The Fredorian Destiny: Book 2 of the Evaran Chronicles
Page 18
Forty-five minutes later, everyone had assembled in the conference room. Evaran sat at the head of the table, with Silva and V to his right. Andia, Emily, and Dr. Snowden sat to his left. Evaran interacted with his ARI, causing two projections to shoot up from the middle of the table. It showed Kreagus and another planet. “We have two more crystals to collect. One is on Kreagus, the other is on a planet called Gaziss. We need to decide on where to go next. Suggestions?”
Silva smirked and glanced at Emily. “Ahh, time travel.”
Emily glared back. “Yes, time travel.”
Evaran gestured at Andia and then Dr. Snowden. “Kreagus, then?”
Andia nodded. “Not a problem for me, and although I would have initially agreed with Silva on the time travel aspect, not so sure about that now.”
Dr. Snowden half smiled. “Kreagus is fine with me.” He nodded at Silva. “Prepare to learn about time travel.”
“We are in agreement, then. We will head to Kreagus. Based on the oldest historical records, the colony ship landed roughly five thousand years ago,” said Evaran.
“Correction. Five thousand two hundred forty years.”
“Thanks, V. To the command center we go, then,” said Evaran as he shut off the projections. He stood up and then exited the room, with the others in tow. Once in the command center, he took his seat while the others took theirs.
V took his usual position at the front console.
“V, take us to Kreagus.”
“Acknowledged.”
The Torvatta shot out a beam that generated a portal, then flew through it, emerging over Kreagus.
Silva shook his head. “I still don’t see how that is possible.”
Andia smirked. “Let’s just be happy it does what it does.”
“Can we stop in?” asked Silva.
Evaran glanced at Dr. Snowden, Emily, and Andia. Dr. Snowden shrugged while Andia and Emily nodded. Evaran interacted with the arm on his chair. “V, take us to the Fredorian embassy.”
“Acknowledged.”
As they approached the planet, the right front screen lit up with a credentials request. V pressed a few buttons on the console, and the credentials screen faded away.
Evaran smiled. “It appears our pass is still good.”
The Torvatta descended through the cloud cover and approached the domed city they had visited earlier. The ship flew through an opening in the dome instead of heading to the landing pads. After a few minutes, they landed where they had initially departed from Kreagus.
Evaran stood up. “Meet back here in twenty hours.”
Silva stood up and stretched. “Finally. Be good to be on familiar ground. I need to check in.” He walked toward the ship’s entrance.
Andia faced Dr. Snowden and Emily. “I am going to check in at the embassy. Care to join me and then catch dinner afterward?”
“I think I’m good. I just want to unwind a bit,” said Dr. Snowden.
“Oh. Okay.”
Emily swatted Dr. Snowden’s arm. “Sure, sounds good to me.”
“What?” said Dr. Snowden.
“It’s okay,” said Andia as she gestured toward the ship’s entrance.
Emily nodded and followed Andia.
Dr. Snowden studied them as they left. “Did I miss something again?”
“You implied that you could not unwind around Andia.”
Dr. Snowden snorted. “I didn’t imply that at all.”
Evaran half smiled.
“Well, what’s done is done.”
Evaran gestured toward the research lab. “Come. I will show you some interesting things in the planar cartography lab.”
Emily followed Andia off the Torvatta. She enjoyed spending time with Andia. She knew Uncle Albert would not care whom she had a relationship with, but she suspected he liked Andia as well. She was more surprised about Fredorians’ views on relationships. From discussing it with Andia, they did not have exclusive couples. They had groups. Children were raised by the state alongside the parents. Every child was taken care of. The groups were a mix of females and males, and there was no legal binding other than the parentage of the children. Everyone was free to come and go. Apparently it worked for Fredorian society, as it was the model used since their inception.
Andia had stopped and turned to face Emily. “You look deep in thought.”
Emily smiled. “Just thinking about where we are is all.” She looked around. “Where to first?”
“I need to check my office, then we can prepare for dinner and head out. Will that work for you?” asked Andia.
“Yeah.”
“Okay, your room should still be there for you. I will meet you there in, say, an hour?”
Emily nodded. “Okay.”
Andia stepped in close to Emily and put one hand on Emily’s neck. She drew in close and kissed the other side of Emily’s neck and then walked off into the Fredorian embassy.
Emily felt a warmth surge through her. Her smile stretched from ear to ear as she entered the building after Andia.
An hour later, Emily checked herself out in front of the mirror in her bathroom. She had on a red dress with open-toe sandals. She was going to wear something else, but Andia had the outfit sent to her room. A knock on the door drew her attention. She walked over to the door with a small purse slung over her shoulder while making last-minute adjustments to her hair. Her ponytail was gone, as Andia liked her without it. She opened the door.
Andia’s eyes widened. “Wow. You look great! Ready to go?”
Emily smiled as her heart rate increased. She swept her eyes across Andia, who wore a black dress with similar shoes. Her hair was piled up and looked like it had been sculpted. The scent of a sweet perfume perforated the air. “You look great too. I’m ready.”
Andia smiled and gestured down the hallway. “Our transportation awaits.”
Emily followed Andia down the hallway. After a few minutes, they arrived at a shuttle with a Fredorian guard. Stepping into the shuttle, she noticed another guard up front alongside the pilot. She tilted her head at Andia. “Lot of security.”
Andia nodded. “Based on recent events, I felt it necessary.”
Emily nodded as she thought back to the second colony ship. She still felt embarrassed about running away, not only in front of Andia, but also Uncle Albert. It was not who she was. She hoped whatever was causing it would be fixed, if it was fixable at all.
The flight to the restaurant only took about ten minutes. They landed on the roof and were ushered into the restaurant by one of the guards, who did not follow them in. They descended a ramp and walked into a large, empty dining room.
A Kreagan with a gold-and-silver outfit approached them. “I am Tolius Ji Barr, your attendant for the night. Please follow me.”
They followed Tolius to an open circular booth on the far side of the restaurant. Tolius gestured for them to sit, then touched a console on the table. “Menu options have been loaded, and the restaurant is yours for the night. You can call me by using the call option on the console. When you have selected your food, I will bring it out. Any questions?”
Emily shook her head.
Andia half grinned. “It’s not my first time here, Tolius. Your formality is appreciated, though. We’re okay.”
“As you wish,” said Tolius.
Emily slid into the booth while Andia slid into the opposite side. She looked down at the console on the table. She flipped through the various items. “Recommend anything?”
Andia tapped at the table console. She flicked the item she selected over to Emily. “The items on the menu here are edible by human standards.”
Emily scrutinized the item. It looked like celery, but made of meat. “Umm … well … why not.” She ordered the item, along with a purple drink that looked like a soda. She hoped it wasn’t something crazy.
Andia smiled. “Excellent. Dinner is on the way.”
Emily nodded.
“So, tell me, is this trip really your f
irst time leaving Earth?”
“Voluntarily, yeah. I got to see Earth from space on the way out here. It was breathtaking.”
“I can’t even imagine. Fredorians grow up and typically have their first flight in space by the time they are nine. Definitely by ten.”
“What happens when they hit ten?”
Andia smiled. “They enter the military training part of their studies. Part of that is visiting at least one base off-world.”
“There are some places on Earth where that occurs, though they don’t go off-world. Typically they wait until they are eighteen, though.”
“Earth sounds so interesting. There isn’t much Earth history taught, and what is known is very little.”
Emily laughed. “Well, Earth is a lot different than you might think. There are a lot of weird things there.”
Andia jerked her head back. “Like what?”
Tolius walked into the room, pushing a tray. He aligned it alongside the table and then lifted a platter to each of them. “Will there be anything else?”
“I’m fine,” said Emily.
“Me too. Thanks as always, Tolius,” said Andia.
“My pleasure,” said Tolius as he pushed the tray back out of the room.
Emily poked at her green meat stick. “Well, you remember that portal stone on the second colony ship?”
Andia nodded.
“It was an Outsider artifact.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s an artifact from outside this reality.”
Andia chuckled. “You know, if it was anyone else saying that, I would have dismissed it as crazy. Seeing what I have, though, in the last week, I believe you.” She took a bite off her plate.
Emily sipped her purple drink. It had a fizz to it along with a strong root-beer flavor. “Well, the weird thing is, on Earth, there are thousands of these Outsiders. Not artifacts, but actual people. Along with them are other types of nonhumans.”
“Well, there would be aliens there since it is a protected planet.”
Emily grimaced as she chewed on a bite of the green meat. She swallowed with wide eyes. “That was interesting.” She looked at Andia. “Not aliens. Things called Daedroulds and other names I don’t remember offhand. Who knows what else is out there. All I know is there are a lot of them relative to the rest of the galaxy, at least from what Evaran said.”
Andia put her hand on her chin. “You know, you’re lucky to get to travel with him. He’s unique. There is also something unique about you and your uncle. I can’t put my finger on it. Your hair, skin, and teeth all seem to shine. You have a glow about you. You move with precision, your words are concise, and you seem to be a lot more knowledgeable than someone from Earth should be.”
“Well, we do travel with Evaran.”
“No, no—I mean, you understand things very quickly, and can apply it.”
“Now you’re just flattering me,” said Emily as she smiled coyly.
“Not at all. If you lived on Fredoria, you both would be in my group.”
Emily’s eyes widened as she jerked her head back “That would be a bit weird to be in a group with Uncle Albert.”
Andia laughed. “Not in the same group. Different groups, but I would be in both of those groups.”
They talked a bit more, and after twenty minutes of eating, laughing, and enjoying themselves, Emily felt the urge to use the bathroom. She pushed her plate back. “Where’s the bathroom?”
Andia pointed to a hallway across the room. “Over there.”
Emily half smiled. “Thanks, I won’t be long.” She slid out of the booth and walked toward the hallway. She paused as she smelled an unusual scent. It was sweat. She looked around.
“Everything okay?” asked Andia.
“Yeah. Probably nothing,” said Emily. She pulled out her PSD from her purse and set up the stun beam. There were some noises, but she figured it was just the kitchen. Nonetheless, she was prepared.
She reached the hallway and walked into the bathroom. It was large, and there was a small hallway leading to the larger part. Several spotless stalls stood to the top left of the room, with a mirror on the right wall. She walked down the short hallway and then entered one of the stalls, relieved herself, and then went to the mirror. After washing her hands and adjusting her hair, she heard heavy footsteps thudding toward the bathroom. She pulled out her PSD and moved to the left side of the room where the small hallway joined with the larger part of the bathroom. It would be enough to give her the element of surprise if an attacker barged into the room.
A large fair-skinned humanoid with a leather suit entered and burst into the larger part of the bathroom. His head was bald, and he had ridges encircling his head. He sniffed and turned toward Emily.
Emily fired her PSD at him. He dodged it and reached out to grab her arm. Her eyes flared and her face turned red. Rage bubbled inside her. As she went to fire at him again, she froze, and then dropped her PSD. A surge of fear ran wild through her as her breathing went haphazard.
“That’s more like it,” said the humanoid as he stepped toward her.
Emily squinted hard and shook her head. She grabbed the startled humanoid by his neck, knocking his grabbing arm out of the way, then tossed him into the mirror. His eyes popped open as she picked up her PSD and fired a beam at him, making him pass out. Another round of heavy footsteps approached. She grabbed the one she had shot, and placed his upper half in one of the stalls, so that his legs showed. The nanobots in her were pulsing with energy as she went to the same spot as before the first one came in.
Another large humanoid similar to the one that had come in earlier burst into the room. He focused on the legs of the first one sticking out of the stall and rushed over to them.
Emily tripped him and then hit him with the stun beam. He crumpled next to the first one. She listened for more footsteps, but did not hear any. After a few moments, she opened her PSD and contacted Dr. Snowden.
Dr. Snowden appeared on the display. “Hey, having a good …” he said, trailing off as his eyes widened. “What happened?”
“Under attack at the restaurant,” said Emily. She spun the PSD around to show the two bodies on the floor, then spun it back. When she looked at the display, Evaran was standing beside Dr. Snowden.
“Stay there. We are on our way,” said Evaran.
Emily nodded and closed the PSD. She took a few deep breaths to steady herself as she went to check on Andia.
As she approached the end of the hallway leading back to the main room, a voice called out. “Come out, Emily, if you value the life of Andia.”
Emily peeked out and saw a humanoid similar to the ones in the bathroom with a weapon on the table pointed at Andia. “Who are you?”
“Delkis. It seems you got past my companions. I won’t make that mistake. Come out or I waste Andia.”
Emily slipped the PSD into her purse and stepped out with her hands raised. “Don’t hurt her.”
Delkis grinned. “I don’t particularly want to put myself in a situation by killing an ambassador, but the price on your head, well, let’s just say it might be worth it. Now stand still.” He stood up while keeping his gun trained on Andia. He adjusted his gun and turned it on Emily as he approached her while keeping an eye on Andia. “I have it on stun, though you might wish I’d kept it on lethal.”
Emily saw that Andia was tapping the sidearm strapped to her thigh under her dress. Emily nodded. “Delkis, you’re not very smart, are you?”
Delkis raised his weapon at Emily. “You arrogant bitch!” He fired but Emily had already hit the ground. Andia pulled out her sidearm and fired, hitting Delkis in the back. He stumbled as blue arcs enveloped him, and then he fell to the ground.
Emily ran up to Andia. “Are you okay?”
Andia nodded. “We make a good team.”
Emily smiled and hugged Andia. She pulled her head back and kissed Andia. She then stepped back and looked at Delkis. “Another bounty hunter?”
“I just stunned them. Evaran and Uncle Albert are on their way now. I heard sounds in the kitchen earlier. Do you think Tolius …”
Andia shook her head. “I don’t know. Let’s check.”
They walked to the kitchen and peeked in. Tolius lay on the ground with a large knife through his chest and some type of cloth over his mouth.
Andia gritted her teeth and sighed while exhaling slowly through her nose. “Damn. Not Tolius …” She looked at the ground as her eyes misted. “Let’s search Delkis again, then head to the roof.”
They walked back to Delkis and searched him.
Andia pulled a device off him. “This should give us more information. Let’s go.”
They hustled to the top of the roof. The shuttle guard by the door they exited from lay on the ground. Andia knelt and put her hand on his neck. “He’s dead. I’m guessing the pilot and other are as well.” She walked over to the shuttle, peeked in, then shook her head.
Emily could tell Andia was upset. Andia knew Tolius and probably knew the guards and the pilot. Emily walked over to Andia and put her arm around her. A few minutes later, the Torvatta pulled into sight, then landed next to the shuttle. Evaran ran down the ramp with his baton out. Dr. Snowden and V followed behind him.
Evaran scanned the guard on the ground with his ring. “An abduction attempt?”
Andia nodded. “Emily stunned two in the bathroom, I stunned the other thanks to Emily’s distraction.” She handed Delkis’s device to Evaran. “He had this device on him.”
Evaran scanned the device. “Interesting. These were freelancers from the area. Apparently they knew you would be eating here and the place would be closed down. V, scan the two in the bathroom.”
“Acknowledged,” said V as he walked toward the restaurant doorway.
Dr. Snowden ran over to Emily and hugged her.