He would make her talk, though.
Once out of the cell and not feeling as much pain as before, Hel had regained a bit of her arrogance. Not the full measure she'd shown before he'd taken the dreadnought, but enough to be annoying.
"What do you think you're going to get out of me, Titan?" she asked. "Do you think I had some sort of special connection to the Ascendant from that cell?"
Alistair had demanded he be alone with her, but Thoreaux had only agreed to it after he’d promised not to beat her to death. Alistair meant to keep that promise. Thoreaux was doing as he'd been told: he was watching his blind spots.
The two of them sat in a medbay alcove. Alistair could get her more meds if needed, but there was enough privacy to allow them to speak freely.
Hel was staring at him, waiting for him to answer her question. Instead of speaking, he touched the small table in front of them. The Ascendant's face popped up in the same holovid as before. "Watch this and don't speak," he instructed.
The recording played through, and Alistair kept his emotions in check this time. He wouldn't let the assassin see what his friends had. Even when his wife showed her face, he didn't tear up.
It ended, and Hel looked up from the table. Her face was still badly bruised, though the fractures had been set and dealt with. She would need more surgery before her beauty returned, but she could speak now, and that was what he wanted. "What do you think is going to happen after seeing that?"
"All of this." She opened her arms to indicate the entire medbay. "For that question? You wanted me to watch that video and tell you what's going to happen? You have to be joking, Titan."
"Don't think because I let you talk, I won't stop it again very quickly." Alistair took a step forward, and the woman raised her hands in defense.
"Calm down, psycho," she said. "I'll tell you what I think. You don't have to be a genius or have any kind of in with the Ascendant to figure out what he's about to do. It would seem the Myrmidons aren't chasing you right now, and who knows what sort of reason drives them to do anything? The Ascendant isn't lying about the dreadnoughts. If you hop into the fourth dimension, you'll see them there. He's sending more, too, and the wife? That threat is simple enough. Do anything he doesn't like, and he'll kill the woman." She shrugged. "You're out of options, Titan. You had a good run, but there wasn't ever any way you were going to overcome them. You knew that."
"You're saying the only reason he has her is to threaten me? That she's there so I'll do what he wants? That's it?"
Hel looked like she almost pitied him. "You poor, poor man. You thought...what? That she had traded on you? Maybe. I don't know. Depends on how brainwashed she is by the Commonwealth. The Ascendant doesn't care about that, though. As long as she fakes what she's supposed to fake, the Ascendant will let her play her game unless you don't surrender."
Alistair just stared at her for a moment. He believed what she was saying. It fit. Only his anger at his wife being used had hidden these simple facts from him. "Is there anything else you can tell me, Hel?"
"I'd give it up if I were you. Save your wife. Maybe save those thousands back on that gods-forsaken planet, too. The Ascendant wants you. No one else."
Alistair put a Clip on Hel, then left the alcove. He found the first droid doctor he saw and said, "Fix her. When you’re done, put her back in the brig."
He exited the medbay and found Thoreaux waiting for him. "Is she—"
"She's fine, bleeding heart," Alistair said as he turned down the hall. "I instructed them to give her medical care and then put her back in the brig. You can stop worrying about that, at least."
"What did she say?" Thoreaux called as Alistair strode away.
"I need time to think. Tell the council to meet me in two standard hours."
Thoreaux had another meeting to attend first, one called by Servia. She didn't want Pro there.
He'd only gone to the medbay to make sure their leader didn't murder that woman. He'd been happy to see the man keep his word, though he would have understood if he’d killed her. Thoreaux didn't want that to happen, but “evil” was the word that described her best.
He watched Pro walk down the corridor and saw Obs join him at the end. The drathe was on patrol, moving around the ship at intervals to make sure no coups were bubbling up.
Obs followed Pro as he turned down another hallway. They'd meet in two hours, and hopefully, he'd have some idea what they were going to do. Thoreaux was at a loss, and now he had to go deal with Servia.
He made his way back to the room where they'd watched the Ascendant’s message. The rest of the council was there: Servia, Faitrin, and the AllMother. Relm was still on the bridge. The other two were seated at the table, while Servia leaned against the wall. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and her face showed her displeasure.
The door shut behind Thoreaux. "He wants to meet with us in two hours. He's doing his thinking thing again." He looked at Servia. "What do you want to talk about?" he asked as if he didn't already know. As if everyone in the room wasn't aware of what this meeting was about.
Servia didn't uncross her arms. "You don't think it's wise to
