Voyage of the Star Killer

Chapter 23

"Serena had lived for almost a quarter of a century, following only what she knew to be the best outcomes for her crew, friends, and family. The time for her secrets was at an end, in two parts."
Section 1. Truth and Lies Revealed 2196_03_11

*****Excerpt*****

Serena waved goodbye and closed her eyes, concentrating on the ship. Opening them, she found herself already in the captain's office. Moving over to the computer panel, she pulled up the translation program she still tweaked daily. 

Sensing a presence behind her, though he hadn't tried to hide it, Serena frowned up at the disturbance. Immediately recognizing the set look to her captain's mouth, she rose and followed him to the table. She grimaced as the emperor and his voice joined them. She knew it was time to tell her secrets when Security Officers Phelps and Green and then Commander Thoreau took their seats.

"Your time for secrets is up, Lady wife. We have to know everything." His voice said he'd brook no arguments, no more lies or twisting of the truth. 

"This is going to take a while. Get Meniere. She needs to hear this." Serena cowered, shoulders hunched, and swayed gently for comfort. She kept her eyes lowered, face turned away, when Meniere entered the ready room and glanced around briefly. 

"This sounds serious."

Serena nodded jerkily as she began her tale. She inhaled, held her breath, and then exhaled, mentally preparing herself to speak. She would leave nothing out. Serena drew in another sharp breath, addressing the Dame. 

"I never meant to deceive you." She lowered her head. "My mother was Celeste."

The Dame sat back into her chair, one hand grasping at her chest as she considered the Lady's meaning. "C-Celeste? B-but she was taken from us long ago."

Serena nodded, once. "Aye. She ran away when she was little more than a girl. She hated the constraints and expectations put on her. She never wanted the responsibility. Unfortunately, Rafel saw her when he was but a child, no more than a youngling, and decided to claim her for his own. A powerful psychic in his own right, he knew that someone of her caliber would produce equal or stronger. He kidnapped her when he was set up as the king of the pirates. Raping her, he proceeded to try to get her with child."

Serena's voice fell flat, emotionless, as she recited a story she heard many times before her mother passed. "For six years, he put his seed in her." She shuddered. "He finally left her alone when she fell pregnant with me. When I was less than a year old, she left, taking me to a far-distant planet, one he had once considered and discarded in his conquest of the universe."

 She snorted. "We lived in a housing shelter for two years before she spooked. She claimed she saw one of his lieutenants. Going down to the docks, she threw me into the waters and told me to live or die."

Serena shifted away, uncomfortable, as Liam and Wyeth exchanged startled glances. "She must have been right. As she left me to my fate, a laser cut her down. I hid. I climbed into the rowboat of an old sailing ship and stowed away. A month later, I debarked in a large city. Barely able to fend for myself, I managed to survive for nine years." She turned to face her husband. 

"I was scavenging, hoping for food scraps, when I found that assessment. I didn't even send it in. I threw it out. But a stranger laughed at me, pulled it out, and read my answers. He bought me a meal 'for the entertainment', he said. I never saw him again. I don't even know how the Admiral tracked me down. I stayed on the move, never in the same place twice."

She stood stiffly and crossed to the Dame, kneeling before the older woman. "I am so, so sorry. I – I didn't know how to tell you."

Serena fell into the woman's bosom as Meniere reached out and pulled her towards the only weeping, laughing family she had. "I hadn't seen my sister since she ran away at the age of 17." Meniere stroked Serena's face. "No wonder you seem so familiar to me." They shared their first familial embrace. "My dear child." Meniere laughed. "My niece!" Hugging again, Meniere looked towards the captain."You asked what you could do to help me. You did it." Meniere took a shaky breath and nudged Serena's chin up so she could study her family in detail.