Katie muttered a curse and looked away. “I get what you’re trying to do, Lee, and I understand why. But need I remind you that I’m a doctor? Which is to say that I know what death looks like. Trust me, I can handle it.”
Lee ruffled the back of his hair. “I know you can, Katie, but that’s not the issue here. I want you to be safe. So for once in your life would you please, please ditch the sibling hierarchy card and not fight me on this? Just this once?”
Katie bit her lip. “You know, for all of this hoopla about loyalty among family, you’re sure being quick to cut my vote out of the loop. Care to tell me why that is?”
Lee looked her dead in the eye. “Because I volunteered for this…and because I don’t have a three-year-old son at home waiting for me to come back.”
Katie dropped her gaze to the floor and fell silent.
“I know you want to be there, sis, and I love you for that. But please, stay here on Aura and…try to enjoy your vacation.”
“Fat chance of that, now that I know my kid brother is headed out with all of his soldier buddies to get shot at.”
Lee gave her a warm look. “Know this, Katie, and know it well…I’ve got great people watchin’ my back. Not good, but great. I’ll be home when this is all over, don’t you worry. Besides,” he said with a forced laugh. “I’m due a real honeymoon sometime, right?”
Katie looked unamused. “Yeah, all right. I’ll wait it out at Madisyn’s place like you asked. But you’d better damn well keep your word to loop me in on all of this, okay? I mean it, Lee, I can’t handle a guessing game about how you’re doing out there. Same goes for Danny and Madisyn. If something breaks loose, I wanna know about it.”
“That’s totally fair.” Lee glanced at his watch. “All right, I gotta jet. They’re gonna be expectin’ me on my own ship here shortly, and I’ve got a ton to do. You sure we’re good here?”
Katie gave him a weak nod, and Lee leaned in to kiss her cheek.
“Love ya, sis,” he said, turning to go. “Call ya later. Promise.”
* * *
Watching her brother vanish down the hall, Katie waited for the swooshing sound of the lift-doors closing before turning to the pair of officers passing through the corridor behind her. “Hey, guys, how do I get down to main engineering?”
The two men traded looks.
“That’s a restricted area, miss,” one of them said. “Civilians typically aren’t allowed down there without an escort.”
Katie waved him off and flashed her best innocent smile. “It’s cool, boys, don’t worry. I know the AC.”
* * * * *
Chapter 23: Revealed
Trying his best to squint off the last of his double vision, Danny awoke to the throb of a thousand percussionists thundering in his brain.
“Ah, man,” he mumbled, groggy as hell from whatever had been pumped into his system, but he had just enough help from his woozy head to get to his side, then to his stomach, and then to his feet. Where am I, and how did I get here? He rubbed his temples.
The last thing Danny recalled was the attack on the Larrin, though he still wasn’t sure by whom. The aggressors’ ship had been like nothing he’d ever seen, on Aura or Alystier. Long, lean, and nightmarishly fast, it was plated from bow to stern in some sort of spiked armor that made it all but impenetrable to conventional weaponry. It’d also been powerful, blowing each of the Larrin’s escort ships to bits in mere seconds.
Still, the soldiers who’d boarded the Larrin after disabling its engines had been Alystierian, no doubt about it. They had put a beating on him, too. Eight of them, kicking and punching the daylights out of him—head, back, ribs, groin; the whole nine yards—until finally he’d collapsed onto the deck in a bloody heap. They probably would’ve kept at it had their CO not stepped in…Briggs, Danny thought they’d called him. After that, the man had injected him with something to knock him out for the transport here…wherever ‘here’ was.
“Zeller regs, my ass.” Danny fingered the fresh bruises on his face and aching sides while surveying the cold, dank room around him.
That was when it hit him. Madisyn! She’d surrendered along with him, and while Danny was pretty sure Briggs’s men hadn’t touched her except in restraint, he had no clue what they’d done with her after he’d blacked out.
“Madisyn!” he called, straining to see whatever he could of his surroundings, which wasn’t much considering the dim illumination from the lights overhead. Lots of concrete, iron bars, one door, and a camera…definitely a brig. But whose brig, and where?
“Madisyn!” he called again, a little louder this time.
A light groan stirred in the shadows at the end of his row of cells.
“Madisyn! Sweetie, is that you?”
“Yeah,” she managed in the same, groggy voice. “Yeah, it’s me.”
Danny felt a flood of relief wash over him. “Please tell me you’re okay. They didn’t hurt you, did they?”
“No, they put me out right after you.” Madisyn staggered to her feet and approached the bars of her own cell six cages down. “Oh crap, Danny, what about you? Those soldiers would’ve beaten you to death if that one guy hadn’t stopped them. Are you all right?”
Feeling his nerves begin to relax a bit, Danny settled down and found his composure. “I’m okay. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”
“Where are we?”
Danny shook his head. “No idea. We’re obviously in a brig somewhere, but for all I know we’re still on that weird ship.”
“What was that thing? It sliced through two Farrior-class outcutters as if they weren’t even there!”
“I know,” Danny said, now in full-on scout mode, looking for any means of escape. “Whatever it was, I think it was a C-100. It jumped in way too quick to be anything else.”
Madisyn’s expression turned curious. “Last I heard, the Alystierians were still a year out, minimum, from C-100 tech. You think they somehow figured it out?”
“I’ve got no idea. But whatever that thing was, C-100 or not, I know it was tough. I watched three Devastator missiles hit it head-on, and they barely left a scratch! Trust me, that’s new.” Something else dawned on him. “Hey, who else did they take, anyway? Captain Weldon, the bridge crew? How about your colleagues from the conference? Anybody else make it?”
Danny could make out just enough of her face in the shadow to see it sink, and he felt pretty certain she was thinking of her friend, Shana.
“I think we’re it.” Madisyn dropped her head. “The guy who shot us up? The CO? I think I heard him give the command to scuttle the Larrin just before I passed out, and honestly, Danny, they didn’t seem that interested in anyone else. I think we were it…specifically, me.”
Danny could hear the guilt in her voice. In spite of the fact that none of this was in any way her fault, the truth remained that she was the one and only daughter of the sitting Auran president, and that was a big chip to play for an enemy. All those people aboard the Larrin…three-hundred and twenty-six to be exact, plus another four hundred or so between the two escorts…all dead on account of her, or so she would believe.
“This is not your fault, Madisyn, you hear me?” Danny pressed against the bars to his cell. “This is not your fault.”
“I know, Danny,” she said with a sniffle. “I know it’s not. But if I would’ve just lis—”
The lock indicator above the door flashed from red to green, and a loud series of clacks reverberated through the room when the latching mechanisms released. A moment later, the door swung open and Briggs entered, trailed closely by the ‘Man in Black’ himself, Commandant Alec Masterson.
Danny sneered at both of them.
“My apologies for the lack of quality accommodations.” Masterson halted at Danny’s cell and clasped his hands behind his back. “Originally, Captain Briggs and his men were scheduled to return to the Kamuir once their mission had been completed. However, we hadn’t planned on securing both of you, thus a cha
nge in venue was required.”
Danny remained silent. Standard procedure for detained prisoners everywhere dictated that any questions asked be answered with only name, rank, and serial number—no more, no less. Given the circumstances, however, not to mention who he was dealing with, Danny thought it best to keep his mouth shut altogether. That and, well, frankly, he just didn’t feel like talking to assholes today.
“What do you want?” Madisyn asked.
So much for silence, Danny thought.
“All in due time, Dr. Reynolds.” Masterson stalked toward her cell. “But first, please allow me to express my genuine excitement at having you here. The daughter of President Wylon herself, right here in Eurial. Who would’ve ever thought it possible?”
So we’re on Alystier, Danny noted. That’s a bold move, Masterson, even for you.
“I must admit,” Masterson said. “In the months after Dulaston, I found myself as bemused as anyone over the ASC’s sudden rise from the proverbial ashes in this war. ‘How is this possible?’ I thought. For it wasn’t your new ships alone that were beating us, but your newfound surge in troop numbers, as well.” He paused and stroked his silvery-black whiskers. “Then I heard of your…Mimic Project. Fascinating stuff, that program. Absolutely fascinating, particularly your use of Auran gene therapy, which I found nothing short of brilliant. You’re to be commended, Doctor. Truly, you are a visionary.”
“Always nice to have a fan,” Madisyn said.
Danny let slip a wry grin. He probably shouldn’t have, given the circumstances and Masterson’s reputation. But that was his Madisyn, the girl who took crap from no one.
“Listen, Commandant, if I may cut through,” she said. “I don’t know what you had in mind by abducting me and bringing me here, but I can assure you that my father will never negotiate with you as long as you’re holding me hostage. It’s just not our way, and at the risk of insulting your intelligence, you’re foolish to think otherwise.”
Much to Danny’s surprise, the Alystierian commandant bellowed a long, hearty belly-laugh before answering.
“My dear Dr. Reynolds,” Masterson said between breaths. “Whatever makes you think that you were the target of this operation?”
Danny snapped back around to find Masterson’s stormy grey eyes drilling a hole straight through him.
“That’s right, Sergeant Tucker,” Masterson said through a tight smile. “Or, if ceremony is your preference…Staff Sergeant Daniel R. Tucker.” He cocked his head. “May I call you Danny?”
A tidal wave of thoughts rushed through Danny’s mind. His name was of no importance. That much could’ve easily been gleaned from his dog tags. It was, rather, the look on Masterson’s face—a twisted expression of sadism mixed with pure hatred—which told Danny that this man knew far more about him than his name and rank.
This is personal somehow. “I’m just a grunt,” Danny said, playing aloof for now. “What could you possibly want with me?”
“Not a thing,” Masterson said flatly. “In point of fact, I couldn’t care less about you. Your former commanding officer, Lee Summerston, on the other hand…” The commandant laced his fingers at his chest. “Well, let’s just say I’m extremely interested in meeting him.”
“Lee?” Danny couldn’t hide his surprise. “What does Lee have to do with any of this?”
Masterson crossed the floor back to Danny’s cell. “Tell me, Sergeant, does the planet Myrick 4 conjure up any memories for you?”
Danny furrowed his brows at the question. Sure, that’s where you bastards took Mac when you hijacked her Mako. “Yeah, rings a bell.”
“There was a man there…a soldier.”
Danny rolled his eyes. “Yes, sir. Per the report I read, there were a lot of guys present that day, so you’ll have to be more specific.”
Masterson’s frosty expression was the antithesis of amusement, though he said nothing. He just reached into his coat pocket, pulled out a photograph, and slowly showed it to Danny.
Oh…shit. Danny hoped like hell that his face wasn’t betraying just how utterly screwed he felt right then.
Tall and thick-chested, the man in the picture had a shaved head and broad facial features with a pronounced jaw covered in stubble—his eyes ablaze in a striking, unmistakable shade of gold. At least, that was how Danny had remembered them looking…right up until the moment when Lee had split them with a .45-caliber round for the man’s attempted rape of Mac.
“His name,” Masterson seethed, “was Captain Jensen Hourne…and he was my son.”
Danny took a step back, any shred of cockiness within him now completely gone. “I’m sorry. That was a bad day for a lot of us. But what’s done is done.”
“Oh, I agree, Sergeant Tucker.” Masterson glanced once more at the picture then tucked it back into his pocket. “Nevertheless, you’ll understand now when I say that recompense must still be made, hence my interest in your friend, Summerston. The fact that I now hold you, in addition to Wylon’s daughter…” He broke off and shot a sinister glance at Madisyn. “Well, I’d say that ups my odds of collecting said recompense a bit sooner rather than later, wouldn’t you?”
Danny didn’t respond when Masterson turned to leave with Briggs who, for whatever reason, hadn’t looked any of them in the eye.
“Now,” the commandant chirped from the exit. “If I could only decide how best to use this little advantage of mine. Ah, well. I’m sure it’ll come to me.”
Once the door had sealed shut and the indicator flashed back to red, Danny and Madisyn traded looks.
“We’ve gotta get out of here, Danny,” Madisyn said after a few seconds. “And I mean now. There are things in the works that you haven’t been privy to, and my dad and the admiral need to know about these new ships before it’s too late.”
Danny tapped his bars then looked around again. “I’m all ears if you’ve got any ideas.”
Madisyn hesitated before asking her next question. “Does Lee have any idea? About Masterson’s son, I mean?”
Danny dropped his head. “Not a frickin’ clue.”
* * * * *
Chapter 24: Allegiance
Nathan Briggs closed the door to his quarters on the Kamuir, unloaded his gun-belt onto the dresser next to his bunk, and stared at himself in a nearby mirror.
“What in the gods’ names are you doing, Nate?” he asked aloud, seeing the circles under his eyes even darker today than they had been yesterday, or the day before. Sleeping had become quite the chore since his promotion to Masterson’s XO, in part for the inherent stress of the job, though mostly for the political snake-pit in which he now found himself because of it. As a career soldier of nearly twenty years, he’d always respected the commandant. Hell, who hadn’t? The man was a bona fide war hero. Had Masterson stepped into the gray on a few of his calls over the years? Sure, but this was war, and someone had to make those decisions. Gods knew it hadn’t been Zier! Factor in the chancellor’s hand in Delarla Reese’s death on the Prelyn, and what self-respecting man wouldn’t have thrown his allegiance behind the commandant?
But then had come that strange red planet in the expanse, and then Reau Langella.
Briggs felt a shiver run down his spine as he moved to the chair beside his bunk and collapsed into it. Gods help him, he could still hear those awful sounds when he closed his eyes at night…the sudden crunch of stone into Langella’s face followed by that thick, wet gurgle that might’ve actually been a scream had it exited the man’s mouth a split second sooner.
Son of a bitch, that was brutal. But, Briggs wondered, what exactly was he supposed to do about it? Raise his hand in protest and end up in a body bag himself? Screw that! And then, as if matters couldn’t have gotten any more complicated, he’d been ordered onto the Larrin after this Danny Tucker guy.
Briggs slumped deeper into his chair and ran a weary palm over his face. The two ASC outcutters had engaged the Kurgorians out of hyperspace. That made them clean kills. But the Larrin had su
rrendered. That should’ve been enough. And yet for Masterson, it hadn’t been.
Three hundred twenty-six souls…Briggs shuddered upon recalling the scuttle order. For gods’ sakes, why?
“Bridge to the XO,” a voice called through the wall terminal.
Briggs snapped alert and scowled at the device. “Go for the XO.”
“Sir, Commandant Masterson has just finished his vid-conference with the Kurgorian pralah and is requesting your presence in his ready room.”
Briggs looked at his bunk, then at his gun-belt, then back at the terminal, and felt everything in him sink. “On my way.”
* * * * *
Chapter 25: Reliance
Seated alone in the Kennox’s flight-briefing room, Lee leaned forward in his seat at the front and cupped his face in his hands. This is not happening, he thought, his mind still reeling as he tried to process the news he’d just learned. It’s just not.
Danny had deployed on dozens of combat drops since joining the 102, and a lot of those since taking command of his own unit in the last year. So of all the places Lee’s best man could fall, how could it be on a godforsaken transport ship to a science conference with his girlfriend? It just wasn’t fair.
Nevertheless, Katahl’s communiqué an hour ago had left little to interpretation. “Survey analysis complete,” the message had read. “Hull signature confirmed: AS Larrin. Search for lifeboat energy signs continues, but KIA status appears likely.”
Walking through each possible scenario in his mind and tearing them apart piece by piece, Lee fought to think of anything in the report that might’ve given him cause for disputing its findings. An outlier in the data, or a crack in the timeline…anything that would cast a shred of doubt on the otherwise irrefutable evidence that said his best friend in the world—his brother in every sense but blood—was lost.
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