Nick McCullers had no idea what to do. His daughter was now sitting on his couch, flipping through the hundredth channel and ignoring her personal communicator.
He had invited her to stay for dinner after the board meeting and she'd fallen asleep on the couch the night before.
He didn't mind she was there but it felt awkward, she didn't talk a lot.
The communicator beeped once more and he decided it was time to address it.
"Are you aware it seems everyone in this citadel is trying to reach you?"
Paige didn't look away from the screen. "Not everyone, just two."
"And you're not answering because?"
Paige shrugged and Nick watched his daughter closely. This wasn't her, disconnected and disinterested. He might have missed a lot of time with her but it was clear, even to him, she was falling into a dangerous place.
He picked up the device and read who the contact was from.
"I thought Caleb was a close friend?"
Paige looked to see him holding up the blinking wrist band.
"He was...things are different now." Her face was still blank. "I don't need everyone knowing what's going on."
Nick continued "And Emily? Most of the messages are from her."
There it was, a flicker of something on her face.
"Emily is the last person I should be talking to." She turned back to the television.
"It doesn't seem she shares the same opinion." He replied.
Paige ignored him.
"Well, I'm heading to work now, you're welcome to stay..."
"No it's okay, I'll go." She switched the TV off with a flick of her hand and gathered her things.
"Thanks for dinner." She took the communicator from his hand and he held her in place for a moment.
"Paige, I know we aren't close like normal families are but I do remember a time when we were. After your Mother passed and you were a recruit. I was so proud of you, not letting anything stop you from being yourself and Emily was apart of that, I think." She remained quiet.
"Perhaps you should seek out their company and support through this, I can only offer what I'm sure are outdated opinions."
"And what do I talk to her about? That I lost my Captaincy? How was your day Emily? Oh that reminds me, I gave up my entire life so you wouldn't be used as a political scape goat?" She replied sadly.
"I'm confused as to why you've kept all of this from her. It involves Emily as much as it does you, she should have a chance to speak for herself."
Paige shook her head. "It's been a long time since we were close but I still know her, she wouldn't let me do this. Emily would want to fight them and sacrifice her new life for the greater good. I can't let her do that."
"Well it seems you've made up your mind and I know better than to question that, I really do. However I think you should give what I've said some consideration. These people, your friends, are going to be more upset when they find out afterwards what's been going on and it might be difficult to come back from that."
Paige walked past him and stopped in the doorway.
"Why do you think I'm trying to distance myself now? It hurts...a lot, but not as much as it will later." She left and Nick was reminded of how selfless his daughter had always been.
Caleb leaned back on his chair and stretched. The screen in front of him was scrolling through millions of Corps documents. Photos of officers blinked back and forth and he watched, waiting for his custom program to find anything on Paige McCullers. It wasn't something he was particularly happy about, he knew Paige would hate this invasion of privacy, but she hadn't given him much of a choice.
His former Captain was behaving in a way that was completely out of character for her. Sure, she was stubborn and could be reclusive at times but she had never abandoned her crew or friends before. He knew they were the most important things to her and the lack of contact she'd had with anyone was truly worrying him.
Caleb turned his head to the girl now asleep on his couch. Emily had contacted him with the same concerns about Paige. He knew how important the missing girl was to Paige but she was now experiencing the same ice out he was.
"Emily." He called gently.
She immediately sat up blinking. "What is it?"
"Whoa, it's ok...sorry I thought you were sleeping." He said surprised at her reaction.
"I was but it doesn't take much to wake me, just a habit I guess." She shrugged. "Did you find something." She got up and stood behind his chair crossing her arms.
The screen was still flipping through photos at speed that was hard to watch and Caleb sighed.
"No, not yet but there is a lot to be processed. I'm basically going through every file ever created by the Corps with only one name to use as an anchor. Unfortunately there is more than one Paige McCullers."
Emily smiled a little sadly, "No there isn't."
Caleb watched as the emotions played across her face.
"Look Emily, this is probably going to take a while. Why don't you go home and I'll call you if anything comes up?"
"No, I want to be here to help, isn't there anything I can do?"
"Besides fall asleep on my couch?" He smiled.
"Ok fine but you promise to call me as soon as you find anything?" She said seriously.
"I do, I promise."
"I don't know how your program works but maybe you could add in the details that she was called for a meeting yesterday. It seemed pretty important, she was anxious when I spoke to her about it."
Emily gathered up her bag and left.
Caleb turned back to the screen, "Keyboard." A holographic keyboard sprung to life at his hands and he cracked his knuckles.
"Ok Cap, let's see about this meeting."
Paige's communicator beeped, interrupting the staring contest she was having with the ceiling as she lay in bed. A few seconds passed as she tried to ignore it, she didn't know why she bothered, she always read them.
"Display." She called out to the empty room and text filled a screen on the wall.
New Message:
Emily: Goodnight Paige.
She closed her eyes and chastised herself for the indulgence. She knew it only made it worse but it was almost as if she could live vicariously through the other girls messages. Pretend everything was alright and that they could be friends.
Pain shot through her as she clasped the half golden shield pendant tightly in her hand.
Caleb didn't notice the sun rising out of the window behind his desk. At some point he had realised there was no longer a need for the lights to be on but couldn't remember actually turning them off. He had been sitting vigil over his console all night, occasionally adding details to his search program as they came to him. After adding something about the meeting Emily had mentioned he had racked his brain for any and all details he could link to Paige.
The screen still flicked through random faces.
Not one file or photo had pinged the program's interest and this made him very confused.
Paige was a Captain who had made important allies and accomplished a myriad of high ranking tasks for which she had received a lot of attention. The fact there seemed to be nothing in the Corps data base was baffling.
He let out a puff of air and tapped the desk in thought.
"Where are you Cap? With everything that's happened there should be a flood of documents on you...it's like you don't exist. Like...they're hiding you." The light bulb above his head could have lit up the entire room.
He rolled across the floor on his chair to another smaller desk. He opened a draw and couldn't help but look around the room for someone watching him before popping open a secret panel within.
He pulled out a USB stick and moved back to his console. After a swipe of his hand the holographic keyboard disappeared and a manual one rose out of the desk.
He plugged the USB into the keyboard and waited for it to boot. It took longer than most technology did, it was old and outdated but he knew it was the only way to keep what was on it safe. Most people wouldn't even know what it was.
After a few moments the words he was waiting for typed themselves on the screen.
CorpsDatabase:\Users\HackerLord
Ignoring the old username he had given himself as a teenager he typed the command Run All Access
The screen flickered as the online servers tried to protest the intrusion before code flooded across it. Within seconds his search program was accepted into every locked document the Corps had and there she was. The program was greedily collecting up everything on the correct Paige McCullers and saving them onto Caleb's drive.
His worry became justified as he read 'demoted', 'corps status not active' and 'currently under investigation'.
"What the hell is going on Paige?" He said out loud while reading. He sorted the files into order of most recent and sat back in his chair as things slowly fell into place.
The file detailed everything from the meeting the previous day. The difficulties caused by the conflict between the Mako and Shibion ships and the responsibility taken on by Paige. There were also notes about the suggested involvement of Emily, outlining this as a possible explanation that would not involve any Corps officers.
Caleb knew immediately Paige would have protected Emily and the entire crew of the Mako, making herself the only one to blame.
He ran his fingers through is hair and exhaled. This was far more serious than he had expected.
He continued to read and found that the information about the Shibions working with Daniel Jones had been withheld from the Elders. It was considered too much of a risk and may cause further troubles for the Board.
Now his worry was turning to anger. It was clear Paige was taking the full load of this mess simply because the Board did not want to deal with it.
Scanning through the rest, he found a date for the hearing. It was scheduled for the following day and every important Board member and Shibion was going to be there.
After a few key strokes he added his own name to the guest list. "I'm sorry Cap but I'm not going to let you do this."
The Tech officer glanced down to his communicator and contemplated letting Emily know what he had just unearthed. She would of course want to be at the hearing and he decided to stay quite for now, at least until after the hearing.
"Coffee, black." He commanded and a machine hummed to life in the kitchen.
Files were still piling up on the screen and he had every intention of reading every word before the next day.
Paige watched as the grey early morning light slowly turned into an orange glow. She was already dressed and ready for what the day ahead would involve. There was no anger inside her any more, just a calm acceptance. Just a few more hours and all this would be over.
The door alerted her to a visitor and she opened it expecting to see her Father but it was Xane on the other side.
"Hey sorry I didn't know if you'd be awake this early." He didn't wait for her to respond. "But I can see your already up, which is great because I was wondering if you wanted to join me and some of the others while we hang out today?"
She shook her head and offered a smile.
"No thanks Xane, I appreciate you always inviting me but I don't think I'll be around here for much longer."
He looked disappointed.
"Oh...did you get assigned somewhere?"
"Sort of." She shrugged.
Completely out of the Corps most likely.
Footsteps sounded in the hall and they both turned to see Nick McCullers coming towards them, dressed in his Corps uniform and badges.
Xane's eyes went wide as he stood to attention.
Nick barely noticed him as he stood next to his daughter.
"Paige I know you said you didn't want me to be here but I can't let you go alone, please at least let me ride with you on the way." He said in an almost over practised way, he was still unsure of their relationship and worried about overstepping.
"Well I guess so but I want one of those cabs with a TV in it." She said faking seriousness.
"Done." Nick didn't care if she was joking or not, she would have a cab with a TV in it.
Paige let the door close and locked it with her pin.
"Am I under dressed or are you over dressed?" She said looking her Father up and down as they walked away.
Xane was still wide eyed and saluting as he watched them leave.
The cab hovered outside the Corps legal building and Paige gazed up as she got out. It was a much nicer building than the grey tower she'd recently been to.
Instead of being tall it was long and coloured to look like it was made from a dark wood. The windows were large and clear, it was almost welcoming.
How deceiving. Paige thought.
They were ushered through a long hallway and into a large circular room that was already filled with people. Members of the Board sat on a raised platform at the front of the room and the Shibion Elders sat on an identical platform to their left.
Nick gave his daughter's arm a squeeze before heading to the platform. Paige was instructed to sit at a table in front of and lower than them.
The room was quiet and as she felt the eyes of almost everyone in the room on her nerves began to flutter in her stomach.
She looked up at the Elders platform and instantly regretted it. They were all faces she knew, looking at her with curiosity and what she imagined to be disappointment.
They weren't an easy race to read however she was surprised to see one face she knew much better than the others.
It was Narea, one of Unabe's daughters and Paige's ex-girlfriend. A larger but still fluffy Sippy lay next to her quietly dozing.
Narea caught her eye and gave a small wave, which confused Paige to the point of not knowing how to respond. They hadn't spoken in over a year and she was hardly here under positive circumstances.
As if saved by the bell, General Connelly began to speak.
"Let's get this over with shall we?" He addressed Unabe who gestured for him to continue.
The following hour consisted of a run down of the days leading up to the recovery of Emily and lastly the destruction of the Shibion ship.
Small but deliberate details insinuating the incompetence of Captain McCullers were riddled throughout the speech, most of which were completely false.
Unabe who had been silent throughout the retelling finally spoke.
"This Captain has aided us many times, we do think perhaps there is more to it than what you call incompetence. Why does the Captain, Paige not speak for herself?"
Before anyone had a chance to agree the General cut in.
"There is quite a lot of evidence that the Captains mind may not have been entirely on her ship. We believe the guilt of letting her Navigator, Spencer Hastings, be injured and the history shared with Emily Fields, severely clouded any judgement Miss McCullers could have made in the past."
The General gestured at a screen that took up a large part of the back wall.
An image of Paige came to life in front of them, she was sitting on the edge of a bed, dressed in a recruit uniform.
"So it's getting close to graduation and you've been on my mind a lot. I mean, more than usual." She was alone in the room, speaking to but not looking directly to the camera.
"There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about you, that I don't wish you were here, that I don't wish it was me they took instead."
The screen flicked to a another recording.
"Can you believe I still have this?" She was holding up the golden shield pendant. "It's probably the most polished and well kept thing I own." She smiled. "I hope you've been keeping yours as good, I want them to match when we put them back together."
Another flick, this video was more recent.
"Spencer and I are going to find you Emily." Paige was looking directly at the camera in this one, her eyes glistening with tears.
The last video was a collection of clips from the security camera in the Med Lab. It showed Paige either visiting Spencer's room or standing guard outside.
The screen went blank and all eyes turned to Paige. General Connelly gave her a look.
I've set them up now, all you have to do is knock them down.
Paige's heart was beating like a jack hammer, she had no idea they were going to play the videos she had made for Emily. She had no idea they even had them in their possession, they had been saved in her personal and secure files.
She stood while gathering her thoughts and spoke to the platforms in front of her.
"The evidence you have seen today is correct, I was not thinking clearly and my decisions were affected. Unfortunately this lead to the unnecessary destruction of a Shibion ship and the loss of lives that can never be returned."
Unabe was studying her closely but did not say anything.
The General now spoke to the entire room.
"It is clear this matter has been fairly and truthfully closed. Paige McCullers you will be removed from the Peace Corps and prohibited from rejoining in the future. Your privileges are being removed as we speak and you will receive a final wage up until the day you arrived on Curo." He turned to the Elders.
"We will allow Miss McCullers to be transported to your place of choosing so you make seek your own retribution."
Two officers approached Paige with handcuffs.
"The Shibions were working with Daniel Jones!" A voice yelled from the seats behind them.
"They attacked the Mako first! Captain McCullers was defending her ship!"
Paige pinpointed the voice to a male dressed in a black hoodie but she didn't need to see him to know who it was.
Caleb, damn it!
"Guards remove that man!" The General's face was red.
Caleb stood up. "She's been blackmailed to lie about it! Why hasn't anyone else from the Mako been questioned?!"
The guards grabbed him.
"Lt. General McCullers how can you let them do this to her?!" The doors closed as they pulled him outside.
Murmurs filled the room and Sippy let out a squeaky bark at the excitement.
"Ah, clearly our security was a little loose today, that man is known for interrupting hearings with nonsense. We know who he is." General Connelly stared directly at Paige and her stomach dropped.
The whole reason she was here was to protect them and now Caleb had inadvertently put everyone else in the spotlight.
Paige's mind was reeling. How did he even know? Does this mean everyone else knew, including Emily? Was she standing here letting her life be ripped apart for no reason?
"We will continue.."
"No we won't." He was cut off by Nick.
"That man speaks the truth, my daughter has been forced to lie to you all today."
"Nick I'd advise you to be silent."
Nick McCullers stood beside Paige.
"I've been silent for far too long, I stand by my daughter and any decisions she has and will make."
Paige was shocked at what had just unfolded in the matter of a few minutes and now her Father was telling her to stand up for herself. Caleb was telling her to fight.
She looked back to the Shibion platform, their faces again unreadable except one. Narea's face was smiling sweetly, Paige had never been able to lie to her.
"I never wanted to lie to you Elders, I have nothing but respect and love for our relationship but it's true, I have lied to you. I was afraid for my crew, I was made to feel they would be punished if I did not agree to whatever the Board said today."
She took a deep breath. "That Shibion ship did attack us first. I have first hand information and evidence there is a rogue faction of Shibions working with Daniel Jones, trading in unsanctioned weapons."
Unabe nodded, apparently the word of their favoured Captain was enough for them.
"General Connelly I will be most offended if you did not release this Captain right now. I will speak to you privately, for you to explain perhaps. The Elders will hold their own investigation since you are unable to resist the seemingly strong human desire to not tell the truth."
The General's face was redder than ever. He waved his arm violently before quickly disappearing through a door behind the platforms.
Guards appeared and began ushering everyone out of the room.
Without thinking Nick pulled Paige into a hug and like a tonne of bricks the reality of what just happened hit her. She clung to her father as all the bottled up tears finally broke free.
Caleb sat outside the building he had just been evicted from. He wasn't going to leave without seeing Paige.
His communicator beeped and he gritted his teeth in anger as he read the message.
All crew members of The Mako are required to attended Captain reassignment assembly tomorrow at 0600 hours.
He tapped in his own message and sent it out to all the same recipients.
Emergency meeting concerning all Mako crew members outside Corps Legal Building, attend ASAP.
Emily watched on as Spencer beat Aria at their second game of chess and Hannah tried not to fall asleep. They had spent the day visiting the recuperating Navigator and had exhausted almost every inside activity they could think of.
Spencer thrust her new arm in the air in triumph.
"I win." She grinned.
Aria rolled her eyes. "I'm so surprised."
"Should you really be throwing your arm around like that, won't it fly off or something." Hannah said.
Now Spencer rolled her eyes. "Seriously guys I'm fine, they said I'd be able to go home in a few days." She clasped and unclasped the fingers on her injured hand to convey.
Their communicators beeped simultaneously interrupting the conversation.
"Caleb!" Hannah smiled as she read who the sender was. Her boyfriend had been AWOL for the past few days. Her smile faded as she read the message.
"Oh."
Emily was already standing up to leave.
"We have to go."
"Whoa hold on, do you know what this is about?" Spencer asked.
"I think so, I think it's got something to do with Paige."
The other girls all stood ready to leave at the mention of Paige's name, no further explanation needed.
"I'm not sure what happens now, I guess we just wait and see." Nick smiled at his daughter as she wiped at her wet face.
"Yeah and I should probably start answering some of those messages I've been getting." She added and he nodded.
"Paige?" A familiar voice came from behind her.
She turned to face Narea's blue eyes.
"Hello Paige, it is very nice to see you once more, even if I would like the circumstances to be different." The pale-skinned girl offered.
Paige smiled back.
"Yes it's good to see you to Narea, I was surprised to see you here today."
"Not almost as surprised as I was to see you here, Captain. I have been sitting in with some of the Elders relations and when your name was said I did not hesitate to involve myself. I did not believe for a moment anything was true." She threaded her arm through Paige's, a Shibion habit, as they exited the room.
Caleb couldn't have been more proud as he watched the outside foyer of the Legal Building fill up with his fellow crew members. They had responded almost immediately to his message.
"Caleb!" Hannah tackled him with a hug as the girls arrived.
"Hey gorgeous." He smiled.
Emily however was not so happy.
"Caleb what's going on? Is this about Paige?" The worry on her face was clear.
He nodded and then climbed up on a nearby table, getting everyone's attention.
He then told the entire Mako crew what had been happening and what he had overheard in the hearing.
"That message you got before is so they can take The Mako away from Captain McCullers but we aren't going to let that happen!"
They were all just as pissed off as he was as they cheered in agreement.
"We'll wait here until they come out and then let them know The Mako only has one Captain and one crew!"
He stepped down and Hannah pulled him in for a kiss.
"I totally forgive you for ignoring me."
"Caleb." Emily said in a serious tone. "It was for me wasn't it? They were going to arrest me but she stopped them, gave herself in."
Caleb didn't have to answer.
"Excuse me." A young Shibion girl stood beside them.
"Are you close friends with the Captain?"
They all eyed her suspiciously and then she spotted Emily.
"Oh, I know you, you are Emily Fields. The girl who was, until recently, missing."
The eyes on her remained untrusting.
"Please, I apologise. I am Samara, daughter of the Elder Unabe. I too consider myself a close friend of Captain McCullers."
Caleb recognised the name.
"Hey Samara, do you know what's been going on today?"
"I do not." She smiled and the crowd began to cheer as Paige came out of the building.
"That is my sister who walks beside your Captain, so I do believe I will know soon enough." She answered to Emily even though Caleb was the one who was talking to her.
They all turned and watched as Paige's face filled with surprise and then tears.
"No new Captain!"
"The Mako won't fly without you!"
Various chants flew across the grounds.
Nick put his arm around his daughter as his heart swelled at the unconditional support this crew had for their Captain. It was unlike anything he had seen before.
Narea, true to Shibion form seem unaffected by the scene.
"There is Samara, I see she has already found a pretty human." She nodded in the direction of Caleb and the group.
Paige did not notice Samara, her friends or even the fact that Spencer was was pumping two fully functioning fists in the air.
She only saw one person, Emily. The emotions on her face were raw and Paige knew there was a lot of work to do.