Emerald Flight: “Star Wing” (continued)

“Commander?”

Elizabeth started, silently praying that it was not the first time that the Captain had addressed her.

I really need to stop doing that. Pay attention, Elizabeth!

“Yes, Captain?”

“Are the security cameras functioning down those corridors?”

Elizabeth tapped her tablet and checked, even though she was pretty certain of the answer. “Yes, Captain,” she reported. “Engineering says they’re operational.”

“Then why aren’t they on the main screen?”

Fortunately, Pyrafox reacted more quickly than Elizabeth did.

“On Screen Three, Captain,” the helmsman informed them. “It looks like they’re on Deck Four, Section Eight.”

“I can see that, Lieutenant,” Devereux remarked, her eyes pointed toward the status readouts on the bottom of the image.”

“Urm,” the helmsman said. Elizabeth saw him swallow back whatever else he had intended to say. “Yes, Captain,” was what he settled for.

Elizabeth watched as Hawkes, flanked by the two Security officers from the infirmary, led the winged alien toward the brig. Each intersection of corridors they passed also contained a additional guard posted in each direction it led. It became almost a rhythm as the small group moved along, making their way through one passage way and then another.

Both tension and relief became palpable in the atmosphere on the bridge when they received the hatch that led to the brig. Hawkes entered his access code and then waited as two of the Security officers opened the hatch. One of them entered ahead of the rest of the group. The alien seemed to understand Hawkes’ gesture and moved through the hatchway.

The vantage point of the scene changed as the computer switched cameras. Elizabeth guessed that this was inside the brig’s antechamber, as she saw the alien enter, followed only a pace behind by Hawkes. With his weapon drawn and ready, the angle of the camera made him appear quite threatening.

The ship’s brig consisted of a single large chamber, It could be partitioned into three cells of roughly equal size, separated by mountable bulkheads manufactured from hull alloy. Unless the occupant was capable of punching through the ship’s hull, the cells were effectively impregnable. For reasons only Lieutenant Hawkes knew, he had ordered it configured for a single, wide cell.

The winged alien stepped inside, after hesitating for a moment, and then watched quiescently as the Security officer resealed the hatch. A guard took position outside the hatch, while another one assumed a station out in the antechamber. Hawkes conferred with the one in the outer chamber and then disappeared from view as he stepped back into the corridor.

“Well,” Devereux said. “That’s done.” She turned away from the screen and began to move toward the main hatchway. “I’ll be in the infirmary.”

“But, Captain,” Elizabeth called to her quietly. “The Lieutenant—”

“Have him meet me there, then.”

“Captain,” Elizabeth persisted, trying not to allow her uncertainty to show in her tone. “He said to wait until repairs have been completed.”

Devereux stared back at her. Elizabeth was relieved not to see any anger reflected in the Captain’s eyes. There was something else there, though, Elizabeth, but she could not quite put her finger on what it was.

Worry? Frustration?

“And are they?”

Elizabeth covered her startled surprise by checking her tablet.

“Not yet, Captain,” she reported. “The Engineering team reports that they need at least forty more minutes before the damage will be secured.”

“Fine,” Devereux replied.

Elizabeth thought she heard the Captain sigh with resignation, but then realized that Devereux had expressed it more by the change in her posture than through any audible sound. She watched as Devereux returned to the command deck, trying very hard to hide her smile.