"A traitor," Ragia muttered.
Iya walked over to him. She stood beside him, looking out at the void.
"Lacrosse was sure," Iya said. Her voice was calm, logical. "He said someone in the High Council sold them out. Someone who knew their coordinates."
"The Vixia VII patrol route was classified," Ragia said, crossing his arms. "Only the Council and the Squad Captains have access to that data."
"Could it be Vexal?" Iya asked. "He has always hated the Inquor program. He thinks you are dangerous."
"Vexal is a snake," Ragia admitted. "But he is a coward. Selling out an entire squad to the Krall? That takes a special kind of malice. Vexal just wants political power. He doesn't want the extinction of humanity."
"Then who?" Iya asked.
Ragia shook his head. "I don't know. Lacrosse said it was someone who smiles. That narrows it down to... nobody. Everyone on the Council is miserable."
They stood there for a moment, watching the stars.
"The Reagalus network is secure," Iya murmured. "To leak those coordinates, the traitor would need a bypass key. Or they would need to be inside the system itself."
The intercom buzzed again.
"Capt," Raya's voice was urgent this time. "You need to see this. The sphere... I cleaned the corrosion. There is a symbol on it."
"What symbol?" Ragia asked.
"It is not Krall," Raya said. "It is human. It is... archaic. I think I know what this is. But I need to confirm it with the archives."
Iya straightened up. She adjusted her uniform.
"I will go," Iya said. "You stay here, Ragia. You are the Captain. You need to be seen. The crew is shaken. If they see you running around chasing mysteries, they will panic."
"But..." Ragia started.
"No buts," Iya said firmly. She placed a hand on his arm. "Let me handle the science. You handle the morale. Sit in the chair. Look confident. That is an order from your… wife."
Ragia smiled weakly. "Yes, Ma'am."
Iya turned and marched out of the room, her boots clicking rhythmically on the metal floor.
Ragia watched her go.
Then, he sighed. He slumped back into the captain's chair. He rubbed his face with his hands.
He looked tired.
Why, Ragia…
Why, you don't know about it?
Ragia didn't jump. He just kept rubbing his eyes.
"Know what?" Ragia mumbled.
The traitor…
You rewrote reality. You shot The Writer. You took the pen. You created this revised universe. You should know who the bad guy is. You literally wrote the script.
Ragia dropped his hands. He looked up at the ceiling again.
"I didn't write the script," Ragia said tiredly. "I just opened the door. I erased the bad ending. I didn't write every single detail of the future."
That sounds like a cop-out! You are the protagonist. You have the pen. You should be omniscient.
"I am not God!" Ragia snapped.
He stood up and paced around the chair. "I killed The Writer because he was going to kill us. I took the pen to save Iya. But when I wrote 'The Chaotic Fanfare Revised'... I didn't write a detailed plot outline. I just wrote a title. I just set the stage."
He gestured at the viewport.
"This... all of this," Ragia continued. "It is playing out in real-time. I don't know who the traitor is… because I… I haven't lived it yet. I am discovering it just like you are. Just… just like the reader is."
So you are flying blind, Ragia?
You created a universe, and you forgot to install a GPS?
"I wanted freedom," Ragia argued. "The Writer controlled everything. He made us puppets. I wanted us to have choices. If I knew everything... if I knew who the traitor was... then it wouldn't be free will.
"It would just be another script."
Or maybe…
You are just lazy, Ragia. Maybe you were too busy having sex in the white room to think about plot holes.
Ragia glared at me.
"Watch your mouth! I created you, remember? I gave you this voice. I can take it away."
You created me because you needed someone to talk to, Ragia!
You needed a narrative device to explain things like… like Kivile, because you are too cool to do exposition.
You need me!
"I need a drink," Ragia muttered. "And I need answers."
"Why did Lacrosse end up in a Gyra? Why did the Vixia squad vanish? If The Writer didn't write that... then who did?"
Maybe the universe fills in the blanks, Ragia.
Maybe chaos creates its own villains.
"Oh… thank you very much. That is comforting," Ragia said sarcastically. "So I am fighting a randomized dungeon generator. Great."
You wanted chaos, Ragia..
And…
You got it.
Ragia sat back down. He looked at the empty screen where the tactical map used to be.
"I just want to keep them safe," Ragia whispered. "Iya… Arala… Explorer 7… yeah, all of them. I thought if I took control, I could protect them.
"But now... I feel like there are shadows in the corners that I didn't put there."
You looked vulnerable. It was rare to see you like this. Usually, you hid behind jokes and bravado.
You are doing fine, Ragia.
I said it, because I am trying to be supportive. You saved them from the Krall today.
"For now," Ragia said.
"Hey." The voice cut through our private conversation.
Ragia jumped. He spun the chair around.
Tonix was sitting at the helm. She had stopped spinning her pen.
She was looking right at… Ragia.
"Who are you talking to, Capt?" Tonix asked. Her face was pale.
Ragia blinked. He put on his best innocent face.
"Nobody, Navi," Ragia lied smoothly. "Just... thinking out loud. Capt's stuff. Strategy."
Tonix didn't look convinced. She stood up slowly. She walked toward him.
"You were arguing," Tonix said.
"With him." She pointed a finger at the empty air near Ragia's head.
Ragia froze.
"Him?" Ragia asked carefully.
"The voice," Tonix whispered. She looked terrified. "The one that describes things. The one that was talking about the porridge recipe earlier. The one you told to shut up."
Ragia's jaw dropped.
"You..." Ragia stammered. "You can hear him?"
"I have been hearing him since Jupiter," Tonix admitted. She hugged herself, looking around the empty room. "He is sarcastic. He has a deep voice. And he talks to you. And you talk back."
She looked at Ragia with wide eyes.
"Capt... why is there a man narrating our lives?"
Ragia looked at me.
I looked at Ragia.
Wait…
What?