Father Cathal Sair knelt and prayed.
He prayed to gods that did not love him; to an emptiness that offered only death. He did not believe they listened, but he did not feel that his prayers were in vain. They were more than his pitiful existence.
As low as it was.
Zyzus was losing patience with him. Despite the ritual, Cathal had not been able to push Apollonia further along her path. She ignored him, and he dared not approach her.
Brooks had made it clear, in a hall whose lights had suddenly gone dark as the two had met.
His eyes had, naturally, been drawn upwards. And Brooks had slammed him against the bulkhead.
"Do not go near Apollonia Nor," Brooks had said.
Cathal shifted in his grip, but could not escape it. Brooks was stronger than he looked. "Captain, I do not understa-"
"You heard me. You understand. I do not know what you did to her; but I know that you will do nothing to her again. If you do, I will be watching."
Sair had felt his righteous indignation swell. "So this is the true face of the Union-"
Brooks's look alone was enough to cut off his words.
Sair knew the look on the Captain’s face. It was one he had seen before, on Gohhi. The face of a man who was unafraid of consequences and was willing to kill.
His next words would have no meaning. They would only determine if Brooks killed him now or later.
He blinked slowly. Multiple thoughts of what to say in response went through his head, and though he had faced death before - this was different.
He was unnerved.
He just nodded.
Brooks let him go, and walked on. Not looking back.
The lights had turned back on.
Cathal had remained standing there, staring after the Captain.
This was his ship, and he had full control of it; full control of all aspects of it, he realized. For now.
And Brooks had kept his word; Cathal knew he was being watched. There was always a drone near him, doing some work, apparently, but watching him all the same. Different kinds in different places, he was never left alone.
Only here in his cabin was he safe from the prying eyes. An individual's room only had drones when the resident allowed it, and he'd banned all of them, carefully cleaning everything himself to keep there from being an excuse for an intrusion.
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It made it hard to talk to the Father. Zyzus was frustrated by it.
"We are nearing the time of the Meeting," the old man said. "We need to be more prepared. We need more numbers."
The ritual had been too soon, Cathal thought. Yes, the opportunity had been there, but it had not been the time. He should have used that time to bring Apollonia more to their side, to win her over. Now she was distant.
Though he could not yet think he had lost her. The idea grieved him. He told himself that he should have stood up to Zyzus about this.
But the man was the Father. He had the right to make the decision.
His hands trembled, and his prayer fell silent, even in his mind.
He did not know how, they never did, but soon they would be far from the Union; in a place no human had ever been. There they would find Others.
The Followers of Daikon; their title was something that was simply Known. In his mind he could see the shape of the concepts.
He had told Zyzus of it. For all of his great power, he could See better than even the Father.
He shivered now, thinking of just why that was. What an unnatural thing he was.
He should not be here now, the old thought came to him. He should have been left to the Void in that other life, as he had wanted.
But Zyzus had pulled him back, made him who he was. Given him a life, even if it was not the one he had wanted . . .
It was enough, he told himself. And one day, perhaps it would be more than enough. He would have back what he most desperately wanted.
The thought of that day weakened him yet more, and he slumped, wracked with sobs.
He just had to hold on for a little while longer. And he had to find a way to make things right with Apollonia, even if he could not go to her.
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A beeping woke Apollonia from her sleep.
"What the fuck," she murmured, slapping her hand onto her nightstand for her tablet.
There was a clattering as it fell to the floor, and she blindly reached out to find it. The alarm beep wailed on.
"Shut up!" she finally said.
"An awaited message has arrived," her system replied helpfully.
There was only one message she was waiting for.
She rolled over in her bed. "Lights on," she called.
She saw her tablet had flopped further than she thought. Crawling to the edge of her bed, she reached out and pulled it closer by a corner, fumbling to pick it up.
Finally pulling it up, she tapped the 'show message' button.
An official logo came up, and her heart began to beat faster. This was it.
Apollonia Nor,
This letter is to inform you that we have carefully considered your Command Aptitude Test results.
We are unfortunately obligated to inform you that you have not been accepted into the Voidfleet Academy for the Class of 2954.
An extraordinary number of beings apply for the Voidfleet each year. Our decision is never an easy one, and though there are many factors in each individual's lives that make their interest and goals unique to them, powerful to them, we must judge each applicant fairly and equally.
We express our sincerest regrets that we cannot accept you at this time. Despite this rejection, we believe that you hold great promise in command. Do not lose heart over this rejection, and it is our sincerest hope that you will attempt your CAT test again for the class of next year.
Our best wishes to you in your future,
The Voidfleet Review Board
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FINIS