“It is. The Ugna own them.”
Tom’s heart rate picked up. “Starling might be in big trouble.”
“Captain Starling can take care of herself, Thomas.” Fayle’s words were accurate, but he still worried about his old ship and crew.
The hangar buzzed, and Tom peered out the expedition vessel’s open doors, seeing the lights flick on. “Looks like Hans worked his magic. A month? Who did they send to recruit these Ugna?” Tom asked, but his gut answered for him. “You have to be kidding me.”
“Who else?” Benitor told them. “I guess Lark Keen continues to be a thorn in the Concord’s side.”
____________
Asteri arrived at Saturn slightly ahead of schedule. Lark guessed the president was impatient to begin the modifications. In the end, only nineteen Protectors had made the trip, with one being called to the moon colony for an unknown reason. He’d asked, but the crew members weren’t very forthcoming with a stranger.
“What do you think? Smoother than you’d expected?” Prophet found him near the courtyard. The Protectors were impressive vessels, far more advanced than the old fleet ships the Assembly had procured from Earon Station. He did think Constantine still had the upper hand compared with Asteri, but it was irrelevant. When these nineteen battle-ready Invader crafts skipped to the Concord, ready to join Wylen’s impressive fleet, there would be no stopping their combined forces.
The Ugna would take control, Lark would be given a big important title, and more importantly, his wife and daughter would once again be by his side.
“Keen?” Prophet nudged him with an elbow, and he forced a smile.
“I’d say you can take some of the credit. Who are you, really?” he asked. He’d seen how easily she’d dispatched his crew, and how dispassionate she seemed about everything, like nothing mattered beyond the moment she lived in.
“I grew up near Beacon on Aruto and was removed from my home when I was seven years old.” Her eyes were dark, and she ran a hand over the ridges on her forehead, taking a seat on a hard bench across from him. The courtyard didn’t have the lush advancements of Baldwin’s ship, but it was pleasant and bright, and gentle instrumental music played through hidden speakers.
“That’s how they do it, right? The Ugna? They find kids with telekinesis and bring them in?” Keen asked. Honestly, he wasn’t overly familiar with the Ugna. Up until a couple of years ago, they’d been as big a mystery as anything within the Concord.
“Yes. But with the other races, I’ve always wondered.” She leaned her elbows onto her knees, resting her chin on her hands.
“Wondered what?”
“How. Why does it happen?”
“Would you have preferred to stay with your family?” Keen asked. Saying the word reminded him of all he’d given up on accepting this mission.
“I’m not sure. I don’t remember them. Just the odd thing, like the smell of my kitchen when mother was cooking, or the scent of my father as he returned from his day in the fields. We were simple folk. People who’d be scared to lose a child to this illness, and also people who could use the money the Ugna offered in exchange.”
“They paid for you?” Keen asked.
“They always do.”
He couldn’t imagine parents giving away their kids, but knew the Ugna were persuasive if necessary. “Have you ever returned home?”
“To Aruto? No. Nothing there for me.”
“You became an assassin for the High Elder. You must have a long tale to tell,” Keen said.
She acted shocked at his accusation but didn’t deny it. “It’s not as complicated as you might assume. I showed aptitude. He brought me to a secret planet, tucked away a couple of months from the Border. No one knew where we hid.”
“A planet? What’s it called?” Lark was no fool. His back might end up against a wall, and he needed all the small details he could gather while he had a chance.
“Tebas. Nothing special, but they terraformed it to a Class Zero-Nine.”
Terraformed. That was interesting. He filed the name away and tried to keep her talking. “And then what?”
“He took me under his wing after a few years. Not many acolytes gained his attention, and I thought I was special.”
“Weren’t you?”
“I suppose. But I was nothing more than a tool. Which I’m okay with,” Prophet said.
“I guess we aren’t that different, you and me. I was convinced of a path when I was a youth, and chose it rather than following along with my best friend into the Concord ranks. There’s been no turning back.” Lark smiled at her, despite the weight on his shoulders. Something about this felt wrong, but he was in no position to change anything.
“It’s astounding, Keen.”
“What’s that?”
“That a single decision can determine the rest of your life. One choice, and everything changes. I know we make them constantly, hundreds a day, but there comes a time when you’re asked something and you know, deep down, that it’s the road that will either propel you to excellence or spark your demise.”
“And yours… which one is it?” Lark asked.
Prophet blinked and stared at him before shrugging. “I can’t say yet. I guess time will tell.” She rose, pointing at the viewscreen. “We’re decelerating. We’ve made it to Saturn.”
Lark didn’t stand; he only watched her depart and sank into his seat. If his one choice had been following Seda’s father’s advice to join the Assembly twenty years ago, he wondered if it was possible to make another decision that could push him in the opposite direction. One he could be proud of.
Lark stood, stretching his legs before striding through the corridors leading to the bridge. He thought about Prophet’s words, and how she felt like she was nothing more than a tool for the High Elder.
He was no man’s puppet.
____________
“Where are they?” Treena asked herself, pacing the bridge.
“Would you sit down, Captain?” Pol Teller asked. “You’re making me dizzy!”
Treena grimaced, catching the man’s assistant staring at her. She took his advice and seated herself. The probe feeds showed the Protector arriving in the moon’s orbit, and finally, after a few breathless moments, Cleo began its escape.
“Captain, Brax here. We’ve begun our ascent. We’ll move for rendezvous,” the lieutenant commander said through the speakers.
“Reeve, are we ready for the jump?” Treena asked, targeting Engineering.
Reeve’s voice sounded tinny through the speaker. “We have course set for Nolix, deep system.”
Everything was working out fine. They’d discovered the Ugna on Earth, managed to sabotage the Nek modifications on the Protectors, and had more intel into what Earth really held. They’d sent dozens of information-gathering probes to Earth but hadn’t been able to comb through the data yet. There would be ample time for that once they returned home.
Treena couldn’t wait to meet with Baldwin and tell him about their discoveries in Sol. She wished they’d been able to investigate Earth firsthand, but things were escalating. Whoever had come here to share the Nek schematics with these Invaders hadn’t done so unselfishly. Treena felt that an attack on the Concord was imminent, but with their trap, she was confident they’d at least delay it.
Pol leaned toward her, his breath stale. “You know, Captain, we could head to Earth. Deliver some news.” His bushy white eyebrows bobbed under his wrinkled forehead.
“Are you suggesting we attack Earth?”
“Take this on the offensive. These buggers are all over this place. It’s been infested with them. I say we eradicate the lot, so we don’t have to concern ourselves with them later,” he told her quietly.
Treena hoped the others weren’t listening in. She glanced behind Teller, and saw his aide was trembling. “Are you out of your mind, Commander?” She said his title with distaste.
“Listen up, Captain. We’re trained in the Concord to do what is nece
ssary. You think allowing this scum to survive is going to be a good thing for our people? You believe they’ll let it go when they discover it was us behind losing twenty solid warships?” He seemed to be waiting for a response she wasn’t offering. “Didn’t think so. They’re going to come at us hot and heavy, and that’s why I say we nuke the buggers now and be done with it. They didn’t build these ships for show, you know that, right?”
Teller spoke with more fervor and passion than she’d ever heard from the man. Perhaps he was onto something. There was a reason Admiral Benitor had sent this man to her side, and it wasn’t for the company. Treena hated his thought process but had to consider it. His logic was sound, but there were too many innocent lives on Earth, and she told him as much.
“You have no idea how many there are. The girl didn’t know, did she?” he asked, inferring Cassandra.
“Cass hadn’t been to Earth in a decade. But she estimated millions,” Treena told him.
He grunted contemptuously. “Estimated. The girl has no idea what’s even there. She grew up in some desert in the middle of nowhere. All she knows is what the buggers told her.”
Another solid point.
“Captain, the Protector has targeted Cleo. They’ve set course, heading in our direction. And by all accounts, their shields have been raised, their energy readouts suggesting their weapons systems are online,” Lieutenant Darl said.
She wished Brax and Ven were on the bridge with her. “Reeve, activate the star drive. This is going to be a close one.”
“So you won’t fight? We could beat that ship, I’m sure of it,” Teller said.
“Our information is too valuable, but I appreciate you speaking up. You’re a good commander.” Treena meant it. His reasoning for suggesting they attack Earth on their own terms was sound, and one that was engrained into them at the Academy, but that didn’t involve killing innocent people in the crossfire. Not to mention that humans were Founders. Had there been any innocents, she wouldn’t have pulled the trigger. Not like that. She’d give them a fair fight in the end, if they made it that far.
Cleo pushed her limits, racing toward Constantine, and Treena glanced at the ship’s namesake, his AI projection a couple of meters to her right. “Con, go to them if your Link is in range. Tell Brax to dock in motion. We need to move.”
“Done.” The AI flickered and vanished.
Darl glanced at her. “They’ll be in firing range of us in forty-seven seconds.”
“They’re already in range of Brax. Focus on defending Cleo. Reeve, once you see your brother has docked, activate the Nek drive and send us home.” Treena released the communication with Engineering and watched the expedition ship near them through the viewscreen.
Twenty
Ven felt the power of the Ugna in the Protector closing in on them. The Invaders’ ship was faster than their expedition vessel, and far better armed. The first blast struck their shields, shaking the craft as Brax clenched his teeth, forcing Cleo toward its dock above the bridge.
“Come on, give me a few more minutes,” Brax said.
The group of survivors from the moon filled the entire hold of the ship, and their leader, the man named Brandon, rushed up behind Ven. “Can I help in any way?”
“Not unless you know how to use a targeted pulse beam,” Brax said.
“Sounds easy enough,” Brandon said, taking the third seat, a fold-down chair connected to the pulser’s controls.
“I don’t have time to teach you, but you’ll figure it out,” Brax told him.
Ven closed his eyes, sensing the Invaders reaching out to assault the ship. Their minds were merging, using a different form of attack than he’d ever seen the Ugna attempt. Ven threw his own shield up, encapsulating the entire expedition ship within his canopy. Another shot struck their shields, but they were close to Constantine.
“Come on, Darl. Stop moving so much,” Brax whispered, and Ven opened his eyes, letting his mind protect the others. His barriers were battered by the Invaders aboard the adversarial Protector, but Ven held them at bay.
Another blast, and Cleo jarred lower, nearly sending her into Constantine’s hull. Their flagship was huge on the viewscreen, and Ven held his breath as Brax tugged on the yoke, throwing them upwards along the edge of the larger vessel’s shields.
“Almost there…”
“I think I have it!” Brandon shouted, and Ven tried staying in his meditative state. Shots fired from Cleo, but Ven could tell they went wide of the target. It didn’t dissuade Brandon from aiming again. A few more attempts, and he was striking the Protector’s shields.
Constantine was moving quickly, and the familiar lights danced around Ven’s vision. They were the same ones he’d seen since saving Brax’s life in the Nek shuttle… when Ven had died.
And been brought to life by Elder Fayle.
The dots grew in size as he continued fighting off the Invaders’ mental assault, streaking by his vision in wide loops. He felt like he could step into the Vastness, if he so chose.
“Ven, what are you doing, buddy?” Brax asked, but Ven was standing, staring at the viewscreen.
The lights went faster, in a circular and hypnotic pattern, and he waved a hand in front of his face.
“Brax, hurry.” Ven observed Constantine was there with them. The AI projection stood solemnly.
“Con, what are you doing?” Brax asked.
“Constantine has to go to keep from being struck. You need to dock on the fly. Would you like me to take over?” Constantine asked, and Ven heard Brax shift in his seat.
“I’ll shift to automatic controls, if you think you can latch on better than I can,” Brax told the AI, and the young version of Admiral Baldwin’s grandfather laughed.
“That won’t be a problem,” he told them.
Ven continued to feel the pressure building from the Invaders, and he could sense over a hundred of the enemy piled onto the Protector.
He couldn’t let them harm Constantine or these people on Cleo. These humans had been through too much and were about to be given a chance at freedom within the Concord. It was up to Ven to protect them. The lights danced excruciatingly fast, a constant whirlwind of the Vastness. Was he dying? Was this the end?
He shouted, sending forth all his anger toward the Protector, and everyone in Cleo went silent. He was empty, devoid of any emotion, of any telekinetic energy. It was as if his batteries had been diffused of power. A few seconds later, Ven felt them docking, and he blinked his eyes open.
Brax was at his side, holding Ven by the shoulders. “Ven, did you do that?”
Ven was unsure what he meant. He was tired. He plopped into his seat.
Brax crouched near him. “Ven, are you okay?”
Captain Starling’s voice carried into the expedition speakers. “Brax, are we a go?”
Ven watched as the lieutenant commander tapped the button. “Make the jump!”
There was a brief delay, long enough for Ven to see through the viewscreen at the spot the Protector had been. It was torn in four quarters, floating lifelessly.
He began to climb out of the seat, wondering how he’d managed to destroy it with his mind, when the jump hit.
One second, they were in the Sol system; the next, they were somewhere near Nolix. It was all Ven saw before blackness filled his eyes, and he fell to the floor.
____________
“Thomas Baldwin, Captain, Admiral, helmsman.” Tom sat at the lone console of the Ugna-made vessel, controlling it by himself. The trip to Aruto had been quick, and they’d been relieved to see that President Bertol’s defenses had managed to handle the remaining Ugna fighters with few losses.
The subsequent journey to Ridele would take nearly a week, and Tom didn’t think they had that much time. Hans lingered in the boiler room, and as Tom slowed the giant craft, he wished there was a faster way to access the capital.
“Admiral, you’re never going to believe this.” Shu’s chief engineer entered the bridge with
a smile on his face.
“What is it?” Tom asked.
Shu slowed, and Tom watched as the president’s private vessel took the lead, leaving Aruto. She was joining them at Ridele. She thought they could use the word of a Founder’s leader to defend the Concord in a time of internal strife. A couple of days had passed since the aggressive protesters began filing into Nolix, and Tom hoped calmer heads prevailed.
“Hans, are you going to tell me?” Tom asked, and the man came to sit nearby. The entire bridge was a hollow unfinished version of the real ones. It was an open rounded space, with exposed wires and temporary flooring. The vessel worked exactly as the others, without the interior expenses. It was strange piloting a craft with none of the features he’d grown accustomed to.
“Engineering. There’s a half-finished Nek shuttle waiting to be used,” he said.
“You have to be kidding me,” Tom said. These things were popping up everywhere.
“I’m not.”
“How long before it’s operational?” Tom could use a miracle, and jumping to Ridele before things grew worse was imperative.
“If Kan Shu helps, I believe we could have her done by tomorrow, Admiral.”
“Make it so,” Tom said. He slapped the communication button, getting Rene on the viewscreen.
“Admiral, are you prepared for our journey?” she asked, a slight coyness to her voice.
“We have a development,” he said, noticing Benitor on Shu’s bridge.
“Do tell,” Rene said.
“Hans has discovered an unfinished Nek shuttle. He’s requesting that the commander assist its completion.” He saw Kan receive a nod, meaning the Callalay man would be arriving within minutes. “I’ll return to Shu for the evening. We should discuss the plan.”
“Very well. Come aboard, Admiral.” The screen went blank, and Tom shrugged, nodding to Hans.
“Do your best. We’re relying on you. All of us.” Tom clapped the older man on the shoulder and started for the hangar.
An hour later, he found himself in the meeting room with Rene, Admiral Benitor, Elder Fayle, and President Bertol. He felt himself oddly outnumbered and wished Kan had stuck around.
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