Brynn Phytrelia Pt. 04

Reluctantly, Brynn let herself be convinced. "If you are certain..." She wavered. "If you are certain of each of those points, I will stay. Did your Captain truly want to meet with me, or was that a lie?"

She nodded, hesitantly at first, then more confidently. "Yes, she would like to meet you."

"Then let's go." Brynn was still reluctant, but since the woman was so eager- "Oh, but I do have to go back to the Atalanta and get some things. It can wait until later, but I have to do it." She said quickly. Not to mention, had anyone told Ophelia that Idris was missing? She dreaded breaking the news, but she couldn't leave her in the dark.

Kadri nodded to her. "Very well. Why don't you pull your shoes on, then come with me?" She waited until Brynn had pulled both shoes on and laced them up. Once she was done Kadri turned, walking back out the door she had come in, turning to verify that Brynn was following her. As they went through the door, Brynn saw Lieutenant Gartner coming from the other direction. He smiled at Kadri and Brynn, moving to stand at attention and offer a salute as they walked by. Kadri stopped just as they passed Lieutenant Gartner, who was still standing at attention and saluting.

Kadri swore under her breath, grunting and sighing. She turned to Gartner and threw her hands up in the air. "Lieutenant, you DON'T have to stop in the middle of the hall every time I walk by you. You should know better than that by now."

"Ma'am, yes, Ma'am. I understand, Ma-"

Kadri closed her eyes and looked away from him as she scoffed. She swore a little more, muttering something that Brynn couldn't quite here. But she did hear her say something about "Tsela."

"Lieutenant," she said patiently, "I am only going to say this one more time. 'At. Ease.'"

Gartner smiled at her, nodding. "Yes, Ma-"

But Kadri held up a finger, cutting him off, and shaking her head. "Nnn...No. Thank you, Lieutenant."

She turned and walked away from him, letting Brynn fall in next to her as they walked. When they were further away, she started muttering some more about her sister.

They made their way to the doors, and two guards met them just outside. They came to attention, and Kadri returned their salute. She stood aside from Brynn, moving out of the way of the guards. "Please allow the sentries to inspect you." She still seemed a little flustered about something, but she was trying to show Brynn patience and compassion.

"Trust me, I have no - er, well, I'm not carrying anything dangerous." Brynn muttered, lifting her hands. The skirt, of course, had no pockets, and neither did the shirt. Tight as it was, the shirt offered no places to tuck a weapon away, either. The only place a weapon could be concealed was her shoes, and they were clearly empty of anything except her feet.

The sentry nodded to her. "She is clean, Ma'am."

"Thank you." She nodded to him and moved to walk through the door with Brynn. The room on the other side was sterile looking and barren. A woman, with dark, chestnut hair was sitting behind a metal desk. She was sitting, leaned back in a comfortable chair, reading information from a data pad. She looked up at Kadri without moving her head, at first, then turned to look at Brynn. She smiled, barely. "Hello, Commander Usid. And this is..."

Kadri smiled cordially at Brynn. "This is..." She stopped and furrowed her forehead, looking to Brynn. "Actually, I'm afraid I did not catch you last name."

Brynn looked at the captain, folding her arms without looking to Kadri. "Phytrelia. Brynn Phytrelia."

Captain Johansen smiled at her with a smile that made Brynn's skin feel cold. "I see. And, what can I do for you, Ms. Phytrelia?"

"Well, the commander," she gestured at the woman, turning towards her to indicate her, before turning back to the icy woman behind the desk, "was nice enough to help me get that creature Tsela out of my hair." Brynn stared at the captain, her eyes daring her to chastise her for her choice of words.

Captain Johansen let one of her eyebrows arch at her. "Oh?"

"Yes. I asked her if I might be able to move back to Atalanta, now that her repairs are complete, and keep Atalanta here, on your ship, until we reach our destination."

"I see." She looked at Kadri, considering her for a moment. "Well, if Kadri has already-"

"No, Ma'am. I told Ms. Phytrelia that she would have to run that particular request by you. I didn't feel comfortable authorizing it without your permission."

"No, of course not." Captain Johansen sighed and pursed her lips. "Very well then. If you prefer to remain aboard the late captain's vessel, I see no reason why we cannot accommodate that." She rose and moved closer to Brynn. "However, I am curious: did the he tell you about what happened to my sister?"

Brynn arched an eyebrow, shaking her head. "I...your SISTER? No, no I am afraid not."

That chilling smile again. "I see," she said simply. "Well, I think I would be doing you a disservice if I did not provide you ample warning about what kind of...reptile was commanding that ship." She held out her hand.

Brynn wrinkled her forehead and turned her head to look at her with a sidelong gaze.

Kadri moved forward, standing next to Brynn. "Take Captain Johansen's hand, Ms. Phytrelia. You'll see."

Brynn looked at Captain Johansen skeptically, but placed her hand in the palm of the captain's.

The room around Brynn disappeared as she was immersed in the landscape of some planet's surface, looking at a near barren stretch of land, shrub brush, and thin, scraggly trees atop sandy soil. She looked around, confuse by what had happened. Captain Johansen was next to her, suddenly. The unexpected appearance of the captain coupled with the change of scenery startled Brynn.

"This is where it happened. I made Captain Chariton show it to me when he returned to Avenger, alone, in her ship."

Brynn shook her head. "Whose ship?"

The captain shushed her, and pointed.

Brynn looked and saw Idris, standing on the ground by Atalanta's landing ramp, a pile of things at his feet. A woman, one who Brynn had seen before, stood at the foot of it. Brynn squinted, trying to place the girl. She was young and pretty, standing ramrod straight. Brynn's eyes went wide as she realized that this was the woman she had seen before, in Atalanta. "Tsela...?" She asked no one in particular.

Captain Johansen shook her head. "No. Though Tsela does like to show up looking like her, on occasion."

"Idris, you can't come with me," the woman said. "I already broke the rules by letting you ride along as I have...but we can't keep doing this." Her voice wavered, just a little. "I have to go. You need to...I'll have someone stop and pick you up." She turned away from him. He jumped over the pile and rushed forward, grabbed her wrist and made her look at him. Brynn watched Adria's face. She wanted Idris to say something to her, something specific, she was waiting for just the right words...

"You can't just leave me here!" He insisted. "Adria, why are you...?"

She shook him off. "You're a civilian. You said it yourself...it was fun, but I have a duty, and you're not a part of it." She was still giving him a chance.

"What if I pay you?" He asked.

This was the wrong answer. Adria recoiled away from him and stepped back. "No, you keep your money, Idris." She waved her hand as if to smack him, but did not actually make contact.

Idris flew backwards, landing on his back in the sand, the air rushing out of him. He wheezed as she stared down at him. Adria hesitated to go to his side, but then stopped. She stood taller and moved to the ramp.

Brynn watched as Idris moved to stand, looking at Adria with disappointment. But as Adria walked up the ramp, she heard Idris cry out.

Adria stopped and ducked down to look over at Idris. There was another woman there, the one who had attacked Brynn and Idris on Atalanta. She had knelt by him, her knee in the sand, and a blade at his throat.

"You seem to have lost something, Lieutenant Usid," she said.

Lieutenant Usid gasped, punching a button to for the ramp to extend back to the surface. She jumped off the end and went to move towards where Idris and the woman were.

Thannatos grinned at her as the ramp touched back down in the sand.

"No, wait, please! He's not with me!" She yelled, her hand held out towards them.

"Why? He just a worthless man with nothing to offer us." Thannatos sneered. then everything seemed to freeze.

Brynn stood there, next to Captain Johansen, watching, her mouth hanging open in shock and apprehension.

"You see, if Captain Chariton hadn't cried out, it's likely this woman would have just taken him and left him somewhere."

Brynn turned to look at Captain Johansen for a long moment, then turned back, wanting to see the rest. This couldn't be all there was to this. Then the memory seemed to playback again.

The woman pulled Idris up to his feet, without a struggle, holding his arms back behind him, with just one hand. Her other hand still held the blade. The tip pierced the skin of Idris' neck and he winced, his useless struggle to get away from her stopping.

Adria leaned as if to move towards them but stop. Tears streaked her face. "Please don't do this. Just tell me what you want."

Thannatos smiled back at Adria, stabbing the blade into Idris' side until the hilt was buried in his flesh.

Idris cried out, crumpling to the ground, his hands moving to the blade, hesitating as he willed himself not to pull it out.

Thannatos moved quickly to pull something out from the inside of her clothes, the weapon drawn before Idris had even hit the ground. She pointed it at Adria who was frozen in horror.

"No! Why are you doing this?" The Lieutenant was crying, her hands in the air as she backed away. "Why come here?"

"Because it hurts you. My men have so suffered by your hand, Adria. I have suffered at your hand." Thannatos gritted her teeth, glaring.

Adria stole a glance at Idris, who wasn't moving. He looked towards Adria, then at Thannatos. Adria looked back to Thannatos again. "I see then. You have suffered, your men have suffered, and now, you seek to make me suffer." The tears were streaming freely as she glared at Thannatos. "Very well then..."

It happened almost faster than Brynn could see. Adria moved to throw Thannatos with an outstretched hand. Thannatos flailed about, holding herself steady despite the wave of force. Adria moved to draw her own fire arm, pointing it at Thannatos as she moved closer to Idris . She managed to hit Thannatos in the shoulder and hip.

Thannatos fell to the ground, but moved to try to crawl towards Idris. Adria held up her weapon, pointing it at Thannatos, but she hesitated.

Thannatos smiled at her and moved to speak into her wrist comm. Two men seemed to materialized behind Adria, reaching down to take her arms, pulling her up to her feet. They disarmed her and held her feet off the ground.

Thannatos smile and came closer. "Give me what I want, and I'll save him myself." Thannatos purred.

Lieutenant Usid snarled. "No! Even Idris is not as important as the Kiln! You can kill both of us, but you'll never find it."

Thannatos glared at her and shook her head. "No. I think I will just kill you. Your rat will live on knowing that you died at his hand."

Despite how pale and sickly Idris looked, lying in a puddle of his own blood, his eyes went wide at this suggestion.

Adria steeled herself. "Very well then. Do what you came her for and be down with it, Hag."

Thannatos smiled, moving over to Idris. She beckoned the men to bring Adria closer. Thannatos ripped the blade from Idris' side, discarding the blade. Idris cried out as he jerked involuntarily. Thannatos put her hand on Idris side, holding up a hand towards Adria.

Something happened. Something that Brynn could not perceive. Adria started to cry out in pain and agony, but Thannatos was not even touching her. For all the screaming and wailing she did, struggling to free herself from the iron grip of her captors, Adria's efforts seemed futile.

Brynn watched at the color quickly faded from Adria's complexion, her lips turning blue, and the skin of her face seeming to shrink against her cheek bones. "Idris!"

Idris moved, his strength renewed as he struggled to get up, but Thannatos moved to hold him to the ground. As he became aware of what Thannatos was doing, he struggled to try to get free. "No! No, stop! Don't hurt her!"

Adria reached out weakly towards Idris. "No, don't struggle, just..." Adria's eyes rolled into her head as she hung limp.

Thannatos stood and smiled down at Idris. "You see...now you feel it, too."

Idris stood and jumped back from Thannatos, looking at Adria. The men dropped her body to the floor and moved to Thannatos' side. Idris moved to try to strike at Thannatos, but she tripped his legs out from underneath him.

"Tell your masters. Tell them, I will find the kiln. And then you can tell them how Lieutenant Usid died. And how you killed her..." She smiled at Idris, a horrible, dark expression.

Brynn heard the sound of Thannatos kicking Idris as if the sound was in her own head. Then the landscape around them faded and they were back in Captain Johansen's office.

"You see, I think Adria had been in love with Idris. She'd wanted him to say the same. She'd wanted to hear how he didn't want to leave her, because he loved her. Instead, he'd offered to pay her, like a common trifle. And she'd still gone back for him, saved him. And now she is missing, probably dead, and he is..." Her voice trailed off and her nostrils flared. "Well, I am sure he will receive his reward."

Brynn wrinkled her forehead. "Missing...?" She shook her head, not understanding.

Captain Johansen scowled, but Kadri came to Brynn's rescue. "Captain Chariton claims that the next thing he remembers is waking up on Atalanta, lying on the deck floor, with the ship on emergency power. Our agents traced back to where the encounter took place, but Lieutenant Usid's body was not recovered. It wasn't enough for that woman to kill Adria, and hurt all of us. She had to leave us wondering about her fate, to steal that sense of closure from us." Kadri frowned, her eyes looking towards the floor.

"Thannatos," Brynn said simply. "That woman, the one who attacked Atalanta...Idris and I...she called herself Thannatos."

Both Kadri and Captain Johansen looked up at this, obviously surprised. "Thannatos? Moranna Thannatos?"

"Yes..." Brynn drew out the word, trying to recall what else the woman had said. "I'm sure of it."

Captain Johansen looked to Kadri with just her eyes, still facing Brynn, and then looked back to Brynn. "I see."

Kadri let out a huff of air and turned away to hide her expression.

Captain Johansen's gaze snapped to Kadri. "What?"

Kadri slowly turned to face Captain Johansen, her expression neutral. "No, Ma'am. I am sure you are right."

Brynn looked to Kadri and then to Captain Johansen. "I'm sorry, but you can't be serious. Captain, I wasn't born yesterday. And even if I was, only a COMPLETE moron would believe that Idris was responsible for Adria's death. Or that you don't know exactly who this woman is. I would appreciate it if you didn't go to such great lengths to insult my intelligence, if you don't mind."

Captain Johansen stared at Brynn for a long moment, then relaxed. "Very well, Ms. Phytrelia. If you really want to know, the Department of Fleet Intelligence believes that some new, malevolent faction is ramping up to attack the Ulratians. It's the most absurd thing I've ever heard as only a desperate fool would ever dream of attacking the Ulratians directly. Their armament, technology base, and culture are, potentially, the most savage an unforgiving force in the entire galaxy. They are the sleeping giant. And if this buzzing of flies, that the Delethirians have brought to Ulratia's attention, turns out to be anything more than a hornet's nest, you can be sure they're going to do a lot more than show up with a fly swatter to deal with it." She huffed out an exasperated breath. "Having said that, DFI is still working to rally forces so that if this Thannatos is some kind of threat, the Ulratian warriors can show up in great enough numbers to roll over her like flames over thistles."

Brynn heard Kadri speak up, in response. "Of course, if this woman has some kind of power, or weapon, that even DFI is unprepared for-"

Captain Johansen snapped back to look at Kadri, cutting her off. "Then the Ulratians will receive the conflict, in stride, just as they have with every other hornet's nest dumb enough to sting them."

Kadri made a face, obviously not in agreement with her conclusions, but she held her tongue.

Captain Johansen turned to Brynn. "Anyway, now you know what I know. If you desire, I see no problem with you remaining aboard Atalanta, in standby, until we reach Ulratia. We'll be arriving in a few days. With all the fun you and Idris managed to find, between getting kidnapped, attacked, being used as bait, and playing with Tsela, I suppose it wouldn't be any worse for you to retreat to the late captain's vessel and..." Her sentence trailed off as she looked Brynn over with obvious judgement. "Well...whatever it is you elect to do."

Kadri sighed and touched Brynn's shoulder. "I'd be happy to escort you to the landing deck, if you desire, Ms. Phytrelia." Her polite smile was obviously masking the resentment she was feeling over the abrasive conclusions that Captain Johansen had decided to tactlessly express.

"Yes, I'd appreciate it." Brynn said, and looked at the captain. "He's no reptile, Captain Johansen. I can see that you feel...justified, in your anger, but I certainly do not see how you focus on one when you can't see the other. Thank you for letting me retain use of the Atalanta."

The captain nodded cordially to her before Brynn left the room with Kadri.

Once they were in the corridor, Kadri huffed a little, shaking her head. She smiled at Brynn. "So tell me, what is so special about Atalanta that you have such a preference for it..."

"It has everything I've ever owned." Brynn said honestly. "I know we've just met, and I'm sure you've heard a lot of back-and-forths while you've been on this ship, but I also believe it may be the safest place for me."

Kadri's face fell a little. "I see." She sighed, shrugging. "Well, I can't say that the data supports me when I try to tell you that you are quite safe here. Far safer than you would be on your own. And we should be inside of Initiative space by now, so that adds to your safety." She smiled at her. "Anyway, I am sure you don't wish me to prattle on. Let's get you back to Atalanta."

"I am not intending to go anywhere on my own, Kadri." Brynn assured her. "I just want something familiar around me. I mean no offense, but surely you can understand why?"

She moved to nod, but then stopped. "Actually, no...I can't. I imagine that if my..." Her voice trailed off and she paused, searching for the right words. "Well, I mean, someone...close to me...If they were taken and I was let alone on...our ship...I don't think I would be able to keep it together as well as I might without all of the distractions Avenger has to offer me..."

"Distractions?" Brynn questioned. "As in...?"

She sighed and fidgeted a little, obviously uncomfortable with the shift in topics. "Well, nothing specific. It's just, being where I am on this ship, I have plenty of things to distract me. I wouldn't have time to stop and dwell on...anything specific. Not as easily as if I was...more idle, I suppose..."

"Well, I don't have anything to keep me occupied in either ship, really. I guess, since you work here you always have something to do, but I don't have a place on this ship, so..." Brynn shrugged. "I can't see anything keeping me distracted here. Are we almost there?"