Slow Burn (Updated Weekly)

Part 13

Part 13

 Music was better when you knew the artists were alive. Maybe stasis somehow changed my musical taste. Either way I couldn’t find a single thing on my infinite playlist I wanted to listen to with the exception of a few ‘power ballads’ and ‘shreds’ here and there. Nothing fancy and nothing anyone would recognize. 

Eight hours is a long fucking time to spend in a transport ship strapped in with soldiers and refugees. Citizens of the Erebus, Citizens of humanity. Looking around I found it so hard to believe that we were all that was left. If I really was going to spend the rest of my life on this ship or on that colony these would be the ugly mugs I would be spending it with and I had never been very good at making friends. 

A young soldier about my age (but not since he was actually four years younger and had been awake since the Erebus left Pluto) sat beside me. I could see him from the corner of my eye looking at my body checking me out. I knew I had been a fairly attractive woman, but I had no time for games. I wasn’t interested in making new friends nor was I interested in sex or games at the moment. All I could think about was my mission. I kept wondering if I heard Miguel’s voice in my ear if he was somehow watching me right now. I wondered if he would order me to degrade myself for his amusement. He had after all already ordered me to kill and I did. Sleeping with a stranger was far easier than that and who knows maybe this young soldier would be worth my time. 

Eyes on the prize. I wasn’t sitting here to get laid. 

I had to figure out how I was going to confront Reynolds. 

 “Message for my lady,” the young soldier said handing me a small purple cloth he pulled from the inside of his coat. The cloth was made of cotton, I wondered now how rare such an item would be. The color purple in some cultures meant the item being presented was of great importance. I looked at him taking the cloth in hand and asked, “are you sure? I have only just woken up and I know nobody on board,” I said trying my best to sound as innocent as I could. “A message from Slen, I believe he was your employer correct, I was also brought here under his supervision though I arrived far later then the two of you,” the young soldier said looking me up and down. “Yes, you are Elyse, I would recognize you anywhere, I have spent hours watching over you while you slept, sorry, I’m sure that sounds weird, I’m not trying to sound like a pervert or anything that was a part of my job, I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you woke up,” he said. I opened the cloth and from inside fell a USB chip. 

“And what exactly is on this?” I asked motioning annoyed at the USB that had fallen onto my lap. “Everything, the future, the past, Kal, Squad 13, the various jobs you took as a freelancer, and the key to getting that collar of your neck,” he wrote on a sheet of paper for me to read. I couldn’t blame him for not speaking. He knew somehow that Miguel or at the very least one of his men would be listening in.  

“How did you come by something like this?” I asked trying not to let the mention of Squad-13 or Kal’s name get the better of my emotions. It was possible that many onboard this ship, especially the military, had a hand to play int the Hegemony and maybe even some of the missions Squad-13 had performed. Actually I had no doubt in my mind that the politicians and officials that made up the Hegemony were here. “You see, I’m Reynolds assistant,” he mouthed without speaking - smiling.