“Prime, the admiral would never knowingly do any harm to you or the starbase. What you are doing here is absolutely insane.”
“I agree!” shouted Chase, grim faced.
Zim cocked his head to the side, staring at Chase, then at Savanna. “He left us. He knowingly left us.” He shook his head, lowering his eyes to the table, his jaw set.
“I left the coordinates with the entire fleet, Zim. You know me just as well as Savanna does. I would never knowingly do any harm to you, or anybody else in Star Guild.”
Zim stiffened. “We're not Star Guild, James, you are Star Guild. We are the governance of Star Guild and Matrona, and every speck of dust out in space. You had no authority over my position, including military. You went over my head by taking over the fleet, jeopardizing millions of lives. Millions!”
“We had no time to discuss options, Zim. We had to defend ourselves, and—”
“Defend?” Zim's eyes hardened. “You call that defending? You left! Plain and simple. You left us to fend for ourselves, even though we have no defenses. If we had coordinates, then we would have met you there. The only explanation we have is a coup d'etat.”
Admiral Byrd shot out of his chair. “What?! By who?” He pointed to his chest. “By me?” He put his hands out, demanding an explanation and baffled by such a remark. “A coup…a take-over?!” He felt like laughing. They had remarkably survived an invasion, and now, in this moment, he was witnessing something even more unbelievable than the attack. He shook away the thought, changing to a more logical approach. “If you didn't have coordinates, then how did you find us? You jumped Matrona to our exact coordinates, did you not?”
“We found you because of a distress signal coming from your ship. Who were you calling, James? The enemy?”
Savanna stood up. “I've had enough, Zim. This meeting is over. What you’re saying is absolutely crazy.”
Chase stood up. “I second that. You’re walking on ground you may not want to tread, Zim.”
Zim ignored them, not taking his eyes off of the admiral. “Who were you calling?”
Admiral Byrd sat down. “The distress call was for the Knights Templar.”
Zim stiffened, a twitch crossing his lower cheek. He smiled, although the muscles around his eyes didn't contract.
Admiral Byrd knew a real smile from a fake one, and this one was definitely fake. He was bluffing about something, or holding something back.
Zim looked around the room, his smile disappearing. He leaned back against his chair. His eyes became cold. “A myth, James. It's a tale only children believe. Magical knights swooping in on majestic space crafts are for action vids, not for real life. Why did you really send it? Did you really think you'd be able to contact the famous Grand Master of the Knights, Thomas Berard?” Zim’s question roused a chuckle around the room. “He is as fictitious as your lie. Who were you really calling, James?”
The admiral knew he was being set up, and this was just the beginning stage, the grand opening to the main attraction of finger pointing. Everyone in the room knew he wouldn't pull such a stunt. They knew he had no interest in seizing control over the governance. Politicians were insane. This was insane.
The admiral cupped his hands on the table, leaning closer to Zim. “I didn't have any intention of taking over the governance. You take me on my word, Zim, or shoot me now.” He pointed at the military guards. “I have no patience for being dragged along a lengthy political affair, or whatever it is you're trying to do.” He threw his arms into the air. “We just got attacked by unknown forces, and you want to play me into your political agenda?”
Zim raised one brow. “Unknown enemy?” He let out a phony laugh. “Oh, I think you know them well. I even think you planned this attack, and until I can prove it, we have nothing more to discuss.”
Zim stood up, nodded to his military guard, and exited the room with all but a few of the officials following him like whipped pups after their master. The pressures and panic of sudden war, and the resulting chaotic mayhem had either rendered them so afraid that they would do anything for Zim, or they were cowards. Nonetheless, this was a perfect opportunity for Zim to pull off any political agenda of his choosing. It was the perfect situation to pull the wool over everyone's eyes.
Across the room, Chase gave a thumbs up to his uncle, letting him know that he had his back. He also gave nod as he exited the room, shaking his head in disbelief.
Savanna stood next to her chair. “I'm sorry, James. I don't know what got into him. I've never seen him like this.”
The admiral stood up, eying the top of his chair and placing his hand on it. He wiggled the chair back and forth slightly as he said, “It's okay, Savanna.” He glanced up at her, seeing the green vines hang down the wall behind her, strangely outlining her face and seeming to make her glow. She looked beautiful, and if things were different...he sniffed, bringing himself to the present. “Everyone's alarmed by what just happened. They need to point fingers at someone, and who better than me, the fleet admiral? Anything to clear Zim's name from this near genocide is going to be in Zim's best interest.”
Savanna walked over to him, placing her hand on his chest and staring into his eyes. “What happened?” She shook her head, her mouth starting to quiver, tears welling up. “A third of us, a third of the human race is dead, James. Who were these criminals? Where did they come from?”
The admiral placed his hand on hers. “I'll do everything I can to find out.” He tilted his head, seeing there was more in her brown eyes than she was telling him. “What happened to you, Savanna?”
She looked down and cupped her face with both hands. She started to sob. He brought her into a hug and kissed the top of her head, smelling the aroma of her black hair. She smelled like roses, something he knew she loved. A flash of her children came into his mind, then a flash of her son.
He let go, shocked. His eyes went from steel to soft. Grabbing her shoulders, he lowered himself to meet her sobbing face. “Samuel?”
She nodded her head and slid into his arms again, needing to be held, to be warmed by another human's touch, and by someone who knew her son, her Samuel. “He was picking up his children at school when the first blast came.” Her dark hands started to shake and the sobs became on stronger. Her hands then became fists. “No, no,” she mumbled, punching his chest. “He was killed, saving his kids, my grand babies!”
The admiral wanted to ask how it had happened, where exactly was he was, at what school, but those questions were of no concern to Savanna. They wouldn't help the grief overtaking her. She knew what had happened, and reliving it in her head, imagining the explosion, or recalling what others told had her about Samuel's death, were probably occurring over and over in her mind. A moment of calm would be more appropriate.
After several minutes of their embrace, she stepped back and patted his chest. She gave a smile, though a very droopy one. She wiped her tears. “I'm sorry.”
“Don't apologize, Savanna.”
“Do me a favor?” she asked, her chin quivering.
He nodded. “Anything for you.”
“Find those who murdered my son.”
He gave another nod. “I will and I'll bring them to justice, for you and Samuel.”
She shook her head and backed toward the door. “Justice isn't what I'm looking for. I want to find a way to forgive them.”
He gave a slight head shake. How could she forgive them? Why would she? And, what did she want him to do, capture the enemy and present them to her? He let those questions slip away, knowing that in this moment they weren't necessary. Savanna wasn't thinking straight, but how could he blame her? He wouldn't be thinking straight if he were in her position. For once, he thanked his lucky stars that he didn't have kids.
Savannah turned and walked away, down the hall and disappeared around a corner. Admiral Byrd spoke aloud to himself, “Somehow, Savanna, I'll bring those attacking bastards to your door stop, dead or alive.”
Episode 3
&nbs
p; Forever Mountain