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Sable has been playing a one-sided game here, which is to be expected,
because for the longest time, Silveon was too. A few months ago, Waldemar
revealed to her that he had been seeing and interacting with his late wife.
Either he is sparse on the details, or Sable didn’t relay everything to
Silveon when she told Silveon about it yesterday. He doesn’t know why she
waited this long, but he can’t argue with her about it. They have a very
fragile partnership, and it’s the only one he has, so he doesn’t want to
lose it.
He asked Sable for more information, but she didn’t give it. He doesn’t know
how this is changing Waldemar. Their relationship has grown more
strained over time as the latter focuses on maintaining his power, and his
relationship with Sable. They are probably more or less in a holding
pattern, though. He is coming up on a crossroads in his career. In the
original timeline, Waldemar threw the rule book out the airlock, and
declared himself the One True Captain of Extremus, Eighth of Eight. His
acolytes came up with the chant, “eight! Eight! Eight!” When spoken out
loud, it sounded like they were saying hate, hate, hate, which in a
way, they were very much saying exactly that.
Out of all of their goals, this is the big one. In five years, his and
Audrey’s hard work will either pay off, or fail. Will Waldemar do what he
did before, or will he follow procedure, and step to the side for a new
captain? They were never trying to make him into a saint, but if they can
end the tyranny, all of their sacrifices might prove worth it. The question
for Silveon right now, though, is who or what is Audrey? He has a decent
idea, but he doesn’t want to go digging around to confirm it, because it
could mess with what’s happening. He needs to better understand what this
Audrey ghost is telling Waldemar, so they know if she’s a threat to the
plan, or a boon. It’s gonna be tricky.
“Hey, W,” Silveon says when the door opens for him. “What’s up?”
“What did you want, Sil?” Waldemar questions. He doesn’t sound happy, but he
doesn’t sound mad either. He’s concentrating on whatever is on his table at
the moment.
This is where Silveon has to be careful. If the Audrey who Waldemar is
seeing isn’t the least bit real—like a temporal echo from the past, or a
mental projection—and if Waldemar knows that it’s only in his head,
Silveon’s next words will be an obvious lie. He might be able to save face,
but it depends on the wording he chooses. “I wanted to talk to someone, and
I think you’re the only one who may understand. You cared about her as much
as I; or more, rather. I can’t trust anyone else.”
Waldemar freezes but stays on his tablet. “Cared about who?”
“Audrey,” Silveon answers. “I’ve been...seeing her. Kind of in the corner of
my eye? She doesn’t talk. I thought it was only in my head, but it’s just
too real. She’s older, ya know? She’s aged like us even though she’s been
gone for so long already. I dunno, I mean, my brain could certainly conceive
of that, but stranger things have happened too. Maybe...maybe it’s real. Do
you think she could be real?”
Waldemar stares at the man who he once called a friend, and is now becoming
a stranger by the day. He stares for a long time. “Of course not, Silveon.
Audrey’s dead. Time travel is illegal. It’s the only set of laws I never
touched. Go see a psychologist.”
Shit. Their trust is gone completely. Well, at least he’s not angry, or
becoming violent. Still, he’s playing this close to the vest, which means
that Sable remains the only hope they have of getting through to him, and
averting his dark fate.
Silveon shakes his head, bids his farewell, then respectfully bows out of
the room.
He returns to his own quarters, defeated. Life should have an
undo button.
“Hey,” a voice says from behind him. It’s Audrey. “We need to talk.”
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