Skyreign

44: Before the Plunge

Laura informed the four other crewmates, being Savath, Olsein, Darrick and Elsie, about the revelations presented to them. However, she kept those revelations relevant to the ship, as she eyed Darrick once or twice.

A good minute passed before any of them could respond. Their faces were full of complex implications, rampant thoughts, and multitudes of repercussions.

"What?" Darrick said finally.

"What do you mean, "what?"" said Elsie as she craned her neck, "it's the Sacred Vessel. There's so little information on it, so what were we expecting? A golden pleasure yacht?"

Laura shot Elsie a dirty look.

"Well, shit," said Savath, "how many more spaceports?"

"Enough to make my answer easy for me," said Olsein as he stood, "My answer is no. We leave it here. If it were up to me, I'd blow it up. Before Behraan gets their hands on it."

"How barbaric," said Grace, her tone as cold as ice, "destroying what you fail to understand. Shame on you, diviner."

Olsein gave Grace a strange look, "What—what's gotten into you, Grace? You aren't yourself at all."

"He's right," said Laura, "ever since we showed up, you've been acting weird."

"I'm fine," said Grace as she took a deep breath, "I'm fine. I apologize for stepping out of line. But this is the Terraniia. This is Nywan's only chance at Salvation. Perhaps it's the Galaxy's only chance at redistributing power."

"And who are we to think it should be up to us where power is distributed?" Olsein argued.

"We found the vessel," said Janeth, "and may I say, it is in remarkably good shape for as little as we've seen. The decision can be made by no others because the ship has not been discovered by any others. Not even the one who came and went with a Dragonfly could have known about the vessel. No other signs of prying were present."

"I agree with Olsein though," said Rose, "who knows? Maybe the Imperator was waiting for us to find the vessel and free it, so that it would be less work for him to take it for himself."

"Maybe," said Grace, rubbing the back of her head, "though there is something else I saw that perhaps none others did. I remember the ship scrolling through numerous floors and sections it labelled cryonics. It stated populations, overall status, and power intake."

"Wait," Laura swivelled about, "you just decided to tell us now?"

"She didn't know before," Janeth glared at Grace, "the ship. It has been speaking to you, hasn't it."

Grace's eyes widened as she pulled her hand away from her head again, "no, no, nothing of the sort--"

"Grace," Laura crossed her arms, "you're surrounded by constables and telepaths. All of whom are your friends. And all of whom can tell a lie when we see one. So—please--tell us what's going on."

Grace sighed and sat on the bench at the far end of the rec room, "Very well. If you must know, I was part of a top-secret program, thirty years ago. Advanced Neuronics Astrogation Mastery Initiative--"

"ANAMI?" Janeth's tone was filled with startle, "you were part of ANAMI? That program ran well over thirty years ago. I remember it well. That chip you keep rubbing must be part of the program. Allows its host to connect directly with vessels that are adequately equipped to do so. Applied to some fighters, gunships, frigates and even a few capitol ships. Quite remarkable."

"It was," said Grace, staring blankly at the table in the centre of the room, "though some of us went mad with power. My—myself included. I--I hurt a lot of people."