On the Run (Verity Chronicles Book 3): A Cadicle Space Opera Adventure

by T. S. Valmond

  Wil looked around. “Fascinating. Is that transporter tech your own, or did you adopt it in the way you did these Taran forms?” he asked the aliens.

  “That’s not what we’re here to discuss,” the Gatekeeper at the center of the room stated. The other rose from his seat to stand next to the front console, his attention focused on Ian.

  There was an intense hum of energy in the air, the way it felt when powerful Agents were using their abilities. Ian didn’t sense such abilities in the Gatekeepers in the way he normally could with the Gifted among the Taran population, but there was no doubt that they were different. In particular, their minds were completely walled off to him, the way Iza’s was. The dark, empty eyes drove home the impression that they were mere vessels—a face to make communications easier with Tarans. It gave him hope that they could find common ground and resolve the misunderstanding; if the beings had appeared in their true form, whatever that may be, it would have been a sign that they’d already abandoned the possibility of a continued relationship.

  Captain Iza Sundari seemed shocked to see them. She was kneeling next to a young, beaten man with long hair tied at the nape of his neck, who must be her cousin; he seemed semi-unconscious. Ian wanted to reassure her, but she was telepathically resistant as was the man beside her. Instead, Ian turned his attention to supporting Wil.

  The High Commander squared his shoulders and lifted one hand in greeting. “Welcome back to the Taran Empire. Now, may we speak with you about this treaty?”

  — — —

  Iza gawked at the two Agents who had appeared on the flight deck of the Gatekeeper ship. They’d been brought as she had, by one of the Gatekeepers in a swirl of light, and then dropped unceremoniously in the middle of the room. From their expressions, she could see they’d been just as surprised to be there as she’d been, but they were quicker to recover. The one she recognized from her visit to TSS Headquarters, Ian Mandren, glanced in her direction and grimaced, as if torn between going over to them or staying put. Mandren must have thought better of it, as he returned his attention to the aliens. His face was tight and his bright eyes focused with stone-like determination.

  The man beside him was known to every Taran civilian. It seemed whenever someone wanted to take over the Empire, the man was there. As she understood it, Wil Sietinen had abdicated his political position in the Sietinen Dynasty, so his daughter was next in line, but his role as both TSS High Commander and son of the Head of the Sietinen Dynasty made him one of the most influential people alive. She’d seen his face on several news feeds as well as in the Sensationals.

  In person, he held the impressive commanding presence she imagined the leader of the TSS would carry. She’d never been in a room with someone connected to High Dynasty before, and that lineage no doubt added to his proud stance. However, he didn’t wear the entitlement that Karter flaunted, though she doubted he’d been denied much of anything. She could hardly imagine what it must have been like being born into a High Dynasty on Tararia, raised alongside the rest of the wealthy; he certainly had no idea of how people like her lived. Even so, he stood there with Mandren at his side, squaring off across from the Gatekeepers.

  It gave Iza comfort to know she’d been wrong. The TSS hadn’t abandoned them, after all. Whatever was accomplished here, they’d go on to stop Arvonen, and that’s what mattered most. That, and getting Joe back alive.

  While the Gatekeepers were distracted by the TSS Agents, Iza took the opportunity to check on her cousin. She lifted Jaidyn’s head to rest on her lap and bent her head down to whisper to him. “Are you all right?”

  “Arvonen,” Jaidyn croaked. “He took me from Hubyria, I think he was planning to use me to go through a Gate. But the Gatekeepers, brought me here. If they get the chance, they’ll kill us. We have to get away.”

  Iza shook her head. They weren’t going anywhere. Despite the design of this flight deck for their benefit, she could see no way off of the ship.

  Iza’s attention returned to the men as Wil Sietinen spoke aloud to the aliens asking for permission to begin the discussion. She’d have preferred a more direct rescue, but she could only assume they were doing what they could, which meant they were at a disadvantage.

  The man who stood before the captain’s seat wearing her father’s face was the one who spoke, addressing the TSS High Commander. “You speak for all Tarans?”

  “Yes, because someone must. You’ve been living among us. I think you know who I am, and that’s why we’re having this conversation now.”

  “We do. But even your power pales in comparison to ours.”

  “From what little I’ve seen of your capabilities, I don’t doubt it. But I don’t think we’d be standing here together if a peaceful resolution was entirely off the table.”

  The Gatekeeper weighed this response. “It remains that you have broken the peace between our peoples. You have stolen a Gate and used it to enter our territory. There must be a punishment and a consequence for such disrespect.” The last words spat out of his mouth.

  Iza wedged herself behind her cousin, helping him to a seated position. He held his head and groaned but didn’t speak. He seemed as transfixed on what was going on as she was.

  Sietinen inclined his head. “A misunderstanding. There has been no intentional hostility by our government against yours, and we apologize for the unsanctioned actions of a small group of our citizens. We have no further plans to use your technology,” he stated, calm and measured.

  “It’s too late.” The Gatekeeper moved to the captain’s chair and produced a brown shoe—no, a boot, well-worn and faded. Iza’s boot. He held it up for them to see. “The responsibility of the broken treaty is on you.” He tossed the boot aside and it landed near her cousin’s foot. Iza stared at it in disbelief.

  It was very the boot she’d lost when she’d been pushed through the Gate had been found leading them straight back to her. She was the reason they’d declared war on the Taran Empire. She’d inadvertently gotten thousands—millions—of people killed, including her aunt. Iza glanced down at the top of Jaidyn’s head. His hair as thick as her own, strands of it coming out of the binder at the base of his skull. He would never forgive her once he knew the truth. The weight of the knowledge settled in her gut and made her wish she’d skipped her last meal.

  Sietinen gestured toward the viewscreen displaying the Arvonen One in front of them, unmoving even in the face of the aliens. “As I said, the actions of a few—”

  “No!” the Gatekeeper roared, interrupting Sietinen. “You don’t realize what you’ve done. We’re not the ones you should be worried about. All we’ve wanted was to be left alone. But no justice we can serve today will satisfy the others. You sealed your fate the moment you used the Gate.” He shook his head and scoffed.

  “Then please, explain it to us.”

  “If it means so little that you’ve forgotten, then you aren’t worthy of our assistance.”

  The High Commander looked down and took a slow breath. “You’re right. A race is measured by the actions of all its members. We have disrespected you, and for that we deeply apologize. However, we’re at a crossroads. We can either launch all-out war beginning this moment, or we can seek the path of peace. So, I asked you, will you stop transforming our planets by use of the Gates?”

  The alien man glanced at Iza, and a shiver crawled up her spine and latch on to her neck. We’re not the enemy. Haven’t they taken enough from us?

  “It doesn’t matter what we do now,” the Gatekeeper said. “The damage is already done; they’ll think it was you.”

  The High Commander’s brow furrowed. “I don’t understand.”

  “You will, in time.”

  Iza couldn’t take it anymore. All of the loss, the anger, the pain of having her life stripped from her welled up in her chest until she burst. “No, enough!” she shouted. She was on her feet before she knew what she was doing.

  The two TSS Agents stood motionless as she stormed tow
ard the Gatekeeper.

  “Why are you doing this to us?” Iza demanded. “It was you who came into the Taran Empire and started messing with us. I can’t help who my father was. Now, you put on his face to mock me. If you want to hold all Tarans responsible for what Arvonen and his cronies are doing with your tech, then I say all Gatekeepers are responsible for my father and uncle going rogue and causing this mess in the first place. For such an allegedly advanced race, you sure don’t understand a lot if you can’t see the hypocrisy in your judgments.”

  The alien’s mouth turned in disgust, regarding her as if her life meant as little to him as an insect. “So much talk for one so weak.”

  Iza stretched to her full height. “I’m not weak. If you don’t know that character is the true measure of a person’s strength, then you’ve learned nothing in all your studies.”

  The Gatekeeper leveled his gaze on her, his dark eyes narrowed to near slits. He was assessing her; she could feel it. But she wouldn’t back down. She’d rather die here taking a stand than let these monsters take anyone else from her.

  Sietinen pulled out a box from his overcoat and held it out toward the alien; it was the right size to contain one of the Gate spheres. “Take your tech and leave. This doesn’t need to come to war.”

  The air around them crackled to life and Iza felt it pulse through her, as if she were a part of the fight. The silent rise of electricity lifted the hair on the back of her neck.

  Sietinen and Mandren held steady, but there was a shift in the air, a decrease in the intensity. Mandren glanced in her direction, his eyebrows drawn in confusion. Then, the energy dissipated like a deep breath exhaled.

  The Gatekeeper took the box from the High Commander’s outstretched hand. “We will spare these two. The others must pay.”

  In the space of a heartbeat, Iza saw the flash of light from the viewscreen as the Arvonen One disappeared into dust. The aftershock sent ripples through space, but instead of disturbing the alien ship they rocked forward and back as if riding a swell of water on a lake. There was so little debris, in fact, it was like someone had thrown sand on the ship’s shielding. There was nothing left.

  “Joe!” the word was a cry and gasp through her lips. Tears filling her eyes and a sickening burn filled her chest.

  A dark cloud passed over Sietinen’s face, but his voice remained measured. “That wasn’t necessary. We are capable of bringing our own people to justice. You have killed innocents.”

  “There are no innocents aboard that ship. Our objective is complete. We are done with you, Taran. But the others won’t be as forgiving about the violations. They’ll be your end.”

  One of the men stepped forward and gripped Iza. Just like when she’d been brought to the ship, her vision blurred in the white light of energy surrounding her. The oppressive weight of the Gatekeepers’ instantaneous travel pressed down on her shoulders as if the man had pushed against her to make the return trip, disappearing almost as quickly as he’d appeared the first time.

  The energy subsided on the Verity’s flight deck, but the despair within Iza made her drop to the floor next to her cousin. Viper and the others rushed to her side. Iza still couldn’t feel her legs.

  “Oh, Iza,” Cierra said checking her for physical injuries.

  There wouldn’t be anything for her to see. They’d ripped out her heart, yet the remains throbbed against her ribcage.

  The two elder Quetzalis were repositioning her cousin to the floor and tending to his wounds. She heard the soft murmur of Cierra’s mother making him more comfortable.

  Karter stepped forward and lifted Iza from the floor, so she didn’t have to walk over to the captain’s chair. She couldn’t focus her eyes on any of them. She kept her gaze on the viewscreen and the dust particles still passing in front of them.

  “Iza, what happened over there?” Karter asked.

  Her eyes focused for a second as she took in their worried faces. Her cousin was on the floor, but they were all looking to her for answers. The Agents, she assumed, were back on their own ship. The one face she’d wanted to see was nowhere to be found. She answered the question, her bottom lip quivering with emotion.

  “The TSS made peace with them.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Iza’s eyes were beginning to adjust to the ship and she was starting to take in all the faces. When had Becca been allowed on the flight deck? She was holding Atano in her arms, and he was watching everything with rapt attention.

  Viper stepped away from her and the ship’s alarms ceased.

  “I’m fine” Iza said. “Please, help, my cousin. They roughed him up on the Arvonen One.”

  “It looks worse than it is,” Jaidyn said. “Just got—”

  His words cut off as Cierra pressed her hands against his chest, forcing him down flat. Then, she closed her eyes and placed her hands four millimeters above him, hover over the length of him. Her eyes snapped opened and she blushed.

  “You’re like her,” she said. “I can’t read you. I’ll have to do a visual examination. I’ll make you a tea that will help the headache as soon as I’m done.”

  “I can help with that,” Mrs. Quetzali said, gathering up her robes. They were a pale blue and looked like something she must have borrowed from her daughter who was not quite her height.

  Jaidyn frowned at her. “I thought you couldn’t read me.”

  “Not in the telepathic sense. Everyone’s body tells a story. You winced at the minimal light in the room, and you’re speaking in a low voice. The physical injuries are making your muscles tense which also causes headaches.”

  Cierra turned to her father, “I’d like to get him to the infirmary as soon as possible.”

  — — —

  Braedon sat staring at the side of the shuttle’s hull the violence of what he’d just seen replaying over in his mind like a vid stuck on repeat.

  Everything had gone according to plan. Trix had spoken as Iza to get them docked in the hangar of the Arvonen One. He’d shown his father the Gate within the box as proof of the trade from within the shuttle before he disembarked. The Agents had removed the device, leaving him with the empty box to bring to his father. The Agents hadn’t trusted his father to make good on the trade; instead, they’d snuck aboard to hunt him up themselves, leaving Braedon and Trix to keep his father distracted long enough to get Joe out.

  They’d been escorted to the flight deck by three of his security guards. The large thugs were twice Braedon’s size, but he’d seen what Trix could do and wasn’t at all concerned. The three of them would have to dismantle her to beat her and they hadn’t brought the tools. When they had reached the flight deck, his father had held out his hands for the box.

  “Dad, please. Don’t you understand what this is doing to you? Think about the rest of the family,” Braedon had said. He didn’t have to feign the emotion in his voice every word was soaked with it. Once the TSS took him into custody, he might not ever see him again.

  The older man had ignored the sentiment and snatched the box from his hand. He’d looked inside the now-empty box, confirming what he’d already suspected. “You are the biggest disappointment of my life.” He’d thrown the box to the flight deck in anger. “Take him.”

  Trix had saved Braedon’s life. When the men came from all sides, she’d stood between them. She’d almost lost a hand in the fight, when one of his father’s security used what looked like a jagged sword against her. The antique must have been part of some collection. Braedon was surprised to see the thing cut into Trix, exposing the wiring and metal components inside her wrist. She’d grabbed him by the back of the shirt with her good hand and practically dragged him back to the docking bay. When their exit was blocked by another team of guards, it was the Digger who’d come to their rescue. In a surprising turn, Raquel had fired off accurate pulse shots at the men blocking their path, dropping them to the deck so Braedon and Trix could escape.

  Trix had said the words before he could, “You’re no
t coming with us to the Verity.”

  “Wow, what happened to your voice?” Raquel had stared at her in awe.

  Braedon hadn’t been able to help the half-smile that came to his face, as it sounded almost like something Iza herself would say.

  Then, she’d seemed to take in the words and lifted one shoulder before letting it drop as she answered. “I don’t care. Just get me off this ship.”

  He’d noted the dark beneath Raquel’s eyes from lack of sleep. Her blonde hair had been a disheveled mass hanging in disarray, with rogue wisps sticking to the sweat on her brow. Then, there was the bruising on both her bare arms, as if she’d been held too tight by someone much larger. Braedon had been grateful for her assistance, but he’d never tell her so.

  The Agent had launched the shuttle the moment they were on board. Thankfully, he hadn’t been piloting when the explosion happened. Even as the remains of the Arvonen One dusted the outer shielding, he’d asked the question.

  “What just happened? Was that my father’s ship?”

  The older Agent at the helm looked back at Emery and then to Braedon, hesitating. Then he stumbled over the words as if wanting to be rid of them as quickly as possible. “Uh— Yes, it’s gone.”

  Braedon hadn’t been able to wrap his head around the loss and the bizarre sense of relief that came with it. His father couldn’t be gone. He could still hear the disappointment and curses ringing in his ears from moments ago. Braedon tried not to think about his family’s dynasty and what it would mean for all of them once his brother took over his father’s business interests. There would be a funeral ceremony, but there would be no physical body to view or burn.

  Even now, Raquel still sat on the floor with her head on the bench seat, sobbing. Why she was crying, he had no idea. She hadn’t even tried to resist when the Agents had put the stasis cuffs on her.

  Trix sat on Braedon’s left, her expression neutral. But if he knew her like he thought he did, she was concerned for Joe. He’d caught her scanning him again as they prepared to dock with the TSS ship.