The Crucible: Leap of Faith (19 page)

“What are you doing?” Nathan’s
voice shook.

“You have every right to distrust
the Alliance; they were going to throw you away,” F’val
responded.

“Excuse me?”

“This Alliance has always awarded
loyalty with pain. No matter how much you sacrifice, you will never
be rewarded with dignity and respect – they will simply use you,”
F’val continued.

“What are you talking about?”
Nathan’s words came out as a stutter.

“The resistance,” F’val finally
revealed. “We are part of the resistance.”

“What?”

“It’s okay, Nathan. You are
amongst friends.”

“The resistance?”

The Captain of this ship was part
of the resistance?

I’d always known that their
influence spread far – much further than the Star Forces liked to
admit. But this was incredible. The Captain of a flagship was part
of the resistance….

I was no longer aware of my
breathing and made no effort to control it.

All I wanted to do was find out
more.

“You’re all part of the
resistance? But you’re in the Enforcement Unit!”

“Which is the perfect cover. I get
to give traitors a choice. Join us and be part of the group to tear
down the Alliance, or submit to the Alliance’s crooked justice. I’m
giving you that choice now. I don’t know what you found out – I’m
not privy to that information. I just know that whatever it is,
it’s valuable enough to the Star Forces that they will bury you.
Forever.”

“The resistance are the only way
to bring back peace to this galaxy,” Williams insisted.

“You must trust us, Lieutenant
Commander,” the Captain added.

I was reeling at what I’d just
found out, yet I appreciated my feelings would be nothing compared
to Nathan’s.

“So these… these weapons are
yours?” I heard Nathan turn around.

“Correct,” the Captain
answered.

“What the hell are you doing with
Omega class weapons? They could tear a hole in the fabric of
space-time.”

“We do not use them,” the Captain
said eloquently, “not as weapons, anyway. They can be used to
isolate a specific compound.”

“What compound?”

“They’re for me,” Williams
suddenly admitted in a small voice, “and the others like me, who
were made dependent on compound 78.”

I jerked backwards, shoulder
slamming against the wall behind me.

There was a slight
pause.

I crumpled a hand over my
mouth.

I just couldn’t… I couldn’t
believe this.

I couldn’t believe
this.

“What do you mean you’re dependent
on some compound?”

“Nathan, this
Alliance you love so much, they’re monsters. Absolute monsters,”
Williams’ voice shook.
“Monsters,”
she added, tone breaking like glass. “They’ve
ruined so many people’s lives. They’ve killed so many people, all
to assure their continued dominance.”

“What are you talking
about?”

“The Farsight Program. The
Alliance’s attempt to develop telekinetic warriors,” the Captain
answered simply. “Most believe it is a myth. It isn’t,” her tone
dropped ominously.

“What?”

“We will tell you everything. Just
join us,” Williams begged. “Please, join us. We need someone like
you to help make a difference.”

“A difference?”
his voice shook. “You call this making a difference?
Were you responsible for attacking my
ship?
You’re the spy, aren’t you? All that
bullshit about Jenks was just to put me off the
scent.”

I reeled at the mention of my
name.

“We have little interest in Jenks.
Though some have suggested she may be a candidate for the
resistance – it seems she doesn’t share most people’s fervor for
the Alliance.”

“So what about
all that bullshit about that explosion on the station? Why would
you jeopardize this ship?
Why would you
attack my ship?”

“We took your ship out of the
equation, Lieutenant Commander,” the Captain said. “You may not be
aware of this, but your mission to the Hari Sector would have
resulted in the destruction of your ship sooner rather than later.
The Star Forces had every intention of using you, your crew, and
your vessel as sacrificial lambs to see how powerful the resistance
has become.”

“…
You’re lying,” Nathan
tried.

“We are not. I can show you the
communiqués myself,” the Captain assured him.

Another uneasy silence spread
through the room.

“The accident aboard your vessel
was also a warning to the Alliance. It is time we, the resistance,
lift our heads,” as the Captain spoke, she did so with so much
authority it was a surprise I didn’t salute.

“You… I…” Nathan trailed
off.

“To destroy the Alliance, we must
make sacrifices. Williams almost lost her life to the Farsight
Program. I have seen countless, countless decorated officers thrown
away at the suspicion of disloyalty. This treachery cannot stand.
We must undo the Alliance one battle at a time.”

“One… battle at a time? Are you
mad? I don’t care how big the resistance is, there’s no way we can
undermine the entire Alliance Star Forces. They’re too big. And
they’re growing too fast,” Nathan said.

It was the first time he hadn’t
reacted with anger or suspicion.

Was he softening to the resistance
so quickly?

“One battle at a time,” the
Captain repeated. “One battle at a time. But the time when we
attack them head on is rapidly approaching. We need people like you
to help us.”

“People like me,” Nathan repeated,
tone hollow.

“You’re a great soldier,” Williams
encouraged him.

“I’m a great….”

“You must make a
decision now,” the Captain informed him, “soon the
Ra’xon
will be delivered
to the resistance. Decide whether you will still be on
it.”

“You’re giving the resistance this
ship?”

“It is time to fight back,” the
Captain replied.

Once more, a cold uneasy silence
spread through the room.

It was so penetrating I swore it
even sunk deep into my chest.

“Decide,” F’val
demanded.

“Help us,” Williams
encouraged.

The Captain remained
silent.

“You want me to join you. Christ…
the resistance.”

“It will be the only way you’ll
ever make a difference,” F’val added.

That same goddamn silence spread
through the room.

I was suddenly keenly aware of my
heart beating hard in my chest.

…
What would he decide?

“I’ll…
I’ll join you,”
he
said.

“A wise decision, Lieutenant
Commander,” the Captain commended him. “Now we must begin
preparations to evacuate this ship.”

“What do you mean?” he
asked.

“I may be a member of the
resistance, but I am still the captain of this ship. I have a duty
to my crew. I won’t lay a finger on them. We will simulate engine
troubles and I will command the crew to evacuate.”

“…
Simulate
engine troubles. Was that what happened aboard the
Fargo?”
Nathan suddenly
asked.

“Yeah,” Williams replied. “The
resistance desperately needs ships.”

“We can discuss the requirements
of the resistance later. We must evacuate this ship.”

“Hold on, how the hell are we
going to fly this thing? There’s only four of us,” Nathan pointed
out.

“At least ten
percent of my crew are sympathetic to the resistance. It will be
enough to pilot the
Ra’xon
to our main base.”

“Which is where?” Nathan
asked.

“You’ll find out when we get
there,” F’val said. “But the Captain’s right – we have only a small
window to evacuate this ship and appropriate it. We need to take it
now.”

“…
Alright then, what do I do?”
Nathan asked.

I would have given anything to see
his expression right now. Was it muddled? Was confusion crumpling
his brow? Or had he made a decision – the most important decision
of his life – and had he committed himself to it, heart and
soul?

“The Chief Engineer is a part of
the resistance. As soon as I give her the word, she will begin to
destabilize the engines,” the Captain cleared her throat and
appeared to take a powerful step backwards. “All you must do is
help the evacuation. Once the rest of the crew have escaped in the
allotted escape pods, we will appear to be attacked and boarded by
resistance ships, who will take the vessel.”

“So… I just stand around and help
people get on escape pods. I guess I can do that,” Nathan managed,
tone lighter for the first time since this fateful conversation had
begun.

“We need to be careful,” F’val
warned. “There is every chance there are enforcement officers
amongst the crew. Real ones.”

“What?” Nathan asked.

“The Alliance know the resistance
are stealing their ships, and they’ve been putting safeguards in
place, especially on ships as important as this,” F’val explained.
“There may be enforcement officers on board. If they’re worth their
money, they might realize what’s happening. They’ll wait till most
of the crew evacuate, then they’ll try to take back this ship. They
tend to operate in groups of two.”

“…
Just two? If ten percent of
this ship’s crew are resistance, that’s roughly 25 people. Surely
we can take them on?” Nathan asked.

“Do not underestimate enforcement
officers. Not only do they possess the Star Forces’ strongest
prototype armor, but some of them are telekinetic warriors. They
will pose a serious threat. That is, in part, why we wanted to
ascertain your loyalty to the resistance first. You have a history
of pushing back impossible threats.”

“Ah, thanks. What the hell is a
telekinetic warrior, though?”

“You’ll find out soon enough,”
Williams promised him.

That promise echoed in my ears as
the group finally ended their conversation and left.

I stood there with my hand pressed
against a metal crate for at least five minutes.

I couldn’t move. There was a
dense, heavy feeling sinking through my knees and into my feet. It
felt as if they were turning to lead.

I’d just learnt so
much.

…
The resistance were far more
powerful than I’d ever imagined.

More than that
though –
they had telekinetic
warriors.

There were more like
me.

Oh god, there were more like
me.

As the seconds ticked by, I
finally found the strength to close my eyes. I screwed them shut so
tightly it would have taken a pair of light cruisers to pry them
apart.

A few errant tears streaked down
my cheeks.

I let them track their jagged
paths across my skin until they trickled along my jaw and finally
onto the collar of my uniform.

My goddamn Star Forces
uniform.

I latched a hand on it, grip so
tight it was as if I was getting ready to tear it in
two.

For several agonizing seconds I
couldn’t move. Then finally, finally I let my hand drop.

I shifted backwards and faced the
wall of boxes.

Then I shifted them out of my
path. With nothing but a few small movements of my hands, the boxes
lifted right into the air, flowing gently to the side as I walked
out from behind them.

Without glancing behind me as I
continued to walk forward, I brought my hand down, and the boxes
dropped silently into place.

I didn’t pause.

I left the room.

Chapter 10

Lieutenant Commander Nathan
Shepherd

I couldn’t think.

I could barely feel.

Everything I’d known had been
turned on its head.

The resistance were real. And now
I was a part of them.

I kept staring at my hands as I
walked through the corridors at Williams’ side.

Occasionally I let my gaze slip
towards her.

…
The Alliance had turned her into
some kind of telekinetic warrior.

I wanted to know exactly what
they’d done to her. But I couldn’t ask. Not here, not
now.

We had a job to do.

Occasionally I wondered what the
hell I was doing.

But it was too late
now.

It was too goddamn
late.