Chapter Twenty-Six: Revenge and Redemption

Kate knew what was happening on Earth.

William sent her a communication after the council meeting to tell her what James had done. So, she knew that her brother had betrayed everyone. She knew that he was responsible for Yori’s death.

But, she also knew that he had somehow turned a corner. He had told the family about the coup and turned on his fellow traitor, Ceres.

She still couldn’t help but dream of only one thing, his death.

Yori was her friend, and she trusted him. Kate had few people in her life she could trust, and Yori was the only one she could tell anything to. Nothing was off limits.

James stole that from her. He was a murderer, and she could never forgive him.

Then she thought of his children. Yori had twins. She imagined what their faces might look like if she told them she avenged their father, if she told them she had killed the man who murdered him. That is what she would want if Sun had been the one killed, instead of Yori.

Kate lay awake in bed. She could not sleep, not for a second. Her mind was filled with images of Yori, his children and her brother. Her heart was beating so fast, filled with anger and hatred. Eventually, she gave into her restlessness and sat up. She turned the lights on and decided that action was the only thing that would eventually give her some rest. She grabbed the docking schedules for Station Beta from her desk. It was one of the few outer rim labs that received shuttles directly from Earth.

She had originally chosen a time when several short-range shuttles were docked. It gave her a chance to hide among the unsecured deliveries.

This time, however, she looked for something else. She wanted a shuttle that was heading back to Earth, and she found it.

In less than thirty-six hours a Deep Core shuttle would be there to deliver equipment and pick up core samples to take back to Earth. Even though it was a shuttle from Earth, security and personnel would be light. Trips for core samples were common and went directly between the lab and company’s headquarters.

Two additional shuttles were scheduled to be there at the same time, rations and trash removal. So, she felt she could stick to the original plan.

The only missing piece was her disguise. The base librarian was going to get her one, but that transaction was still two days out. She needed to get it now, and there was only one person who would have access to that kind of technology. Kate got dressed and headed for Io’s quarters.

The guards outside Kate’s door seemed taken back by her unannounced exit, but followed her nonetheless. She walked quickly, and knocked loudly when she arrived. Io was still awake, suffering a little from low-gravity sickness.

“May I come in?” she asked.

“Of course,” Io said, stepping aside to let Kate pass. She cupped her upset stomach and sat back down on the bed.

“I’ve come to ask you for something.”

“What?”

“I need a holographic concealer.”

Io stood up. “I don’t have one.”

“You’re the Engineer. I know you have one in that gadget bag of yours.”

“I’m not going to help you escape, Kate,” she said. “William specifically told you not to return to Earth.”

“He killed Yori, Io. He blew him up,” Kate protested. She stood up and began pacing the room. “Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

“Of course it does, but I promised William we would leave for Jupiter Station as planned.”

“We both know the Odyssey isn’t going to show anyway,” she said.

“We don’t know that,” Io told her. “It’s just as likely it will arrive with a fleet of hostiles.”

“Please, Io. I must face him,” Kate begged. “You should understand more than anyone.”

“Don’t use my parent’s death like this,” she said. But, Io did know. Her parents had been killed years ago in an assassination attempt on the family. And, she too had wanted nothing but revenge.

“I don’t mean to. But, Io, you are one of the few people who truly understands that I must have my vengeance,” she said, slamming her fist on Io’s desk. “I cannot let him get away with this.”

“Don’t forget, Kate. I couldn’t do it,” Io reminded her. “And, I don’t think you’ll be able to either.”

“I deserve the chance to try.”

•••

James sat in a small room with no windows, no doors, and seemingly no way out. The only links to the outside world were three small slits in the corner of the ceiling. He knew they were for ventilation because he helped redesign these rooms when he first became a commander in the Alexander military. But that was years ago.

He was only seventeen when he passed all the tests and challenges. He thought he was so impressive back then. He smiled, thinking of that young man. Then he remembered why he was now on the other side of those cell walls. He hated his sister. Something inside him still wanted to blame the scrawny little girl who was chosen to lead the family, instead of someone like him. But sitting on the bench in that tiny cell, a prisoner of the guards he once trained, he finally understood why he wasn’t chosen.

The truth was that he was the weak one.

If he had been the right choice, he never would have fallen into Ceres’ trap and become an enemy of his own family. For the first time in his life, he finally began to feel like an individual. He finally felt like his own man, in charge of his own destiny. He started laughing out loud.

“It took imprisonment for me to become a free man,” he said to himself.

James lay down on the cold metal bench and stared up at the ceiling. Looking at those three slits in the ceiling he contemplated his chances of escape. He went over all the flaws in the system. The ones he knew about and the ones everyone else would be worried about.

He wondered if escape was a real option for him. Because he was an Alexander, his face would be recognizable outside the compound walls. But not everyone knew him. Kate, Sun, and Maria were the real faces of the family. Everyone recognized them.

And, he knew where the holes in security where. He knew how to get from one side of the compound to the other without being seen. He knew how to get out of the compound.

The only problem was this newfound feeling of responsibility. He had finally revealed his vices. Sneaking around again would only void the progress. And that progress actually felt good. It made him feel more like a man than he ever had.

The wall opposite the bench began to clear, and James could see his father on the other side. The wall became like clear glass, an edge appeared and a rectangular shape eventually slid away like a pocket door had always been there. William looked solemn as he entered.

James immediately sat up. “Hello, father.”

William walked into the room, and fearlessly took a seat at his son’s side. “Ceres has been taken into custody,” he said.

“Good,” James responded.

“We found all the evidence in her quarters you said would be there,” he told him. “We also found a complete record of your actions.”

“My actions?”

“Everything you admitted to doing,” William said. “She kept a video record of it all, as well as a journal describing your actions. It was written as if she was suspicious, but not involved.”

James dropped his head. He was always being played the fool.

“I am torn, son.” William said.

James looked up at him.

“I am bitter and angry. I want you to pay for your actions,” he said.

“I have, I am, and I will.”

“I also want you to find redemption.”

James was surprised. “You would consider forgiveness?”

“No, I cannot think of that,” William admitted, “not yet. The council will meet today to discuss sentences for you and Ceres.”

“I know the laws, father. I am ready to face imprisonment or execution. Whatever the council decides, I will make peace with.”

“I do not believe it should be an equal punishment for both of you,” William said.

“You don’t?” James asked.

“No. I cannot help but see the glimmer of a conscience in you. And, I do not see that in Ceres.” William stood up and stepped up to the hidden doorway. He looked back at his son, still confused and somber. “What will you do if given a chance at redemption?”

James began to answer, but William raised his hand and exited the room. James sat back against the wall, and turned his head to look up at the three small slits in the ceiling.

He knew exactly what he would do with a chance at redemption.

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.”

Chapter Twenty-Four: Lesson Learned

Kate sat on the bed in her quarters. She did not change her clothes. She did not remove the key from her pocket. Nor did she remove the small sliver of glass from the palm of her hand. She only sat and waited.

Io was getting the same security briefing she went through when she arrived at Shackleton Base. The Alexanders were under special protection normally, but after Yori’s death security was even tighter.

Kate needed to wait until Io was finished before they could speak alone. It gave her nothing but time to speculate. The only reason Io would slip her something before the briefing was to keep it from her security team.

Since the bomb that killed Yori had been placed inside the professor, scanning became the first step in the vetting process. Io wasn’t suspected of anything, but she would be scanned anyway. Those around her would know everything she had on her. All the devices, bionic implants, and any small, glass slivers of information.

It seemed like days before someone came to Kate’s door and informed her that Io’s briefing was complete.

She practically jumped to her feet and headed out the door. Just before Io’s arrival, Kate had several things on her mind. She was focused on how to embarrass Omari. She was focused on escaping the base. Even when she thought of Io, it was how Io could help her or how Io would make her feel better.

She did not realized how selfish she had been until Io slipped that sliver into her palm. She finally arrived at her door and knocked.

“Come in,” Io said. She walked right up to Kate and hugged her, then turned to the guards at the door. “Thank you. We’ll let you know if we need anything.”

Kate stepped inside and the door closed behind her.

“It’s good to see you, Io.”

“I wish it were under better circumstances.”

“As do I,” Kate said. “Do you think we are alone?”

“Yes, I was clear in the briefing that my quarters were to be left alone.”

“Do you think they listened?”

“I do,” Io said, holding out a small black device. It was the size of pen, but thicker on one end than the other. “I’ve already scanned every inch of this room. There’s nothing here for us to worry about.”

Kate relaxed at the news and pulled the glass sliver from under the leather guard on her left hand.  

“What is it?”

“A message from your father.”

“Of what? Why didn’t he just contact me?”

“Those transmissions can be watched by others. He wanted to make sure this message did not get out.”

Kate looked down at the sliver. “Do you know what it says?”

“I do.”

“Why don’t you just tell me?”

“He wanted you to hear it from him.”

“He should know I trust you.”

“He does. It’s just something that you need to hear from him.” Io sat down beside Kate. “I’m going to leave you here to view the message. I’ll get some food and drink for both us. When I return, you can ask me anything you want. But he wanted you to watch the message alone.”

Kate smiled. After Io left, she walked over to the desk and slipped the glass sliver into the reader. Her father’s face popped up on the screen.

“My dear, Kate, I have much to share with you. But no matter what I tell you, you must not return to Earth …”

•••

James sat at his desk for some time, watching Ceres on the security feeds. She had gone to the kitchen and gathered a basket of food. She went to the library and took several books, the old kind with paper pages. Then she slipped into her quarters, where the cameras were not allowed to follow.

He sat and stared at the empty hallway, wondering if he was just paranoid. His parents knew something was wrong. The way they spoke to him in the atrium outside the vault. The words his father spoke were thick with implications.

He left the feeds on outside his aunt’s quarters, just in case she left. But he couldn’t stop making assumptions. He couldn’t stop thinking the worst. He couldn’t stop reminding himself they were his mother and his father.

Suddenly, he dropped his head into his hands and wept. He couldn’t keep the emotions in check any longer. What had he done? He was so jealous of his sister. She was given so much; while he could only sit and watch it all happen.

“Why do they love her more?” he cried out. He took deep breaths, trying to regain control of himself. Then he stood up and began pacing around the office. He wanted to drop to his hands and writhe around in anguish. He wanted to pity himself, no one else ever did.

But, the soldier inside him began to emerge.

“One can only save themselves,” he whispered to himself.

He wiped his face with his sleeve and continued pacing around the office. Perhaps the best deception was truth. If he told his parents the plan, they would feel guilty for treating him so poorly. He hoped. And, he would have his revenge against Ceres.

James walked around to his desk and grabbed a small black box. He pushed one side and a small gray part slipped out of the top of the box. He pushed that side again and the gray piece dropped back inside.

“If you want me to place the device, Ceres, I will do just that.”

James held tightly onto the device and left his office.

The screen on his desk still displayed several of the security cameras around the compound. James could be seen headed for the council chamber.

Chapter Twenty-Three: Underhanded

Kate wore her traveling clothes for Io’s arrival. The silk shirt, hemp vest, leather boots and her great grandmother’s hand guards. She even brought her staff along.

Omari told her strangers would be lurking everywhere, and she needed to look like she was ready for anything. Her reasons were more judicious.

She wanted to steal the key to the shuttle bay. The travel gear had several hidden pockets, all discreet and easily accessible.

Omari led the way to the shuttle bay. Kate was surrounded by guards. Most of who were more concerned with what happened around her, not what she was doing. They were instructed to look out for anything unusual. All were on guard. But, not one was focused on her.

That’s generally how Omari ran things. He encircled his charge with layers of protection with his eyes always on the outside. Even he tried to keep his eyes off Kate. She was watched less on this day than any other.

Omari had given each member of his security team a key to the shuttle bay. He wanted to be able to get Kate out of there if something happened. And, handing over keys would not make things easy. He did not consider several keys a problem. And, Kate knew she would have a couple of days before the base would be able to change the codes for the entire bay.

She waited until everyone was assembled in the arrival area. All the guards were concentrated on the other doors and exits; the other people moving around. No one looked her way. She simply slipped the thin, glass sliver from one of the guard’s belts and quickly tucked in her a small pocket at her waist.

It was almost too easy for her. She started to smile at her own success when the shuttle she had been waiting for began docking.

A sense of relief came over her, knowing someone she could trust was only minutes from her. She let the anticipation fill her with excitement. Then the doors opened and she could see Io peeping out from a sea of guards.

And all her excitement drained away.

Io looked like she had aged years, not weeks. After all the family had been through, Kate understood why. Still it hit her in the chest, and she was left wondering if her face had the same wear.

They walked right up to each other and hugged.

“It’s wonderful to see you, cousin,” Io said, holding her tight.

“I agree.”

Io took Kate’s hands and squeezed them. “I have much news to share with you.”

She slipped a small device underneath the leather strap of Kate’s hand guards. She could feel the cold metal in the palm of her hand.

“I will speak with you as soon as my security briefing is complete,” Io said.

Kate’s eyes widened. “I look forward to it.”

Io smiled at Kate, and then headed off with her security team.

Kate stood in place. It was not like Io to be secretive; she even tended to babble. And, they were Alexanders. They did not need a reason to keep things from people. Their business was their own.

Suddenly, Kate forgot about the key at her waist. Her plans to escape were gone. Her plans to embarrass Omari did not matter.

“Let’s get her back to her quarters,” Omari told Kate’s security team.

As she left the shuttle bay, it was easy to see that something else was on the horizon.

•••

James said nothing. He only glared at his mother as he passed her, and then headed back inside the library. His anger grew with every step he took. All he really ever wanted from his mother was the one thing that had been reserved for Kate.

He almost sprinted back to his office; it was time to take the next step in his plan. He was ready to remove another member of his mother’s council, but something kept him from pulling the trigger.

He entered and sat down at the desk, motionless. He called no one. He sent no communications.

Nevertheless, like a tracker Ceres came knocking at his door.

“I’ve come to ask how it went?” she asked, stepping inside.

“They were on the chamber balcony when I arrived,” James said. “I did not get a chance.”

“It needs to be done today.”

“I know.”

Ceres sat back in her chair and smiled. “Are you having second thoughts?”

“No,” he declared.

“I understand if you are,” Ceres said and leaned into him. “The greatest challenges are always at the end of any task.”

“That is not the concern,” he told her. “We have another problem. My father sent Io’s bodyguard with her to Shackleton Base.”

“Do you have anyone else?”

“No one I trust to complete the job. That’s why I wanted to send him in.”

“If we set the device, perhaps tragedy will bring them both back to Earth,” she said. “We can deal with their security detail from here.”

“It may be too late once they return. Everyone will be cautious,” James replied.

“And suspicious.”

“Yes.”

“Is that the real concern?”

“It’s something to be considered.” He stood up and began pacing around his chair. “I will wait till the sun falls before I place the device. Find her at sunset and make sure she is distracted.”

“I will.”

James stopped in his tracks and turned to Ceres. “Why weren’t you with her when I arrived at the chamber?”

“Because she was with William.”

“So, you found her in the chamber speaking with William?”

“Yes, I quickly turned around and left.”

“Then why did you not accomplish the task, distract them both while I placed the device?” he wondered. “Or better still, why did you not warn me?”

“Well, obviously I give you more credit than you give yourself,” she asserted. “I thought you would be smart enough to have already exited when you saw them, but not me with them.”

“I’m left wondering if you want me to get caught, Ceres.”

“Of course, not,” she said, standing up and walking over to him. “We’re in this together.”

“Are we?”

She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him in to her chest. Like a mother caressing her child, she ran her fingers through his hair.

“No one in this family has ever appreciated you, or taken care of you like I have.”

James relaxed in her arms, and let himself enjoy the warmth and attention. She was right. No one else in the family looked after him the way she did. Each member seemed to only focus on themselves. He wanted them to be a family, one unit working together. But the older he got, the more he realized it was every man for themselves.

“I’ll set the device today,” James said. “But, I may put our other plans on hold.”

“Whatever you think is best,” she told him, then relaxed her grip and lifted his chin to look up at her. “I trust you.”

She walked around the desk to leave, pausing just inside the doorway to look back and smile. He smiled back, but after she left he turned on his security cameras and followed her through the compound.

Chapter Twenty-Two: Between the Lines

She smacked the staff against the practice dummy; then swung it around again for another blow. Back and forth she hurled it until the sweat began dripping from her brow. She ended her session with a stab to the torso area.

Kate set time aside every cycle, or one day on the moon, to work out in the base training room. She released frustrations and stayed in shape, which was not easy in low gravity.

These days it had another advantage. She could clear her mind and plan her escape from Omari.

The first step in that getaway was complete. Since Omari gave the base librarian security clearance to spend time with her, he and Kate were able to spend hours alone. The purpose was to review the logs from the Odyssey. The ship had been gone almost 150 years, so they needed to spend a lot of time reviewing every word. It also gave her an opportunity to ask him for a favor.

The librarian was older than Kate’s father, so Omari brushed away any idea of an affair. The two were left to work without disruption. That’s when Kate asked the librarian for something he could tell no one about. She was an Alexander. Of course, the answer was yes.

Kate asked him to supply her with blueprints for Shackleton Base and Station Beta. The station was close enough to Shackleton to get there quickly, but far enough away that it would take time for Omari to even suspect it. The librarian gave her the shuttle schedules, staff schedules, anything and everything that would help her find a way out.

Beta was designed for deep core drilling and long term gravity experiments. Only a few scientists spent a great deal of time there, so Kate would be out of place. She would have to move through quickly, maybe as a garbage or storage worker.

And, of course, she would have to be disguised. Being an Alexander gave her the ability to get the plans in the first place, but without the right disguise they would be worthless.

Kate let her thoughts drift, wondering what she could pretend to be and what would it feel like to be someone else. Someone that no one knew, someone that no one cared to know. That’s when Omari entered the training room and ripped her from those dreams.

“Miss Alexander,” he called out from the doorway.

“Yes,” she answered.

“You requested I inform you when Io’s shuttle departed Earth,” he said.

“Yes?”

“It has just left, m’am.”

Kate quickly turned toward the door and exited the training room. Never looking directly at Omari, not once.

“Thank you,” she said as she passed by.

Kate headed to her quarters to dress for the occasion. Io would dock at Shackleton Base in a couple of hours.

•••

“Hello, mother,” James said, still standing in front of the site where Yori was killed.

“Hello, James,” she responded. What she really wanted to do was scream. She even dreamt, just for a moment, of dropping to her knees and weeping at what her family had become.

“What are the two of you doing here?” James asked.

“Looking for you,” William said, knowing it was a lie. He and Sun were headed to the vault. “Yes, I wanted to let you know that I’ve sent Io’s bodyguard with her to Shackleton Base.”

“What?” James asked.

“I understand you were concerned because some of the incriminating messages surrounding Yori’s death were sent from his station.”

“Yes.”

“But, I can vouch for his whereabouts at the time of those transmissions,” Williams told him. “I have evidence that will exonerate him.”

James paused. “It is for me to clear him, father,” he said. “That is my duty as the Commander.”

“Yes, son, I understand. But since I was in charge of the original investigation I am privy to facts you may not be.”

“What facts?”

“The transmissions originated from somewhere else,” William said. “I can show you where they came from. Would you like to see the evidence?”

“Yes,” James said. “But not now. Perhaps tomorrow would be better.”

“Very well.”

William and Sun knew that James was responsible, but to confront him, to accuse an Alexander. This was a road no one before them had traveled. The two had just started to talk about it. They had just realized what their own son had been plotting against them. It was not the time for a confrontation.

So, William continued to play the game. He looked down at the hole in the ground, “we haven’t spent time here since Yori was assassinated,” he told James. “Perhaps this is the right moment to begin healing that wound.”

James felt his heart soften. He was reluctant to even speak. Then he looked back at the hole in the ground, and responded with an honesty he had long forgotten.

“The hole is deep,” he said.

“It is,” William responded. “But, perhaps it can be mended.”

James looked over at his mother. “Do you think it can be mended, mother?”

“I don’t know,” she told him.

Chapter Twenty-One: Change of Hearts

Kate went to visit Omari in his new command center on the far side of the base. She knocked politely, entered when asked, and stood at attention in front of his desk.

"Does this mean we're speaking to each other?" he asked, still looking down at the glass panel in his hands.

"Enough, Omari."

"What's the problem this time?"

"This personal attachment you seem to have," she said. At this he stopped reading and looked up at her.

"I think it's impeding your ability to perform your duties," she continued. "And it needs to end right here, right now."

"My personal attachment? What are you talking about?" he demanded, standing up to face her.

"Lately, you have been too involved with my private life, and I believe you’ve forgotten to behave like a professional. You need to either ignore any feelings you may have for me or remove yourself from this position."

"I don't have any feelings for you," he asserted.
"Call it whatever you want, but things have become too personal and I think it's affecting your job."
"The only thing affecting my job is your irresponsible behavior."
"My behavior should be irrelevant."
"You've been behaving like a child, and forcing me to act like your babysitter."

"That’s exactly the type of talk I’m referring to."
"What talk?" he screamed. "Your cooperation is essential to your security."

"Not if you're good at your job," she said sternly. "Omari, you haven’t been behaving like a member of my security team."

"And how have I been behaving?"

"Like a jealous boyfriend."
Omari stood still and silent. A part of him agreed with her. He had been speaking to her on a personal level.

When he watched over Sun, he hardly ever spoke to her. Once in a while, he would brief her on security procedures for certain events. But that was it.

His relationship with Kate had taken a different turn. He had even shared with her his memory of their first encounter. Perhaps it had gone too far.
"Our bodyguards are not supposed to be seen or heard,” she told him. “Focus on your job or I'll demand someone else do it."

After several minutes of silence, Kate spoke up again.

"I’m headed to the library to do some research," she told him. "I will need to spend time with the base librarian. Please, complete your procedures for clearing him so that we can work together."

"Yes, m’am." Omari stepped outside and called over one of the base officers. He told him to escort Kate to the library and watch over her until he arrived.

Kate and the officer walked off. She did not speak to Omari again, or even turn back to look at him. Her plan was underway, so she kept her gaze on the path ahead. No matter how difficult it was.

•••

James followed his parents from the council chamber. He had gone there to speak with his mother about Ceres. The plan was to plant seeds of doubt and paranoia, about anyone but him really. But, as he approached the balcony, he heard his father’s voice.
He couldn’t make out exactly what they said, but somehow he knew they were speaking about him. He couldn’t shake his concerns that they had figured him out. He believed his father had, and what he caught was his father sharing that information with his mother.

He stood behind the curtains near the balcony, trying desperately to hear their words. He could only make out a few, but his mind filled in the rest. And, the paranoia grew like a wildfire.

When the two left the balcony, he stood behind the curtain as motionless as his shaking hands would allow. They passed through the council chamber and into the main alcove. He slowly opened the doors to the chamber and peeked out just in time to witness the couple step inside the library’s vestibule.
James continued to follow them through the library. They walked past the map rooms, and toward the Alexander wing, exactly where he anticipated they were going.

But they did not stop.
They moved past the entrance to the wing and continued to walk, down into the depths of the library toward his father's office. James watched the pair enter the hallway that ended with the door to the Curator's office. What was his father doing? No one was allowed in there except the Curator.

He stood by the entrance to the hallway for some time wondering what was happening inside. Did Yori have evidence against him? What was so important that his father could not take the evidence to his mother; he had to take Sun to the evidence? He needed to speak with his aunt.
James decided to leave the library. He walked out through the lower exit near the vault, the spot where Yori had died. He had not been there in person since Yori's death. 
Standing in the atrium, the damage from the explosion was still visible. Columns were missing. Piles of stone were waiting to be removed. He eyed the cracks across the stone floor as they crept up the walls and into the ceiling like bony fingers.
This is what he had done.

He was the one responsible for this destruction. He placed his hand on his chest, trying to grip the heaviness within, and started to cringe when the door to library opened.

William and Sun stopped. They looked at their son staring at the hole in the ground. James looked at his parents, and noticed his mother glance over at the doors to the vault.

Chapter Twenty: Enemy Number One

Escape was the only answer.

Omari would be humiliated if he lost Kate. He would have to send for Eric. No one would believe could do a better job after that.

Kate wasn’t even sure if she wanted Eric back. But she was positive that she wanted revenge. Omari was the enemy.

She sat in her quarters, considering the best way to take her enemy out. If she wanted to put Omari in his place, she would have to leave the base. Simply hiding out for an hour or two wouldn’t do it. He could cover it up, or simply lie about losing sight of her.

But, if he discovered she wasn’t even at Shackleton Base. That would be the kind of revenge she was looking for.

Now she needed to come up with a plan.

At first, she considered catching one of the shuttles back to Earth. But in order for that to work, she would have to hide on the shuttle until it headed out. Such a small space left too much opportunity for discovery and failure.

That’s when it hit her. She didn’t have to leave the moon at all. Almost thirty bases dotted the moonscape. All she had to do was get to another one.

The nearest base wasn’t necessarily the best choice. One further away, a small lab a few kilometers south, was not as heavily guarded. It was a science station, focusing primarily on long term experiments. It was never intended for tourists or secret testing.

That would be the one.

“Kate?”

She sat up quickly, waking from her daydream, and looked over at her communicator. She had been waiting for this call.

“Kate, are you there?”

“I’m here,” she said walking over to her desk, “go ahead.”

“It’s the same,” the base librarian told her, “identical transmissions over the next five years. What I’m wondering, though, is why no one picked it up before? Now that I’m looking, it seems so obvious.”

“But you’re looking,” Kate said. “We never had any reason to question the logs.”

“Someone must have seen it,” the librarian said.

“Like who?”

“What about Yori?” he asked. “He would have reviewed every log before it was added to the library.”

Kate realized he was right. Yori would have reviewed every log. He would have been the one to notice something was wrong. And he was the one who was murdered.

•••

Sun followed her husband into the depths of the library, neither one saying a word.

She did not want to be there. The Curator’s office was underneath the library, deep within the ground. It was the place where the keeper of the box could hide, a place where the secrets the box held would be safe from the outside.

No one was allowed to even enter the hallway, let alone the office. William knew this. He had always followed the rules. He had always been one to respect the traditions of the family.

But something changed. He did not explain to Sun why he was taking her there; why he was changing the rules without asking. But, Sun knew he must have a reason. So she followed.

At the end of a long hallway she had never stepped foot in was a large, oak door with the Alexander family tree carved in its center and no handle, only a small glass panel on one side.

William walked up to the door and placed his hand on the panel. The door opened to reveal a circular space. A wooden desk sat in the center and shelves lined the walls. Sun stepped inside and began walking slowly around the room, examining the multitude of artifacts and objects around her.

Then William spoke up, breaking her concentration.

“Sun?” he asked. “You need to look at something.”

She quickly walked over to his desk. William had placed everything on the desk exactly as it was when he first entered the room. Even Yori’s journal was open to its final page and an open pen rested between the pages.

“This is how I found the desk when I first entered,” he told Sun. “What strikes you first?”

“Why is the professor’s map here?” Sun asked.

“I had the same question and it led me to find this.” William picked up Yori’s journal and showed Sun an entry from the week before his death. As she read, she slowly sat down in the worn, leather desk chair. After flipping through a couple of pages, she looked up at William with shock and sadness in her eyes.

“Keep reading,” he said and placed his hand on her shoulder. Sun continued until she finally got to the last entry. When she finished, she placed the journal back on the desk and cupped her face in her hands.

“Why wouldn’t they have warned us?” she asked, looking up at him.

“Maybe they did,” William said. “That’s what the box is for, to help us survive.”

“Then why haven’t we discovered them before?”

“We haven’t asked the right question,” he answered.

Sun stood up abruptly and said, “then let’s ask the right question.”

The two left the office behind and headed to the vault where the box was kept. One could open the box; the other could ask the question.