Unchained

by C. J. Barry

  He raised his head and examined her from the floor up with a slow, thorough gaze. Her gown was plastered to her body, revealing every curve, every movement.

  "If you walk around Calíbre looking like that, I won't be held responsible for the actions of my crew.” His voice was low and deliberate.

  Cidra drew a blank and looked down at herself. Her eyes shot back to him. For the first time, it dawned on her that he was wearing only shorts. He was still standing in the doorway with one hand braced on the top of the doorway, his lean, powerful body now relaxed.

  Suddenly, the only cohesive thought in her head was that he was magnificent. Muscle played over muscle, sinuous and imposing. The contours and hard planes of a superb male physique glowed in the half-light. Broad shoulders filled the doorway. Dark hair sprinkled over his wide chest and down a tapering torso. She skimmed quickly over his narrow hips, watching as his legs flexed, potent and solid under her scrutiny. She had to force her gaping mouth shut.

  Cidra drew her attention back to his face. It was an amused, all-male smile that greeted her.

  She straightened and lifted her chin. “Point taken. Give me five minutes.” The door slid shut.

  * * * *

  Decker wandered in the office, scratched his head and threw himself into the closest chair. Barrios lumbered in a second later, took one look at Cidra's bright, perky face and growled at Grey, “This better be good."

  Grey held up a hand in defense. “I'm just the messenger."

  He swept a hand toward Cidra. “It's all yours. Let's hear that brilliant theory that couldn't wait till morning."

  Cidra winced. It was going to be a tough crowd. “Decker, please run the recording again, starting about midway through."

  Decker grumbled something low and the now familiar image flashed up after the Kin-sha escort was destroyed and the dying Galena began its drift to port.

  "Stop.” The image froze. Cidra turned to the others. “Can anyone think of a good reason why the Galena would rotate position and try to draw the fighters to the port side?"

  Grey leaned forward. “Maybe there was a problem with the starboard guns.” He threw Decker a questioning glance.

  Decker yawned and shook his head. “Nope, they look just fine at this point. A direct order was issued."

  Grey frowned. “Strange order."

  Cidra smiled, knowing she had his attention. “OK, let it run. Normal speed.” The battle continued on its tragic way.

  "Wait ... wait. There. See that flicker?” Cidra pointed as the recording jumped. She pinned Decker. “Any idea what caused that?"

  He frowned at the stats rolling by. “No, it doesn't look like a malfunction. Maybe a file transfer or something.” His eyes met hers, surprised by his own implication.

  She now had Decker's attention, too.

  "Slow it down. Speed at ten percent,” she said. The battle was nearly over. “Decker, what's the status of the landing bay door on the starboard side."

  "That's strange. It's open.” He paused. “Why would they want the door open? One laser blast from a fighter would destroy them."

  "Anything inside the landing bay?” Cidra was almost afraid to ask.

  Decker nodded. “Looks like a couple of transports were docked, but there's very little data on them."

  The internal explosions had begun. Just as the final explosion rocked the big ship, Cidra interjected. “Let it finish. Then back up to the last frame of the image."

  Her heart was racing now. This was it, the moment of truth. If she were wrong, no one in this room would speak to her for a week.

  The final split second of action froze.

  Cidra squinted. “Zoom in here.” She pointed to the landing bay vicinity.

  The focus area enlarged.

  "Now cut the glare from the explosions inside and the gunfire outside."

  Decker nodded and complied.

  Suddenly it appeared. Cidra closed her eyes. It was there. A very faint, very fine line coming out of the landing bay heading into deep space. The distinct trail of a hyperspace vortex.

  "I don't believe it,” Barrios gasped, his eyes riveted to the image. “They jumped a transport into hyperspace directly off the landing bay deck. That's practically impossible to do."

  Cidra relaxed in her chair. Mission accomplished. “Slip out as fast as you can, and no one will see you,” she murmured.

  Barrios chuckled and rubbed his bald head.

  Decker shook his head. “I can't believe they'd take such a huge risk. The chances of that transport getting out of there in one piece were pretty slim."

  Grey leaned back in his seat and looked at Decker. “Probably figured they didn't have anything to lose. It was evident they weren't going to make it."

  Decker snorted. “Yeah, I guess when you look at it that way, it was downright brilliant. Well, this would explain how they got this holo recording and that one vial off the Galena."

  "I'll wager they got more than that off.” Barrios hesitated, waiting for their full focus. “It was standard practice for a transport to handle the final leg of each shipment. The freighter generally served as long-range transportation and protection only. How much do you want to bet the entire shipment of vaccine was on that transport?"

  Cidra whispered. “Are you saying that whole shipment could be out there somewhere?"

  "Impossible,” Decker interjected. “They would have had to plan this whole scenario ahead of time. The holo recording transfer, the transport and its crew. Not to mention, the manifest information and no less than a thousand vials of vaccine pre-loaded on that transport. According to this recording, there's no way there was enough time to do it during the battle."

  Barrios boasted. “I told you Jarid was a master strategist. He always had a plan for every possibility. I'll bet...” He stopped short, suddenly enlightened, and glanced around the office. “Where's the paperwork we found in Syrus’ box?"

  Decker withdrew the papers from a drawer and tossed them to Barrios. He shuffled through them furiously until he located one small note. With a satisfied grunt, he tossed the note in front of them. Cidra leaned forward to read it. The message was short and hand-written, scrawled hastily across the faded paper.

  PLAN A-664 EXECUTED. DAMAGE ON ESCAPE. COMMUNICATIONS OUT. NAVIGATION SYSTEM INOPERABLE. COORDINATES UNKNOWN. ATTEMPTING LANDING ON SMALL GRAY AND WHITE PLANET. ONE GIANT RED STAR VISIBLE. HOMING POD MANUALLY RELEASED. CARGO INTACT. ORIGINAL MISSION FAILED.

  "It didn't make any sense the first time I looked at it.” The optimism in Barrios’ voice was unmistakable as he tapped loudly on the note. “It mentions a plan. And the cargo."

  Decker opened his mouth to object. Then closed it.

  Grey nodded. “It had to have come from the transport crew. Sounds like they sustained some damage when they jumped off the Galena. Maybe an unlucky hit from one of the Saurelian fighters. No wonder we never heard from them again."

  "A homing pod?” Cidra was reading the message again and missed Grey's last grim comment.

  "It's a very small, unmanned pod with a built-in navigation system and a preset destination,” Grey explained. “Not standard equipment for a transport, but it could be a custom addition."

  Barrios smiled. “Jarid would have done that."

  Grey drummed his fingers evenly on the table. “I'll bet it had a storage compartment big enough for one small vial, a scribbled note, and a holo recording. What do you think Decker?"

  "It's possible.” Decker brightened and bobbed his head. “Yeah, definitely possible."

  "That's it!"

  All eyes turned to Barrios. He raised his head to look at them. “And that's how Syrus got them. Jarid would have had that pod pre-programmed to return to Avion."

  Decker balked. “Lord knows where that transport ended up. It could have taken years for a homing pod to reach Avion."

  "How do we know it didn't make it?” Barrios countered. “Syrus could have recovered the pod anytime in the last ten years."

>   Cidra turned to face Barrios. “Then why didn't he say something?"

  Barrios reached out and clasped her hand. “I don't know. He didn't have many friends in high places by then. Maybe he was afraid no one would believe him."

  "I would have,” she whispered.

  Grey heard the break in her voice and decided to push forward before she lost it altogether. “Since they didn't include their coordinates, they must not have been able to determine where they were. Sounds like they were trying to leave some clues as to where they dropped out of hyperspace."

  "So now all we have to do is find them, right?” Barrios grinned at Grey and leaned back in his chair while it squeaked in protest. “I've heard you're the best there is."

  "I'll tell you right now, it doesn't sound good,” Grey warned. “For one thing, that transport could have dropped out of hyperspace anywhere. In case you hadn't noticed, the universe is a very big place. Secondly, attempting to land on a planet when you've lost most of your systems isn't pretty. Obviously, they never returned to Avion. There's a very good chance they didn't survive at all."

  Cidra eyed him shrewdly. “Forget the odds. What does your instinct tell you?"

  His mouth turned up. Too damned perceptive. His gut feelings were positive on this one, but how did she know that? He was definitely in trouble.

  He kept his eyes locked on hers. “I'm going to regret this."

  CHAPTER SIX

  Plass entered his Supreme Ruler's chambers with the bearing of a man on a death march. The red sunset cast a venomous glow over the sparse contents of the chamber. Tausek occupied center stage watching the evening's entertainment—another savage sunset. The room was silent but for the faint clicking of claws on the black, stone floor as the corvits moved to their master's side. Plass came to a halt behind his ruler.

  "You have news for me, Commander,” Tausek voiced evenly, not a muscle moved on his broad back. “Proceed."

  Plass took a deep breath and prepared himself for the inevitable. Tausek did not tolerate failure well.

  "Jarid Faulkner did indeed have a daughter named Cidra. It is possible she survived the initial attack and is now posing as the niece of Syrus Almazan. Her description and approximate age fit. Our sources reveal the niece arrived shortly after we eliminated Faulkner and his family. I am inclined to believe, based on the evidence, that she is Cidra Faulkner."

  The only acknowledgment from Tausek came as a twitch in his shoulder. He continued to view the sunset unperturbed. “I see. You will, of course, execute her properly this time."

  A prolonged silence drew Tausek around until he faced the Commander. Plass tried to match Tausek's icy facade in a dismal contest. In the fifteen years he had known Tausek, he had never seen any significant emotion in the man. Every movement, every word, every action was expedient, rationed as if coming from a limited supply. Plass shifted uncomfortably, struggling to find words that would minimize Tausek's wrath.

  "When we locate her, we will not fail,” were the words he finally settled on.

  Tausek's expression grew darker. “Explain."

  Plass drew himself up with every ounce of courage he'd earned in his lifetime. “It appears she has left Avion. We are following a promising lead now. I am confident she will be located and terminated shortly."

  Tausek remained silent for a few long moments, his black eyes drilling into Plass. Heat began to build under the Commander's uniform.

  "Sssss.” Tausek hissed between his teeth.

  Called to attention, the corvits stepped from their positions toward Plass with ruthless concentration. Plass swallowed, his throat constricting to the threshold of pain. Barely visible in the darkness, they were a nightmare come alive.

  "Let us hope you do just that, Commander. I will hold you personally responsible. I suggest you handle this matter as if your very life depended on its success.” His eyes burned into Plass.

  "Yes sir,” Plass managed. “I understand."

  He took a resuscitating breath. First message delivered and he was still alive, barely. His eyes flicked over the corvits. Even frozen, they looked terrifying.

  Now highly motivated, Plass plowed ahead. “There is one other item. Earlier today, there was an unusual security breach into our primary information system. The only files accessed were for the Avion vaccine negotiations and communications ten years ago."

  Plass paused, noting with surprise that his ruler's natural arrogance appeared momentarily compromised. Hoping to head off a second storm, he said in haste, “The files were assigned Level Three security only. I consider this a minor incident. I have corrected the oversight, but I thought you should be aware of it."

  The momentary lapse passed and Tausek regained his composure without missing a beat. “You thought correctly. I want a copy of every file accessed in this violation. Then permanently purge those files from the system.” His jaw clenched ever so slightly. “Have you identified the perpetrator?"

  "No sir, but we will. I have our best people working on it.” Plass continued with some trepidation. “It may take some time. The transgression originated off-planet."

  If Tausek was breathing, Plass couldn't tell.

  "How have you corrected this situation?"

  Plass’ uniform was burning from the inside out, perspiration carving a river down his back. “I relieved the Head of System Security of his position."

  "Terminate him permanently.” Tausek's words cut through the air.

  Plass blinked once. “Yes, sir. Will there be anything else?"

  Tausek turned his back to Plass with a single easy movement. “You will notify me when you identify the source of the infiltration. I will decide what action to take at that time."

  "As you wish."

  "Dismissed."

  Plass glanced once at the motionless corvits, spun on his heel and headed for the safety of his office. He didn't slow down until Tausek's chamber door slid shut behind him. Releasing a full breath, he turned right and headed toward his private office, his footsteps echoing through the empty halls.

  He tried to sort through the unusual conversation with Tausek. He'd expected the anger. He'd expected the retribution. What he hadn't expected was the fear that flashed ever so briefly in Tausek's eyes. Any other man wouldn't have picked it up, but Plass had known Tausek a long time.

  Tausek, the powerful ruler of Dakru, was rattled.

  Plass entered his office and dropped into the chair behind his desk, mindless of the perspiration soaked uniform sticking to his skin. Wedged between Tausek's private quarters and office, this room remained windowless, no violent sunsets for him. They were almost too painful to watch.

  He laid his head back, steepled his fingers, and began to ponder each point throughout the conversation for a clue to the uneasiness that now gripped him.

  Cidra Faulkner's disappearance had prompted Tausek's anticipated anger. The complete destruction of the Kin-sha and the Faulkner's were an obsession for all Dakruians. By withholding the vaccine, they had killed millions and sealed their own death orders. Considering what they had done to his people, not to mention Plass personally, they deserved no less. He glanced soberly at the still-life holo image on the corner of his desk. The faces of his life's mate and three precious children smiled back at him. All beautiful, all lost in the critical early stages of the plague.

  It had been much the same for the rest of the d'Hont units. The plague seemed to hit their forces particularly hard. Few d'Honts died, but they watched their families and friends perish slowly, painfully, bit by bit. Helplessly watching.

  D'Hont became his life and his future shortly after Tausek's appointment as ruler of Dakru, effectively replacing the family he'd loved and lost. Plass had been selected d'Hont Commander and right hand to the ruler. In this position, he could guarantee that Avion or the Kin-sha never forgot their intolerable mistakes of the past.

  Yes, he agreed with Tausek's anger. Knew its basis, understood its justification.

  So that left the
other issue, the puzzling security breach. Puzzling because the skillfully executed, unorthodox infiltration had gained access to the entire system. Yet the only files touched just happened to involve the Avion to Dakru vaccine shipment. Tausek's shock, and that's just what it was, confused matters even more. His order to execute the Head of System Security struck Plass as excessive, even for the barbaric Tausek.

  The questions started rising, questions he didn't know if he wanted to pursue, but couldn't ignore. Why, after all these years would someone want the Avion vaccine files? Was it pure coincidence that Cidra Faulkner had risen from the dead at the same time, only to auspiciously disappear again? And by far the most unsettling, why should Tausek be so disturbed by such a minor system infiltration?

  The Commander gazed into space and drummed his fingers on the desk. If Tausek wanted him to handle this personally, that's just what he would do. He'd copy the files to a micropad and then purge them as directed.

  While he obeyed his ruler's wishes, it might not be a bad idea to make a copy for himself. In fact, it might not be a bad idea to take a closer look at all those files. Personally.

  * * * *

  Grey was running hard on the TrackMat when he spotted Decker enter Calíbre's rec center sporting a wide grin.

  "Thought I'd find you in here. Isn't this your second time today? You're going to burn up that TrackMat, you know.” Decker stopped in front of him and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Having trouble sleeping or something?"

  Grey glared at him. With sweat stinging his eyes, his lungs screaming for mercy, and his legs burning, he was in no mood for any digs from his first officer. His lack of sleep was no one's business but his own.

  "Maybe I'll make this a requirement for my entire crew,” he stated bluntly.

  Decker laughed and folded his arms over his chest. “You'd kill us all."

  Grey slowed to a steady run, much to the relief of his lungs and legs. “I assume you're here for some other reason than to watch me sweat."

  "I just like to see how some people work out their frustrations. Anyone I know? Maybe a new crew member?” Decker turned and gauged the distance to the door.