Page 35 of Captured
But is it enough? I shift my weight uneasily. The Drakians are not the monsters I thought they were, but the rest of humanity still see them that way. It’s not something that can change in a day.
“You can’t end the war without allies on the human side.” I shake my head. “You can maybe kill a few top Senators, but then they’ll just recruit more. You need people who will stop that from happening. People who have the population’s trust.”
Rakir stares at me and for a brief moment, his face softens.
“You really are a smart woman,” Rakir says. “There’s a group of humans that call themselves the Rebellion. They want to overthrow the Human Alliance government and destroy the Senators. The Drakian royal family has been working with them for years.”
“I’ve heard of them, but it was a long time ago.” Democracy and freedom are long lost ideals, sacrificed in the long war against the Drakian people. “They fought the Human Alliance when the universal government was pronounced and the elections were canceled until the end of the war. I thought they’d been eradicated.”
Rakir nods, his face still grim.
“The Rebellion is still very alive,” he says simply. “They’ve been hiding, recruiting. Living in the shadows for a long time. They were waiting for the right moment to step out and into the open, to show the humans not only the way the Senators have been manipulating them into an endless war, but to overthrow the entire government. They’re not waiting anymore.”
I stare at Rakir. He was so close to his goal. No wonder the Senators went all out to stop him.
“You were on your way to meet with the Rebellion and give them the list.”
Rakir stays silent, but his face tells me what I feared.
“You were betrayed.”
Rakir holds my gaze and a world of reprisal is contained in his eyes. He knows and he will make whoever did this pay.
“Who knew about your meeting?” I can’t imagine the Drakians - or Rakir - would have trusted many with this knowledge. It was much too important.
“No one.” Rakir shakes his head and I can see the wrath coursing down his shoulders. Whoever betrayed him will have a reckoning for the ages. “No one knew about this meeting except my brothers. We kept the knowledge tight.”
“Then who?” But I already know the answer. It’s the humans, of course.
“It can only be someone in the Rebellion. Someone high enough in the organization to know about the meeting and the reason for it. The list of people privileged to this information isn’t long.”
I shake my head. This doesn’t make sense.
“But why would they send me if they knew where to find you? Wouldn’t it have been more effective to just ambush you there? It doesn’t make sense.”
Rakir holds my gaze, then slowly nods. There it is again, that ghost of a smirk, impossibly sexy in a way that has nothing on humans.
“That’s because they didn’t know the exact place or time, only an approximation. Best way to ensure a secret meeting remains a secret is to keep it from everyone, even those involved.”
It’s smart. Simple and elegant, just like everything Rakir does.
“You were waiting for the last minute to give the Rebellion your exact location.” I understand. A great strategy, one that caused a big problem for the Black Star. Can’t plan an ambush if you have no idea of the time and place. “That’s why they needed me on patrol in a region where no one has ever patrolled before. As a lookout.”
A single pilot in a lonely suicide mission.
“Yes. The traitor, no matter how high in the Rebellion’s organization, only knew the general location I gave them. That is why they needed someone who could be their eyes and ears. That is why the Black Star found your pod so fast. They were lying in wait, ready to strike.”
The Black Star had been watching me all along, just waiting for me to find the Drakian ship. It wouldn’t have been hard for them to dispose of me once they got rid of Rakir and retrieved the list.
“But I didn’t do what they planned.” I swallow, hard, remembering what I felt when I saw the Drakian Royal cruiser, there, in the middle of nowhere. “My orders were to patrol the area and report any unusual sighting, that’s all. No one expected me to shoot you down.”
This meant I was betrayed, too. This mission was no coincidence. Whoever assigned me to it knew about the List and about the meeting with the Rebellion.
“Whoever assigned you to this mission has to work for them.”
As Rakir speaks, the universe closes down on me like a vise. My head is too small and my brain pulses down against my skull.
Rakir’s words echo inside my brain. The person who sent me to this godforsaken place, masking this assignment as revenge for betraying his affairs to my sister.
The face of my brother-in-law, his too-slick hair, his too-clean face, his too-white smile comes back to me. As Administrator of the Sixth Quadrant Exportation, he was in charge of the unit who programmed my patrol to this sector.
“I know who ordered this.” I whisper the words as darkness threatens to invade my heart.
Then it’s my turn to tell a not-so-pretty tale.
