Astrid (3rd-person POV)
Astrid couldn't believe she and Jericho had fallen for the trap.
They both ran without hesitation when they heard the crash in weapons. Astrid sent a quick message to Genesis, not realizing how many of the assumptions she would make were wrong.
Jericho entered weapons first, examining the mess of plastic crates. Astrid watched his back, brandishing her Grand Slammer.
The end of the alarm signaled the Skeld's plunge into darkness. She seized as her mind ran through every possible that could occur in the next two seconds.
When the place lit up red again, there was nothing in her sight. But some kind of hard rope slid around her wrist, and she couldn't turn and yank back her arm in time for Zaniah to spin her into the wall, cracks snaking across her helmet as it made contact.
"Get off me!" she yelled. "Captain! Genesis!"
No response. Her communicator must have shattered beyond repair along with the front of her helmet.
Zaniah ran up and ripped her helmet completely off, then swung something hard across her head, knocking her out instantly.
-
She woke up back-to-back with someone in oxygen.
"Jericho?" she guessed. No response, but a head lolled against her shoulder, coarse stubble rubbing against her neck. It was Jericho, but he was still unconscious.
In front of her was Elara, also knocked out, her cane gone.
"You're awake," Ceres said from her left. His legs—covered with the thick white insulation of a spacesuit—came into view, a gun tucked into a holster at his thigh. "Looks like you get to watch your friends die, suffocating from lack of oxygen right alongside you."
Astrid resisted the urge to spit on his feet. She would probably make a fool of herself if she tried. "You're a psychopath. Why are you part of the Conclave? Why are you killing everyone? Where's Genesis?"
Ceres brought out his gun and slid a finger against the straight grooves of the small barrel. "Slow your roll, doctor. Seeing as I'm a bit smarter than I look, I'm not telling you anything about the Conclave's philosophy. I would need a PowerPoint for that, anyway.
"As for your precious Captain, she's gone. Took a trip outside."
Astrid paled. Genesis...their captain. Ejected. Dead.
"No," she said softly, a sob building up in her chest.
"Yes," Ceres replied mockingly, crouching in front of her. "So sad, right? No one left to lead you guys, give you hope, yadda-yadda. Sucks for you, I guess."
"How could you be so insensitive?" Astrid asked, hardening even as tears escaped her eyes. "How can you kill someone and not even bat an eye?"
Ceres stood and turned his back, re-holstering his pistol, the one they stupidly left on the desk in security. His next words were surprisingly forced.
"It's the Conclave way."
"Ceres," Astrid said. "You don't need to do what they say. You don't need to kill people, or sabotage us. You can carve out your own life with us on Polus. We don't have to be on anyone's side."
He turned his head, revealing a red and stone-faced profile to her before the lights went out again. "Funny you should say that, Calypso. You've been acting on your own this whole time. You don't know what it's like to have your boss breathing down your neck all day, every day."
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An Imposter Among Us
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