by Karl Morgan
Jake asked, “Do you think he will get word to Zakamar?”
“No, I don’t, Jake,” Pan replied. “He’s too afraid of his father and uncle to risk such a thing. He loves to gossip though. I’m hoping he’ll tell someone he knows where I am. If I’m lucky, at least one person he talks to will be part of the resistance. Then they’ll kidnap him and make him tell them where we are.”
“That seems pretty unlikely,” Lauren said.
“That’s true Lauren, but what other hope do we have?” Pan replied.
Chapter 13
Dave Brewster was very comfortable sitting in the overstuffed chair. The sounds and smells of the Starbucks coffee shop were very familiar and inviting. It had been almost a year since he had been here, although only one month had passed on the twenty-first century calendar. A small table was a few feet in front of him. A beautiful woman was seated at the table looking at her laptop screen. Every few seconds she would type a few keys and continue looking. Women didn’t wear short dresses in the thirty-second, and Dave was a bit sad about that. The woman turned her head and smiled at Dave, who quickly averted his eyes.
“Here you go Dave!” Charlie said as he sat on the chair next to the admiral. “One venti latte just the way you like it, and I didn’t forget the chocolate croissant.”
“Thank you Charlie. It seems like a million years since we’ve been here. This place is so homey that coming here alone was worth the jump,” Dave replied.
Bea entered the store and walked over to Dave and Charlie. “Hi guys!” she said. “I haven’t seen you two in a while. I’m just starting my shift and wanted to say hello.”
“Hi Bea,” Charlie replied. “It’s good to see you too. We’ve been out of town for a few weeks, but came here as soon as we got back. I’m sure we’ll see you again in the next few days.”
“Great, I look forward to that,” she said as she turned and walked toward the counter to take her place.
“Dave, you were right about Bea. She is beautiful and does look a lot like Darlene,” Charlie said. “You are a lucky guy, old friend.”
“Thanks Charlie,” Dave replied. “I have a strange feeling about that girl. Something about her seems almost too familiar. Do you know what I mean?”
“Dave, I’ve told you before there are no coincidences. Maybe we need to talk to Rence and Muncie about her when they get here,” Charlie said. “Honestly, I know nothing about her. I just know when that sixth sense kicks in, there is more to know.”
Charlie’s son, Robert walked into the store and stepped up to the counter. He did not see his father at the back of the store. Bea walked around the counter and hugged Robert, kissing him lightly on the cheek. Rob ordered a coffee and stood near the barista station waiting for his order. Charlie saw all the activity and went to say hello. He tapped Rob on the shoulder. Rob was startled to see his father, and hugged him tightly. Rob took his coffee and the two came back to where Dave was seated.
“Dave, this is my youngest, Rob,” Charlie beamed. “Rob, this is Dave Brewster. I guess you could say we are coworkers.”
“Good morning, Mr. Brewster,” Rob said formally, “It’s good to meet you. My dad doesn’t talk much about the people he works with.”
“It’s nice to meet you too Rob, but please call me Dave,” Dave replied. “Would you like to join us? We just got our coffees and were going to chat for a while.”
“No thanks, Dave, I’m in a rush to get to work. Thanks for the offer,” Rob said.
“Work?” Charlie started. “When did you move here?”
“Don’t you ever listen to your voice mail, Dad?” Rob said. “I called you two weeks ago and left a message that I took a job here in San Diego.”
“Sorry son, Dave and I have been out of town for a month, and my cell phone didn’t have service where we were,” Charlie answered. “That’s great news. You’ll have to tell me more about it later.”
“I’m staying with Matt until I can find my own place. I’ll call him and maybe we can all have dinner at your place tonight or tomorrow?” Matt said. “If you’ve been out of town, I’m sure you are anxious to see the grandkids again.”
“That is absolutely true, Rob. It’s a great idea. After you two decide, just call Kally or me and we’ll make certain that everything is ready. I love you, son,” Charlie replied.
“I love you too, Dad,” Rob said. “I really have to get going or my bosses are going to bite my head off. See you guys soon.” Rob turned and headed to the door. As he approached it, Rence and Muncie opened the door and stepped in. Rob shook each of their hands and spoke to them for a moment before stepping out the door and disappearing around the corner of the building.
As Dave sat, he said, “Charlie, that’s good that Rob knows Rence and Muncie. Are you sure he doesn’t suspect anything unusual?”
Charlie sat heavily and looked startled. “Dave, until two weeks ago, Rob was living in Dallas, Texas. I never introduced him to them. I have no idea how they met. Matt doesn’t live in this part of town, so this wouldn’t be Rob’s neighborhood Starbucks.”
Rence and Muncie picked up their coffees and walked to the back of the store to join Dave and Charlie. Dave was a bit disappointed when Muncie took the chair opposite him and blocked his view of the leggy blonde.
“Okay,” Charlie started, “I have a question for you two. How did you meet Rob? I told you about him but you never met him before as far as I know.”
“Well, to tell you the truth, we hired both of your sons and have them working with us on our anthropological projects. You and Aria were having trouble convincing them to move, so we thought we’d help out,” Muncie replied.
“I suppose I should thank you, but don’t you think you could have told me?” Charlie asked. “How much do they know?”
“We’ve told them very little so far,” Rence replied. “They are working gathering background material for a new series of books. Our last book sold fifty thousand copies in the first month.”
“In the thirty-second!” Charlie blurted.
“Okay, that’s enough,” Dave interrupted. “I don’t think this is an appropriate venue for this kind of discussion. Why don’t we just enjoy our coffee and we can talk more at Charlie’s house.”
“Dave, I understand and you are right,” Muncie said. “Just so you know, besides you and Charlie, all the people here now are from the thirty-second. This is where we get together before each day to coordinate our plans. Locals come here all the time, but there are none here at the moment.”
The beautiful blonde stood and came over to the where the men sat. She bent over and kissed Muncie on the cheek. “Admiral Brewster, my name is Lieutenant Alana Albright. Muncie is my fiancé. I’ve been assigned to help convince Matt and Rob to join us in the future. After that task is completed, I am scheduled to join Colonel Aria Watson on your team. I am looking forward to that greatly, sir.”
Dave stood and shook her hand. “Alana, it is great to meet you. You are a beautiful woman and Muncie is a very lucky man,” Dave said as he patted Muncie on the shoulder. “Okay, what’s the story on Bea, the barista?”
“Bea is on special assignment to assist our team. Her specialties are biomedical engineering and languages,” Alana said. “I’m told that she can speak Gallicean, Kalidean and Predaxian. She’s the only person I know who doesn’t have a translator planted in her ear all the time.”
“Dave and I have some conflicting feelings about that girl,” Charlie said. “What else can you tell us, Alana?”
Muncie replied, “I’m sorry Charlie. High Commissioner Darak Daniels has sealed her records. We have told you everything we know.”
“That seems very odd indeed,” Dave said. “I suppose we’ll find out at the appropriate time.”
Charlie’s cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out and answered. “Hello? Oh, hi Rob . . . Tonight at seven o’clock sounds great . . . look forward to it too, son . . . Goodbye,” he said as he disconnected. “It sounds like we
’re all set for the big dinner tonight. I’ll make sure Kally has everything set up.”
Chapter 14
Zakamar Vondee sat quietly at her desk in the new Free Predax Consulate in the heart of Palidus City on the Tantalus colony. She thought about Panoplez Zendo, her best friend and love of her life. He was out there somewhere needing her help. She had no idea how to find him in the vastness of empty space. Thousands of her spies were infiltrating every part of the government on Predax trying desperately to find any clue about his location. In the ten long years since he disappeared, they had found nothing. Two rebel cruisers orbited high above, while the remaining ships returned to Alliance space to disrupt inter-planetary commerce and find others to join them. Currently, the rebel fleet included thirty five cruisers. Her rebels would stop at nothing to bring down the despotic emperor.
A tone sounded on her desk and she touched the contact. The door slid open noiselessly and Lucius Valamar, her one Kalidean employee entered the room. “What is it, Lucius?” she asked.
“There is a group from No-Makla here to meet with you, Consul,” he said in his thick colonial brogue.
“That’s great news, Lucius. Please let them in and bring us some Predaxian brandy to celebrate,” Zak replied.
The Kalidean left and twenty maklans entered the office. After a moment, Lucius returned with several bottles of brandy and a tray of glasses. He opened two bottles and poured brandy into all of the glasses, and left.
“Welcome fellow maklans,” Zak said. “I am very grateful that you came to see me. Predax has been under the foot of Nokalez Zendo and his henchmen for too long.”
“Consul Vondee, I am Ambassador Konomalocus Nolobitamore from No-Makla. I have been sent to Tantalus for two missions. First, I am leading a team of several million maklans who intend to push back the mind control from the frontier so that we can judge the strength of the Predaxian fleet. Under the assumption they are as weak as you contend, my team will assist any Gallicean, Kalidean or Earth star ships in the attack on the Emperor’s forces,” the ambassador said.
Zak glowed with joy. “Thank you Madam Ambassador,” she smiled. “You will find that everything I said is true. I have some fine Predaxian brandy here. Shall we toast to our success?”
“That sounds like a wonderful idea, Consul Vondee,” she replied. The group drank to the success of their plans.
“I have a question, Ambassador,” Zak said. “I am alone here on this planet. I’m a bit confused why you have such a large entourage for this meeting.”
“That’s a fair question,” Kono said. “We maklans from No-Makla can jump up to twenty light-years if we are in a group of ten or more. To be honest, we had no idea what to expect from this meeting. There are those who believe your forces are trying to lure us into a trap deep in Alliance territory. My team came along today just as a precaution.”
“I understand, Ambassador,” Zak replied. “After so many generations of aggression, it is difficult to believe there are Predaxians who are not power-hungry. You can tell I am not trying to exert control over your minds. You can see that my assistant is not being controlled either. Perhaps you can even monitor my crews in space and see the same thing. My dear friend Panoplez and I will not rest until Predax joins the civil societies of the galaxy.”
“I want to believe you, Consul” Kono continued. “My own brother, Michamanades was captured during the battle over Nom-Kat-La. He is part of the reason I volunteered for this mission. If there is anything I can do to secure his rescue, I will do it.”
“I know there are several prison planets in the frontier,” Zak replied. “My ships are constantly looking for weaknesses in their defenses. Perhaps as a symbol of our sincerity, we could capture one or two and release all the prisoners? There are many Predaxians held on those planets as well. Emperor Zendo likes to lock up those who do not agree with them, including his own son.”
Kono took another drink of the brandy. “That is a very good idea indeed, Consul. Are there any such planets near the Gallicean frontier? A prison planet there would likely hold many prisoners of war from the recent invasion,” she said.
Zak thought for a moment. She replied, “The planet Localus has long been known for its prison facilities. I have heard three star cruisers are stationed there. That’s a big investment since the war. The empire only has thirty or forty ships they can spare from regional duty. The Alliance has many more enemies than Greater Gallia. If more ships are diverted to the Gallicean frontier, other civilizations would be encouraged to invade. My fear is that if we attack, all the prisoners would be executed before the space battle could be won.”
“Perhaps there is another way, Consul,” Kono said. “How far is Localus from the Gallicean frontier?”
“Localus is the frontier, Ambassador,” Zak replied. “There are at least half a million Predaxians on that planet using their minds to block Greater Gallia from seeing inside Alliance space. I believe Localus is two light-years from Nom-Kat-La.”
“Consul, you have made my day,” Kono smiled. “Please call me Kono, friend. I have a plan that will require four of your ships to travel to Nom-Kat-La as soon as possible. If we are lucky, we will free those prisoners, destroy the imperial fleet there and hopefully begin the rescue of the Palian civilization.”
“Kono, you can call me Zak,” she replied. “I don’t know what your plan is, but I can’t wait to find out. If it is okay with you, I’ll join my fleet at Nom-Kat-La. I wouldn’t miss this for anything.”
“Absolutely, Zak,” Kono answered. “It will likely take a few days to put plans in place and get approval from our friends on Gallia, Earth and Kalidus. I look forward to seeing you there. If you don’t mind, my team will jump back to our headquarters from here. We didn’t want to startle you by jumping into your office. That would have been rude. It is a much quicker way to travel though.”
“I don’t mind at all, Kono,” Zak said. “Thanks again for coming today.” As Zak stopped talking, the maklans glowed bright white and disappeared. “Wow, I wish I could do that!” she sighed. She tapped a contact on her desk and said, “Lucius, please get Captain Narka on the Parax for me.”
The image of Vandamar Narka appeared on Zak’s view screen. “Good day, Zak,” he said. “What’s going on down there? We read some odd energy signatures in your office a moment ago.”
“Van, I just met with a group of maklans from No-Makla. They have a plan to wreak havoc on our glorious emperor. It sounds like fun. Please prepare the Narka to leave orbit later today and send a shuttle for me. Then, arrange for three other ships to meet us at Nom-Kat-La as soon as possible.”
“No problem, Zak,” Van replied. “There are at least eight of our ships within a day’s travel from Nom-Kat-La. What’s the plan anyway?”
“Honestly Van, I have no idea yet. The goal is to liberate the Localus prison planet. Do you have any idea how many Predaxian political prisoners are held there?” she asked.
“My helmsman used to be a guard there,” Van replied. “When he left to join the invasion force, he said there were at least fifty thousand Predaxians held there.”
“Hopefully, we’ll have fifty thousand more rebels joining us real soon Van,” Zak smiled. “Signal me when the shuttle is going to arrive. Tantalus out.”
Zak walked over to the brandy and poured another full glass. She raised it up and said, “Here’s to you, Pan. Our plans are starting to come true. I swear I won’t rest until your father is deposed, the slave planets are freed and you are back in my arms again, my love.” She drank the brandy and walked back to her desk. It was going to be a great day on Tantalus.
Chapter 15
Darlene Brewster was meeting with Jon Lake and Aria Watson in the core team conference room on the Nightsky. The final reports from the planetary probes were complete and they were reviewing the results. It had been six hours since Dave and Charlie had jumped back to the twenty-first. The view port was open and Station 801 filled the view. The terminator was moving ac
ross the planet slowly as night was turning into a new day.
“Darlene,” Aria said, “the reports on the three gas giants look very promising. This may be an opportunity to build our relationship with the Galliceans even more. All three have a massive Dar-Fa. Charlie told me that the Galliceans love those since they bring large amounts of usable materials up from the surface, and they are a lot of fun to fly through. As well, the densities and atmospheric components seem almost identical to Gallia itself.”
“That’s great news, Aria. We’ll try to contact Fa-a-Di or his brother-in-law when we’re finished here and give them the good news,” Darlene replied. “What about the other earthlike planet?”
“Planet 4 is much drier than this world, Darlene,” Jon said. “We will probably have to terraform some parts of the surface to provide adequate crop land to support a full colony. The amount and quality of ores is through the roof. It might make sense to have Planet 3 be the bread basket for the system and focus Planet 4 on mining, at least at the beginning.”
“I suppose that will be up to the Governor when she arrives,” Darlene replied. “Is the permanent portal operational yet?”
“Sadly no, Darlene,” Jon answered. “We have two crews working on it now. We are expecting the cruiser Excalibur within the hour. She is bringing Engineer Dovid Dickens and his team. They have been appointed to manage the Portal Command in this system. Do we have a planet name yet? I keep confusing myself using Planet 3 or Station 801.”
Darlene smiled, saying, “Yes, we do actually. I received the report from Darak’s office an hour ago. Planet 3 is now officially Golden Dawn. Planet 4 is New Frontier. Engineer Dickens will manage the Golden Dawn Portal Command. It sounds nice, right?”
