“We’re not coming with you, sir.”
“What do you mean not coming?”
“Rachael and Reyes are out there, sir. I can’t leave them. Not after everything I’ve learned and seen of these people. And I think we have to stop them here—now. Not later.”
“Sometimes you have to make the hard decisions, Aaron. You can’t save everyone.”
“Maybe not, but I can try.”
“I don’t suppose ordering you would help?”
“No, sir. It would give you something else to put on my file if you did. Disobeyed orders on—”
“Fine. Go. If I don’t hear from you in fourteen days, we will come looking.”
“Understood.”
Aaron turned to face the bridge.
“We’re going to find out just what the ORA has planned out there. I have the feeling time is short. We have to find Lieutenant Delaine soon.”
He walked to the ship plaque.
“I told you . . . all a captain needs is a good ship and a good crew. You’re that crew and this is that ship. Ensign, set course for the source of Delaine’s last known communication. XO, prepare us for maximum warp.”
“All weapons are retracted, munitions are loaded and secure,” Ayres said. “Warp available on your command.”
Aaron nodded as he took the command chair.
“Punch it, Ensign.”
“Aye, sir. Three-two-one, Phoenix warping.”
Aaron looked at the ship’s plaque again and smiled.
And onward to great glory.
Epilogue
Phoenix
Deep Space
Only two days after beginning the search for Rachael, did Aaron feel like he finally had time to collect his thoughts. Garrett was fabricating the point defense batteries now and once complete, they could stop anytime to have the mk-82 drones complete the repairs. The repair nanites had already completed the hull repairs on the starboard side.
Afterwards, they’d finish replenishing the ammo for the railguns and perform diagnostics to ensure the ship was battle ready.
Aaron rested on the soft bed in his quarters. He’d only slept in the recliner in his ready-room since they’d left Earth. He’d waited until the repairs reached this stage of completion to ensure he’d have no further interruptions.
He opened the letter from his mother.
Everything I’ve told you was to help you better understand what I’ve done and why I did it. I hope you understand that I made this choice out of love, but also selfishness. I wasn’t ready to give up my baby boy to this universe so soon. Patrick and I still had the Society’s secrets.
You’ve not been given immortality. We’ve given you a second chance. It took three months to grow your new body.
Your friend Doctor Tanner agreed to help on one condition, that we destroy the lab after we finished. And we did.
You will now explore your own existential crisis. Are you Aaron Tyler Rayne? Are you some cheap copy? You’ll have to figure these things out for yourself.
I know—that you are my son. DNA for DNA. I know you have every single engram of his memory. I know you will make the same decisions in the future he would have made.
Despite what conclusion you come to, you are my son.
You are Aaron Rayne.
From the author
Thank you for reading United Star Systems Book Two: Beyond the Frontier. Would you like to see the book continue as a series? Consider leaving a review, and share with your friends who like these types of adventures. It’s the best way to support an indie author like myself. You can also follow my blog on Amazon if you wish, or go to my website and join the mailing list to be notified of upcoming releases and discount deals.
Coming soon in book three—Unite the Frontier. Aaron and crew must rescue Lieutenant Delaine and learn the full truth about the ORA before they unleash an unstoppable fleet against the heart of the United Star Systems: Earth.
On the other side of the sector, the Emperor is dying. Lord Commander Quintus Scipio will need an old friend’s help to avert a civil war.
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Beyond The Frontier Page 18
