“I am at the mercy of your people, Lieutenant.  I cannot defend the blood I have shed before I forced myself to stop.  I wish my eyes had opened sooner.”  He glanced around at their escort.  Their hands rested just above weapons, and their eyes were as hard as death, gazing back at him.  “I wish to do what is right.  The scales will never shift to my favor.  I can only work to shift them to yours.”

Eshrevi hoped that was true, but made no attempt to communicate these feelings. “Keep moving.”, she growled instead and raised her hand to grab his arm, but stopped herself at the last moment.

She took a breath, then another one. Not only was there no point in her current behaviour, it was strategically unwise. Even if she disagreed with Keller and Ceix, she wouldn’t so blatantly defy them.

There was a pause in which both of them simply stared at each other, before Eshrevi’s voice softened, if ever so slightly. “It’s better if as few people as possible see you. The brig will be for their protection as much as yours.”

They. The refugees. Those who had lost everything would tear him, and anything Vaadwuar, apart if they ever got the chance to lay hands on him. Gant knew that. He listened with care and followed the lieutenant as she spoke to him.

“I understand them.”, Eshrevi continued, leading him from corridor to corridor, never passing anyone who wasn’t meant to be there. “But I also know it wasn’t you. No matter the part you had in it. One man with horrible ideas can influence millions, but it’s the masses that make it possible.”

The Vaadwuar indicated with a nod, “The background historical briefings we were given during our training spoke of this having occurred on your planets several times.”  He thought for a moment, “You are unsure as to where I fit into this equation?”

“I just have to figure out which one you are – the man, or the masses. Or both. Or neither.”, Eshrevi admitted. It would make it easier, wouldn’t it? To put a label on him.

The Vaadwuar gave a quiet bow, “Whatever happens, I will be at peace knowing I no longer serve the dark masters that lead our people.  I serve…,” he closed his eyes to find the right word, “you in hopes the stain that covers me will eventually fade…or be cleaned away.”

Eshrevi didn’t know what to reply to that, and fell silent. She didn’t speak a single word for the rest of their journey.

The brig seemed colder than the rest of the deck. The cells didn’t need bars to feel like one, and although they were empty, they never quite felt unoccupied.

“Get in here.”, she told him, this time reaching for his arm and shoving him inside. He complied, and once the force field flickered to life, Eshrevi took another deep breath, expecting her to feel better now that he was locked up.

She didn’t.