--"
"And if they do so, they should risk them knowing that their unit leaders know what they're doing. Trust me, they don't. They're running around blind."
"And why should I trust your judgment?" He asked, crossing his arms. Harper, Rommie, and Trance were looking at them from a distance.
"I think they make a cute couple." Trance remarked to Rommie, momentarily forgetting Harper was there.
"Gee, thanks, Trance." Harper said. "As if I'm not tired of Dylan and Tyr getting all the babes. Sure they've been evil and conniving and homicidal. But she isn't. Now I have to compete with my own cousin."
"Nietzcheans are very selective." Rommie said. "I doubt you or Brendan have to compete."
"Thanks." He said sarcastically. But inside, he was feeling a blow to the ego.
"I had originally planned an attack tonight. You have that knack for strategy." Brendan said slowly, reluctantly, as if he was being forced to accept her.
"It's one of my specialties." She said, a smile appearing.
"I guess for now, I'll have to accept that you're here." He said. "I'll never trust you."
"I'll never trust you, and neither the twain shall trust." She said.
He turned and walked away. He stopped to talk to someone, then disappeared into aother room. Vina joined her friends. Harper looked at her, wondering if she had ever thought of Tyr as acceptable. Acceptable to be selected.
"Brendan says to show you the war room." Darin said, walking up to them. He looked at none of them directly. He began to walk away and Rommie noticed several members, leaders, she knew, walking into a long corridor, another part of the labrynth of hideouts.
The war room was an old conference room a part of an old office building that was now covered in grids, maps, charts, and monitors. Each monitor had the city laid out in a map with zones and designations.
"The Nietzcheans are planning to export a large group of people to one of their camps. We don't know where it is, but we do know that we won't ever hear or see them again if we don't stop the Dragans. Since their slaves are pushed into the barracks at night, if we can cause a distraction over here-" He pointed at a location on the central map. "-Then we set off some explosives near their floaters, and get these people out. They're only planning on moving one section tonight."
"And how do you expect to do this?" Vina asked. "If you set off an explosion here, they'll automatically halt all attempts to move anyone off the planet. Your objective will be reached, but how do you expect to move these rescued refugees en masse? Your men will all be fighting the Dragans."
"That is where strategy comes in. If we can free them at this point, they'll have nowhere to run except into the city. The Nietzcheans don't feel as comfortable in the city as they do in their own territory. We've destroyed sections enough that things are shifted and they won't be able to update their maps fast enough to know where they're going. We can relay to them where to go."
She shook her head. "What prevents them from placing one of their own people inside the refugee camp? One knows where you're hiding, they all will."
They fought openly while she was always in shadow, working for the Dragans and for herself, never really revealing which she had an agenda for. They long found out that they could not confine her to a chair on a ship and expect her to obey orders. She was too keen, too quick for it. Then they started letting her go, letting her do what she wanted, take what she needed. And when the missions came, she accepted them, because in exchange, they realized they could not control her. After all, the last one who tried....well he was no longer available to talk about it.
"But they'll have to move their prisoners sooner or later. And when they do, they won't be able to spare the manpower to guard everyone." Brendan said.
"Then it's your show." Vina said, smiling. She was glad he had proven her wrong. Even if he had tried to and failed, then she would be content in knowing that this Brendan Lahey was no fool. Even if upon further discussion, Vina would have eventually destroyed his basis of claims. She would let him run through his folly. It was her duty to inform him of what he was doing, not embarass him in front of everyone.
"We'll set up here, here--" He began to point out spots on a large grid, marked by camps and rebellion territory.
"Move your second unit west." Rommie said. "If you do that, then you'll be able to redirect forces easier, in case either unit gets overwhelmed."
Brendan nodded. "We've got eyes and ears at these locations. The Dragans have been losing a lot of manpower to the war. They're depleted and it's our time to make ourselves known again."
Everything's a speech, isn't it? Vina thought. It was hard putting hope into the hopeless. If you could do it, then do it to the best of your ability.
"Unit one, we move into position as soon as we're ready." He looked at Harper. "Seamus?"
"While you're doing this, Rommie, Trance, Vina, and I are going to do some damage here in their center of operations. This is where they get information and send information. Dragan ship to Dragan ship. It's too guarded for a large group to get into but four makes for perfect."
"All right then. We have eight hours til they arrive, start preparing."
When they had dismissed, Harper, Vina, Trance, and Rommie stood together. Their talk was hushed whispers.
"If you're right, and we do have a collaborator in the group, then tonight a lot of people are going to get hurt." Trance said. Her gold-brown skin contrasted the drab grey concrete of the room.
"Then for the sake of them, I hope I'm not. But it's what I think. Since I arrived, I've thought it possible." Vina said.
"They seem so loyal." Rommie said. "Almost developing a worship- complex."
"Shame. Those are the worst complexes." Vina said. "Loyalty is an odd thing. The unwise might mistake a desparate act to save oneself for loyalty. The resistance is on a precarious point. Someone who was convinced that the Dragans would win eventually might position himself or herself in a place to say...."
"Exchange the resistnace for their life?" Rommie finished. She nodded. "Very likely."
"So who is it?" Harper asked. "My money is on Darin. But Brendan trusts him completely."
"Do you trust me?" Vina asked Harper. He nodded. "Are you sure?" She smiled and he became worried. He nodded slowly. "If I pointed a weapon at your head, how trusting would you still be?" For effect, her hand reached toward her force lance, holstered to her leg. She saw his eyes follow the weapon. "Do you trust me to deliberately miss? Trust is a tricky thing. The leader of any group will always be the most vulnerable when it comes to trust. Because he cares for everyone and there's always one that wants his own way."
"So let's find out who the traitor is." Rommie said. "Whover it is, they'll be leaving the compound and heading to the Nietzcheans to tell them. This actually narrows some of it down, because it's most likely that the traitor is top ranking. Someone that was in this room."
"Darin." Harper said.
"You've got some grudge against him, Harper?" Trance asked, puzzled. "You seem awfully quick to say it's him."
"Maybe. Maybe not. But there's something off with that guy, I'm tellin' ya, he's not right."
"Well, let's take a head count of who was in here and who isn't here now." Vina said. They left and entered the main room where people were milling around, either discussing plans or packing equipment.
"I see four that are unaccounted for." Rommie said quickly, and most efficiently, since she had stored in her data banks the exact roster in the room. "Darin Fait, Wesley Brachel, Nikai Veiner, and Rachela Modken."
"Darin, what did I say?" Harper said, snapping his fingers.
"Stop jumping to conclusions. Just because you don't like him--"
"It's not that I don't like him, it's that he gives off this weird vibe, you know? This I'm-not-so-normal-I'm-actually-a-homicidal-robot kind of feeling." He circled around Trance. "I don't like this."
"Let's find out where everyone is. Let's each take one of the four and ask everyone where they are. Whoever's stories aren't corroborating, we'll find." Rommie said. They separated and each went on their own questionaire. It was harder for Vina and Trance, since they were new and unknown, but people took to Trance's gentle voice and Vina...well, they still didn't like any Nietzchean.
"I'm Jaguar. I thought they'd like the side that hates their enemies." She said once they regrouped.
"Sometimes people are unresponsive." Trance said, shrugging. "What did you find out?"
After sharing their stories, and piecing it together, there was only one name left on the list.
"Rachela." Rommie said. "Makes sense. From what I know of her, she has always been the most outspoken about their defeats."
"Well, let's find her and ask her to politely explain why she isn't where she's supposed to be." Vina said.