Powerful engines hummed overhead, as the battle scarred Gunboat Tartarus landed on the emergency pad on the roof of Myrtos Villa, Benitez headquarters.
Alandra was in a hangar below, working on her new Titan, when she heard the audible thud as the heavy ship touched down on the roof of the building.
The roof pad was never used; it was kept clear for emergencies. Alandra new this, and immediately dropped her tools, before heading up the long staircase to the top of the building.
She stepped out onto the roof, and her eyes where met by the dark jagged hull of her father's gunboat.
A bald man in his late twenties stormed towards her. "Out of my way, girl" he barked as she stumbled to one side.
She recognised the man, of course. Cezar Moreno, the hot-headed tactical officer of the Tartarus, and Carlos' co-pilot when he used his bomber. She'd only met him a few times, not out of choice, given the disdainful look the man normally gave her.
She shouted after him; "Where's my dad?". Cezar made no effort to reply.
She stood, staring up at the bridge of the warship, but she couldn't see her father up there. She knew he'd gone with the crew to meet with and escort a Light-Arms convoy that was headed to Crete. Trade ships matching the description of that convoy had landed at the outside docking area a few minutes before. Still; why was Moreno in such a hurry, and where was Carlos?
Soon, her questions where answered. The rest of the crew of her father's mighty warship emerged. First, she saw the young face of the communications technician; Julio Tovar, but she saw behind him something she did not expect.
He was followed by two muscular engineers; Adan and Quinto Benitez, at either side of a struggling middle-aged man, eyes darting round in their sockets, face dripping with sweat. Her father was being restrained by his engineers, struggling to break free. He looked quite mad.
"What the hell is going on? Let go of him!" she shouted.
Julio took her to one side.
"Alandra, we know you care about your dad, but they're not harming him. He's having some kind of episode. We need to get him somewhere secure until he calms down." Julio looked sincere. "Go to the Don's office. Cezar will be in there. He'll explain everything."
Julio turned to the engineers. "Take him to his quarters and tie him down. We don't want him to hurt himself. And for god's sake, try not to let anyone see you. The last thing we need is the Brotherhood finding out about his condition."
Alandra glanced back at her struggling father, and then returned to the building.
She approached the door to her father's office, and swung it open. Cezar Moreno was sitting at Carlos' desk, on her father's computer.
"What the hell are you doing?" she demanded.
Moreno rose from his seat, leaned forward and glared at the girl in front of him.
"Carlos is very ill, as you will have seen."
Alandra interrupted. "Who the hell do you think you are, going through his personal files?"
Cezar seemed to rise further, as if trying to intimidate the young woman.
"His condition could be the death of him, or at the very least the death of his reputation, if word of it gets out. I need to find out exactly who knows about this, and weather he is under the care of any doctors.
In short, girl, I'm too busy to deal with you."
Alandra felt fury surge. "You have no right to be in this office. This is a family matter. If Carlos had wanted you to be involved in his care he would have told you about his condition weeks ago, and you'd have no need to go searching on his computer."
Cezar barked back. "You are not the only one who cares about Carlos, girl. If you give a damn about him, you'll tell me what you know."
Alandra backed down. "I've known about his condition for about a month now. I told him to see a doctor. The only other person who suspects he may have an illness is Gentle, leader of the Omega Pirates Guild."
Cezar's expression barely softened, and his tone of voice diddn't change. "By all accounts, Gentle even more unstable than Carlos."
Alandra continued. "My father finally agreed to see a doctor a few weeks ago, and contacted someone working for Cryer on Atka. Contact detains will be on the computer.
Cezar glanced down at the display, then back at Alandra. He stared at her, in the eye, as if beaconing her to leave. She stood her ground.
After a few long seconds, Cezar sat down again and hit afew buttons on the keypad. He tilted the screen to allow Alandra to see the display. "Let's see if this doctor of his picks up..."
![[Image: H1mZW7e.md.png]](https://iili.io/H1mZW7e.md.png)