Adrift

He has me hauled to the bridge. (*My* bridge, technically – I let it slide.) No one objects; Burns’s expression does not invite team input.

He takes an underling’s weapon and pistol whips me – shuts me up before I say anything more. Victory feels a lot like a broken tooth. Ow.

Solution: I beg. For my life, my crew, my ship, my daughter. I beg to reveal what’s going on; throw wary looks at the others in the airlock.

The problem: he can’t ask me for anything in front of his people – comes across weak. Hell, some are twitching because I’m not dead already.

Educated guess: he wants to gut me on the deck of my own ship, AND wants what I know about Kaetlyn’s mission. Has to be an angle I can use.

I know Burns – better than I’d like, and well enough to regret. Right now, he’s stalling because he wants two mutually exclusive things.

I think about Kaetlyn, mixed up with Burns. I’d much prefer him morbid and apocalyptic instead. There: the upside to a revenge crucifixion.

Really, the answer to that is obvious: Burns is violent, territorial, and vindictive – yes. Creepy – no. Which means he knows about Kaetlyn.

I have to wonder why he keeps making references to fanatics and martyrs. Is he part of whatever Kaetlyn’s involved in, or just being creepy?

He also enjoys cooking analogies, which is disturbing. The pointed religious analogies are a new addition to his repertoire, however… Hmm.