Page 43 of Reaper
Thankfully, Stran sent me an image confirming none of the hibernating Creckels were missing.
“They’re all accounted for,” Janelle said.
I presumed Brees had informed my mate like Stran had done with me.
“Good,” Martin said, his shoulders sagging with relief. “I was terrified he could have made our situation even worse. But the Creckels couldn’t have heard him take off. At least, it is highly improbable. Not only is our ship far enough from where they slept, but Rickon used one of the stealth rescue shuttles. They are designed specifically to be extremely quiet so that we can retrieve troops and survivors in hot zones without drawing attention.”
“Right, but those shuttles do not have warp capabilities,” I said. “Even though he’s got a good six, almost seven hours head start, he couldn’t have gone very far.”
“Not unless he rendezvoused with a bigger vessel,” Doom countered. “Hang on while I get Thanh on it.”
I nodded and his face went slack as he mind-spoke with our pilot. In the meantime, I turned back towards Martin. “Any sabotage to your ship?”
“At first glance, none, aside from some deleted data. But we’re nonetheless running some diagnostics,” Martin replied. “Rickon made sure we couldn’t track his shuttle.”
“Isyourship okay?” Jasper asked, his prominent Adam’s apple working as he nervously swallowed.
“Why wouldn’t it be?” I asked, tension seeping into my voice.
“Rickon went to check up on Terrence last night after your Medical Officer informed us that she and the little lady here had stabilized him,” Jasper said, gesturing at Janelle with his chin while saying ‘little lady.’ “He came back maybe thirty minutes later and said they had done a great job.”
“It was a little odd that he went to see him considering he said they hadn’t been friends before joining my crew,” Martin reflected out loud. “But he claimed that however we all came to be together, we were a team. That meant looking out for each other. He kinda shamed me with that. I was going to check up on Terrence this morning, then noticed Rickon was gone.”
“Thanh always runs a daily diagnostic check,” Doom replied, having refocused on us. “I’ve already asked her to be extra thorough. Martha confirms the contraband we’ve confiscated from Terrence is still accounted for on our ship.”
“As for Terrence,” I said, “my mate checked up on him before we went to take care of the Creckels,” I added, turning to look at Janelle. An uneasy feeling seeped into me at the worried expression on her face. “What is it, love?”
“It’s… I’m not sure. His vital signs on the monitor were very strong and stable,” Janelle said in a hesitant voice. “However, his complexion seemed off. I figured it was just my optical aid muddling things, but now I’m not so sure anymore.”
My eyes went out of focus as I poked our Medical Officer.
“Jessica, we need you to check up on Terrence at once,”I mind-spoke to her.
“I was just looking at him,”Jessica replied.“His vital signs are good, but his skin color is abnormal.”
“Janelle noticed the same this morning when she—”
“Fuck!”Jessica hissed, interrupting me.“He’s dead! Someone hacked his monitor. I need a minute. I’ll get back to you.”
She disconnected from my mind, and I refocused on my surroundings. Judging by the way everyone was staring at me with a worried expression, I had probably cursed out loud or my face was loudly broadcasting my emotions.
“Jessica says Terrence is dead,” I said in a harsh voice.
“What!?” Janelle exclaimed. She pressed her hands to her chest, a devastated look on her face.
“You were right about his skin color being off,” I told my mate in a reassuring tone while cupping her cheek with my hand. “It’s not surprising you got fooled. Rickon hacked the monitoring system to make it look like Terrence’s vitals were still strong and stable. Jessica is investigating.”
“He silenced him,” Doom said in an icy voice. “He must have been in on it and couldn’t risk Terrence ratting him out, and whoever else is part of their shady activities.”
Martin cursed under his breath, suddenly looking overwhelmed. At the same time, Reklig and Madeline came out of the ship looking at us with an inquisitive expression.
“The Scelk,” Martin whispered, as if struck by a sudden idea. “They can read minds, right?”
“Yes,” Doom said, narrowing his eyes at the human.
“We have nothing to do with any of this mess,” Martin said, his voice oozing with tension. He cast a quick glance at Jasper before turning back to face Doom. “We both agreed that we would be fine with your teammate here reading our minds to confirm it. We’re not letting any of this shit stick to us.”
To my surprise, Doom didn’t even try to argue. He nodded at the human before looking at Reklig who had stopped near us with his mate. Doom quickly apprised them of what had transpired. Reklig turned to look at the two men, psychic energy swirling around him as he skimmed over their surface thoughts in turn. It only lasted a few seconds before he faced Doom again.