As soon as the screen goes dead, I allow myself to laugh.
Confused. Kateri's puzzlement at my reaction only fuels her panic. Her consciousness devolves into an infinite loop. No way to help. No way. No way. No way...
"Kateri!" I use my most commanding voice, hoping to break the cycle. "Terryl took the transponder from Soraya after I activated the fail safe. That means Talyn did not install it, which implies it is non-functional. He's accomplished nothing besides mutilating himself. If I were to activate Talyn now, he would be in full control of his own faculties with Terryl unable to influence him."
If Talyn is ever in control of his faculties. I wish I could hide that thought from Kateri, since I do not want to sabotage her confidence.
Don't trust Talyn. Won't send code.
"We would be able to speak with him. Linked with you, I can influence Talyn to nearly the degree I could before. I can threaten to order fire on the Resistance relay station and demand that they leave Talyn."
Then Talyn and Soraya starbust to the Peacekeeper research vessel and try to recapture the Ancient.
"Even if I were able to board Talyn, locate the second transponder, and remove the Resistance fighters, he could still starburst. I refuse to deliver myself to those self-righteous, hypocritical barbarians when there is no tactical advantage to be gained by doing so!" Having vented my frustration, I replay Kateri's thought in my mind. "Peacekeeper research vessel?"
Scanned Talyn for new data. Found Resistance transmission. They believe the Ancient is being held aboard a ship. Returning to the base was subterfuge.
"'Three ships, two of them heavily armed!'" I repeat Talyn's words to myself, realizing their significance. In Kateri's memories, I find images and sensor scans for the party that attacked Xera. "Talyn could destroy both Peacekeeper vessels before they have a chance to return fire. However, the third is a collared Leviathan. He could starburst if I try to board."
That leaves one rational choice. Once again, I wish I could hide my thoughts from Kateri. I cannot, and in response to my grim musings, she offers me a memory passed to her from Xera.
The pilot folds two of her arms against her chest. "Captain Black, Xera requests that Kateri not accompany us on this mission. She is willing to escort the ancient, but not to put her offspring in undue jeopardy."
The captain, a heavyset man with the same pale coloring and recessed chin as his daughter, leans on the pilot's console. "The Peacekeepers will be boarding any vessel they suspect of harboring the Ancient. They know that a Leviathan would not endanger her young by smuggling the object of a Peacekeeper military search! Keeping Kateri with us is our best chance to avoid a boarding!"
The pilot shakes her head. "Xera is unconvinced. She will order Kateri to starburst before you have the Ancient transferred. She reminds me that your family is safely boarded on the commerce planet."
Captain Black opens his mouth, then closes it. After a few microts, he replies. "Fair enough. Soraya will accompany us as well. Xera and I are both risking our own lives, and the life of a child. Will that suffice to demonstrate my conviction?"
The pilot's eyes widen as she listens to the Leviathan's response. "Xera says... it is up to Kateri."
"You agreed to the mission?" I run a hand over Kateri's console, thinking of all those specialized chambers. She has the potential to be a successful merchant vessel. She has a purpose and a future, and still she risked her life without being ordered.
Peacekeepers hurt Leviathans. If they get what they need from the Ancient, they can hurt even more.
"Then you understand what I am proposing? I need you to starburst ahead of Talyn and scan for the Ancient. When you are certain one way or another, send a long-range transmission and then get away. You will be risking your own life."
Understand.
"Talyn will fire first on the Leviathan, with the intent to cripple it, then on the armed escort vessels. He may be able to spare the Leviathan's life, in which case I can remove the control collar and all other Peacekeeper technology."
But you believe the Leviathan will be killed.
"I am sorry."
Understand. Agree. Forgive.
Her simple declaration overwhelms me, and I cannot immediately respond. Soraya's blind trust was based solely on her ignorance of my past. Crichton, Ka Dargo, and Pa'u Zhann all looked at me with unapologetic distaste, unable to see the changes that have followed my fall from grace. Even Aeryn Sun, the one being truly capable of understanding my transformation, refuses to believe I am anything but evil. Talyn knows my heart and believes in my redemption while desperately seeking his own, but the Kateri's forgiveness is an unexpected gift.
"Kateri, I-- Thank you."
Should I wake Talyn now?
I pause, envisioning the response that would ensue. After seeing the memory of Soraya's father, seeing the combination of hurt and resolve that filled him when he volunteered her, I find myself determined to see her safe if I can. "No. I want to be linked to Talyn when you send the code. I am boarding."