Star Brigade: Maelstrom (Star Brigade Book 2)

by C. C. Ekeke

  “The assault on Terra Sollus was a precursor to a sabotage of our shield arrays that would have recreated the Earth Holocaust. Thanks to UComm and one brave Korvenite girl, this did not happen.

  “Along with that, I received surveillance footage that revealed to me the true treatment of Korvenites from dozens or more internment camps all over Union space. Not isolated colony worlds like you’ve been told. Internment camps. They’ve been forced to work in hellacious conditions for orvs on end, tortured if they don’t meet their quotas. I saw a family of eight stuffed into a box that couldn’t comfortably fit two.” Bogosian closed his eyes, forcing those ghastly images of Korvenites from his mind.

  “We as a Union failed the Korvenites. I…failed the Korvenites.” He opened his eyes. “And that failure is why Terra Sollus was attacked. It is time to forgive the Korvenites, and ask them to forgive us.

  “The transition for the Korvenites into the Galactic Union community will not be easy. But the words ‘Galactic Union’, is not just lip service to describe our government. This is why I am formalizing a council to deal directly with integrating the Korvenite race into our society. I personally will lead this council with the help of many who never relented in their fight to see the Korvenites as a free race.

  “Therefore, I will resign the Chouncilorship effective tomorrow and the Vice-Chouncilor will be sworn in that same evening. I have no doubt that the Union will be in good hands under his leadership.

  “Every fiber in my being says that leaving this office is wrong, but what this Union needs is a true representative of its Charter to maintain its internal peace and prosperity while actualizing strong relationships with our outerspacial allies. That representative is no longer me.

  “Please understand that I no longer desire to lead a Union that allows this illegal treatment of another race. In my new position, I will be more proactive in ensuring that this does not happen again.

  “Any action I took in this office was, in my belief, for the best interest of this Union. For family, friends, politicians and all who have supported me, I will be eternally grateful. Serving each and every one of you has been my great honor. And it humbles me as the first to welcome the Korvenites into our great Union. In parting, I say this: God bless this Union and all its citizens. Good night.”

  An orv later, Ari moved through the hallways of the Diamond Room, surrounded by his Honor Guard. He suddenly felt a bone-deep exhaustion, his only desire to be home with his family. During his speech, Rhyne had given way to sparkling heavens of far-flung stars. Bogosian wondered how many of those stars had planetary systems directly affected by his speech tonight.

  As the Honor Guard escorted Bogosian outside to his stretch black transport, he shaded his eyes with his hands against blinding flashes from the sea of holovid cameras waiting outside. Each camera showcased an image of the reporter automating them from a remote location.

  The questions booming from the holovids’ sonor-amp systems sounded garish and slurred together in Bogosian’s ears. But one particular question jumped out as he moved to enter the transport.

  “Mr. Bogosian, do you really think that any level-headed being will accept the Korvenites’ addition into Galactic Union society?” Bogosian turned to the inquiring holovid, a GBC’s Cercidale affiliate.

  The former Chouncilor steeled himself. Hundreds of hushed spectators went silent, hovering like a swarm of locusts, awaiting Bogosian’s reply. “Of course, there will be opposition, but I have faith in the citizens of this Union. And how can we call ourselves an inclusive Union of diverse species if we don’t?”

  With that said, Bogosian turned and entered his transport as the loud slur of questions flared up again. His two Honor Guardsmen, the ones that would remain after his resignation, entered behind him; one sat opposite and the other right next to him. The door slid closed and the transport began to move away. Ari slumped into his seat and took in a deep breath. Touches of sadness lingered, as did a rousing relief. Sheffield’s euroclassical edifices grew smaller, and he began to think of his new position. In that moment, the gravity of Bogosian’s own speech was a kick to the stomach.

  “No turning back now, is there?” he sighed, sinking further into his seat.

  33.

  PERSONAL LOG #20068

  Hey Jenn,

  Finally got released from the Medcenter ‘bout two days ago. Heading over to Rothor IV tomorrow for Honaa’s funeral, then I’m dropping Jeremy off at your parents after that. I’d rather he not attend the funeral at all, but the sprout insisted on being there for me and Sammie. You know how big his heart is. I’m presenting Honaa’s family with the Chouncilor’s Falcate of Bravery and the Globe of Terra Firma. Like that’ll replace what they just lost! Rogguts, Honaa was going to finally be with his family. Yet he gave it all up for his duty to Star Brigade…and me. I spoke with his wife and his eldest children, the twins you used to teach years ago. They didn’t deserve to lose him like this. I almost wish sometimes…it’d been me instead of him, until I look at the child we made together, and hate myself for being so selfish. Honaa gave his life so I could come back to Jeremy. For him and for you, I’ll be there for our son, our Jeremy.

  You’d be proud of him, all open-minded and making friends with everyone. There’s this Korvenite girl named Tharydane whom he can’t stop talking about. Can’t say I blame him. She’s part of the reason why Terra Sollus didn’t burn. She chose what was right over what her own kind wanted. Not bad company for our lad, yea? She’s currently in a detention center in San Andreas, but not as a prisoner or any rubbish like that. While I was in a medcenter, Jeremy has been visiting the girl with Sam and Lethe.

  Its been rough…for everyone here at Hollus. Honaa was a fixture here far longer than my whole military career. He’ll be missed by everyone. I’ve been putting on my ‘soldier’s face’ like you used to say, being a rock for these younger Brigadiers. Sam has too, never cracking… but she’s in pain right now, won’t let me or anyone else in. So I’m backing off. She’ll come to me when she’s ready. Seems the only thing giving her relief is Bogosian’s new Korvenite initiative, which she somehow got on as a special advisor or some nonsense. Looks like all her lobbying for the Korvenites finally paid off.

  Anyway I…I saw you a few days ago. Not that horrid bit of business Maelstrom pulled on me. But…I saw you and our daughter, laughing and smiling. Maybe it was a fever dream or some vision of you safe and happy beyond words in the embrace of the Sacred Twins. And I believe, even though with every fiber in my soul doesn’t want to, that this must be a sign to finally let you go. I don’t want to, but I need to.

  But no matter what happens, I hope you always knew that I had no regrets. You were ‘it’ for me.

  Love always,

  H

  After he finished, Habraum stood in front of his bedroom’s viewport, considering Zeid’s night skies. The lack of sunlight darkened the intensity of the gas giant’s emerald clouds but not the luster. Habraum looked away and glanced over his room. Something cast an eerie, golden reflection along the ceiling. His eyes fell upon a room shelf, where the new addition to numerous awards he had received in his military career sat; the Chouncilor’s Falcate. The gold tone half-moon medal gleamed even with his dimly lit bedroom. Such an award was an honor for any UComm officer. But awards could never fill the hole in his heart where Jennica, his old teammates and now Honaa once lived. Habraum shied away from the dull ache and strode from his room with a clear limp, a reminder of his still-healing physical injuries.

  Jeremy’s halolight was still on. He entered to see his son curled up in bed, fast asleep. A children’s holonovel was pressed between his little hands, sending a warm tremor through Habraum’s heart. After Habraum had finished read to Jeremy before bedtime, the boy had clearly kept reading, only to conk out macroms later. Habraum gently pried the novel away, pulled up the sheets to cover his son completely. The Cerc bent down and kissed his son’s forehead, running a hand through Jeremy’s shock of brown ha
ir.

  “Lights off,” he said softly. At once, the room plunged into darkness. “Sweet dreams, sprout.”

  Epilogue

  Morning light showered warmth through the room’s viewport, slowly waking its lone occupant. Tharydane brushed the curtain of curly violet hair from her face and stretched lazily before rising from bed. For the better part of a week, this had been her domicile.

  Outside her viewport, she was greeted by a breathtaking expanse. Tharydane had woken up and fallen asleep to this scenery for days now, but still couldn’t get enough of the view.

  Every lofty structure glittered under Rhyne’s orange sunlight and not a visible ounce of terracotta in any Tharydane looked at. Several buildings even reached high into the heavens. One looked like a mass of uneven cylinders fused together. Others had bizarre angles, patterns and designs that made Tharydane feel like a dust speck on a datapad screen. This was some coastal megapolis Lethe and Sam called San Andreas. The streams of hoverautos, perfect in their line formation, crisscrossed around the sprawl of buildings. Tharydane had never seen that on Bimnorii.

  She also loved this star called Rhyne; it wasn’t as scorching-hot as Noriida Major. After a quick hydrobath, Tharydane threw on some clothes from the closet and waited for breakfast.

  Mechs brought her food, which she preferred—she didn’t want to deal with anyone’s paranoid emotions jumping out at her again. This room had psi-proof walls, so she only had her own thoughts.

  Tharydane had no clue how long her stay would last, but she had no complaints. Austere in its angles and white coloring, the small room had a hydrobath and a closet full of clothes. Plus she got three decent meals a day and a viewscreen that showed holographic broadcasts. But after flipping through a couple hundred channels, nothing caught her interest.

  Lethe had arranged all this, and said he was trying to find a more permanent situation for her. Tharydane didn’t like thinking too much about homes. It always brought up memories of Bimnorii, where almost everyone she’s known was driven by greed and self-preservation. But not Lethe, whose limitless kindness had seeped under Tharydane’s skin. Around him she felt safe for the first time in ages.

  Every time Lethe visited, Jeremy and a human calling herself ‘Sam’ accompanied him. Jeremy was adorable as ever. Tharydane just wanted to bundle him up in her arms as long as she could.

  Sam seemed to be a strange name for a female, but regardless, she was funny and very pretty for a human. Tharydane really liked her, and everything she said about wanting to help seemed genuine. The only weird thing was her mind. Tharydane could barely even sense fleeting surface thoughts. Odd for a non-telepath to have such active mental defenses. Tharydane also noted how well Sam and Jeremy got along. If Jeremy hadn’t called her ‘Auntie Sammie’, she’d have pegged Sam for his mother.

  No sooner than those thoughts sprang to mind, her door slid open. In came Lethe, bowing his long neck respectfully in greeting. He wore his customary Kudoban robes and carried a satchel. Sam ambled in after Lethe, grinning broadly. She’d traded her military uniform for casual slacks and a tight blue Henley shirt, wearing her blonde hair up in a slapdash twist.

  Tharydane eagerly hopped to her feet, smoothing down her still-damp mane. Sam stretched her arms out and wrapped the Korvenite up in an embrace. The hug felt…soothing. “How are ya, kid? Bored stiff?”

  Tharydane pulled back and stared at her. “How did you know?” Was she a telepath, too?

  Sam dotingly cupped Tharydane’s face in her hands. “Don’t get me wrong, I know that Lethe and I are cool and all. But you should’ve seen the look on your face after we came in!”

  Tharydane giggled and looked away. “Guess I just want to get out of here.”

  Sam and Lethe exchanged a look. “That is why we are here,” Lethe stepped forward. “But first, breakfast.” He pulled a slender cylinder container along with a small box from his satchel.

  Tharydane twisted off the top of the cylinder and saw creamy tan milk, not thick and lumpy like aaln milk on Bimnorii. She guzzled it down in three gulps.

  “Thank you,” Handing the empty cup back to Lethe, Tharydane tore into the square box to find a small sandwich of simmering meat, melted yellow cheese and eggs between two golden buns of bread. Moments later, she’d shoveled down the whole sandwich, only then catching Sam’s shocked amusement and Lethe’s stunned silence. So she felt it appropriate to ask. “What was that?”

  “Breakfast sandwich, I gather you liked it,” Sam snarked.

  “Well,” Tharydane considered the question while wiping her mouth. “It was warm and salty and gooey, but in a good way! I like the milk, too!”

  “That would be yosk milk,” Lethe added.

  “So,” Tharydane sat down on her bed and tucked her damp mane behind her ears. “How’s that new council you’re part of, Sam?”

  “Off to a good start with Mr. Bogosian in charge, but things won’t be easy for the Korvenites we’re trying to help,” Sam walked over and kneeled down in front of Tharydane. The orange sunlight gave the human’s hair a gold-dipped luster. “That’s why Lethe and I are here today.”

  “What’s going on?” Tharydane frowned. She caught the change in Sam’s cheery voice and the grimness now etched into Lethe’s face. Bad news.

  “The Korvenites cannot stay in those abominable internment camps.” Lethe strode gracefully beside Sam. “But at the same time, with the attack on Terra Sollus and a faction of the KIF still at large, no Union memberworld will take them right now.”

  The Korvenite instantly regretted every insult she’d made about her living situation. Tharydane bowed her head sadly. How could she have stupidly thought this was permanent?

  “Bogosian is looking at some temporary living options,” Lethe continued. “Until a suitable uninhabited world is found.” Though Tharydane felt a reassuring mental prod from Lethe, she ignored it.

  “But we don’t want that for you, sweetie,” Sam chimed it. Tharydane closed her eyes, but felt the human take her hands. “Tharyn, look at me.”

  Tharydane sighed heavily and looked directly at Sam.

  “I—we really like you,” Sam smiled genuinely, glancing at Lethe. “You’re sweet, kind and Jeremy can’t stop talking about you! Keeping you holed up, while the Union gets its collective head out of its ass isn’t a good thing. So, I would like to become your legal guardian.”

  The Korvenite gaped, sure that she misheard. “Saywhatnow?”

  “We want you to come live on the starbase, Hollus Maddrone,” Lethe spoke up this time, his tripled voice unwavering. “Since there is no one to claim you, Samantha would be your guardian.”

  The words still didn’t sink in. Tharydane looked away, puffing away errant hair ringlets from her face. These two wanted to take her in. They wanted her.

  “It would’ve just been me as your guardian,” Sam rose, pulling Tharydane up with her. “But then the issue came up with my line of work, who would watch you when I was away.”

  “The discussion about your psionic gifts arose, as you’ve never had a restraining bolt.” Those last two words made Lethe bristle with both physical and mental disgust. “So when the question came up as to who would train you, Sam had already asked me and I accepted.”

  A swirl of joyful emotions filled Tharydane up inside. “So all three of us would be living together??”

  “No!” both Lethe and Sam blurted out. Sam cleared her throat and continued. “You’d mainly live with me. But let’s say I’m away on business, you’d stay at Lethe’s and train your abilities with him.”

  Tharydane was smiling so much, her face started to hurt. Living with these two, who had treated her so undeservingly well. Then she thought of Hugrask, and him dying because of her. The Korvenite’s smile withered. Tharydane couldn’t bear that happening to Sam or Lethe.

  “No, I—.” She regretfully pulled her hands away from Sam. “I can’t ask you to take on that responsibility.” But to her utter confusion, Sam and Lethe didn’t even look up
set.

  “You don’t have to ask us,” Lethe replied. “We’re asking you.”

  Now Tharydane was confused. She knew that the customs in this part of space were different from Bimnorii’s, but were they saying now that adults had to ask youngsters for permission. “Whaa?”

  “We want to make sure that you want this as much as we do,” Lethe replied.

  I do want this, she wanted to say, until the doubts started throttling her hope. What if this wouldn’t work out? What if Sam wanted to exploit her for this council she was on?

  That isn’t the case. Lethe flowed into her thoughts. We want you to have a normal life and a future.

  “Oh.” Tharydane glanced from Lethe and to Sam, her cheeks flushed green with shame.

  “Now that you two have gotten all the psi-chitchat out of the way,” Sam quipped and stood up next to Lethe, whose lengthy made her looked rather tiny next to him. “What do you say, Tharyn?”

  “Okay.” Tharydane ran her fingers through her lavender curls. Something in her still refused to believe this was actually happening. “I appreciate everything you’ve been trying to do, but….” She felt her own face scrunch up as she struggled to find a response.

  Both Lethe and Sam leaned in closer. “But what, hun?”

  “But…what are you two are getting from this?”

  Sam tilted her head to the side. “You,” she replied, savoring a lopsided little smirk.

  Tharydane’s breath caught in her throat at the simplistic honesty of that one word. In that moment, she allowed herself to imagine a better future, and a warming joy filled her up. The Korvenite giggled and angled at gaze at the floor, long lavender curls spilling down her shoulders in tumbles.