HMS Valediction

Chapter 28.3

When I arrive at Teeno's, Nuna is already there, staring into the table stationed between the four plushy chairs.

"Juno has put us in quite the pickle," Teeno states.

I settle into my seat. "What's that supposed to mean?"

A screen flicks on in the center of the table. The lights that make up the image assemble and form a pixel mountain range.

"Is this where Juno is?" I ask, sitting forward in my seat. "Where is it? How long will it take for us to get there?"

Nuna laughs. "Ledi, play the message back."

"Yes, ma'am."

It's good to hear Ledi in his crisp monotone again. No inflection, no emotion, and especially, no Dean. It's strange to think that the disembodied man in here and the body in the hangar originate from the same computer brain. 

"My Little Moon." A woman's voice reverberates through the room in deep, silky notes. The mountains rise and fall with her words. She enunciates clearly, emphasizing the word "little" with a purr. "What have you done? You always find a way to aggravate your poor Juno. But this time, you have made a critical mistake that may be your end. What a pity."

"This—" Moon nods at the bouncing image— "is Juno."

She continues. "You do not realize the trouble you've made when you interfered this time. Juno has something you may be interested in."

I glare across the holographic image at Moon. "Your ex-girlfriend is holding my child for ransom."

"No," he says. Leaning forward, he returns my glare. "Keep listening."

"My Little Moon, it has been brought to Juno's attention that you have captured a recent shipment of Earthen. Forces greater than you are expecting them. It is not Juno who wishes to keep them—you are not hindering Olympi's progress. Must Juno remind you that your strategic abilities have always been feeble and ill-managed? That you will never ever match the power of Juno's Olympi?"

Moon leans back in his seat and watches me.

"To counter your error, Juno has also captured one of the ten Earthen vessels."

My jaw drops.

"Find the commander of ARC10. Juno has been told she has twisted you around her finger. She has enslaved both you and your first mate to bend to her will—to harbor the dregs of her society. They cling to you like rats hiding from a storm. It is quite pathetic."

Nuna shifts in her seat, positioning herself away from me.

"But you have always been weak for women with power. Does she taste as sweet as Juno does, my Little Moon? What pleasure does she bring you when you are on your knees before her?"

If I wasn't so angry, I'd be nauseated.

"I have a message for her."

I brace for impact, gripping the arms of my seat with white knuckles. The dots fall and rearrange themselves into a different landscape. A familiar voice rings out making my skin crawl.

"Janika."

My name from Kai's voice is a punch to the chest. For a brief second, I can't breathe.

"Juno's taken control of ARC4. No casualties to report. I don't know how long we have before she turns us over for reparations incurred during the raid."

"Reparations?" I search for answers from Teeno and Nuna.

As smooth and leveled as his voice was before, it becomes shaky. The waves vibrate erratically with his panic. "ARC10 and its passengers must be returned in order for the rest of us to be released."