First draft
Fifteen minutes later, all the members of the ragtag crew were sitting in sickbay. Dia explained briefly what had happened in the brig, but when she told them about Fanning's offer, everyone dropped silent.
"So? What do you think?"
"I don't want to pin all my hopes on someone like Fanning," Omen said thoughtfully. "but this may be the only way to stop the Umbra."
"Which begs the question" Willis interjected. "why do we have to stop him?"
Rodriguez let out an impatient breath. "Jacob, we've been over this..."
"No, listen to me, Maria. I know you have a score to settle with the Umbra. Hell, I hate him too, but let's face it, if we go back to Daxum, we'll die. We barely got out alive last time. Maybe it's time to cut our losses."
"Sure, we could run." Maria Rodriguez said eventually. "But to go where?"
Willis looked annoyed. "The Umbra is not the king of the Ether system, Maria."
"Not yet, you mean."
Willis continued as if he hadn't heard her. "There are other Spice Lords. We could talk to them."
Rodriguez shook her head. "Sorry, Jacob but I have no intention of tying myself up to a gangster. Not again."
"So what's your alternative? Play the hero?" He asked, his voice heavy with sarcasm."Maybe you forgot, Maria, but we are mercs. We work for the highest bidder."
Rodriguez's face hardened. "That's not the point and you know it." She took a deep breath and when she spoke again, her voice was softer. "I just don't want to spend the rest of my life watching over my shoulder. And that's exactly what will happen if we don't stop the Umbra."
That seemed to give him pause.
"It's not ideal." Willis admitted reluctantly. "But it's still better than being dead."
Rodriguez shook her head. "Running away is not the solution. Even if I was willing to hide, and I'm not, the Umbra will never leave us alone." The merc let that sink in for a moment. "Think about it. He got Gibson. Well, part of him at least. What do you think he wants to do with it?"
"He probably wants to create his own army of freaks." Willis said with obvious disgust. "What's your point?"
"And what will he use that army for?" Rodriguez asked in a dogged tone.
Willis shrugged. "Who knows what that madman he's up to. Maybe he wants to start a war."
Rodriguez had been waiting for those exact words. "And when he does, do you really think he will settle for one planet?"
A grim silence descended upon the room.
The somber moment lasted only a few seconds, then Omen cleared his throat. "I think we can all agree that the Umbra must be stopped. Now, what do you think of Fanning's proposal?"
"He is lying." Willis said, without hesitation. "That guy is a weasel. He would do anything to save his skin."
"I agree." Sarah said. "We can't trust Fanning."
"The Umbra tortured him." Rodriguez pointed out. "Fanning has no interest in betraying us."
"Not that we can see." Willis rebutted. "That doesn't mean he won't stab us in the back at the first opportunity."
"We'll keep an eye on him." Omen assured. "But as I see it, we can't afford to pass up an opportunity like this. We need all the help we can get."
"Speaking of which...what about your people, Omen?" Rodriguez asked with obvious reluctance. "Can they help us?"
"I'll try to contact them, but don't get your hopes too high." Omen replied, his face carefully neutral. "Because of the war with the Collective, and the unrest in the fringe worlds, the ISS' resources are spread thin."
Dia gave him an odd look.
"So we can't count on them." Rodriguez said, her stiff shoulder relaxing. She didn't look that sad.
Willis snorted. "What a surprise. When we need their help, they are nowhere to be seen. That's why imperials..."
"Then we'll have to do without them." Rodriguez wisely cut him off. "But the ship still needs to be repaired. Can they at least help us with that?"
"I'm afraid that's not possible." Omen answered, his eyes unreadable.
"And why is that?" Willis asked.
"Sorry, that's classified." He spoke with a disturbingly emotionless tone. "Suffice to say that we can't reveal our position or our future plans. Actually it's better if we maintain comms silence, at least of the time being."
The last sentence raised more than a few eyebrows.
Willis made a sound halfway between a snort of amusement and a grunt of disgust. "What, you don't trust your own people?" He mocked.
Omen stared hard at him. To his credit, Willis didn't flinch, but Omen's expression was so threatening that the merc instinctively reached down for the pistol strapped to his hip.
"This sucks, but I'm sure we'll manage somehow." Rodriguez' voice diffused the situation slightly. "Isn't that right, Omen?"
"Of course." Omen said quietly.
When he looked away from him, Willis released a breath, while everyone else acted as nothing ever happened.
"I'm more worried about Fanning's brother. What do we know about this..." Rodriguez paused, making vague hand-gestures, "...Spider guy?"
Sarah stared at her in disbelief. "How do you not know the Spider?"
"In case you haven't noticed, I break things, Love, I don't build them." Rodriguez said with a wink.
Sarah had just opened her mouth and was ready for a rebuttal, when Omen cleared his throat. "Let's get back to the topic at hand, shall we?"
"Of course." Rodriguez said, and though Sarah was still glaring at her, she also nodded.
"As I was saying, the Spider has always kept a low profile. So, although his construction company is quite famous in the system, very little is known about the man himself."
"What about the reconstruction thing?" Dia asked, "Is any of it real?"
"Fanning's story sounds plausible." Omen said in a slow, cautious tone. "The Undercity was left in ruins after the invasion. So, it makes sense that the Umbra would want to fix the situation as quickly as possible."
"But you're not sure." Willis remarked.
"No, I am not." Omen admitted after a pause. "What I do know that the Spider's company is considered reliable. Everybody in the Ether system knows that their buildings are built to last. And that's why I think Fanning is telling the truth."
Sarah nodded in understanding. "You think that the Umbra intends to use the Spider's reputation to regain political points."
Omen nodded. "If there is one thing I learned in the last few months, it's that reputation is everything around here. The Spider's reputation is spotless, and for good reason. He doesn't cut corners. He likes to present himself as a businessman and unlike his peers, he only uses violence when it's absolutely necessary."
"But do not mistake his restraint for weakness." Sarah warned. "This guy is no pushover. He's not afraid to get his hands dirty when the situation demands it."
"Which makes him much more dangerous than your regular gangster." Rodriguez said thoughtfully. "We'll have to be careful when dealing with him."
"Then it would be smart to avoid him altogether." Willis glanced cautiously at Omen, his tone markedly less hostile than before. "You were Reyes' second in command. Is there another way of doing this, other options?"
Omen shook his head. "No, not that I know of. The Palace is a fortress. There is only one access point."
"Great." Willis grumbled.
"So, do we all agree?" Omen asked, looking around the room at each of them in turn.
Willis shook his head. "I still think that trusting that guy is a bad idea."
Omen actually nodded. "I understand your concerns and it doesn't hurt to take a few precautions. What about this? I still have a few friends in the Undercity. I'll get them to ask around. If what Fanning is saying is true, we'll go through with the plan. If not...well, we can always throw him out of the airlock and come up with another plan."
Willis nodded slowly, a bit mollified. "That's fine, but what about the mechs?"
Omen stared at him fixedly, a clear indication he was starting to lose his patience. "You don't have to worry about them. They are out of the picture."
Willis looked at him with suspicion. "How do you know that?"
"I have my ways." Omen replied cryptically. "The only thing you need to know is that they are gone."
Willis made a disgruntled sound. "When did this happen?"
"Just before we entered the Nebula. Apparently, they realized that what they were looking for" He briefly glanced at Dia, "was no longer there."
"Why didn't we know about this until now?" Willis asked.
"Because, Mr. Willis," Omen said, his tone dangerously even, "you didn't need to know."
That seemed to shut him up.
"Now...do we all agree on this?" Omen asked a second time.
Rodriguez shrugged. "It's as good a plan as any."
Dia nodded, while Willis asked, "What about Mitchell? She is a member of the crew, isn't she?"
"Your concern is appreciated, but unnecessary, Jacob Willis." Mitchell's hologram materialized at the center of the room. "The captain is my superior officer. I have to follow his orders. Moreover, this plan, even if provisional, seems to be the only option at the moment."
After she'd said her piece, the hologram disappeared.
"Damn." Willis scowled. "I'll never get used to that."
Ignoring him, Omen asked, "Sarah?"
"I agree," Sarah said in a careful tone of voice, "but only if you promise to bring me with you."
Omen probably had expected her to give him unconditional support and looked more than a little surprised. "You want to come with us? Why?"
"Do I really need a reason?" She asked, her tone unusually confrontational.
Omen furrowed his brow, "No, but...I don't think that's a good idea, Sarah."
"He is right, Love." Rodriguez said gently. "You're a doctor, not a fighter. Besides, if you get hurt, who will patch us up?"
Sarah tightened her fists. "I can handle myself."
"I know you can, but..." Omen started to say, but Dia interrupted him. "Let her come."
Caught off-guard, Omen fell silent.
"Adding one more person won't make a difference." Dia continued. "Besides, who knows, we might need a doctor."
"Fine," Omen relented, but he wasn't happy about it. "you can come with us." He said grudgingly.
Sarah went still, her head cocked, almost as if she couldn't believe her ears. Then Dia saw her understand, and her lips curled into a smile. Then their gazes met, and the doctor gave her a grateful look.
Omen was, on the contrary, more than a little irked. When he spoke again his tone was decidedly testy.
"Then if there are no objections..." No one said anything. "Alright then. Dismissed." He said, forgetting for a moment that they weren't his subordinates.
Rodriguez seemed to find him funny and left the room with a smile. Willis, on the other hand, didn't seem to take the order well and grumbled something under his breath. When even Sarah was gone, only Dia and Omen were left in the room.
Maybe noticing she was staring at him fixedly, Omen asked, "Is there something on your mind, corporal?"
He still looked annoyed. Dia didn't let that deter her.
"Why did you lie to them?" She asked him. "I know you have a direct line to the Emperor."
"I didn't lie." She stared him down until he relented. "Alright, I didn't tell them the whole truth, but I wasn't lying. The ISS is really short of manpower at the moment."
"Sorry, Omen but I don't buy it." Dia said. "I know that the Empire is at war, but do you really want me to believe that the Emperor can't spare a few ships to take down the Umbra? Hell, if you tell him what Gibson has achieved, he'll send a fleet before lunchtime. He would do anything to put his hands on that kind of tech."
He nodded gravely. "You're right, and that's exactly what I want to avoid."
His answer stunned her. "You don't want him to know. Why?"
"Because no one should have that much power, Dia." Omen's face was grim. "Not even the Emperor."