Chapter Twenty-Nine: Thicker Than Blood

Kate held out the short staff in one hand. She closed her eyes and it grew twice its original size. She opened her eyes, glared at James and the sharp knife shot out of one end like a bayonet.

James held out his staff, and it also grew. The moment the knife shot out, Kate attacked.

She ran at him, swinging furiously. All he could do was to defend. She swung at him over and over, and backed him into the corner. Then she dropped to the ground, kicked her leg and took out his feet.

James fell back against the corner. Kate stood up and stabbed at his face, but he moved his staff across it just in time to push away the fatal blow.

As the knife whipped past his eyes, James realized his sister was out for blood. He realized how deeply he had cut her with his betrayal. And he knew if he wanted to live he had to fight for his life.

He began to push back and move out of the corner. He never stabbed at her body; he only went for the shoulders, forcing her to defend and step back. When the two staffs came together and he looked her in the face, he spoke.

“Kate, please let me explain.”

She pushed him away, and stabbed at his stomach. James jumped back and swung his staff low, sweeping hers away.

Kate spun around with the momentum and hit him in the shoulder. He cringed, but quickly gathered his thoughts and held the staff at the other shoulder just as she swung back around.

She stabbed and swung, turning every defensive move he made into another attack. Finally he was able to gain the upper hand and put some space between them.

“Father helped me escape,” he cried out before she could attack again.

“You lie,” she screamed.

Suddenly a loud thunder came from outside one of the shuttle bay doors. Another shuttle was landing in the arrival area. The twins watched it dock. As the doors began to open, Kate looked back at James. It did not matter to her if someone arrived; she was already at the end of her journey. There was nothing to hide.

James used the distraction to pull out the medallion William had given him. Kate had seen it before. She knew it belonged to her father.

The bay doors opened and two workers from the colonies on Mars began to exit. They stopped short and stared at the two standing before them.

Kate was immediately recognized. After she gave Yori’s eulogy, everyone in the solar system knew her face.

The workers asked if she needed any assistance. She held her hand out to them.

“Leave us,” she demanded. They quickly walked past the two and into the lab without saying another word.

Kate looked back at James once they were gone. “You must have stolen it,” she said, tumbling forward and swinging low. She struck James at the knee. He cried out, but did not drop to the floor.

Then Kate stabbed at his torso, using the flat end of her staff. He pushed it away with his as she spun around and stabbed again with the knife. He turned his body away and the knife sliced into his shoulder. He cried out, dropped the staff, and fell to the ground. Kate began circling him, like a predator and its prey.

“He helped me because he knows that death is the easy way out,” he told her. “It will be harder to live with what I’ve done.”

“And maybe I can pay for what I’ve done,” he added. She stopped in her tracks and stared at him.

“Maybe I can find redemption.”

With that, she attacked again. He held up his staff with one hand to block her downswings, and then he kicked at her feet. She was knocked off balance for a moment, but didn’t fall.

“You will never find redemption,” she told him.

Kate came at him, attacking his injured shoulder and pushing him back. Then she swung the staff around, barely missing his nose with the flat end of the staff. When it came around the tip of the knife sliced across his eyebrow.

The blood began to seep out immediately. It flowed across his face and started pooling on the floor. Kate paused.

She waited for some kind of remorse or pity to sweep over her, but all she could think of was Yori and his children.

With James wounded and kneeling on the floor, she lifted the staff over her head and stabbed downward at him. He turned quickly and defended the attack. But he was still left lying on his back with one eye covered in blood.

Kate went in again, stabbing downward. He swiped the staff across his chest and pushed her away. She swung it around with one quick stroke, and had the knife at his throat before he could do anything. That’s where she stopped, with the knife at his throat.

James closed his eyes and let his staff fall from his fingers. Kate stood motionless, staring at his bloody and defeated body.

James waited for it, just as he did in his cell. But the kill stroke did not come.

Inside Kate struggled. All she wanted was to kill him. When she found out he was the traitor, she became so single-minded. Now she knew that condemning him was easy, executing him was not. After all, he was her brother. He was blood.

She started to wonder if he was right. Life would be harder than death. He couldn’t suffer if she killed him, and that might be the best revenge. So, she pulled the knife away from his throat and stepped back.

James stood up. “I’m sorry,” he said.

Kate turned her back on him and headed inside the lab, never looking back.

James walked up the ramp and into the shuttle that had just arrived from the Martian colonies. He went inside and closed the bay doors behind him.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Escape

James sat on the bench in his cell waiting for the guards to take him away. An execution sentence meant he was allowed to prepare a last will and testament, choose his final meal, meet with a spiritual advisor, and select his form of death. This always happened the day before the sentence was carried out. That day was today, so he knew they were coming for him.

When the guards arrived, James watched the wall clear and the doorway appear. He gripped the medallion tightly, stood up and headed out of the cell. Four guards escorted him through the corridors in standard formation.

As the group turned a corner, James jabbed his left elbow at the guard behind him. He swept his right leg back and toppled another. It only took seconds for him to render all four guards unconscious. He slowly stood up, looked around and listened. No sirens or footsteps filled the corridors.

James continued to the next doorway. He opened the medallion, took out the keycard, and swiped it in front of the small glass panel on the wall. The door opened, and he took one last glance before stepping inside.

At the same time, Kate was moving quickly and smoothly through the ventilation shafts on Shackleton Base. She spent so much time looking over the plans, she had the system memorized and never once pulled out the blueprints.

She got to the service area docking bay and stopped to look around. Workers, travelers, lifters, and crates moved in ordered chaos. She lay in front of the grate, watching and waiting for the right moment to slip in and join the dance.

She swiped her keycard in front of the docking bay vent. It opened and she softly slipped into the bay. The door closed behind her and she started to make her way around the perimeter of the room.

A portion of the bay in the far corner was sectioned off with a blue band, signifying refuse transport. Each crate in the area was marked with the same blue banding. The shuttles within it had blue identification markers at the wingtips. Lab Reclamations was the primary refuse company used on the moon, and all their docking bay sections were marked with the same blue insignias.

Kate stayed low and quickly moved across to the shuttle. She bolted up the ramp and disappeared inside.

James was still sneaking around the bowls of the Alexander compound until he reached one of the maintenance portals. Control panels lined one wall, and access hatches the other.

He opened one of the hatches, crawled inside, and started shuffling through the tight space. He took several turns without hesitating until he came to the end of the passageway. He stopped before the doorway, pulled out his keycard and swiped it.

The hatch opened to reveal a small storage room. Crates of all different sizes were stacked in separate groups with colored bands encircling each. James looked around for ones surrounded by a red circle, which meant the equipment was headed for one of the labs on the moon. He examined the tags on the crates until he saw one that read, “Core replacement drill tips.” Then he slipped into the corner of the room, knelt down, and waited.

After a few minutes, the large doors to the storage area opened and James ducked behind some of the pipes. A lifter drove into the area, loaded up with crates, and carried them outside the doors. James moved along the edge of the room until he could peek out and see the shuttle outside.

He waited for the workers to exit and the lifters to move away. Then just as the shuttle bay doors began to sound, he slipped inside and knelt down between two groupings of crates.

Lucky for him, no one was traveling in the shuttle bay. The trip to the moon would take a few hours, and he would be able to rest. Kate’s trip to the Beta Lab was much shorter. She had to move fast.

Refuse collection was mostly automated, like many services at the moon bases, but Lab Reclamations still required one worker to travel in the cargo bay with the crates. The bay was small and had few hiding spots. Kate hoped she would be able to simply hide from the reclamations worker, but she was prepared if she got caught, which didn’t take long. Shortly after take off, the worker noticed her breathing and investigated.

Kate had already pulled out her sonic sleeper, just in case. It only took one short blast in his direction and he was out. Kate took out the holographic concealer and scanned his face. She slid his body behind the console in the back of the bay and took his position for the duration of the trip.

As the shuttle landed she put the cap on and activated the concealer. Like a veil, a thin holographic film fell over her face and gave her a completely different appearance. If anyone touched her, their hands would slip right through the image. But this device was perfect for fooling the people working at Station Beta. 

After landing, Kate performed her duties as an employee of Lab Reclamations. She supervised the lifters replacing the empty crates with full ones, and signed off on the transfer. Then she got back on the shuttle.

But just before the doors closed, she slipped outside and into the lab’s arrival area. She hid behind a stack of crates.

The arrival area had four large bay doors squaring off the room. Three were docking bays for shuttles, and the fourth was the outer bay leading to the lab.

Kate knew the three shuttles that would be arriving today. One would be dropping off supplies and heading out for the Mars colonies. Another was a transport for workers that regularly flew between the five main moon colonies and the lab. The third was the one she was waiting for. It would be picking up core samples and heading back to Earth. But it wouldn’t arrive for hours, so she removed the holographic concealer, pulled out some of her rations and slowly recharged.

Eventually the shuttle James traveled in landed, and he could already feel the effects of low gravity. He was tired, hungry and nauseated. He slowly slipped back into the far end of the shuttle bay. The doors opened, and he watched the lifters move in.

James kept still and quiet, waiting for his chance to move.

Kate was also waiting. She watched the shuttle land and the lifters move in. She stayed in the corner until the room was clear, and then made her move.

But halfway across the arrival area she stopped. Kate stood motionless as James walked out of the shuttle and stood opposite her. The two were silent.

Finally, the shock gave way to anger and Kate was able to accept that this was her opportunity at revenge. James thought perhaps this was the plan all along. His father had set him up.

It didn’t matter though. He wasn’t about the run away, and neither was Kate.

She looked James over and noticed he did not carry a weapon. So she pulled both her short staffs from the sheaths on her back, and tossed one over to him.

“Pick it up,” she demanded.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: A Lending Hand

Kate stood in Io’s quarters, getting ready for her escape. She got dressed in an old Lunar Reclamations uniform with a holographic concealer in the cap, and clipped a small leather pouch to the strap across her chest.

It held a key decoder, sonic sleeper, and the rations from Io’s quarters. She tucked her short staffs with the hidden daggers in the sheaths at her back, and covered it with the uniform cape.

Io watched Kate with longing, even jealousy. She had never really come to terms with the loss of her parents, and part of her still wanted vengeance. She understood Kate. She had been there before.

When Io was 15 years old, her parents were invited to an annual technology exposé at the Education Center up north. Her father was The Engineer at the time, but both her parents worked to catalogue and release discoveries made from the box.

They planned to lead a seminar on the advancements made with skin-technology, something Io was particularly excited about. So when she learned they were not taking her, she was furious. She fought with them the morning they left.

Io showed up in the entry hall of their quarters with a packed bag, ready to put up one last fight. They ended up in a screaming match before she gave up and stormed back to her room. She was still deciding whether or not to speak to them the night she was told that they had never arrived.

The Alexanders kept the box closed to the general public, and most people were not allowed to see or study it. One group of scientists and engineers did not like that decision. They called the Alexanders “tyrants of technology,” and they were the Machinists.

They thought the box should be available to anyone and everyone, specifically them. And they believed if given the box, they would find a way to make it work without the Alexanders. Of course, the family knew that wasn’t true. Many people had tried before in ways that were brilliant and ways that were cruel. And everything the Machinists proposed had already been tried.

At first, they contacted the family and demanded access to the box in exchange for the Engineer and his wife. The family sent out several officers to track down the Machinists and take Io’s parents back by force. They told the kidnappers, however, they would give them access and a time and place were agreed upon for the exchange. But before the meeting, the officers discovered the group’s location and found Io’s parents dead.

When the leader of the Machinists arrived he was surrounded, captured and put on trial. Everyone knew there was only one punishment for killing a member of the Alexander family.

The Machinists’ leader said it was not their fault, not their intention to kill anyone. He said that Io’s parents had fought back and were accidentally killed. Io never believed it.

She asked the family to let her perform the execution. She even begged, but Sun denied her request. So, Io went to someone else. Someone she had grown up with and could trust.

Omari was her best friend in school. He showed her how to fight, how to defend herself against the other kids. And he helped her again. He helped her break into the security prison. He helped her get into the cell where the leader of the Machinists was being held, and kept watch while she took her revenge.

But as she stood there with her weapon at his neck, she couldn’t kill anyone. Not even the man who murdered her parents. Io ran from the cell crying and never looked back. She did not even attend his execution.

Sun asked her to take over as The Engineer, and she accepted. So, at sixteen she buried herself in her work and found a new family with her robots. She never really dealt with her anger; she simply learned to live with it.

Io did not want to condemn Kate to the same life. She told her she might have to learn to live with it, too. But she wanted to give her the chance. So she helped her. She gave her everything she would need to escape Shackleton Base and sneak back to Earth.

When Kate was ready, Io opened the hatch to the ventilation system in her quarters and slipped inside. She crawled down the shaft until she reached a control panel where she rewired the system, disconnecting the internal sensors from the security alarms. No one would know that someone was slipping through the vents unless they had a direct visual feed. And Io knew they did not, at least not in her quarters.

She crawled back out. “You’re good to go,” she told Kate.

“Thank you.”

Kate held her tight, then crawled inside the shaft and disappeared.

•••

James was summoned by the council for sentencing. A team of security officers arrived at his cell to escort him. They led him through the security gates and up to the chamber doors where he paused for a moment to gather his strength. He did not want to die, but he knew he had to pay for his choices.

When he finally felt ready to face them, to face his mother and accept his sentence, he stepped through the oak doors and headed inside.

He looked around the room as he entered, then suddenly stopped in his tracks. In the corner stood Yori’s family, his wife and twin daughters.

James had forgotten about them.

He stood motionless, just staring. They stared back. A few minutes passed before two officers took him by the arms and guided him to the center of the room.

James swallowed his emotions and turned to the council members seated before him. There were seven only days ago. But now, there were four. Io was at Shackleton Base with Kate, and James and Ceres were under arrest. That left Sun, William, Maria and Lucas to decide the sentence.

He could see his fate on their faces.

Sun did not look at him. She kept her gaze on the tablet in front of her. Maria stared him down. Her face was filled with hatred. Lucas seemed unsettled. William was able to look at his son, but his eyes were sad. James knew there would be no redemption.

Finally, his mother spoke.

“Before we announce your fate, is there anything you would like to say?” Sun asked.

He looked over at Yori’s family. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I’m so sorry.”

Yori’s wife turned her gaze away from him, but his children kept their eyes on him.

Sun continued, announcing his sentence. It was the same one Ceres received hours before. They were both condemned to death. James was the only one who felt it was deserved. Ceres had screamed and asserted her innocence as the officers dragged her out of the chamber.

After his sentencing, James was escorted back to his cell. Once inside he could see the guards fade away as the wall closed and sealed him inside. That’s when he let his emotions out. He could think of nothing but Yori’s family. With the faces of his daughters filling his mind, James sat in his cell and wept.

After a time a soft zip caught his attention. The wall started to clear, and he quickly wiped his eyes and face. He watched it until he could see William on the other side. James kept his face hidden.

“The sentences will be carried out two days from now,” his father announced.

“I understand,” James said.

“I’ve come to give you something,” William said.

James looked up with red and swollen eyes. William sat down beside him on the bench.

“I’ve been given permission to give you this medallion,” William told him. “As you know, it was my father’s.”

An obolus was imbedded in the top of the medallion. It was an ancient Greek coin placed over the eyes of the dead, meant to pay for passage to the Underworld.

“Payment for Charon,” James said.

“It is more than just payment,” William told him. “Consider it a step towards forgiveness.”

He turned his back to the corner of the room where the ventilation system was, then flipped it in his hand and slid his finger across the back side.

It opened to reveal a small key decoder, an item that could open any lock anywhere on any system. Then William slid his finger across it again, and the medallion closed. He placed it in James’ hand. “I hope it helps you find the redemption you seek.”

“Father,” James said, his eyes widening. “I don’t deserve a chance at forgiveness.”

“I believe you do,” William told him. “And, so does your mother.”

James let several tears fall, but did not weep the way he wanted to.

“Do Yori’s children believe I do?” he asked.

“No,” he said. “But perhaps you can find a way to earn that chance.”

William stood up and placed his had at the entrance to the door. The wall cleared and the edges appeared as he looked back at James.

“I know there is good in you,” he said.

James gripped the medallion in his hand, and watched his father leave.

He sat back against the wall of his cell and glanced back up at the three small slits in the ceiling. His best chance would come soon.

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.