A lot of good that did him.
He decided to press his luck. He tapped his wrist communicator. “Reeve, come in.”
“What is it, brother?” his sister’s voice asked.
“Any luck tracking the other end of Yur Shen’s tablet?” he asked.
There was a slight pause. “I’m sure it will be the same answer as yesterday, but…” He heard her fingers keying something onto her console. “I’ll be a Karmanian’s sock. It’s picking up a location. I’ll send this to you.”
Brax smiled widely as his tablet blinked with her incoming message. “Reeve, you’re the best.”
“Don’t you forget it.” The call ended, and Brax glanced to the device, seeing the blinking location. It was in the crew lockers on Deck Seven.
He called for backup, ordering them to meet him there, and Brax moved with purpose, deciding to leave his PL-30 in his holster. There would be no point in worrying the crew, not yet. The elevator took him to Deck Seven, where he stepped off, glancing around the halls.
“Hello, Lieutenant Commander,” Junior Officer Zare said.
“Hi, Zare. How are you doing?” he asked, wanting nothing more than to race to the lockers to see if he could catch this spy red-handed.
“Pretty well. I’m nervous about being here,” she told him. She was a friendly face around the bridge, and Brax suspected she’d be a mainstay on Constantine for a long time.
“Why’s that?” he asked.
Her eyes grew even wider, and he noticed how she nervously twitched her fingers as she spoke. “Drifting past the Border. I’ve never liked the idea of being outside the sanctuary of Concord space.”
“I’m not sure there’s that much of a difference anymore,” he mumbled, and she tilted her head to the side.
“Why’s that?” she asked.
“Between the Statu returning, the Founders fighting, and the Assembly, it seems like the walls are closing in all around us,” he told her. “Plus, you were already on the bridge while we traveled through a wormhole. This should be a piece of cake for an old pro like you.”
She smiled, visibly warming at his comments. “Thank you, Lieutenant Commander. You’ve always made me feel at home here.” She set a hand on his forearm, and not for the first time, Brax noticed how attractive she was.
He cleared his throat and moved his arm away. This was neither the time nor the place. Plus, he was her superior officer, and that never worked out for either party. “Are you on shift?”
“Just off.”
“Okay. You have a good rest, and I’ll see you on the bridge,” he told her, and waited for her to enter the elevator, the doors closing before he kept moving down the hallway.
He arrived to find two of his guards waiting outside the crew lockers. This was a place they could come to speak with shift advisors, pick up new uniforms, request postings, and store anything between shifts if they didn’t want to head to their rooms first. Brax had only been here on the tour, finding no need for it so far, and he nodded to the guards as he approached.
“I have reason to believe the other side of Yur Shen’s communicator is located inside this room. If the perpetrator is inside, we may encounter resistance. We’ll exercise care and restraint. I want this person alive.” Brax filled them in, and the two officers nodded their understanding.
The doors opened as he stepped near them, and he found that the room appeared empty. He pulled out his tablet, using the blinking beacon to determine which locker the communicator was hiding in.
The room had rows and rows of six-foot lockers, benches running alongside them. There were showers along the edge of the space, and he saw a human emerge, wearing a towel around his waist. He gave Brax and the two armed officers a glance, and turned around.
Brax found the locker, the icon blinking as he neared it. He pulled free a device clipped to his belt and sprayed into the cubby. The tiny nanoprobes did their job, and his tablet told him there was nothing dangerous inside.
He entered his high-level access code into the built-in keypad, and the door sprang open. There was a uniform hanging there, a bag with hair accessories, and at the bottom, under a brush and hairclip, Brax found the other half of the communicator.
“Gotcha,” he said. He used the ship’s manifest to see who was assigned to locker number seven three five, and a picture appeared. The Callalay woman was of mid-years and worked on Deck Two in Reeve’s department. He showed the picture of Gree Suul to the guards. “It seems we found our spy.”
____________
Ven was burning out. They’d been at the trip for two days, and he’d only slept for a handful of hours. He felt like he owed the captain so much, and his people were along for this ride. Two Ugna fleet ships. They would really come in handy if there actually was another Concord ship out there, but Ven suspected it wouldn’t be much trouble for Constantine to handle.
So much had transpired in the course of a couple of days, and Ven sat in his suite chair, staring out the viewer as they moved toward Malrun XBH. One of the Ugna vessels was close enough to see with his bare eyes, and he smiled at the sleek form. Perhaps one day he’d captain his own ship. It had been a possibility before he’d been assigned to the Academy for private tutoring, but that dream had shattered when he was sent to Constantine.
Elder Fayle had assured him it was the right move, and he’d obeyed with focused purpose. He could finally see that she’d been correct. Without him being sent to work with Thomas Baldwin, Ven doubted the Ugna would be joining the Concord as a partner.
The entire concept felt odd, unreal but exhilarating. Though the majority of the Ugna were Zilph’i by birth, they didn’t feel like part of the others’ culture. Now they’d find their own way of life, along with the newer members of the Ugna being brought in from the other races around the Concord.
Trying to read the emotions of the Vralon had taken a lot out of him. He was going to be needed in a couple of hours, giving him enough time for a minor dose of En’or. It would have to last him, to sustain him for what was to come.
Instead of using his Talent, he manually opened the drawer, plucking the box from inside. He used his mind to unlatch it, floating one of the many vials out. He pressed the pinprick into his skin and released the liquid. He stopped halfway through the vial and set it down.
Euphoria trickled into his veins, his heart pumping the drug throughout his body. He fell backwards on the bed, floating before hitting the blankets. All was right once again, and Ven saw a vision.
The Concord ship fired at Constantine, and the larger flagship detonated, the explosion rippling from the Star Drive out, until the entire vessel was gone, the crew included.
He blinked his eyes open. It had felt so real, he could almost feel seeing it from the bridge of a third vessel. Was this to come? Some Ugna claimed to see the future when they partook in En’or, but only a select few. Prophets were rarely sent away; instead, they were kept close to the villages, where their visions could be recorded.
No. This was nothing like that. He was only shaken up by the news of Andron. He let the vision dissipate into thin air, and soon he was settling into the bedding like nothing happened.
Ven woke to his wrist vibrating. “Executive Lieutenant Ven, you’re needed on the bridge.”
He checked the time and saw he’d slept for three hours, far longer than he’d intended. He did feel great, though, recharged and ready for what was to come. Ven brushed his uniform off, the bedding straightening as if of its own volition as he went to the exit. The vials closed into the box, and it floated to be secreted away in his bedside drawer. He did this all with his mind, and felt strong as he moved the objects.
Sadness filled him as he passed Treena Starling’s room. It was heart-wrenching, a deep depression he couldn’t begin to understand. He tried to wall himself from it, but found it difficult. Instead, he let it envelop him. She was going through a lot, and perhaps it would allow him to understand her better if he could feel what she felt.
Ven stopped outside her door, resting a hand on the metal panel. He closed his eyes and searched out, letting himself absorb her fears, her worries, her loneliness. It was overwhelming, but he kept at it for a solid minute, until his knees began to buckle.
He nearly went into her room to check on her, but his wrist was vibrating again. “You’ll be okay,” he said softly, aware she would never hear his words.
It was dangerous to be around people so soon after absorbing the En’or. He could lose himself in their emotions, and with someone as distraught as Commander Starling, he might never break free from the moment. It had happened a few times in the Ugna’s long history.
Ven strode with purpose, partly to get to his posting, partly to evade the onslaught from his neighbor. He arrived a couple of minutes later, Zare moving from his seat and into the second helm location near the front of the bridge. She emanated fear, but most of the crew was currently unsettled, so this didn’t surprise him.
He glanced over to see Captain Baldwin in his seat, eying Ven with interest. Baldwin’s hair was flattened, and his eyes had dark rings under them. “Glad you could join us.”
“I apologize, sir.” It was the only response he could give.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ve decided to forgo stopping at Malrun XBH. Instead, we’re going to set course for the Tingor Belt,” Captain Baldwin said. “We’ll avoid the Star Drive until we clear the enemy’s last reported position.”
“Very well. Course is set, sir,” Ven told him.
“Good. Let’s see what we find.”
Ven glanced toward the edge of the bridge, where Brax was hastily accessing information on his console. He wondered what the Tekol chief of security was up to, and reached a tendril of his Talent toward the man. He felt only tension and an air of importance over the task at hand, and Ven retreated.
At their current speed, the trip out of the system and through the Border would take eight hours. Part of Ven wanted them to find nothing outside the Concord boundary, but another part hoped they found Andron so they could deal with the enemy swiftly.
“What are they doing?” Captain Baldwin asked, pointing to the viewer.
Ven peered up to see the two-ship Ugna fleet moving into formation around Constantine. “Sir, they’re treating this as a dangerous mission. They will surround and escort you. This is how they treat diplomatic envoys, and you’re considered as important as one of the High Elders.”
“I take it that’s a good thing?” Baldwin asked.
“I’ve never heard of them bestowing such an honor on anyone outside the Ugna,” Ven said truthfully.
“Then we’d better make good on our end of the bargain,” Baldwin said. “On second thought, we should request one of them stay near Malrun XBH, in case we miss Andron and it comes to attack. These Vralon don’t have much in the way of defenses.”
Ven relayed the orders, and one of the Ugna ships left, leaving them to be escorted by Captain Wan’s sleek craft. Something tickled at Ven’s mind, worrying him that their two ships weren’t going to be enough for what they were about to find. A moment of panic shot into him, so powerful his breath caught in his chest, and then it was gone. He peered to his side, first looking at Zare, then to each crew member, but everyone seemed slightly more collected.
____________
“Sorry I couldn’t visit earlier,” Tarlen told Treena.
“I’m just glad you came at all. Do you have any idea how long I was staring at the wall?” she asked.
Tarlen had arrived to find Treena wearing glasses. “No clue.”
“Me neither, but it was almost better not seeing,” she told him.
Tarlen crossed the room, wondering who’d given her the device. Still, she did seem in better spirits than the last time he’d visited.
“But when you’re in a body like before, the one that looked like a human, you didn’t feel like that?” he asked.
“No. I wasn’t trapped any longer. It took a long time to grow used to, but now that’s gone,” she said.
“You’ll get an even better one soon,” Tarlen told her with confidence.
“That’s what they tell me.”
“And in the meantime, you have…” Tarlen pointed at her glasses. “These.”
Treena laughed, and it sounded funny coming from the little lens’ speaker. “Reeve did a stand-up job on such short notice, though.”
“Do you want to play a game? I can tell you about the dead guy,” he said. They’d started playing the stones game she’d taught him on Cleo while they traveled through the wormhole as a daily ritual. He was becoming better at it, but it was clear even a bedridden Treena wasn’t going to take it easy on him.
“I have something else in mind,” she told him.
“Really? Like what?” he asked.
“You mentioned this trader’s ship. Bring me to see it,” she said.
Tarlen glanced at the real Treena. So thin, so helpless on the bed. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“No, but neither was killing myself inside a wormhole,” she said softly.
“That’s where you’re wrong, Treena. That was a great idea.”
She laughed at this. “You really do help my mood, kid. I’m glad Baldwin decided to keep you.”
He raised his eyebrows. “You make it sound like I’m his pet.”
“You’re the only Bacal on board, and you’ve been known to fetch things for him,” she said, and it was Tarlen’s turn to laugh out loud.
“Fine. If seeing the cruiser will stop you from picking on me, then let’s get this over with,” Tarlen said.
“You have to wear the glasses,” she said.
Tarlen stepped to her side and pulled them off gently. He turned them to face his face and smiled. “Can you see me?”
Her voice carried from the frames. “I can see you.”
He placed them on his face, pressing them up his nose. The earpiece hung beside him, tickling his lobe, and he stuffed it into his ear. “Can you say something?”
“Something,” she said, the word filling his ear through the device.
“Perfect.” Tarlen made for the door, trying not to think how bizarre it was that he was essentially bringing Treena with him. “Are you doing okay?”
“Better than that. I’m out of the room for the first time in months.” Her voice was quiet, and he smiled to himself.
Once out of the executive residence wing, they encountered a few officers, and they watched with curiosity as Tarlen talked to himself, wearing the strange headgear. Remarkably, no one questioned him on it. They took the elevator and arrived at the hangar level shortly after.
“Which way?” she asked.
Tarlen forgot he hadn’t mentioned which hangar it was in. “Follow me.”
One of Brax’s men was posted outside the door, and he stopped Tarlen. “Hey, kid. What brings you here?” he asked.
“The doctor sent me. These help spot residual DNA. This thing will sweep the area, retaining any biological materials he’d missed the first few times,” Tarlen said, making it all up on the spot.
The guard squinted, staring at Tarlen, then at his glasses. “If you say so.”
“Thanks.”
“But make it quick. We’re nearing our destination, and I’d rather you weren’t in there should the alarms go off,” the guard said, opening the door.
When the exit shut, Treena let out a laugh in his ear. “This is actually fun. Thank you, Tarlen.”
“Anytime,” he said, pointing to Basel’s ship. The RepairBots were gone, meaning Reeve’s crew had restored the drive tube.
“I haven’t seen one of these in some time,” she said. “When I first started out in the Academy, I had to do some guard duty aboard these cruisers. Mostly hauling supplies from Nolix to Earon.”
“Wait, you’ve been to Earon?” he asked.
“Sure. I mean, contrary to the body you see me in at the moment, I am human,” she said.
“What’s it like?” Tarle
n asked. He’d heard next to nothing about the human home planet, other than what he’d been able to read in the limited textbooks on the subject.
“It’s… home, I guess.”
Tarlen stopped outside the ship, using the keypad to access the hatch and ramp. It lowered smoothly. “How long did you have to play supply guard?” he asked, wondering what kind of menial roles he’d have to perform before being allowed to work on the bridge of a cruise ship. He hoped he’d one day be on Constantine’s executive crew, but doubted that would happen.
“Only six months or so. I learned a lot during that time. Mostly how to say curse words in over a hundred languages, and who not to gamble with.” Tarlen bumped into something as he spun, trying to let Treena have a good look around. He knocked over some stacked boxes on the way to the bridge and righted them before closing the hatch. He didn’t want any prying eyes seeing that he’d been lying about the reason for being here.
“I used to sit beside the pilot for hours at a time,” she said as he stopped near the cockpit. This vessel was in good shape, even if it wasn’t quite up to Concord standards; at least, that’s what Brax had told him.
“Do you miss it?” he asked.
“I miss a lot of things, Tarlen, but being stuck on a ship this size with four others for weeks at a time isn’t one of the long list.”
“Maybe we’d better take you back to your room,” he said, remembering he had classes to study for. If he was lucky, Kriss would meet him in the courtyard today. He smiled as he thought about the girl.
“I don’t want to keep you from anything,” she told him.
“It’s fine. I can stay for a little while.” Tarlen sat in the pilot’s seat.
Baldwin's Legacy: The Complete Series Page 45