Endless Advance: Age of Expansion - A Kurtherian Gambit Series (Uprise Saga Book 2)

by Amy DuBoff

  He nodded, pressing his back against the side wall. He inched forward with the Weres until he had a view of the lobby, then stopped to observe while they prepared to head out.

  “Hello!” Nick called as he turned on his suit’s light. His weapon was drawn, but he had it pointed down. “What can we do for you?”

  The two figures in the lobby came to attention.

  “Who are you?” the first asked in a mid-range voice that could be male or female. Luke couldn’t make out any distinguishing physical features in the dim light shining through the plastic sheeting.

  “We’re representatives from the FDG,” Nick said. “Per the notice posted outside, this site is under active FDG investigation.”

  “We need to ask you to leave,” the second figure stated in a lower male voice.

  “Please identify yourselves,” Edwin requested as he stepped forward to join Nick.

  “You have no authority here,” the first person replied.

  “Actually, we do.” Nick tensed, raising his weapon the slightest measure. “State your name and business.”

  The second person scoffed. “Get out of here and leave us alone.”

  “Can’t do that.” Edwin raised his weapon.

  Samantha took the opportunity to step forward. “Hey, guys, what seems to be the trouble?”

  “These trespassers don’t want to play nice,” Nick told her.

  “Trespassers?” The second person laughed. “We can’t trespass on our own property.”

  “You’re NTech?” Samantha prompted.

  “Probably easiest for you to think of us that way, yes.” The first person said. “And we’re here to assess this fucking mess you made of our investment.”

  “That will have to wait until after the investigation is complete,” Nick said. “Please leave.”

  “No,” the first person said. They took a step forward into the pool of illumination from Nick’s light, highlighting an ageless face of a woman with pale green eyes framed by dark hair.

  Luke’s heart skipped a beat. Fuck! That’s the Nezaran chancellor!

  The voice was so familiar now that he’d identified her. The man, though, he couldn’t place. It was possible he was somehow connected to NTech and out of the public eye.

  But why is the Nezaran chancellor here on Coraxa in a condemned NTech lab? He needed to make sure the FDG team knew who she was. Or, maybe it was better for her to think she’d remained anonymous.

  Shit, what do I do? Luke stood against the wall, paralyzed with indecision. He ran through the most likely scenarios and decided he couldn’t just stand by and do nothing. Not after what NTech had done to his home. If the Nezaran government had a hand in that, they didn’t deserve any degree of anonymity or excuse.

  Luke took a deep breath and stepped out from the shadows, turning on his light. “Madam Chancellor, please forgive my companions. They aren’t from this system.”

  The chancellor came to attention. “Then you must be.”

  The Force warriors dropped the aim of their weapons.

  “A Coraxan native,” Luke confirmed, “but I went to school on Nezar.”

  “As many do.” She evaluated him. “But now you align yourself with the FDG.”

  “I aim to serve my people in the best way I can, and I have deemed that to be through service to the FDG, now that this NTech lab has been exposed for what it was. Ma’am,” he added as an afterthought.

  “Oh, so you worked here?” The man’s dark brown eyes looked Luke over, and his lip curled under a moustache.

  “I’m a research scientist. I know what went on here, and I’ll keep working with the FDG to make sure no one else falls victim to the inhumane research practices that were going on behind the scenes.”

  The chancellor turned to her male companion. “You hear that? It was inhumane.”

  He chuckled. “Funny, since there was so little humanity involved.”

  Nick raised his weapon again. “I don’t care who you are. No one talks about what happened at this site like it was okay. Not on my watch. Now why are you here?”

  “We already told you. To inspect,” the chancellor stated. “The Nezaran government has significant holdings in NTech, and it’s our right to audit our assets.”

  “Not buying it,” Samantha said. “Sorry, ma’am.”

  “You’re making a mistake by trying to detain us,” the man said.

  Edwin squinted. “I dunno. We’re not the ones with guns pointed in our faces.”

  The chancellor chuckled. “What, you think we’d come alone?”

  The plastic over the building opening billowed with a gust of wind outside. The low rumble of an engine vibrated the structure.

  “We’re here to reclaim our equipment,” the man said. “If you refuse to leave, I’ll have you forcibly removed.”

  Luke took a step back toward the A Wing corridor. I need to get that cart.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” the chancellor asked.

  “Consider it my severance package.” Luke ran across the lobby.

  Before he’d gone four steps, a heavy form slammed into his back, knocking him to the ground.

  The air was forced from his lungs as he landed heavily.

  An arm looped around his neck. “Should have walked away when you had the chance.”

  Luke gasped for air as the arm tightened around him. Mind racing, he clawed at the man, but he didn’t have the strength to overpower him.

  Then, Luke spotted his globe figurine out of the corner of his eye. He snatched the base from next to him and drove the point of the pedestal backward.

  The man cried out in pain and released Luke.

  Coughing, and with a hand on his throat, Luke grabbed the globe part of the figurine and scrambled across the floor away from the man. When he looked back, he saw the man holding a hand over his right eye where he’d been struck by the point.

  Luke was about the smash the man’s head with the metal sphere of the globe when he remembered he had the stun gun. He tucked the figurine into his vest and then trained the weapon on the man. “Who are you?”

  “It doesn’t matter. You won’t be around long enough to tell anyone.”

  Luke pulled the trigger, and a sonic wave swept over the man. He fell limp on the ground.

  A quick check over his shoulder confirmed that Edwin, Nick, and Samantha had the chancellor subdued, so Luke made a run for the hovercart they’d left in the hall.

  He activated the controls on the back and pushed it forward at its top speed—barely above a walking tempo with it so weighed down.

  Edwin ran over to help push it. “Sorry! We couldn’t shoot him without knocking you out, too.”

  “I’m not completely helpless.” Luke leaned into the cart.

  “This isn’t going fast enough.” Edwin stopped pushing. “We need to get out of here before whoever it is coming down in that ship shows up!”

  “We can’t leave this here!”

  Edwin hesitated. “It’ll help Ava?”

  “I hope so.”

  The warrior nodded. “Okay, bring it as quickly as it will go. I’ll scout ahead and try to hold them off with the others.” Edwin ran toward the entrance.

  Luke lay into the hovercart and willed it along. This isn’t the time for technology to fail me.

  Ahead, the sound of pounding footsteps echoed through the lobby as the three Weres ran to get into position to evaluate the opposition. Luke peeked around the bin to see the three warriors duck through the slit in the plastic sheeting.

  The chancellor and her companion were still passed out on the floor. Luke wished they had time to interrogate them, but there was no chance.

  Finally, he made it to the plastic sheeting. When he tried to push the cart through, though, the top snagged on the triangular top of the opening. He attempted to force it through, but the heavy plastic didn’t want to rip under the minimal thrust the hovercart was able to muster while weighed down.

  Luke dug through the p
ouches on his belt looking for a utility knife. He found one in a compartment on his left hip and frantically cut away the extra plastic to fit the cart through.

  Just as he finished, gunshots sounded in the direction of the parking lot. The three FDG warriors were nowhere to be seen.

  Edwin ducked around the corner of the building back into Luke’s view. “Leave the cart! We have to go now!”

  “But—”

  “It’s about survival now.” Edwin ran back around the corner and joined in the exchange of kinetic rounds.

  Luke took one final look at the stack of equipment, and then left it behind to join his team. He’d be no help to Ava if he were dead.

  He slowly approached the corner where he’d last seen Edwin and peeked around. The team members were hiding behind landscaping features that provided minimal cover from a group of two dozen enemy soldiers.

  Oh shit! How are we supposed to make it back to the pod? Luke unholstered his handgun. He was barely comfortable shooting while standing still, let alone use it while running for his life. “I’m here! What do we do?” he called to his team just loud enough to be heard.

  “Pod is on its way,” was Nick’s only response.

  What does he mean by that? Luke’s question was answered when he saw the landing pod making its way over to the team. He spotted a likely landing spot only fifteen meters from the main door to the building.

  “Back it up,” Luke called back. “I can make a straight shot with the cart. That equipment is why we came here.”

  “Do it,” Samantha said without taking her eyes off the approaching enemies.

  Luke dashed to where he’d left the cart in the doorway.

  Inside, he saw the chancellor and her companion beginning to stir, so he gave them another shot with his handgun after confirming it was on the stun setting.

  He swung around the back of the cart and began pushing it forward at its pathetic top speed. It tore through the plastic sheeting, and he made a straight run for where the pod would supposedly land.

  Weapons fire continued just around the corner.

  “They’re close enough!” Nick yelled, and the low boom of the sonic blasters sounded.

  Kinetic gunfire ceased, and Nick, Edwin, and Samantha barreled toward Luke.

  Together, they pushed the cart forward, their combined strength driving it forward faster than it could handle on its own power.

  The pod descended from the sky in front of them, its back hatch falling open moments before the group reached the ramp.

  They pushed the cart inside, and Nick was at the controls in a matter of seconds.

  Luke gripped a handhold next to the door as the pod lifted off the ground while the back hatch was still closing.

  “That was way too close.” He leaned against the wall as the hatch closed.

  “We’re lucky they tried to advance on us—couldn’t fire the pulse guns at the distance they were before.” Samantha took a deep breath. “Did we get everything?”

  “I think so.” Luke checked over the cart. It looked good.

  “Shouldn’t have gone back like that,” Edwin said. “If we hadn’t been able to knock them out at the last second, you would have been shot to bits on that run.”

  Luke stared him down. “I came here to complete a mission. That’s precisely what I was doing.”

  Nick cracked a smile. “We might make an FDG warrior out of you yet.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  If there was anything President Connors couldn’t stand, it was inaction. He drummed his fingers on his desktop, trying to suppress his frustration about Colonel Kurtz’s dismissive response to his warning regarding Chancellor Heizberg.

  How could he not take this threat seriously? The Nezaran military might be nothing compared to the Etheric Federation’s forces, but they’re only hours from Alucia! Don’t they want to protect us? After all, that was the impetus for Alucia joining the Federation. If Connors didn’t get backup when he needed it, what was the point?

  He rose from his chair and paced across the office, hoping to clear his head. Worry clouded judgment, and he needed to maintain rational thought in order to be a good leader.

  But, a good leader would go out of his way to protect his people, even if it meant being forceful.

  No taking ‘no’ for an answer. With his mind made up, Connors returned to his desk to open a secure Etheric comm link with FDG headquarters. I’ll talk to Kurtz if he won’t take action on his own.

  The call took almost a minute to connect. Colonel Kurtz appeared on the holoscreen above the president’s desk. “President Connors, what may I do for you?”

  “Hello, Colonel. I wanted to follow up regarding that message I sent you the other day.”

  Kurtz frowned. “Like I said, I’m looking into it.”

  “Well, Colonel, that’s not good enough for me. I need assurances that this matter will be investigated swiftly and thoroughly.”

  “With all respect, Mr. President, that isn’t your demand to make.”

  Connors bristled. “Alucia is a member of the Federation, and we are facing an immediate threat within our system. Nezaran forces can reach us in a matter of hours, and I have reason to believe their chancellor is under outside influence with intent to harm Alucia. Looking into it on your own timeframe won’t work.”

  “Just because your planet is now in the Federation doesn’t mean you get free rein of our resources. It’s my responsibility to determine the most urgent threats and allocate our forces accordingly. Right now, you’re not the top priority.”

  “Then I’d like to speak with the leader of the FDG.”

  Kurtz chuckled. “Mr. President, if you think going over my head will help your case, you’re sorely mistaken.”

  That’s it? We’re on our own? Connors stared levelly at the colonel. “This isn’t the attitude I’d expect from an officer in the Force.”

  “Then perhaps you need to reset your expectations.” Kurtz ended the call.

  Connors leaned back in his chair and scoffed. It was like he was talking to an entirely different person than the man he’d worked with in the previous months regarding the NTech investigations. Unless…

  His pulse spiked. “Karen!” he called over the intercom. “Come up here right away.”

  “Coming, sir,” she acknowledged.

  She arrived less than two minutes later. “Sir, what is it?”

  “I may know why the FDG didn’t act on our information.”

  Karen took a seat across from Connors. “Why?”

  “I have nothing more than a hunch to go on, but it’s possible Colonel Kurtz is under the same influence as Chancellor Heizberg.”

  “Stars!” Karen’s face drained. “Are they working together?”

  “Maybe not together, but possibly for the same side.” Connors spread his hands on the desktop. “Whatever’s going on, they don’t want others butting in.”

  “Then that’s exactly what we have to do.”

  The president evaluated her. “That’s a dangerous proposition. If someone as high-ranking as Kurtz has been subverted, and hasn’t been caught, then he has authority to take actions that could easily wipe us out. Having the FDG as an enemy would be exponentially worse than the Nezarans.”

  “But we’re members of the Federation now!”

  “Yes, but if Alucia is declared a threat? They’d just as soon turn against us.”

  Karen crossed her arms. “So we’re trapped.”

  “No, we just have to get creative,” Connors replied. “It’s time you reach out to your brother. There has to be someone in the FDG who’ll help us.”

  * * *

  The landing pod ascended at a steep angle through Coraxa’s sky toward its rendezvous with the Raven. Luke remained standing next to the hovercart as the pod was too small to fit around it to get to his seat.

  Once in space, the pod maneuvered to the underbelly of the Raven and slipped into its berth.

  The hatch dropped open once they were s
afely inside.

  “I’ll get this into storage.” Luke directed the cart down the ramp over to the cargo area.

  Samantha followed him. “Despite what Edwin said, we’re all happy you went back for it. The mission comes first, especially since it’s for Ava.”

  “I’ll do right by her,” he said.

  “Good.” Samantha backed away and formed a V with her index and middle fingers, pointing them to her eyes, and then to Luke. “Because we’re watching you.” She smiled and climbed the ladder with the other warriors.

  Luke shook his head and chuckled as he strapped the cart to the cargo bay’s grated deck.

  When he was finished, he climbed the ladder to the common area. The members of Ava’s team were nowhere to be seen, but Gil and Sven were on the couch again.

  “Hi,” Luke greeted.

  “Oh, hey.” Sven pointed upward. “You got a call while you were down on the surface.”

  “From whom?”

  “Dunno.” Sven shrugged.

  Curious, Luke climbed the ladder and headed for his cabin. He’d made it three meters down the hall when someone called his name from behind.

  Luke turned to see a woman descending from the bridge.

  “I’m Aleya, the first officer of the Raven,” she greeted. “You had an urgent call from Alucia. We said you’d call back when you were on board.”

  “Who was it?” Luke asked as he walked toward her.

  “Your sister, Karen.”

  “Karen? Why would she be calling me here?” Luke wondered aloud.

  “It was important enough that they routed it to us. Said she’d only talk to you. We have a private communications booth up on the flight deck.” Aleya scaled the ladder.

  “Thanks.” Luke followed her.

  The upper level of the Raven was more compact than the residential and rec levels below, as it was housed inside a protrusion at the top of the vessel. The ladder led to the side of a central corridor. Toward the nose, a door sealed off the bridge. To the aft, a small social area was on one side of the corridor, complete with a booth and table, and beyond were doors to enclosed rooms.