Blood Impulse

Part 27.4 - PERSONAL DIVIDE

Polaris Sector, Battleship Singularity

They hadn't bound his hands, but it took every bit of Captain Merlyn's self-control not to wrest himself free of the lead Marine's iron grip. The man's fingers dug sharply into his shoulder despite the thickness of his blue Captain's jacket. It was not quite painful, merely a constant reminder of their control as they marched him deeper into the ship.

"Where are you taking me?" Merlyn asked.

"Conference room," the Marine holding him replied. "We 'ave some questions for you."

The man had an accent that Merlyn couldn't place. Some kind of Terran, he assumed, but not any of the words that he frequented on his trade routes – or used to frequent, Merlyn supposed, since his life was now upended. "What kind of questions?" he cautiously inquired.

The Marines looked to each other uneasily, then checked the corridors around them. No one else was in sight, so they nodded to the one holding Merlyn. As if that exchange didn't make the Captain uneasy enough, the one behind him readjusted his grip to be even tighter. "Captain Merlyn, when was the last time you saw Admiral Gives?"

"The Adjunct meeting," Merlyn answered, uncertain why that would be relevant.

"You're certain that was the last time you saw 'im?" the Marine asked, shoving Merlyn into the left corridor at the junction.

"Yes, and mind you, I've got some questions for him the next time I see him." Merlyn fully intended to give the man a piece of his mind for what had been done to the Badger.

The Marines did a decent job of concealing their expressions, but by the slight way they tensed, Merlyn knew he'd given the wrong answer. Their silence spoke in equal volumes, as did the tight hand on his shoulder, and after a moment, the realization dawned on him like a computer slow to start. Wait a moment. "You don't know where he is, do you?" Merlyn almost had it in him to laugh at the absurdity. "You lost your commanding officer." They were on a ship, isolated in the middle of nowhere, galactically speaking, and the Marines had managed to lose him.

Still, the silence lingered, and humor quickly fled Merlyn as he remembered the way they had patted him down. They'd been looking for weapons. "Wait, you don't think I had anything to do with it, do you?"

"We are going to determine that, Captain Merlyn," the lead Marine said, dead serious.

Oh, Stars. "I didn't do anything! You can't seriously believe that I could overpower his guard? I'm a civilian transport sailor – have been my whole life. I have only rudimentary self-defense training. It wouldn't help me if I got hijacked, let alone into a fight with a trained Marine." Merlyn severely doubted he could kill anyone on this ship. Training or not, he wasn't sure he could stomach it.

The female Marine beside him turned. "LC, he's telling the truth. I don't think he's our man."

Lieutenant Colonel Pflum had learned to heed Blosse's observations. She was almost never wrong when she chose to voice them, but Pflum still couldn't turn the man in his grip loose. Not until the Admiral was found.

Merlyn was ecstatic to see someone vouch for his innocence. "She's right! I didn't do anything." Desperately, he tried to stall their walk. "This is pointless! I would never be able to overpower the guard."

Pflum shoved him onward, "Then I guess it's a good thing the Admiral refuses an honor guard aboard this ship."

"He does what?" Merlyn cried. "What kind of flag officer would deny that?"