“Well, damn,” Batten said. “You figured me out. " Shaq’s bite faded as the Aleal repaired all the damage he had taken. “I guess—”

  He fell silent as every Marine with a line of fire opened up on him, their stun rounds making him quiver and convulse. After twenty or so hits, he lost his form, melting into a blob of milky, translucent goo on the floor.

  “Sevra,” I said, looking at the Marine. “Shoot the red spot near its center.”

  He glared at me, probably deciding if he should do anything I said or not. Then he trained his rifle on the Aleal and fired. The plasma blasted a hole through the vital sack, killing the alien. With the threat dispatched, the Marines turned their weapons back to me.

  “Whoa, hold on,” I said. “We’ve got about thirty minutes before this ship is vaporized in a star’s corona. Maybe you should stop treating me like the enemy and try helping me eliminate the real bad guys.”

  The Marines lowered their weapons, unsure of what to do next.

  “Or you can just stand there,” I added as Shaq hopped from Head Case to my shoulder. I pushed past the stunned Blues with Head Case following behind me, pausing next to what remained of Batten. My comm badge rested at the edge of the gooey puddle. I knelt to pick it up with my thumb and forefinger, shaking it off as best I could before tapping it to open the comms. “Matt, do you copy?”

  “I copy,” he replied. “I’m glad to be back in direct communication.”

  “Me, too,” I said, ignoring the still-stunned Marines as I headed for the door.

  “I’m so jealous of Zar!” Emerald cried. “I want a ride on Shaq. That looks like so much fun.”

  “Maybe later,” Shaq buzzed.

  “Yes!” she cheered. I could well imagine her pumping a fist in celebration.

  I glanced at Shaq as I stepped out of the armory. “How did you know Batten was an Aleal?”

  “Didn’t,” he replied.

  CHAPTER 10

  The Marines didn’t remain static in the armory for long. Sevra caught up to me outside the barracks door, approaching at a run that prompted me to whirl around and strike a baseball stance, my guitar raised like a bat. If he’d decided I still needed to go to the brig. I wondered how well it would hold up if I used it as a weapon. Shaped like a hammer, Meg and Matt had obviously taken into account the possibility of its use as a weapon when they designed it.

  “Mister Murdock, wait,” Sevra said, raising his hand to forestall my attack as he came to an abrupt halt in front of me. The other Marines filed in behind him while a fresh group emerged from deeper in the barracks. Within seconds, nearly two dozen Blues surrounded me.

  “Mister?” I questioned the Corporal. “Unless I miss my guess, you’re older than I am.”

  Looking confused, Sevra almost imperceptibly shook his head. “Sergeant Batten…he…” The man trailed off, obviously at a loss for words.

  “Was a shape changing alien,” I finished for him. “The same kind that started this war.”

  “And that,” he said, pointing at Head Case, “is what? A drone?”

  “Not a drone,” I replied. “It’s my ship, scaled down to one-tenth normal size.”

  His brow wrinkled and he leaned over, looking through the forward transparency. “And your crew?” He saw something inside that made him jump back. “Oh, shit! Your pilot just waved at me. How is that possible?”

  “Let’s call it magic,” I said. “Look, I wasn’t kidding about Commander Kritchek. I need to get to the bridge as quickly as possible.”

  Sevra looked at the other Marines. “We’re with you, Mister—”

  “Just Murdock is fine,” I interrupted.

  “We’re with you, Murdock.”

  “Ooorah!” the others snapped.

  “That’s so awesome,” I replied in response to the battle cry. “Let’s move out.” I turned back toward the barracks exit, the Marines in front of me moving to join their comrades at my back. As I switched my grip on the guitar and prepared to start playing, I suddenly felt like the Pied Piper. “Matt, you may want to shrink down again.”

  “Aye aye, Captain,” he replied. The Marines commented among themselves when Head Case quickly shrank back to fly-size.

  Matt buzzed my ear, tickling it, before setting Head Case down on my opposite shoulder from Shaq.

  “Unreal,” Sevra said. “I can hardly believe I’m awake.”

  “You can do that, but you couldn’t help Privilege?” one of the Marines asked, obviously still bent out of joint.

  I spun around again. “I did everything I could to help Privilege. I was too late.”

  “That’s not what I heard.”

  “Then what you heard was wrong. You can believe that or not, it doesn’t matter to me. What does matter right now is saving this ship, and all your lives.” I turned back to the barracks door, which had slid open while my back was turned. I heard the shuffling of feet behind me, the Marines all snapping to attention as an officer with a chest covered in hardware crossed the threshold. An older man with thinning white hair and a no-nonsense countenance, he sized me up before speaking.

  “You’re Murdock,” he said.

  “Major Nori?” I guessed.

  “That’s right.” His eyes shifted to the Blues. “What are you doing with my Marines, Murdock? I got word there was some kind of…disturbance down here. I’m not surprised you’re part of it. Aren’t you supposed to be in the brig?”

  “Sir,” Sevra said. “I beg your pardon, sir. Sergeant Batten was—”

  My glare shut him up surprisingly well. “Major Nori, hold out your hand.”

  “What?” Nori said. “You don’t give the orders around here, son.”

  “Please?” I asked. He sighed and put his hand out, palm upright. “Shaq?”

  He scrambled down my arm. Nori pulled his hand back.

  “That’s a jagger, Murdock. I’m not going to let him bite me.”

  “Not bite,” I said. “Scratch you with his claw. Just enough to draw a little blood.” Batten had already used Hiro’s trick to pass as human, and I was pretty sure if Nori was an Aleal, he could do the same, but it was the only thing I had to go on, short of shooting him or letting Shaq actually bite him. If he was still human, I doubted he would appreciate either of those options.

  Nori put his hand back out. Shaq stretched across my arm and randomly picked one of the Major’s fingers, digging a claw into it. Of course, a drop of blood bubbled out.

  “What’s this all about, Murdock?” Nori asked.

  I stared at him. He was directly under Kritchek in the chain of command. He could easily be an Aleal, but I decided I could probably trust him. Maybe. I looked back at Sevra. “Marine, if I ask you to escort Major Nori to the brig, would you comply?”

  “He better not,” Nori growled.

  “It wouldn’t be because he wants to be insubordinate, Major,” I said. “But he just watched Sergeant Batten turn into an alien before killing him. Seeing as how we can’t be sure about you…”

  “You just saw me bleed.”

  “I saw Batten bleed too. We all did. The enemy’s learning new tricks, Major. Maybe you already know that.”

  Nori grimaced. “Interesting. I get the feeling there’s more to the story than that.”

  “I believe Commander Kritchek is also an Aleal, and he plans to crash Prestige into a star to kill us all. Just to kill me. I believe he lied about Keep ordering him to have me arrested. Unless…did you witness that communication?”

  Nori shook his head. “No. I didn’t. Kritchek passed the order down and told me to keep a team ready in the hangar.” He paused to consider the scenario. “It seems trouble follows you wherever you go. Can I trust you to do what needs to be done, Murdock?”

  “Absolutely, sir.”

  He looked past me to Sevra. “Corporal Sevra, Private Pritt, Private Donofrio—I order you three to take me to the brig and lock me in a cell until Murdock approves my release.” His attention returned to me, firm in his resolve. “Problem solved. I’m counting on you, son.”

  I stared at him, shocked that he had put his trust in me so decisively and so quickly. I was tempted to change course and tell Sevra it wouldn’t be necessary to contain the Major. But I couldn’t escape the fact that he could still be an Aleal, cunningly trying to manipulate me into giving him his freedom.

  The three Marines crowded Nori. One of them had a pair of mag bracelets he locked around the major’s wrists. “This way, sir,” Sevra said.

  Nori locked eyes with me. “I don’t expect to be behind bars for long.”

  “You won’t be,” I replied. “One way or another. We have less than thirty minutes to impact.”

  His face paled, further suggesting he wasn’t an alien. “Then why are you still standing here? Get a move on, Murdock.”

  “Sir, yes sir,” I answered, retrieving my pick and placing my fingers on my guitar.

  Digging into the first chords of Metallica’s Wherever I May Roam, the Pied Piper led his pack of Marines to the bridge.

  CHAPTER 11

  Despite us looking like a mutinous mob, the Prestige crewmen we encountered, quickly stepped aside open-mouthed when they saw me leading my pack of Marines toward the bridge. I felt a bit like a guitar-playing pied piper, something that would have been amusing had our mission been much less serious.

  I had yet to reach through the music, maintaining the veil between our universe and the chaos beyond it. I was still hoping it wouldn’t be necessary, but I was ready to open the tap at a moment’s notice. Although I was convinced that Commander Kritchek was compromised, I didn’t want to be right.

  Passing the conference rooms, we paused at Kritchek’s office, where I tapped into the chaos energy for the first time, using it to pull open the secured hatch. “Clear,” the Marine beside me announced when we found the commander’s office empty. Even his desk was clear of clutter, save for a handful of animated holos of what I assumed was the Kritchek’s family. A wife, a son, two daughters. A beautiful family. My chest tightened at the thought of an Aleal killing the man to steal his essence.

  “Matt, help Quasar get access to Kritchek’s terminal. Zar, see if you can confirm Prestige’s heading from there, and change it if needed. Keep me posted.”

  “Aye aye, Cap,” Quasar replied. Head Case lifted off my shoulder, enlarging again to golf ball size once it was through the hatch. The ship came to rest on the commander’s desk, knocking off a couple of the holos as it landed. I grimaced. Matt’s careless zeal to get the job done seemed a sacrilege of sorts considering the man’s potential demise.

  The imposter had to be on the bridge.

  The bridge was located in the heart of the Sentry, tucked deep in the warship’s center, where it would be challenging for torpedoes or other weapons to reach it. It would take us nearly fifteen minutes to get there on foot.

  I jerked my head toward the sliding doors less than a hundred feet away at the end of the corridor. The rhythm of Wherever I May Roam echoed through the passageway as we resumed our march, the doors opened ahead of us, and a young ensign stepped out, the doors closing automatically behind her but not before the strains of my guitar had undoubtedly reached the bridge. Her face paled and she froze in place, staring at me with fear and recognition.

  It had bothered me to no end when Lorai looked at me that way. I was over it now, having grown too jaded and tired of fighting to care what anyone thought of me. I had given not only every ounce of strength in me—I was forfeiting my life for the cause—yet half the Royal Guard still thought I was a coward. It only proved how pointless it was to worry about anyone else’s opinion.

  When the doors didn’t open as I approached them, obviously secured against anyone without bridge clearance, my eyes met the ensign’s. She still hadn’t moved, undoubtedly having guessed I’d need her to turn back around so the doors would open.

  “Do you mind?” I asked her, nodding toward the scanning laser over the doorway.

  She slid me an askance look, her expression emotionless. “I’ll be court-martialed.”

  “No you won’t,” I assured her. “I’m friends with the Emperor.” I smiled at her.

  “I’m supposed to believe that?”

  “Would you believe Corporal Sevra here?” I asked, nodding at him.

  Her eyes shifted toward the corporal. “Ma’am, he’s here with the backing of Major Nori,” he told her.

  She looked back at me, obviously considering her next move as she looked at me. “You won’t hurt anyone, will you?”

  “I won’t hurt any humans,” I answered, her confusion obvious. “But—”

  “Cap, I have terminal access,” Quasar said. “There’s an added layer of security around the nav computer link.”

  “Is that normal?”

  “No. Not at all.”

  “Ensign?” I prompted. She still seemed indecisive, but finally nodded, turning around to face the sensor. “Thank you for your help,” I said as the doors slid open.

  I walked onto the bridge, quickly soaking in the surroundings. The circular control center was much larger than I expected, the sunken main deck reminding me of the palace throne room. A massive round table similar to what I had seen on Atlas occupied the room’s center, projecting a star map that was nearly twenty feet tall. Beneath the projections, a handful of windows displayed a background so black it seemed to sink into the deck. Soft lighting oozed from the pores of the bulkheads, countering the glare from the many workstation displays ringing the center table on two levels.

  An aisle surrounded the workstations and the dozens of officers in crisp uniforms focused on the translucent screens in front of them. On the opposite side of the bridge, the plush seat behind the projection and data surfaces of the command station was unoccupied, which meant Kritchek was one of the officers standing around the table.

  The bridge fell silent, everyone turning to face us in unison as I reached the gently sloping ramp leading down to the center of the bridge. I spotted Kritchek immediately by the number of gold stripes on his shoulder boards. A tall, barrel-chested man with a thick, neatly trimmed beard, his eyes narrowed when he saw me, then grew into saucers when he noticed all the Marines at my back.

  Descending the ramp, I lowered the amp volume so I could hear over my playing. Glancing at the other three officers standing with him, a man and two women, I wondered if they were Aleal too. Drawing blood apparently didn’t mean anything anymore. Short of DNA testing, there was no other non-lethal way for me to know.

  “Commander Kritchek,” I said on my way down to him. “I need you to bring Prestige out of hyperspace immediately.”

  “Under whose authority, Murdock?” he replied. “Certainly not yours.”

  “By authority of the Emperor's Regent, His Honorable Avelus Keep,” I said.

  He shook his head. “His Honor told me you would come. He said to arrest you.” His eyes shifted to the Marines behind me. “Is that too much to ask, or have you fallen for his lies like so many others?”

  “Do you have verifiable proof to back up your claims?” I asked. “If you do, I’ll go back to the brig willingly.”

  “My word is my proof,” Kritchek said. “And it should be enough for the Royal Marines on board my ship.”

  “Except Sergeant Batten turned out to be an Aleal,” I said. “Which means anyone on this ship could be an Aleal, including you.”

  “Or any of the Marines behind you. Or all of them,” he pointed out, prompting me to glance back over my shoulder at the Blues behind me. As expected, none of them appeared any more threatening than they had moments ago.

  “There aren’t enough mature Aleals on board to assume the essence of all these Marines. You’re the only one left. An imposter who killed the real Kritchek and assumed his identity.”

  “If there was an enemy spy on board, then I applaud you for discovering and destroying it. It’s not me, and my orders remain. I’m bringing you back to Atlas, Murdock.”

  “Are you really?” I asked. “Can you prove it?”

  He smirked. “Of course.” Turning back to the table, he used the surface to zoom in on the star map, displaying the Sentry’s course and heading. According to the projection, we really were going back to Atlas.

  “That’s not valid proof.” I knew the projection had to be a fake.

  Kritchek sighed. “You’re testing my patience, Murdock. Where do you think we’re going, then?”

  “We’re on a collision course toward the nearest star, where we’ll all be vaporized.”

  The statement drew a gasp from some of the crew around us. Kritchek laughed. “That’s ridiculous.”

  “Is it? Then drop the ship out of hyperspace. Let me capture my own positioning data, and we’ll know for sure.”

  “No,” he replied simply.

  “Why not?”

  “You barged onto my bridge,” he said, pointing a condemning finger at me, “making demands you have no right to make because of some crazy notion I’m planning to kill everyone on board. You’ve convinced my Marines to mutiny. And you think I owe you anything? Whatever you think is happening, there’s nothing untoward occurring on this ship. No conspiracy whatsoever. You just don’t belong here, and the Regent knows it. Now, hand over your silly guitar and go quietly back to your cell.” His gaze shifted to the Marines.”If all of you come to your senses and take Murdock back into custody, there will be no charges against any of you. We’ll get to the bottom of who is and isn’t potentially an enemy of the Hegemony once he’s safely back behind bars.”

  Glancing at one another, the Marines hesitated to follow Kritchek’s orders. They looked to me to say something more in my own defense. I stared at Kritchek, searching for even the smallest hint that he might not be human, knowing that I had seconds to decide on my next move.

  “Zar,” I whispered. “Have you defeated the extra nav security yet?”

  “I need more time,” she replied.

  I didn’t have any more time. The Marines were vacillating. I didn’t need to look back at them; I felt it in their shifting presence behind me, a couple of them whispering to others. Corporal Sevra reached for my arm, then hesitated. Kritchek hadn’t done a damn thing to disprove my theory that he was an Aleal, but he obviously didn’t need to in order to maintain command. With his explanatory lies, I knew Sevra’s appetite for risking his career would shift at any moment.