“No, a Captain Douketis.”
How did he even know I was on this shuttle? Iza groaned. “Put it on.”
The man’s dog-like face appeared as a holoprojection in front of Iza. “Captain Sundari, it looks like you’ve got some trouble. Can we offer you any assistance?”
“You’re not actually here to help me, are you?”
“You stole from me, Scrap Rat. You’ll pay for that.”
Iza flashed a challenging smile. “From one captain to another, you can’t trust everyone you meet out here. Watch your back, Douketis. Next time, things might not end so well for you. End transmission.”
“There’s a third short-range shuttle showing up on our sensors,” Raquel said. “We need to get you out of here, Karter.”
“Arvonen’s after the box with the map. Where is it?” Karter asked turning to Jovani.
Jovani reached inside his jacket pocket and pulled out the box, holding it up for Iza to see before tucking it away again.
Iza’s mouth tightened. “So, you did manage to get it.” She’d given Trix strict instructions. What is he doing with the box?
“The Douketis shuttle is also firing on us,” Raquel called out.
“Arvonen knows we have it; that’s why he’s after us,” Karter said. “We need to make a run for it.”
“Has our other shuttle reached the Verity yet?” Iza asked.
“Yes, I got a signal from Braedon that they’ve arrived,” Jovani confirmed.
“Good. Warn them we’re coming in hot,” she instructed. “Tell Trix to plot a jump to Phiris.”
“Why there?” Raquel asked.
“It’s close and there’s no way they’ll be able to track us. Just in case, I need a spot where Arvonen won’t look for us right away.”
“All right, hold on.” Raquel once again pointed the shuttle on a steep upward trajectory.
Iza was pressed back in her seat as the racing shuttle acceleration began to outpace the effectiveness of the inertial dampeners. Though it was an uncomfortable few minutes, their pursuers were unable to keep pace.
“I had no idea you could fly like that,” Karter said looking more than a little impressed.
“Once we’re secure, give the Verity the signal to jump,” Iza said.
They landed the new shuttle inside the cargo area next to Iza’s old shuttle and the doors closed behind them. A second later, there was a momentary elongation of time as the Verity slipped into subspace.
The four climbed out of the shuttle to find Braedon, Viper, and Cierra waiting for them.
“You made it! I knew it. Didn’t I say they’d make it? You owe me fifty credits,” Braedon bragged.
“Yes, we made it.” Iza pointed at Braedon. “No, gambling on board my ship.”
Braedon raised his hands in surrender. “You’ve got it, Iz. You slid in here at the last second just like I imagined. Speaking of imagining things, this shuttle is a stunner. Where did you find it?”
“That would be mine,” Raquel said, stepping forward. “Thanks for the lift.”
“She’s gorgeous,” Braedon said, admiring the shuttle.
Raquel smirked. “Hands off. Now, time to tell me what you scored.”
“We got you the box. It was sitting by itself, easy to reach,” Braedon said. He looked over at Jovani, who stood unmoving. “Well?” Braedon prompted.
With obvious reluctance, Jovani lifted the box out from his pocket. Before he had a chance to put it away, Iza snatched it from him.
His eyes pleaded with her, but she stared back, daring him to reveal in front of everyone why he would hold onto it rather than returning it to her. He remained silent, but she could tell he was conflicted about how things were going.
Cierra stepped closer, focused on Iza’s cheek. “You’re hurt. Come to the infirmary and we’ll clean you up.”
“It’s fine,” she protested.
Jovani caught Iza’s gaze. “I’m sorry we didn’t make it there sooner.”
“Don’t worry about it. Thanks for coming to get me. Without you, I’m pretty sure Yeaga would have tossed me down a mineshaft.”
“I’ll always come for you,” he said in a low whisper meant only for her. Iza wanted to believe him. Every fiber of her being wanted Jovani, but she didn’t trust her feelings.
Karter turned to Raquel. “I believe you have something of mine.”
Raquel pulled the engagement ring out of her pocket and handed to him. The blue and white gemstones looked out of place on board the Verity, sparkling in the overhead lights.
He looked it over and smiled before stepping over to Iza, forcing Jovani to move back as he placed it on Iza’s finger again. “There, that’s much better.”
It felt heavier on Iza’s hand than it had before, she noted. She glanced at Jovani, who was staring at it. She closed her hand into a fist to hide it away for now.
“Thanks,” she said, her voice just above a whisper. Then louder, “Where’s Trix?”
“She’s on the flight deck,” Braedon said. “Do you want me to call her down?”
“No, I’m on my way up there, anyway. Raquel, I think we’ve got one more cabin available. I’m sorry it’s the smallest, but it’s all we have left.”
“Not a problem. I just need a place to sleep and change clothes. I’ll grab the rest of my things from the shuttle.”
“Cierra, can you help her find the empty cabin? I’ll meet you in the infirmary.”
Cierra nodded and Raquel went to retrieve her items from the shuttle.
Iza turned to Braedon. “We outran your father, but I want you to keep an eye out, just in case they find a way to pursue us.”
“Sure, Iz,” Braedon said, running off to the flight deck. Viper following behind him. There was an invisible tether between them.
Raquel emerged from her shuttle carrying a duffle, and she followed Cierra up the stairs to the residential area.
“What are you going to do with it now that you have it?” Jovani asked when they were alone in the cargo hold.
Iza stiffened. Is it him or a TSS Agent asking?
“I’ll hang onto it for safe keeping. Why, did you have a better idea?”
Jovani shook his head. “No, I think you’re right to hold on to it. Our priority should be finding out what it can do.”
His behavior surprised Iza. Despite her feelings for him, she doubted his motives and had wondered if he might try to steer her toward giving it up.
“I’ll find out where this thing leads and if we need the TSS, I’ll come to you,” she said.
“Why?”
“Don’t you still have connections with them?”
Jovani looked at her as if she’d said something in a language he didn’t understand. “Not directly, just some third-party contacts. If I was still close with anyone in the TSS, I would have used them to get the scientists help when we picked them up. My connections ended when they kicked me out.”
“That’s right. Well, I’m sure once we have more information about what it can do we’ll have tons of people wanting to help us.” Iza rolled her eyes.
“True, but I wouldn’t trust it with just anyone.”
“You’re right, we can’t trust just anyone,” she said, grateful her thoughts were her own in that moment.
Iza plodded toward the infirmary, hoping Cierra had something to numb the pain.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Iza looked over her jaw, finding almost no trace of the cut and bruise. Cierra’s healing methods were extraordinary. The telepathic stuff didn’t work on Iza, but the telekinesis Cierra used made her one of the best Healers she’d ever come across. Her complementary work with herbals was exceptional, too, and Iza was grateful she had finally listened to Braedon about trying one of Cierra’s healing teas.
Cierra was also discreet, which was even more invaluable than someone who was handy in an infirmary. Once Cierra told Iza what she knew about Jovani, she didn’t bring it up again or harp on Iza about doing something drastic. Instead, they went on abo
ut their business.
“Did you and your sister always fight?” Iza asked, setting down the mirror she’d used to inspect her healing injury.
Cierra nodded with a smile. “Almost from the very start. Abby is only two years younger than me. Our interests were never aligned, but before she got her first handheld, she used to follow me around looking for trouble to get into. She’s the reason I became a Healer.”
“What happened?”
“Abby was small for her age. She always overcompensated for it by trying to run faster, leap farther, and climb higher than the rest. One day when we were young, she raced her friend up a tree and her hand slipped. I’ll never forget the sound of her small bones breaking.”
Iza flinched imagining it herself. “Did you heal her?”
“I didn’t have my gifts then.” Her features darkened in a way that made Iza believe she still regretted that she hadn’t been able to help her sister. “I had healing instincts, though, and I did what I could, but it wasn’t enough.” Cierra gave her a wry smile. “Once I received my gifts, I learned how to heal others and vowed to do so for the rest of my life.”
“What about your sister? Did she learn anything from the experience?”
Cierra’s smile faded, replaced by a sad frown. “Not what I would have hoped. Her arm healed and was stronger than ever. Instead of rejoicing in what nature can do, she focused all of her attention on technology and cybernetics.” Cierra shook her head, “She wanted an arm that couldn’t break from a fall, or miss it’s intended grasp. As soon as she’d earned enough money gambling on the Dark Net, she went out and bought herself that cybernetic arm.”
Iza could see then how they both happened to meet Braedon. He was drawn to the Healer’s gentle nature, a refreshing change from his demanding upbringing, while the virtual gaming world, where he felt at home, was the perfect place for someone like Viper. No doubt, he had been attracted to their passionate spirits—one thing they did have in common—though the way they fit into his life were as disparate as their personalities.
The two women seemed to openly acknowledge each other’s differences, and yet Iza didn’t understand why they couldn’t live and let live. “Why do you hold such animosity toward each other? Isn’t it enough that you’ve each found a lifestyle that makes you happy?”
Cierra pursed her lips, “I’m a Healer; when someone is broken, I want to fix them. When Abby sees someone who’s broken, she wants to turn them into a machine. We don’t have a middle ground.”
Cryptic and strange. Iza didn’t understand it, but clearly it was something that would take more than a single conversation to resolve.
Cierra shrugged. “Family is a lot harder than it looks.”
Thankful their conversation had focused on Cierra’s life and not on her own, Iza slipped out of the infirmary and went back to her cabin to check on things.
The dog had missed her; he bounded onto Iza’s bed with her and nuzzled himself under her resting arm. Iza would never admit it, but she enjoyed having him around. He seemed to know exactly what she needed in a way that no one else did.
Iza grabbed the artifact box and twirled it between her fingers. The constant hum in her mind had become a strange comfort; it had felt empty and quiet without it around.
Reflecting on the subject of family, she brought up the surveillance video Karter had provided of her mother and watched her roam the market. Iza had watched the vid several times already, cementing the image of her mother’s smile in her mind. The carefree look on her face that said she had no other worries in the world other than what they would have for dinner. How easily she had shaken off her old life and her daughter. It made her wonder what kind of woman she really was. Perhaps she had the answers to Iza’s past, but Iza didn’t want anything her mother had to offer—not from a woman who didn’t want her. Still, she hoped to someday tell the woman exactly how she felt about the situation.
Iza was about to shut off the video when she caught sight of someone in the background that she hadn’t noticed before. He was a young man approximately her age with long, curly hair a similar texture to her own. He stood at attention, as if scanning the crowd for something. It seemed a second more and he would have caught sight of whoever had filmed the video.
He’s the one from my dream. The one I saw on Hubyria. Who is he? While she pondered the questions, another thought surfaced. Does he know my mother?
A knock on her door sent Iza scrambling to turn off the viewscreen and rush to the door.
She cracked it open. “Yes?”
Trix was standing in the corridor. She glanced through Iza’s door at the viewscreen as if expecting to find something there.
“Are you feeling all right?” Iza asked her.
“I am fine.”
“Good, why did you come here?”
“During our time on Hubyria, I tried to get the artifact but Jovani reached it first. He insisted on holding on to it, despite my verbal protests. I was unable to get it back from him before the alarms went off.”
“That’s okay, I have it now, so it doesn’t matter.”
Trix nodded. “I apologize. I have failed you again.”
“No, you haven’t, I have the box.” Iza reached out and touched her hand. The cold surface was a direct contrast to her own warm hands.
Trix nodded and walked away. She panned her head back and forth as if looking for something along the floor. Concerned, Iza followed her out into the corridor. Just outside the flight deck, she ran into Raquel.
“Hey, I was hoping to see you before it got too late. Oh, wow, is that it?” Raquel asked looking down at her hand. Iza didn’t realize she was still holding the box.
“Yeah. It’s special, isn’t it?”
“It is, do you mind?” Raquel asked, reaching out for it.
Iza handed it to her.
Raquel carefully examined, the box, looking at every marking. “It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before.”
“That’s what CACI says, too.” Iza walked onto the flight deck, where Trix had gone to sit at her usual station.
Raquel followed, still admiring the box. “You’ve run an initial analysis on it, then?”
“Yes, it didn’t reveal much,” Iza said. “Jovani was able to get his hands on some classified information from a TSS informant. They claim the origins are with an alien race who had dealings with Tarans ages ago. Things didn’t end well between them.”
“I’m sure, if it had, we’d all know what this thing was and what it does.”
Braedon looked up from his comic illustrating on his handheld. “That box is just a box. My father thinks there’s a map inside.”
“Really?” Raquel’s eyebrows rose, and she shook the box and heard the satisfying thunk of the metal sphere inside. “I wonder if it’s related to the gate mythology.”
“What do you mean?” Iza asked.
“Well, there are stories, mostly legend, that say an alien race called the Gatekeepers traversed the universe using a gate technology.”
Iza frowned. “If there’s any truth to it, it sounds exactly like something a power-hungry Lower Dynasty ruler might want to get their hands on in order to elevate their standing in the Taran Empire.”
Raquel nodded and smiled. “Exactly. If it’s related to those gates in any way, it is a powerful thing that would be dangerous if it falls into ignorant hands,” she added glancing at the box. “If only we could figure out how to open it, then we’d be able to study it. Once we learned what it does, we could use that power for good and also keep people like Arvonen from gaining too much control.”
Iza stared at the box. In this case, it seemed the more she learned about the thing the better. Perhaps it was the alcohol talking, but she found herself wanting to open up. “Braedon said his father called it a map. The sphere inside has etchings on it. Do you think it will lead whoever has it to one of these gates?”
“Wait, what? You can unlock this box?” Raquel passed the box back to her and stared
at it in Iza’s hands. “There are rumors that this kind of technology might be genetically keyed. The only way to open it is if there are certain genetic markers present.”
Iza shrugged. “I don’t know. One day it was locked up tighter than an oxygen seal, and the next it popped open.”
“That’s remarkable!” Raquel shook her head. “Well, yes, it is most likely some kind of map leading to a gate. Whoever controls that gate would be able to decide who can and can’t go through. Have you tried to navigate the map?”
“No, but I’m not sure it’s that easy. Maybe you can decipher it,” Iza rubbed her thumb along the edge and the lid opened.
Raquel jumped back with a gasp. Her hand flew to her throat as she stared at the metal sphere. She took a step closer and reached for it. She slowly turned it over in her hand, open-mouthed with awe at the sight of it. “Would you allow me to use the onboard computer system to run a few tests on the sphere myself? Nothing invasive, just to see if I’m right about its origins?”
“Yes, of course. I think of all the people on board, you’re the only one qualified to tell us anything. The more we learn about the sphere, the better we can protect ourselves from whatever Arvonen has planned.”
“Agreed. Whatever he wants to do with this thing, it’s best you know now. I’m not going to lie, I think this might be well above my pay grade, but I’ll do my best.”
“Mine too,” Iza said with a smile and they both laughed.
—
Three hours later, it surprised Iza to see they were in the middle of a jump when she went to meet Braedon on the flight deck. The green and blue shades of subspace swirled outside the viewports, tinting everything in cool light.
“Why aren’t we there yet?” Iza asked.
Braedon looked confused. “It’s a long way to go, but we’ll be there by tomorrow afternoon, relax. And that’s way faster than it would be without the upgraded jump drive, so I don’t know why you’re complaining.”
“What do you mean? It should have taken three hours for a standard jump to Phiris from Hubyria.”
“Uh, we’re not headed to Phiris. The coordinates read that we’re going to Tararia.” Braedon brought up the flight path through the beacon network to show her. “Trix input the coordinates. I thought it was under your orders.”
Divided Loyalties (Verity Chronicles Book 2): A Cadicle Space Opera Adventure Page 18