“Then don’t give the news. Reconsider,” Harris pleaded.
Admiral Benitor frowned at the Prime-in-Waiting, and Reeve sensed a shift happening. She glanced at Brax, who patted her on the hand briefly.
Benitor rose and strode before the delegates. “Before you offer your resignation from the Founders, hear me out.”
Mutterings from the delegates were short-lived as Xune glanced down the line.
“The Founders have been remiss in a few things over the years. Truth be told, they’ve done most things incorrectly. It’s easier to survive and patch things when you’re in chaos, and after the War, we were there. This feels almost like that again, and then, we spent the next five decades rebuilding until we thought we had it right. Constantine was our first step to a new beginning, a flagship to start the new Concord on. Only it was built on treason and distrust, and for that, we’re sorry.
“The Zilph’i are an incredible race, and unlike my people, they’ve preferred to work from their own home, offering wonderful talent to work alongside us at the Academy and on our cruise ships, as well as countless other roles, never asking for more.
“It’s time for that to change. It’s been too long since one of your own wore the title of Prime, and with that being said, the Concord offers the Zilph’i a promotion for one of theirs to sit with our admirals,” Benitor said.
“That’s not enough.”
“What of the corruption?”
“How can we trust her words?”
The series of catcalling shot down the line of delegates, but Benitor didn’t appear perturbed by it. “That’s not it. We’d also like to offer you the Prime position.”
Harris jolted up, banging his hand against the table. “Now see here. You don’t have the authority…”
Reeve smiled as Benitor pulled her tablet from an inner pocket and flashed it to Harris. “Signed by all leaders of the Founders, we have agreed that should it come to this, we would offer the Zilph’i people the Prime position. I have to say, I’m on board.” She shot a glare at Harris, who sank into his seat, defeated.
All eyes settled on Delegate Xune. His eyes were squinted, his hands flat on the table, his mouth a thin line, expressionless. “We accept.”
The room exploded in sound, half of the delegates indignant, half seeming pleased.
The captain leaned in, whispering to Reeve. “You didn’t have anything to do with this, did you?”
Reeve shrugged, tilting her head to the side. “Who, little old me?”
Thomas laughed, and the doors opened again, this time revealing Shengin. He stood there, hands on hips, as he scanned the room. His gaze stopped when he saw her, and he walked over to the bench. His eyes were darker, no longer bright brown, and Reeve assumed it must have been the lighting.
Reeve wondered what the businessman was doing, but she quickly understood. He took a seat beside Xune, and the delegate whispered in his ear. A smile spread over Shengin’s face.
Shengin rose along with Delegate Xune. “Please welcome your newest leader: Prime Shengin.”
____________
Doctor Nee bent over the lab table and muttered to himself.
“What is it?” Tarlen asked. Basel’s body was lying inside a glass-covered pod nearby, and Tarlen did his best not to stare at the dead man.
“This can’t be,” Nee said.
“What is it?” Tarlen asked again. They’d been here for hours, Nee working frantically to learn what had happened to the trader. All of them had been in quarantine for the night, until the tests proved they were of no danger to the rest of the crew. Since then, Tarlen had been assisting Nee as he tried to determine what the strange substance was around Basel. It seemed like he might have found his answer.
“It’s so abstract. The computer has two instances of the substance, but they date back thousands of years. I can hardly believe the mucus is related to the compound in the files,” Doctor Nee said. His white hair was messy, his yellow eyes dilated. It was clear the man needed some rest.
“You’re saying this goop is on file?”
“Yes, but not since a string of bodies were found on Neccal.” Doctor Nee stood up, his knees cracking at the movement.
“What’s Neccal?” Tarlen asked.
“It says here that Neccal was an original colony world, when there were but twelve Concord partners. After a month, they found the first body. It was discovered much like our friend over there.” Nee pointed at Basel, Tarlen following his finger and regretting it.
“Could it be a coincidence?” Tarlen asked.
“Possibly. They found another five dead over the course of a month, each from different villages. It says a ship was stolen, and the files went cold,” Nee said, tapping his console.
“A killer.” Tarlen shuddered at the idea of a murderer on board Constantine.
“Perhaps.” Nee stared at Basel. “The other case was similar, but it was on a distant station. This was about fifteen hundred years ago. Seven dead, and…” He scrolled through the file, and Tarlen waited for the inevitable. “There it is. A ship went missing.”
“But those are five centuries apart. And now… that doesn’t add up,” Tarlen said.
“True. I’m a doctor, not a detective. Perhaps we should pass the information to Brax Daak once he’s on board,” Nee said.
Tarlen nodded absently. Why would someone kill Basel? And with some mucus that hadn’t been recorded in that many years? It was going to bother him until they solved it.
“Don’t you have classes, son?” Nee asked.
“I do, but we’re on alert here, so I think I should probably postpone them.” The medical bay had erupted in the red flashing lights about a half hour earlier, and Nee had disabled the alert.
“It will take two days to reach Malrun XBH.”
“Then we have enough time to find out what happened to Basel.”
____________
Tom hadn’t been expecting this turn of events, but he couldn’t say he was displeased to learn the Zilph’i were staying with the Founders. This was monumental, and thanks to Reeve pushing for the result, Admiral Benitor had done what they probably should have offered in the first place.
The room had finally quieted, and Tom waited for the admiral to take her chair, before rising.
“I have something to say before we leave.” He walked with his hands clasped behind his back. “It’s obvious we don’t have the full support of the Founders here, but I was instructed to gain the Ugna’s assistance for the mission to the Border. There are too many vulnerable worlds at the moment, and unless we all band together, seeking help from unlikely allies, we’ll be overwhelmed.
“I don’t think any of the Concord partners comprehended how dire our arrangement was, how fickle the invisible Border concept is, until outsiders saw cracks in our foundation. Now, from what I’m advised, we have five factions poking in, attempting to solidify a foothold on our worlds.” Tom was growing angry as he spoke. These were Concord partners at risk, being attacked. They needed assistance. “The Ugna have agreed to help us.”
The delegates wore expressions of surprise. “How did you manage that, Captain Baldwin?” Delegate Xune asked.
“I…” He nodded toward Ven. “We contacted Elder Fayle.” He was cautious of how much to reveal, but Fayle had said they were tired of hiding. They wanted to be exposed so they could grow as a race. “She expressed concern over the incoming attacks, and they’ll make an exchange. They have forty C-class vessels…”
“Forty?”
“We’d know about that…”
“Where are they hiding them?”
Tom waited patiently, while annoyed at the delegates’ lack of poise. “The Ugna aren’t only on Leria. They’re spread across Concord space. There are two million of them.”
Delegate Xune leaned forward. “Did you say two million?”
“That’s correct.”
“You spoke of an exchange,” Admiral Benitor said. “What is it they want in return?”<
br />
“Independence. They seek a home, their own colony planet. They also seek entrance into the Concord as a partner,” Tom advised them, and he caught the grin on the old Callalay admiral’s face.
“Consider it done,” she said.
“That was easy,” Tom mumbled to himself. He glanced at Ven, but the man’s expression remained stoic.
“How do we reach their fleet?” Xune asked.
Ven rose. “The fleet is already activated. Two vessels will meet us at Malrun XBH, and the rest are heading to any danger zones required.” He passed a tiny drive to Tom. “This is to be trusted exclusively in Captain Baldwin’s hands. He will give them instructions on logistics, and only him.”
Admiral Benitor’s mouth smacked shut, and Tom felt the heat under his collar. This was all news to him. They’d effectively given him more power than an admiral, even the Prime, in the Ugna’s case.
“Very well. We agree to the terms,” Benitor said. “Come, Captain. We’re needed at the Border.”
The delegates stood, and Reeve tugged on his sleeve. “Good work, sir. I can’t wait to hear about your trip to Ven’s village.” Her excitement was palpable, and Tom felt lighter in his step as they exited the meeting room. He caught gazes with the man who would be named Prime, and wondered if they’d met before. There was something vaguely familiar about him.
The day was hot again, the sun beating relentlessly as their entourage headed for the transport vessel. Harris lingered behind them, and Tom slowed to wait. “Sorry things didn’t work out as you hoped.”
Harris looked angry, but it washed away with a sigh. “I wasn’t ready for this. Who was I kidding? I was foolish to think now was the right time for one of us to take the lead. Humans will never be in charge, not really.”
Tom considered this and nodded. “Maybe not. But does that matter?”
“I guess it doesn’t.” Harris walked past him, stepping into the transport vessel.
Tom glanced to the sky, hoping they had enough time to stop the incoming attack on Malrun XBH.
It wasn’t long before Tom, Ven, Reeve, and Brax walked in a line onto the bridge, junior officers making way for them as they arrived. Tom wished he could have showered, shaved, and changed, but there would be time for that soon. He fiddled with the drive from his pocket, certain this was his lucky day.
“Captain, two unidentified vessels are arriving,” Lieutenant Commander Brax Daak advised. His voice had an edge to it.
“On the viewer,” Tom told him. The ships were beautifully constructed: smooth sides, rounded nose, powerful thrusters. He’d never seen something like it, and guessed they could only be their Ugna escort. “Executive Lieutenant Ven, reach out to their leader.”
“Yes, sir,” Ven said.
An Ugna male rose from his captain’s chair, his uniform black, contrasting with his pale face. “Captain Baldwin, I am Captain Wan of Faithful. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. We are ready to assist you in any way possible.”
Tom smiled at the bald man. “Thank you, Captain Wan. I look forward to working with you. We’re setting course for the Sora system. We plan on arriving midway to Malrun XBH, so we can do some reconnaissance first.”
“Very well.” The screen went blank.
“Not much of a talker,” Tom said. “Set course. Zare, if you would, hyperlight.”
The stars stretched before them, and Tom took his seat, ready to protect the good people of the Concord.
____________
“And you thought moving the body was a good idea?” Brax asked Doctor Nee. Tarlen stood at the edge of Basel’s cargo hold, trying stay out of the way.
“I did. We could have been contaminated. I wanted to isolate the body, once we found nothing dangerous,” Nee said.
Brax crouched where the corpse had been found. The floor appeared oily. “Tell me again about your theory.”
Tarlen saw the disbelief in Brax’s eyes, but he told it anyway. “There was something inside Basel. It left him and latched on to someone else.”
To Tarlen’s joy, the chief of security didn’t pass any judgment. “If that were the case, where is it?”
“It could be anywhere,” Tarlen said. “Anywhere on this ship.”
Brax’s wrist buzzed, and he tapped it. “Go ahead.”
“Lieutenant Commander Daak, one of your men is searching for you. Name’s Luca,” the voice said.
Brax tapped his foot. “Can this wait? I’m in the middle of something.”
“He says it’s urgent. One of the team didn’t return from Leria.”
“By the Vastness. Why now?” Brax asked no one in particular. “Tell Luca to meet me in the courtyard. Doctor Nee, what do you think of young Tarlen’s hypothesis?” he asked.
Nee was slow to reply. “I’d say he might be onto something. The evidence points to something exiting from inside Basel. The DNA match of the mucus has both human and alien markers.”
“What if the missing officer has something to do with it?” Tarlen asked loudly.
“I doubt that…”
“Let’s go check.” Tarlen started forward, in the direction of Basel’s ship’s ramp.
“What are we going to do with this cruiser? Reeve managed to procure the part needed to fix it up. Guess there’s no rush now,” Brax told Nee as they walked through the hangar. Tarlen was already at the door, waiting for them. “Kid, I don’t think you should be coming with me. Don’t you have…”
Nee cut him off. “Don’t bother. There’s no way to shake Tarlen.”
“Fine, but do me a favor. Stay quiet.” Brax stared at him, and Tarlen could only nod.
A few minutes later, they were walking through the wide entrance to the courtyard on Deck Four. It was a busy time of day, and Tarlen guessed there were as many as thirty off-duty crew in various parts of the open room. Mist sprayed gently from the walls, landing on green vines.
“Sir,” a man said, jogging over to Brax.
“Tell me what happened,” Brax ordered his man.
“Sir, don’t be angry with me. She didn’t show up. We had the call to return, but she’d tried convincing us to stay for a few hours. When we landed, she left the ship and abandoned me,” Luca said in a flurry of words.
“Who’s the she you’re talking about?” Brax asked.
Luca shifted from foot to foot nervously. “Ginn. Junior Officer. Fairly new to the role.”
Brax glanced at Nee, then to Tarlen. Maybe the big Tekol was really starting to believe Tarlen’s theory. Tarlen grinned to himself.
Brax frowned at the man. “And when we were called back, you didn’t think to check her ID imprint and track her?”
“Sorry, sir. We didn’t think about it. We were informed that Constantine was leaving, and we weren’t going to miss the ride. I apologize,” Luca said.
“It’s fine. We’ll do it now.” Brax crossed the room, his boots clicking against the hard solid floor in clipped steps.
Tarlen followed closely, stopping at the console near a water station. Brax’s fingers moved quickly, logging in to a program Tarlen guessed was only accessible to the executive crew. He searched through the crew manifest, and Tarlen even saw his own name among the list. Brax stopped at Ginn’s, and a picture of a young woman appeared.
“This is her?” Brax asked.
Luca nodded. “That’s her. Only… her eyes were dark, not blue.”
Tarlen saw that Ginn clearly had blue eyes in the photo, and they were listed as that color in her profile. “Are you positive?” Brax asked.
“Sure. They were dark brown, almost black. It was the oddest thing,” Luca said.
“Let’s see where she is.” Brax touched the screen, and a map appeared. “That’s Leria.” He zoomed. “And that’s Ulia.” Another zoom, and Brax sighed. “We were just there. She’s down the hall from our meeting room with the delegates. That makes no sense.”
“Maybe it does,” Nee said.
Brax peered at the doctor, then at Luca, and gave the
man orders. “Find an office and watch the tracker. Tell me if she moves anywhere.”
“Yes, sir.” Luca spun on a heel and hurried away.
“I’m going to send a message to Leria and tell them one of ours was left behind. We’ll ask them to check on her, and we should hear the results in a few hours.” Brax folded his arms across his chest. “I don’t know if these two things are connected, but it’ll make my life a little easier if they are.”
“Why’s that?” Tarlen asked.
“Because the thing that killed Basel might not be on our ship any longer, therefore not posing a threat,” Brax said.
“But it’s on Leria; there are far more people for it to hurt,” Nee said.
“If there is an it. Kid, how about you help me do some digging? See if there are more cases matching the ones with mucus traces. It’s possible this has occurred many times since the last documented killing spree, just without mention of the particular secretion.”
Tarlen lit up. “I’d be glad to help.”
“Good. We’ll sort this out,” Brax said.
“I’d better return to the medical bay. Keep me posted,” Nee said, his usual joviality all but gone.
“Get some sleep, Doctor,” Tarlen said.
Nee only smiled and headed away.
Ten
“You did well, Captain Baldwin.” Admiral Benitor sipped from a steaming cup. “To strengthen bonds, one must be willing to extend contracts with courage, the other to accept.”
“I did what I could. The Ugna were ready for it. I only had to show up,” he told her.
They were in his office, and Tom noticed how at ease the admiral suddenly seemed. “You did well too. I really don’t understand why you didn’t lead with the whole Prime Zilph’i thing two months ago and save everyone the annoyance.”
“Think about it, Thomas. Do you really believe the Zilph’i were the only race considering leaving the Founders?” She lifted her pointer finger an inch from her thumb. “We were this close to an all-out war between the Callalay and humans.”
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