Chapter 4
An incessant chimereverberated through Cyra’s quarters, demanding she wake up. Confused and groggy from the sleep aid she’d taken to deal with the bridge crossing, she had no idea what time it was. No way had she overslept.
“What?” Cyra asked as the door slid open.
“Cyr.” Her best friend, Veda, peered up at her with puffy eyes. “It’s terrible.” Veda never cried. She nurtured in a stoic, calm manner fit for a physician.
“What’s happened?”
“It’s the Captain.” Veda choked on a sob.
The phantom agony Cyra experienced in the wet room came flooding back. Wide awake, the pain made sense—Captain Auvi. She’d had episodes in the past, when she was much younger, where she’d felt another’s pain, like when her mother gave birth to her siblings. It had only happened with family. “Is he going to be okay?”
“Doc’ll be here to explain everything as soon as he can.” Veda took Cyra’s hand and guided her back in the room, closing the door and setting the lock. “I’ll stay with you.”
Cyra moved but it was as if she was watching herself from above. She shuffled across the floor as if she was floating. The gravity emulator could have been turned off for all she was aware of what was happening. It was too soon to lose Captain Auvi. No one else cared for her the way he did. Her captain had to survive.
Veda pointed to a chair and Cyra sat unaware of how much time had passed until Doc was gripping her hands, sending warmth though her icy fingers. “I’m so sorry, dear.”
Cyra saw the truth in eyes. She heard it in his voice, soft and hesitant. Truth she’d held in since Veda had come to her door—Captain Auvi was dead. Her heart cracked into pieces. “How?”
“It appears to be sudden system failure. He was fine after the launch. He left the deck and returned to his quarters according to several crewmembers, but he didn’t come to the galley for last meal as expected after we crossed the bridge. I had to override his door—” The doctor took a deep breath. His face morphed into a mask of resignation and regret. “There was nothing I could do.”
Tears ran down her face for Captain Auvi and for herself. His death terminated her future. The amount she’d saved wasn’t near enough for her own ship. No way she could remain on The Treasure with Varik as captain—him demanding she help him with the launch.
She shuddered.
Never.
“Cyra. Listen to me.” Doc commanded.
She sucked in a breath and gazed into his kind brown eyes.
“Captain Auvi spoke with me a few galactic months ago. He made changes to the title of the ship. Changes no one else knows about. Varik will assume the interim captaincy until we reach the Cassan Space Station. He believes he’ll only need to notify the authorities of the captain’s death, and he’ll be given title to the ship. That’s not the case.” The doctor paused and his gaze drilled into her.
She nodded.
“I don’t have any way to prove this death was anything other than natural causes. The Hapolochians decay so rapidly after death that it would be impossible for me to tell if something or someone had a hand in his demise. Nothing suggests Auvi didn’t seal his quarters himself. No one else is recorded as being in the room. So, we have to act as if what appears to be true is true. Do you understand?”
Cyra twisted her fingers together, considering Doc’s words. There was a possibility that someone had killed the Captain? That someone was still on the ship? If they felt threatened… She nodded, her gaze locked on his watery brown eyes.
“Good. Now, Captain Varik asked that you join him on deck, but I’m going to give you a sedative instead because you’re so overwrought.” Doc stared into her eyes until she gave a slight nod of understanding. “I’ll explain you’re unable to join him for the foreseeable future. Veda will stay with you to make sure you don’t have an adverse reaction to the injection.”
Cyra stood and impulsively hugged the doctor. “Thank you, Doc.”
“I may be retiring, but I have some time left to help set things right.”
It was a kind sentiment, but with Captain Auvi gone, nothing would ever be right again.
“I’m going.” Cyra combed her hair, fighting the fatigue of carrying so much sorrow. “It’s the least I can do.”
Veda tugged on her robes, plucking the seams. “If Varik sees you?—”
“It will only confirm what you and Doc have told him—how distraught and unable to function I am.” Cyra dropped her comb into the vanity drawer and closed it. “Captain Auvi would attend if the situation were reversed, no matter the risk.”
The door chimed. Veda admitted Doc.
“Are you sure about this?” he asked.
Cyra stepped around him. “I don’t want to be late.”
Flanked by Veda and Doc, she proceeded through The Treasure. The large metal clad corridors filled with more and more crew members, their feet pounding like death drums, the closer they got to the lower, port-side deck. Varik stood at the front, puffed up like an ice bird of Kolben—deadly as one too. Cyra ducked her head, unable to tolerate the sight of Varik assuming the role of leader. The last thing Captain Auvi would want is to have his betrayer lead his funeral ceremony. But the dead had no say in what happened after they were gone, no matter what they’d planned while they were alive.
Fortunately, Varik’s words were swift if not heartfelt. A bag on a metal gurney was rolled close to the airlock. With a shudder, Cyra recognized the biohazard label and what it meant. She whipped her gaze to Doc.
“His remains liquified. We had to scrape together what we could.”
Her stomach churned. For as strong and regal as her captain had been, to be ejected in a waste bag into space was the ultimate indignity. The portal sealed. The outside vent opened, and the bag whisked out the tube into the endless darkness. Cyra’s legs went weak. She clung to Doc.
“Quite a show you’re putting on.” Varik’s dark tone oozed over her.
Veda grabbed Cyra’s arm. Doc and Veda guided her away. Doc called back, “I’m returning her to her quarters. She shouldn’t have attended. It was too much.”
The phantom itch between her shoulder blades demanded she glance back, but she refused to meet Varik’s eyes again. He could glare at her all he wanted, she’d be off his ship as soon as they docked.
Back in her cabin, she curled into a ball on her bed and wept.
Veda continued to bring her food at regular intervals. Most of it went untouched.
“Cyr, you have to get up.” Veda tugged her from her bunk. “It’s the pre-dock meal.” Captain Auvi’s tradition dictated all available crew gather for a parting as a way to build unity.
Cyra let Veda bully her through the motions of cleaning up and putting on a fresh uniform.
Tables had been placed along the corridor outside the standard mess area that was too small to hold the entire crew all at once. Cyra retrieved the special tray Captain Auvi had purchased for her from a lower storage cabinet in the galley. It held her food divided so different things wouldn’t touch. She choked on her grief, clutching the tray to her chest. She missed him so much.
From the buffet line, she filled the wells with tiny bits of food with Veda’s help. They sat at one of the emptier tables, and Varik placed his piled plate across from them. Cyra’s stomach rose in her throat.
“Cyra, so good of you to join us. You appear much recovered.” Varik’s smarmy voice as disgusting as his plate.
“Thank you,” she said softly, thankful to be seated between Doc and Veda.
“We’ll be docking at Cassan in a cycle.”
Cyra didn’t respond. Stopping at the space station was standard, and he hadn’t asked a question. Where he was going with the comment?
“I’ll be informing the authorities that Auvi Thenal has died.”
“You mean the captain?”
“I’m the captain, now. I will inform them of the death so that his assets can be transferred as he instructed. I think it would be best if you remain on the ship since you’ve been so ill.”
“No.” She shook her head.
“No?” He jerked his gaze from his food to her.
“I have some things to take care of. I’ll be off the ship for several hours.”
Varik sputtered, his face purpled with rage. Why was he so angry? If anything she expected him to kick her off as soon as they docked. His hatred of her wasn’t a secret.
“Captain Varik, she respectfully declined your request.” Doc’s voice was calm and controlled. “At this time you are the interim captain. Once you become the official Captain, you can, of course, set any rules you want for your crew. I suspect you will need to re-contract the existing crew as their contracts technically expired when Captain Thenal died.”
Varik glanced around. The nearby crew watched the show. He tugged his uniform and picked up his fork. “Right, of course. If you feel that Cyra is able to travel off the ship with no ill effects to her health, then, by all means, she should go.”
The meal continued in uneasy silence. Right before everyone rose to leave, Varik spoke. “Doc? Is it still your intention to retire after we land at Cassan?” He tried to sound casual. “I just ask so that I know how many contracts I need to have drafted.”
“This is my last trip on The Treasure. I’ll miss the ship and the crew, but I’ll enjoy spending my remaining time relaxing in paradise. But please let me know if I can be of assistance before we arrive.”
“A status report on our living cargo. I need to know that my—our investment is healthy and this detour, necessary as it is, won’t impact the quality of our goods.”
“Yes, captain.” Doc rose and waited politely for Cyra and Veda to rise and leave, following them closely.
Cyra glanced back and caught the calculating scowl on Varik’s face before he smoothed it and turned away. A cold chill shifted up her neck, leaving her with a headache and a gut full of worry.