One moon was directly overhead and the other just rising when Glen and Slipper decided to leave their hiding spot. Glen let Slipper pull him to his feet and support him out into the open. As they shuffled toward the cliffside, Glen rapped his knuckles against his sternum four times.
“Ptahfi to Aegis,” he whispered. “We’re standing by for tractor beam.”
Blare’s response was immediate. “I’ve found you, Glen. Hang tight, I’ll have you up here within the minute.” She was true to her word.
Once they were back on Aegis, Glen and Slipper went straight to the Medical Bay. Slipper worked through the night to improve Glen’s condition.
And, finally, Glen could sleep.
The lights in the Medical Bay were low. Glen could not tell the hour. But it didn’t really matter. What mattered was that he was warm and comfortable. He sighed.
“Glen?”
Glen turned his head and opened his eyes. Blare, who had been dozing in a seat at his bedside, stood. “Hey,” she said softly. “How are you feeling?”
“Better,” Glen replied hoarsely. His eyes wandered. “Where’s…where’s Slipper?”
“I finally convinced him to get some rest,” Blare said. “He was barely standing when he said you were stable.”
Glen’s throat tightened. “Is he okay?”
“He says he will be. And you, too,” she added, touching her hand to Glen’s wrist. “Slipper says you’ll recover fine.” She smiled. “He said only one visitor at a time, for now. Brando, Tabby, and I have been on a rotation. Those two have been taking bets on who’d be with you when you woke.”
“How…how long have I been out?”
Blare’s expression shifted. “Long enough,” she said. She hesitated. “NIC agents are on board. They…they want to ask you a few questions.”
“NIC?” Glen blinked. “What are they doing here?”
“When you told us you were shot, we had to call it in,” Blare explained. “Gal-U assigned NIC agents to the case.” Her eyes darted downwards. “It was all a setup, Glen.”
“…A setup.”
“It was the Nation of Morozko.”
Nation of Morozko. It was a group of extremists who believed in a “planet-first” mentality, and didn’t want to join Gal-U.
“Some hackers sent the fake urgency signal in hopes that the Syndicate would send someone.” Blare laced her fingers through Glen’s. “It was a trap, intended to kill whoever was sent to the surface to help.” She rubbed her thumb against Glen’s hand. “Morozko’s facing reclassification.”
Glen’s heart sank. “No…”
“The NIC agents want to confirm the details, but once they report this back to Gal-U, it’s likely they’ll be Class 0.”
Glen withdrew his hand from Blare’s. “No…” He swung his legs around the side of the bed. Pain sparked in his belly, and Glen folded with a hiss.
“Glen!” Blare gasped.
“No,” Glen said again, looking up. “It’s not fair – the whole planet can’t be punished…”
“They tried to kill you.”
“Extremists don’t speak for an entire planet,” Glen choked out.
“This can’t go unpunished.”
“Then find and punish them,” Glen said. He looked up at Blare desperately. “Not generations of innocent people.”
“Gal-U’s not known for mercy,” Blare said gently. “And remember, it was supposed to be Void Thief that responded to the urgency call. If someone from Void had been killed…”
“But it was just an intern – and I’m alive,” Glen said.
Blare’s eyes softened. “Glen, their minds are made up.”
“Please – let me try to convince them!”
“You’d really fight for Morozko after all this?” Blare murmured. Glen felt tears sting his eyes. He couldn’t bring words to his lips. Blare nodded. “Okay,” she said. “Okay. I’ll get the agents, and we’ll make our case.”
Perhaps the Gal-U wasn’t known for mercy – but Aegis would be.
