Chromium

12.3

First draft

"A lieutenant-commander to be exact. Well, at least he was. He deserted seven months ago."

"Why?"

"He was accused of having an affair with the wife of a high-grade officer, maybe an admiral or something." Reyes waved his hand dismissively, "I don't know the details."

Dia opened her eyes wide. It wasn't like him to make a mistake.

Then again...I don't really know him, do I?

"Anyway," Reyes continued, "he just had two choices. He could run or face the firing squad. He chose to run."

"And he came here."

Reyes nodded, "Right. He became a mercenary. Well, that's a bit of an understatement." He admitted, "He was one of the best in the system."

"That's when you recruited him. You needed someone to operate the Chair."

Reyes looked thoughtful, "Exactly what I needed right when I needed it. Curious, right?"

"There are others former imperial soldiers on the planet." Unwittingly, she spoke for Omen.

"True" He conceded, "but most of them are simple grunts. They don't have the necessary credentials to operate the chair. There are a few former officers among them, but they had been on the planet for a long time. They are traitors for the Empire."

"Omen is a traitor too." She pointed out.

"Indeed, but his desertion is much more recent. We found the Nostromus a few months ago, but the logs were corrupted, so we don't know for how long it had been drifting in space. Probably the incident happened just before Omen escaped and that's why his credentials are still valid." Reyes shrugged, "In any case, this is good news. Everything should work, as long as we stay offline and avoid to connect with the imperial mainframe."

"Unbelievable." She shook her head, "You still want to use it."

"Of course." He said matter-of-factly, "We need the cloaking device."

"Omen almost died, Reyes!" She gesticulated, starting to lose her temper, "Hell, you don't even know if he'll make it!"

Reyes knitted his eyebrows, "I don't want to use it, but we might not have a choice, Dia. If Gibson..."

"Stop using Gibson as an excuse! We don't even know where he's going."

"It doesn't matter. We have nowhere to hide. The Collective is looking for you, and the Empire knows about this ship. They will follow us wherever we go."

"You're gambling with his life." She hissed.

Reyes narrowed his eyes, "Why do you care?"

"I don't. I just..." She let out a tired breath, "I just think this is wrong, Reyes."

Reyes' face hardened, "We are at war, Dia. Morality is a luxury we can't afford at the moment. Our own survival is at stake. The Collective is just waiting for the right moment to destroy us. Soon, the Empire's fleet will reach the Delatory system. What do you think will happen then?"

Dia winced, but she had no intention of giving up, "I don't know, and you don't either. Nobody knows what will happen. Besides, if the Collective is so powerful, why didn't they attack us? Why wait?"

"That's a good point." He sounded strangely accommodating, though a bit patronizing, "And who knows? Maybe you're right, maybe they would have left us alone...if the emperor hadn't provoked them." Dia paled, but Reyes showed no mercy, "You're not so naive to think they won't retaliate, right?"

Dia opened her mouth and closed it, gasping like a fish out of water.

Reyes' gaze softened slightly, "I know this is difficult for you, but you have to look at the big picture. We have to use everything at our disposal if we want to win. Gibson, the Spice, the Chair...even you, Dia." He said, pinning her with his eyes, "Stealing their technology and using their own weapons against them is the only way to fight back. The Emperor wasn't entirely wrong on that."

"Fine," She raised her hands in surrender, "but only as a last resort."

"Of course." He promptly answered, but he looked distant, "You must be tired. Go to sleep."

Dia headed for the door. She was about to leave when she suddenly stopped, turning to look at him, "What about this ship?

Reyes raised an eyebrow, "What about it?"

"Did you..." She hesitated, biting her lower lip, "...change something?"

The corner of his mouth twitched, "Sorry, Squirrel, but we didn't have time to redecorate. Why? Don't you like the decor?"

Dia shook her head, "I was just curious. There are a lot of books in your quarters, but as far as I remember, you don't like reading."

"Are you trying to imply I'm uncultured?" He teased, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

Dia simply ignored him, but Reyes looked happy for some reason.

"Anyway, you're right, those books were already there when we found the ship. That room and the things inside it belonged to the former captain."

Dia squinted her eyes. Something is eluding me...but what?

It was a bit like looking at an abstract painting. She knew it should mean something, but she didn't know what. While she was lost in thought, Reyes had taken a step forward and was now standing very close to her. She tried to retreat but moved too quickly and lost her balance. She was about to fall backward when Reyes caught her, wrapping his arm around her waist.

"Reyes, stop..." She said as she attempted to break from his grasp, but he didn't budge.

"You're too tense, Squirrel." He whispered in her ear, and despite everything, his smooth voice made her shiver, "You have to take time out to enjoy life's little pleasures, don't you think?"

When he nibbled her ear, Dia froze, too shocked to react. Then she realized what he had done and shoved him away, but her strength wasn't what it used to be. She just wanted to push him back, but instead, she sent him flying. Literally. Dia couldn't help but smile when he crashed down on the hard floor.

He was still rolling over, trying to stand up, when Dia said, "Goodnight, Reyes."

She was almost out when he started laughing, "You've got a hell of a temper. Who would've known? "

"You'd do well to remember that." She warned, but even after taking a beating, Reyes didn't change his attitude.

He smirked, smug as usual, "Oh, don't worry, I will."

She humphed, ready to leave, when he said, "Wait...there is something I forgot to tell you."

"What is it?"

"The ship's name."

Dia looked puzzled, "Name?"

"Yeah, the previous name was tacky, something like Nabilatus or whatever. That's why I decided to change it." He chuckled, "I have a reputation to uphold after all."