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  Hopefully, they’re disappointed.

  Once he had them all in Security, Seth outfitted the men with proper equipment and proceeded to brief them. The purpose here was to question, not detain, but precautions had to be taken. If he opted to take the suspect into custody, the part-time officers would step in and assist. He couldn’t risk them spooking Cain, so they’d stay out of sight while Seth did all the talking. No need to cause unnecessary problems.

  “Sir, are we really arresting your brother?” asked Michael.

  “I don’t know, but that’s why I’m bringing you along. If there’s a problem, I’ll need you with me.”

  Michael nodded, fully committed. This would be his first assignment as a security augmentee, and he clearly took it seriously. Good, thought Seth, looking him over. Better he keeps his guard up. Safer that way.

  No doubt, each of the men were nervous, but so was Seth. In all his time aboard the ship, he’d only ever arrested crewmates for minor infractions. Never for suspicion of murder. Never for sabotage.

  Seth checked the com tracker at his terminal, verifying Cain’s location. “Unless there’s a real sign of danger, stay behind me and only act when I give the order. Understand?”

  “Yes, sir,” they said together.

  “Follow me,” said Seth. “Our mission starts now. Consider this your induction.”

  Less than twenty minutes later, Seth and his team made their way to Cain’s door. After a quick glance at Michael, who responded with a nod, Seth knocked three times, and waited.

  A few seconds passed without an answer. Seth fidgeted, flicking his thumb as he stood there.

  He knocked again.

  Still nothing.

  He checked his communicator to verify Cain’s location, but when the results showed up, he didn’t know what to make of them.

  “What is it, sir?” asked Michael.

  “I don’t get it,” said Seth. “The com says he’s not here.”

  “Where, then?” asked Paul.

  “I don’t know. It isn’t showing anything. It’s like he’s vanished.”

  Michael glanced at the communicator. “There’s a chance he disabled his device.”

  “You can do that?” asked Seth.

  “We do it all the time in Engineering, like when we’re making repairs on them. These things have to be taken apart piece-by-piece, which severs the signal.”

  “You think he took he did the same?”

  “Given Cain’s experience with electronics and his time in Engineering, he must know a thing or two about the communicators.”

  “Dammit,” said Seth. “If he’s disabling his com…”

  “Doesn’t make him look very innocent,” said Steven.

  No, it doesn’t, thought Seth. “Alright, we’re going in. He reached for his access card. “Ready?”

  He removed the override hatch, waiting for the green light. Gripping the handle, he cranked the door open, slowly, until he had it wide enough for his team to get through. With their weapons ready, they rushed inside.

  The room was dark, with no sign of Cain. Seth flipped the switch to bring the lights on, revealing a messy floor filled with clothes and tools. The sheets hanged off the bed, revealing the bulk of the mattress, and day-old food littered the nearby desk—a half finished meal of synthetic meat and vegetable chips. Disgusting.

  “Look for anything out of place,” said Seth.

  This wasn’t good. Cain could be anywhere on the ship. Without a communicator to track his movements, finding him could take days.

  There was only one option now.

  While his team searched, Seth stepped into the hall. Using his com, he placed a call to Lilith—something he hoped to avoid, given their relationship.

  A moment later, she answered. “Hey, Seth. How can I help you?”

  “Where is he, Lilith?” asked Seth.

  “Who?”

  “Cain,” he answered. “Where’s he gone?”

  “Checking the com systems now. One mom—”

  “I’ve already done that,” interrupted Seth. “Tell me where he is.”

  “I apologize, Lieutenant, but I honestly have no idea. I haven’t spoken to him since yesterday, right before Abel went to see him.”

  “So you’re aware of their meeting,” said Seth.

  “Only that it happened. I’m afraid I have no idea what they discussed. After the accident this morning, I tried to call him to see how he was handling the news, but he didn’t answer.”

  “Why didn’t you report this?”

  “People deal with grief in their own way,” she said. “Cain prefers his solitude. He doesn’t like sharing his feelings.”

  “I need to find him now, Lilith.”

  “Is something wrong? Why are you looking for him?”

  “I have to question him about last night. He was the last person to see Abel alive.”

  Lilith frowned. “But Abel died in an accident, didn’t he?”

  “Sure, probably,” said Seth. There was no need to go into detail. The less she knew, the better. “I just have to ask him some simple questions so we can put this incident behind us. It’s the only way to move forward.”

  “I see. So, it’s protocol,” she said.

  “Exactly.”

  “Alright. I understand. What can I do?”

  “Feed the surveillance footage from this hallway into my communicator. Start a few seconds before he disabled his com. He was inside his quarters, so let’s see when he left and where he headed.”

  “Certainly,” said Lilith.

  Seth watched as the screen flashed to an image of the hall—the same one he stood in now. “Focus on Cain’s door.”

  The video magnified and centered. “How’s that?” asked Lilith.

  “Yeah,” he said, waiting for something, anything, to happen. Nearly a full two minutes passed before the door finally slid open. Seth watched as his brother emerged from his quarters. “There we go.”

  Cain wore a bag around his shoulder—his favorite satchel, which he’d brought from Fiore, years ago. He began walking through the hall, heading in the opposite direction Seth had arrived from. “Follow him,” ordered Seth.

  The screen switched to another camera, focusing on Cain as he traveled the corridors. They followed him until he entered an elevator where the doors closed.

  The camera switched again. When the lift arrived on deck sixteen, a largely uninhabited area, Cain continued his walk.

  Several minutes later, and after a few more jumps between cameras, Cain entered bay twelve. He went to the far left wall and found a hatch, which he unhooked and climbed into. The camera froze, focusing on the hatch. “Based on the recordings I have here, he still hasn’t left,” said Lilith.

  “What connects to that compartment he’s in?” asked Seth.

  “There’s one other entrance, but he hasn’t used it.”

  “Keep monitoring him until I arrive. Let me know if anything changes.”

  “Understood,” said Lilith. The screen turned off and she disappeared.

  “Okay, guys,” said Seth, calling to the others. “I’ve got our next destination. Get ready.”

  Michael raised his hand. “Wait, sir. There’s something you should see.”

  “What is it?” asked Seth.

  Michael showed him a plastic bag with a metal object inside. It was covered in blood. “I found it in the bathroom, lodged right inside the waste dispenser. I’m no doctor, but what do you make of this?”

  Seth took the bag and held it in the air, staring at the object inside. “It’s one of his tools. I’ve seen it before,” he said.

  “Sir, do you think it’s the murder weapon?” asked Michael.

  “We need to get the blood analyzed,” said Seth. “First thing’s first, though. We’re heading to population bay three. We still have a job to do.”

  Chapter 12

  Seth’s team arrived at the bay within fifteen minutes. Along the way, he considered calling Ariel to assi
st, should he need help getting the hatch open, but decided against it. Ariel and Cain were close friends, so involving her might not be the best idea.

  Seth sent two officers to the other side of the tunnel, giving Cain nowhere to run. With Michael by his side, Seth could enter through the hatch in the population bay. Between the four of them, they’d have Cain completely trapped.

  The bay was huge and filled with pods, each containing a future settler for the Eden’s eventual colony. Did Cain come here to sabotage them? Would dozens more be killed today? Or worse, thought Seth. Each population bay contained several hundred pods, all of which used nitrogen tanks for cooling. Nitrogen was much denser than oxygen, and displaced differently throughout the air. If someone knew which protocols to disable, they could wipe out an entire deck in less than a few hours. Cain wouldn’t need to set an explosive to kill them. If he wanted to, there were cleaner ways.

  Dammit. He should have brought his armor—an oxygenated suit with reinforced padding. Oh well. No going back now.

  He’d just have to be fast about this.

  Michael found the hatch and readied his omni-tool. Seth gave him a nod to proceed, so he did, and in less than a minute he had the metal frame removed and resting on the floor. “You’ll have to squeeze in, but it opens up a few inches inside.”

  “Got it. Thanks,” said Seth. He raised his foot and climbed into the hole, which was roughly the size of his chest. It was a tight fit, but with some awkward foot placement he was able to fit through.

  He found the corridor a little snug and thin. He hardly had any room to move, and he had to walk sideways to fit. The walls twisted and curved, and seemed to grow darker the further he went. After about a dozen steps, he found it almost impossible to see ahead of himself.

  Tapping his communicator, he brought the screen to life and filled the corridor with light. At last, he could now see ahead of himself…except now there was something blocking the path, something small and resting by the wall. Almost like a—

  “Who’s there?” asked Cain, huddled on the floor. He had his forearm over his eyes, shielding them.

  Seth doubled back at the sound of his brother’s voice. “Holy—Cain, is that you?”

  “Seth?”

  “Yeah, I came to get you. We need to talk about last night. I have to—”

  “Take me to the brig, right?” finished Cain. His voice was quivering, like he’d been crying.

  “I just want to ask you a few questions, alright?” asked Seth.

  Cain took several quick breaths, tugging the side of his hair with his fingers. “They’ll kill me,” he said, whimpering. “Father and the others. They’ll send me through an airlock for what I did to Abel, even though it was an accident. Doesn’t matter, because Father hates me and Abel was his favorite. I can’t go.”

  Seth’s heart raced as he listened to the words. A confession. The worst of his fears made real. “What did you do, Cain?”

  “I didn’t mean to! It was an accident. I promise. I didn’t mean to hurt him.” He sniffled, wiping the snot from his nose.

  Seth stood there, covered in sweat from the heat of this place, stunned into silence as the truth came tumbling freely out of his brother’s mouth. Cain had just confessed to murdering Abel, and all Seth could do was stand there.

  “Please,” begged Cain. “You have to believe me.”

  “O-Okay,” Seth finally managed to say. “Just…calm down…”

  “What am I supposed to do?” his brother asked.

  “You come with me. We’ll hear you out. I promise.”

  Cain gripped his hair and tugged. “I’m dead. This is where it starts.”

  “No, no…it’s okay. You can go on record. We’ll figure this mess out. Trust me, Cain. You still do, right? You still trust me?”

  “Y-yeah,” he muttered. “I trust you.”

  Seth reached to his side and unhooked a set of handcuffs, tossing them towards his brother. “Put those on for now. It’s protocol. We’ll get you to my office and then go from there. I’ll keep you safe.”

  Cain stared at the handcuffs for a few seconds before finally reaching for them. Holding them, he couldn’t stop shaking. After dropping them a few times, he finally managed to put them on.

  “Turn around and step forward. Go to the end of this corridor and stop. There are two guards waiting for us there. Do everything we tell you. Understand?”

  Cain did as he was told, and together they met the officers in the other corridor. As Seth emerged from within the hatch, the cold air hit him like a blanket of ice. It was like stepping out of a sauna and into a freezer.

  He finally had his suspect.

  At long last, the investigation was nearly at an end.

  * * *

  Adam sat on the bridge, barely focused. Despite his best efforts, his mind would not be quieted. He drifted constantly between duty and grief. Between the death of his son and the mission to save tomorrow. Twenty years of war could never have prepared him for this.

  “Captain, I have the latest report,” announced Lilith. Her voice brought him out of his trance.

  “What is it?”

  “We will be arriving at planet 2930-1193.C in approximately ten minutes. Engineering reports our systems are good. You’ll be glad to hear the ship is operating within acceptable parameters.”

  “Good,” he said.

  “I’ve also performed several in-depth scans over the last few hours. You’ll be pleased to know the results are quite favorable.”

  “Are they?” he asked.

  “Yes, sir,” she said. “I’m still running a test for soil compatibility. So far, I’d say we have cause to be optimistic. With your permission, I’d like to begin searching for viable landing zones, based on preferable temperature levels.”

  “Right. Of course,” said Adam. “Go ahead. How long did you say before we get there?”

  “Less than a few hours, sir,” she explained. “It won’t be long now.”

  Chapter 13

  Seth waited in Security with his team. Cain sat in the brig, a small cell in the room behind the main office.

  Paul stood guard at the brig door, a hulking man twice Cain’s size. No one would come or go through there without Seth’s permission. This prisoner wasn’t going anywhere.

  No, not a prisoner, Seth reminded himself. He’s still my brother. I can’t forget.

  How long before he had to report this to the captain? What would the old man say when Seth told him the truth? Cain believed he’d be killed for this, like their father was somehow capable of murdering his own son.

  Shoot him out the airlock. Poof.

  There’s no way. Not my father.

  Adam had always been an honorable man, sworn to his duty and bound by his cause, but he was also a family man at heart. A loving father with a tender soul.

  But should Cain be found guilty, the law was clear. Eye for an eye, and life for a life. Unless Seth proved otherwise, not even Adam’s mercy would be enough to save the guilty. Not without angering the crew. They wouldn’t allow a convicted murderer to escape justice, even if they kept him under lock and key. If Cain was responsible for the other incidents, too, he had no chance of surviving this.

  If the captain didn’t do his duty and punish his son, the crew might very well demand their own form of justice, and such a thing could not be risked. Not in the deadly vacuum of space, here on the edge of the galaxy.

  I need to question him, thought Seth. I need to understand what happened before it gets worse. He stood from his desk, eyeing the computer screen and the notes he’d taken on the investigation thus far. All of this would be behind him soon.

  He went to the brig door where Paul stood towering over the room. The goliath stepped beside and let him pass. “I’ll knock when I’m done,” said Seth.

  Paul nodded.

  Seth stepped inside the brig, and the door slammed shut behind him.

  Cain’s eyes widened. His puffy red cheeks, still wet with tears, ref
lected the overhead glow of the soft artificial light. “Seth,” said Cain, his voice raspy and hoarse. He stood behind a translucent wall. Two cameras watched from the upper corners, far out of reach. “Is Father angry? What did he say? Please, you have to tell him it was an accident. You have to—”

  “He doesn’t know yet, but he will soon. That’s why I’m here. I need you to tell me what happened. In detail. I need everything you have.”

  Cain nodded, scratching his head, nervously.

  “Tell me the whole story.”

  “I…was in my room when Abel showed up. He was angry and started yelling at me. He said he was going to tell Father about Lilith, and you know how mad he would get if he knew. I told him not to, but he wouldn’t listen. You know how Abel is. He hates me.” Cain scratched the side of his head. “He wouldn’t listen. I tried to tell him I’d take care of it. I said I’d tell Father the truth, but Abel was mad and…he attacked me. He punched me!”

  “He hit you?” asked Seth.

  “Yes, and you know, I had to defend myself. I pushed him. It only made him angrier and he jumped on top of me and started choking me. I didn’t know what to do!”

  “What happened next?”

  “I thought he was going to kill me, Seth. You have to believe me! I thought he was going to do it. I had to defend myself. I had to!”

  “What did you do, Cain?” repeated Seth.

  Cain paused, squeezing and gripping his hair. “I…I hit him with my pen. Just to make him stop. I stabbed his arm. It was instinct. That’s all. I thought he’d back off after that, but he didn’t. He just kept coming.”

  So Michael and I were right. The tool we found was the weapon. “How did Abel get the wound in his neck?”

  Cain hesitated. “It was…it was an accident. He fell on me. I didn’t do it. He fell on the pen. I didn’t stab him. It wasn’t my fault.”

  Seth stared at him. “He fell on it?”

  “Yes! I promise. You have to believe me, Seth. It was an accident!” Cain gripped his hair and squeezed until a few strands fell out, floating in the air.