Nadi ghosted down the halls of the ship. The cameras were disabled, and she didn’t have much time. Organizing the meeting had been difficult. Between the watchful eyes of High Command monitoring her every move and the soldiers guarding the person she was going to meet, she’d flexed her power as command of ground operations to quietly arrange the affair. Honeyed words and veiled threats were the only way she’d gotten what she wanted. Luckily for her, the soldiers she’d interacted with could read between the lines.

  In a deserted hallway conveniently closed for maintenance stood a lone figure casting furtive glances over his shoulder. Fahl startled when he spotted Nadi approaching, not having noticed her. “Good, you’re here.”

  “This had better be important,” Nadi replied impatiently in a low voice. “We’ve got ten minutes before the cameras turn back on and we need to be gone before that happens.” She levelled him an expectant stare and waited for him to speak.

  “I know you killed Alarr,” Fahl accused nervously. While they were both armed, he wasn’t taking any chances and kept an eye on her weapon, ready to draw his at a moment’s notice. “Why?”

  Nadi blinked. “That’s what this is about? I killed him out of self defense. By the gods, I was already questioned on this and cleared.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t believe you. Something else must have happened for there to be such an extreme reaction by High Command to the death of a single, insignificant soldier.”

  “That soldier was part of a highly classified mission,” Nadi refuted. “I did what I had to in order to keep the payload safe.” Internally she swore. The last thing she needed was somebody scrutinizing her actions further. Already, convincing her interrogators of her innocence had been a monumental task.

  “Then how do you explain this?” Fahl fished around in his pocket and flourished the vial with the purple chemical. “What’s so important about it that you had to murder my friend?” Nadi sucked in a breath, her eyes widening in recognition.

  “How did you get that?” she asked quickly, reaching forward to grab it. Fahl closed his hand and yanked it away from her, taking a step back as he did so. When she saw his smug expression she knew she’d messed up. “Give it to me. That’s not something you should have.”

  “So you do know something about it. Tell me what it is.”

  Nadi chewed her lip, contemplating the consequences of dropping another body on the flagship as she eyed the sample. “I don’t know,” she said finally.

  Fahl narrowed his eyes. “You know about it, but don’t know what it is? You expect me to believe that?” He cast a glance at the vial in his hand.

  “What more do you want from me?” she growled in frustration. “All I know is that it needs to be properly protected. High Command went nuts when they found out the mission was compromised. It’s the reason we were locked up for days and questioned. After Alarr attacked the man in charge of transporting it, I was ordered directly by Commander Cyrix to shoot anyone who approached the med bay until he gave me the all-clear. That included the rest of your team.”

  A shiver ran down his spine. He’d almost gone to the med bay during the mission but had been ordered to remain in the bridge while they were making their way back to the flagship. That order had saved his life, and he hadn’t even realized it. “Does High Command know that this sample exists?”

  “They do,” Nadi lied. “I hid it in case the med bay was attacked. Because of everything that happened, I haven’t been able to retrieve it yet.”

  “If it’s as important as you say, why did they wait so long before retrieving it?”

  “They don’t want its existence to be spread. Give it to me so that I can return it to the Commander.”

  “Why don’t I give it to the Commander directly, in that case?”

  “You can’t,” Nadi said hurriedly. “You’re not supposed to know about it. If they find out you do, you’ll be imprisoned and questioned all over again. This time you might not get out.” Her eyes narrowed as she thought about Fahl coming into possession of the sample. “How did you know where the sample was? I hid it pretty thoroughly.”

  Fahl startled at the thought of being locked back up. Kaius’ earlier threat rang in his mind. He hesitated. “I took an inventory count and discovered it.”

  “How did you even get on the ship? It’s being heavily guarded. Why would they let somebody related to the incident through? Not even I have access.” The more she thought about it, the more suspicious it was to her that Fahl had managed to not only find the sample but sneak it past the all the guards. He remained silent. “Somebody pulled some strings,” she realized. Given that the only other person that knew of the existence of the sample was Kaius, she figured he was involved in some way.

  He’d told her he’d take care of the problem. Fahl was obviously his answer, but why hadn’t he reported the existence of the purple chemical? While she contemplated the problem, Fahl spoke up. “I was permitted onboard because I’m the one best suited to taking the med bay’s inventory.”

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  “How would they trust your report? Fahl,” Nadi intoned seriously, “if it’s found out that you came into possession of that sample, you’re fucked. And I mean really fucked. Give it to me and I’ll keep quiet where I got it from.”

  Fahl knew Nadi was right. He hadn’t been threatened with months of prison had he lied to his interrogators. He’d been threatened with decades. “And you’ll return it to the Commander?” He needed to know that the sample wouldn’t be traced back to him.

  “Of course. I’m not dumb enough to hide something that precious where it can be found. Give it to me and everything will turn out fine,” she said insidiously. Seeing the doubt and hesitation in Fahl’s eyes, she decided to try a different approach. “We’re almost out of time. You need to make your choice. Now.” Nadi extended her hand expectantly.

  Fahl looked between the sample he held and the outstretched hand before him. Reluctantly, he gave up possession of it. An immediate sense of relief flooded him when it was pocketed and out of sight. For reasons he still couldn’t place, the vial with a single drop caused him great discomfort and unease. Eyeing Nadi’s unsettled expression as she took it, he couldn’t help but wonder if she felt the same. “Does holding onto that vial make you uncomfortable as well?”

  She startled, thinking it had only been her that felt uncomfortable around it. “It does,” she admitted. “I’m not surprised, given the situation.”

  “It’s more than that.” Fahl shook his head. “There something deeply unsettling about whatever’s in that vial. I don’t know how to explain it, but I’m glad to be rid of it. Take good care of it, if it’s as important as you say it is.”

  Nadi nodded. “I will.” She checked the time. “You need to go before people get suspicious of your absence.” She needed to be rid of the hiccup in her plans so that she could focus on her task.

  “What about you?”

  “I’ll be fine. We can’t be seen leaving together. People might ask questions.”

  “Alright,” he said. “Good luck – and make sure my name stays out of this.”

  “Nobody will ever know you were here,” Nadi smiled. Fahl turned and left down the corridor, leaving her alone at last. Alone at last, she spent a moment contemplating how best to go about her mission. She’d neglected to tell Fahl of the second section of the ship that was under maintenance. The perfect spot for her to hide her spoils without anybody being none the wiser. It’s time to get rid of this thing once and for all, she thought.

  Her contact would take care of the rest.

  Logistics. The cornerstone of every military. Soldiers lived and died with the food and equipment that supported them. Kaius sat at his desk in his office, surrounded by blueprints on the multiple holoscreens floating before him, piecing together one such logistical puzzle.

  They contained possible designs for the facility he was in charge of making. The screen on his left contained a list of expenses required to build something so advanced in such a short timeframe. While the military’s construction capabilities were in a league of their own, something this important needed to be handle with the proper care and planning it deserved.

  Time, however, was not on his side. It would be a rush job, but he was certain that he could accomplish it within the six weeks he had. Having carte blanche on the military’s resources to fulfill his task gave him the budget and manpower required for something so monumental.

  A notification on one of the screens caught his attention. He opened the memo and read it, a smile growing as he did. The sample Fahl had stolen for him had successfully made it onto a supply ship destined for Verilia and would arrive in three weeks.

  He waved his hand in front of the main screen and the designs he’d been perusing disappeared, only to be replaced with new ones for a smaller, more specialized facility. The budget on his left was likewise replaced with one detailing the research equipment that would be required to properly study the sample.

  Resisting the urge to cackle with glee, he rejoiced in the fact the entire operation was off the record. The Tribunal couldn’t afford for any traces of the facility they were building to be discovered. No questions would be asked as he carried out his task and those that might be would easily be deflected.

  Nobody needed to know about the second facility he was building.

  The seedbed in front of him held its first wisp of a sprout. Maraz bent over the latest attempt at making plants grow green. It would be a while yet until the first of the foliage grew – if it grew. He had high hopes for this one but had been fooled before. Manipulating a plant’s genetics to produce Adrian’s version of chlorophyll wasn’t a simple affaire. All the previous trials had ended in failure.

  Adrian’s novel representation of the molecule based on what he remembered from his world’s chemistry courses had astounded Maraz when he’d first seen it. It was the only time Adrian had shown them part of his alphabet. It had allowed Maraz to piece together what the molecule would look like and had convinced him that Adrian had been telling the truth.

  The chemical was an incredible find should it prove real, leaving Maraz wishing for more of the alien knowledge he believed Adrian to possess. Creating a living organism that could produce such a thing had been a maddening affair, something never before done.

  The researchers assisting him were sworn to secrecy with hefty consequences should they break it. They knew not where the knowledge had come from but that didn’t stop them from trying to make it reality. Among the best in their fields, the military kept them within their ranks with very generous salaries and living conditions.

  And the promise of knowledge.

  It had taken the entire teams months of research to learn how to do it, their efforts culminating into the current experiment they hoped would be a success. If they succeeded they would create a new lifeform. They’d gone over their theories dozens of times but couldn’t help but worry that they were wrong yet again.

  Maraz moved over to one of their earlier experiments that sat in a specialized chamber that mimicked the blue sky Adrian had described. He’d all but given up on it but had been convinced by one of his researchers to give it some extra time to flourish. So far, nothing had happened. All it amounted to was a seed planted in some dirt.

  He sighed and tore his gaze away from the failure. Looking at the data slate in his hands, he went over his research notes once again, hoping in vain to find the answer that would solve the puzzle that had been presented to him. The rest of the Tribunal was breathing down his neck for proof of Adrian’s claims and Maraz was determined to give it to them.

  If only he could get the damn plants to grow properly.