Baldwin's Legacy: The Complete Series

by Hystad, Nathan

  “Trust your instincts. You’re a Baldwin, son. You’ll know what to do,” Con said softly.

  “I will.” He left, recalling a sense of hope that had long been forgotten.

  ____________

  Nolix finally appeared on his shuttle’s screen, and Lark breathed a sigh of relief.

  “You won’t… get away with this.” Basher was starting to gain awareness, his words slurring heavily.

  “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be just fine,” Lark told the president.

  “Unidentified shuttle, this is a restricted zone. Return to—”

  Lark spoke over the sentry. “I demand to speak with Prime Xune or Admiral Baldwin.”

  A pause. “What is your business?”

  Lark had no choice. “My name is Lark Keen. Tell them I’m turning myself in, and that I have a valuable asset in my possession.”

  Another delay. “Proceed to Docking Station X07. Power your vessel down and await further instructions.”

  Lark rubbed his temples, which had started to ache a minute ago. The pain was growing fiercer, and he glanced to see Basher staring daggers into the back of his head. “Stop it, Basher!”

  The man was trying to kill him with his mind. Lark kept forgetting what a dangerous foe the Ugna were. He grabbed for the injector and leaned over his seat, reaching for the president.

  “Enough!” Basher shouted, the pain intensifying in Lark’s head. He feared an aneurysm was inevitable, and he hurried, unable to touch the device to the man’s neck because of his seat’s restraints. With his other hand, he fumbled with them as everything inside his skull exploded in agony.

  “Keen, proceed to Docking Station X07!” the voice said, more aggressively this time.

  Lark fought the pressure in his brain and finally pushed the injector into Basher’s skin near his collarbone. He pressed the button once, and the pain instantly melted away as the Ugna lost consciousness.

  Lark quickly returned to his seat, tapping the communicator. “Proceeding to destination now.” He piloted the shuttle toward the blinking light on his console’s radar and took a long breath. It was shaky. That had been too close. He hadn’t even considered what would happen if the man woke up.

  It was quiet around Nolix. Too quiet. Lark had never seen something like this before. There were two magnificent starships parked at the primary station orbiting the Concord’s capital planet, and Lark hoped it meant Baldwin was here. The man might hate him, but he’d at least be willing to meet with him and discuss what was transpiring. He also might show the slightest compassion for Lark’s situation. It would be more than Lark deserved, and he was fully aware of that.

  “Well, President Basher, welcome to the Concord.” Lark glanced at the drooling man and pulled the shuttle into the proper docking slot, ready to take whatever punishment was in store for him. At least there was a chance he could save his family, if Prophet had told him the truth.

  The doors opened from the outside as soon as he was latched in, and two armed guards entered: huge Tekol soldiers with scowls over their faces. Their giant weapons were aimed directly at him and Basher, and Lark lifted his arms. “I know the drill.”

  ____________

  “I have to be honest, I wasn’t expecting to hear from you again,” Aimie said as Tom entered the laboratory. The lights were bright, and Tom squinted against the intense ambiance. Reeve entered behind him, using her hand as a visor.

  “Any way to turn this…” Tom pointed to the ceiling, and Aimie tapped the computer and removed her darkly tinted goggles off.

  “Sorry, I forgot about the lights,” she said, setting the goggles on her desk. A series of tanks lined the wall, each with a long slithering sea creature inside, and Tom didn’t ask what kind of experiment she was running.

  “I thought you were leaving,” he told her.

  “I am, but I had a few loose ends to tie up first. I could say the same for you,” Aimie told him with a smile, which faltered when she glanced past him to look at Reeve. “I take it this isn’t a personal visit?”

  “No. We have to ask a favor of R-Emergence,” Reeve told her.

  “Anything to help the Concord,” Aimie said without a hint of facetiousness.

  “We don’t care about the moral implications and aren’t here to cause any grievance with the company, Aimie. But we need to know what work R-Emergence has done on chemical removal from organic beings,” Reeve said.

  Aimie leaned against the desk as she crossed her arms. She was in a crisp white lab coat, with her name stitched into the breast. “What exactly are you asking for? You can come out and say it.”

  “We need a process to extract a drug from someone’s system,” Tom answered.

  “Well, it can be done in a few ways. We’ve definitely seen success with substance abuse trials where we were able to remove all traces of the offending substance from our patients within a day of…”

  “Not going to work. We have to target and vaporize the chemical from a distance,” Reeve said.

  Aimie’s brow crumpled into a V-shape. “How distant?”

  Reeve shrugged. “A few kilometers.”

  Aimie broke into a light laugh. “I don’t understand. You want to clear someone’s drug problem from a distance?”

  “Not just someone’s,” Tom said. “Tens of thousands of them. The Ugna are addicted to En’or, and they’re coming to Nolix to kill every last one of us. If we don’t stop them from using their telekinetic powers against us, we won’t survive this war. Not only do they have an impressive fleet, one to rival our own, but this added weapon is giving them the edge, and not just by a sliver. By a long shot.”

  Aimie’s jaw dropped. “You aren’t kidding. You want to create a weapon to cleanse them? To destroy this En’or and remove it from their bloodstreams? And not just that, but from kilometers away? Let me guess, you need it in some ridiculously short period of time, like a month?” She laughed again, but this time, it sounded rushed and nervous.

  Tom tried to keep his own voice steady. “Ten days, preferably less.”

  “That’s impossible,” Aimie said.

  Reeve slid a tablet over to her. “Then we’d better get to work.”

  Tom’s tablet chimed, and he checked it. The message was marked urgent. He opened it, seeing words he’d never expected to read in a million years.

  Lark Keen had returned to the Concord, and he was requesting a meeting with Tom.

  “You two start,” Tom said. “Aimie, I know you think R-Emergence has turned over a new leaf and are doing things aboveboard, so to speak, but I have a feeling there will be something like this in the files if you do enough digging. Check for past experiments, hidden studies involving anything remotely close. You’re right about the timeline being impossible, but if something has already been started, we may be able to draw parallel conclusions.

  “And, Reeve, I’ve asked Fayle to bring the sample to the lab as soon as possible.”

  “Where are you off to?” Reeve asked as Tom jogged for the exit.

  “Lark Keen decided to drop by, and he has the President of the Earth Ugna with him.” Tom didn’t hear her muffled response as the door closed.

  He hurried to the headquarters, using his private transport. Part of him felt like he’d come home when he’d returned to Ridele, but after seeing Constantine, he knew that was his real calling. This was a façade, a break in his true mission.

  A few minutes later, he was taking the elevator toward his office, and he nodded to a few familiar faces in the halls as he strode with purpose. The admirals were indeed there, each talking to Concord partner representatives with their doors shut.

  Before he arrived at his own office, Admiral Anthony West emerged from his, blocking Tom’s path. “Baldwin! What in the Vastness is going on? Why hasn’t the Prime filled us in—”

  “Look, West, I have a meeting, and I don’t think I should be late for it.” Tom pointed across the hall, where two powerful Tekol soldiers stood guarding the man inside.
You could see him through the glass.

  “Is that…”

  “Lark Keen. He wants to cut a deal by making a trade,” Tom said.

  West didn’t budge. “I’m on a call with Yup’ren of Itheria, and she’s on the verge of sending her private cruisers to join Wylen’s fleet! I can’t convince her otherwise.” Sweat dripped down West’s clean-shaven head.

  Tom sighed. He really didn’t have time for this. He’d spent so long searching for Lark, and now the man was inside his office, not twenty feet away. “Let me talk to her.” He entered West’s office, which was far too cool for Tom’s liking. He sat at the man’s desk, seeing the image of the Itherian woman on-screen.

  “Who is this? Another Concord human male trying to tell me what to do?” Yup’ren said in clipped Standard. The Itheria were short, under three feet tall, with loose jowls and saggy cheeks. Their leader was no exception, perhaps even more of an example of her people than some.

  “Your Graciousness, I am Admiral Thomas Baldwin, and…”

  “I see you are familiar in our ways, Admiral. The great Baldwin himself. I asked to speak with you originally, but that hairless one said you weren’t available. Is it my threats that bring you or was he telling the truth?” Yup’ren seemed pleased with herself, her eyes nearly hiding beneath the loose skin over her brow.

  “I promise you I only just arrived after facing the same tyrant you’re considering joining,” Tom told her.

  Her expression sprang to life at the mention of Wylen. “And what came of it? Did the Ugna harm you?”

  “Quite the contrary. We sent Wylen scattering. He has one move, and that’s destroying minds without a fair fight. He’s pitting us against one another because he knows there’s no other path to victory. I swear to you that the Concord backs the Itheria, Your Graciousness. We will not fail you or the other partners. Stand with us in this fight or stay home, but do not side with the enemy. It would be a grave mistake for your people.” Tom intertwined his fingers below the desk, nervously anticipating her answer. West paced behind the screen, watching Tom’s face, and Tom wanted to tell the man to get lost before he ruined the meeting.

  “I have often wondered about this human we’ve been hearing about. How could one man with a legendary name like Baldwin defeat the Statu and rise to the rank of admiral so quickly? I, like many others, feared you did so through extortion or blackmail, but perhaps I was quick to misjudge you.”

  Tom remained stoic, afraid he might scare her off. He appraised her, seeing the long pink robe, the subtle jewels over her crown, and her green tongue licking cracked lips.

  “Were you aware my father fought alongside the Concord in the War?”

  Tom shook his head.

  “He was there, at the battle of Severtar, when only a single Concord vessel escaped with their lives. My father wasn’t one of the lucky ones. I used to think he died in vain, that maybe the Itheria were in a war that didn’t belong to them, but now I know better. The War belonged to all of us. The Concord needs to be united, doesn’t it?”

  “I fully agree with your comments, Your Graciousness. Do I have your word that you will not join Wylen’s ranks?” Tom asked, sitting tall in his seat to display a confidence he didn’t feel.

  “You can have better than that. You will get my personal fleet. You see, we didn’t revert after the Statu; we built resources to protect ourselves. My mother didn’t want to be taken advantage of, and she made me promise to help, should the need arise. I will do her honor now, and give you my best twenty vessels.”

  Tom nearly cracked but quickly composed himself. The Itheria weren’t supposed to have military-grade ships, but he saw the image she pushed through, rotating in 3D over the desk. West gasped.

  “These look… well-made.” Tom stared at the projections, seeing the data feeds alongside describing the fast Bentom drives, as well as the vast array of weapons systems.

  “They will arrive in Nolix within four days,” she said.

  Tom blinked, unconvinced. “How is that possible?”

  “I had a feeling Wylen wasn’t heading for Nolix. If we did choose to side with him, our ships would have been the first to Nolix. If we stayed loyal to the Concord, they would only help to bolster our capital’s defenses,” Yup’ren said.

  “You really weren’t sure?” Tom asked.

  “Wylen has made good points about the issues within the Concord, but I wasn’t going to let my father’s death be for nothing. It was nice to make the bald man sweat while I confirmed our loyalty,” she said, making a strange noise as her skin dangled. It had to be laughter.

  “You honor the Concord, and you honor me, Your Graciousness. Thank you for the kind gesture, and I look forward to meeting with you after this is all concluded,” Tom told her, using what he remembered of her people to end the conversation.

  The image faded, and Tom leaned into the seat, slowly rotating in the chair. “That felt too close.”

  “You did it…” West slumped to the seat across from the back of the desk and gawked at Tom. “I was so sure she was going to turn on us. How did you do that?”

  “I treated her with respect and remembered some of their customs. It would be beneficial to do a little research before speaking with the next partner’s leadership core.” Tom rose, walking past West toward the exit.

  “Baldwin.” Anthony West’s gaze followed him. “Thank you.”

  Tom didn’t respond as he crossed the hallway and passed the guards. “Has he been any trouble?”

  The Tekol man shrugged. “Nothing we can’t handle.”

  Tom entered the office, and Lark Keen stood to face him. “What in the Vastness have you done, Keen?”

  Lark’s eyes told a dark story, but he kept silent for a moment.

  Tom pointed to the chair Keen had been sitting in and took his own at the desk. West was watching them through the glass, and Tom gave the computer an order. “Computer, tint at eighty percent.” The windows grew darker, and Tom pointed at Lark. “You were saying?”

  “Look. I know we have our issues, Tom, but this is real. The Invaders sent nineteen Protectors, and something happened to them after the Nek modifications,” Lark said.

  “The modifications that were only made because you brought them the blueprints,” Tom reminded him.

  “Sure, but if it hadn’t been me, it would have been someone else. I had no choice. They broke me out of the transport, and Prophet…”

  “Who’s Prophet?”

  “A Callalay woman… assassin. Claims to be one of Wylen’s own.”

  “She’s an Ugna?” Tom asked.

  Lark let out a bark of a laugh. “I wish I had your common sense sometimes. I didn’t even think she could be an Ugna until far too late. Shows what I know about the enemy.”

  “They’re my enemy, not yours. It appears you’ve done nothing but serve them, and now you’re coming to screw me over yet again,” Tom told him.

  The man had seen better days. He’d lost a few pounds and seemed to have trouble standing upright. “Say what you will, but I couldn’t do it. I’ll give you the information I have, then you can use it as you wish.”

  “Why should I trust anything you say?” Tom asked, not wanting to let Keen’s checkered past cloud his judgment.

  “Because I was told Wylen has Seda and Luci. I have nothing to lose, Tom. I want them safe, and I don’t care what happens to me any longer.” Keen’s shoulders slumped, his chin dropping toward his chest.

  Tom considered himself a good reader of people, and this was a broken man. “Okay. Tell me.”

  Lark began his account, starting with Prophet finding him holed up with some paid mercenaries. Tom grimaced as he heard about his informant being killed by the assassin. That was why he’d never gotten word from the man again.

  The bizarre tale continued, and Tom balked at the idea of Keen pretending to be a Concord admiral. It didn’t help that Tom felt a bit like a fraud in the uniform as well. When the man spoke about meeting the human presiden
t, Tom recognized the young man in Lark, the part of the guy that he used to be best friends with. Before Seda and her father. Before the lure of the Assembly and Keen’s poor choices. His grandfather had been a traitor, forcing Constantine Baldwin to keep his mouth shut about what he’d learned about the Statu, and Tom knew some of his bad habits had leaked through the generations until they’d landed on Lark’s shoulders.

  “And the human president is an Ugna as well?” Tom asked.

  “That’s right. They’re able to introduce it into the masses. I couldn’t tell you how, but it’s scary. He seems so strong, but I was able to smuggle him here. I hope the guards heeded my advice and kept him sedated, because he’ll probably kill anyone detaining him when he wakes,” Lark said.

  Tom checked with the infirmary and breathed a sigh of relief when he was informed that Basher was being kept anesthetized. “Where are the Protectors?”

  “They were separated.”

  “That was Starling. She was sent to Earth to investigate and found the Saturn station. They sabotaged the blueprints, and when the Protectors attempted the jumps, they were sent to the wrong locations,” Tom hesitantly advised his rival.

  “You knew about them? I had no idea Starling reached it. They’re still coming, though. Their crew managed to find a solution, and they’re probably on the next ship with the patch. They expect to arrive in two to three weeks,” Lark said. “There are still sixteen in total.”

  “That would put their fleet just behind Wylen.” If the Ugna leader knew this, he might delay his assault on Nolix, giving them more time to prepare and recruit more assistance. This gave Tom an idea. It also put them at a greater risk, waiting for more of an offensive fleet to fight against when their own paled in comparison. Even with the Itheria on board to fight alongside them, it wouldn’t succeed if their En’or plan failed.

  “We have President Basher, which might not sway Wylen too much, but it will help in the fight against the Invaders,” Lark said.