LINKAGE (boyxboy)

CHAPTER 117: ARGUS

"Did you talk to him? What did you say?" Isaac questioned his lover once he saw him approaching his figure in the hallway. Gavin had a normal expression. Tension was not part of him anymore. A huge weight was taken off his chest finally.

"I told him everything. He was... truly disappointed. I even felt the pain he was feeling, Isaac. Apparently, the Martheust we know is a lot different from the Martheust they know. Zarko couldn't believe it. He said he did it, but I don't know. I told him to look the backyard cameras of his house or simply access your memories." Gavin grabbed Isaac's bicep and started walking to their bedroom. Bethervan did not like the idea of exposing his memories and he made a scowl as he heard of it. "But don't worry. There is no need to make this face. I only mentioned it to Zarko to give more endorsements for the story. I know he will not want to see your memories."

"And what is happening to Martheust? What did you two decide?" Isaac sounded anxious because he wanted the man out of the mission even before it started.

"We are keeping an eye on him for now, like we talked earlier. Zarko is the one to judge this situation. Probably he will wait for him to do another innocent mistake and bring the committee to decide what to do."

"Bringing this situation to a committee is useless. They might not believe in it and Martheust could still be in this ship with us." Isaac didn't like the idea. In his mind, they didn't need a group of people to decide it because his sun was one of the two founders of the mission. Indeed, if Gavin wanted he could simply do it, but as he already said, there are protocols and procedures to be followed.

"They will vote for what is best for the mission, Isaac. They do not care about what happened in Zarko's place. However, what happened today is about this ship and no one is happy with the consequences of it. So it went from personal to a professional situation. I am not the smartest person in the world, but Martheust was stupid of doing it."

Isaac took a deep breath, feeling relieved that justice was coming for that situation eventually. "Alright. Let's just not talk about it. I cannot stand this man's name any longer."

"Me neither. But cheer up, Isaac! Tomorrow we will wear some military tactical suits and shoot some mannequins. That is certainly more exciting than staying in the CCR all day."

"I do not need training for shooting."

"But you will do the training just like everyone else. The soldiers from the Opus will participate with us, such as the leader of the ground troops who will go down with us."

With that said, the boys found their bedroom quickly, changing clothes and going to sleep right after. The viewport was now closed, bringing them into the comfortable darkness to rest.

The awakening of the Kosmicheskiy Mayak for the third day began tense, at least for Zarkobretch. The morning shifts of everyone started at 5 in the morning, right after when the night shifts ended and the crew was switched. That day, Zarko woke up earlier than everyone, at 2 in the morning. He had somethings to resolve before people were present in the CCR.

The hallways were emptier, calmer, without much people to greet and wish good morning. As he headed to the CCR, Zarko wondered if that was the right thing to be done, if him and Gavin weren't exaggerating. He thought about it all night, but his mind still told him to do it as he first combined with Gavin.

Once he reached the CCR, he locked the entrances and sat in front of the main terminal, the one only he had access to. The screens came to life. He was about to alter the ship's internal security protocol in order to create a test for Martheust dignity. It would be his last chance with Thrydalliv. Zarko activated the commands by voice and started talking to the device. "Computer." Zarko stated clearly. "Let's initiate administrative override. Authorization code: T-A-N."