Star Rider and the Golden Threads

by Heidi Skarie

  “You’re late.” His expression was stern and uncompromising. “I’ll cut you some slack since you were tired from your long flight, but from now on I expect you to arrive on time.”

  She tensed. So that was how it was going to be.

  “Sit down.” He gestured at the open computer station beside him. Once she was seated, he continued. “The data on the matrix crystal was downloaded onto all the computers in this room, which are linked together so we can share information. We’re searching through the data to find something that might be useful to defeat Samrat Condor’s space fleet and prevent the takeover of planet Borko. Do you realize this is our only hope of saving Jaipar? The Coalition only has this one starship to Samrat Condor’s eight starships that are headed to Borko.”

  Toemeka leaned back in her chair feeling stunned. “Really! This starship is the only one left?” He nodded and a lump formed in her throat. “Are the people on this ship the only personnel who survived the war on Alandra?”

  His expression softened. “Some of the Coalition’s top leaders and headquarter staff escaped and are in hiding. A few smaller ships survived and the Coalition has posts on other planets, but basically the heart of the Coalition was destroyed. We’ll rebuild, but not in enough time to help Borko.”

  “No wonder Commander Quintary only sent a small team to help Jaipar.”

  “It also explains why he risked sending you and Erling to Flo Shah to steal information. I haven’t forgiven him for that. You’re both too valuable to send on a suicide mission.”

  “A suicide mission?” Suicide missions were ones where the agents had little chance of survival and no backup. She hadn’t realized the mission to Flo Shah was classified a suicide mission.

  Jake’s eye bore into hers. “You must have realized how risky the mission was.”

  “I knew it was too dangerous for Erling to go alone. He didn’t want me to come along.”

  “I would have felt the same way.”

  “Jake, Borko isn’t defenseless. Erling organized the defense of the entire planet. He’s been working with all the top world leaders. I worked with him and can share what I know about the planet’s defense plans.”

  “You said Erling was recovering from being wounded.”

  “True. Currently Michio, my husband, is leading the defense until Erling’s fully recovered.”

  Jake cocked an eyebrow. “He must be a pretty capable guy.”

  “He is.” Tension had risen between them again at the mention of Michio.

  “You also told Commander Quintary that Jaipar was at war with Haklute because their ruler King Zanton joined forces with Samrat Condor. A divided planet has no chance against the Raptor air fleet.”

  “You make it sound hopeless.”

  “It would have been, but now we have a chance with the stolen information you brought, including the key to decoding the Raptors’ encrypted communications. I’ve assigned three members of our team to work on decoding and reviewing all the recorded messages we’ve picked up. Computers are sorting through and condensing messages to help with the task. It’s crucial that we figure out when the attack will take place and on which key targets.

  “The remainder of the team is going over the rest of the information. I’ve divided it up into sections. I want you to look over the whole picture and come up with some plan based on what you find. I’m counting on your brilliant mind to figure out something to save Borko.” He turned back to his computer monitor and continued reading.

  Brilliant Mind? For a moment, she wondered if he was flirting, but his expression was grim and he was already back at work. She liked knowing he respected her abilities. He’d never needed to feed his male ego by claiming to be superior to her as some of the other cocky male agents and fighter pilots did. Hers was a predominately male profession. In fact, she was the only woman in the room.

  She turned on her computer and was overwhelmed when she saw the vast amount of information her team had to sift through in a short period of time. “Where should I start?”

  He looked at her with eyes that shone with a light from deep within. “Use your uncanny sixth sense to figure out what to focus on.”

  “My sixth sense?”

  “Yeah, your nudges, hunches, your ability to see what the rest of us can’t.”

  “Oh.” That wasn’t what she’d expected him to say. Jake wasn’t that comfortable with her precognitions, flashes of insight and didn’t have any interest in religion. He didn’t know her nudges came from a Higher Source and yet somehow it was as if Spirit had spoken through him. Her mind was a great tool, but she needed to tune into the higher part of herself. She closed her eyes and focused within. She wondered what the universe was trying to tell her as she listened inwardly.

  Toemeka heard a high-pitched Sound that sounded like radio waves and felt herself raised in consciousness. Then an idea came to her with startling clarity. She needed to find a weakness in the starships to exploit. She typed in the battle starship schematics and studied their shield system and weapons for some vulnerability. The room faded away as she immersed herself in the information.

  She was impressed with how well the ships were made. The battle airship designers knew what they were doing and she doubted she’d find a design flaw, and yet something was always overlooked.

  Lunch was delivered by an android who put several space food wafers and a drink on her desk. Food scientists hadn’t come up with a pill to substitute for food. A pill simply couldn’t contain enough calories to sustain human life. She didn’t especially like the wafers, but they contained all the nutrients she and her growing baby needed.

  At dinner time a mess-hall meal was brought in. This time the twelve-member team sat in a circle to discuss their findings and share ideas as they ate.

  They continued to work after the meeting; everyone knew time was of the essence. Though the work was demanding, she enjoyed challenging her mind, doing something to help with the war effort and save Borko. She still felt on edge working with Jake, but fortunately he was all business and professional enough to put saving Borko ahead of his personal feelings.

  After a few more hours Jake slid back into his chair and said, “Time to quit for the night.”

  “I can keep working,” Toemeka said, absorbed in the schematics on the computer screen.

  “It’s better if you get a good night’s sleep and have a clear head tomorrow. We start early.”

  “The team hasn’t come across anything useful yet,” she said, feeling discouraged.

  “It’s only the first day. We’ll find something.”

  “I imagine numbers and charts will be running through my head all night.”

  “Maybe things will come together while you sleep.”

  “Thank you for helping find a way to save Borko, Jake. It can’t be easy when your family’s in Jelmur. I’m sure you’d rather be trying to figure out how to save Alandra.”

  A deep sadness entered his eyes. “Alandra has already surrendered. We did everything we could to save it. Now we have to save Borko or risk the free world losing the balance of power and maybe losing the whole interplanetary war.”

  The next morning Toemeka woke early and skipped breakfast. She had a vague feeling she’d missed something and wanted to get right to work. She slipped into her workstation and touched the keyboard. The computer monitor lit up and she began scrolling through the starship schematics until she got to information on the jump system. The day before she’d read that when a starship first arrived at its destination, there was a brief period of time where they had to calibrate their position before switching to regular flight.

  That was not unusual. All ships did that, but it occurred to her that ships were vulnerable during this short period of time. While the ship calibrated its position, it might be possible to feed its computers false data that would send it off on a new jump, to some distant place in the galaxy.

  But to catch them coming out of a jump, she needed to know when and where the a
ir fleet was going to attack Borko. She switched the computer to the files the Coalition had intercepted that contained Raptor communications. The computer condensed and sorted the information by categories. A few communications were put under “Unclassified.” In that folder two phrases made her spine tingle:

  When day is night, we will take back what was ours.

  We’ll meet in the shadow of the dark side of the Delga moon.

  Jake set a roll covered with fetna nuts and a steaming cup of tea on her desk. The combined aroma of the two treats filled her nostrils and reminded her that she hadn’t eaten.

  “Where did you find a fresh roll?” She picked it up and took a bite. Her mouth filled with the warm, rich taste. She wondered if he was trying to apologize for what he’d said about her marriage.

  “The ship has a little cafe that makes rolls every morning. I didn’t see you in the mess hall and figured you’d probably skipped breakfast.”

  “You know me too well. It’s good, really good. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. So what did you figure out?”

  “What makes you think I’ve figured something out?”

  “I recognize the look. You glow when you’re excited.”

  “I’m not sure I have anything yet, but maybe. When is day night?”

  “Well . . . when you’re on a planet, the sky becomes dark when there’s a storm or an eclipse.”

  “An eclipse! That’s it!”

  His forehead wrinkled. “That’s what? Is this some type of quiz?”

  “The computer came up with two phrases that it didn’t know how to classify. ‘When day is night’ is one of them.”

  She typed into the search engine: When will Jaipar’s moon Delga have its next eclipse? As the computer brought up the information she explained, “The whole phrase is: ‘When day is night, we will take back what was ours.’ I think ‘ours’ refers to Jaipar that was controlled by General Bhandar up until a few months ago.”

  Toemeka pointed to the computer monitor. “Look! Jaipar is going to have an eclipse in eight days. That must be when they’re planning to attack.”

  Her stomach knotted. “That doesn’t give us much time.”

  “What was the other phrase that stood out?”

  “‘We’ll meet in the shadow of the dark side of the Delga moon.’ It sounds almost like poetry, but I think it means they’re planning a rendezvous on Delga on its dark side. Delga is one of Borko’s moons.”

  Jake’s eyes widened with interest. “It makes sense. The starships could make a space jump to the light side of the moon where Jaipar can’t detect them. Then during the eclipse, they can fly around the moon and launch a surprise attack on Jaipar.”

  “Space jumps use electromagnetic emissions from the sun of a solar system to calibrate their position. The hyperspace jump system relies on the signature of the sun, moons and planets. When ships come out of a jump, they have to recalibrate their position. Normally this isn’t a problem, but if they do it during an eclipse and fly to the dark side of the moon, they will temporarily lose their reference points. What if we infiltrated their jump system right as they come around the moon?”

  Jake’s face lit up. “It could work!”

  “We’ll have to figure out how to get into their jump drive system so when they’re in the recalibrating phrase they’re fed false information and sent on a jump to a distant part of the galaxy.”

  “What’s stopping them from making another jump right back to Borko?”

  She rubbed her temples. “I haven’t figured this whole thing out yet.” She lowered her hands. “What if, when we tap into their jump system, we infect it with a virus: a virus that completely destroys their jump system, so they can’t make another jump. Such a deadly virus that it also interferes with other onboard computer systems and won’t be discovered until it’s too late.”

  Jake leaned back in his chair, looking pensive. “Difficult, but doable. Let’s call the team together and get started.”

  “Should we let Commander Quintary know that we’ve come up with a plan?”

  Jake grinned. “Probably.”

  She laughed and put her hand out, palm facing outward. He slapped it in the universal gesture signifying, “We did it.”

  On Erling’s fifth day in Kumba, he spent the afternoon contemplating by a mountain stream. The cheerful, rushing sound the water made as it gurgled along, winding in and out of the rocks, reminded him of a Sound Current he’d heard in the Inner Worlds. While at the monastery in Kumba, he spent long hours hiking in the woods, in contemplation and in classes. He felt rejuvenated and filled with inner peace. For the first time in his life, his attention was completely focused on spiritual growth. He had no interest in returning to Jaipar, although he missed Koriann and was concerned about the war.

  In tune with nature, he began to hike back to the village. When he reached the vegetable gardens outside the monastery, he saw Hendora sitting on a beach. He paused, feeling as if his sanctuary was intruded upon. She could only be here to see him.

  Hendora rose and bowed. “Blessings, Erling. You’re looking well.” She didn’t even come up to his shoulder, but her stocky build made her seem bigger.

  He returned the formal bow, thinking how different Hendora was from Onolyn and Toemeka; both of them would have greeted him with an exuberant hug. “What brings you here?”

  “I need your help.”

  His chest constricted. “In what way?”

  “I couldn’t find Onolyn and Zac on Haklute or even a trace of what happened to them. All their things were left in their hotel rooms as if they meant to return, but never did.”

  Erling glanced at the monastery door, wanting to escape to its serene interior. His inner calm was already crumbling. He didn’t want to take up the responsibilities of the world or feel the pull back into its clutches to try and solve its problems. Master Bakka said there would always be problems. The world was a school. Solve one problem and another would crop up. And someplace the world would always be at war. It was a warring universe.

  But now that a chasm in his calm had been opened, he couldn’t just tune out his concern about Zac and Onolyn. The last time he’d seen Onolyn was right before he’d lost consciousness from the poison. He vaguely remembered trying to warn her about something. He’d seen something dark in her future and told her to protect her Soul. He’d said he’d come to her. Did he mean outwardly or inwardly? Regardless, he was their superior officer, so they were his responsibility. No, they were Hendora’s responsibility now. She took over his position. His first allegiance was to Koriann and Jaipar.

  “I can’t go,” Erling said at last. “I’m responsible for Borko’s defense.”

  She raised her black eyebrows. “I can see how hard you’re working for Borko’s defense.” Sarcasm rang in her voice.

  “As soon as I’m fully recovered, I’ll return to Jaipar and resume my duties.”

  “There isn’t any more time.”

  “Hendora, I've risked my life for the Coalition for the last nine years. I can’t keep pushing myself. Even if I did want to go, I promised Kori I’d quit the Coalition and not go to Haklute.”

  “Every moment you’re here lessens the chances of finding them alive.”

  “I can’t save everyone, Hendora!”

  Her eyes flashed in anger. “Of all the ungrateful people I’ve ever met, you’re the worse! You’re shallow, unfeeling and insensitive. Onolyn and Zac went to Haklute and found the antidote that saved your hide and now you’re turning your back on them.”

  “They stayed on Haklute because you gave them orders to spy on King Zanton. I was against the mission because they were too inexperienced, so don’t blame me for their disappearance.”

  “We got the antidote from extraordinarily beautiful woman with dark powers. I know somehow she’s connected to their disappearance. Onolyn and I paid for the antidote with the gold jewelry we wore. Zac offered his aviator’s watch, but she refused, saying she would get somethi
ng else from him.”

  Erling felt as if cold water had been dumped on him. “Was her name Seetva?”

  “You know her?”

  “On our last mission to Jaipar she nearly killed me when Toe and I went to General Bhandar’s military headquarters to rescue Kori and Mich.” He suspected Seetva was spinning a web to catch him, using Onolyn and Zac as bait. This was his fight. His time at the monastery was clearly over. I’ll tell the head of the Temple I’m leaving.”

  “What? You mean you’ll help find them?”

  “Yes, we should leave for Haklute immediately.”

  “Not so fast. We’re at war with Haklute. It’s going to take careful planning to figure out how to get into the royal city and where to search once we get there.”

  “I have a feeling we won’t have to search. Seetva wants me to come to her.”

  Hendora stared at him with alarm.

  26

  The Marsindi Palace

  Koriann was reading a report when Erling walked into her office with a purposeful air. Her eyes widened in surprise. “Erling, I didn’t know you were returning to Jaipar today.” She rose from her chair, not knowing what to expect from him. He’d been so distant before he’d left and hadn’t contacted her while he was gone.

  “I wasn’t planning to return so soon, but Hendora convinced me to help her search for Onolyn and Zac.” He drew her close and kissed her lightly. “I missed you, Kori.”

  A warm feeling spread through her and she wished he’d kiss her with more passion. “I missed you too.” He looked fully recovered, radiating life and vitality. The sun had brought color back to his face and bleached out his blond hair.

  “Can’t someone else help Hendora search for Onolyn and Zac?” she asked.

  “I feel responsible for them since I’m their commanding officer. Besides, I owe them. They saved my life by finding the antidote. Will you release me from my promise to quit the Coalition and not go to Haklute?”

  “It’s too dangerous for you to go there and you’re needed here to lead Jaipar’s defense.”

  “I consulted with Michio. He’s willing to continue as the head of the military.