The Patriot I: The Awoken

Chapter Twenty-Six | Sleek

            Byrne and I were alone. I folded my arms tightly. Officer Byrne got to her feet and I saw the gears in her head churn. She had an option here. Either chastise or taunt me, or prove that she was worthy of the mercy Captain Thorn was giving her. She was smart enough to lower her head. "I suppose I owe you my thanks, First Officer."

     My jaw was tight. "You're lucky I'm not the commanding officer, Byrne. The Captain is taking a risk, bringing you back in."

    "I understand I've gotten on your bad side," she said carefully. "And I apologize."

    For treason or for the rest of your actions? "The Captain is also wrong."

    Her head snapped up sharply. She calculated my choice of words. "Why would you say that? I'm loyal to the Patriot."

    "You're not alive because I saw anything in you," I said flatly. "You're alive because I wanted to see you serve justice for your actions. I'm not judge, jury, and executioner. You're alive because I want to see you get what you deserve. The Captain thinks too highly of me."

    Her eye twitched in the urge to say something. I finished, "However, Byrne, test me again and I might not chose to target something as expendable as your leg. I don't take treason lightly, especially when it threatens my crew. Your one-strike probation means that you have no more chances. So don't mess it up. And especially not with me or this crew."

    "Are you threatening me, First Officer?"

    "I don't need to make any threats. Promises work just fine." My smile was dry and bland. With that, I turned and left the brig. The door closed after me. I might regret that later but I certainly didn't at that moment. It served a good warning that I was not as forgiving as the Captain.

    My communication clasp buzzed for the first time since I'd awoken. I looked down to read the message. 'Report to the chamber by order of the Captain.' Without hesitation, I turned down the staircase hall and headed toward the end of the ship. I had no doubt or wonder as to why I'd been called to the chamber. My heart sank as I opened the door and found Captain Thorn at the end, beside the capsule that had gone dark.

    In the heat of the moment, I'd forgotten that Byrne had sacrificed a crewmember's life to wake the Captain. My footsteps echoed darkly as I stopped beside Captain Thorn. He was looking down at the capsule, his face tight. "Out of everything that has happened during my sleep, this is the one thing that I'm glad I wasn't here for. While I know that's cowardice, I can't help it. I know my being awake is what took this life." Grief was thick in his words.

    I clasped my hands behind my back. I wasn't sure of what to say. Instead, I said softly, "You know as well as I do that you had no choice. If anyone's to blame, it's either Byrne or myself." I looked inside the dark capsule, pressure dropping onto my shoulders again. "I should've have sensed the trap she had sprung."

    "You couldn't have. She's the Intelligence Officer for very good reason."

    I arched an eyebrow. "I have to say I'm surprised you reinstated her." My question hung above our heads in the silence.

   Captain Thorn was silent for a moment. His hands were in his pockets and hid any signs for me to decipher. Finally, he closed his eyes and exhaled. "I trust my crew." My back tightened instantly and I grunted, taking a step back. Something echoed in my head as if someone else was there and I was hearing their thoughts. Turning halfway, I reached for the gun on my hip in alarm. "Someone's—"

    "Easy," Captain Thorn suddenly chuckled. My eyes snapped to his face and narrowed. His lips hadn't moved. My fingers twitched slightly, lips parted. A small, amused smile twisted the Captain's lips. "Clearly, Officer Byrne did not share this with you, did she?"

    I was hearing it in my head. I shook it and rubbed my ear. "I haven't lost it, have I?" The words came out as a groan.

    Captain Thorn spoke again, his lips tightly sealed shut. "I'd thought the same thing when I awoke to Byrne's voice in my head, telling me not to worry and that she had the traitor apprehended."

    The puzzle piece clicked in. I clearly recalled Captain Thorn's stunned look when he awoke and that was before he had even looked around. He had looked straight at Byrne. My eyebrows furrowed. "We can – she knew? How is any of this possible?"

    Captain Thorn shook his head. "I have no idea. But I believe that we can hear the thoughts of those who lack the same ability, and communicate likewise. We also have to assume this is because of being cryogenically frozen. I don't know any more than that but I fully plan on finding out."

    I squinted slightly and hesitantly tried to reply the same way. I felt incredibly stupid for it. Can you hear me? He nodded. "Loud and clear. I picture it like a radio. Pressing the button is picking a target. Speaking is thinking. Relatively simple."

    "This is bat-shit crazy," I muttered back. His laughter shocked across my head before he laughed aloud.

    "And I don't disagree." His eyes turned back to the capsule and his humor faded. "It's odd. I can sense every conscious person on the ship. It's like a match in a cold room. I can feel each one of these capsules, too."

    I blinked slowly and looked at the line of capsules. I'd already detected being able to sense the other members of the Bridge Crew. It was how I knew Officer Edwards had been waking up earlier. But able to sense the asleep members? I focused and sure enough, Captain Thorn was right. It was like knowing when there was a glass door in my way. I couldn't see it, but I knew it was there. I pressed my lips. "Except for this last one."

   Captain Thorn nodded. "We will have to hold a funeral."

    I shook my head. "It's hard to believe that that's the last thing on my mind." I felt disgusted for it, too.

    "Same here." He rested his hand on the capsule. "We have ten days, Genevieve." His voice was thick. "Officer Peterson got his results back. We've got ten days until the Patriot runs out of power and we lose the whole crew."

    I stood there for a moment. My head tried to deny it, but I shook it off with a mental scowl. "I'm sorry, Captain, I should've—"

    "I don't want to hear it. You did everything you could." Captain Thorn exhaled. "One electron battery won't fix it, either. We need ten – fully charged – in order to stabilize the ship's power intake so that we are using it as fast as we are getting it. Then we can wait the three years until we have enough energy to wake everyone up."

    I didn't agree with his second statement but I decided to leave it for now. "Zoel doesn't have any. They've never heard of them. And Earth's gone. How are we supposed to make electron batteries in two weeks?"

    "We don't need to make any," Captain Thorn said. I lifted my head. "We just need to charge the empty ones that we have."

    "Without flying in space with the Patriot or Pioneer..." I rubbed my prickly head and exhaled from pursed lips. "We need a way to capture electrons, but that technology has been lost."

    Captain Thorn's face hardened. "We're going to do it. After we all get ourselves back together, we're searching. And we're going after whoever stole that last battery from the ship. It's not the top priority, but we're here to protect our people and they have already gone too far."

    "Agreed." I clenched my jaw. "Commanding Officer or not, I don't appreciate being messed with like this."

    "And not when it took a life from my crew." Captain Thorn turned around and headed for the doors. "Go get some quick rest. I'm allowing for about two hours before we disembark and face that crowd. Even if we can't have the fully twenty-four hours of bed rest, we can still get some of it."

    Despite my urgency to get moving, I was relieved. "Thank you, Captain."

    He shook his head. "When it's just between us, Sleek works fine." Captain Thorn left the chamber.