LITMIR.BIZ

      ISBN 978-5-0062-8822-5 (т. 3)

      ISBN 978-5-0062-7070-1

      Created with Ridero smart publishing system

      Part III. Criminal

      Chapter 1. Protocol

      MSS Lyssandra, followed by SS Growler, jumped out of the wormhole directly into Veluthian orbit, and as soon as everyone looked out the window, they heard Lyssa reporting:

      «Sending message Zero-Zero-One to all Veluthian spaceships and all available open media channels on the planet.»

      Serena swallowed a lump in her throat, realising that she was entering a very dangerous game. Hunter frowned and looked at her:

      «What message?»

      «Would you like me to show them message Zero-Zero-One, Captain?» Lyssa asked.

      «Go ahead.» Serena waved it off, feeling her body becoming ice cold.

      The men turned to the screen that lit up and saw Serena.

      «My fellow Veluthians. My name is Serena Dal Thara-Lyss, and I have been wronged by people in power of authority in our empire. I have been charged with false accusations, but I do not intend to let this go unnoticed. I am invoking my right to surrender freely and wilfully to a person of high status and whose life I have saved a number of years ago. I invoke my right to yield to Empress Alathea Dal Keelan-Dir of the Laithorian Empire»

      «What?!» Hunter exhaled, surprised to hear these words.

      «Who do you think gifted this ship to Serena?» Wolfin sighed, finally understanding what Serena was doing. «Not every Veluthian has a planet destroyer type of ship that has a medical pod with an option to extract memories. This ship is one of the few issued by the Empress.»

      «Message Zero-Zero-Two is sent directly to Empress Alathea and the High Imperial Council.» Lyssa reported. «Encrypted files, containing all the memories and gathered proof have been attached to the message.»

      Serena closed her eyes, trying her best not to let her hands tremble.

      Lindon stood silent, not knowing what to say to the plan Serena had set in motion without even telling them.

      «Now… we wait.» Serena said, her voice audibly shaking.

      Wolfin stepped to the woman and laid his palm on her shoulder:

      «Why didn’t you tell us?»

      «Because if I would have… I wouldn’t have the courage left to go through with it.» she replied, feeling a shiver running down her spine. «You should know… Never once have I surrendered.»

      She felt his palm squeezing her shoulder.

      «IMSS Thailoran is approaching us, Captain. Captain of the Imperial Guard Dillian Dorn Merr-Philas is hailing.» Lyssa reported.

      Serena straightened in her seat, and Wolfin stepped back, allowing her to take the call.

      The screen lit up, showing a stern looking man with dark hair that had a streak of white running on his left temple. He carried himself proudly and his green eyes looked at Serena with calm respect.

      «Greetings, Lady Serena.» he said.

      «Greetings to you, Captain Dillian.» the woman replied, answering his short nod with the same courtesy.

      «I was sent here to escort you down to Laithora for acceptance of your surrender. You shall respect the Veluthian code of honour and will not engage in any sort of resistance. If you honour this, you and your crew will be safe and treated fairly.»

      «I honour the code, Captain. That’s why I’m here.»

      «Once we land, you and your crew will remain on your ships until further notice, understood?»

      «Understood.»

      «Your compliance is greatly appreciated, Lady Thara-Lyss.»

      Serena nodded, and the screen turned black once again. Lyssa took control of the ship, following IMSS Thailoran, and leaving the captain slowly sliding down her seat and closing her eyes with her palm.

      «Captain Cipher has been notified on the agreed upon conditions of our landing.» Lyssa reported and went silent.

      «So… what, exactly, are we supposed to do, Serena?» Hunter stepped to the woman, pained to see her so distressed.

      «You… nothing.» the woman replied. «It’s all up to me, the Empress and the Council members now… As per usual protocol, it can take up to several days of waiting until we get any response from the Empress. So as soon as we land, we wait. I suppose, they will summon me first… to accept or deny me the right I have invoked.»

      «Can they really deny you?» Lindon looked at Serena and almost lost his voice, seeing her being pale.

      «They can. I’m hoping they won’t.»

      «Do you have any failsafe?» Wolfin exhaled, trying his best not to question her resolve.

      «If I am denied, shot, or my surrender accepted by someone other than Empress Alathea, Lyssa will send out all the files into the mainframe, allowing everyone access to the files I have collected. Every Veluthian will know what happened.» Serena gritted her teeth. «Other than that, I thought of only one viable option if my surrender goes haywire. But that would make me the villain in the eyes of all Laithorians for centuries to come. So I had to drop that idea. Plus… I didn’t want you to suffer the same fate as I would have.»

      Lindon tightened his fists, realising what went through her mind when she was planning all of this.

      They felt Lyssa softly landing on a broad square, and several ships, aimed at them, landed around, spitting out several regiments of Imperial Guards, which surrounded the ships in a circle, so that none of the civilians enter the location, where MSS Lyssandra was held.

      Serena sighed heavily and stood. Hunter wanted to approach her, but she shook her head, gesturing him to stay on the bridge.

      «Please… I need to be alone for a bit.» the woman said, slowly making her way out and heading towards her quarters.

      The following day they spent in a very quiet and tense waiting.

      Chapter 2. Right

      The stillness was maddening. And the fact that they had to wait for the Empress or her employs to answer her call was even more nerve-wracking. Serena couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep, couldn’t even numb herself with alcohol – all she could think about was that she put all her faith in the Empress and if her Imperial Highness will not even see her messages, it would mean that everything was for nothing.

      The woman tried hard to keep herself calm, though the heavy thoughts haunted her for hours on end, not giving her even a single minute of respite. She knew very well that Hunter and her crew were worried sick for her, but couldn’t get herself to face them in these dire circumstances.

      She started doubting if she would even have enough strength to answer to whatever authority comes to get her.

      «Captain, you are being hailed by Captain Dillian.» Lyssa reported suddenly.

      Serena got up from her bed – she spent most of the time just lying there, thinking about her decisions and what repercussions they might have on her crew. Combing down her hair, she sat behind her working screens.

      «Put it through.» she said.

      The screen came to life, showing the very same man Serena saw when she sent out her first message to Velutha.

      «I am ordered to have you exit MSS Lyssandra.» Captain Dillian said.

      «Is my request being accepted?» Serena felt her heart dropping.

      «Of that

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