Draxon Vale had joined Mahok’s crew more than a year ago, and believed himself well on the path to setting himself up as his right hand and confidant. He had enforced Mahok’s orders ruthlessly and without doubt, taken care of the dirty work, and only waited for the First Officer who currently held the position to make a mistake so he could replace him. 

When Mahok had begun loading the shuttle and determining who was to come with him, he had fully expected to be one of those valuable enough to travel with him. The rejection pierced his self-image and unraveled the future he had built in his mind. 

Despite having his back turned to the remaining crew, he could still feel the smug expression on their faces, each satisfied glance a personal insult he was unwilling to let go. They were happy to see him denied his rightful place, content with their fate as long as they dragged him with them.

His jaw and the hand around his weapon tightened as though he would strangle it in frustration, and he kept his expression stern and unreadable while his emotions rose, a seething mixture of betrayal and fear. 

The shuttle departed, its destination unknown, as it carried Mahok and his most valued assets to safety. And for a moment, no one dared say a single word. A pull gnawed at the back of Draxon’s mind – if he didn’t act now, someone else would. And he became aware that he now held the leadership position he always strived for, but never held.

“You heard what he said”, he barked, straightening with a sudden surge of power as he turned to the group, instinctively raising the phase rifle he had been carrying. “Make preparations!”

He was in command now, and because making plans was not his strongest skill, he defaulted to what he knew – and that was to follow Mahok’s directive. 

His order hung in the air, thick and uncomfortable, until the first movements broke it. 

Some nodded their assent, others lowered their gaze, and some stood frozen. That was until someone spoke up. 

“And how do you suppose we are going to do that?”

The voice belonged to Kira Halden, the dark-skinned senior engineer. She was the one person Draxon hated most, a woman with whom he shared a long and complicated history. Always defying him, always making him look small as she questioned his orders with a raised brow and the tone of a disappointed parent scolding an unreasonable child. 

His throat tightened at her comment, causing him to lose valuable seconds to reply, and giving her the momentum to continue. 

“Pretend that one woman – one injured and malnourished woman, might I add – has kept us all against her will? No one will buy that.” Halden continued, earning herself a few glances from the other crew members. 

“What’s the alternative?” Draxon growled, cursing himself for allowing Halden to question his authority and orders. 

“Blame Mahok. Simple.”, she replied, her tone steeped in condescension. 

Draxon’s first instinct was to aim his weapon and put an end to this discussion, but he doubted that the others would react well to that, and it was far too risky to have the crew descend into chaos. He needed them to trust him and follow his orders. 

He swallowed hard, and struggled to keep his voice calm as he replied. 

“You’re smarter than that, Halden. The boss gave us a lifeline, and if we play it smart, we’re out of this mess. No one is going to believe us if we start pointing fingers at a man who is already gone.”, he argued back.

Halden scoffed at that. “We have evidence. Logs, manifests – they might even be able to trace the shuttle. We can prove that we were just following orders.”

“Following orders?” Draxon laughed bitterly. “That’s not an excuse Starfleet will accept, and you know that. We were all complicit.”

“Complicit?” Halden snapped. “You know damn well some of us didn’t have a choice. You think I was happy keeping this ship running while they butchered those people?”

She wasn’t wrong – Halden had fought tooth and nail when they had taken and repurposed the ill-fated ship she had worked on, refusing to work for the people who had slaughtered her crew.
She would have been executed and discarded had it not been for the fact that they had lost their last senior engineer only days prior. Mahok had spared her. It had taken weeks for Halden to settle into her new life, but now…

“You happily took your salary.” Draxon shot back. “And believe me, sooner or later, our newest addition would have, too.” 

“What happens if the scapegoat talks?”, someone in the back piped up. Draxon didn’t bother to look.

“Then we need to make sure we ALL say the same thing.”, he snapped. His patience was beginning to fray, and the constant questioning was starting to get under his skin.

“What if we just try to get away from here?”, asked the same voice again, and this time, Draxon turned to look at the source of his growing annoyance, finding it in Rynn Morrow, one of the physicians.

He was about to reply when Halden cut in. 

“Outrun Starfleet?”, she asked with a frown and a slight shake of her head. 

“Head into a nebula, hide there.”, Rynn nodded. 

“They have a far better equipped ship than hours, they will find us eventually.”, Halden explained calmly, and her voice lost its condescending tone she took with Draxon. 

Which, in turn, angered Draxon even more. He grit his teeth, attempting to stay calm.  

But his patience was wearing thin. “Do what you are told! The longer we waste on this useless discussion, the less time we have.”

“You’ve yet to tell me anything!” Halden replied dispassionately. “Other than to ‘make preparations’.”  “Make changes to the logs! Fabricate evidence, I don’t care. Make it believable.”, Draxon yelled, his eyes now wide and mouth almost foaming. 

Halden remained calm. She gave a dismissive scoff, and gestured to several of the group’s members, who immediately followed her out of the shuttle bay.

Draxon stood there, still clutching his rifle, his mind racing. He should have shot her. And somewhere deep down, he feared that she was right.

Kira Halden couldn’t stand to look at Draxon’s face for any moment longer. Every word out of his mouth tempted her to roll her eyes, and while she wasn’t a violent person – she didn’t want to be – there were moments where hitting him square in the face and tossing him out of an airlock felt downright therapeutic. 

Halden shook her head, continuing her path through the dimly lit corridor that would eventually lead them to the bridge. If only they could work together… The past was a closed chapter for her – she had long made her peace with the decisions she had made to survive. But no, he was too thick for that. 

Once they were far enough from the shuttle bay to avoid being overheard, she let out a sharp, frustrated sigh.

“Tell me.”, she said, glancing at Rynn Morrow, who had accompanied her. “Is there a correlation between strength and lack of intelligence? Do his muscles use up all the oxygen so there isn’t any left for his brain?”

The younger woman blinked, and then offered a careful smirk. “Possible.” 

Tarrik Solan, usually quiet and reserved, grinned. “If that’s the case, it would explain a lot about Draxon.”

Halden snorted. “It’s like arguing with a replicator, though the replicator probably has more common sense.” 

Rynn rubbed the back of her neck, lowering her voice. “He’ll snap if he hears you talking like that…”

“Let him”, countered Halden. “He’s already losing it. The only thing that keeps him in charge is that rifle he’s waving around. If he were to use his tiny brain and think for a moment… well. I mean, how will he, in specific, tell anyone that one woman kept him in line? He’s the one carrying the weapon, and weighs twice as much as she does.”,

“It doesn’t make a lot of sense.”, agreed Tarrik, and Rynn, who had fallen silent, gave a small nod.

They reached the bridge, which was essentially deserted after Mahok’s departure. Only Erek Vinn, their pilot, had remained. 

“Any signs of the Starfleet vessel?”Halden asked him, and the young man turned around to her. His red eyes betrayed that he hadn’t taken the turn of events particularly well.

“We have about ten minutes until they will at the very least attempt to hail us. If they don’t just open fire.”

“It’s Starfleet. They won’t fire unless necessary.”, Halden said and leaned against a console. Ten minutes wasn’t much time. 

“What do you want to do?” Rynn asked. Halden was not sure if this was a question of tactics or morality.  

“I don’t just want to blame Arys.”, she replied plainly, letting that sink in. 

“What’s that sudden sense of justice?”, Tarrik commented. 

“Justice? Oh you know me better than that.”, Halden said and rolled her eyes. “I don’t give a damn about the woman. We had a good enough thing going on here, and she ruined it. I want it to be believable, that’s all. I don’t want to just blame her.”

“What do you propose?”, asked Rynn, though from the look of her face, she already knew the answer. 

Halden pushed off the console and straightened.

“One scapegoat isn’t enough”, she noted slowly, the words forming as her mind formulated a plan. “We need to spread the blame around. Make it look like a system, not one single woman who masterminded this whole mess.” 

“You’re talking about implicating the others.”, Tarrik caught on. 

“Not all of them. Just enough to make the lie stick.”, Halden replied coolly. “How many of us are left? Seven? Nine? Nine people against one woman – no one would buy it. But the three.. four… of us against a larger system…. Now that’s a holodrama I’d be invested in.”

“Yeah, but… how?” Rynn asked. She didn’t look happy with this at all. And Halden didn’t need her to be.

“Fabricate a new story.”, she shrugged.  “Arys and Mahok were working together. One of us sent the broadcast, and the situation escalated. Guards got shot, Arys did too, Mahok fled.”

“You are talking about killing Draxon.”, said Erek, who thus far had been quiet. He didn’t seem particularly upset about the idea, just a little reluctant to get his hands dirty. 

“Yes. Same for anyone who is a danger to our survival.”

“I’ve never killed anyone!”, Rynn exclaimed, taking a step back. 

“It’s easier than it looks.”, Halden shrugged. “But I’ll do it myself. I need you, Rynn, to check on our ‘Captain’, make sure she is alive, but not alive enough to talk. Tarrik, I need records. Make sure no one can delete the departure of the shuttle, and add Arys into the log files.”

“Got it.”, both nodded.

“What do I do when Starfleet hails us?”, Erek interjected, eager to solidify his place within the group. 

“Lower the shields and tell them to ‘help’ us. Say there has been a rebellion.”, Halden responded, and paused for a moment. She didn’t know Erek well, and his loyalty was fragile at best. She needed to find a way to assure him that their best chance for survive was sticking together, and to the same story.

“Tell them you sent the broadcast.” 

“R-… really?” Erek stammered, his already bulging eyes widening further.

“Yes.”, Halden replied smoothly. “You’re part of the team now.”

And with assignments given, there was only one thing to do – follow through. And make sure they survived.