It didn’t take them too long to let Laneth have a meal, before grabbing a bottle of fireball and heading to the captain’s quarters. The men gave her some space, keeping far behind, and watched her walking up to the door cautiously.
Laneth slowly approached the door and hesitated, glancing over her shoulder, seeing Hunter, Wolfin and Lindon standing ways away, by the corner, watching her.
«Captain?» Laneth called out. «Can I please speak with you?»
«Leave me alone, all of you.» they heard Serena responding, her voice quiet and seemingly pained.
«Serena, please.» Laneth pleaded. «I wanted your input on some new designs I made…»
«This can wait.»
«I… uh… brought you some of that fireball whiskey you love so much. Can you at least open the door so I could give it to you?»
A silence fell for a good minute, before the door slid open and everyone saw Serena standing there – eyes looking down, her – now short – hair ruffled like it hadn’t been brushed all these days. She was wearing the same clothing she had on when they released her, which made her friends think she hadn’t once used the shower.
The woman offered Serena the bottle, seeing tracks of tears on her face:
«If you don’t want to talk… I can just keep you some company?»
Serena silently took the bottle and made a step back, shaking her head and declining. Laneth looked down, defeated, and suddenly noticed a very small detail no one else has – a few blood stains on the inner thighs, long dried on the clothes. The door slid shut again, leaving Laneth outside in a harsh realisation to the reasons behind Serena’s wish to remain alone all these days.
She turned, glancing at the men and thought if she should be telling them about her terrifying assumption.
Chapter 8. Dinner
Serena watched the helper bot cleaning up the shards of glass left after she smashed the empty bottle against the wall, and the thought of her being all alone, silent and distant from her crew, made her feel even worse than she did before.
She stood, heading to the bathroom and began ripping off the clothes she was given in prison. The helper bot chimed, noting the new field of work.
As soon as she walked into the shower and switched the water on, she felt the need for the water to be scorching hot – to wash off everything that her body had left on it after being under investigation. She spent a few hours curled up on the floor, soaking, thinking of how humiliated and defeated she felt.
When she finally forced herself to her feet and washed the remaining filth off, she got out of the shower and looked at her reflection in the mirror, seeing the jagged, uneven haircut she was given. Grabbing a pair of scissors, she gritted her teeth and began cutting bits of hair, forming a better length and form she could pull off. Though, once the most part was finished, she glanced at the extremely short bits of hair running on her right temple and threw the scissors down, grabbing a trimmer.
Finally, she finished her haircut and looked at herself in the mirror, seeing a shortly shaved right side and the rest of her hair combed to the left side, forming long locks falling to her cheekbone and jaw that made her look like one of the women who fought in Dharna Nole.
Serena looked down, swallowing a lump in her throat.
The defeat hit her harder than everything else. And the raping she had endured was all the more hurtful.
All that humiliation, all that pain… and for what? To get her name cleared? To have a few scumbags incarcerated? She knew not if her effort was anywhere near to finishing the group of Veluthian traitors that seemed to have gotten into things that shouldn’t have been shared with the rest of the Human Universe. However harsh the punishment may be, there will be none that will help her wash off the shame and memories of her body being defiled again and again while she was kept in the prison that was supposed to be up to code.
She walked out of the bathroom, shivering and deciding to distract herself from the uneasy thoughts, and thought if she could borrow some clothes from Cipher, who had a number of Veluthian outfits, but never used them, preferring something he purchased himself. Glancing into his clothing station, she noted the captain’s black and blue outfit Cipher hadn’t put on once, and chose it, altering it to fit her with the help of the automated appendages that were meant to help adjust or fix clothing if it was damaged.
When she dressed up, feeling a little bit more collected, she thought if she would be strong enough to finally face her crew.
«Captain Serena, you are being hailed by a representative of Empress Alathea, High Counsellor Nifin Dal Jalaar.» the deep male voice of SS Growler made Serena flinch. «Will you take the call?»
«Yes.» she said, her voice raspy.
She walked over to the chair in front of the office table and sat down, raising her eyes to the screen. A moment passed and she saw the brightly lit room of the official hailing her. It was a woman, with deep red hair – long and luxurious. Whatever this woman thought of Serena, seeing her in such a pathetic state, it never glanced through the calm and respectful expression on her face.
«Captain Serena Dal Thara-Lyss. I am calling to offer my sincerest apologies for the wrongs committed against you and your crew. Empress Alathea would like to invite you and your men to dinner tonight.» the woman said, a faint and polite smile on her lips. «I hope you’ve had enough time to recover from all of your injuries?»
«Yes, I have.» Serena cleared her throat. «I accept the invitation. Please, forgive me for the short reply…»
«It’s all right, Lady Thara-Lyss. I understand. I shall pass the wonderful news to the empress.» the woman smiled wider. «And I will personally come to escort you to the palace in an hour.»
«I’ll notify my crew. Thank you.»
When the screen turned black, Serena took a bit of time to collect her thoughts before heading to the door. But as soon as she opened it, she saw Hunter sitting right at her doorstep, head hung down, arms lying on his knees. The man obviously wasn’t awake, and Serena spent a minute thinking if she should wake him up – she couldn’t make herself lean down and touch him. After a moment she decided it was easier to slightly kick his boot.
Hunter jolted up immediately, shocked to see her out of the room at all. He reached out to touch her, but she stepped back, tensing up:
«Don’t…» she pushed out of herself, avoiding looking into his eyes. «Please don’t.»
Hunter saw her body trembling and lowered his hands, feeling helpless and not knowing how to help her at all.
«Serena…»
«Just don’t.» the woman headed out.
«Please, talk to me!»
«I’ve been defeated, Hunter. Leave me alone.»
«So what?» he jumped in front of her, his eyes filled with tears of anger and worry. «The best warriors are those who get up and continue the fight!»
«I need to get ready…» the woman stepped to the side and walked around him, not wishing to engage in the conversation. «And you all should too…»
«For what? What the fuck, Serena?»
«We are being invited to dine with the Empress.»
«I don’t give a fuck! Look at me!»
Serena stopped, understanding how difficult it was for her to do what he asked. But she also knew how deeply worried for her he was. Slowly turning to him, she still couldn’t make herself meet his gaze.
«Please…» she pushed out of herself. «We can talk after… I…»
She