Chapter Twenty-Five: The Snake and his Skin

When Io returned to her room, Kate was already gone. She had finished listening to the message from her father, then shattered it and headed back to her quarters where she immediately contacted him on the communicator. The moment William saw her face, he knew that she had received his message.

“I was considering heading back to Earth,” she said discretely, knowing someone could be listening.

“I think you should continue on your current journey,” he told her.

“I don’t think I’m needed now that Io’s here. I could be of more use on Earth.”

“You could do more good by going to Jupiter Station to greet the Odyssey.”

“I would also like the opportunity to say my goodbyes to Yori. There is time for me to get to Earth and still meet up with Io for the ship’s return.”

“There will be time to say goodbye to Yori when you have completed your current mission,” William said.

“Yori’s death has taught me never to make assumptions about what time I left.”

“It’s important we find out how the Odyssey has fared on its journey and what has been learned from its mission. Besides, you and Io make a good team. I would feel better knowing you two are there to assess the situation,” he explained. “Your mother and I can handle things down here.”

“But, father,” she said when a knock at her door ended her attempts to change his mind. “Someone’s here.”

He smiled. “The council is waiting for me anyway.”

“I’ll be in touch,” she told him, then closed the communicator.

She walked over to the door and opened it to see Omari standing there.

“Hello, Kate,” he said.

“Hello.”

“May I enter?”

“Of course,” she said. She stepped aside and closed the door behind him.

“Did you see anything unusual during Io’s arrival?” he asked.

“What do you mean unusual?” she said defensively.

“Yes or no. Did you notice anything you would characterize as unusual?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“A security key is missing,” he told her.

“A security key to what?” she asked, remembering the key was still in the pocket of her vest.
“The shuttle bays.”

She tried to change the conversation. “More proof that Eric should never have been removed from his post.”

“The keys will be changed shortly,” he told her. “We will keep an extra pair of eyes on you until then.”

Kate could almost hear the clock beginning to tick. If she was going to escape, she’d have to move fast.

•••

When James opened his office door, four guards stood outside.

“That didn’t take very long,” he said.

“Excuse me?” one of the guards responded.

“Nothing. What can I do for you gentlemen?” James asked.

“We’ve been asked to escort you to the council chamber.”

“Very well,” he responded. He paused at the threshold, and turned back to look at his staff.

“Without your staff, sir,” the guard said.

James turned back and smiled at him. It felt good to be feared.

The group walked out of his office and headed down the hallway toward the alcove outside the council chamber. Two guards flanked him on either side. Four people that used to guard him were now guarding others against him. Somewhere inside he was grinning, though. He knew these four; he had trained them. And, he knew that he could take them all, even without his staff.

William was waiting in the alcove when they arrived. He looked concerned and upset, but there was something else in his eyes. It was then that James knew they had found the device.

“Thank you, gentlemen,” William said to the guards. They surrounded James from behind.

William looked at his son, “Follow me.”

They entered the council chamber. Ceres smirked at James as he walked to the center of the group and stopped.

“You know why you are here,” Sun said.

“I do, mother.”

William walked around the table to his seat at Sun’s side, while the guards remained behind James.

“The other members of the council do not,” she continued. “Would you like to explain to everyone in the family what you have been up to?”

“I would like the opportunity to explain,” he said.

The smile grew on Ceres face as James began.

“For some time now, I have been conspiring against my own family.” Several members of the council gasped and looked around, wondering what was going on.

“I was jealous and angry when you chose Kate to take over as council chair, mother,” James looked down at the ground as he said it. This was the most difficult part of his plan – telling the truth. “For a long time, I was consumed with hurting you as badly as you hurt me.”

He slowly looked up, right into her eyes. And, he could see that he had hurt her. Whether or not she considered this situation to be her fault, it wasn’t until now that she believed it. James could almost hear her say, “I should have loved you more.” So he continued.

“If I couldn’t have your love; I thought I could settle for revenge.” Then he looked over at his aunt. “And, Ceres knew that,” he said.

That’s when her smile started to fade.

“For years, she has been telling me that the only real revenge would be to take over the family. To sit in that chair,” he said, pointing at the place where Sun was seated.

Ceres jumped to her feet. “That’s ridiculous,” she screamed. “It’s a lie!”

“It is not,” he continued. “It was your suggestion that we kill Yori first because it would give me a seat on the council; and, it would take out one of my mother’s allies, weakening her inner circle.”

Everyone is the room, including the guards, looked over at Ceres, mouths agape.

Sun glared at her sister. “Ceres informed us that you were planning to assassinate me, just as you did Yori. We found nothing in my quarters, but we did find something in the council chamber.

The other council members looked around the room. “Everything has been cleared,” she said, then looked over at James.

“Why would Ceres warn me if she was part of this plot?”

“Because she needed to get me out of the way,” he told her.

“You are the traitor,” Ceres shouted, pointing at him. “I’m not the one who planted a bomb under Sun’s chair.”

“Nothing was found under my chair, Ceres.”

“He told me he was planning to place it under your seat,” she said.

“That’s where I was supposed to place it,” James announced. “But, I finally chose my own path.”

Sun looked at him sympathetically. “What path was that?”

He swallowed his emotions and told her, “I don’t know if anyone here will ever forgive me for hurting Yori. But, I hope you can believe me now when I tell you that Ceres and I were working together to take over the family.”

James explained the basics of the plot and revealed the names of everyone who was involved. Then he looked at Ceres and told her, “I did not place the device under my mother’s chair,” he said. “I placed it under yours.”