Ensign Probus

by Wendie Nordgren

  Cormac and Merick tore their angry glances apart when the lift opened and revealed Captain Alaric, Captain Espanoza, and Commander Bosh.

  “Thank you all for joining me. Please, be seated.” I gestured at my dining table. I thought being in an intimate setting would have the desired effect which was cooperation and a sense of unity. Moving to sit at the table from around the deck were General Cassian, Admiral Galerius, and Inquisitor Licinius, but Inquisitor Beck remained standing by the vid-screen. He was serving as my presenter. Zared and Izaac stood guard. “I’ve asked you all to join me here today in the hopes of us moving forward together in this investigation. If we continue purposefully getting into each other’s ways, we will only be thwarting our efforts to save an innocent life if she still lives.”

  Eric said, “We have been granted permission to cooperate. Based upon what we’ve learned, her name is Katherine Dylan. On her work pass, she’s listed as a hospitality liaison.”

  At my expression, Captain Espanoza said, “A hospitality liaison is a polite way of designating a captain’s hired companion.”

  It was my turn to be surprised.

  Eric said, “Yes, and as such she might know quite a great deal about what happened prior to the execution of the Asylum’s crew. What did the captain know that made him a threat? Was it what we already know, or was it something more?”

  Drex gave a slight nod of his head. Eric was being truthful and verifying what we already knew about her.

  Eli said, “We have verified that the men who we have in custody are the ones who are responsible for those executions. It explains why they may have refused to eliminate Katherine Dylan. Laconian males, even criminally insane ones, abhor violence against females.”

  Eric said, “It seems like you’ve got all of the witnesses you need aboard this vessel. Have you questioned them?”

  Drex said, “Attempts were made to question them, but it proved to be too dangerous. They are not cooperative and have suffered adverse psychological effects presumably from extended over-exposure to hostile telepathic alien control. When paired with their own naturally occurring mental degradation, it has made them volatile and unpredictable.”

  Captain Espanoza smiled at Drex. “What I think he’s trying to say is that during questioning, one of the hybrids insinuated himself into an Inquisitor’s mind and made him blow his own head off. Am I right?”

  Drex narrowed his eyes at her. His expression was all I needed to know that what she had said was true, and the monsters were on my ship. I clutched at my throat with suddenly icy fingers.

  From across the table, Eric tossed something to Drex. It was a spy camera the size of a one-carat diamond. He said, “We found some of these aboard the Hadrian and decided to put them to good use. Oh, yes. We found all of them but left a few of them up so you’d have something to watch.” Eric grinned at Drex, showing off his white teeth.

  I shivered, unable to help myself.

  Into my thoughts, Zared promised, “They can’t hurt anyone, not after the precautions we’ve taken since the incident occurred.”

  Quaid, having heard his telepathic communication to me, said, “They can’t hurt anyone at the moment, but what if there is a solar storm? Anything could happen. Tell me they don’t wait for the slightest chance to escape. They are too dangerous to remain aboard this ship, even with you and your brothers guarding them.”

  Speaking up, Dario asked, “Then, what do you suggest we do with them? If we execute them, we lose our opportunity to learn about this alien and what very well might be in store for all of us. We need to be prepared to defend our star systems.”

  Eric said, “There’s only one thing we can do. We take them to a secure location and give Dr. Stanley Crispus an opportunity to redeem himself.”

  Eric’s suggestion had me sitting back from the table in shock. Eli moved to stand behind me and placed his hands on my shoulders. Zared and Izaac looked unaffected by Eric’s suggestion, but I was sure they were sharing what he had said with their brothers.

  Nico asked, “What would stop them from overpowering his mind or any others they might encounter and escaping? You know for yourself what happened to one of our Inquisitors.”

  Captain Espanoza said, “Working together, they would.” She gave a nod of her head toward Izaac and Zared.

  “Look, we can hash out the details later. I’m sure we can agree that we don’t want Teagan or the children anywhere near them. For now, let’s concentrate on finding Katherine Dylan,” Eric said.

  Eli asked, “Where do you suggest we look?”

  Eric exchanged looks with Captain Espanoza. Then, it looked like the decision was made to come clean. “The Militia is spread thin. We do the best we can to protect the worlds belonging to the Galaxic Government. However, there are some sectors we treat as off limits.” He gave a nod of his head to Quaid, who handed Drex a data chip.

  Drex fed it into his vid-screen and sent the information to the wall-mounted vid-screen for all of us to see. Observing everyone, I noticed the dark image of space which appeared filled the Militia officers with anxiety, but Zared and Izaac found it to be humorous for want of a better word.

  “Why am I getting mixed feelings from all of you?” I asked.

  They didn’t immediately answer.

  Eric said, “We have it marked as a restricted zone on all Galaxic star charts. Captains are warned to enter it at their own risk because if they run into trouble, they’re on their own.”

  Captain Espanoza said, “We call it Caligula because the inhabitants are vile, deranged criminals.”

  The footage zoomed in past a planet I recognized.

  Studying the images, Dario said, “It’s a moon.”

  Quaid said, “The stronghold is on one of Jupiter’s seventy-nine moons and has rich deposits of Titanium ore. Centuries ago, attempts were made to mine it, but those attempts proved to be too costly an enterprise. The company which led the endeavor laid down the basic framework but suffered one setback after another until eventually, they abandoned the venture. Once they left, the scavengers moved in but quickly realized it would make a good hideout. It has since become a haven for ruthless criminals.”

  Nico asked, “Why don’t you blow it up?”

  Drex zoomed in on the moon’s planetary defense system.

  “We’ve tried. They don’t dock their ships. They take shuttles down. They are of the ilk which attacked your warship. Anytime the Militia has gotten close, it’s been like stepping on an ant pile. It was decided to leave them alone, because if the criminals are on Caligula, it’s like a self-imposed exile. If they leave and their faces show up on facial recognition bots, they are arrested and taken into custody. If Katherine Dylan was taken there, it won’t be an easy task getting her out.”

  “I guess a merchant ship could make good credits taking them supplies then.” They looked at me. “This may very well be the connection between the Asylum and Caligula. Henry reported that they were doing business with some unsavory individuals.”

  Drex was paying considerably more attention to his vid-screen than he was to the discussion.

  Eli said, “I propose a brief recess.”

  Glad for the chance to stretch my back, I stood and asked, “May I offer you some refreshments?”

  A few nods had me turning toward the kitchen. Eric stood to help me even though I was only going to get Chef. Halting me near the beverage dispenser, he tentatively placed a hand on my arm and sought my eyes out with his. He didn’t say anything. My cousin knew what I felt. Yes, I was upset with him, but I still loved him.

  Pulling me against his chest, he hugged me close. “We can’t function this way in the future. I knew trapping your ship would infuriate you, but I didn’t suspect it would change your feelings toward me. Tell me how to make this right.”

  “I don’t know. You shut me out amongst other things. How did you expect for me to feel?”

  Turning far more serious, he said, “I expected for you to turn around and give
as good as you got, like how you did with Maria and the dick décor you and Gram thought up.”

  “Well, nothing along those lines occurred to me. I thought Quaid had given up on us. I thought all sorts of things, and all of them hurt.” I looked down at his shiny black shoes.

  Running his hands up and down my arms, he said, “I’m sorry. We were trying to make a joke of keeping you away. We were ordered to keep our mission a secret, and we can’t keep anything secret from you. Hey, it was wrong of me. It was my call.” Bending his head down so he could look into my eyes, he said, “It won’t happen again. I promise.”

  “What hurt me the most was being cut out of your lives. You didn’t even want to see me. I thought Quaid had tired of me. It didn’t matter how many times Jazon and the others assured me I was wrong.”

  “Aw, babe. That’s probably a hormonal thing. You’re knocked up with twins. Being irrational goes with the territory.”

  I glared up at him, but all he did was laugh and grin at me. “Not funny, Eric.”

  I made him help Chef place snacks on the table. When I returned to my seat, Drex stood and Eli took his seat. Drex directed our attention to the wall-mounted vid-screen and the information he sent there for us to see. Zared and Izaac, as amused as they had been since Caligula had been mentioned, were still amused, and I was about to find out why.

  Drex said, “During our brief recess, I contacted one of our operatives on the moon which you refer to as Caligula. Katherine Dylan is not there. However, he did have something of consequence to report. What can you tell us about this individual?”

  The image of a very attractive male appeared. His hair fell like waves of champagne to his shoulders. His nose was straight and aristocratic-looking, and his bluish-grey eyes were smoldering.

  “Damn,” I said. “Let me guess. He’s a fireplace because he’s smoking hot.”

  Captain Espanoza laughed, but my husbands weren’t amused.

  Quaid took an image of his face and ran it through the Galaxic Militia’s facial recognition programs until he got a match. “His name is Edvard Stig. His great-grandfather was one of the original investors in the Titanium mining venture. From a young age, he attended private boarding schools. Then, once he reached adulthood, he inherited a sizeable fortune which continues to amass. It looks like he has invested heavily with Warren Enterprises.” Quaid looked up. “He has a spotless criminal record.”

  Drex said, “He’s learned how to cover his crimes probably from a young age. Edvard Stig is known on Caligula as Sir. On his trips there, he freely indulges his nature. However, elsewhere he has others who dirty their hands for him.” Turning to meet Cormac’s eyes, he said, “Stig is the one who paid for and ordered the attack on your warship.” Drex had vowed to learn who had been responsible, and he had kept his promise.

  The Inquisitor’s eyes and the soul behind them, of which I’d seen glimpses, vanished. The Cormac who kept trying to fatten me up with fudge was gone, and the Inquisitor who my Papa had selected to serve on my Military Advisory Committee replaced him.

  “Do you have proof?” Eric asked.

  Drex turned to him and raised an eyebrow. “No, and you won’t find any. Stig is far too cunning to incriminate himself. Rupert Warren isn’t even aware that Stig is the one he should fear.”

  Cormac asked, “Where is he now?”

  “Here,” Drex answered.

  Their eyes met.

  I said, “He sounds wealthy and morally corrupt enough to be able to bribe a few Enforcers into making a witness disappear.”

  Quaid said, “I’ll look into it and see if those men have recently made any uncharacteristic purchases.”

  “I have a better idea.” I looked at Zared and Izaac. All it would take would be a short shuttle flight, and they could hunt the Enforcers down and spindle their thoughts like silk.

  Zared and Izaac inclined their heads to me, and Zared said, “As you wish.” They turned and entered the lift. They would learn what had become of Katherine Dylan.

  Eric asked, “Does anyone have any suggestions on how we proceed with Edvard Stig?”

  “We need to get close enough to learn his plans. What were his plans for the alien technology? Why did he target a Parvac warship?” Dario asked.

  Nico asked, “Are we joining forces to find out?”

  “I think we’re going to have to. Whatever he had planned could still be in the works. Why go to all of the trouble of abducting an alien and then keeping all of the research in one place. He’d have backed it all up, and with his credits and questionable ethics, there’s no telling what he had planned. Maybe, he wanted war between us so he could take over. It’s along the lines of what we suspected Warren wanted, but his angle was to make money with starships,” Eric said.

  Captain Espanoza said, “If we were on my ship, I’d be sending each of you off to speculate and generate reports.”

  I said, “We’re of a like mind on the matter. We need a neutral place to work.” I’d been searching the society pages for sightings of Edvard Stig while eating chips and salsa. Our trip to Mexico had given me a new food addiction. So far, I’d found a trove of information. Apparently, the female population stalked him as one of Earth’s most eligible bachelors.

  Quaid looked over my shoulder and seemed impressed with the amount of data I’d already collected.

  I smirked at him. “I was really pissed at Jemaphera, so Rovek taught me how to put to use the skills I’ve been learning at the Academy.” I’d already found out where he lived. I washed down my snack with some sweet tea and turned to Captain Espanoza. “Perhaps, my new best friend wouldn’t mind accompanying me to look at a piece of real estate.” I winked at her. “There’s a lovely mansion for sale in Edvard Stig’s neighborhood.”

  “Where might that be?” she asked.

  I showed her the pictures and then passed my vid-screen around. “Could we make this work?”

  Drex said, “Security shouldn’t be a problem. I’d say the location is ideal.”

  I asked Eric, “Can you get me embassy status on this property? We need a place where we can all work together as equals without worry of interference or censure.”

  “I’m on it.”

  “Good. Let’s make this happen. Are you free, Maria?” I felt sassy using her first name, but I’d just learned it from Eric and understood the importance of utilizing knowledge. I smiled at her. “I’ve already contacted a very eager realtor who can meet with us immediately.”

  She smirked at me. “Yes, I’d love to, bestie. I’ll even help you decorate. I’ve got just the thing for your bedroom.”

  “Oh, no. That’s okay. You keep your bedding for your room. I have real ones.” I confirmed with the agent. “Okay. All set. Let’s go. I’ll even let you drive.”

  Maria dryly said, “How gracious of you.”

  Eli, Drex, Dario, Nico, Quaid, Eric, Cormac, and Merick tagged along after us into the lift. “Where are all of you going?” I asked.

  Eli said, “We’re going with you. You need a security detail.”

  “Where are all of my Imperial Guards?” I started checking them off in my mind. Zared and Izaac had gone on a quick mission. Jazon and Xavier were in Paris hopefully getting facials. I should have several guards available, but if they wanted to watch over me, fine.

  The ship had seemed really quiet. It was like they’d all vanished.

  Yukihyo and Fitz were standing near the ramp as we drove from my ship. They had big grins on their faces and flipped off Eric and Quaid. Maybe, it was a male thing. When Maria drove us from the Empress and out into the land port, I learned exactly what they’d all been up to. The Hadrian was currently being swarmed by probes. Maria stopped the transport and stared.

  “Holy shit.” I gaped at the scene.

  A few berths down from my ship, forcefields kept the Hadrian’s crew from interfering.

  “Dammit, Yukihyo!” Eric yelled from the backseat.

  My team along with most of my crew, Captain Ric
imer included, were using probes armed with florescent hot-pink spray paint to fill in the outline of a massive dick on the Hadrian’s hull. Maria kept driving, and I laughed so hard I cried all of the way to the site of our future headquarters.

  The End

  A personal note from Wendie:

  Thank you for reading Ensign Probus! If you enjoyed Teagan’s story and want to see more, please take a moment to show your support by leaving a review on the product page where you made your purchase. Your reviews are important and help other readers discover these books.

  Please, keep in touch!

  You can visit my website at www.wendienordgren.com or join my Facebook group, Omnes Videntes, where you can discuss books with other readers and get information about new releases.

  Books by Wendie Nordgren:

  The Wendigo Redemption Series

  Wendigo Uprising Book One

  Wendigo Hunting Book Two

  Wendigo Conjuring Book Three

  The Space Merchants Series

  The Space Merchants Book One

  The Space Merchants of Arachne Book Two

  The Parvac Emperor’s Daughter Book Three

  Omnes Videntes Book Four

  The Spider Queen Book Five

  The Inquisitors Book Six

  Thunderdrop A Space Merchants Novella

  Materfamilias Book Seven

  Ensign Probus Book Eight

  Omnes Videntes Series

  Xavier

  Jazon

  Clue Taylor Series

  Clue and The Shrine of the Widowed Bride Book One

  Clue and the Sea Dragon Book Two

  Clue and the Tree Spirits Book Three

  Novella

  Death’s Providence

  Cookbook

  Hungry for More: A Harem of Recipes