Chapter 24

Bren stopped Miller before she left his quarters. "I want you available at all times." He said in a low voice, "Who do you have that can keep Esterhazy busy while still being diplomatic?"

Miller pursed her lips and stared at the ceiling for a moment, "Saul Darska, maybe. As long as he keeps his lies believable."

Bren grinned as he recalled a few of Darska's most memorable antics. The man was a menace; constantly interpreting orders in a way that obeyed them to the letter while causing the most trouble for everyone. Bren would have put him on the ground years ago if he hadn't been so good at his job. He was also an excellent source of stress relief for the higher security crew; tales of his most recent misconduct regularly made the rounds on private comm channels and inter-deck memos.

He'd drive Esterhazy crazy.

"Good. Debrief him and assign him to Esterhazy as soon as you can. And while you're on the flight deck, warn the mechanics not to use comm channels or ship records for anything concerning Sophia or the Warlock."

"Yes, sir." She let herself out.

Bren turned back to Sophia once the door was closed, "What was that about?" He asked her evenly.

She was pale, but defiant. "The less people who know I am here, the less likely we'll draw even more attention."

"So you chose to insult my first officer instead?"

She spread her hands, palms up. "Be reasonable, Bren. Even if Miller is absolutely trustworthy, having yet another person privy to every single one of my secrets is only asking for trouble." He gave her a sharp look and she sighed heavily, "No, I don't think she'll say anything wrong in Philip's presence, but if we three are all wary of him, that will cause other people in your crew to react differently as well. Philip surely notice that. It will make him more likely to think that something is wrong, and to investigate..."

"I get it." He said flatly, as much to stop her from talking as anything else.

Sophia's lips thinned, but she controlled her reaction faster than Bren expected. It made him wary. She could be completely unreasonable when it came to her own safety or the security of the Warlock, but if she was retreating behind a diplomatic façade, then she was hiding even more secrets.

"Are you going to bother telling me about this plan of yours?" He asked softly, "Or should I just walk away?"

She shifted in her chair and looked away from him, "You offered me the Silvana and her crew. More importantly, you offered your own support. But you're basing this all on the belief that I know what I'm doing. Or even that I'm sure that Sik and Philip were involved in Carolina's death. I could be imagining the whole thing."

"I knew that when I said it."

"Stop and think, Bren! My brother may have arranged to have my sister killed, but I have no proof! Until I have damning evidence, I don't dare let any of my suspicions be known. Not to anyone."

Her brown hair was an artful arrangement of braids and curls and delicate chains scavenged from Miller's own jewelry. He preferred the simple braid she usually wore; it meant he could see the fine curve of her neck.

He took off his glasses and rubbed at the bridge of his nose, thinking through the possibilities. She might be telling the truth, or her sudden outburst might be intentional, a ploy to manipulate him into keeping silent. He did understand her need for secrecy, even if he resented her attempt to hide the truth from his crew and especially his first officer.

"I trust my people." He said finally in his soft voice, "With my life, and with yours."

"How many people are on board the Silvana?" Sophia asked.

"Crew or complement?"

"Either."

Bren though briefly, "A little over four thousand crew, and another thousand on shore leave or administrative leave."

"Can you trust all of them? Every single one? And their friends and relatives?"

Bren came forward suddenly and turned Sophia's med chair around so he could push it out of his quarters and into the hall. She look up at him sharply, but when he refused to say anything, she let it go and asked to be given a few minutes to wash the makeup off her face and untangle her hair.

While he waited for Sophia to wash up, Bren opened a comm channel to the bridge. "I want Denali."

The officer's voice came back immediately, "Here, Captain."

"Put out a ship's bulletin for an impromptu ball game on the health deck in thirty minutes."

There was a short, charged silence, then, "Yes, sir. What rules, sir?" He kept his voice a little too casual, but Bren wasn't going to call attention to it.

"Home rules. Make it happen." He tapped his comm off to find that Sophia had managed to get her med chair wedged in the open door and was staring at him as though he'd lost his mind. "Code words." He explained.