“Okay. See you in a few.”
When she arrived on the bridge, Kire moved to intercept her. “You have a visitor in your office.”
“Cade. I know. I sent him up here.”
He shook his head. “He’s in there too, but I was referring to someone from the Argo.”
“What? You let someone onboard the ship without asking me?”
He didn’t flinch. “When you see who it is, you’ll understand.”
She was so tired of secrets and mysteries. Giving him a long look, she walked to the door of her private sanctuary. But when it opened, her feet stopped moving. “Admiral?”
The older man was seated in one of the plush chairs by the viewport, with Cade in the other.
The Admiral stood. “It’s good to see you, Captain.” He clasped her hand in both of his. “Please forgive the intrusion. I’m not in the habit of boarding ships uninvited, but under the circumstances, I felt it was necessary.”
The Admiral was not at Council headquarters. He was standing on her ship. And apparently had been on the Argo. But for how long? Since it arrived?
“We need to discuss matters of grave importance.” He gestured to the two chairs in front of her desk. “Shall we?”
She glanced at Cade, but he shook his head and shrugged. He was as lost as she was.
Aurora settled in behind the desk, her focus on the Admiral.
He laced his fingers together, resting them lightly across his stomach. “How are the Lumians?”
“Good, but I suspect they’re still in danger. Your presence here seems to support that assumption.” He didn’t deny it, so she pressed on. “Do you have some idea of who’s been orchestrating all this? I can’t believe the Etah are acting alone.”
“I’d like an answer on that as well, Admiral,” Cade said. “A Setarip force might have viewed Gaia as a potential target to exploit. But the attempted abduction of Captain Hawke, the deaths of the Setarips and the RC security personnel, and the destruction of the ship doesn’t fit with that scenario.” He frowned. “Although you don’t seem all that surprised by the course of events.”
The Admiral’s eyebrows lifted. “Surprised, Commander? Oh, I am surprised. Or I should say I’m sorry my concerns for the Captain’s safety were justified.” He paused, tapping his thumbs together as his attention shifted to Aurora. “You need to know that the decision to send you to Gaia was not mine. Several members of the Council specifically requested that you lead the investigative team, and it was a majority vote that resulted in approval.”
“So it wasn’t your order?” She’d assumed he’d been the one behind her crew’s presence. Apparently not.
He shook his head. “With the wisdom of hindsight, I can now see that if you had still been assigned to the Argo when the call had come in from Gaia, those same Council members would have made a case to send the Argo instead. As it turned out, that became unnecessary because you had your own ship and a crew that was able to carry out the mission.” His gaze held hers. “But your presence on Gaia was the key.”
A sliver of ice trickled down her spine.
Anger flashed in Cade’s eyes. “Are you saying she was the ultimate target of this entire attack?”
“Quite possibly, yes.”
“Me?” Aurora stared at the Admiral.
He nodded.
“But that doesn’t make sense.” And she couldn’t accept it. “You’re talking about a plan that stretched out over weeks, involved hundreds of people and a massive ship. That’s a lot of effort just to lure me to Gaia so they could capture or kill me. Why would someone do that?”
The Admiral didn’t respond, simply waited for her to provide her own answer.
Cade wasn’t nearly as serene. His lips pressed into a thin line. “I think you know why, Aurora, and it’s connected to the Lumians. Their presence here is the reason the Council sent you.”
She shot him a warning look to shut down that line of reasoning. The cover on her secret was thin enough already.
The Admiral’s gaze grew speculative. “I agree. Someone clearly wanted you here. Whatever the end goal was for this attack, it involved you and the Lumians.”
She sighed. “But they already had the Lumians. If someone wanted me that badly, why not kidnap me before we left Earth? It would have been easier.”
“Would it?” Cade didn’t seem to agree with that assumption.
And he was right. She’d been virtually untouchable until she’d come in contact with the Lumians and discovered they were her strength and her weakness. Because of them, she was vulnerable in a way she’d never been before. And capable of more than she’d ever dreamed.
The Admiral cleared his throat. “What’s important now is how we’ll proceed. Given the involvement of members of the Council and the Rescue Corps, I’m going to ask you to do something that goes against all your years of Fleet training. I’m going to ask you to lie.”
She hadn’t seen that coming. “Uhh…okay. About what?”
“First, there will be no mention of Commander Ellis’s team or the Lumians in any of the records for this incident. The official story will state that the attack was carried out by the Etah Setarip faction in cooperation with a couple of rogue RC officers. They used the destruction of the vegetation as a diversion while they stole food and supplies.”
Interesting way to spin it, and tough to disprove.
“Your crew uncovered their plan and launched a counterattack. During the resulting conflict, the Setarip ship self-destructed, killing everyone onboard.”
Okay, not so bad. It would definitely cut down on the panic factor that would be generated by the truth.
“I will return to the Argo, and Commander Ellis will rejoin his team on the island while the Argo’s crew conducts a full investigation at the RC headquarters.”
The Admiral turned to Cade. “Your team is responsible for the safety of the Lumians until Captain Hawke completes her next mission. I have arranged for a small but fast transport to be delivered secretly to the island at oh-two-hundred hours tomorrow. As soon as it arrives, you will move the Lumians to an island three hundred kilometers to the southeast. I’ll have the coordinates for you. How you choose to handle the safety of the Lumians after that will be up to you. You have full authority to move them to any location of your choosing, on or off planet.”
The Admiral glanced at Aurora. “I will also inform the RC Director and the Council that the refugees are being taken off planet. We’ll be sending a decoy ship the following day that will be operated remotely from the Argo by Knox and myself. We will see if there’s any reaction to its arrival or, more importantly, to its departure.”
The Admiral had left out a key piece of information that pertained to her. “What is my next mission?”
A small smile touched his lips. “You’re in charge of finding the Lumians a new home.”
“A new home?”
“That’s right. And you are not to share any of your findings with me or anyone else on the Council. I’ve reported to the Council that your ship suffered damage during this encounter that will require repairs on Drakar. To make the story plausible, you will need to act quickly to locate a suitable planet for the new Lumian colony.”
Her head was spinning. “Why don’t you want me to report to you?”
“Because I don’t know who we can trust.”
“Then what do I do when I find a suitable location?”
“You will contact Siginal Clarek.”
“Jonarel’s father?” That was a surprise. She wasn’t even aware the two men knew each other.
The Admiral nodded. “He’s expecting you. The Clarek clan will provide you with the resources and labor you need for construction. When the settlement is ready, you will contact Commander Ellis and arrange transport of the Lumians to their new home. The two of you can work out the best way to keep in touch during the interim.”
She didn’t want to look at Cade. She really didn’t. But she had to.
; A wry grin spread across his face. “Guess you’re not getting rid of me after all.”
She wished like hell that realization hadn’t made her heart stutter.
60
Less than an hour later, Aurora was back on the bridge. The Admiral and Cade were on their way to the Argo, and her crew sat at their stations, preparing for departure. That left her with one important task.
She walked over to the communications console and knelt beside Kire’s chair. “Do you have a minute?”
He glanced at her in surprise. “Of course.”
She kept her voice low. “We haven’t had a chance to talk since the incident in the med bay.”
“No, we haven’t.”
This was long overdue. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry.”
“Sorry?” He frowned. “For what?”
“For letting you believe all these years that I was completely human.” She held his gaze. “For not telling you about my abilities or my background.”
He studied her. “Can I ask you something?”
“Anything.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
She weighed her words carefully. “Fear, mostly. I was afraid that it might ruin our friendship.”
“That’s flattering.”
“What do you mean?”
“I can understand having a secret you were reluctant to share. We all do. What bothers me is that you thought so little of me that you believed telling me would make any difference in how I feel about you.”
Her throat started closing up. She’d hurt him. “I’m sorry.” She shook her head and sighed. “Kire, I’m so sorry. Honestly, I don’t think it had anything to do with my faith in you. I was projecting my own fears. And I hurt you instead.” His friendship was one of the greatest gifts of her life, and she’d damaged it. “Can you forgive me?”
His smile was warm but tinged with sadness. “Of course I can. That’s the point. Nothing you do or say will ever change our friendship. Ever.”
Tears pressed at the back of her eyes. “Thank you.” She stood, resting her hand on his shoulder as she allowed her energy field to envelope them both so that he could truly feel how important he was to her.
His body jerked in surprise, but then he grinned. “That is so cool.”
Happiness bubbled out in a laugh of pure joy. “I think so, too.”
She settled into the captain’s chair. Star’s ghostly image appeared beside her. “Do you have our first destination selected?” Aurora had placed Star in charge of cross-referencing and compiling all known systems to identify potential planets suitable for a Lumian settlement.
The family-focused Nirunoc had seemed positively giddy with the task. “Yes, Captain. I have already sent the coordinates to Ensign Kelly. It is a super Earth-sized planet around a G class star.”
“Very good.” She contacted Jonarel. “What’s the status on the engines?”
“Ready to go at your command.” He sounded happy to be back in engineering.
“Kelly, is the course set?”
“Yes, Captain.”
She relaxed into her chair. She had a laundry list of unanswered questions regarding the Lumians, her past, and her future, but in this moment, none of that mattered. Her crew and ship were with her, and the glitter of space beckoned. “Then take us out. We have a homeworld to find.”
Continue the adventure in THE CHAINS OF FREEDOM, book two in the Starhawke Rising series.
CAPTAIN’S LOG
FREE Starhawke Rising Prequel
Before Aurora Hawke became the captain of the Starhawke, she served on the Argo with Celia Cardiff. Read the story of their first adventure together in COMMANDER, available exclusively to my readers. Get your copy here!
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The Spark
It’s a standard question. “How did you get the idea for your series?”
In this case, the answer is fairly simple. The spark came in 2013. Over a two-month period, I saw Star Trek: Into Darkness in the theatres five times. What can I say—I was addicted.
But I had one issue with it, an issue that shows up in Star Wars as well. The cast is almost all male.
Now don’t get me wrong. I love guys. I grew up with brothers, not sisters, so I’m a big fan of guys. My older brother is one of the most incredible people I know. And guys are fun to write about. I could write about Cade all day long.
But when I thought about what type of story I wanted to tell, I knew I wanted more parity of the sexes. And, I wanted to tell it from the perspective of a female captain. Aurora Hawke was born.
My friends have asked if I based Aurora on myself, and the answer is, “Yes, and no.” I understand Aurora. She has a lot of my strengths, and definitely my weaknesses. I never have to ask, “What would Aurora do?” because I know what Aurora would do, even if what she’s about to do isn’t in her best interests. But every character I’ve written, even those inspired by real people, evolve over time, becoming uniquely and wonderfully different from how they started. And that’s one of the joys of writing—watching your characters grow and change.
Mya, Celia and Kelly showed up early in the process. They’re the kinds of friends I wish every woman had. Their presence tipped the scale of Aurora’s crew to predominantly female, but Jonarel and Kire were happy to fill out the remaining spots.
But then Cade’s team showed up on Gaia. Predominantly male.
Add Aurora’s crew and Cade’s team together and you get six women and six men. That’s no accident.
“But what about Star?” I hear you cry. Yes, Star does give a slight edge to the women on the Starhawke. But there’s a new character you’ll meet in book four who will restore the balance in ways Aurora can’t possibly imagine. It’ll be fun to see how that turns out!
Children
This is a case of what I call Magical Moments.
When Celia peered into the room on the Setarip ship, she had no idea what she’d find. What you might not realize is, neither did I.
I’d never planned to include children in this story. I had an image of the Necri from day one, but children? Uh-uh. Not even a blip on the radar. But when Celia started down that long corridor, she told me she heard something. And we both paused to listen.
That moment changed the entire course of the story, and in fact, the entire series. What I’d planned as a dramatic gunslinger-style battle on the ship between Cade’s team and the Setarips became a rescue mission instead, one that allowed the characters, Celia in particular, to really shine. Who doesn’t enjoy seeing brave soldiers saving innocent children?
I learned so much about Celia from her interactions with Maanee, Raaveen, Paaw and Sparw. The trust and cooperation that rapidly developed among them as they stood bravely in the face of fear, Celia’s acceptance of their abilities and in turn, Aurora’s abilities.
Without the children, so much of this story wouldn’t have evolved. The containment of the auto-destruct explosion, the healing of Mya, and the revelations about Aurora’s connection to the Lumians. The teens needed to be there to make those happen.
Magical Moments are special. I’m delighted the children joined the story. And all because Celia and I paused to listen.
Enjoy the journey!
Audrey
P.S. – I always write to music, so if you’d like to experience this story the way that I did, listen to the film score for Thor while you read.
ALSO BY AUDREY SHARPE
Starhawke Rising
The Dark of Light
The Chains of Freedom
The Honor of Deceit (coming soon)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Audrey Sharpe grew up believing in the Force and dreaming of becoming captain of the Enterprise. She’s still working
out the logistics of moving objects with her mind, but writing science fiction provides a pretty good alternative. When she’s not off exploring the galaxy with Aurora and her crew, she lives in the Sonoran Desert, where she has an excellent view of the stars.
Connect with Audrey online!
audreysharpeauthor
audreysharpe.com
[email protected]
Table of Contents
Copyright
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
The Dark of Light (Starhawke Rising Book 1) Page 28
