Chapter 34

I was still surprised that I was asked for by Rihs’tal, but then I remembered what Beth had done and I couldn’t help but smile. Perhaps she was asking me to end the possible torment that had occurred in our absence. When I entered the area that her cell was in, and I could hear something playing in her cell. As I drew closer, I could see that she was looking a little haggard.

“You have to make this stop!” she pleaded. “I can’t keep listening to this anymore. Please make it stop!”

It would have been amusing, but I didn’t feel anything but pity for this woman. I quickly ordered Alta to end the playback and I could see the visible relief on her face.

“I had no idea what she had done until after we had already disembarked,” I said, calling her focus to me. “I also can’t blame her for what she did either. You have to admit that you have been very abrasive towards me, and I saw that you were the same with Beth.”

I expected an angry and vehemence response, but instead she gave a sigh and nodded.

“I haven’t been easy to be around,” Rihs’tal admitted with another sigh. “You need to understand that I have been living with a specific rhetoric for most of my life. I was raised in one of the more respected families.” She shook her head, “We weren’t more respected, we were one of the better off families.”

“If you were one of the better off families, how did you get conscripted into the military?” I asked, causing her eyes to widen.

“How do you know that?” she asked with wide eyes. “Um, we didn’t need to, but I volunteered. I wanted to give back to the empire and do my duty. I am now beginning to question the choices that I made prior to our encounter.”

“You will have to forgive me if I find the change of heart you are showing a bit hard to believe,” I replied.

Rihs’tal nodded, “I understand that and don’t blame you for the skepticism. I expect to still spend time in this cell until such time as I can build your trust.”

I nodded and then took a look at her. I couldn’t make out any deception in her voice or in her body language, but I knew I was no expert. My mind flashed to the oath that both Vish and Beth had done and suggested as a means to ensure she wouldn’t work against us, but there was no true way to ensure that the vow worked that way. I noticed her eyes were locked onto me and I wondered what she was thinking at that moment.

“I can tell that you have something on your mind,” she said cryptically. “You’re curious about my motives, why I have changed my tune and how to deal with the situation.”

I wasn’t sure how I felt about how easily she was able to read me, and it made me uneasy.

“What do you hope to get out of this change of heart?” I asked “You know that you wouldn’t be able to return home if you side with us. Even if you did so temporarily, they would lose trust in you. If I were even willing to consider it, it would result in ensuring you could never go home again.”

I watched for any sign that would give me an idea if she were trying to pull something, but I still couldn’t get a read.

Her eyes narrowed for a moment then she said, “You are talking about the oath, aren’t you? How do you know that I didn’t already make such an oath to my superiors?”

“I don’t,” I replied with a shrug. “But I can find that out rather easily. Alta, could you explain how the oath works and what happens when a person is asked to make an oath when they had made one prior?”

Alta shimmered into view, “Our society takes the oath extremely seriously. It cannot be used in a manner to just get blanket obedience. It is considered a great form of dishonor. Once one is bonded with the oath, they cannot be made to give the oath again. It is a great dishonor to lie about whether one has formed a bond. Should they betray the person that they made an oath two, they would have their tails removed and be sent into permanent exile. Their name is stricken from records and their family never speaks of them again.”

My eyes widen in shock at the severity of the punishment, but it also doesn’t surprise me. I needed to be careful, for both Vish and Beth had made such an oath to me.

I turned my focus back to Rihs’tal and asked, “So have you made the oath to someone yet?”

She studied my eyes for a few moments and then she broke eye contact to glance down.

“No I haven’t,” she replied softly. “Despite the reverence I held for those in power, I never made such an oath. They have tried and failed to conscript people this way, but I am uncertain if that has changed since I have been gone.”

I couldn’t sense deception, so I asked, “Would you make one now, knowing that it could keep you from your home? While I hope that we can change things and establish the proper governing body in the core worlds, we might fail. Would you make it knowing there is a chance you might never be able to return?”

I could see she was mulling over the idea and there was conflict in her eyes. I knew that if I pushed her to choose right now, she might regret it and it could cause us problems in the future.

“You don’t have to answer now,” I said softly, drawing her focus back on me. “It is a big decision and I know it won’t be an easy one. Take your time to really think it through and when you’re ready, call me back to talk.”

She searched my eyes for a few moments before giving a slight nod. With nothing left to say I turned to leave and heard a throat clear to my right. I walked over to find Tor’nak waiting near the field for me.

“Captain Stargazer,” he said with a slight bow of the head. “I am sorry to disturb you, but I wanted to see if there was a chance, I could gain my freedom from this cage.”

I studied him and wondered how much he had heard from the conversation I just had. We hadn’t talked very loudly, but we also weren’t whispering either.

“Alta,” I called out, causing her holographic form to appear beside me once again. “How has Tor’nak been since he was sentenced? Has he been a model prisoner? Do you believe that he has earned his freedom?”

She looked at him and replied, “During his first weeks in seclusion, he threatened revenge constantly. He tested the cell for weaknesses and tried to manipulate the security personnel that brought his meals. This changed things so that a drone would bring them, and he lashed out for a time at the drones. Each resulted in his food being taken away. After some time going hungry, he realized the futility of his actions and didn’t lash out any longer. From there he was monitored for a few months before we allowed him to start providing services as part of his rehabilitation. He was given a drone escort armed to stun him if he would do anything. He was placed on sanitation duty, going around the station to clean up any garbage or debris that is left in the wake of people moving through it. Normally the drones did this, so no one ever saw anything, but given what we had learned about some processes on your world, it seemed appropriate. He had been a ‘community leader’ for an exceptionally long time and enjoyed the status it had given him. Looking down on others for so long, it had given him a false sense of superiority.

“There was some griping, but over time he started to understand that even the lowest job had a purpose. To keep him from backtracking due to embarrassment, we sealed off the corridors from traffic while he was working. After a few months we stopped doing that and monitored him as he was working around others of his kind. There were some misgivings from him at the beginning, but they faded with time. Being around others made him embarrassed to be with, but he began to realize that he wasn’t being mistreated like he used to do. It took time but he soon began to take pride in his work. He began to look for more ways to help, and he accepted the watchdogs to ensure he didn’t do anything wrong. I would say that it may be time to give him a chance, with fewer restrictions, but he will still be monitored to be sure.”

I mused on what she had said for a few moments then turned to Tor’nak who was waiting for my reply expectantly.

“If necessary, I will make the oath Captain,” Tor’nak said with his head held high. “I may still have more to learn, to change, but I understand that too much pride can be a weakness. You can still monitor me, but I am willing to make the oath to ensure you don’t ever have to doubt me.”

I thought about what he had said before replying, “We will discuss it tomorrow. I will have to talk with the council before a choice like this could be made. I promise that you will have an answer.”

He thanked me and I went to leave the cell block. Alta kept stride with me, keeping silent as I continued to process the various discussions I just had. This was a lot to think about, but it looked very promising.

“Alta please send the security footage of our conversation to the council members,” I stated as we moved towards the tram system. “Have them discuss and we can talk in the morning on their feelings in regard to both circumstances. There is a lot that is happening now, and we have a lot to do.”

She nodded and then flashed into nothingness as I entered the tram. As I sped off to the research and development department, I wondered what would happen next. I entered to find the various crew hard at work. Holo displays showing various technologies they were working to improve with the advancements they found in the tech we returned, while others were creating our own version of the new tech. I found Er’tanik working at a holo display of the new ship sitting in our space dock. As I neared, he looked up to notice me and began to close the distance between us

“Ahh captain,” he said, grasping my arm. “I am happy to see you. I have been going over the information that we collected from the databanks of the ship. It gave us a lot of information on the ship, but they forgot to wipe them, so we have readings from the systems they went to before arriving. Tali and Alta are working on that while Hobbs is working to prepare the new AI to how we do things.”

He then began to gesture at areas of the holo representation of the Bloodlust, “I have been working on the schematics for the ship. It was top of the line in its day but is nothing compared to the Obsidian in a lot of ways. Sure it has the massive planet killer guns, but all the other systems are obsolete in comparison.”

Glancing over the display I asked, “How long would it take to get the full refit and upgrades done on the ship?”

Er’tanik thought for a few moments before saying, “It would depend on the resources available. The first cargo ship isn’t going to be ready for another four months, but once we get steady streams of materials, we could really ramp up our speed. As it stands it will take more than a year and a half. I think I have come up with a modified composite to the original barrel alloy to better help with heat distribution and preventing radiation leakage. I have been working on capacitors to feed the excess energy into which can be fed back into the power systems. I plan to use the same composite in the hull on the ship and the bulkheads. I plan to run tests on the gun once it is modified and upgraded to ensure the crew will be safe. For now I will plan and build the new cannon on the front of the ship while we have the station powering the aft cannon. Once we are ready for testing and use of the forward cannon, we will rotate the ship and use that cannon.”