handcuffs, tossing them towards his brother. “Put those on for now. It’s protocol. We’ll get you to my office and then go from there. I’ll keep you safe.”
Cain stared at the handcuffs for a few seconds before finally reaching for them. Holding them, he couldn’t stop shaking. After dropping them a few times, he finally managed to put them on.
“Turn around and step forward. Go to the end of this corridor and stop. There are two guards waiting for us there. Do everything we tell you. Understand?”
Cain did as he was told, and together they met the officers in the other corridor. As Seth emerged from within the hatch, the cold air hit him like a blanket of ice. It was like stepping out of a sauna and into a freezer.
He finally had his suspect.
At long last, the investigation was nearly at an end.
Adam sat on the bridge, barely focused. Despite his best efforts, his mind would not be quieted. He drifted constantly between duty and grief. Between the death of his son and the mission to save tomorrow. Twenty years of war could never have prepared him for this.
“Captain, I have the latest report,” announced Lilith. Her voice brought him out of his trance.
“What is it?”
“We will be arriving at planet 2930-1193.C in approximately ten minutes. Engineering reports our systems are good. You’ll be glad to hear the ship is operating within acceptable parameters.”
“Good,” he said.
“I’ve also performed several in-depth scans over the last few hours. You’ll be pleased to know the results are quite favorable.”
“Are they?” he asked.
“Yes, sir,” she said. “I’m still running a test for soil compatibility. So far, I’d say we have cause to be optimistic. With your permission, I’d like to begin searching for viable landing zones, based on preferable temperature levels.”
“Right. Of course,” said Adam. “Go ahead. How long did you say before we get there?”
“Less than a few hours, sir,” she explained. “It won’t be long now.”
Thirteen
Seth waited in Security with his team. Cain sat in the brig, a small cell in the room behind the main office.
Paul stood guard at the brig door, a hulking man twice Cain’s size. No one would come or go through there without Seth’s permission. This prisoner wasn’t going anywhere.
No, not a prisoner, Seth reminded himself. He’s still my brother. I can’t forget.
How long before he had to report this to the captain? What would the old man say when Seth told him the truth? Cain believed he’d be killed for this, like their father was somehow capable of murdering his own son.
Shoot him out the airlock. Poof.
There’s no way. Not my father.
Adam had always been an honorable man, sworn to his duty and bound by his cause, but he was also a family man at heart. A loving father with a tender soul.
But should Cain be found guilty, the law was clear. Eye for an eye, and life for a life. Unless Seth proved otherwise, not even Adam’s mercy would be enough to save the guilty. Not without angering the crew. They wouldn’t allow a convicted murderer to escape justice, even if they kept him under lock and key. If Cain was responsible for the other incidents, too, he had no chance of surviving this.
If the captain didn’t do his duty and punish his son, the crew might very well demand their own form of justice, and such a thing could not be risked. Not in the deadly vacuum of space, here on the edge of the galaxy.
I need to question him , thought Seth. I need to understand what happened before it gets worse. He stood from his desk, eyeing the computer screen and the notes he’d taken on the investigation thus far. All of this would be behind him soon.
He went to the brig door where Paul stood towering over the room. The goliath stepped beside and let him pass. “I’ll knock when I’m done,” said Seth.
Paul nodded.
Seth stepped inside the brig, and the door slammed shut behind him.
Cain’s eyes widened.
Cain stared at the handcuffs for a few seconds before finally reaching for them. Holding them, he couldn’t stop shaking. After dropping them a few times, he finally managed to put them on.
“Turn around and step forward. Go to the end of this corridor and stop. There are two guards waiting for us there. Do everything we tell you. Understand?”
Cain did as he was told, and together they met the officers in the other corridor. As Seth emerged from within the hatch, the cold air hit him like a blanket of ice. It was like stepping out of a sauna and into a freezer.
He finally had his suspect.
At long last, the investigation was nearly at an end.
Adam sat on the bridge, barely focused. Despite his best efforts, his mind would not be quieted. He drifted constantly between duty and grief. Between the death of his son and the mission to save tomorrow. Twenty years of war could never have prepared him for this.
“Captain, I have the latest report,” announced Lilith. Her voice brought him out of his trance.
“What is it?”
“We will be arriving at planet 2930-1193.C in approximately ten minutes. Engineering reports our systems are good. You’ll be glad to hear the ship is operating within acceptable parameters.”
“Good,” he said.
“I’ve also performed several in-depth scans over the last few hours. You’ll be pleased to know the results are quite favorable.”
“Are they?” he asked.
“Yes, sir,” she said. “I’m still running a test for soil compatibility. So far, I’d say we have cause to be optimistic. With your permission, I’d like to begin searching for viable landing zones, based on preferable temperature levels.”
“Right. Of course,” said Adam. “Go ahead. How long did you say before we get there?”
“Less than a few hours, sir,” she explained. “It won’t be long now.”
Thirteen
Seth waited in Security with his team. Cain sat in the brig, a small cell in the room behind the main office.
Paul stood guard at the brig door, a hulking man twice Cain’s size. No one would come or go through there without Seth’s permission. This prisoner wasn’t going anywhere.
No, not a prisoner, Seth reminded himself. He’s still my brother. I can’t forget.
How long before he had to report this to the captain? What would the old man say when Seth told him the truth? Cain believed he’d be killed for this, like their father was somehow capable of murdering his own son.
Shoot him out the airlock. Poof.
There’s no way. Not my father.
Adam had always been an honorable man, sworn to his duty and bound by his cause, but he was also a family man at heart. A loving father with a tender soul.
But should Cain be found guilty, the law was clear. Eye for an eye, and life for a life. Unless Seth proved otherwise, not even Adam’s mercy would be enough to save the guilty. Not without angering the crew. They wouldn’t allow a convicted murderer to escape justice, even if they kept him under lock and key. If Cain was responsible for the other incidents, too, he had no chance of surviving this.
If the captain didn’t do his duty and punish his son, the crew might very well demand their own form of justice, and such a thing could not be risked. Not in the deadly vacuum of space, here on the edge of the galaxy.
I need to question him , thought Seth. I need to understand what happened before it gets worse. He stood from his desk, eyeing the computer screen and the notes he’d taken on the investigation thus far. All of this would be behind him soon.
He went to the brig door where Paul stood towering over the room. The goliath stepped beside and let him pass. “I’ll knock when I’m done,” said Seth.
Paul nodded.
Seth stepped inside the brig, and the door slammed shut behind him.
Cain’s eyes widened.
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