3.06 - Enough

“Can you detach us from the cannon before it blows?” Daniel said.

“Yes, but like the snake said we won’t have the Onean shield—that I cleverly deployed—to protect us,” Rachel-7 said.  

“I’m still not falling for it,” Alitma said.

“So we either  take our chances with Alitma’s cannons or we see if the Afterthought can withstand a supernova-sized explosion?” Daniel said.

"It cannot," Trak said, trying to be helpful.

“We know!” Rachel-7 said and sighed. “But yes, Daniel, that's about the size of it. Though I’m not sure—”

“Enough!” Alitma yelled, his voice echoing through the Afterthought’s cabin. “My crew may be taken in, but I refuse to listen to any more of your lies!”

Alitma took a deep breath, regained composure, and spoke more slowly.

“For the sake of argument, let’s assume the cannon can explode—which it can’t. Even if it could ignite and kill us all, I know for a fact that you will not use it.”

Alitma rose from his chair and began pacing his ship’s bridge.

“Yes, Daniel might be stupid enough to kill himself in some foolhardy attempt to be a hero. And the Aye? She’s crazy enough to go along.”

“Hmmph,” Rachel-7 said, indignant.

“But Trak is a different matter,” Alitma said.

Alitma stopped his pacing and moved closer to the viewscreen, his gaze fixed on the mechanical life form at Daniel’s side. “I am aware of your … interesting history, Mek.”

Alitma paused to let the words sink in.

Daniel stopped watching the cannon’s energy readings on his eyescreen. He knew he should be looking for a way out of their current “strapped-to-a-40-story-tall-cannon-turned-bomb” predicament, but his curiosity was too strong.

Alitma knows something about Trak’s past?