Dangerous Confrontation

"I second the motion to instate Commander Alexeyev as the leader of the First Strike squad."

"I Abstain."

"I am against it."

"…"

By the time it went around the table, eleven were for it, five abstained, and ten were against it. It seemed that Alexis would be promoted. Matt and Alexis had been talking with telepathy the whole time in order to discuss this opportunity. The main issue was electing someone to be the acting leader. Matt didn't know people well enough but offered to use his powers to vet the crew.

"Commander Alexis Alexeyev, do you accept this role of Leader for the First Strike squad?"

"Yes, captain. I have a request, though."

"Continue."

"May I return from leave for a few days in order to choose an appropriate candidate?"

"Approved. Now, the next order of business. The homicide of Petty Officer Carlos Lorenz. As you are all aware, Petty Officer Jason Barnes snuck into the medical bay. Once he arrived unseen by any personnel, he arrived at the room where Petty Officer Lorenz was lying in a coma. Barnes then took a pillow and suffocated Lorenz. Before anyone could save him, he had already died from lack of oxygen. Let us begin the discussion of his punishment and resources allocated into investigation."

Matt sat there stunned but didn't dare make any facial expressions. He had been prepping the soldier, who he now knew as Jason Barnes, to kill Lorenz. However, he hadn't seen Jason in two nights. With all that had happened in the last two days, he had put that in the back of his mind. Matt watched the presentation and the timeline of events. It turned out that the call the captain received that day during Matt's interrogation was related to Petty Officer Lorenz.

This explains why the captain had to take back his offer of a promotion. The timing was terrible and instead of helping him go forward, it instead set him back. However, Matt was internally relieved. He looked over at Alexis with a calm face. She had been constantly sending him her thoughts to make sure he didn't panic. She reassured him that he had a full alibi and she would cover for him the nights he went to drink with Barnes.

Although she didn't know what he had been doing, knowing his powers and his late-night meetings, she deduced that he manipulated the events to occur this way. The captain must have brought the two of them in order to reward and threaten them at the same time. The reward for recent events was the promotion. The threat was a possible link between Barnes and Matt. Alexis understood this clearly and locked eyes with the captain for a split second.

{He's too dangerous, Matt. We need to lay low for a while.}

{I think so too. The captain was always several steps ahead. Even if he doesn't blame me for this, he can still stop me from joining the Second Strike squad while making it seem as if he is on our side. I'm afraid he has been using us against Shephard since a month ago when agreed to let me try out for the squad.}

The two of them realized they had been used as chess pieces by the captain. However, there was nothing they could do since they were wrapped up in the situation. Matt and Alexis needed to become stronger and get some leverage. There was nothing they could trust except for each other and Martha. The year long cooldown from the next sub-body was difficult for him. However, it would give him time to build up his foundations. He was not sure what would happen to him this next evolution.

The thing that was bothering Matt the most was the question of why. He did not understand why he was in the center of everything. He thought that perhaps people knew of his secret and were using him, but that didn't make sense. All of the years of living on Earth and the heavy testing he had to go through before joining this mission would have showed his identity.

There were two other possibilities. It was actually Alexis that was the center of all of these things. He was dragged into it because he seems to be an easier target once she was discovered to be pregnant. Perhaps they planned to use their child in the future against her. This thought made him angry that he almost let his facial expression slip during the meeting.

The second possibility was a protagonist effect. He may be perceiving that things are happening to him specifically, but in reality, he is simply ignoring the whole state of the ship. This one is very easy to determine if he takes some time to investigate. If he discovers that there have been movements in various places around the ship against various crewman, then it would mean he is simply tunnel visioned on himself.

Since he has a parasite in his head, everything that happens to him seems like part of a larger conspiracy. However, if he looks at the situation as a whole, it may just be that he is one part of the whole picture. Although depressing, it would mean that Alexis and he would be safe for the time being. Matt decided to spend some time asking around the night shift workers since they saw the ugly side of this mission.

After the discussion about Petty Officer Lorenz ended, the final conclusion was that the investigation would be closed indefinitely. When the final remark came down, the captain gave another meaningful look toward Matt as if saying "You owe me now." Matt didn't respond in any way as if he didn't notice the gesture. Barnes would be locked up in the most secure cell that ran on its own network and power source.

After the briefing on the homicide case concluded, there was a recess. At this time, Alexis and Matt were able to leave. The captain didn't see them before they left so they assumed it was better to be tactful and not make a scene. On their way back, Matt realized that losing Barnes meant he lost his source of Evolution Points. This was a huge headache.

{Can we go see Martha? I'm stressed out about this whole situation and want to stroke her leaves!} Alexis complained.

They made their way straight to the lab. Matt activated his Sense Life like always and casually checked the surrounding area. He had been making sure no one watched him enter the lab. However, when he turned to start unlocking the door, he saw two life signatures. One was clearly Martha's, which he recognized. However, the other one was as intense as Alexis's life signature after becoming a host.

{We've got trouble. Someone strong is in there.}

Alexis nodded and released her sleek combat suit. It unfolded and covered her whole body. Matt opened the door and let her enter first. She quickly entered and moved with precision, utilizing the optimal amount of cover as she proceeded through the lab. Matt followed behind at least ten steps only following after she went to the next spot.

The two of them eventually reached just outside of Martha's holding area where Matt saw the two life signatures. Matt activated Sense Life again and nodded toward Alexis. He had transmitted the image to her and she used that to give an accurate strike. However, a weak thud was heard and a familiar sound started. Matt quickly entered the room with his hands up, moving toward Alexis.

"Willard, we meet again."

Matt saw Willard standing in a dirty t-shirt and pants. He had one of his portable turrets unfolded next to him aiming at Alexis. Martha was hiding in the corner, fearful of Willard. Matt was afraid of this situation happening. He thought that Willard wasn't interested in this. Since he was able to hack the cameras, he would naturally be able to see the original video and audio.

"So, this is what you were carrying with you that day. Anyway, I'm not here to for that. Instead, I am here for you Matthew O'Connely. I did a bit of digging on you. I discovered there is a discrepancy in your files from when you were a child…" Matt and Alexis gave each other a look and tensed up. The Turret seemed to detect their intentions and started sucking up air.

"Around the age of three, there is a trail of missing documents up until the age of sixteen when the trail disappears completely. It took me quite a long time to even discover these blank spots. Quite suspicious Dr. O'Connely…"

{I'll distract him, can you take out the turret?} Matt quickly sent to Alexis. However, something surprised him. Willard's eyes widened and he smiled.

"How exactly do you plan to distract me, O'Connely?" Matt suddenly went cold. He suddenly realized the possibility that Willard was actually the escaped subject. He was foolish to discount him so quickly from the list. Perhaps Matt had been manipulated instead of the other way around.

"Don't be so tense. I could easily recognize your background. The sudden deaths of your loved ones. Your difficulty making friends. Your high level of intelligence. This combined with the carefully hidden information trail is a beacon for me. You see, I experienced the same exact childhood…"

"We are of the same kind, Matthew. I too was experimented on as a child to create the superior human-- an esper!"