Is it possible to love something so much you'd destroy it to save it from itself?

-

Gova watched from the doorway while the new kid Denmark had brought on board warily picked at his food. The galley they had on their relatively tiny ship was proportionally small, yet he didn't seem to notice her. He appeared timid and alert, but focused on what was right in front of him. She couldn't help but feel amused as the boy checked every item on his tray, every bite, every sip.

Movement from behind stirred her attention. "How's he doing?" a familiar voice asked.

She glanced back at Denmark. This was only the second the time time she'd ever seen him without his helmet, and his appearance never failed to shock her, it was so different from his demeanor. His messy dreads and unshaven scruff framed his face, deepening the contrast between his brown skin and bright blue eyes. If she hadn't seen him once before, she would've assumed the depressed look on his face was due to the kid he'd dragged along. "Where the hell did you find this guy?" she asked, repeating herself for the fifth time that day. "I'd be willing to bet even Culwell would die from an injury like that, but this kid shook it off like a paper cut."

"I don't think being unconscious for a week is equivalent to getting a paper cut." Denmark stared at Sen's back, his voice betraying none of the desperation and worry he'd displayed when he first arrived, carrying the kid's limp body. The crew tried to calm him down and explain he was carrying a dead body until he sucker punched Ryker and yelled at him to get the boy on life support. "How's the doc's face?"

The faux smirk on Gova's face turned into a real one. "He'll be fine," she answered. "Idiot deserved it, anyway. It's been a while since he's gotten hit for his troubles."

Denmark forced a smile in response. "I don't know him very well, so I'll take your word for it." His face clouded over. He struggled for a moment, a question on his lips, before he finally sighed. Gova watched him switch to a different question. "What's the plan with Sen?"

"Take him in, probably, if he wants," came the answer. "Train him. He's got some serious durability, so if nothing else he can be useful for supply runs. I don't like it as much as you do, but we don't have the room for freeloaders. He's gotta either pull his weight or go out on his own."

Even if he didn't like it, what she said was true. Even Evi had a role in the UF. However... "He might not like being relegated to something like supply runs," Denmark muttered. "I didn't get to know him too well, but he seems to have a complex about needing to be useful."

"What do you suggest?"

"What's the current status on Culwell? What did your intel confirm?"

Gova frowned. "Is that relevant?"

"Yeah. Just answer it."

"I don't answer to you," Gova snapped. She rubbed the scar running along her cheekbone, unconsciously hiding the permanent smirk it caused, and sighed. "He's at Tietan. Why? Is that important?"

"He goes once every thirty sols, yeah?"

"He's thirteen sols early this time, but yes, usually."

Denmark watched Sen push his food out of the way and put his head down. "I worked for that man for nine years, Gova," he said. "Not once did he stray from that schedule."

The Latina frowned. "So why now?"

Denmark pointed at Sen. "Because of him."

"I don't get it."

Rubbing his forehead, Denmark grimaced. "The plan we came up with was to kill or maim Culwell, then escape in that time frame," he said, the shadows on his face darkening. "Otherwise he'd chase us down himself. Arachnid, I can evade, but Culwell is something else entirely.

"It...hurts to admit, but I didn't expect Sen to get out of there alive, or even with his sanity intact." Denmark closed his eyes. "My own plan was to leave him to do his thing as a distraction, then get out myself. But when he came out virtually unscathed, I had to...revise my whole worldview."

Gova was silent for a minute. Even her artificial smirk seemed to fade away. "Never, ever tell him you planned to leave him," she growled, her voice stony as she pushed past him. She may have been a whole head shorter, but she seemed to dwarf him in that moment. He could hear the anger in her footsteps. They hurt to listen to. "So? What changed?"

"Sen crushed Culwell," he answered as he turned to follow. "Easily. Broke his arm and ribs."

Gova stopped on a dime, her boots squeaking on the freshly cleaned floor. She glanced back at the former Arachnid, something lighting up her eyes. "What on earth did he hit that cueball with?" she asked, intrigued. "I'm impressed."

"His fist."

The soldier sighed. "Don't mess with me. Short of the Ruby, there aren't any cores that can provide enough sheer power to do that. Culwell stands on his own at the top."

"Gova," Denmark said, staring her right in the eyes. "The kid you have in there...that's Sen Devartani."

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"The professor's kid?!"

He nodded, watching her eyes light up as she whirled and stalked toward him, coming within an uncomfortable distance of the Arachnid. "So it's plausible he's merged with the Ruby," she mulled, eyes glazing over as she thought hard. She frowned. "Doesn't sound like the professor to experiment on his own kid, but maybe if he was desperate..."

Denmark leaned back to avoid Gova's face. "Culwell came to the same conclusion," he said. "And considering the sheer amount of power Sen was giving off, I would've done the same as well."

"Suddenly I'm really glad we went with the stealth drive instead of upgrading to FTL," Gova grumbled. "You're full of bad decisions lately. I mean, bringing this kid on board? Seriously?"

"The original plan was to drop the guy on Mars and then rendezvous with you, but he got shot and I...I couldn't just leave him."

"Why not? You were planning to before."

Gova immediately regretted saying that as Denmark's gaze dropped to the floor, his expression pained. She couldn't completely fault the guy, after all. He'd been under extreme stress for the past four years. Lesser people in his position would likely have folded long ago. And he did seem to be trying to make up for his past mistakes, even if they were only a week old. That had to count for something, she supposed. "Yeah yeah, don't mope," she grumbled, sighing. "Alright, I'll go talk to him. Go get some rest."

Denmark grabbed her arm as she brushed past. "Not yet," he said, gaze still on the floor. "He just woke up this morning. Give him some time. We'll be back on Earth in three sols. Talk to him then. Introduce him to Calibura, the UF, let him see it all in person first."

The bleak metal corridors were silent as Gova thought it over. "Alright, fine," she said, pulling her arm out of Denmark's grip. He hadn't budged when he grabbed her. She'd forgotten just how heavy he was when he'd merged. "I'll wait. But I better see you there as well. I didn't risk four years just to get a depressed soldier and a messenger boy."

"Don't worry," Denmark responded as he walked away, leaving Gova on her own to think. She watched as he silently slipped around a corner and disappeared. His voice drifted down the hallway. "I'm not going anywhere."

Gova turned and examined one of the strange inspirational posters Ryker had put up while she thought about her next move. At least you're not dead yet, it read, with a picture of a kitten in the background. She sighed. That man had one of the most screwed up senses of humor she'd ever seen, but he was good at what he did: being a doctor and a scientist. Sen may never have survived without him.

Speaking of the kid...

She couldn't talk to him about joining the UF just yet, but there was still plenty she wanted to discuss, especially his heritage. If he truly was Professor Devartani's son, he might be able to help with much more than just combat or supplies.

Gova poked her head into the galley, eyes focused on where she'd last seen the boy. No sign of him. His tray was gone, and his spot was clean. She took a step into the room, glancing back and forth. He'd completely disappeared, which was quite strange as there was only the one entrance to the room. Maybe he was behind the bar...? She moved toward the drinks station.

"Are you looking for me?" came a soft, genuinely inquisitive voice from behind.

She suppressed her urge to yelp and turned, coming face to face with Sen. His blonde locks were long and messy, refusing to stay styled, and his golden eyes peered out from under them, filled with interest. It would not be an understatement to admit that he was the most beautiful boy she'd ever met. Not handsome, beautiful. She resisted the urge to say as much. "Yeah, I just wanted to chat a bit," she said, smiling. Her voice was soft, like she was talking to a small child. "Is that alright?"

Sen frowned. Maybe he didn't like being talked to like that. Gova made a mental note to keep that in mind. "It's fine," he said, his voice quiet as ever. Denmark had mentioned that once before. The boy wasn't shy about speaking, but his voice was incredibly soft, barely audible in the quiet room. "What about?"

Pulling a chair out, Gova motioned to Sen to sit. He complied, sitting across from her. He moved silently. It seemed almost natural, strange for someone of his age. Like he'd been training for decades. "So, Sen," she said, continuing to smile, "How did you end up on Culwell's ship?"

The boy fidgeted, clearly uncomfortable with the question. However, Gova wasn't one to ease up on hard questions, especially when the answers could lead to victories, or at least information that could lead to some edge or leg up. "He took me from my home," he said. "Killed my family and took me as a...a concubine."

"That's different," the soldier muttered. "He's pretty picky about taking men as concubines."

"Have you seen me?" Sen sounded bitter. "It doesn't help that I didn't change at all from when he took me."

Gova frowned. "How old were you?"

"Fourteen, why?"

Fourteen when he was taken, then four years until now, according to Denmark. That would make him..."Eighteen?!" she blurted, reeling. "You're eighteen?"

It was Sen's turn to frown. "Yeah," he answered, putting his arms on the table and resting his head on them. "Small victories, I guess, that he waited until I got this old."

Gova was still running the numbers through her head, refusing to believe what she was hearing. She'd thought the guy was in his early teens, not already an adult. "Maybe the Ruby stunted your growth," she mumbled. "I mean, this is beyond having a baby face."

Sen looked up, his eyes poking above his arms. There were questions in them. "You know about the Ruby?"

Snapping out of her confusion, Gova refocused on Sen. "Denmark told me," she said. "Mentioned Culwell hypothesized your father merged you with the Ruby core."

"How does Denmark know? I don't remember telling him. Er, right. His brother. I'm...surprised they're still in contact."

Gova laughed, startling the boy. "He even had you fooled, huh?" She smirked, a real one. "For all his flaws, he's real good at utilizing his ability."

"His ability?"

"Sen, my dear, Denmark doesn't have any siblings."

Sen blinked, thinking hard. "I don't get it. I met his twin on the ship."

"That's Denmark's ability. He has two bodies. There aren't two of him, but one, split across two bodies, two minds."

"That seems...important. Why didn't he tell me?"

Gova's eyes drifted off somewhere else, refusing to meet Sen's gaze. He furrowed his brow, watching her. "Perhaps he has his reasons," the soldier said vaguely. "I'm sure he'll tell you himself in due time. He's not good with people, after all."

An awkward silence fell over the duo. As bad as he was at reading the room, even Sen knew they'd touched on an uncomfortable subject. Knowing the why, however, was an entirely different story. "I guess I should go," he said, the first to break the silence. He stood. "I have to sort out my thoughts."

Gova didn't stop him. She watched as he pushed his chair and padded to the door. He was barefoot, she noticed. It seemed to be more natural for him. "Ah wait, one last question," she said abruptly. Sen paused in the doorway and glanced back. "Or maybe two. Is your father Geni Devartani? Did he ever...use you as the subject of his experiments?"

Sen frowned. "His name was Geni, yeah, but he was the mayor of our town. A politician, not a scientist. He didn't do experiments."

Gova didn't respond, disappearing into her thoughts once again. Sen decided their conversation was over and slipped out the door.