Taisen clenched his jaw as a periodic pain flared up again at the back of his skull. Voices from his past, survivors of the brutal attack that he led on the planet of Boettia so many years ago began to scream non stop. Their voices reverberated in the magic force around him and even inside his Qi. Even now as he was on a ship speeding away from the surface of Boettia, the effects lingered as sporadic bursts of pain like a million tiny needles piercing into his brain. Fortunately, the further he got, the less the frequency and intensity.
After a while, he felt the pain lift completely. One moment it left him unable to speak, the next it lifted like a fog dispelled by the morning sun and it felt good. Taisen opened his eyes and realized that he was lying down in Alita's lap. She had her hands on his head and looked like she was in a meditative trance.
"How did you do that?" Taisen asked confused.
"It's our gift. We Quinians believe in the goddess Nightingale, a loving mother who requires us to care for others and grants us the ability to take away someone else's pain," Alita explained. "I can take away your pain if you let me."
"You can help me get rid of it for good?" Taisen said.
"I'm sorry but the effect will only last for a few hours. The pain will come back," Alita said. "I can do more for you if you told me what is causing you such anguish."
"Never mind," Taisen said as he straightened and sat up. "We'll talk again in a few hours."
"You would rather endure crippling pain that rendered you unconscious for hours than tell me about it to rid yourself of the pain forever?" Alita asked. "This burden of guilt you carry must be incredibly heavy."
"How would you know that it is guilt?" Taisen asked.
"When I touched took your pain, my soul touched your own and I felt the weight of the guilt crushing you," Alita replied.
"That's the last time you do that to me then," Taisen said. "Even if I'm almost dead, don't lay a hand on me ever again."
"I wouldn't touch you if you paid me," Alita answered before storming off to the bridge of the Lady Luck.
***
Jorun Na'ak set the ship on auto pilot and handed over controls to the frog like minion with an injured right hand as it cruised through hyperspace on its way to Earth, the home planet of the humans. Hey convened everyone in the ship's map room to discuss the game plan. The ship was small and the cabin was cramped. It could seat comfortably hold about four people but not half a dozen. It was built as an escape craft to spirit him away once the Galactic Federation decided that they had had enough of the Boettian pirates. The decision never came. Perhaps no one wanted to be involved with the planet after the events of the third Akkadian war. Standing or seated around the Holographic star chart was a cyborg, a human woman, a Quinian female, a dark skinned Marrakech male and Jorun. His features were unlike any species that Colonel Lyn had encountered. He had dark sagging skin, flaps on his face and clear bright yellow eyes. The cyborg was missing two limbs and had to be placed on a seat away from the table.
"So what's next?" Jorun asked. "I've lost everything I built up over the last decade."
"No offence, but you ran a criminal enterprise," Colonel Lyn said.
"Offence taken," Jorun replied.
"I don't care," Colonel Lyn said. "I have to report this to my superiors."
"You shouldn't tell them everything," Taisen said.
"Why not?" Colonel Lyn asked.
"This is the second time someone has tried to kill you by planting an assassin on your ship, isn't it Colonel Lyn," Taisen said. "How long will it take you to realize that someone on Earth with the means to control what your mission is and who is on your ship is responsible for Captain Frank's death?"
"How... How could you possibly... know about that?" Colonel Lyn asked in a bewildered voice.
"I know a lot more than I let on," Taisen said. "From now on, we only deal with people we can trust."
"Agreed," Alita said as she got an angry stare from Colonel Lyn. "I'm sorry Colonel, I hate to admit it but he makes sense."
"Alright fine," Colonel Lyn said reluctantly.
"Hold on, why do you hate to admit it?" Taisen asked.
"Commander... I mean Taisen, who do you think we can place our trust in?" Link asked.
"Admiral Usyk," Taisen said.
"Are you kidding me? Admiral Oleksandr Usyk? The man who trained the butcher of Boettia?" Alita asked.
"Putting aside how you know that name, Admiral Usyk is set to be retired at the end of the year," Colonel Lyn said. "He has lost all credibility after his prized pupil was sentenced to death for the genocide in Boettia."
"That's exactly why we need him," Taisen said. "He's the only one of the twelve UN admirals that could have had no hand in the assassination of Herman Wrath and Captain Frank. He has no reason to try and kill us."
"The official cause of death of Former Commander Herman Wrath, God rest his soul, is lethal injection," Colonel Lyn said. "I can't ignore it any longer, how the hell do you know so much?"
"I have secrets too, Colonel," Taisen said.
"What about me?" Jorun asked. "What do I get for my sacrifice. Why shouldn't I just head for the nearest trade post and put you all in my airlock?"
"Well, what do you want?" Colonel Lyn asked.
"I want three million credits, clean, no tracing," Jorun said.
"All right, that can be arranged."