The Crucible- The Complete Series Read online

  “Lieutenant Commander?” The young Ensign’s face practically went blue. She swiveled her gaze back to me. “I’m so sorry, sir. You weren’t wearing your insignia, and—“

  I put up a hand. “It’s fine, Ensign. Do you think you could give us a couple of minutes?”

  The Ensign scurried from the room without another word.

  I took a few minutes to stare at Jenks. My gaze shifted down her body. There really was no sign of injury. She was poised on her feet, had a balanced stance, and though she didn’t have a powerful build, there was something powerful about her demeanor nonetheless.

  I found myself swallowing again. “I just wanted to check how you are. And… thank you for saving me.”

  “I didn’t save you, Lieutenant Commander.”

  “If you hadn’t stopped me, I would’ve crawled all the way through the corridor to get to my ship,” I said honestly, voice cracking with emotion.

  She dropped her gaze, and I realized that for the first time she’d actually been looking at me when she’d been speaking.

  Despite everything that had just happened, my natural curiosity flared again. “Are you sure you’re alright though? That explosion came out of nowhere….”

  “It was an accident. Nobody was killed. Why wouldn’t I be alright?”

  There was something about the direct way she spoke that was so off-putting.

  I pressed my lips together, briefly looked at my feet, then managed a nod. “You make a fair point, but it’s not always that easy. Sometimes even the smallest things can affect us. That’s why it’s always important to have… someone to talk to. Do you… need… anyone to talk to, Ensign Jenks?” I pushed my words out. I wasn’t sure if it was wise to utter them, but I couldn’t simply stand around and do nothing. There was clearly something torturing Ensign Jenks. She hadn’t been a member of my crew before, but now I’d transferred to the Ra’xon, technically she was under my command. Though I wasn’t her captain, I was still her superior, and I still had an obligation to ensure every member of the crew was okay.

  She didn’t appear to understand my question. She blinked. “Why would I need anyone to talk to?”

  I had to take things carefully. I wasn’t a counsellor. But that didn’t mean I could walk away. “Ensign Jenks, you’re quiet and subdued. Every time I’ve seen you, you’ve been distracted. I may not be the most empathetic man in the world, but I can tell when a member of my crew is going through difficulties.”

  She took a step backwards, that trapped look returning to her gaze. “I have no… difficulties,” she managed. “Sir, you must be tired from your injuries. I assure you I am fine. Please go get some rest. And I’m not a member of your crew anyway,” she added at the end.

  “You are now. I was transferred to the Ra’xon a few hours ago.”

  “Oh.”

  I’d lost her gaze again. She was staring at some patch on the carpet, and no matter what I did, she wouldn’t glance my way again.

  I cleared my throat. An awkward silence descended between us. Technically, this was my cue to leave, but I wouldn’t. “The Star Forces expects the best from every crewmember. If you’re distracted, you may not be able to give your best,” I defaulted to saying, relying on the line they’d rammed down my throat at the Academy.

  Her demeanor changed. She sliced her gaze to the side, staring at the wall. “The Star Forces will get everything they can from me, Lieutenant Commander. You don’t need to worry about that.”

  It was an odd statement.

  Perhaps she realized that, as she took a stiff breath and added, “I am not distracted, and my duties are not affected. I will complete my tasks as ordered.” She took a step back. “You are tired, sir, and I insist you get some rest.”

  I could have pointed out that her insistence was irrelevant – I was her superior, and she had no right to order me around. Instead I nodded and took a step back. “See you around, Ensign.”

  She saluted, then turned, before I’d had a chance to return the salute, and sat back down on her knees.

  I stared at her for a few moments before pushing myself from the room.

  The young Ensign was loitering by the door. As soon as she saw me, she winced. “I am so sorry, sir. I didn’t realize—“

  “It’s okay.” I lifted a hand quickly.

  “I didn’t mean to be rude about my new roommate, either. She didn’t tell me she’d been in an accident,” the Ensign blabbered.

  “What’s your name?”

  She winced again, clearly thinking I was about to get her in trouble. “Ensign Larka, sir.”

  “Ensign Larka, do me a favor. Keep an eye on Jenks, will you?”

  Larka saluted. “Of course. Are you worried the explosion traumatized her somehow?”

  I didn’t answer immediately. I let my gaze flick towards the closed door. “Something like that. Just keep an eye on her. Let me know if… she needs help.” I stopped short of telling Larka to tell me what Ensign Jenks said in her sleep. I wanted to know, though. I wanted to piece this puzzle together.

  And yes, I was doing this as a distraction.

  Throwing myself into the troubles of a woman I barely knew pulled my mind from my own troubles.

  With a nod, I turned and walked away.

  I took barely two steps before the magnitude of the situation struck me once more. My ship had been attacked, and the resistance – a group I’d once thought was a myth – was on the rise.

  The Alliance was on the line.

  The Alliance was on the line. That harrowing thought echoed through my mind as I finally set out for my own quarters.

  Chapter 5

  Mari Sector, Star Forces Light Cruiser Barrage, in orbit around Moon Alpha 78

  The crew of the Light Cruiser Barrage had been informed about Ensign Weatherby’s death.

  His body was transported to the medical bay for an autopsy. What remained of his body, that was.

  The doctor in charge hadn’t seen injuries like this since she’d treated a group of soldiers mauled by a Samvarax tiger.

  The claw marks dug into his back were distinctive and unmistakable.

  She couldn’t believe her eyes, though. That moon was meant to be uninhabited. The only life forms down there were the crew of the research dig.

  … So what the hell had killed Ensign Weatherby?

  Doctor Wallace stood in the middle of her medical bay, staring down at her autopsy table.

  She’d already run all the scans she could, and had sent the results off to Star Forces Medical Command immediately.

  This dig may be a civilian enterprise, but Ensign Weatherby had been Star Forces. And the Alliance Star Forces took any death of their personnel seriously.

  Though she’d finished the autopsy, she was still no closer to finding exactly what had killed Weatherby. The claw marks she could distinguish, as well as the rupture patterns through the muscles of his chest.

  But what had caused that damage… she had no freaking clue.

  She stood a few meters from the table, shivering.

  She’d been a doctor for over 50 years now. She’d treated some of the most horrendous injuries you could imagine. But there was something about the state of that body that undid her nerve, strand by strand until it felt as if she was standing there completely exposed.

  She pressed her teeth together and took a steeling breath, but it did nothing to calm her agitation.

  Standing back, she locked a hand on her cheek and tapped her thumb over her jaw. Then, with a retch, she realized she was still wearing her isolation gloves. There was blood on them, and that same blood was now streaked across her cheek.

  She let out a stuttering yelp and lurched towards the decontamination cream dispenser. She slathered it over her hands and wiped it over her whole face, even getting some in her eyes.

  She blinked past the pain until she was satisfied she’d scrubbed enough that every trace of blood had been removed from her body.

  There was no need to be s
o fastidious – the computer had already confirmed that Ensign Weatherby’s body was not carrying any pathogens. If it had been, she would have worn a full EV suit.

  So the only reason to scrub the blood from her face so fervently was that it disturbed her.

  Deeply.

  There was no one else in the medical bay, so she was free to admit that to herself.

  There was something about this case that stole away her grit.

  Suddenly there was a beep from the console behind her. She startled so badly her elbowed jolted into the decontamination cream dispenser, and a great big glob fell down and splashed over her shoe. Swearing, she leaned down, smudged it clear with her fingers, and cleared her throat. “Doctor Wallace here.”

  “Doctor Wallace, this is the Star Forces Central Command. We have received your report into Ensign Weatherby’s death.”

  She blinked, face crumpling in surprise. “Central Command? This is low priority,” she countered. The Central Command were the same unit that housed the Joint Admirals Committee. They dealt with the very security of the Alliance, not with autopsy reports.

  “We will decide our priorities. Your ship will now stand by. We are sending the Armadale to deal with this situation.”

  “This situation? The Armadale?” She couldn’t keep the surprise from her tone. The Armadale was a strike vessel. The kind of prototype ship you sent in to deal with pirate infestations, not to deal with curious autopsy reports.

  Her mouth was dry, and her heart was beating so hard in her throat, it felt like it would tear the flesh in two.

  “You are instructed to complete further tests. You will send those tests to us directly.”

  She dearly wanted to ask what the hell was going on, but she had to be careful. Sass the Central Command, and she could lose her career. She took a breath, pressed it through her clenched teeth, and found herself saying automatically: “send through the test instructions.”

  “We already have. We will be in contact again. Central Command out.”

  She stood there and blinked. But before her surprise could shake through her too much, she found her gaze pulling towards the shattered remains of Ensign Weatherby once more.

  That sick feeling flared in her gut again, and she took another step back, swallowing hard.

  The computer beeped to indicate Central Command had sent through their instructions.

  She slid her gaze over to the panel, even though she was at the wrong angle to see it correctly. For some reason – despite how crazy it sounded – she didn’t want to turn her back on that body.

  But she simply had to.

  …

  Ensign Jenks

  I would have at least three weeks before I had another seizure. I needed to figure out where I could find more Omega class weapons before then.

  Though they were illegal, that was a mere technicality.

  There’d been some on my old ship, the Fargo. I had no idea who’d stashed them there as there was a House of Lords and Ladies embargo on them. They were very much illegal. Omega weapons, when used incorrectly, could jeopardize space-time, causing minute fractures in the fabric of reality. The fractures would heal, given time, but if enough accumulated, a black hole could form.

  And yet they had still been on the Fargo.

  There would probably be some on the Ra’xon too, I figured.

  The first thing you learnt about the Galactic Star Alliance was its rules did not apply to its rulers.

  All I had to do was find the weapons….

  My whole life was currently devoted to surviving. To finding my next dose of compound 78. Without it, my telekinetic abilities would reveal themselves, and I would be taken back into the Farsight Program.

  I hadn’t always been like this. I’d had dreams once upon a time. I’d also been naive. Five years ago, before I’d been picked up by the Farsight Unit and transformed into a telekinetic warrior, I’d been stupid enough to join the Star Forces.

  At the time, I’d thought the Alliance was the greatest champion of good in the galaxy.

  I’d quickly learnt we weren’t.

  During a routine medical test, my natural telekinetic abilities were uncovered. Paired with the powerful implants which had been inserted into my elbows and heightened by the experiments they’d run on me, I had enough power to tear a ship in two.

  But that wasn’t my point. When Professor Axis had created me, he’d envisaged something far grander.

  Something he termed a Complete Battle System.

  Using my telekinetic abilities, I could take over a battlefield.

  I could lift into the air and take command of a whole army. Not the kind of command where you offered orders – but a far more direct, insidious one were you took control of everybody and every weapon.

  You could play with the soldiers like puppets, throwing them towards the enemy, heedless of their protests and their physical limitations.

  Though there were others gifted with the same base-level telekinetic abilities as me, they’d always told me I was special. Every other poor soul they’d tested before me had rejected their implants and died a horrendous death, their bodies literally ripping apart cell by cell.

  With me, the implants held.

  I was their success story. I was Professor Axis’ child.

  A child he’d made dependent on compound 78.

  Technically I didn’t need compound 78 in order to use my abilities. I needed it to live. Why? Because they had altered my body to make me dependent on it.

  It was means to ensure I could never leave freely on my own.

  Compound 78 was a rare compound, and if I hadn’t found a way to synthesize it from Omega weapons, I would have been exposed long ago.

  Now I was forced into a desperate race across the galaxy, traveling from planet to planet as I tried to source the weapons and stay way under the radar.

  Strangely, it was much easier to hide whilst under their noses.

  I knew they would never suspect that I was still a member of the Star Forces.

  They were too sure of themselves, and that would ultimately be their downfall.

  Cracks were forming in the once great Alliance, and a growing resistance was trying to break their way through.

  I wished the resistance every luck, but I had to keep my head down. If the Alliance found me, they would use me against the rebellion, and crush it in an instant. They wouldn’t care about collateral damage or loss of life. They’d never cared about such factors in the past.

  Taking a deep, deep sigh, I finally opened my eyes. I was still in bed. I was on duty in approximately five minutes, leaving me no time to grab something to eat.

  Reluctantly I pushed up, wiped a hand down my face, and took a steadying breath. Then I stood and dressed in the same uniform of those who had persecuted me. Once I was done, I stared at myself briefly in the mirror before turning sharply on my boot and heading out of the door.

  It was time again to serve the Alliance.

  …

  Lieutenant Commander Nathan Shepard

  I slept that night in my new quarters. The Captain was kind enough to allow me the next day off.

  I needed the rest.

  A heavy pressure had formed in the center of my chest. It wasn’t damage from my accident.

  Just tension.

  I couldn’t believe my own ship had been attacked. Getting past the ship’s defenses was one thing, but planting explosives in the Godspeed right under my nose was another.

  I sat in my new room. My quarters had a window. It was strangely angular compared to the curved walls of my quarters aboard the Godspeed. I found myself constantly tipping my head to the side as I considered the view of space through it.

  The Ra’xon was at least ten times as big as the Godspeed. She was much better equipped, too. Sure, she was no cruise liner, but there were recreation areas, multiple mess halls, and my quarters were at least three times as big as they’d been on the Godspeed.

  This wasn’t a holiday,
though.

  In approximately three weeks, we’d arrive in the Hari Sector.

  Then my infiltration of the Rebellion would commence.

  I sat on the edge of my bed, pumping my fingers in and out as I angled my head towards that slice of view.

  I was lost in reflection.

  We were currently completing our countdown to departure. Soon this massive ship would leave its berth, and we’d begin our mission.

  The ship-wide comms had alerted all personnel to get to their stations. With nowhere to go and nothing to do, I sat on the edge of my bed and stared out the window.

  The view started to shift. As we decoupled from the station, there wasn’t even a shudder. On a ship as small as mine, you felt it, but on the Ra’xon there wasn’t even the faintest of vibrations.

  There was a reason she was one of the flagships of the fleet.

  One of them. These days the House of Lords and Ladies kept asking for more and more imperial cruisers to be built. A few short years ago the Ra’xon had been the biggest cruiser in her class. Now she was easily outclassed by at least three other heavy cruisers.

  God knows how many resources it took to keep creating these monumental ships, and god knows where they came from.

  “But it’s worth it,” I found myself saying out loud, a real hint of irony in my voice.

  One of my hands clutched into a fist, white lines of tension streaking down my knuckles.

  All of this was worth it, because the goddamn rebellion threatened everyone and everything.

  A rebellion I was now determined to crush.

  No matter what it took.

  I stood and turned from the view.

  My thoughts drifted towards my father. He never approved of a goddamn thing I did.

  Even when I’d received my post as a lieutenant commander, he hadn’t batted an eyelash.

  Admiral Shepherd didn’t feel pride. For his Alliance, yes, but not for his children. Everything my father said – everything he did – it was all for the Alliance.

  I cleared my throat and tried to push every thought of him away.

  I had bigger concerns now.