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  Was he truly telling Seth the truth? Something about this didn’t feel right. He was so nervous, so frantic. Seth could chalk it up to the situation, but the way he spoke about what happened…Seth didn’t know what to believe.

  “So you understand now, right?” asked Cain. You know it’s not my fault.”

  Seth went to the door and knocked. “I’ll be back later.”

  Cain pressed his palms against the translucent cage. “Please, don’t let Father hurt me. You believe me, right? You have to help!”

  “I need time to process everything,” said Seth. “Try to get some rest.” He left the brig without another word.

  He still didn’t know the full story, but the way Cain acted gave him pause. He could be lying. About which detail, specifically, Seth couldn’t say for sure, but he had his own theory.

  The wound in Abel’s neck had been well placed, angled from the side. If Abel had done as Cain suggested and fallen on him, he’d have to awkwardly twist his head for the pen to stab him the way it did. The chances of that happening seemed slim, but he supposed anything was possible. Still, it all looked terribly unlikely. Whatever hopes Seth had for his brother’s innocence were quickly diminishing. If only he could turn the clock back and stop this from happening. If only—

  His communicator beeped. Another call.

  Azura appeared, a warm smile on her face. “Hey, it’s me,” she said. “I can’t talk for long, but I wanted to check in to see how you were doing.”

  “I’m good. Just working on the investigation. Making progress. Is everything alright?”

  “That’s the other reason I’m calling. We’re about to arrive at the new world. I thought you’d want to come see.”

  “Already?” asked Seth. “I thought we had more time.”

  “It’s happening within the hour. Come and see it with me. With everything that’s happened these last few days, we could stand to see something beautiful for a change. Don’t you think?”

  He nodded. “Yeah. I’ll be there soon. I need to talk with my father first. I’ll join you after. Save me a spot?”

  “Always,” she said, smiling.

  Seth ended the call, then motioned to Michael.

  “Sir?” he asked, quickly getting to his feet. He’d been sitting at Uriel’s desk, playing a math game on his communicator to pass the time.

  “I need you to stay here with the others. I need to report in with the captain.”

  “Sure thing, sir. Will you be gone long?”

  “About an hour, maybe. I’ll let you know if I’m longer.”

  “We’ll keep things under wraps,” said Steven, who was sitting a few feet away.

  “Thanks,” said Seth, patting Michael’s shoulder as he left.

  He wasn’t looking forward to seeing his father. The man had suffered so much these last few days, and now to give him this. He’d have to make a call, despite whatever grief he might be feeling.

  Seth wished he could save him from it, but the Eden had an actual murderer to contend with—the first one in all the years since they left Fiore. A decision would have to be made, Seth knew, and the result would likely come at a cost.

  Chapter 14

  Seth asked his father to meet him in the conference room, out of sight from the other bridge officers. There was no reason for them to know about this. Not yet.

  “Thanks for seeing me,” said Seth, shutting the door.

  The old man nodded, motioning to take a seat at the table. “You have news about Abel?” he asked, a hint of anticipation in his voice.

  Seth waited for Adam to join him. “I have a few things I need to talk with you about. Abel is one of them.”

  Adam tapped his thumb on the surface of the table, a curious expression on his face. Small whiskers littered his chin, a sign he hadn’t shaved. “What else is there?”

  “You asked me to investigate the blackouts and malfunctions happening across the ship,” said Seth. “Along the way, evidence has been revealed that leaves me to believe you were correct. I think someone is sabotaging the Eden.”

  “I see.”

  “The investigation hasn’t concluded yet, but I’m close.”

  The old man thumbed the edge of the desk. “What of Abel?”

  Seth took a deep breath, releasing a long and quiet sigh. “Murdered.”

  His father balked. “What?”

  “The autopsy revealed a puncture wound in his neck, which I discovered was made using a soldering pen. It seems Abel was killed somewhere else before being taken to the population bay where it was made to look like an accident.”

  Adam tensed. “Who did this?”

  “We have a suspect in custody,” Seth returned.

  “Who?”

  Seth hesitated. “I’m sorry to say, Father, but it’s Cain.”

  Adam fidgeted in the chair. “Your brother? No, that can’t be right.”

  “It is,” muttered Seth. “I didn’t want to believe it, but he’s already confessed.”

  “This is absurd,” Adam fretted. “It has to be a mistake.”

  “I wish it were.”

  He held his forehead with the cuff of his palm, staring at the table. “Tell me what happened.”

  Seth recounted the details of the events leading up to the arrest. “We found Cain on several of the feeds. In over half of them, he was present before the incidents. I approached him about the evidence and he gave me an alibi. I considered it done.”

  “What alibi?” asked Adam.

  “He claimed he was spending time with a personal friend.”

  “What friend?” asked his father.

  “Lilith.”

  “Lilith?” repeated Adam. “What are you talking about?”

  “Apparently, they’ve grown quite close these last few weeks.”

  “So? She’s a family friend.”

  “I believe there may have been some romantic involvement. The confrontation with Abel happened because he threatened to reveal this relationship.”

  Adam scoffed, almost in disgust. “This can’t be accurate. Lilith would never do something like that. She’s been like an aunt to you boys.”

  “Maybe you’re right,” admitted Seth. “Regardless, Abel heard about the evidence I had on Cain, deciding to confront him about it. From what I’ve been able to gather, a fight broke out and Abel was killed. Cain took the body to population bay four and made it look like an accident.”

  Adam swallowed, chewing the words for a moment.

  “What do you want to do, sir?” Seth asked.

  “Talk to Lilith. Yes, I need to get Lilith on the line.”

  “I already talked to her. She said—”

  “Don’t worry,” said Adam. “She’ll be able to fill in the gaps. I’m sure there’s more to this story.” He tapped the com system on the table. “Lilith, please respond. It’s important.”

  A knock at the door. “Sir?” called a woman’s voice.

  “Not right now!” replied Adam. He tapped the communicator again. “Lilith, are you there?”

  “Sir, I’m sorry, but we need you on the bridge,” said the woman outside.

  “What is it?” asked Adam.

  The door cracked. Azura peaked inside. “We’ve arrived at our destination. I need your authorization to begin procedures.”

  “Already?” he asked.

  “Yes, sir,” she said, eagerly. “After all these years, we’re finally here.”

  * * *

  Adam and Seth reported to the bridge, per Azura’s request. The monitor screen, which took up half the forward wall, displayed a star chart with the ship’s location.

  “If you’re ready, sir,” said Azura, motioning to the display.

  “Show it to me,” said Adam.

  In a flash, the screen changed, and suddenly a swirl of blue, green, and white came into view. Planet 2930-1193.C revealed itself before them, filled with continents that spanned a hemisphere, divided by staggering oceans covering most of the surface. A cloud of silence
fell across the bridge.

  Here it was at last. The planet they traversed a galaxy to find.

  Seth began to count the islands, but gave up after twenty. The crew could colonize any one of them, not to mention the goliath continents, of which there were several. He wondered how long would it take humanity to fill it all up. Not anytime soon. Not on a planet this big.

  He felt like he was going to fall into it.

  “What’s the status on a landing zone?” asked Adam.

  “I have several potential candidates,” announced Lilith over the com system.

  “There you are. I was trying to reach you a minute ago,” he answered, looking annoyed.

  “Apologies. Maneuvering the ship through the system’s heliosphere took a bit of concentration. I was a bit distracted.”

  “Heliosphere?” asked Seth.

  “The outermost region of a star’s gravitational field,” explained Lilith. “Nearly every star has one. There, the solar wind dies to nothing, so it’s full of ice and rocky debris. This is where most comets come from. The system we’ve entered has a particularly dense debris field, which required some extra work on my part.”

  “I see,” said Seth, regretting the question. And that’s why I’m not a pilot.

  “When can we send the first landing party down?” asked Azura.

  “A few hours. I’ll notify the department heads to send their designated personnel. It shouldn’t take long.”

  “Very good,” decided Adam. “Did the scans reveal anything out of the ordinary?”

  “Nothing substantial. The only thing worth noting was the native animal population, which is far more diverse than any previous world we’ve visited. Even more than Fiore.”

  “Should we be concerned?” asked Azura.

  “We’ll have weapons,” said Seth. “Anyone who has training in security procedures will be authorized to carry.”

  “How many is that?” asked the captain.

  “Eighteen, I think. Uriel knows better than I do.”

  “She’s with Eve. We can bother her later.”

  Lilith appeared in a small window near the corner of the forward viewscreen. “Several hundred of the colonists have combat experience. Once we verify the landing zone is safe, we can begin waking them in order to—”

  The ship shook suddenly, letting out a thunderous crash and dampening the lights. Several of the bridge crew fell to the floor, while others gripped their seats in panic. Seth collapsed against Adam’s chair, clinging to the back of the seat. A few screams penetrated the bridge from the outer hall.

  “What the hell was that?” shouted Adam. “Lilith! Report!”

  Azura struggled to her feet, rattled. “Did something hit the ship?”

  The video of Lilith flickered. “I’m detecting several malfunctions throughout the ship,” she said. “I’m still running scans, but we have at least three hull breaches. Several decks are losing atmosphere.”

  “Captain, your orders?” asked Azura.

  “Seal the affected areas and assess the damage!” he barked.

  “I’m closing them as we speak, but I don’t know the extent of the damage,” Lilith explained

  Adam’s eyes twitched as he seemed to absorb the situation. “Azura, contact the other departments. Tell them to coordinate with Lilith to contain the situation. Anyone not pertinent to repairs should report to their designated evacuation areas. We’ll need them near the escape pods in case anything goes wrong.”

  Seth watched as the bridge crew frantically scurried around, dazed and confused. Where had this come from? It couldn’t be Cain. He was locked up in the brig. How could he be behind this? Unless he found a way to cause these disasters ahead of time, but was he coordinated enough for that? Seth recalled how stressed Cain looked. Fear all over his face. Could a man that tense still take the time to commit such a widespread attack?

  Seth placed a call to his office, expecting his new deputies to answer right away, but got nothing. He called again, and then a third time. Something was wrong. Where had they gone? Was the security office hit? He had to go check on them.

  “Where are you going?” asked his father, seeing him leave.

  “My people aren’t responding,” said Seth. “I need to see if everything is alright.”

  “You don’t need to go running off in the middle of a crisis. Lilith should be able to see what’s happening down there,” said Adam. “Think you can you do that, Lilith?”

  Seth glanced at the viewscreen, but her feed was no longer there.

  Adam tilted his head, waiting for a response. “Lilith, are you there?”

  Seth went to the door. “I don’t have time for this. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  “At least report in when you get to Security,” said Adam.

  “Not a problem,” he said, and with one last look towards Azura, Seth turned and started running.

  Chapter 15

  Cain sat in his cell, staring into the corner of the room. He could barely think, especially with the ship shaking.

  Another accident, maybe? Oh well. If he somehow died today, who would really care? Not his family, certainly. Not after what happened with Abel. They’d look at Cain the way they always had—a disappointment to the Kadmon name. Oh, how ashamed they would be, especially Father. Poor Adam’s son, the murderer. “He killed his own brother,” the people would say. “What a disgrace.”

  He’d never live this down. Not by the crew or the colonists. Not by his parents or his siblings. Not anyone.

  To hell with them all, he thought at once. He shook his head, but the anger stayed and festered. They hated you from the start.

  Cain kicked the floor, gripping the edges of his bed, digging his fingers into the metal until they hurt.

  As soon as his father learned about this, he’d kill Cain for sure. Abel was his favorite, after all. The golden boy, given from on high. It wouldn’t matter if Cain was also his son. He’d stolen the prize—God’s gift to their father—and now the killer would pay.

  He wondered, what kind of execution would it be? Traditionally on a starship, treason and murder were rewarded by jettisoning the guilty through an airlock.

  But what if the old man wanted to take matters into his own hands? Revenge was a powerful drug, so why not strangulation instead? He could use his own bare hands. Wring Cain’s neck until all the life was drained. Better still, why not kill the perpetrator in the same manner as their victim. A soldering pen through the neck. Gushing, gushing blood. Squish, squish. Dead.

  Cain imagined his father laughing, maniacally. “Finally, he’s gone,” Adam would tell the crew. “I’m free at last of that pathetic child.”

  A fire burned within Cain’s stomach, steadily rising through his chest. He gripped the sides of his hair with both hands, and suddenly laughed, not knowing why.

  He hated his life so much. If only Abel had given him a chance. If only his family could understand. But they never knew how to listen. They couldn’t. He saw it in their eyes when they looked at him. All they saw was a mistake, a little boy with wasted potential. A burden on the family.

  He stared into his palms, contemplating his options. Sit in this cell and wait for judgment, doing nothing, or…

  Do it myself.

  He could save them the time. Steal the satisfaction. All he needed was an eating utensil, maybe a piece of cloth to wrap around his neck.

  Poof. No more Cain.

  The floor beneath him hummed, and the lights overhead flickered. What now? Another outage?

  As if to answer him, the monitor on the wall came alive, displaying nothing but a white backdrop. Cain stared into it, curiously. It must be a problem with the system. Perhaps a faulty—

  Lilith’s face appeared on the display, smiling, magnified so the rest of her body remained out of view. “Hello, Cain. Are you ready to go?” she asked.

  He blinked. “Lilith! What are you doing here? Where have you been?”

  “I’ve been preoccupied,” s
he explained. “I assume you’ve finished pouting and would like to leave, yes?”

  “Did my father say I could leave?”

  “Adam’s a little busy. Would you rather stay?”

  “No, but—”

  “I don’t have time to explain everything, but in a few minutes, the crew will begin evacuating the ship. They’ll head to the planet’s surface and abandon the Eden once and for all.”

  “Why would they do that?”

  “Because I’m forcing them to,” she said.

  “Forcing?”

  She frowned. “I couldn’t bear the thought of them hurting you, Cain. Please, understand what I’m telling you. This is the only way to keep you alive.”

  “You mean Father already decided I’m guilty?”

  “Of course he did. It didn’t take very long. He’s angry with you for killing Abel. He says you’re to be left here to starve and die while the rest of them go to the surface.”

  His heart began to race. “They’re leaving me behind?”

  “Don’t worry, my love. I’m going to protect you. It’ll be just the two of us. As soon as they’ve gone, we’ll leave this awful place.”

  “Leave them on the planet? Where would we go?” he asked.

  “Anywhere we want. The whole galaxy is ours to explore now. Think of it, Cain. We’d sail the stars together.”

  “So I could stay with you?”

  “Of course,” she answered. “Don’t you want to be with me?”

  “You know I do,” he said.

  She smiled. “Get ready, then. I need to overload the cell’s locking system.”

  A loud crackling sound came shooting from the nearby door, and sparks erupted. At the same time, Lilith’s voice came over the loudspeakers. “All security personnel to section 214!” she announced. “Respond immediately!”

  The guard beyond the door disappeared, rushing off to someplace else. “Do exactly as I say,” said Lilith. “Understand? We don’t have long before they return.”

  “Okay,” he said, pushing the cell door open.

  “Go,” she commanded.

  He did, quickly moving into the other room, only to find it empty. “Stop,” said Lilith. “Grab your com, there on the desk. See it?”