“We’ve found something similar. Get exact measurements on the prints, and take samples of the surrounding soil, then report back here.” She turned to Kire. “We need to get samples from this one, too.”
“Walking out there will disturb the surrounding area.”
“I know, but I think obtaining the data’s more important than keeping the area untouched.”
Kire fetched a few sample vials from the collection pack before heading back toward the field. As she followed him, her stomach churned. She placed a hand over her mouth and closed her eyes, focusing on her breathing.
Kire’s placed a hand on her arm. “Roe, what’s wrong?”
She opened her eyes and gave him a weak smile. “Just a little stomach upset. I can handle it.”
He frowned. “I’ve never known you to have stomach issues. How bad is it?”
She lied. “Not bad.”
His eyes narrowed. “Why don’t you go sit on the porch while I finish up here? It should only take a few minutes.”
Her stomach thought that was a fine idea, but she shook her head, determined to get a closer look at the footprint. Her body was revolting, and she wanted to know why. “I’m okay. Let’s go.”
Years of friendship had apparently taught him the futility of arguing when she’d made up her mind. He relented, turning to the field.
She forced herself to do the same, but each step increased the feeling that she was sinking into a noxious sludge that threatened to overwhelm her.
He glanced back. “Do you want to go first?”
She shook her head. “You should lead. Your feet are larger than mine, so I’ll follow in your footsteps to minimize the disturbance to the area.”
“Okay.” He slipped the sample vials into the pockets of his jacket. Then he stepped carefully onto the blackened soil, trying not to disrupt the surrounding ash.
As his foot lifted and he moved forward, she set her foot down into the center of his first footprint. Instantly her muscles tensed to the point of immobility as every cell in her body promptly forgot how to function.
She tried to call out to Kire, but her mouth refused to obey her command to form words. She must have made some sound though, because he turned.
A look of alarm spread over his face. “Roe!”
His voice grew faint, and he began to tilt away from her. No, wait. She was the one tilting as the ground rushed up to catch her. She slumped onto the blackened remains of the crops, and the horrifying sensations intensified, blotting out everything around her. As her vision and hearing cut out, leaving her with only scattered thoughts, she tried desperately to summon her energy shield. But as she fell into the darkness that surrounded her she sensed…nothing.
14
Kire had taken a few steps toward the footprint when a small sound, like a whimper, made him turn his head.
Roe was a couple meters behind him, but her skin had drained of color and her eyes were wide and vacant. She staggered, crumpling to the ground.
He slapped his comband and dropped to his knees by her side. “Emoto to Clarek!”
Jon replied immediately. “What’s wrong?”
“Roe collapsed. Tell Mya we’re on our way and to be prepared for—” What? He didn’t know. “Anything.”
“What happened?”
“I don’t know. But we’ll get to you as quickly as we can.”
Jon’s voice vibrated with tension. “Understood.”
Kire slipped his arms under Roe’s head and upper body and cradled her while she twitched and moaned. Kelly appeared on her other side a moment later. “I contacted Cardiff. She’ll be here soon.”
Thank the universe for the unflappable navigator. “Thank you. Let’s move her into the shade over by the house.”
Working together, they lifted Roe and carried her to the dirt path in front of the flowerbeds. They lowered her to the ground and Kelly placed one of the sample packs under Roe’s legs to elevate them.
Kire crouched, circling Roe’s wrist with his fingers to check her pulse. He’d expected it to be weak. Instead, it pounded through her veins in a frenzy. Her tremors had subsided but her gaze jumped all over the place, her expression indicating disorientation and terror.
Panic clawed at him as he placed a hand on her shoulder. She flinched. “Roe?” No response. “Captain?” Still no response.
The transport arrived and footsteps raced across the ground. A moment later Cardiff knelt beside him.
“What happened?” She clasped Roe’s hands in hers, checking her pulse as he had.
“We were walking into the field and she suddenly collapsed.”
Cardiff frowned, but didn’t comment.
“Should we move her into the transport?” he asked.
She gazed at Roe’s face, assessing, then shook her head. “No. She’s in shock, but I can help her.”
He stepped back as Cardiff placed her body directly in Roe’s field of vision. Her thumbs drew small circles on the backs of Roe’s hands, her gaze never leaving Roe’s face. She murmured something, but he couldn’t make out the words.
Whatever she was saying or doing appeared to be working. Roe blinked once…twice. Then she suddenly sucked in a huge lungful of air, like a diver breaking the surface of the water.
Her breath stuttered out in a staccato beat, but with each inhale the color steadily returned to her face.
Cardiff didn’t move, just held her gaze and talked to her. After several long minutes that felt like years, Roe gave Cardiff’s hands a squeeze, and Cardiff’s lips turned up in a soft smile. She released Roe’s hands and sat back on her heels, removing the collection bag from under Roe’s legs.
“Can you sit up?” she asked.
“I think so.” Roe’s voice sounded like she’d been gargling gravel, but she braced her hands on either side of her body and pushed herself upright. She took one more deep breath, straightened her shoulders, and pulled her tunic into place. “Thank you.”
Cardiff nodded.
Roe’s gaze flickered to Mr. Byrnes. He was staring at them from his position near the transport, his expression a mixture of curiosity and concern. Clearly he didn’t know what to make of this turn of events, either.
There was zero chance Roe would say anything as long as they had an audience, so Kire tapped his comband. “Belay that order.”
Mya replied. “Is she okay?” She sounded frantic.
He knew the feeling.
Roe tapped her own comband. “I’m fine. We’ll be heading back to the shuttle as soon as we finish up here.”
There was a pause. Mya’s tone changed to the no nonsense briskness of a physician preparing to deal with a difficult patient. “I’ll be waiting for you.”
She’d put a wealth of meaning into those words. Roe’s expression indicated she knew it, too.
15
Cade was exhausted. In the three years since he’d accepted the command of Admiral Schreiber’s Elite Unit, he’d faced many hardships, including hiking to the top of Mt. Killanis in eight hours and wrestling a fanged sheetak who’d decided he’d make a nice dinner. But nothing he’d endured had been half as challenging as keeping an eye on Aurora Hawke and reporting his team’s activities to Reanne Beck. He was in his own private Hell.
After he’d left the Starhawke, he’d immediately sent a message to the Admiral to apprise him of the situation. When the Admiral had first informed him that his number one priority on Gaia was to insure the safety of the Starhawke crew, especially Aurora Hawke, Cade had been stunned. He’d assumed that the Admiral wanted his unit to determine if the destruction was the result of a planned attack. However, while that job was part of his assignment, his primary responsibility was to provide surveillance and security for the Starhawke crew, without letting them know they were being watched and guarded.
Cade rubbed a hand over his eyes and leaned back in his chair. As commander of the team, and someone Aurora would recognize, he had been unable to take an active role in the surveillance. In
stead, he was ensconced in a tiny room in the Rescue Corps headquarters, trying to figure out how he was going to avoid reporting what he’d witnessed to Reanne.
She was not an official part of his team, but as the director of the Rescue Corps, she had been instructed by Admiral Schreiber to comply with any requests Cade’s team made. In return, Cade was expected to keep her in the loop regarding their activities so she could accommodate them while carefully cloaking all their movements as official Rescue Corps business.
He could work with that arrangement, but he’d learned long ago that volunteering non-essential information to Reanne Beck was a bad idea. Aurora’s collapse fit into that category.
He’d stationed his tech specialist, Bella Drew, on tactical so that she could monitor and track the movements of the Starhawke crew. When she’d reported that a shuttle was headed down to the surface, Cade had contacted Reanne. She’d confirmed that a contingent from the ship was due to arrive at the RC headquarters. However, she’d given no indication that she knew the identities of the crewmembers, even though she would recognize most of them. He had a suspicion the Admiral may have withheld that information on purpose.
Reanne had also informed him that the crew wanted to investigate the site of the most recent attack. That fit his plans perfectly. Cade had arranged for his number one, Justin Byrnes, to act as the transport driver. While Aurora and her crew met with the refugees, his team had equipped the transport vehicle with concealed interior and exterior cameras and audio surveillance so Cade could hear and see everything that occurred. The exterior cameras allowed for a nearly three-hundred-sixty-degree view around the vehicle.
Justin had also managed to attach similar devices to the exterior of the field specimen packs when he loaded them into the storage area. That turned out to be fortuitous. Thanks to the devices attached to the pack Emoto had chosen, when Aurora suddenly slumped to the ground, Cade had a front row seat.
He’d been out of his chair and shouting orders to his team before Emoto had even turned around, but he’d still heard the fear in the other man’s voice when he’d contacted Clarek on the Starhawke. That fear had matched the emotion coursing through Cade’s veins as he’d watched the scene unfold. Thankfully, Kelly had notified Cardiff of the situation immediately, which had given Justin an excuse to head back to the house. He’d followed Cardiff as she’d sprinted for the transport.
Cade’s view of Aurora had been partially blocked by Kelly as they carried her off the field and laid her down, but he was pretty sure he’d left a nose print on his monitor as he’d strained to see if she was responding in any way. He wasn’t aware of drawing a breath until after Cardiff arrived and he’d seen Aurora sit up without assistance.
That had been an hour ago. Her crew had returned to the RC headquarters and boarded their shuttle, heading back to the Starhawke. Justin had already been to his office and given his report, but it hadn’t helped with the growing number of unanswered questions. What the hell had happened to Aurora out there? Why had she collapsed? Why had walking into the field affected her, when no one else had any reaction at all?
He didn’t know for certain that the decimated plants were the cause, but the unexplained nature of the destruction, combined with the fact that Aurora had fallen the moment she stepped on the decayed vegetation, seemed like too much of a coincidence to ignore. Add in the Admiral’s cryptic warnings to keep her safe, and it was hard not to speculate.
Aurora Hawke was the strongest woman he knew, in many ways. For her to suddenly break down like that was unimaginable. He wanted answers. Now.
“Reanne to Cade.”
He tapped his comband. “Ellis here.”
“I’d like to see you in my office.”
Great. Talking to Reanne was not at the top of his list at the moment, but her cooperation was critical to his team’s success. He needed to maintain a positive working relationship, no matter how challenging the upcoming discussion might be.
“On my way.”
Justin had mentioned that Aurora had recovered quickly after they’d left the farm. She’d seemed a little stiff and weak but otherwise okay. Her crew hadn’t talked about the incident during the drive back, respecting Aurora’s silence. Cade admired that. It showed how protective they were of their captain, and of their investigation. Unfortunately, that stance was preventing him from doing his job, and his frustration level was rising.
He knocked on the door to Reanne’s office.
“Come in.”
Reanne was seated behind her desk. She glanced up as he entered.
“Cade. Good. Have a seat.”
The only two chairs in the room sat in front of the desk with their backs to the door. He’d made it a habit to never place himself in a vulnerable position, even in the most innocuous situations. Rather than sitting in one of the chairs, he moved off to one side and lounged against a side table stacked with supply crates.
She crossed her arms and scrutinized him. “After today’s events, I have a new appreciation for your gifts of secrecy. But I’m curious. Is there a reason you didn’t tell me that Aurora was the captain of the Starhawke?”
So that’s what she wanted to talk about. He should have guessed. He shrugged. “Was it a problem for you to see her again?”
She seemed surprised by the question, but she shook her head and smiled. “Of course not. I always regretted that we lost touch over the years.” Her gaze sharpened. “I’m more concerned about you. Was it hard to see her? I know you didn’t part on the best terms.”
He didn’t need to be reminded. “It was fine.”
“So it won’t be a problem having your team working in secret alongside hers?”
“Why do you ask?”
Her lips pressed together as she stood and walked around the desk, stopping in front of him. “I’m worried about you.”
That was interesting. “Why?”
She sighed. “Where Aurora’s concerned, you’ve always been a bit, well…intense. Reactionary, even. And I just want to make sure her presence won’t negatively impact you. Or in some way interfere with the job we’re here to do.”
She was questioning his professionalism? His temper flared, but he tamped it down. “It won’t.”
“You’re sure about that?”
“Yes.”
“Okay.” Her tone indicated she didn’t believe him. She rested her hand on his arm. “But just so you know, if you need to talk about anything, I’m here.”
An image flashed through his mind of a similar conversation many years earlier, shortly before he’d left the Academy. Reanne had offered her assistance then, too. And he’d learned that her compassion came with a price. It wasn’t a mistake he intended to repeat. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
He took a small step backward and her hand fell from his arm. She looked startled by his subtle rejection, but she recovered quickly. She rested her hip against her desk, her posture relaxed.
He didn’t buy it. She wanted something from him. He just wasn’t sure what.
“So, tell me what happened during the investigation.”
Out of the frying pan and into the fire. “Not much. They surveyed one of the recent locations and took samples for analysis.”
“They weren’t out there very long. I was under the impression they were going to stop at several sites. Did they find something that prompted them to return early?”
She was fishing for information, but he wasn’t about to tell her that Aurora had collapsed, or that her crew had seen footprints. However, if he didn’t say anything, that wouldn’t sit well with her. She had to obey the Admiral’s orders to cooperate with him, but if she wanted to, she could make his job a whole lot harder.
“Byrnes indicated that the crew found enough to work with at the first site. They wanted to get back to the ship to begin their analysis.”
The corners of Reanne’s eyes tightened slightly, a sign so subtle most people wouldn’t have noticed. But it was his job to notice. She was not
happy with his response. Then she snapped her fingers as if something had just occurred to her. “The ship! That’s right. I almost forgot you’ve been onboard. What’s it like?”
Yet another question he didn’t want to answer. His gaze flicked to the doorway, willing someone to interrupt them so he could make his escape. He forced his lips to relax into a smile. “It’s nice.”
“Nice?” She smirked. “You’re one of the first humans to ever pilot a Kraed vessel and the only word you can find to describe it is nice?”
He shrugged. “What else can I say? I didn’t have time to wander around, and my job was to navigate, not inspect. It seemed…nice.”
Reanne rolled her eyes skyward. “Heaven help us from the single-minded male of the species.” She crossed her arms. “But then again, you’ve always been single-minded, especially with anything involving Aurora.”
She smiled and said it like a joke, but he suspected she was trying to get a reaction out of him. Refusing to rise to the bait, he waited until she finally pushed away from the desk and reclaimed her chair. “Do you have anything else you need?” she asked, her attention already shifting to the data pad in front of her.
“Not right now.”
She waved a hand toward the door. “Then I won’t keep you any longer. You know where to find me.”
Yes, he did.
As he walked out of the office, he resolved to take an active part in the next surveillance operation, which would accomplish two goals—creating distance from Reanne Beck, and placing him in a better position to protect Aurora Hawke.
16
As soon as Aurora stepped off the shuttle, Mya was waiting for her, medical scanner at the ready and a very determined look on her face.
Aurora held up her hand, indicating she needed a minute. She pulled Kire aside as Kelly and Celia unloaded the specimen bags from the shuttle. “Take the samples to the medical lab and have Celia begin a chemical analysis. Then I want you and Kelly to take a look at the images of the prints we found and see if you can come up with a hypothesis for what we’re dealing with. We’ll all convene in the conference room in an hour.”
The Dark of Light (Starhawke Rising Book 1) Page 9