“What is this?” he signed.
“Not sure yet,” Dani signed back before nodding toward Roni, who was staring at them with a frown.
Roni cleared her throat and walked the length of the stage, looking out over the small crowd. “You are the best of the best. Many of you have worked together on other missions, and there are also some new faces here today. But I assure you, this mission will be unlike any other.”
Dani watched Roni’s slow pace back and forth across the stage as she made eye contact with seemingly every person in the room. She certainly seemed a lot different than the woman Dani had met in prison. Even Jag had lifted his head away from his hands to watch and listen.
Roni displayed a ship on a large holographic display over her head. Dani recognized it immediately. “The Houston is in trouble, and Commander Alexander along with it. Our mission is simple, but it won’t be easy. We will liberate the Houston, and those on board.”
Dani glanced at Zadria, whose eyes were wide with panic.
“Did she say Commander Alexander?” Jag looked even more confused.
“The Houston is being held here,” Roni said as the scene shifted to a group of stars and planets. “PS119. As you’re aware, this system is used primarily as a training space for GC soldiers, so we’ll have quite the challenge. In addition to the trainees, reports indicate that there are at least four GC warships occupying the space. Our goal is to get in, repair the necessary systems that have been disabled by GC officials, and allow Commander Alexander the window to fly the Houston to a predetermined location.”
Roni took a deep breath, her gaze landing squarely on Dani and her crew. “To aid with this mission, we have the assistance of Captain Dani Devereaux and the crew of the Osirion. While our ships are distracting the GC warships, they will board the Houston. Howard Glenn, Osirion’s chief mechanic, will help with the repairs aboard the Houston.”
Whispers broke out among the rebels at the mention of Dani’s name, causing her to shift in her seat uncomfortably. A quick glance at Howard revealed he was caught as off-guard as Dani herself.
“Once the Houston has been liberated, we will reconvene at the beta site to aid the injured and make repairs. Commander Alexander will first drop off any staff unwilling to continue their service under his true command before proceeding to the beta site.” Roni continued, “It’s important to understand that this is the single most important mission Operation Ardent Redux will have to date. Should we fail, a significant amount of intelligence, assets, and technology will be lost. President Penn underestimates us. We will use that to our advantage.”
Roni clicked off the holographic display and leaned forward on the podium, narrowing her eyes at the crowd once more. “As with other important missions, Rebel HQ will be on lockdown, allowing no departures, arrivals, or transmissions. We can’t risk another leak like that which resulted in the unfortunate circumstances in PS683.”
Dani felt the entire audience turn to her at the mention of the lost star system. Only they didn’t look at her with blame, but with pity. Her breathing quickened as she began to panic. Thankfully, Roni continued speaking and drew their attention once more.
“We’ve seen what the GC is capable of, and we will not stand for it any longer. Saving the Houston will bring war to our doorstep. A war that we are prepared to fight. This mission will light the beacon for all rebel cells to activate and rightfully seize control over the GC, once and for all. Gone are the days where their domination spread like a plague. They will no longer have the ability to leech off of hard-working citizens in this galaxy, forcing them into servitude before leaving them poverty-stricken. No. Now, it’s time. Time for us to give the galaxy back to the people.”
The rebels erupted in whoops and cheers. Many stood and applauded, to Roni’s obvious delight. Dani even felt inspired by the speech, though confusion was a close second when it came to her feelings on the matter. She had questions—far too many to list. She wanted to get some one-on-one time with Roni to go over the details and find out exactly what was expected of her and her crew, as well as whatever the rebels found out about PS683 that made them look at Dani the way that they did.
“And now, to go over the details of the mission, please welcome the man who started it all,” Roni said, stepping to the side of the podium.
Heavy boots stepped out onto the stage and kept a slow cadence toward the podium. The steps, applause, and shouts of approval faded away into the background as all Dani could hear was the pounding of her own heart. She was even deaf to the questions from the mouths of her own crew. Without even realizing it, Dani had gotten to her feet, her eyes wide on the man at the podium.
He made eye contact with her as she stood, his face stoic but his eyes apologetic and full of sorrow. The man clutched the sides of the podium and waited for the crowd to settle down. But to Dani, the crowd no longer existed. It was just her and the man wearing the signet ring adorned with the letter ‘D,’ her father.
To Be Continued …
Houston’s Peril
Ardent Redux Saga:
Episode 5
By
J.L. Stowers
Copyright © 2018 by J. L. Stowers
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
First Edition, 2018
Editing: Keri Karandrakis
Cover Art: Tiffany at Dark Matter Book Covers
Visit the author’s website at www.jlstowers.com
Dedication
For those who stand up against tyranny.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 1
“Breathe.” Howard tugged on Dani’s arm until she settled back into her chair, still staring at her father.
“What? But… how?” Dani muttered to herself.
Bob Devereaux leaned toward Roni with a furrowed brow and a deep frown.
Dani strained to hear the conversation, but at this point the hall was mumbling in discord and the whispers were lost in the noise.
Roni, visibly upset, seemed to stammer something back at Bob before stomping off stage and down the aisle, finally slamming the door outside behind her.
Bob’s eyes found Dani again, and she watched as he inhaled deeply. He’d worn the same look when he’d catch her doing something in her youth that she knew she wasn’t supposed to do. Taking the podium once more, he addressed the restless crowd.
“We’ll reconvene in two hours.”
The rebels cleared out of the hall, most appearing mildly annoyed. But Dani’s attention didn’t linger on the passing glares. Instead, she focused on the man on the stage. He was easy to recognize, as little had changed aside from the passage of time. His short, dark hair was buzzed in the same manner it always had been, the only difference now being that the grays outnumbered the dark hairs three to one. The same eyes, same shoulders, same jaw from years ago stared back at Dani.
With the last of the rebels gone, Dani and her crew remained seated, staring up at the former Six-Ring GC Captain in a mixture of awe and confusion. Bob’s eyes eventually left Dani and worked their way down the row as though he were examining each of the individuals in her company. Then, with a sigh, he started toward the edge of the stage.
Dani was frozen in her seat as she watched her father approach. Her open mouth was now dry and she searched her mind for something to say, but the words just weren’t there.
“Dani,” Bob said as he neared her. He opened his mouth as though he had more to say, but closed it again after a moment.
Hearing her father say her name for the first time in more than a decade was shocking to her. A fire of rage boiled
within her stomach as confusion ran through her mind. She wanted so desperately to jump up and hug him, but she also wanted to slap him for staying away so long. Finally, after struggling to speak, she uttered a single word, “How?”
“There’s much to discuss,” he explained with a sigh. “And we weren’t supposed to be reunited this way. Please, come to my quarters… all of you.”
Bob turned on his heel and made his way toward the front door, Dani staring after him before jumping to her feet and walking briskly to catch up. She could hear the scuffle of feet and chairs from the others behind her but didn’t want to wait any longer.
Groups of rebels gathered outside the hall were whispering amongst themselves, and straightened up into a salute as Bob walked past. Dani hurried to keep up with his long strides the best she could without running.
Bob led the way to a simple-looking home. His boots clunked up the wooden steps and the door creaked open. As Dani entered, her fingers trailed along the door’s red paint. It was the same color as her childhood home.
The rest of Dani’s crew piled into the small living room, taking a seat on what little furniture was available. There were no decorations of any type in the room. Aside from a rug, a couch, and an armchair, it was empty. Bob continued further into the home as Dani, Jag, Howard, and Zadria squeezed together on the couch. Cruz remained standing, arms folded across his chest, near the door.
“Well, this is awkward,” Jag muttered. “Oof! Hey, watch it.”
Howard glared at Jag and retracted his elbow from his side.
“That’s Dani’s dad, right? Captain Bob Devereaux? I recognize him. I thought he was dead,” Zadria rambled in a hushed tone.
“Yeah,” Dani managed to mumble. “Me too.”
The group sat in silence until Bob returned, carrying a tray of water glasses. He offered one to each of the crew, Dani eagerly accepting and wetting her dry mouth.
Bob sat, the armchair squeaking beneath him. “Where should I start?”
“Maybe your ‘death’ might be a good place?” Jag said with a chuckle.
“Actually,” Howard cleared his throat and shot a sideways glance at Dani. “Perhaps it’s best to start at the beginning.”
Dani furrowed her brow at Howard. “Wait, did you know?”
“Sure, the beginning,” Bob started.
“Howard, did you know?” Dani asked again forcefully.
Bob leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Focus, Dani.”
His voice was haunting. It was the same thing he’d said to her so many times when her emotions had started to get the best of her. The words often echoed in her mind during times of turmoil, but hearing them spoken aloud by her father once more rendered her speechless yet again.
“It started while you were in the academy. We were sent on a rescue mission. A small space station was taken by the Vaerians. The situation was suspicious from the start. Only a handful of people were on the outpost, and the GC typically doesn’t send in the cavalry for so few. It’s sad, but true.”
“I believe it,” Jag said before sipping his water.
“We knew when we got there that it was too late. The space station was ripped open from top to bottom, but we suited up and boarded anyway. Sure enough, everyone was dead. It was obvious that there had been some tampering with the memory units, so we pulled them and took them back to the ship. On our way out, Patrick was checking the crew for ID and he found a video recorder beneath a body and grabbed it. He thought maybe it was a video recording to the guy’s family and he wanted to make sure they got it. Of course, you can’t just hand those things over to the family without making sure the footage isn’t traumatizing. So we watched it.”
Bob pushed his palms onto his knees and stood. Dani took more notice now of how he moved. His body seemed stiffer and his movements more cautious; so many years between them—lost.
He crossed the room and rested his forearm on the mantle of the fireplace that adorned the largest wall in the room. Bob looked down into the soot and wood remnants as he continued. “It wasn’t pretty. The recording showed the attack on the space station, every gory detail. The most disturbing part, though, was the fact that the attackers weren’t Vaerian, but fellow GC troops. Their uniforms were different, though—I hadn’t seen them before.”
“How could you tell they were GC?” Zadria leaned forward and asked.
Bob raised his eyes and studied her face. “Everything from their weapons to their boots screamed GC. And if that wasn’t enough, they had a GC patch on their uniform. Different than that, but a GC patch nonetheless.”
Zadria looked to her shoulder where Bob had gestured at the GC patch adorning her uniform and covered it with her palm.
“Anyway…” Bob sighed before continuing. “We checked the memory units after we saw the video and found that they were wiped clean. Whatever information they were there to get or destroy was gone. All we had was a broken space station, a few dead bodies, and the video. After a long chat with the rest of the crew, we decided to turn over the video to our commanding officer.”
“Please tell me you made a copy,” Jag blurted out.
A half smile created wrinkles at the corner of Bob’s eye. “We did. And it’s a good thing, too. I met with my commanding officer and we reviewed the recording together. He was distraught, to say the least. He said he’d run it up the chain of command. I left his office, and then never saw him again. Shortly after that, I got a new commanding officer. I asked for a sit-down and inquired about the tape. He told me not to bring it up again.
“Now, anyone will tell you that I don’t like to take ‘no’ for an answer. I’ve since learned when to probe and when to bide my time, but back then I didn’t realize exactly how serious they were about the issue. I was deployed to monitor the Dead Zone. It was before the Vaerian Armada pushed the GC out and there wasn’t much action on that front just yet. It was quiet, and that video gnawed at my soul. When my commanding officer wouldn’t answer my questions, I went over his head. That was my first mistake.”
“What happened?” Dani asked, feeling as though she already knew the answer based on her father’s sorrowful expression, a look she’d only seen a few times in her life and wished she hadn’t. Her stomach turned as she braced herself for the other shoe to drop.
Bob pursed his lips together and shook his head ever so slightly. “They killed your mother.”
So she is dead. A single tear rolled down Dani’s cheek as her suspicions were confirmed. “Bastards.”
“There’s more,” Bob said before he picked up a glass and took a drink. “I confronted my CO, called him out in a fit of rage. I was ready to expose the incident at the space station. That’s when they threatened Dani.”
Everyone’s eyes shifted to Dani, but hers remained locked on her father’s.
“I couldn’t let them take you, too. So I shut up, but I didn’t let it go,” Bob continued, making his way over to the window and peeking between the curtains as he spoke. “There were those among my ranks with suspicions. We kept our ears open for whispers and rumors and sought out those with more information. We communicated in secret and in code. It was incredible how many people had experienced something similar. Dozens of families destroyed just because good men and women were trying to do the right thing.”
“And you just let me fight for them?” Dani’s forehead scrunched up as she asked her question.
Bob turned from the window to face her. “All I could do was hope that everything I had ever taught you would stick with you. I thought you were safe there, and you were… until…”
“Until what?” Jag asked.
“As our numbers grew, so did the risk. We were eventually infiltrated and something had to be done. If the spy led the GC back to me, then I knew I’d lose you. So we staged an event of our own.”
“The whole thing was faked?” Dani stood, clenching her fists at her side. “Do you have any idea what your death did to me?”
“I’m sorr
y, sweetie. I know it must have been hard. It was torture for me too, to not reach out to you after all these years. To only get secondhand reports about what you were going through.”
Dani followed Bob’s gaze to Howard’s face. He sat quietly, a hint of sorrow in his eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked.
“I wanted to, so many times. But I couldn’t put either of you at risk,” Howard explained. “The plan was bigger than any individual person. That’s why your dad left me behind on that mission, so I could watch after you.”
Dani sat in the armchair, leaning forward and grabbing her hair at the roots. “I can’t believe you’ve been alive all this time and no one told me.”
“Was my father in on this?” Zadria asked, the whisper barely audible.
Bob ran his hand across his jaw and nodded at Zadria. “We all had roles to play. His job was to return to his family and the GC in order to feed us information from within. Unfortunately, Patrick can be as stubborn as they come and decided at the last minute that he didn’t want to play that part. But things were already in motion so I did what I could to get him off the ship before it detonated, but he was injured.”
“Wait.” Jag stood and pointed a finger at Zadria. “Patrick is your dad? How did I not know this?”
Zadria stared at Jag blankly then looked at Dani, who shrugged in response.
“Surely I’m not the last one to find out about this,” Jag said as he looked to Cruz.
Cruz shrugged then signed, “Sorry, dude, sworn to secrecy.”
“Huh.” Jag slowly lowered himself back onto the couch. “Makes a lot of sense actually. So that’s how he lost his leg then?”
Bob nodded. “Yup. I thought we’d lose him for a while. I imagine he was pretty angry I didn’t let him come with me since I didn’t hear from him for so long. But, eventually, he checked in.”
The Complete First Season - Episodes 1-5 Page 38