The Last Starship by Marcus Riddle Page B

head in frustration. He watched as the enemy fleet disappeared into the distance, and tried to work out what his next step was going to be. “I want to stay here for a little while longer. I don’t trust Kabex. He might come back if we head back to New York straight away.”
    Sagin nodded. “I agree with you, Captain. I shall split my forces. Half shall go back to Earth so we can begin the hunt for Kabex’s forces while the other half shall stay up here. Will you give me permission to talk to them from here as it would be easier than going to them?”
    “Of course, you have permission.” Jake grinned at Sagin. “You're our ally.”
     

Chapter 14
     
     
     
     
     
    “Kabex left? Simple as that?”
    “Yes, that’s what happened.” On the screen, Jake looked and sounded as worried as Joanne felt. “I want to stay up here for another night, just to make certain he won’t come back, and then I’ll return to New York. Sagin’s forces are up here.”
    “Good. I want the Atlantis up there.”
    “Trusting the aliens isn’t an easy thing to do, is it?”
    “No, it’s not, and I’m not going to trust anyone until I can be sure they're telling me the whole truth. How do we know the confrontation between Sagin and Kabex wasn’t just an elaborate hoax?”
    “At the moment we don’t, and I’m not confident we can know until the end of all this. Sagin has been doing his best not to mess with our emotions, and I want to believe him, but I don’t know if that’s because he has been playing with my emotions.”
    “Tobias is working with some scientists to create something to protect us from that.”
    “One of the things I’m worrying about is the way he was playing with our emotions before. He wanted us to be scared of the Emperor.”
    “Did he?” Joanne paused to consider the comment. “We can’t be certain it was Sagin. There might still be one of the enemy aliens here, the one who might have convinced the Emperor’s personal assistant to kill him, and I’ve been keeping an eye out for both of them. I’m still sitting in the throne room because it’s the safest place. There's only one door in and out. The other rooms have multiple doors. Tobias said I could lock them, but how do I know the Emperor’s personal assistant doesn’t have the keys?” She shook her head. “It may seem strange to everyone else, but I’m much more comfortable here.”
    “Well, you haven’t been attacked yet.”
    “No - so far I’ve been fine, and I don’t know how to feel about it. Whoever killed the Emperor is still around. People believe it was the personal assistant and, considering the way no one can contact him, I’m beginning to think it’s the most likely scenario.” She heard a noise. “Give me a second, Jake. There are strange noises.”
    Jake fell silent, and Joanne listened carefully. She wanted to know what was happening. She needed to know.
    She stood, edged closer to the door, and then it opened, revealing Tobias.
    “Hi, Jo.” He smiled. “I have someone we’ve been looking for.” He pulled that someone into the room. “This is the former Emperor’s personal assistant.”
    “I do have a name, you know?”
    Tobias frowned. “This is Teresa.”
    “I thought the Emperor’s personal assistant was a man?” Joanne asked.
    “No, you assumed that, and I didn’t say anything to change your mind.” Tobias looked at Teresa. “Talk to Jo. Jo will help you if you’re honest with her.”
    Teresa’s eyes met with Joanne’s. “There was a time when I was little more than a street child who got lucky. I'd met Henry before he was Emperor. I'd picked his pocket, and he could've thrown me to the wolves. Instead, he decided I could work off the debt I owed him. At the time, I had no idea what he wanted from me or that he planned on becoming Emperor. But I knew working for him was better than ending up in prison again, so I did what he wanted me to.”
    “You’re trying to tell me the Emperor did