“Attention crew of the starship Daedlus,” Zai said, “this broadcast is now being received in all parts of the ship and can not be interrupted. I am Zai, last of the Raath and this ship belongs to me. I came to your planet one year ago and offered the leaders of your world the opportunity to use it to fight the Spectral Horde. Everything you have been told about this ships origin and its technology is a lie. The only thing the Solar Fleet contributed was a new coat of paint. The Daedlus is the last Raath warship in existence as I am the last Raath warrior in existence. Understand this; I have not come here for altruistic reasons. I am here because That Which I Serve commanded me. That Which I Serve has sent me not to save or aid humanity, but to judge you. Most of you are on this ship because of me. I selected the crew of the Daedlus. I selected you to serve as the example of humanity to prove if you deserve to be saved. I will be watching. If you prove to be worthy, I will continue to aid you and help you defeat the Spectral Horde. But if you prove to be unworthy, I will take my ship and leave you to whatever fate the Spectral Horde intends for you. And have no doubt that without this ship you will not be able to win. You may continue to conduct yourselves in any manner you wish but no one on Earth is to know of my existence. Any attempts to send a message about me or to make a recording of me and send it to Earth will be intercepted and destroyed. I can monitor everything on this ship. I have defeated two of your greatest soldiers with ease. Only one of them was smart enough not to take on an unknown foe. Do not make any attempt to attack me or disable me or take control of this ship away from me. I am Raath and the consequences will be severe. I will no longer hide in shadow. I will walk the ship in plain view for all to see. You have no secrets from me. Fear me if you feel you must but I will do no harm to you as long as you do not attempt to harm me or each other. That is all.”
With a gesture of his arm the arm device flipped shut and Zai put his mask back on. The silver liquid crawled over his scalp and reformed the helm. Zai walked out of the gym through the main door. Regular control of the camera was restored but any footage of Zai was gone. Junitha’s eyes followed Zai as he left but she did not move from the spot where she was standing. Janessa went to Junitha’s side.
“Why would he do this?” said Junitha.
In his suite Vanz Kerrigan sat in his office and looked at the now blank screen. Anyantha Whitecross stood right by him and said, “Mr. Kerrigan, what does this mean?”
All Kerrigan could say was, “Fuck.”
In the command and control center the command crew asked Commander Duron Ardiniero what they were going to do about this. All Duron said was, “this was not part of the agreement. He lied to us.”
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