Rebecca

Date July 14, 2116 Time 1:28 a.m. Location Coalition Guardship Fenrir, Miril Nebula

Rebecca had often imagined what it would be like to meet Daniel Card.

To have her lifetime of dedication to their cause be honored by an audience with such a great man. To have his brilliant smile sparkle for her, as he praised her work as instrumental to achieving their Humanity-saving goals. To know, once and for all, that everything she had sacrificed, all those she had cared for and still harmed for the continuation of the Embers’ mission, had been worth it.

That his ship would be the one to rescue her from that hellhole...that the man himself was going to conduct her debrief...it was the stuff of daydreams and romance novels.

But it was real.

She was in the room with him.

She sat in a comfortable chair in a huge office on Card’s glorious Coalition Guardship, in front of an impressive wooden desk, and Daniel Card sat opposite her. His Phoenix guards stood diligently to either side of his chair, vigilant against any possible dangers.

He was as handsome as she’d seen in every recording.

It would have been perfect...if they’d let her shower first.

She couldn’t smell anything, but as a kid she had spent enough time around an aunt who smoked to know that didn’t mean she didn’t reek. No one who spent days trapped in a room without a functioning toilet or shower was going to smell good afterwards.

Now she was feet away from her hero.

Reeking.

“Are you comfortable?” Daniel Card gave her a warm smile. “Need anything before we begin? I can send Aiden out for some drinks? Maybe a mint?”

Oh dear god, how bad was her breath?

Rebecca lowered her head in embarrassment. Maybe if she didn’t point her mouth at him, it wouldn’t reach him as strongly––

“Oh, no need for the sour look.” The captain let out a short laugh; sat back in his luxuriously plush chair. “Aiden? Could you go get those mints? And how about some tea? Would you like some tea, Doctor?”

She felt her face flush as she nodded. Why hadn’t they let her shower first? This should have been one of the greatest moments of her life.

“I’m sorry for the smell,” Rebecca said quietly as the Phoenix guard passed her. She knew how sensitive their sense of smell was, and even if she somehow didn’t smell too bad to Card, she had to reek to Aiden.

“No need to apologize,” Card gave her a dismissive hand wave. “I’m the one who didn’t want to wait for a report. So, let’s get started.”

She hesitated. “Will Doctor Hammond be joining us?”

“Corey is headed to a specialist back in the colonies to have his vocal cords tended to,” Card said with a shrug. “He’ll be writing out his version while he travels, and don’t feel like waiting that long. So, congratulations. You get to walk me through it. Now, what the hell happened down there?”

That was...not a question Rebecca had expected to answer on her own, but she was suddenly very glad to be the one giving the report. Given the chance, she was certain Doctor Hammond would have tried to put all the blame on her.

She was so, so tempted to act in kind.

He hadn’t opened the door, after all. Not until their rescue cleared the entire goddamn ship twice over.

Paranoid bastard.

After that final fucking straw, she didn’t feel like covering for him.

Besides, it really was all his fault anyway.

But then there was Rick.

The source of most of the pooled, sticky blood she’d had to step over as they finally escaped that hellhole.

Hammond knew.

Just like she knew what he’d done.

If one of them told, the other could easily retaliate.

Not worth the risk.

“The subject...Kel...was in Stage Three when the...incident happened.” Best to keep it simple. “We were testing her physical limits, and had yet to find a concrete ceiling. It appears her metabolic and healing abilities are vastly superior to that of any other Phoenix our work has studied. I believe she rapidly gained a heightened tolerance to her sedatives, and managed to break out of her restraints before we could find a viable alternative––”

“Why didn’t you just put her back on ice?” Card cut in.

Rebecca winced. “When I say ‘rapidly gained...’ I mean one day the sedative worked fine, and the next, she was tearing my colleagues to pieces. We had no warning of the change until it was too late.”

At least, most of them hadn’t. Hammond could have warned them. Short-sighted asshole.

“Did she make contact with any of the others?” Card’s voice held a nervous edge.

Rebecca shook her head. “The three other subjects were all in stasis, in the hidden room Doctor Hammond and I secured. Kel was supposed to be the first through Stage Three. She never saw them. They are ready to transport to a non-compromised location whenever you wish to move them.”

“Good,” Card muttered. “Kel’s going to be enough trouble. Don’t need any other uninitiateds running around out there. Speaking of: did you put a tracker in her?”

“We did, but I doubt it’s still working,” Rebecca said. “She’s exceptionally intelligent, even for one of our subjects. She would have thought to scan herself, and...well, her pain tolerance is quite high as well. I’m betting she cut it out before she left. Or at least found a way to deactivate it.”

“But you can’t be sure?”

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Rebecca shook her head. “I’m sorry, sir. The storeroom jammed all sensor readings going in and out. It kept us alive, and kept the other three subjects concealed, but––”

“But you couldn’t check to see if Kel was still out there, let alone if her tracker worked,” Card let out an annoyed sigh. “And of course, Kel didn’t exactly let anybody send out a real distress signal when she routed you all. Then we couldn’t even start searching the Dolos until that Responders ship was towed away. This is going to be a tough one to track down...”

Rebecca frowned. “A Responders ship?”

“Yeah, apparently Kel sent out a distress beacon of her own,” Card shrugged. “Abducted a trauma surgeon from the first Responders ship that came to help. Not hard to guess why. The rest of their crew is fine, but she left their engines dead in the ether before she left.”

Rebecca blinked. “You let them leave?”

Card shrugged again. “Well, yeah. They’d sent out their position for all the Coalition to see. And I don’t exactly have non-Coalition Guard energy weapons hooked up to this ship. I have to keep this thing inspection-ready. It was either let them go, or have to explain why I blew them up to the next Responders ship that came to check in on them. Get it?”

Okay…it checked out, but it still worried her. That ship sounded like a huge loose end.

But this was Daniel Card.

He had to have more of a plan than he would ever reveal to someone like her.

“Of course sir,” Rebecca nodded. “It would have raised far too many questions.”

“But the captain of that Responders ship still had plenty,” Card shook his head. “Which could be a problem for us, if we can’t find Kel before she does something rash, or if that Responders captain manages to piece something together. Which is actually the second reason I wanted to meet with you today.”

Rebecca blinked. “I...I’m not sure I follow?”

“I’d give the job to Corey if I could,” Card said. “His history would make him a better fit. But he seems to have come out of his ordeal...well, something’s off with him. Beyond just his voice. We can’t reassign him until we’re sure what.”

Rebecca’s heart started pounding in her ears.

They’d find the heightened metabolism.

They’d know what she’d done to save him.

And then they’d start asking questions. Questions that would force her to choose between blatantly lying to her people, or protecting herself. Any minute now, they’d ask if––

“But, we still need a doctor to infiltrate and observe that Responders ship,” Card continued. “One that has already been briefed in this mission, and knows who and what we’re looking for. Are you up for it?”

Rebecca blinked.

A...a field assignment?

She’d never done anything like that before. She was a researcher. She’d never even been anywhere that wasn’t either part of an Embers colony, or an Embers-controlled vessel.

“Are...are you sure you want me?” Rebecca cringed even as she spoke. Who was she to question him?

Then again, he didn’t know what she’d done. He wasn’t working with all the facts.

“Not really a better choice,” Card shrugged. “Like I said, we’re not looking to brief anybody new on this mission. Best to keep this quiet, got it? So will you do us a favor and just accept already?”

A heartbreaking, selfish thought flashed through her mind.

She wasn’t a traitor, but she was sure Hammond could make her seem that way if he needed to save his own skin. And if Hammond turned on her, and opened his smarmy mouth about what she’d done to Rick...

Well, she knew what happened to traitors.

She wasn’t one.

She wasn’t.

Still, this might be her only chance.

She’d never been taught what it took to survive without the benevolence of the Cards. If she could provide useful information to her leaders, while learning what she’d need to start over, hidden somewhere deep in Coalition space, in case Hammond decided to ruin her...that was definitely something she was interested in.

“Of course, sir.” Rebecca smiled. “It would be an honor.”

“Wonderful,” Card grinned, then looked to the Phoenix guard at his left. “Can you take it from here, Fletcher?”

The Phoenix guard gave a short nod. “Yes, sir.”

“Good man,” Card nodded approvingly back, then gave Rebecca a wink. “The Embers are depending on you, doctor. Have fun.”

In a moment that made Rebecca question if she was just hallucinating this whole interaction back in that horrid room on the Dolos, Daniel Card suddenly seemed to...glitch.

Then vanished altogether.

“Cameograms have come a long way, haven’t they?” The Phoenix––Fletcher, Card had said his name was—said. There was a quirk to his left eyebrow the doctor took to be amusement.

Oh.

“I’ve never seen one so realistic,” Rebecca admitted. “But I thought this was the Fenrir? Isn’t Captain Card––”

“Captain Card is a very busy man,” Fletcher sat in Card’s chair. “He had appointments elsewhere that could not be delayed, even for a mission as vital as this. You understand.”

“Of course.” She wanted to be disappointed that she hadn’t actually been in the same room as Captain Daniel Card, but all she could feel was relief that she hadn’t actually filled his nostrils with B.O....

Wait, then what was that mint comment––

“Aiden should be back with those drinks any minute,” Fletcher said. “Along with the necessary documents we will need to modify your background into one suitable for this mission. We’ll need to begin backdating those files as soon as possible. The more time they spend in the First Responder’s systems before your...transfer, the less likely they are to be questioned. And of course, we will need to rehearse your answers to questions you will undoubtedly be asked while undercover. Professional and personal. The next few weeks are going to be long, doctor. And you likely will not be able to return home for months, if not years, once you infiltrate this vessel. Are you certain you are prepared for this?”

Absolutely not.

But she was not dying in prison.

Or worse.

...Likely worse.

“It’s an honor,” Rebecca said enthusiastically.

Then winced as Fletcher wrinkled his nose.