Free Their Solitary Way by JN Chaney

sat in his office, tapping the side of his desk, trying to figure out what his next move. After talking with Cain last night, he’d spent the evening debating his next move. He’d hoped for an epiphany this morning, but nothing came. No revelation or brilliant idea. No new evidence. No other leads. Nothing.
    If only Uriel weren’t on the bridge , he thought. I could use someone to talk to . Maybe he’d call her later and ask for some advice. Then again, she might be too busy helping his father with the mission, and he didn’t want to cause a problem. Preparing the Eden for the next phase of the plan was vital.
    But so was this, he knew. If he didn’t find the one responsible, more people might die. If the wrong part of the ship got hit, the last of humanity would cease to exist.
    All of them destroyed. The end.
    He folded his arms and placed his head on them, sighing. Maybe he was overreacting. The entire thing could simply be a series of accidents, just like they kept telling him. He might be completely wrong about everything.
    His communicator beeped. He touched the screen, and was surprised to see his brother Abel appear. “Seth, where are you?”
    “In my office. Why?”
    “I went by your room looking for you. Don’t go anywhere. I’ll come to you.”
    “You’re stopping by Security?” asked Seth.
    “Yeah. Wait for me,” he said, before cutting out.
    “Great,” muttered Seth. “Another distraction.”
    A few minutes later, Abel arrived with a hurried look on his face. “We need to talk,” he said, quickly taking a seat across from Seth’s desk.
    “About what?”
    “We had another blackout.”
    “When? Today?” asked Seth.
    “Less than an hour ago.”
    Seth turned the computer on and checked the logs. Sure enough, a report from section thirteen.
    “Hey, are you listening to me?” asked Abel.
    “Yeah, I am,” said Seth. “Doesn’t look like anyone was hurt.”
    “No, they didn’t. No disasters this time, but who knows when the next will be? That’s why I’m here, Seth. I need to know what you’re doing.”
    “What I’m doing?” he asked.
    “I know you’re talking to people. Have you got anything? The engineers already swept section thirteen, so they’re stumped. No one understands it.” Abel leaned forward. “It has to be sabotage.”
    Seth wanted to say he agreed, but kept his opinion to himself. His brother seemed wired. No reason to add more wood to that fire. “It’s hard to say.”
    “Have you talked to Cain yet?”
    The question took him by surprise. “Yeah, but—”
    “Well? What’s the story?”
    “He’s clean. He has an alibi.”
    “An alibi?” asked Abel. “Does it check out?”
    “It’s good enough,” said Seth.
    His brother stared at him, waiting. “And?”
    “What?”
    “Aren’t you going to tell me what it is?”
    “I can’t do that. It’s private information.”
    “I don’t care what it is. Lives are on the line, Seth.”
    “I understand that, but he asked me not to tell anyone. It’s personal.”
    Abel laughed. “You’ve got to be kidding me. This is so typical . If he has a good excuse, he needs to come clean with it. He can’t—”
    “I’m the ranking security officer on this ship. He told me , and that’s good enough. Father doesn’t have to know the details. Neither do you.”
    Abel leaned back in the chair and scoffed. “How can you sit there and defend him without giving a reason?”
    “Because it’s my job,” said Seth.
    “He’s my brother, too. I’ve got a right to know.”
    “Not right now, you don’t. I’m sorry, Abel. He deserves his privacy.”
    “I’ll go ask him myself.”
    “Leave him alone,” said Seth. “It’s none of your business.”
    “Of course it’s my business! Dozens of people are dead. If we don’t do something, that number could rise.” He rose to his feet, knocking his chair on the floor. “You’ve always been soft on Cain. Maybe it’s blinding you to the truth. I’ll go talk to