Samir walked down the hall with his eyes downcast. Every step seemed a little heavier than the last. His shoulders sagged with a new weight that threatened to drag him down. And yet defeat wasn’t the worst thing. It was the moments right before surrender. Where one begged God or the universe or fate to give them one more chance. One last fleeting hope.

And Samir kept hoping. The mind never could seem to grasp the unpleasant reality. The eyes always glanced to the corners, waiting for the world to right itself—right up until the end.

He stopped in the hall. Sergeant Barnes stood with another marine. The youth seemed just as stricken, though Samir had to give it to Barnes, he handled it well for his age. The Sergeant gave a swift salute and the other man followed.

“I’m sorry to say that I don’t have any more tricks up my sleeve,” Samir tiredly spoke. “This is it.”

Barnes blinked as the words struck him.

Captain Singh continued, “The Free Exchange should let most of the men off the hook. I doubt the High Court will want to charge a third of the crew. You were acting under my orders after all.” Samir produced a folded piece of paper and held it in front of him. “If they don’t, I have listed a few contacts who might be able to help. It’s not much, but it’s all I can do for you.”

Barnes reached out and gently grasped the paper. “Thank you, sir.”

Samir composed himself and met Barne’s eyes. “We might not get a chance to talk again. Be honest with me, do you regret it?”

The youth glanced back to his compatriot who only looked away. Facing Captain Singh, Barnes hesitated and a sad smile appeared on his face. “I regret losing.”

“Hmph.” Samir nodded and returned the smile. “Take care, Sergeant.” He stepped past him down the hall.

He could see it now. The elevator which would take him to deck seven—to engineering. The lockdown had been lifted. There wasn’t a point anymore to it.

“Sir, we can still gather the men!” Barnes called out. “Take the section.”

Samir stopped one last time. “Not quickly enough to stop her from the firing the gravity core.”

“Then we lost the derelict. We don’t have to lose the Hyperion too.”

Captain Singh glanced back over his shoulder. “We would never take the section. They’d destroy it first. Do you want to die stranded here, Sergeant Barnes?

The youth looked like the wind had been sucked out of him. Captain Singh shook his head and stepped into the elevator. Jamming his thumb on the button and the doors closed on him. The elevator silently descended, giving him one final moment before he faced his fate.

Samir Singh was not an ungrateful man. He had expected to spend the rest of his life in penance for the crimes he had committed. He had found his peace with that. But when Glen Tannis intruded upon his home, and offered him this expedition, he hoped against all hope that this was his chance. God had finally given him a road to redemption—his years of penance not going unnoticed.

Maybe that was foolish of him, but Samir indulged in that hope anyway. But now he was here, the warrior conquered and alone. He was no stranger to the history Catholic-Orthodox faith. He knew that in every Catholic’s life, there must come a moment of despair. A moment where it seems as though God has abandoned them. And in the lives of many saints, a moment where they must lose everything—even to death.

Samir never understood it until now, but perhaps the Catholic God was a God of wagers. After all, He never seemed to tire of testing His followers. Maybe that was all faith was. A bet that the world was not as it seemed. That maybe—just maybe—death was not all there was. For Samir, that was one wager he wanted to make. If just for the chance that it might be true.

The doors opened to a corridor. Standing just a few feet away was Lt. Commander Klyker and three engineers pointing their rifles at him. Samir closed his eyes. He would find the answer to that wager soon. But first, death must have it’s day.

“I’m sorry it had to be this way, Captain.” Klyker motioned to the side. “I truly am.”

“A man must follow his conscience.” Samir muttered as he stepped out into the hall.

Klyker waved for Samir to lift his arms. There wasn’t much choice in the matter with the three rifles pointed at him. The Lt. Commander searched the Captain, starting at the torso and working his way down. Samir knew that Commander Terese had sent Klyker for a purpose. So, she thought of even that.

His subordinate reached his waist where his pistol was kept. The Derrida 42 rested folded against his skin. It wasn’t just a function to fit within his uniform; the pistol was concealed for a purpose. All but the most trained of men knew the slight difference against the skin. As a professional soldier, Klyker was one of those men.

Samir sighed as he contemplated taking the risk. He hoped to get by and then face the traitors in engineering, but he could try to fight his way in. The gravity shield could deflect a certain number of projectiles, but even it couldn’t handle the full magazines of three rifles dumped into him. He would have to kill all men quickly—a feat he might’ve been able to do in his youth. If only he kept a younger body.

Klyker paused a little as he felt the pistol. Samir tensed to take the Lt. Commander in his arms and take him as a human shield. There was no question that the bullets would pass right through, but he hoped that killing the Lt. Commander might cause hesitation in the men.

However, to his great surprise, Klyker continued down the waist and to the legs. Samir barely held his surprise as the man ended his search at the arms where he pulled away the wrist-mounted gravity shield. The Lt. Commander pretended to inspect the shield while he whispered.

“A man must follow his conscience, but that doesn’t mean he can’t ask for forgiveness.”

Samir fought to contain his shock as the man drew away and tossed over the gravity shield to one of the men. “That’s all there is. He’s clean.”

Captain Singh asked with silent eyes as he lowered his arms. Klyker stood unflinching, his face betraying nothing. “It’s a shame. A good soldier doesn’t deserve the High Court.” The Lt. Commander turned around and gestured with his arm. “Come, Captain Terese wants to see you.”

Samir immediately understood. Klyker was offering him a warrior’s death—a last stand. While the Lt. Commander couldn’t directly act against Erika Terese, he had extended Samir a final courtesy. He took the gravity shield which meant he now had an alibi. Klyker had searched the Captain and removed him of his defenses. The Derrida 42, however, was an easy miss.

But it also meant Samir would only get one, maybe two shots off before he was killed. That meant he had to chose the moment carefully. He would only get one moment—but that was far more than enough.

A part of him suspected that this might’ve been planned. Maybe Erika Terese knew that Klyker would give him this chance. After all, she had considered everything so far. But what would be the point? She had already won, what good in there was indulging in this? He couldn’t think of a single reason she would let this happen. Besides, he didn’t much of a choice, there weren’t any other good options.

Samir followed Klyker with the rest of the men right behind him. The Captain readied himself. He thought back to that day after Canna. When he handed Father Soren the gun and waited for his death. He readied himself much the same as now. Maybe the world was kinder than he thought. At least he would die as a proper soldier.

Stepping through the melted hole cut through the engineering door, Samir was greeted with the faces of the crew. Some stared down at him from the second floor while others continued about their tasks, taking glances from their work. Both Amos and Erika stood near the gravity core.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Amos had his hands in pockets, and while he seemed to hold no sympathy, neither was his an expression of disdain either. The man still met Samir’s gaze, which Captain Singh could respect. At least Amos stood by his choices.

Erika Terese was far more arrogant. She held her arms crossed and her head high as the former Captain was escorted into the room. Samir didn’t give her the courtesy of acknowledging her presence. Instead, he walked straight to Amos, stopping just a few feet away.

“I want to know when it happened. When you decided to betray me,” Samir asked coldly.

Erika made to speak, but Amos spoke first. “It was shortly after the lockdown. Commander Terese cut a hole through that door over there. I decided to hear her out, and see if she was telling the truth.”

Samir nodded somberly. “So it was after our meeting then.”

He could make his peace with that. The betrayal was not one of an elaborate plot—at least not on Amos’ end. It was something quick and of the moment. It didn’t do much, but it was something. However, the choice had still been made. And they would all suffer the consequences.

“Have you given the order for your men to stand down?” Erika interrupted. “We have a schedule to keep. And every second we spend here is another moment more we’re in danger.”

Samir finally turned to her. “Me? You’re the Captain now. You give the order. After all, you went so much trouble to take my ship.”

Erika’s furrowed her brow. “You didn’t tell your men to stand down?”

“I told them it was their choice, and given what might await for them back at the Free Exchange, I couldn’t deny them that.”

Commander Terese rolled her in eyes. “You’re only making this worse for yourself, Singh. The High Court could still show mercy depending on what happens next. You were an old man who cracked under the pressure of the mission. You simply couldn’t handle being in charge of a vessel again. Our testimony could be the difference between a comfortable retirement and death.”

It was such an underhanded insult. Erika Terese understood very well what type of man Samir was. He knew she didn’t extend that offer because she thought he would take it. Rather, she was insinuating weakness to the rest of the crew. Trying to make it look like he considered that disgusting offer in full view of engineering.

Captain Singh turned his back to them both. “Go ahead and shoot me.” He spat. “You won. Content yourself with that. I’m not going to prostrate myself to a liar.”

He didn’t need to glance behind him to know that Erika would be more amused than anything with the display. He might have kept his dignity, but she just toying with him all the same. This little game would end when she decided it, and everything else was just a pleasent triviality.

“Captain.” Amos stepped forward to Samir, causing Erika to shoot him an annoyed glance. “We can still do this honorably. Please, don’t make this harder than it is.” He extended a hand in respect.

Samir turned to him. “The mutineer speaks of honor? Fine then, we shall do this as men.” The Captain clasped Amos’ hand. “Tell me this, do you know what the Free Exchange is going to do the Andromedans? Do you know?”

Amos’ eyes darted away. And there it is. Samir spitefully thought. Amos wasn’t some ignorant tool of Terese. The man had full knowledge of what the Free Exchange was capable of. Either he was deludedly denying it to himself, or he didn’t care and just wanted the worship of the galaxy. The man was then either a coward or a cynic. Samir didn’t care which; both deserved death in his eyes.

There was a moment of silence between the two. Suddenly, Samir violently pulled the Chief Engineer forward. The movement masked the motion of his other arm reaching for the gun. Amos’ face was inches away from Samir’s as the man realized he now had a gun pressed against his stomach.

Amos’ eyes widened as he saw the rage in Samir’s own. The Captain waited for just a moment longer. Not out of mercy or hesitation, but rather to see the Chief Engineer’s expression. How the man would deal with his own death.

Samir had plenty of experience with those at their final moments. Some cried to their comrades for help. Others broke down into tears, comforting themselves with memories of loved ones. Still others screamed fury back at the end, howling curses at their enemies until they drew their last breath. And still more never believed that they were dying at all. Hoping against hope it would not be the end.

But Amos didn’t do any of things. The man knew it was over and yet he didn’t shout for help. He didn’t beg Samir for mercy. He didn’t even try to wrest the gun away. Amos stared back at Samir. If there was fear in the Chief Engineer’s eyes, Samir didn’t see it. The man simply closed his eyes and gave a final nod to his Captain.

I suppose the Free Exchange played us all for fools. Samir thought. In different circumstances, he would’ve proud to serve with Amos Singh. Perhaps the man had weakness, but he wasn’t lying to Samir on Ghenus. The man genuinely wanted to do the right thing, even if he was only human.

And where do I stand? Gunning down my own men—my own family. The more he thought about it, Father Soren’s words really were prophecy. Samir was a soldier. He acted as a soldier. He would always step forward to eliminate the enemy. Had he gone to kill Erika Terese, he doubted it would’ve stopped there. Perhaps that was the Free Exchange’s gambit, Samir never knew when not to take a life.

And maybe he couldn’t change that part of him, but at least the soldier could face his real enemy.

Samir thrusted Amos back. The Chief Engineer stumbled and fell onto the floor. The room suddenly lept in action as everyone saw the gun in the Captain’s hand. But it was too late, Captain Singh held it pointing directly at Commander Terese’s forehead.

For the first time, Samir saw a mild look of surprise on her face. He couldn’t but grin at that. So, this was a miscalculation. Somewhere along the line, there had been a slip-up in the plan. Some little error on Terese’s part which allowed him to get this far. Samir was glad, it turned out they were just as human as the rest of them.

“You haven’t fired your gun yet, Captain,” Erika noted. “I would’ve taken the shot. You won’t get a second chance. Not with my gravity shield on anyway.”

“You don’t have a gravity shield.” Samir caught the lie. “You would’ve told your men to fire if you did. No, you were always arrogant. Just like Tannis. It would’ve been beneath to you have one.”

“If what you say is true,” Erika continued, “then we seem to be at a standstill. You can’t hold this position forever, Captain.”

Samir didn’t have to look to know that there were a dozen rifles pointed at him. Even with his gravity shield, there would’ve been no chance of walking out of this alive. But the difference between dying at the tenth shot and the first one didn’t really matter. Not when he had one target anyway.

“Then I better make the moment count.” Captain Singh’s finger was pressed against the trigger, a twitch would be enough to fire it. “I want to know before all this ends. Was it worth it for you? Your work stops here. Your life swept away just like the rest of us. Just as human as anyone else. Are you content with that?”

Samir kept the question vague. Not out of any concern for her but asking a pointed question would only lead to a lie. She would never expose herself in such a manner even on pain of death. He wanted to know the truth. And from the look on her face, she understood exactly what he was asking about.

“In some ways, my work will continue,” Erika spoke slowly “but I’ll grant you that they might fail. The system has proved resilient to most dangers.”

Captain Singh supposed that she and the entities were technically on the same side. They were what she was working towards even though she clearly had her own ambitions.

“But humanity has a need for progress. Nothing can stop that. There will always be aberrations—interruptions in the plan. I suppose it’s my own faith. I believe someone will take up my work even if you kill me.”

Erika unexpectedly took a step forward. Then another and another. Until her head was mere inches away from the gun. She looked at Samir straight in the eye, just as unflinching.

“So, shoot me then. My work will pass to other hands. I’ll stake my life on that.”

Samir sensed there was more meaning to those words then he could know. And that truth made him take pause.

Even if he killed her here in this moment, it wouldn’t have accomplished anything. Someone else would’ve taken her place, be it the insufferable bureaucrat or another of Erika’s own ilk. Either way, he lost in the end: to the Free Exchange or to the bold new future of Dr. Erika Terese. Samir Singh always lost in the end. And perhaps that was inevitable.

He remembered that dinner back on Ghenus. Erika spoke of crossing the Matrioshka Divide. She spoke of it as heralding humanity’s glorious advancement. Meanwhile Glen Tannis and Mia Williams seemed only interested in preserving the current order. They were just wise enough to know not to cross the Divide, but they disdained humanity all the same. If they ever found an option which gave them more power—they would’ve taken it.

Samir found himself the only one who preferred humanity as it was. The only one who truly believed in mankind—even after all that he had done. And he was still destined to lose.

What could one man do against fate? Or if not fate—then the powers of the world? Glen Tannis and Erika Terese could wield empires. They could change the course of human history without blinking an eye. Saving millions and condemning billions more with the cold logic of a science that Samir didn’t even know the name of.

From the very beginning, the trap had been laid and set. And Samir fell into it blindly despite all that he had done. The details didn’t matter in the end, the titanic struggle of history was between Erika Terese and Glen Tannis. Whether to cross the Divide or to cynically impose order. He himself was just a footnote. Even if he won this battle, his fate had been decided long before this expedition began. He was a small man in a larger game that he couldn’t even comprehend.

His war wasn’t against Erika Terese—it wasn’t even against Glen Tannis. It was against the very world which allowed this to happen. His war—and his enemy was the world. And Samir realized it was a war he had already lost. Truly, what could a man do against the powers of the universe?

Samir made his decision. He knew that even if he survived this, it was only a matter of when. He was only stalling his judgement by the world that had betrayed him. Maybe that was selfish, but what was a man to do? Except buy a little more time.

He aimed his gun. The men didn’t have time to react. Perhaps none of them had thought the Captain capable of such madness. Even in their wildest imaginations, they had never quite thought this. And so they could only watch as Captain Singh pointed his pistol towards the gravity core and fired.