The Archangel Chronicles part Eight: Fumbling Through Delirium

"Have they detained you? Are you being held somewhere?" The worried tension that had left her voice now returned as a swarm of panic. "Do I need to send in a recovery team?"

"You know that wouldn’t happen. They’d just fuse me, and chisel my name on the wall."

"I wouldn’t let them."

"But it’s all right. The people here, they don’t care. They don’t think I’m a threat."

"I don’t understand."

"I don’t either. I think they feel they can maintain control of me. I’m sure they’re monitoring this too. They can decide who gets to know what about this colony. They could probably shut down the connection at any time. And their location—it can only be reached by an alternative network to the Corridor. They call it Deepshadow. And they have the only ship capable of utilizing it. Or, thought they did until last night."

"What happened last night?"

He told her about the Stone and the Creed ship, the Reavers and the Drorsa. He did not tell her about Marin and the water.

"We’ve always known there had to be something else out there. But this is a little frightening. Should I alert--?"

"No! I don’t think you should. I’m not sure if we should trust . . ." he remembered that the communication was probably being listened to on Ysenia’s end and cursed himself for speaking too much. "The girl, Rhian Greer. Have you been able to find out any more about her people?"

"I can’t get to her father. I didn’t want to talk about it with anyone besides him."

"Wise," Daniel said. "Thank you."

"There’s a lot of static surrounding Greer—what he’s working on, they’re keeping secret from everyone."

"Keep trying, please. I don’t want this girl sent back to the Union before we know what she might be sent back to. I thought it was strange that no one at all has responded to the message she sent her father telling him she was alive. You’d think that would get some sort of response, even if it was just from his aide."

"Have your Zed see what he can do," Ysenia suggested. "Will you keep trying to find out about this Deepshadow drive?"

"I will," Daniel said. "Ysenia. I don’t know why they sent me here. This colony is outside of Union space; they have no jurisdiction. Nothing bad is going on here. These people are just trying to live free."

"It sounds like they’re winning you over, Daniel. Be careful."

"Don’t worry about me. I know what’s at stake here."

"I don’t want to see you fused. I need you to come back to me."

"I will, Sen."

"I think we’ve spent more time talking by link than we have face to face. After this, maybe we can finally have our life together."

"I hope so."

"That’s what they said. You give them what they want, we can go."

"You asked?"

She nodded. "I know I shouldn’t have, so don’t lecture me. Trainor said he knew you were tired; you’ve lasted longer than any of the others. There are new Potiphars, now, with upgraded programming. Maybe you can teach now. We can be together permanently."

"I hope, Ysenia. I really do hope."

"But . . ." She said. "I know that’s coming. I know you. What is it?"

"They’ll never let me leave. No matter what they promise. The other Potiphars, they didn’t leave at the end for a nice teaching job and an apartment on Coridia. You know that."

"I don’t know that you can’t be the first."

"Maybe I will. And maybe . . ."

"What?" She lowered her voice, even though anyone listening would hear no matter how quietly she spoke.

Daniel realized that, and said, "When I see you again, we’ll talk. I promise."

"Daniel, you’re scaring me."