Vai

I had been to the bridge only once before and that was shortly after I had arrived on the G.E.F. Shadow. My father had taken me around to all the possible places I might find him on the ship if I ever needed him. Like I just couldn't call him on his okulus.

I wasn't sure it would be the captain's shift. She changed shifts with the Second and Third officers. The elevator door opened and I stepped out onto level 1 with Warpaint close behind. The two security officers at the door to the bridge didn't stop me. It was pretty obvious I was my father's son.

The bridge was in the shape of an oval. Large windows were all around showing the black space outside and streaks of stars as we jumped in FTL. Several people in uniform were around at the ship's various terminals.

A quick glance around the room told me my father wasn't there, but I lingered. The captain was in her chair. I didn't know how to approach her. Esther said the pink only showed in their eyes when the Corruption were communicating with them. I wasn't sure I could confirm she had the Corruption. If the pink didn't show up, that didn't mean she was free of the Corruption. I looked around again.

"Lieutenant Commander Ma'amaloa's son? What are you doing here?" The captain stood in front me. I was still in front of the entrance.

"Looking for my father," I lied. "I guess he isn't here."

She looked around at the others working at their stations. "He is usually here sometime every day, but not at the moment." She turned back to me. "You should have called him first to confirm his location instead of randomly showing up here and disturbing the rest of us. The bridge isn't a place anyone should have easy access to."

"You're right. I'm sorry."

"You should leave then. Lieutenant Commander Ma'amaloa is probably in the lab."

She started back to her chair.

"Wait," I said. She stopped and turned back to me, but I didn't know what to say.

"What is it?" She finally asked. A few other heads turned our way, but they swiveled back to their stations when the captain looked at them.

"May I ask you a question, Captain?"

"You're not going to ask me out to dinner like your little friend did are you?"

I laughed, but stopped at the scowl on her face. I hoped I hadn't made some sort of horrible slip in the chain of command - even though I wasn't officially in the chain of command. Or was I just by being on the ship?

"No," I said. "Not that."

"Go ahead then." Her eyes were a shade of blue that borderlined purple.

"What is it like to work with my father?" No sign of pink in her eyes yet.

"He works hard and is an expert in his field. You can be proud of him," she said.

A surge of anger welled up inside. He had stolen 80 years of my life by being an expert in his field. "Thank you." I managed not to sound angry at least.

She dismissed me as she turned her back to me to walk back to her station.

"Wait," I said.

Her blue lips pinched tight as she turned around to face me. "It might not look like it, Lieutenant Commander Ma'amaloa's son, but I am quite busy."

"One last thing," I said. "Do you know about how I first came on board?"

"You mean the broken bones and eyeball? Yes Commander Ragear mentioned it in his reports. You've healed up nicely." Her fingers tapped her thigh impatiently.

"Do you know of zek?"

And there it was. A flash of pink in her eyes before it was gone.

My heart began to thump against my chest and my fingers began to tingle. Had I just made a horrible mistake?

Warpaint began to poke my shoulder with his metal finger. I pushed his finger away before I remembered that was the signal that my father spied on me through him.

"It has all been destroyed," the captain said, but her voice had changed. It was lower, strained, dangerous.

"Yes," I said, "that's what I heard. That's a relief. Well, I better go find my father."

I turned and quickly left. It seemed like I was half running out. I hoped it didn't appear that way to the captain.

We got inside the elevators and went to level 2. She was one of them. She had the Corruption inside her. The captain of the G.E.V. Shadow. The captain of the flagship of the G.E.F. It wasn't going to be easy to kill her. People would notice her absence let alone the fact that she was a proven warrior and tactician.

The elevator door opened at level 2. I got out and went to the labs. I didn't have an excuse to give my father about why I wanted to see him, but he had been spying on me so he would be expecting me. I stopped in the middle of the corridor right outside the lab doors. What if my father had spied on me when Esther had killed Officer Hansi? It hadn't been an hour yet since that happened.

I looked at Warpaint and wondered if my father still watched me. I needed to come up with a signal for Warpaint to let me know when my father stopped spying on me.

The doors slid open and we stepped into the lab. The scientists around me greeted me as I walked back to my father's personal lab. I nodded to them and tried to smile, but wasn't sure the smile actually reached my lips. There was a slow panic beginning to swell within my stomach. Maybe I should tell my father about everything. Maybe all of this was too much for a handful of teenagers. What really were we supposed to do about it? Keep killing people with the Corruption one at a time like Esther wanted? On the other hand, Esther had gone one on one with Warpaint. She wasn't just a regular girl.

My father stood at the door. I walked passed him and inside. I sat down at the chair in front of his desk. He went around and sat in his chair behind the desk.

Neither of us spoke and time stretched out between us.

"The captain called me," he finally said. "She said you were looking for me."

"Yes," I said. I wondered if she had really called him or if he was using that excuse to disguise his spying. "I was just . . ." but I didn't have anything.

"I didn't have your teacher fired, although I personally think she should be. There isn't anyone else to take over though. Captain Svolun was not happy when he heard about what happened with his son and his First officer's daughter on Mazax VIII. It was on his order that she is being reprimanded. She'll be back in a few weeks. Just deal with the substitutes until then."

I nodded as if that was the reason I had come down to see him.

"I could end my shift now," my father said.

That surprised me. He never finished early and most of the time worked late.

"Do you want to go to eat at the Starrise?"

Not since eighty years ago - before I had slept - had he asked me to go out to eat. Now along with the panic was a mix of confused feelings. The anger was still there, but also a surge of love and the sudden urge to call him dad and not father.

"Yes," I said.

He stood up. "Let's go." The Starrise was on the same level so we didn't have far to go.

They seated us and my father ordered right away - his usual which turned out to be a seafood salad. I hadn't realized he came here so often, but it was on the same level as his labs so I supposed it made sense. I ordered a steak. It was expensive, but my father didn't seem bothered by the prices. I saw Spencer, but he waited on tables across the room. We weren't in his section, so I didn't really have to see him.

"Father," I said after the meal came.

He had a large bite in his mouth. "Hmm?"

"Did...does Officer Hansi have family?" I couldn't help it. I had to know.

"Not on the ship," my father said.

I hoped that meant no wife and kids. Usually people brought their families with them on the ships.

"Why? Are you worried about him?"

"He is the one who took my statement. I haven't heard anything about him after his disappearance."

My father put his fork down and looked at me across the table.

"It's possible he deserted, but not easy to do on a starship. The other ships in the armata are searching to see if he possibly moved to a different ship without informing them."

"Those options aren't likely," I said.

"No," he agreed.

"His okulus can't be traced?"

"His location was turned off so no. I believe security did a level by level search, but haven't turned up anything."

How had Esther hid him?

My father changed the subject to school so I didn't ask anymore questions. It was oddly comforting to spend time with my father after the stresses of the strange day.

He didn't go home with me when we were through. He said goodbye to me at the elevator and went back to the labs.

"Warpaint, we need to come up with a signal you can give me when my father stops spying on me through you."

"Like what, sir? I know." He pointed a finger to the ceiling. "I could step on your toes." He seemed so happy about it.

"No, Warpaint. Don't step on my toes. Why don't you just put a hand on my shoulder."

"I can do that, sir."

A call came through just as we stepped into our quarters. It was Shel. I answered it and his image was projected through my volo.

"We heard from Owen," he said. It appeared he was alone in his bedroom so Owen must have made a three way call to Shel and Minmin.

I nodded. I was sure Owen hadn't told them everything. I thought we would do it together later.

"There is more than what he told us, isn't there?"

"I don't know exactly what he told you."

"He told us you found Esther, that you believe her about the alien, but he wouldn't tell us what that was or what to watch out for. He also told us there was a dangerous drug called zek and that we should stay away from any pink fog."

"That's about it," I said.

"No," Shel said. "There is more. Is zek and the dangerous alien related? Did Esther kidnap Officer Hansi? What more are you keeping from me and Minmin?"

There was a lot I was personally keeping from everyone, but he didn't need to know all of that.

"We'll tell you the rest of it sometime, but we can't tell you now. What if you say something to your parents?"

"Why would we? I'm not on speaking terms with my father anyway."

"But what if we told you and you thought you needed to tell your mother to protect her and she told others. Then the dangerous aliens would know all about us. Your mother would be in danger too."

He paused at that. "Fine. I'll wait, but you have to tell us sometime."

"I promise," I said. And then I said something I probably shouldn't have, but I needed to know. Part of me wanted him to be more warned that what we had agreed to.

"Do you ever think you see a pink glint in your dad's eyes?"

He bit his bottom lip and tears sprung to his eyes. I knew it then. His father also had the Corruption inside him. Did my father and his mother know about the aliens? Is that why she had commissioned my father for those earstuds? Did they keep the Corruption out?

As quickly as his tears came, they left and his face became stoic. "Maybe you should tell me everything now," he said. "Is my mom in danger? Am I? Because of my dad?"

"I think as long as you keep in those earstuds, you'll be fine."

"Then that means my mom and your dad know what is going on."

"I think so," I said. "But I can't ask because he will lock me away for my safety."

He nodded and swallowed hard. "I'll wait for you to tell me what is going on, but don't make me wait too long." He ended the call.