Space Odyssey: Spectre-Chapter 71: Trevers
Salem stopped listening in on Admiral Jakobs thoughts when she realized the Admiral was genuinely confused. On the other hand she listened to Lieutenant Trevers thoughts as he began sneaking back out the door they came in from. He was physically quiet while he moved but his thoughts were loud and panicked.
[Sabotage?! If this is connected to those cargo crates that father had me smuggling then I am in big trouble. I need to dispose of all evidence, with the current political climate I will be charged with treason if I am caught.] Trevers silently backed out of the room and started walking down the hall.
Salem frowned and walked to the brig door and waited until Trevers was at the end of the hall. Then she quietly exited the room. Salem began tailing Trevers while out of sight but as she moved there was a quiet ding on her wrist communicator.
She opened the message and saw it was from Solisa, the Wing of Pegasus' AI. "Sergeant Wintry, you have diverted from your group. Is there a reason for this?"
Salem quietly sent a message back. Informing Solisa that Salem was following a suspicious officer, Lieutenant Trevers. Then Salem asked Solisa to pull up all the information on Trevers.
As Salem trailed the Lieutenant she skimmed through Trevers' file. He was the son of a count that was financially in debt. The count was being forced to pay for damages and assaults he caused and committed while he was drunk. The Lieutenant grew up with a complex about commoners being less worthy than him. It only got worse as each time he was up for a promotion he was passed up in favor of a talented commoner. There was a note in his file that said he has an unstable mental state and should be pulled from active duty.
Trevers reached a cargo area where there were very few people running around. It was a portion of the ship that remained undamaged from the battle. Seems that Trevers hid his smuggled cargo in this area. But as Trevers disappeared into the cargo room with Salem trailing behind him she realized that Trevers was not the only person in there.
One of the people who were taking stock of the ship's contents was inside. Seems the ship's manifest was destroyed during the battle so people had to go around taking stock manually while another team worked with what records still existed, using it to repair what they could of the ship.
She quietly slid open the door as she approached hearing the confused thoughts of the low ranking specialist and the panicking thoughts of Lieutenant Trevers. She silently drew her pistol as she snuck up behind some containers.
"Lieutenant? What are you doing here? Actually this is good. I just found an unregistered container that had numerous empty crates. Six empty crates in total, five are more vertical like the crates we use to transport armor while the last one is a six by six by six crate. All of them are empty, I just contacted the chief of security to- what are you doing?" The specialist stopped mid sentence as Lieutenant Trevers pulled out a concealed laser pistol.
"Damn it Damn it DAMN IT!" Trevers began cursing, completely voicing his thoughts with no filter. "Why do you lowly commoners have to be so goddamn competent?"
"Ah, a fellow noble who understands that commoners should know their place." A voice void of all emotion spoke as a chattering noise moved in conjunction with the clicking of gears. Salem felt a shiver move up her spine as she listened. She could not place it but there was something wrong with the person speaking.
As Salem peaked out around the container she saw the moving hologram that was located on top of a flat moving platform. The platform was a round disk that was a foot thick. The platform had six triple jointed legs with pointed ends. As the thing moved across the room it kept the platform mostly level.
The hologram was of a hooded figure with almost bone thin hands who was wearing some type of leather jacket and leather pants. His face was hidden but from his hands he appeared to be incredibly unhealthy. While he had a cape that was split apart with even cuts along them, it was slightly moving.
"Commoners truly need to learn their place as the nobilities' subjects, tools, and playthings. You have seen what happens when they are given power they were born to never wield. Tell me wouldn't you like things to change?" The man asked as his spider platform moved over to stand next to Lieutenant Trevers.
It seems that the sabotage was arranged by this person but what was the purpose of this spider platform? It did not seem combat oriented in the slightest.
The platform turned to her direction, "but before we talk about that would the young women listening in please reveal yourself. It is not polite to eavesdrop, so you might as well join in on the conversation."
Salem hesitated for a moment before stepping out with her Pyre pistol drawn and aimed at Lieutenant Trevers. Trevers blinked for a moment in confusion, "you? You are part of Captain Cornwall's ship. What are you doing here?"
"She likely followed you, if I recall she found one of my Screechers as well. Is this part of how your Nano System works? I have been trying my best to figure it out but I keep running into deadends."
Salem kept her gun trained on Trevers who switched his target from the innocent Specialist to Salem. Salem sent a mental message to the Specialist, {Silently leave the room and make sure security and the party from the Wing of Pegasus knows what is going on. There is a silent jammer covering the room.}
The specialist closed their mouth, glancing at Salem and slightly nodding before slowly and silently backing away. After a few steps he actually turned invisible. He was still there but he likely activated a system ability or talent to help them escape. freewёbnoνel.com
"If you tell me where you are I will tell you all about it. How about it?" Salem asked innocently, glancing at the hologram while keeping her gun trained on Trevers. At the same time she used her newly formed third ability to silently confirm the outcome of this standoff.
"I am afraid I will have to decline. You seem rather dangerous for someone so young, so I do in fact fear for my life. But I will share with you my name if you tell me your name. Is this the nation where they do that as a custom?" The figure asked, completely ignoring Trevers presence.
"Wait! How did you get those… Screechers and this aboard? It wasn't me was it? My father would have never agreed to such a thing!" Trevers yelled in rage, his mind racing, imagining multiple scenarios. It seemed that despite all of Lieutenant Trevers' fathers' faults he was still loyal to the emperor and would never knowingly commit treason.
"Ah yes your father. At first I was ecstatic to find a noble like him in this country which I could easily control. He was very willing after I started paying him. Unfortunately he discovered my plans and became angry to the point of trying to kill me." The figure sounded hurt as it spoke. "Honestly I was insulted that a fellow noble would attempt something so barbaric. So I made him more willing to obey. But I could care less about the fallout that will befall your family after this, you could kill yourself for all I care."
After those words Trevers seemed confused and lost. While the figure turned to Salem once again, likely waiting for her answer. "Sergeant Salem Wintry." Salem answered as she quietly waited for the moment in Trevers mind where he made his decision on who his enemy was as he lowered his laser pistol. The design was small and likely had only a few shots in it, it was also likely incredibly inaccurate.
"It is nice to meet you Sergeant Wintry, my name is Lord Hoodwink. Yes, that is my actual family name. Although it has not been used in generations." The figure tried to pull off a more jovial attitude but the lack of emotion was only putting Salem even more on edge. "Now then we have Sergeant Wintry, Lieutenant Trevers, and-" The figure slightly turned its head and fully turned its hologram body as it looked at the spot where the Specialist was a minute ago. "How curious. He managed to slip away."
Trevers seemed to realize it as well and his thoughts only became more depressed as he began spiraling in self-doubt. Salem quietly took a step forward as Lord Hoodwink's platform slightly shifted causing a scratching noise similar to a spider walking.
"I brought shame to my family line." Trevers brought the laser pistol up to the side of his head and pulled the trigger.
