Baldwin's Legacy: The Complete Series

by Hystad, Nathan

  The wall opened with Hans’ instructions, and the shuttle moved outward, leaving the sanctuary of Shu.

  “Don’t fear. I’ve sent a warning to the bridge that we’re doing an experiment. Hopefully, that keeps them from blowing up our shuttle.” Hans switched the tablet to the viewscreen setting of their test craft.

  It moved away from them for twenty minutes, making sure there was enough distance from Shu in case any calculations were inaccurate and it exploded. Reeve watched it nervously. If this worked, it might change future space travel, especially if it worked on a larger scale.

  “The destination we established is a hundred thousand kilometers out, in the direction we came from. The drive is activated, and the jump parameters set.” Hans and Kan huddled around her as they watched the video on the bigger screen near the printers. Hans held the tablet, fingers hovering above it. “Activating the Nek drive in five, four, three, two…” He pressed the icon as he said “One,” and the image feed vanished. Reeve rushed to the radar next to them on a desk console, and it showed nothing.

  “It’s… gone.” Her shoulders slumped, and her head bowed in exhaustion.

  “Wait,” Kan said, his voice inflected with hope. “There it is! The shield caused the delay on the radar!”

  Reeve peered up, seeing the video feed once again on the monitor. The tiny green dot appeared on the radar. She spoke in a whisper. “It works.”

  Hans clapped his palms together. “Did you ever doubt us?”

  She shook her head, and they spent a few minutes checking the system readouts. Everything was right on track, with no issues of any kind.

  “Shall we bring her home?” Hans asked, his eyebrows raised.

  Reeve nodded, and soon the ship returned to the exact location it had departed from. They returned the shuttle into Shu’s hangar. In total, the entire experiment had only taken under an hour.

  The doors opened, and Reeve checked the radiation readouts before disarming the shields. “Everything is perfect. The engines are at ninety-six percent functionality.” The one Brax had used at the Tingor Belt had died after two uses. They’d done it.

  Kan was smiling, and Reeve had an odd notion, one she hadn’t considered while building this thing. “Kan, is there a reason you wanted this done before the captain moved us into the exchange?”

  His smile dropped. “Without the past, there is no determining the future.” He quoted the Code. “We know there might be dangers meeting the Vusuls, but at least we have something that might turn the tides.”

  Seventeen

  “It’s true, Captain. I am seeing improvements in Treena that weren’t there before. To be honest, we were only tracking her vitals as per the R-emergence instructions, but…” Kelli lowered her gaze, appearing ashamed. “We should have been documenting other things as well. It’ll be difficult to know exactly what she’s capable of without having her mind present. We can stimulate nerves and see the body’s reaction, but without Treena here to receive instructions and attempt them, we’re only guessing.”

  Tom nodded, not wanting to look across the room at Aimie Gaad. She remained by the door, but there were at least five new machines surrounding the bed, ready to begin a real physio treatment on Treena Starling.

  The door chimed, and Harry entered. Tom felt like they were invading Treena’s personal space with so many of them in her quarters. “Harry, do you have what we need?” he asked.

  Harry handed the tablet to Tom, who noticed it was already loaded to the proper screen. “All you have to do is type the message and hit send. Commander Starling should receive it.”

  Tom was seated beside Treena, and Kelli stepped away, motioning Harry to follow until the three of them stood beside the door, giving him some much-needed privacy. What to write? This was a difficult subject to broach, and at an inopportune time. They were about to make the trade for Keen with the same enemy that had attacked the Minon inside Concord space. If it wasn’t for the hostage, Tom would have suggested a much more aggressive tactic in dealing with the Vusuls.

  So far, they hadn’t seen any of the enemy fleet here, and that worried him.

  The obviously blank screen lay ahead of him, and his fingers hovered over the keypad. He started to type.

  Treena, I’m glad to hear from you. We’re nearby. Thank you for your coordinates. I’ll attach ours for reference after this message. Since you have Keen, may I suggest Constantine be the lead on this one? We can enter the system and make our way to the station, demanding to see the girl before you bring Lark with you.

  He hit send and waited a moment. This was a slightly different avenue to reach Treena, but Harry had assured him that Treena would receive the communication. It was something he’d been working on with Reeve, and since he’d had a lot of time over the last few weeks, he’d fixed the error code they’d been receiving.

  Her reply startled him with its speed.

  Tom. How are we doing this?

  He thought about it. New program from Harry.

  Treena sent a note back, the short message blinking on the tablet a second later. I’m thinking of the response and able to send them. This is quite impressive.

  Tom didn’t want to mince words. Look. You mentioned something about your body. It’s true. We have an R-emergence specialist with us, and she claims they should have been able to help you recover, but… Tom stopped, wondering if he should even send this now. If their roles were reversed, he’d want to know. He continued typing: they took the opportunity for their own advancement. Kelli thinks you can reclaim some of your functions, and I have machines here that might assist the progression faster. Do you want me to tell them to begin the rehabilitation? Tom let his finger float over the icon before pressing it.

  The screen remained empty for a minute, then two. Finally, a response arrived.

  I don’t know what to say. Does Kelli think I have a chance of recovering my own body?

  Tom glanced at the nurse by the door and returned to his tablet. She does think so. It would be an uphill battle, but possible. You would never be like you were, Treena. But you would be… you.

  He felt a headache forming in his temples and pressed his fingers at the source. Treena sent a reply five minutes later. He took a deep breath before reading it.

  Do it. Make me better.

  Done. He motioned for Aimie to come over, and she began instructing Kelli on how she could help. Harry joined in, and Tom left the bedside as they worked. Aimie was flushed pink, likely upset at herself and the corporation she was employed by, but he believed her when she’d told him that her department wasn’t on the project, and he also understood how easy it was to ignore something happening to a stranger. She had a busy schedule, and Tom doubted she’d given the reports more than a second thought.

  He watched her taking charge, saw the resolve firm in her spine, the way her jaw clenched, her gaze serious. Regardless of her admission, he was reluctantly drawn to her. He’d need to speak with Treena before deciding what his next step would be with Aimie Gaad. His crew came first.

  Rene agreed with your suggestion. We’re following behind you and will await word. Once we have their assurance the girl will be exchanged, we’ll arrive with Keen. Make the handoff. Then it’s done.

  Tom read it twice. Treena was taking charge, and he liked to see that, but he wasn’t so sure they could leave the Vusuls’ station without destroying their communication-disrupting device.

  We’re going to leave at 0800. The twenty-four-hour clock still worked on their cruise ships, and it felt like as good a time as any.

  We’ll be ready. Treena’s message showed on the tablet, and Tom closed the program, watching the others power up the machines around his commander’s bed.

  ____________

  The trek through the Govis system went exactly as planned. Brax was anxious to make contact. Every attempt at reaching the station had failed, but they’d expected that. Constantine was a large and powerful ship, but compared to the height of the Vusuls’ st
ation, it was miniscule. The Vusuls didn’t do anything on a small scale.

  “Lieutenant Commander Daak, where are we on the weapons scans?” Captain Baldwin asked from the center of the bridge.

  “All clear. Nothing our shields can’t handle with ease. The station appears fairly weak. I’m only sensing their shields at ten percent, Captain,” Brax told him.

  “That would be because their power is being rerouted to the top and bottom of the station, Captain,” Ven said.

  “Makes sense. Any device with that kind of reach is bound to be sucking a lot of power. I wonder what they’re drawing it from?” Brax said.

  “Ven, bring us as close as you can without seeming confrontational, and let’s see how they contact us,” Tom said.

  “Yes, Captain.”

  Brax stayed vigilant, ready to react to any sort of attack from the station. They arrived within a few hundred kilometers of the station and cut the in-system thrusters, slowing to a stop.

  “What are they waiting for?” Tom asked, pacing the bridge.

  “Sir, we have movement. A shuttle is departing.” Ven zoomed, showing a compact model transport shuttle with hundred-year-old Concord ID tags on it moving from the center of the station toward Constantine.

  The AI was behind Brax. “We had an entire freighter of shuttles go missing during the War. We never found out what happened to it. Admiral Keen assumed it was destroyed by the Statu.”

  “Con, can you cross-reference the ID tag with the missing manifest?” Tom asked, and the AI replied seconds later.

  “Done, sir. My assumption was correct. This is from that very batch,” Constantine said.

  Brax was perplexed. “How in the Vastness did one of those shuttles end up all the way out here?” And then it hit him. “Unless… Keen.”

  “You’re reading my mind, Brax.” Tom strode down the center of the bridge to the viewscreen. “Admiral Keen had a deal with these Vusuls.”

  “Fifty years ago?” Lieutenant Darl asked.

  “It would explain why they want Keen. Maybe they don’t even mean Lark. Maybe they were asking for his grandfather,” Tom said.

  The entire mystery was growing deeper, and Brax wanted some damned answers. “Captain, do we permit them access in the hangar?”

  Tom tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Set up the secondary quarantine barrier once inside, and Brax, I want you with me to greet them. If anything looks shady, we’ll cut the energy barrier and flush them out.”

  Brax rose, nodding at the captain. “Yes, sir.”

  “Ven, the bridge is under your command. Stay vigilant.”

  “Until we meet in the Vastness,” Ven replied, and Brax hurried with Tom through the corridor outside the bridge.

  “If Admiral Keen was dealing arms and ships to these guys that many years ago, who’s to say what they have up their sleeves?” Brax told Tom.

  “I expect we’re about to find out. Still, something isn’t adding up here. There’s nothing more frustrating than not seeing the entire picture.” Tom and Brax entered the elevator, and soon they were jogging toward the guest hangar. Brax advised the guards at the door of what was happening, and they arrived with their superiors, guns at the ready.

  Brax noticed the glowing barrier in the middle of the hangar as the shuttle was intercepted by Constantine, landing a few moments later across the hangar. This one was empty, with the exception of the newly-landed shuttle, and Brax stepped in front of the captain as the shuttle doors opened wide.

  A thick man stepped out, his arms long and powerful, his waist wide and flabby. “Where is Keen?”

  Tom walked toward the field between them. “Where’s Charlan?” He used the girl’s given Minon name.

  “The girl is well. There will be no exchange without Keen.”

  “If you’ll allow us to communicate with Shu, I assure you we will bring Keen as promised,” Captain Baldwin told him.

  The man’s dark eyes flared. “Keen is not with you?”

  “He’s on another ship. We’re here to ensure the girl is safe and healthy before bringing him,” Baldwin said.

  The man nodded, waving to the shuttle. A younger guard stepped out, seven feet tall if an inch, and Brax doubted he weighed less than two hundred kilograms. A slip of a woman followed him, and another man, an older Minon, moved as if he was linked to her like a shadow. Brax had seen his kind before. A Guardian. A very dangerous man. The man had white hair, but his straight back and smooth gait indicated to Brax that he was ready to pounce. They stared at one another, and Brax’s hand moved to his wrist communicator.

  ____________

  Gotran’s feet landed on the metal hangar floor, and his eyes darted from side to side, surveying the area. There was only the one shuttle in the room, and across the way stood four people. One wore the red collar of a Concord captain; the other was a strong, tall, and bald Tekol officer, with two armed crew members flanking them.

  The energy barrier between them was precautionary, and Gotran didn’t blame them for it, but it would make his plan slightly more dangerous. Eve remained close, but Gotran was a little surprised these Vusuls had committed to this journey with only the two of them and a pilot in the shuttle. It was preposterous. Perhaps they weren’t overly familiar with the power of a Guardian, or the Concord’s historic hatred of terrorism negotiation.

  Gotran locked gazes with the Tekol officer, and the other man nodded slightly, acknowledging his intent. Gotran thought he was going to pull a gun, but he only tapped his wrist. He’d waited for over a full month, but now was the time to act. He didn’t believe the old Vusuls when he claimed they were going to follow through on this exchange.

  He’d been watching their abductors closely, listening to hidden pieces of conversation, and so had Eve. The Vusuls had no idea the pair of them had essentially deciphered their entire plan in the course of the last week. With their fleet presently heading into Concord space, Gotran knew this entire performance was nothing more than a distraction: something to blind the Concord while the Vusuls fought to claim a world within their enemy’s territory.

  “We will wait here until he arrives.” The large leader tapped his earpiece, speaking quickly in his native tongue.

  Gotran had to time this just right if it was going to work. A moment later, the man called to the Concord crew. “The communication disrupter is temporarily off. Inform this Shu to bring Keen now.”

  The bald Tekol started to say something to his wrist when Gotran made his move. As gently and quickly as he could, he shoved Eve toward the energy barrier and jabbed two bent fingers at the big Vusuls’ neck. He struck again, his fist pounding into ribs, a few of them cracking under the pressure. The guard dropped his huge gun, and Gotran swept a foot out, kicking it ten yards away.

  The Vusuls leader frowned, shouting in his native tongue. Gotran hit the younger one again, kicking out his knee, and as he fell forward, Gotran spun, using his momentum to pile-drive him into the floor. The older Vusuls was on him in a flash, moving much faster than Gotran would have imagined.

  “You think you can take me on?” he bellowed.

  Gotran stepped back, the other younger one attempting to groggily climb to his feet. The leader rushed him, but screamed and fell as something struck him. His chest smoked, and Gotran peered over his shoulder to see Eve holding the massive gun, using both her arms to prop it up.

  ____________

  “Remove the barrier!” Tom shouted, and Brax relayed the order to engineering. The center shield inside the hangar vanished, and the two guards ran towards the skirmish.

  The girl still held the giant gun, and the Minon man with her ran at Tom and Brax as a pilot poked his head from the shuttle.

  “Shut the barricade. There’s a bomb on their ship!” the man shouted.

  Tom nodded at Brax, and they waited until the duo had crossed onto their side of the hangar.

  “Now!” Brax shouted, and the energy field reappeared. “Cut the hangar barrier!”

  Tom watched as
the entrance to the hangar, which was always powered on, flickered into nothing. The vacuum of space took over, ripping the flailing Vusuls man from the floor, along with the shuttle. It tore from Constantine, and seconds later, Tom saw a flare of the explosion before the lack of oxygen cut it short. The shuttle was in a thousand pieces, and Brax ordered the hangar energy field back up.

  “Why did you do that?” Tom asked the Minon man.

  Brax stalked toward him, angry. “You could have killed us!”

  “The Vusuls haven’t been honest with you,” Gotran told them.

  The girl had dropped the gun, and she stood behind her protector. She was only five feet tall, her dark hair tied in neat braids behind her head. Tom couldn’t recall if he’d ever seen bigger eyes, but on her, they looked right.

  “Then fill us in. Are they going to retaliate?” Tom asked.

  The protector shook his head. “They’ve changed coordinates.”

  “Where?”

  “To Concord space.”

  ____________

  The communication came through crisp and clear, startling Treena.

  “This is Constantine for Shu. Do you receive?” It was Ven’s voice, and she smiled widely. They hadn’t been able to interact with another ship for weeks.

  “We receive,” Conner Douglas said. “What’s the situation?”

  “We have the asset.” It was all Ven said.

  Rene glanced at Treena, who was sitting in Kan Shu’s seat as he operated from a helm console.

  Rene tapped the arm of her chair. “Executive Lieutenant Ittix, can you repeat that, please?” She tilted her head to the side, as if listening closer.