Chapter Two

Forty-five minutes had passed, and Rhys was still waiting by the teleporters. From the outside, they looked like a series of tubes surrounded by a complex network of wires and switches, all controlled from a central computer in the corner of the room. The attendant was nowhere to be seen. She had shown Rhys in once he arrived but had since left the room. Apart from a brief visit from Admiral Garter after fifteen minutes, Rhys had waited in silence. He tried not to think about what was about to happen. He had always hated the teleporters. Even the shuttles were more to his liking, and he had experienced firsthand how deadly they could be.

Eventually the attendant returned. “I have the coordinates and the clearance to send you now, Captain,” she said as she sat down behind her desk. “If you could step inside the teleporter you can be on your way.”

Rhys hesitated with his hand on the teleporter door.

“Is everything alright, Captain?” the attendant asked, peering over the top of the computer screen.

“Yeah, it’s fine.” Rhys opened the door and went to step inside, but the attendant stopped him once more.

“Your shoes, Captain Griffiths,” she said.

“I’m sorry?”

In response the attendant pointed to the sign next to the glass doors of the teleporters. It read ‘Please, no leather is to be worn inside the teleporters.’

Rhys looked down at his black leather shoes in irritation. It would not set a very good example, turning up on the bridge of the Dawn in just his socks, but he could hardly waste the time to go find some suitable alternatives.

Begrudgingly, he took his shoes off and threw them into the corner, where he could collect them after returning from the Dawn.

Now cleared to enter the teleporter, he stepped inside. Inside was just a white disc on the floor, glowing slightly. The walls were semi-transparent glass. As Rhys closed the door behind him he could just about make out the fuzzy outline of the attendant turn around again in her chair.

“Alright Captain, just stand still,” her voice said, emanating clearly from an unseen speaker inside the teleporter.

Then a bright white light filled the tube, blinding Rhys. He fought hard to stop his arm coming up to shield his face. He had used the teleporters before, so he knew what to expect, even if he didn’t like it. The tingling sensation that spread across his body never failed to unsettle him. Then it stopped, and the light faded away. It didn’t feel like he had moved at all. He was still in a semi-transparent tube, but the outlines of the wires on the outside of the tube were slightly different than what they were before. When Rhys opened the door he was in a similar room to the one he had just left, but here there was no attendant to greet him. He was alone, but a lot of noise came through the walls. He had only to open a single door to find himself on the bridge of the Terrestrial Dawn.

Aaron was waiting for him, sat in the Captain’s chair in the centre of the bridge. “Rhys, how nice it is to see you again,” he said brightly as Rhys stepped away from the door. There was tension in the air, no matter how light Aaron’s voice was.

A mustelid was sat in the seat of the ship navigator away to Rhys’ left. No mustelid was even permitted on the bridge of a TIE ship at any time, let alone when in flight. That there was one navigating the Dawn, which had been until a few hours ago, a TIE ship didn’t just surprise Rhys. It was beyond belief. A quick check confirmed that the other five present members of the operations crew were all human.

“I suppose you’re here to convince me not to join the CGP” Aaron said with a half-smile.

“No,” Rhys replied, taking the cocky smile off of Aaron’s face. “You’re free to do what you will. I’m here to make sure you understand the consequences of your actions, and that you stand by your word and leave without any aggression shown to those who remain loyal to the Emperor.” It was as close to a direct jab at Aaron’s disloyalty as he was willing to risk.

“Really? Well that’s good. I had no intention of attacking Ceres. The place is practically worthless,” Aaron replied. He turned in his chair to look out the front windows of the ship. Ceres did indeed look small and worthless from this high above the surface. It was impossible to pick out the spaceport through the clouds that covered nearly a quarter of the dwarf planet. A few small cities, little bigger than large towns, were still visible on the northern hemisphere, broadcasting their light out to the still-young night. Behind the dwarf planet Sol was still visible from the Terrestrial Dawn, a small disc of bright, white light.

“I do hope you have no intentions of blocking those who wish to join me,” Aaron added, swivelling back around to look at Rhys.

Before he had come up to the ship, Admiral Garter had informed Rhys of how they were to manage those who wished to join the CGP. They were to allow any who wished to leave, as Aaron had requested. There had only been a select handful who had wanted to betray the Emperor.

“They are to wait in the docking bay. A shuttle has been set aside to bring them to your ship,” Rhys answered.

Aaron looked suitably impressed by Rhys’ response. “Good, you’ve made all the plans for me. And what about you Rhys? Are you to be joining me too? I can put in a very good word for you, and you will find yourself very high up in the CGP, should you wish it.”

“Nothing you can say will make me abandon TIE, Aaron, so don’t even try it,’ Rhys replied, keeping his voice calm and level.

“A pity, but not entirely unexpected,” Aaron said, tilting his head to one side. “You’ll remain loyal to Spaceways and the Empire even if every captain and governor stands united against you in their attempt to force you out.” Aaron was smiling again. He was enjoying himself.

“Unless the Emperor turns his back on me, then I will never turn my back on him, no matter what anyone else may say,” Rhys replied vehemently.

“I don’t doubt that,” Aaron said. “But I want you to know that there will always be a place for you in the CGP. But unless I’m very much mistaken, that’s the shuttle there, is it not?”

Rhys looked out the front window, leaning on the back of Aaron’s chair as he did so. Aaron’s eyes must have been keen, for it was a full minute before Rhys was able to spot the tiny shuttle breaking free of the clouds covering Ceres’ southern hemisphere. It would take perhaps five minutes to arrive.

“How many people can I expect?” Aaron asked.

“I don’t know,” Rhys replied honestly. He had not been informed how many people would be in the shuttle. He did know that the CG-3, the model of shuttle being used to transport the traitors, could carry up to two dozen passengers. He did not tell Aaron this.

“You’ll be taking the shuttle back down?” Aaron asked after a brief silence between the old friends.

Those had been Rhys’ orders from Admiral Garter, and he tersely informed Aaron this. He did not inform him of his dislike of the teleporters. Aaron had never known of the fear, even during their training together.

“You seem a little edgy tonight, Rhys. Maybe next time we meet you’ll be in brighter spirits,” Aaron said with a hearty laugh.

“Next time we meet, Aaron,” Rhys said through clenched teeth, “You’ll be fighting for the CGP and I’ll be fighting for TIE. There won’t exactly be time for pleasantries.”

Aaron’s smile disappeared for a fraction of a second. He had no answer to that, and so he said nothing.

“Captain, the shuttle is boarding,” one of the other men on the bridge said. Both Aaron and Rhys turned to face him before Rhys realised he was not the one being spoken to.

“Thank you Mr Chen, can you head down there and meet our new recruits and bring them up to see me,” Aaron said, regaining his cool composure. “In fact, take Captain Griffiths down too. He has no further reason to be present.”

“Certainly, Captain,” Chen said, standing and signalling to Rhys to follow him.

“Goodbye, Aaron,” Rhys said with an air of finality. Aaron didn’t reply or even watch his oldest friend walk off his bridge.

Rhys tried not to look at the fifteen or so people who came off of the shuttle. He didn’t want to know who they were, and he certainly didn’t want to know why they were on the Dawn and not remaining on Ceres. Every single one of them was human. It appeared that Admiral Garter and Captain LeFavre had been successful in keeping the situation from the mustelids’ knowledge. Once the shuttle was empty, Rhys stepped in.

“Have a good flight, Captain,” Chen said. His sincerity made Rhys turn around to face him. Then Rhys remembered. Sun Chen had served on the Harvester until a few years ago. He had transferred to the Dawn a month before Rhys was promoted from first officer to captain. He had always been a good man to work with, and Rhys had been sad to see him go.

“You too,” Rhys said, holding out his hand, which Chen took. Another unexpected parting. It was over quickly. Chen turned to leave as the shuttle door hissed shut. Rhys could hear a second door seal the entry to the Dawn.

Rhys breathed out slowly, relieved. There had never been any danger of an attack after all. Aaron had not even considered going against his word. Rhys was happy that the man had not changed in that regard.

There was a sudden increase in G-Force as the shuttle launched free from the Dawn, catching Rhys by surprise and bowling him to the ground. As the shuttle began to speed down to the dwarf planet the internal stabilisers came into effect, annulling the effects of the Gs and allowing Rhys to comfortably take a seat.

The shuttle was not piloted. It was a fully automated vehicle, and it was already following its set course to the Normandy docking bay. While it would take much longer than the teleporter, it would be a much better journey, or so Rhys believed. No amount of familiarity would improve Rhys’ opinion on the teleporter journeys.

Something glinting on the floor caught Rhys’ eye. Taking care to maintain his balance, Rhys bent down to see what was there. It was a small necklace. The glinting pendant was a small disc of gold inscribed with the TIE insignia. Without thinking, Rhys pocketed it. Most likely one of the previous passengers had dropped it en route to the Dawn, whether deliberately or not.

As the shuttle slowed down with its descent into the atmosphere, all thought of the necklace was already pushed out of his mind. There were no windows in the shuttle, so there could be no telling how far from the surface he was. All Rhys could do was guesstimate the distance judging on how far he had already been travelling, and how fast it felt like the shuttle was moving.

Even so, he did not expect the abrupt landing when it happened. Not even the internal stabilisers were able to prevent Rhys toppling out of his seat and onto the floor. He regained his feet just as the door slid open.

Admiral Garter was the only man there to greet him. He looked a lot more relaxed than he had been just an hour ago. Rhys was not surprised. A massive crisis had just been avoided. Of course the man in command would become more relaxed after that.

“Well done Captain,” he said, guiding Rhys out of the shuttle. “The Dawn is already heading back through the Asteroid Belt. We’ve had no further communication with her either, so I assume all is now well.” Rhys glanced up to see the engines of the Dawn slowly sinking into the night sky. Then the retractable roof closed over, shielding Rhys from the sight of Aaron Lee’s ship disappearing on its journey to the Centauri System.

“I did nothing in the end. Captain Lee had no intention of going against his word,” Rhys said modestly. He was well aware of what had happened, and his presence on the Dawn had had no effect on anything whatsoever.

Admiral Garter would have none of it. “Public knowledge will be that you negotiated a peaceful resolution to the entire situation,” he said with a conspiratorial look in his eye. “Aaron Lee had no intention of leaving peacefully before he spoke with you.”

“That would be a blatant lie,” Rhys said, stopping in his tracks.

“A little false truth never hurt anyone,” Admiral Garter said, also stopping a few paces later.

“It’s your call, Admiral,” Rhys said, knowing full well he could not argue with the admiral on this. He looked around the docking bay. But for them it was completely deserted. The two mustelids had obviously finished their repair work on the Europa.

“You’re a good captain, Rhys and I won’t be around forever. Already I’m being pressured to consider retirement. I want you to take my job when I eventually do decide to move on, but for that to happen you need to impress the chancellor as he’ll be the one who ultimately chooses my successor. And to do that, you need to take any credit you can get,” Admiral Garter said.

Rhys stayed silent. It was the best answer, given the situation. He was honoured that Admiral Garter had selected him as his preferred replacement as the Middle-Sol Admiral. He just wasn’t sure whether he was willing to lie or cheat his way to a promotion, and that was exactly what Admiral Garter was suggesting he do.

“It’s late, Captain. Return to your quarters and we can discuss the matter further tomorrow,” Admiral Garter said. “Come see me in the control tower when you rise. We’ll likely need to provide an explanation to Terra.”

After Rhys gave his assurances to the admiral that he would be there in the morning, Rhys returned to his ship. He needed some time to relax and enjoy a good drink.

Cooper was waiting for Rhys at the top of the elevator. “No one else to come on board tonight, Captain?” the first officer said. When Rhys shook his head, Cooper turned to the control panel next to the entry ramp. With the touch of a button, the ramp lifted itself up from the ground and sealed itself against the ship, creating an airtight lock around the entry.

“We have two more on board at the moment, Captain, just so you’re aware,” Cooper said as the two walked through the ship to the bridge. “Not for long. Just a couple of mustelids. One got injured while working on the Europa. Doctor Sparks insisted we take them in to give the one treatment.”

“I see,” Rhys said slowly, thinking of the one that had almost dropped the spanner on him. He instantly assumed that was the mustelid now on his ship. “Thanks for letting me know.” He didn’t want to ask further questions, but before he knew it, he already was. “One of them quite maniacal? Hyperactive even?”

“One was, actually, yes. The one who injured himself. I think his harness broke or something. Fractured his arm,” Cooper said. “You met them before or something?”

“Saw them earlier,” Rhys muttered. “They down in the medical bay?”

“Until morning, yes.”

Rhys made a mental note to avoid that part of the ship until later tomorrow. He didn’t want to run into the two mustelids in case they recognised him. The hyperactive one he especially wished to keep away from. Rhys didn’t know why, but that one made him nervous.

The bridge was deserted. Then again, there was no reason for anyone to be there. The ship was no longer in a situation where it might need to launch, and all communications for the Harvester would be redirected to Normandy Control, where there would be someone manning communications.

“Nothing else I should be aware of?” Rhys asked Cooper. He looked around the bridge. There was nothing at all out of place, nothing that needed attention.

“Nothing, Captain. If we needed to, we’d be ready for launch,” Cooper said.

“Make sure the medical bay is locked, and then you’re relieved for the night,” Rhys said, taking one last look around the bridge. The shutters on the front windows were shut, preventing Rhys from looking out into the docking bay.

“Certainly, Captain,” Cooper said. He left to head down to the medical bay, but Rhys held him back a moment longer.

“Care for a drink to celebrate?” Rhys asked. Though they had never been in any danger, Rhys still felt like he needed a drink to wash away the last of the nervous tension that was still stiffening his body.

“Not for me, Captain,” Cooper said. His face was twisted into a grimace and his hands clenched slightly by his side. “I don’t drink. Not anymore.”

Rhys nodded his head. The two had worked together for years now, but Rhys still knew very little about his first officer, but then, no one did. Of everyone in Spaceways, Rhys was privy to some of Cooper’s darkest secrets, not that the first officer was aware of that. “Very well. Don’t forget to shut down the lights on your way back.”

“Of course, Captain,” Cooper said with a quick salute. He turned and disappeared from the bridge. Rhys could hear him take the stairs down to the medical bay two at a time. Once these sounds faded Rhys was left alone with only the creaks and groans from the docking bay structure.

“I need to get away from this place,” Rhys whispered to the near-silence. He hated everything about Ceres. Despite being so close to Terra it was unable to defend itself from even a single enemy ship. Mars was a much better place to be, though that was probably due to the presence of the Vatican and their vast coffers. Rhys had only travelled out to the Sirius System twice, but his experiences there had been much better than what he was finding on Ceres. Naturally he had never been to the Centauri System. That was the province of the CGP, and had been ever since the system had been colonised.

“Just forget it, Rhys. Think of the positives.” he told himself. He could well be on his way to admiral, and that was definitely something worth thinking about. Admiral Griffiths. He liked the sound of that.

After one, last cursory sweep of the bridge, Rhys decided that it was time to call it a night. There was nothing he had left to do, so he might as well try and get a good night’s sleep.  Nights were short on Ceres and it was hard to sleep during the midnight sun. Because of the short rotation of Ceres, a Cerian ‘day’ actually contained two sunrises and sunsets. An audacious plan had been launched two decades earlier to actually slow down the rotation of Ceres, but that had failed at a huge cost. Of all the colonised planets in TIE, only Cymru, in the Sirius System, and Mars had a rotation that was almost identical to that of Terra.

Rhys locked himself inside his quarters, realising then he had left his shoes back in the teleporter room. He would have to retrieve them later. After stretching his tense shoulders, he stripped out of his uniform and bundled it to the floor. There would be a clean uniform for him already in his wardrobe, and the dirty set would be picked up in the morning by one of the two mustelids aboard the Harvester. The lights all shut off but Rhys was not alarmed. It wasn’t one of the regular power cuts that struck the port; his ship ran off its own internal power supply. It just meant that Cooper had finished locking up the medical bay and had powered down the ship as he passed the bridge. It was standard procedure for the last officer awake.

Turning on his bedside light and pouring himself a glass of red wine, Rhys slumped against the wall and ran his spare hand through his hair, exhaling deeply. His wine cabinet held an extensive collection of wine sourced from all corners of the empire. There had been many times during his training at the academy that Rhys had shared a bottle or two with Aaron. He raised his glass in a silent toast for his lost friend. Limiting himself to the one glass before he ended up consuming a whole bottle, Rhys closed his wine cabinet and shut off all the lights.

The wine had helped loosen some of the tension in his shoulders, but had done nothing for the questions that swirled around his mind. Why had Aaron defected? Should he lie to the chancellor to earn his respect? Should he be concerned about Cardinal Erik’s presence?

Despite his worries, Rhys slept well that night. He was temporarily roused shortly before the midnight sun rose when the ship’s lights reactivated themselves for a few minutes, but he just turned over in his bed and thought nothing of it. He didn’t hear the sound of claws scurrying around the bridge, and nor was he aware of Doctor Sparks locking the medical bay just after the lights had powered down again.