by Selby, Caleb
Fedrin stepped off of the command platform, motioned toward his chair and then nodded to Kesler. “Take care of her Kesler. I want her back in one piece. Got it?”
“Got it,” replied Kesler solemnly.
Fedrin looked once more around his bridge and offered a satisfactory nod. “I’ll be seeing you!” he said in a tone that seemed, to some, as a way of saying goodbye. He had only set one foot into the hallway when he turned sharply and faced Tarkin. “Tarkin, you’re with me!” he called out, much to everyone’s surprise, and then walked briskly off the bridge.
Tarkin awkwardly stood to his feet and looked at Kesler for affirmation.
“You deaf or something?” Jonas called down to Tarkin after he didn’t move.
“You heard him,” Kesler added and nodded toward the door. “The Admiral called you. Get going!”
Tarkin nodded promptly and started after Fedrin.
“Tarkin,” Kesler called out just as Tarkin reached the doorway.
Tarkin turned.
“Be careful,” Kesler said and offered a nod.
Tarkin nodded in return and offered a smile to his friend. “You too.”
“And punch something for me!” added Jonas. “With all six fists!”
Tarkin offered a slight smile as he followed quickly after the Admiral. He didn’t know it as he walked, but he was preparing to undertake the most important mission of his life.
***
A loud rumble sounded outside, followed by several deep Krohn roars.
“What is it?” Reesa asked, looking up from the table.
“Looks like they’re breaking into some more buildings on Fifth Street,” Darion answered after glancing out the window.
“I think they are looking for the Codex,” remarked Reesa.
“Think so?” asked Darion as he studied the Krohns carrying boxes of old books and papers out of one of the buildings and begin loading them onto a support vehicle nearby.
Reesa shrugged. “Why else would they be spending so much time sifting through archives, libraries and museums? They want it. I’m sure of it.”
“Lets hope they spend all the their time looking in banks and museums and not in ransacked clothing stores,” commented Darion with a shake of his head.
“Don’t think about it,” Reesa said. “What’s done is done. We can’t move forward if we keep looking back.”
“Speaking of looking forward,” said Darion returning to the table with two bottles of water and setting one in front of Reesa.
Reesa took her bottle and nodded at a sheet of paper filled with notes. “There really aren’t a lot of options as I see it.”
“That’s what I think,” said Darion, opening his bottle and taking a long swallow.
Reesa nodded. “We know that we need to get to a deep space transmitter to receive the Clear Skies program from Fedrin.”
Darion nodded.
“Of the nine deep space transmitters on the planet, only three of them are in proximity to our location,” continued Reesa.
“The Capital Building, the Defense Complex, and the Clear Skies Research Center,” Darion said with a sigh, having already gone through the details multiple times.
“The Capital Building and the Defense Complex are in the heart of Larep and are probably crawling with Krohn foot soldiers,” commented Reesa.
“Which leaves the Clear Skies research center,” said Darion with a nod.
Reesa nodded. “It’s the only one I see happening. It’s an empty building on the outskirts of the city limits with no real strategic or tactical value to the Krohns. They might not even have a troop presence there.”
Darion shook his head. “But it’s so far away. How can we possibly get there in time?”
“I think that’s why Kebbs left this,” Reesa said as she slid a paper across the table.
Darion picked it up and shook his head. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”
“Afraid not,” Reesa answered.
“These are trash-line schematics,” protested Darion.
“And Kebbs was a trash man,” retorted Reesa. “Makes sense to me.”
“Is it to late to trade jobs?”
Reesa stood to her feet and patted Darion’s arm affectionately. “Get some rest, General. You have a long night ahead of you.”
Reesa retired to the apartment’s only bedroom to catch some needed rest. The task she had in store was no picnic either. Traversing the lizard infested city, making her way to Professor Jabel in the bunkers, and keeping him safe until Darion obtained the data device, was a mission that an entire legion of elite troops would have a hard time completing; but a single woman?
Darion watched as she walked away and then glanced at the table covered with their notes and plans. He shook his head. What they were about to undertake was so outrageously improbable and so brazenly stupid that it nearly made him laugh at the thought; what were two isolated individuals going to do against the Krohn war machine? The answer would be evident soon enough.
***
Defuria stood in the silence of his empty office, soaking in the fading rays of light as the sun gradually set behind the distant mountains of Larep. He smiled cruelly.
The Federation was in turmoil, by all accounts on the brink of collapse, if not already plunged over the side. Krohns occupied the skies above Namuh Prime and her capital city, with no formal opposition in sight. The last mobile fleet of any consequence in the combined navy was in the furthest star-system under the Namuh flag, unable to offer assistance and hopelessly outmatched even if they could. Everything was unfolding just as he had masterfully orchestrated. Nothing could stop him now.
