Through the Ghost
Chapter 26

Back at the ship they managed to fill Jaya and Reis in on the situation. Reis remained propped up in the med bay, a bit of color had returned to him since they’d left. Tal and Anna stood on one side of Reis, Jaya stood on the other.

“So you just said yes? Without consulting us? Orothros is supposed to be a neutral party, we don’t ally ourselves with Council agents,” Reis argued with a surprising amount of gusto considering his current state.

“Last time I checked, Praga was a smoldering crater, Rahn is dead, and there are probably only a handful of us left,” Tal replied.

“If we don’t do this, what will stop them from attacking another colony like New Azariah, or even El Dorado itself,” Anna countered.

“Our job is to protect people, rescue them from pirates and mercenaries. We should be trying to find out if anyone else has escaped Praga, try to rebuild,” Reis responded.

“And who will rally us, you? Tal?” Anna argued back.

“You?” Reis suggested.

The room went silent.

Anna could only blink at the suggestion. “I’m not who they think I am,” she countered.

“It doesn’t matter,” Jaya interrupted. “Rahn’s gone, anyone left is scattered across the galaxy, some might not even know about what happened at Praga. Right now, we have a chance to do something that can make an immediate difference. I hate to say it, but I have to side with them.”

“Then it’s settled, we’re heading to El Dorado. Anna has a contact there that could help us locate The Rising Sons. From there it’s just like any other mission.”

Reis laid back on the bed, the device gradually lowered him to a more comfortable position. “Except that if we’re caught we’re breaking ten different treaties and could start a war,” he lamented.

As soon as they exited the med bay Chara raced over to them excitedly displaying a picture she drew.

Tal, I think you should check on Miss Adrielle, my readings indicate an increase in room temperature at her location.

While everyone else continued on their way he stopped in front of the guest room. Due to the lack of rooms available, Adrielle had been allowed to make herself comfortable in the guest quarters. He’d then given Anna and Chara access to his personal room while he’d taken up residence in the cockpit.

The moment the door slid open it felt like he was staring into one of the nine hells. Adrielle tossed and turned on the bed, objects levitated, while blue flames danced across her writhing form. Sweat quickly coalesced on his skin. He tried to call out to her, but nothing happened. He pressed forward hoping to wake her from whatever nightmare was causing this chaos. A wave of blue flames pulsed outwards striking him with enough force to throw him out of the room. Static rang in his ears; Allie’s voice was garbled and the few words he could make out were no help. His heart beat erratically, his vision was unfocused.

“Chara, stop!” he heard Anna’s voice call out through the static.

Everything cleared up just enough for him to witness Chara moving towards the open door, clearly intent on discovering what was going on. He staggered to his feet, hoping to protect the young girl from inadvertent harm.

There was a high-pitched scream. Followed by another wave of heat and fire that propelled itself through the doorway.

Regaining some semblance of composure Tal dove for the young girl. He smelt the hair on his head as it became singed. Searing pain coursed through his back. His ears continued to ring while Allie’s tried to direct him. He hugged Chara’s small form close, trying his best to shield her from the objects that had begun to spin haphazardly around the room.

Dog tags, knives that were once embedded in the walls, and other mementos from previous adventures became deadly weapons caught in a vortex. There’s a substantial increase in temperature, another wave of flame pulsed outwards barring Anna entrance to the room.

“I’ve got you sweetie, I’ve got you. I won’t leave,” he told his daughter, unsure whether she could even hear him.

His promise was met with a sudden drop in temperature, the normally comfortable climate of the ship suddenly felt frigid in comparison. He kept Chara close as the various objects clattered to the floor. When everything finally stopped, he saw Adrielle sitting straight up. Her eyes were wide in horror. He followed her gaze to see Anna standing in the doorway, rifle aimed at the young alien.

Adrielle’s breaths came fast and heavy, sweat dripped down her reddish skin. Chara struggled in his grasp, the moment he released her she rushed straight for Anna. The legendary operative embraced her daughter with one hand, while the other kept the rifle trained on Adrielle.

Immediately following the incident, Tal, Anna, and Jaya all went to the cockpit to discuss what to do with the young alien.

“We should have dropped her off the second we had a chance,” Anna argued. “We have no idea what she’s capable of. For all we know her next incident could tear a whole in the ship.”

“She’s Rahn’s daughter. We can’t just abandon her,” Jaya fired back.

“She also just so happens to be part Kulrathi. The very people that wanted to kill me, and killed a whole bunch of our friends,” Anna replied.

Jaya stopped, no doubt hurt at the unintentional reference towards Griff. A part of Tal knew Adrielle’s abilities terrified him, but he also knew he’d made a promise to Rahn that he’d keep her safe.

He sighed. “She’ll stay here, where Anna can keep an eye on her while Jaya and I go down to meet our contact. If anything happens…” he let his words trail off purposefully.

“You can’t be serious,” Jaya fired back.

“We got lucky on Sanctuary that only one person was able to recognize Anna. El Dorado will not grant us such luck, at least not without some help. They have security patrols airborne at all times and cameras in just about every corner. If she’s caught our whole cover is blown. As for Adrielle, I trust Anna won’t do anything rash unless necessary.”

Anna nodded. “I’ll try.”

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