Chapter 09
She'd awake to hear the noise of the door again. It would be unclear how long she had slept, but she'd notice the small tray of food sitting on the table in the middle of the room. Someone had brought her a meal while she had slept, though it had gotten cold since then. Stirring slowly, she opened her eyes and stared at the door for a moment, wondering if she had only dreamt the noise. Sitting up groggily, she began to climb out of bed, eyes going to the tray of food. Brynn must have been in a deeper sleep than she thought if she hadn't heard anyone enter to bring her a tray of food. Yawing softly, she walked to the door, pressing the button to open it. The woman at the door was thin, a little shorter than Brynn. She had shoulder length blond hair, blue eyes, and light-toned skin. Her shirt was a storm of black and dark green with sleeves that fell short of her elbows and a high-cut collar that hugged her collar bones. She wore a white belt, black pants, and black boots. "Hello. Captain Johansen has requested an audience with you. Would you come with me, please?"
She had a very official tone, her voice even. It sounded like this was the kind of thing the poor girl did all day. Her voice was kind, despite all things, and she had a very friendly feel about her. Brynn had a mind to tell the girl "no" and shut the door. Maybe return back to the bed and curl up under the covers. But Brynn couldn't bring herself to fight with this woman who hadn't done anything to her except what she was ordered to do. "Very well." Brynn responded, not bothering to hide her mild irritation and reluctance.
She'd go, but didn't have to be happy about it. Stepping out of her chambers, she shut the door behind her and allowed the woman to lead the way. As the door slid shut, the woman smiled warmly at her. She looked young, not even twenty years old. She seemed both silently relieved, and very pleased, that Brynn hadn't chopped her head off. Obviously she'd approached the task with a great deal of apprehension. She led her down the corridor and to a lift. She extended her hand, waiting for her to walk in, and then followed behind her. Following quietly into the elevator, Brynn leaned against the cool wall of the lift and sighed softly. Her whole body felt like it had been through hell and she ached from the inside out. Leaving the darkness of her bedroom was not something that had appealed to her in anyway. Still, she tried to make herself look presentable, running her fingers through her long hair until it was smooth and tamed.
"Deck 3, please." The doors slid shut and the woman leaned against the wall, about arm's reach from Brynn. She didn't said anything, her calm, collected demeanor not changing as the lift carried them across the ship towards their destination. When the arrival chime sounded, and the doors opened, she extended a hand again, letting Brynn exit ahead of her. Whatever the Captain wanted, Brynn wasn't sure of. She just hoped it was quick and didn't require her getting aggressive like she had when they had last left off. Even then it had taken all her strength to hold herself together. Suddenly, she just wanted to be back on Atalanta in Idris' bed, to hear Ophelia's voice. Sighing again, she crossed her arms in front of her and stepped out when the woman gestured her to.
The corridor they exited into was very different in comparison to the ship. The walls were unnaturally white and clean. There was an azure line that divided the wall in half, a handrail mounted in place to it seemingly for the entire length of the corridor. The lighting was a little brighter, augmented by the whiteness of the wall. The floor was an off-white, the flat metal having taken on the dirt and grime of everyone who'd walked over it. There were no doors, save the double-door at the end of the hall. They were a transparent, dark blue color, the black circle with the falcon imprinted on, split in half between the two doors.
As they approached, the two guards on either side stepped forward. "Major Usid, please hold out your arms and submit to search."
The girl was already holding her hands out straight in front of her. The men were dressed in the same dark blue as the doors. Their helmets were black with a visor that came down over their eyes. It was tinted, though Brynn could see the half of their faces above their nose that the visors covered. Both men were of a lighter tone, like her escort. Their dark blue vests seemed woven with some kind of armor, their white sleeves extending all the way to their wrists where their black gloves held their hands. The white belt was similar to her escort's, but it had a variety of items mounted two it, one of which appeared to be a firearm of some kind that Brynn would likely have never seen. Their black boots and leggings seemed also to match her escort's. The guards continued to wave the wand over her, her arms, her abdomen, her back, her legs, her waist and even her boots. When they seemed satisfied that she didn't have whatever it was they were looked for, they turned to Brynn.
The woman turned to face her. "Please, hold out your arms, like this," she motioned, extending her arms like before, "and allow the guards to check your person for malicious items."
The way she asked sounded like she expected Brynn to just comply, as if this was a totally normal thing, though it would probably have been a foreign concept for Brynn. The guards both stood there, waiting for her to comply, holding their wands out in front of them. Behind the men, Brynn could see into the room beyond the doors. It looked like an antechamber, another checkpoint. The next door was a dark grey color, with the insignia even bigger. She couldn't see what was beyond that, however.
Watching the guards search her escort, she'd hung back quietly, making a slight face as they did so. She hadn't expected them to ask her to do so as well, although perhaps she should have figured as much. Staring at the guards for a moment, she scoffed softly, shaking her head. "Wonderful."
She grumbled under her breath, and reluctantly held up her arms. She figured they were looking for weapons, which she didn't have on her person. If she wanted to defend herself, she'd just light someone fire and be done with it. When she grumbled and it seemed for a moment like she might protest, her escort seemed a little uneased, what little color she had in her face, draining. Then she seemed to calm when Brynn submitted to the search. The men waved their wands over her person, the beeping and crackling of the wands growing no louder or intense than it had when they had search the girl.
When they reached her feet and seemed satisfied that she was safe enough, they moved back away to either side of the door, one of them turning to the wall, opening a small key pad and entering the access code. The insignia on the door rotated, turning upside-down and then the second doors opened, the circle holding to the left half of the door as it parted. Her escort extended her hand for Brynn to enter the next room. She was a nervous thing, Brynn observed, and for a moment, she couldn't help but entertain the idea that if she set fire to something that the girl might faint. Shaking her head at her terrible idea, she crossed her arms in front of her again as if to take away the temptation. The girl looked from the room to Brynn and then back at the room and then back at Brynn. "Please, we're almost there, just go to the next room. It won't take but a few more moments before we're there, I promise."
"Fine, fine. What does the Captain want me for anyway?" Sighing heavier now, she continued into the room, ignoring her own annoyance with the situation. There was no turning back now and if the Captain was being kind enough to let her remain on the ship, she should be a little more polite to the captain. At least follow her orders and show up. The girl shook her head once they were both in the room.
"I am not permitted to know. And I imagine, even if I was, I would also not be permitted to share it with you." She smiled weakly, and then frowned a little. The doors closed behind them, and the one in front failed to open. Once they were trapped inside the room, which was no wider than the corridor and not even an arm's reach deep, Brynn could feel a gush of air come flooding down from the ceiling. It lasted for a long moment, tousling the girl's hair, as well as Brynn's, and blowing her clothes against her body and making Brynn's wave around out of control. Brynn jumped, gasping immediately as she moved her hands down to yank her clothing down so they didn't fly up. When the air ceased, she glared at the woman beside her, and shook her head. "A warning would be lovely."
Then suddenly, it stopped. The girl seemed unphased by this, and as the heavy door slid open, similarly to the one behind them, it opened up into a very immense room. Straight in front of the door, on the opposite side of the room, was the view screen. It was approximately ten meters across and seven high. It showed the vibrant hues of antispace. The crew on the bridge was very busy, though Brynn didn't get much time to observe because as her escort stepped out of the room, she quickly motioned for her to follow. She turned left and walked across the walkway, which was a meter or so higher than the base of the bridge. The walkway sloped down and eventually ended at wall about a meter wide. To the right of the wall was the remaining expanse of the bridge.
Her escort went to the left. As she turned back to Brynn, the doors automatically slid open into another antechamber like the one they'd stepped in on the way to the bridge. When she was sure that Brynn was following, she stepped in ahead of her. Brynn could hear a brief exchange of words between her escort and whoever was inside, but the words weren't very clear. She'd only be able to catch the butt-end of the conversation.
"Very well, Captain. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do for you." Her escort moved to turn and walk away past Brynn just as she was walking in.
When the escort left, she entered the room, and waited until the door was shut behind her to speak. "What have I been called for?"
"I felt I should notify you that Atalanta's work is complete. If you feel like you would like to return to Captain Chariton's vessel, it has been vacated and you'd be well within your means to return." She let these words sink in and then added. "However..." She paused a moment, frowning. "I...I would like you to remain her, aboard Avenger. I think we would be more apt to catering to you and providing for your needs than..." Her voice trailed off, and the part of the sentence she didn't say hung in the air, unsaid. Than Ophelia and Atalanta's meager provisions.
She had walked all the way across the ship to hear this? Brynn arched an eyebrow slowly and she let out a disbelieving laugh. "A note or a messenger would have done just fine to inform me of this information. I will return to Atalanta, it is my home." Or rather - it had been. If Idris never returned, she'd have to give it up as well as Idris. The thought immediately pained her so she tried to dismiss it, shaking her head.
She smiled at Brynn and shook her head. "That's not all. A few hours ago, an outpost about three rotational cycles from her, spotted a strange ship. They didn't attack, they were probably just letting their engines cool before jumping back into antispace. However, it sounds like the battleship that attacked us and abducted Idris. Battleship Tatrohyndi is going to meet us there in case it's a trap laid in order to smoke us out and attack us again. I want to know, as does General Durron, why they attacked my ship, and if their only reason for attacking was simply to get Idris. I'm also curious as to why they would want him. If the intelligence is right, he doesn't have..." She let her sentence trail off. She'd obviously been notified of Idris condition, like many others.
The sound of Idris' name had her heart going and she straightened up a little more, unable to resist feeling a small bubble of hope rise up inside of her. "Idris has no abilities anymore you are correct. I don't understand why they would solely target him."
