A Promise of Iron by Brandon McCoy (the reading list .txt) 📕

silencing her. “Let me start by saying those that pay the rent, so to speak, are eager for something,” he gestured with his hands, “tangible. You understand, don’t you?”

She nodded slowly, dissecting his words for all their subtle implications. “Captain, I can assure you that I am close. I just need a little bit more time to—”

“Dr. Leeland was dispatched from the mainland yesterday,” he said. “We will be rendezvousing with the Melban tomorrow afternoon.” He stuck another piece of steak in his mouth and chewed.

She looked down at her plate, then pushed it aside. “Captain, respectfully, that is a mistake. I have been on this project from the beginning; I found it; I deserve to be here to see it through.”

“Ms. Vanfort—”

“Doctor,” she interrupted.

“Yes, my apologies. Dr. Vanfort, no one is disputing your contribution to the project. Without your expertise, the book would still be lost, and we would think nothing of this little mystery.” He pushed his plate next to hers, then folded his hands. “But the fact remains it has been several months, and there has been little to show for those efforts. Our benefactors, your benefactors, need to see progress.”

“And they think Leeland is going to give them that?”

“Doctor, I’m a military man. I come from a military family. Every day I eat the same meal for breakfast that I have for the past twenty years. I make my bed daily and polish my boots at the end of every shift.” He looked around the room, then turned back to her. “I don’t presume to know how you science types do…whatever it is you do…. I give orders and I follow orders.”

He placed his hand over hers. “Now, I’m sure there are some special accommodations that can…”

She pulled her hand away and crossed her arms.

He pushed his chair back from the desk and stood. “Well…Right now, my orders are to meet with the Melban, take on Dr. Leeland, and turn control of this project over to him. Your orders are to assist in that transition. Are we going to have a problem with that?”

There was a finality to his words, accentuated by the neatness of his beard and squareness of his jaw. Leeland would take this project. He would discover what she discovered. She would be pushed out, credit stolen, and any hope of restoring her family’s reputation stolen with it.

She looked at the book and considered something she didn’t want to consider.

“Captain, there is something I think I should show you.”

He looked at her, his eyes hungry.

She turned over the cover of the book and placed her hands on either side.

“Book,” she whispered.

The captain leaned in, staring at the blank pages. “Am I supposed to be seeing something he…”

“Just wait,” she said. “Sometimes, it takes a few minutes.”

She counted the seconds until they became minutes.

“Faerin,” she said. “Faerin, speak to me.”

Nothing happened.

“Doctor, if this is some kind of joke—”

“It’s not usually like this. Here I can show you.” She held up her glass tablet. “Isaac, play the last two minutes of recording.”

Her device chirped. “Yes, madam.”

The screen filled with an image of the open book, her hands on either side, just as they were before. “Play at any time, Isaac.”

“My apologies, madam, but the recording is playing.”

She shook her head. “That can’t be right, Isaac. Go back an hour.”

“Yes, madam.”

The device chirped, and though the screen flickered for a moment. It was the exact same image as before.

“Isaac, is this from my personal drive?”

“Yes, madam.”

“Doctor,” the captain said, “you understand that the use of a personal—”

“Never mind that,” she said, waving her hand. “Isaac, can you analyze the file? Is it corrupted? Did we lose something in the feed?”

“Madam, everything appears normal. You have many hours of data saved; this is what your optical sensor retrieved when you began recording. Would you like to play it on hollow, perhaps it will—”

“No, Isaac just…let me think.”

“Doctor, as amused as I’m sure you are, I am not what you would call a humorous man.”

“Captain, I have spent the better part of the past two days reading the account of a man who died over ten thousand years ago. I can’t explain the process, or why he… he didn’t answer my questions, but… but he was there. He told me of—”

The captain raised his hand. “Elizabeth, because I knew your father, I am going to pretend that this conversation never took place. I suggest you get yourself cleaned up, get some sleep, then pull yourself together if you want to retain any involvement in this project.” He stepped towards the door.

“Wait! Captain!” she shouted, grabbing the silver letter opener from her desk. “I can prove it!” She jammed the knife into her palm then squeezed her hand over the book. Blood pooled around her fist and dropped onto the page.

“Have you lost your mind?” the captain said, rushing towards her. “Daniel, get in here!”

She held her fist firm over the book letting drop after drop fall to stain the open page. She held the knife between her and the captain.

The captain stepped closer. “Give me the knife, Elizabeth.”

“Just wait,” she whispered. “Just wait.”

Daniel stormed in. “Eliz… my God.” He slowed, his arms wide at either side. “Elizabeth, Liz, Lizzy, it’s Daniel….”

She looked up at him.

“Hey there,” he soothed. “Let’s just take a deep breath here, huh?” He stepped closer, putting himself between her, her knife, and his captain. “There we go… easy now. Why don’t you let me take that knife for you?”

Her arm began to shake as tears formed and fell to the page. “I… I don’t understand it…I…”

“Shhh,” Daniel hushed. “It’s okay. I understand, just let me take that knife for you, wouldn’t want you to hurt anybody with that now, would we.”

She looked at the knife in her hand, then dropped it in horror. “Oh, God, what have I done.”

Daniel snatched the knife and tossed it across the room.

“Put her in the brig. Make sure there is nothing in there she can hurt herself with,”