“I refuse,” Roke replied harshly. After the disastrous attempt to simulate what the mysterious orange chemical did, he’d almost suspended all attempts to further study the chemical on the spot. That Kaius would instruct him to find a way to synthesize that perversion of nature left him furious. The thought of it being used against another being terrified him, and he refused to be party to such evil.

  Kaius’ expression darkened. “I wasn’t asking,” he said, aggravated. “While I originally wanted you to understand the chemical’s properties in order to neutralize it, now I need you to weaponize it. I fear that it may be the only thing that will give the gru’ul pause should they invade us.”

  He hated the thought of learning how to create such a monstrous chemical, but Kaius knew they had no choice. He quashed the fearful part of him and put the faction above his personal feelings. The gru’ul had showcased the ability to create the chemical, and he was convinced it would be used against them. Now that they’d regained control of the facility, it was only a matter of time.

  Already, the fighting had begun, and they’d been forced to retreat. Kaius knew it wouldn’t be long until they came for Verilia. Whether they would annihilate the other factions remained a mystery, but he couldn’t afford to spare the resources to save them should they be attacked.

  “Why do you insist on this so much?” Roke asked, exasperated. “We’re better off not learning anything more about the orange chemical.”

  “The gru’ul are coming. And when they do, we need to be able to face them,” Kaius replied. “I know it’s abhorrent, but we need every advantage we can get.”

  “I understand that,” Roke scoffed, “but despite all our technological advancements, we’ve made very little headway in how to neutralize it, let alone synthesize it. I don’t suppose you have a genius tucked away somewhere with excellent understanding of gru’ul technology.”

  Kaius brightened as an idea occurred to him. “As a matter of fact, I do. I’ll arrange for her to assist you in your research.”

  Roke narrowed his eyes. “You want to increase the security risk of a leak further?” he asked.

  “It’s hardly an increase in risk,” Kaius said, waving away his researcher’s concerns. “She’s already very much involved in the situation and knows about the chemical.”

  Roke studied Kaius carefully. “Fine,” he said after a long moment. “I want it on record that I think this is a terrible idea, but I will obey your will, War Elder.” He knew he didn’t have a choice now that the War Tribunal had risen to power. There was only so much he could do to fight against Kaius’ orders lest he find himself as one of the nameless casualties of the upcoming war.

  “Excellent,” Kaius preened. “I’ll put you in touch shortly.” With Verilia’s future secured, Kaius ended the call and prepared for Cirrus’ report from her interrogation with Fahl.

  Fahl sat on the floor in the corner of his cell with his head hung low. Nobody believed him. The interrogators had gotten creative in their attempts to break him. A macabre part of him couldn’t help but admire their ability to bring his body to a breaking point without permanent harm. The rest of him was horrified. He had nothing useful he could give them since he didn’t even know what had been sent from his data slate. He feared that his interrogators would tire of playing nice. Well, as nice as what amounted to light torture could be.

  “Doctor,” a disembodied feminine voice he didn’t recognize said from the hidden speakers in the room, “this is War Elder Cirrus. The Tribunal has come to question you directly for your traitorous actions. We expect answers, because if you refuse to talk once more, I will personally ensure you are just coherent enough to answer my questions in the future.”

  A shiver ran down Fahl’s spine. The War Tribunal had come directly for him. He didn’t know if it was a new tactic to get him to talk. He found it hard to believe that a War Elder would personally come to the flagship to speak with him. “How do I know you’re not attempting to threaten me in to talking?” he asked with false bravado.

  One of the walls suddenly turned transparent and revealed a control room on the other side. Fahl recognized the unmistakable figures of Commander Cyrix and Elder Cirrus. He blanched.

  “Do you believe me now?” Cirrus said in a tone devoid of any warmth. “Because trust me, I have ways to make you believe me that you won’t like.”

  “Greetings, War Elder Cirrus,” Fahl stammered. His thoughts raced as he tried to figure out just what had been sent off on his data slate. “I believe you, there’s no need to drastic measures.”

  “Good,” Cirrus harrumphed. “Now enough with the farce. You know why I’m here. Start talking.”

  “I haven’t done anything wrong!” Fahl said, frustrated. “I did everything that was asked of me and more. I’ve already told your interrogators that my data slate was tampered with.”

  “So you claim,” Cirrus replied, unphased by Fahl’s insistence on his innocence. After all, nobody in their right mind would confess to treason. “Yet it was your data slate that communicated with our enemies, and you were clearly trying to erase your tracks right as we found you.”

  “I was investigating my data slate after I noticed somebody had been in my room while I was gone,” Fahl said. “Don’t you think the timing was a little too perfect? There were cameras recording the halls. You should be able to see who did it.”

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “The cameras were disabled,” Cirrus revealed. “We have no proof anybody went into your room while you were gone. How do you know for certain your data slate was tampered with?” She listened attentively as Fahl recounted his version of the story, hoping to catch any incongruities. Unfortunately, all he did was parrot the same information he had said to his interrogators. Cirrus found herself unimpressed.

  Sensing Cirrus was growing impatient, Fahl hurriedly said, “Isn’t it strange that the cameras were disabled while I wasn’t there?” He hoped that a new line of reasoning would show her how nonsensical the situation was.

  The thought gave Cirrus pause. “All that tells me is that you possibly had accomplices,” she said after consideration. “Do you have anything else to tell me?”

  Fahl hesitated. Thus far, he’d avoided mentioning anything regarding his work for Kaius. He knew it was a one-way ticket to getting killed should the Elder discover he’d been betrayed. Yet deep down, he knew it was his last option. “Yes, but I want your assurance that no harm will come to me should I tell you.”

  Cirrus narrowed her eyes. “So you admit to hiding vital information. Why should I grant you this immunity?”

  “Because I acted on the Tribunal’s orders,” Fahl revealed. His heart hammered in his chest. “I’ve been set up to take the fall and I can prove it. Just give me a chance.”

  “Preposterous!” Cirrus barked. “One of our own wouldn’t betray the whole of the faction by giving away top-secret coordinates to our enemies.”

  “I didn’t do any of that,” Fahl said. “I want your promise first.”

  “That will be dependent on what you tell me,” Cirrus said. “I’ll decide afterwards if you need protection.”

  “Fine,” Fahl said through gritted teeth. “I acted on the orders of Elder Kaius to retrieve a vial hidden away in the med bay after the researcher was attacked during transport.” He launched into a retelling of how Kaius had ordered him to secretly retrieve an orange chemical during a routine supply count after the incident. Cirrus remained silent as he spoke, opting to listen rather than interrupt.

  Fahl continued and explained how he found two vials stashed away, which confused him at the time. Unsure why there was a second vial with a minute amount of a purple fluid, he opted to swipe both of them during a guard’s moment of inattention. He concluded that the chemicals had been put there during the attack on Irric and that the official story of what happened was false. Armed with that knowledge, he confronted Nadi in secret where she convinced him to give her the purple chemical. Fahl recounted in great detail about Nadi’s reaction when he showed her the vial.

  “She threatened me,” Fahl said. “Claimed that I would get in even bigger trouble should it be found out I was involved at all. Nadi was clearly also working for Elder Kaius. There’s no other way she would have been aware of the chemicals had the attack been orchestrated by Alarr. She told me she would return it to Commander Cyrix but omit my involvement in its procurement.”

  Cirrus glanced towards Cyrix, who shook his head. “I was never given anything by Nadi,” Cyrix confirmed.

  Cirrus focused her attention back on Fahl. “Do you suspect Nadi found a way to smuggle the chemical to the Rukkan?” she asked.

  Fahl frowned. “The Rukkan are involved?” he muttered, confused.

  “The Rukkan have obtained highly classified information that only somebody directly working at the heart of the research facility could have obtained,” Cirrus revealed. “If what you say is true, they might be in possession of a physical sample of the most dangerous chemical to ever exist. How can we verify your claims?”

  “The cameras were shut down when I met Nadi,” Fahl said. “I wanted to confront her without leaving any traces behind. I don’t have the authority to order something like that. I’m confident that there are traces left by her. If you search the footage actually recorded at that time, you should find that she was nowhere to be found, despite being on the flagship.”

  “That’s an immense amount of footage,” Cirrus replied. “You expect us to comb through all of that?”

  “No,” Fahl said, shaking his head. “But I know the exact date and time this occurred. You only need to look during that timeframe. There must be logs of when security is disabled that could help prove my point.”

  “Let’s say I believe you,” Cirrus said. “You’ve not only accused Elder Kaius of giving you illegal clandestine orders, but also that one of our most trusted squad leaders was actually a mole that has been feeding our enemies information throughout the entire operation in the Arvis sector. Those are serious accusations. You do know what will happen to you if they’re found to be false claims, right?” she threatened.

  Fahl swallowed hard. “I can imagine it won’t be pleasant,” he stammered.

  “That’s right,” Cirrus confirmed. “Do you wish to retract your claims?”

  “I do not,” Fahl said. “Do you understand now why I couldn’t talk about it before? Can I have your word that no harm will befall me until you can verify what I’ve told you today?”

  “Very well,” Cirrus said. “Given what you’ve possibly exposed, additional protection is warranted.”

  Fahl never had the chance to thank her as Cirrus cut off audio and visual contact with him abruptly. Alone in the control room with Cyrix, she turned to him. “What do you think?” she asked. “Did what he say have any shred of credibility?”

  “Yes,” Cyrix said with a heavy sigh. “We know Irric’s data slate was tampered with already. We had Tassie independently verify this. Nadi might have been able to steal some information given her role as his guard while he was on site. Not to mention the suspicious circumstances in which Irric was attacked when transporting the chemicals. Irric claimed it was Alarr who attacked him, but if Nadi and Alarr were working together, Nadi might have silenced him to remove any suspicion that she was responsible.”

  “But we obtained both samples in the end,” Cirrus pointed out. “Fahl’s story doesn’t add up.”

  “It does if Nadi transferred part of the original samples into two other vials conveniently located in the med bay and stashed those away,” Cyrix said darkly. “I don’t like this. Nadi has been very close to the heart of this operation. Fahl’s story means that Kaius is in possession of the orange chemical and that the Rukkan have access to the purple chemical. I don’t know which is worse.”

  “I doubt the Rukkan will be a threat at the moment,” Cirrus said. “Now we need to investigate Kaius without him noticing.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “That’s going to be a tall order. He was the one in charge of securing the physical samples we obtained. If he had access to a third sample, there’s no way of telling where it is.”

  Cyrix sighed. “We needed this like we need a hole in the head,” he said. “I expect gru’ul ships to appear at any moment now. Rather than focus on Elder Kaius at the moment, we should assess the damage and silently investigate Nadi and Kaius afterwards.”

  Cirrus nodded. “I agree. The new shields were good but not good enough. I’ll talk to Maraz about improving them, but I doubt we’ll be able to. The best we can do is repair the flagship as much as we can before the next fight. Come now, show me how bad the damage truly is.”

  The pair left Fahl alone in his cell as they moved on to more pressing matters.