On the Run (Verity Chronicles Book 3): A Cadicle Space Opera Adventure

by T. S. Valmond

  Nonetheless, with his dynasty in danger, Karter had to make a choice. His mother would use the clause against him, should he choose Becca. His only chance was to keep Iza as his fiancée until the matter of his father’s will could be addressed or challenged. Unfortunately, it was becoming increasingly difficult to conceal her true lineage from her. He’d kept every other secret at the forefront of his mind in order to keep that one thought hidden. The injections helped.

  Karter opened his suitcase and pulled out the vial of green liquid and injected himself with what the black market salesmen called a ‘Thought Blocker’. It kept his passive thoughts to himself, making him unreadable to high-level telepathic gleaning. However, under anything more intense, he’d have trouble, which was why it had been a good thing that Joe was no longer on board. Once he was back on the Verity, Karter would have to find something else to keep the ex-TSS Agent from digging into his buried thoughts.

  “CACI?”

  “Yes, Karter Hyttinen?”

  “Pull up all relevant data pertaining to the current state of affairs on the planet Earth.”

  “Please narrow your topic of choice.”

  “Current news reports on Earth in the location of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Braedon was up to his eyeballs in work. While they made the trek to Earth—stopping for cool down breaks to maintain the appearance of having a conventional jump drive—he, Trix, and Viper collaborated remotely on a way to neutralize the sphere’s effects on Uephus. The issue with the virus had always been its rapid adaptability, making any signal blocks a temporary fix. For the planet to be safe for the survivors, they needed a way to fully disable the sphere and its ability to create a connection with wherever that Gate led. No doubt, it was that open portal that had precipitated the planet’s transformation; the sphere itself was just a glorified map. Something powerful was controlling the changes from the other side, and it wouldn’t be safe to attempt to move the sphere or get close to it until the Gate was closed—permanently.

  Between messages to Viper, he doodled on his comic. He had enough other work to keep him busy, but the creative project was a release from the stress. He could paint himself the hero. As silly as it may seem to others, it gave him a little more confidence that he could help save the day in real life, too.

  Cierra peeked at it from behind him. “It looks good. You have a real gift for drawing and story. I can’t wait to see when it’s finished.”

  Braedon lifted one shoulder and let it drop. “It sort of relaxes me. Someday, I want to create a virtual-reality version of it. People could follow my character through the story and then make their own decisions and choices along the way. More like a game than a story,” he added for clarity.

  Cierra nodded. “Like the ones you and Viper play,” she said. There was nothing on her face to give away her bias one way or the other, only a blank look.

  The front console beeped. He glanced down and saw it was a new code snippet from Viper. At the sight of Viper’s contact card flashing across the screen, Cierra stiffened. He and Cierra walked a delicate balance between friendship and the potential for more, but every time he spoke to her about Viper, he had the distinct feeling she didn’t like it.

  “I have to go through this message,” he said. “It will probably take some time.”

  “Did you have to bring my sister in on this?” Cierra asked.

  “Aside from myself, she’s the best coder I know. Look, I don’t want things to be awkward with us. I get that you two don’t see eye-to-eye on a lot of things, but—”

  “The two of you have a lot in common,” she interrupted. “She gets you when it comes to the technical stuff. I get you when it comes to the emotional stuff. I trust you know what’s more important.” She glided out off of the flight deck, leaving Braedon staring after her.

  I don’t think I’ll ever understand that woman. Is there an issue or not? He had no clue, but there wasn’t time to worry about it while he had the issue of the alien virus to solve.

  Viper had sent a video message along with the code this time. He played it.

  “Ping me for a live chat when you get this. We’re on a stop planetside for a while, and I’ve got some ideas I think we should discuss. This back and forth is getting ridiculous.”

  Braedon couldn’t agree more. Without delay, he sent a communication request to the Iron Dog and had the flight deck route it to Viper’s quarters.

  “What have you got for me?” Braedon asked the moment her face was visible on screen.

  “Don’t rush me, little lamb. I’m doing the best I can with what I’ve got. You know I’ve got jobs to pull in between helping you storm the castle.” Viper had dark smudges under her eyes as if she’d been working all night.

  “Well, don’t kill yourself. I can do it on my own, you know.” It was wishful thinking, but she didn’t need to know that. “I just thought you might enjoy the challenge. Who doesn’t like a good mystery?” Braedon asked.

  “Uh huh. Sure.” Viper still had a spark in her eyes, despite her exhaustion.

  “Whatever. Are you going to talk me to death, or are we going to figure this out?”

  “All right pull up that latest segment I sent you,” Viper said, sitting back in her chair. He could tell by the way she shifted in her seat she had tucked her feet underneath her. “I cross-referenced the code that was messing with your ship and Trix when you had the sphere on board before and compared that to the signal code you gathered on Uephus. It has the markers of being the same language, but this new code is a lot more complex… and it goes beyond what’s written. Like there are ‘things’ coming through the open portal.”

  Nothing about that sounded good. “What do you mean?”

  Viper shook her head. “The technology they’re working with is some kind of hybrid between electrical and something I’ve never seen before. I don’t understand how they’re using it to manipulate matter.”

  “But it all comes back to the Gate that’s opened using the sphere,” he said.

  “Yes, that much is clear.”

  “Well, then all we have to do is figure out a way to close the portal and then get the sphere off of the world so they can’t open it again.”

  Viper raised an eyebrow. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

  He cracked a smile. “I think we might have a key.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “Remember what Iza said about the sphere being DNA-coded?”

  “Yeah. Which is why your father needed Iza.”

  “Right.” Braedon hated it whenever people made the connection between him and his father. He was nothing like him.

  “And he must have tried everything before her. He’s got some serious reach.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean there’s no business in this sector that your father doesn’t touch. And it seems that he’s determined to get his hands on more of these spheres. We’ve already turned down a job, an all-call for haulers, earlier this week. But Douketis knows better; he’s aware of how your father rewards the people that help him. Though it hasn’t stopped him from making other dumb decisions.”

  Braedon’s face flushed. He knew all too well his father’s methods firsthand.

  “Sorry, no offense.”

  Braedon shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. I know what kind of man he is. I don’t want to be anything like him, so we’re on the same page there.”

  “So, what were you saying about a key?” Viper asked.

  “Well, Iza said that they needed her to make the Gate work. They were able to ‘power on’ the sphere, if you will, and get the doorway to appear, but no one except for her made it past the event horizon. So, what if closing it is DNA-keyed, too?”

  Viper sat back in thought for several moments. “That’s a good point, and the logic follows. But that does bring up another question.”

  “Which is?”

  “If Iza
opened and closed the Gate last time, then who opened it this time?”

  Braedon’s heart sank. “I have no idea.”

  “Maybe she has a long-lost family member?” Viper suggested.

  “Actually, she does. Her mom’s sister and her cousin. She won’t really talk about them, so I don’t know what’s going on there.”

  “Family is complicated. Of course, it doesn’t leave us with a lot of options.”

  “Don’t I know it.” Braedon sighed. “But maybe there’s a way to get the sphere to listen to Iza and force it to disconnect?”

  “Even if that’s possible, it’s under three thousand meters of ocean. There would be no way for her to make contact with it without moving it first.”

  “And if we get close, it’ll destroy our systems.”

  “Exactly. It means we’re out of plays.” Viper sat back in her chair stretching her arms across her chest.

  Braedon tapped on the console. “I guess we need to keep working on a new antivirus that can counteract this more complicated signal.”

  “I’m not giving up, don’t worry, but that’s enough for today,” Viper said, cracking a smile. “You’ve got me locked into this mystery now; I won’t let it beat me.”

  “Good thing you hate to lose as much as I do.”

  “Yeah, that’s true. At least when it comes to tech-related problems. Relationships and people? Forget about it. I’m not even in the game.”

  “Cierra was saying something like that the other day. What’s the deal with you two, anyway?”

  “No deal,” Viper replied. “We’re just like you and your father—complete opposites. It’s a hard bridge to cross most days.”

  “Cierra worries about you sometimes. I don’t know what to tell her.”

  “Tell her I’m fine and I’m not a baby that she needs to check up on. I thought she’d have her own life by now.”

  “She does, but I think we both like knowing that wherever you are, that you’re okay.”

  Viper tilted her head to one side and then grinned. “Look at you, caring about me and stuff. Don’t get too attached. I’m nothing like my sister; you’ll get your little heart broken.”

  Braedon waved a hand at her. “It’s not like that and you know it. After all we’ve been through, I’m just looking out for you, we’re on the same team now. It’s nice knowing which players have your back.”

  “Aww, the little lamb is playing the shepherd.”

  “Ugh, forget it. I should go look over this new code with Trix.”

  “Speaking of looking over things, when am I going to get to see this comic of yours?” Viper crossed her arms over her chest and kept her gaze on his.

  Braedon faltered. “How do you know about that?”

  “Let’s just say I have my sources.”

  “Your sister.” Braedon cursed Cierra in his mind, preparing what he was going to say when he saw her next.

  “Sprout? No way,” Viper smirked. “I have more reliable sources than her. But anyway, I heard it was good. It sounds like something that would be perfect for VR interface. Have you thought about doing that? You know, once we’re not trying to save the planet.”

  “Actually, I have,” Braedon said with some surprise. He didn’t know what he was expecting, but it wasn’t this. “Have you ever done anything like that before?”

  “You mean create a comic from scratch and then turn it into of virtual reality game? No, I can honestly say I’ve never done that before.” Viper smiled. “But there’s always a first time for everything, and it’s your game and I’d love to try it. Maybe we can come up with something better than the garbage they’ve been putting out lately. Even on the Dark Net the games are getting stale.”

  “I’ve been avoiding the Dark Net these days. It’s got me into some trouble lately. I’m surprised you’re still dipping in.”

  “A girl’s got to make her own credits. I can’t be an Iron Dog underling forever. Sure, Douketis got me out of some trouble, and I owe him, so I’m gonna work it off. But I won’t be here forever,” she said, looking at him intently.

  Where does she see her future? For that matter, Braedon didn’t know what to envision for his. Certainly, it wouldn’t be the life his father would have designed for him. “Okay, I guess I better get back to solving this little problem of ours. Let me know if you find anything else.”

  “I will. And send over that comic; I want to read it for myself.”

  “I’m not really sharing it with anyone at the moment. It still needs some work.” Braedon chewed at the inside of his lip.

  “Of course it does. That’s why you need me! I’ll help you get it into shape. No judgment, just constructive critique. Then we can start building this game,” Viper said.

  Braedon liked the sound of that, but he wasn’t sure if he was ready for whatever kind of commitment that would require. Especially since he was still torn between what to do about her sister. Things were getting complicated, and fast. “As soon as it’s ready.”

  “Okay. Viper out,” she said signing off with a mock salute.

  Braedon watched the screen go from black to the stars again and found himself staring out for a while. Viper was a good kid. Maybe there was something he could do to help her and her sister make amends.

  CHAPTER NINE

  It would have been easier to storm a High Dynasty palace with a pellet gun and dog than it was going to be to get Joe from Earth. Though Iza learned from her research that the planet didn’t have a planetary shield or orbital weapons that would pose a threat to a starship of her size and capabilities, the problem was the proximity to TSS Headquarters located on Earth’s moon. It wasn’t clear why the TSS had picked such a remote, backwater world to serve as their central administrative office and training center, but she wondered if they were regretting the decision now that the planet’s technology had advanced to a point where it must be difficult to keep the locals ignorant of Tarans roaming the rest of the galaxy.

  They were on what was scheduled to be their final fake cool-down stop, a short jump away from Earth, when Iza made her way on to the flight deck with Atano trailing behind her.

  “All right, no more throwing around hypothetical ideas. How are we going to get Joe off the planet?” she asked.

  “Their planetary defenses are more focused on domestic conflicts than dealing with an outside threat,” Karter replied. “And as advanced as they may think their tech is, the H3X’s shield can shrug off even their most powerful nuclear missiles and lasers, based on the specs I’ve read.”

  Braedon nodded. “Yeah, I found some guides on the Dark Net about Tarans who like to go mess with the locals for fun. Draw doodles in their fields and stuff. Don’t ask. But anyway, the only weapons that could maybe damage us, they won’t risk firing back toward the surface of the planet. So, it’s getting away that will be the most dangerous. Getting down, we just need to be fast. In and out before the TSS or local military try to intercept us.”

  “Would they really fire on a stranger before trying to talk?” Cierra asked. She was becoming a permanent unwelcome fixture on the flight deck, like the vines in the galley.

  “Yes, they would. There’s a reason they’re not already a part of the Taran Empire,” Karter continued. “Any Tarans living there know to keep their true identities hidden, and there’s no unauthorized contact between Earth and the other worlds using subspace communications. Which is why the Taran government has taken great pains to ensure that the TSS provides another layer of protection for the planet.”

  “We can’t get the ship through, but we could bring a stealth shuttle,” Braedon said.

  Iza rolled her eyes at the ridiculous suggestion. “Yeah, if we happened to have a covert ops military ship at our disposal.”

  Braedon glanced at Karter. “What about a Q Maximus?”

  “What’s that?” Cierra asked.

  The other man nodded. “Yes, that could work, provided we landed in a remote area and kept the comms dark.”

 
; Iza wasn’t familiar with that particular craft, but it sounded like just what they needed. “Could you get access to one?”

  Karter gave her a broad smile. “I told you I’d get you past Earth’s defenses. Give me a day to arrange it.”

  Iza nodded. “All right. We’ll go down before their sun rises and leave after the sun sets that night. A day should be plenty of time to find Joe and get back to the shuttle.”

  “I believe that timing will provide you with the minimum amount of exposure,” Trix assessed. “However, there is a thirty percent chance that you will be seen.”

  “I’ll take those odds. It’s for Joe,” Iza said.

  “Captain, if I may…” Cierra began.

  “What is it?”

  “I want to see you reunited with Joe as much as anyone, but I think you’re making a mistake by going about it this way. If you kidnap him from Earth—”

  “Who said anything about kidnapping?” Iza interrupted. “We’re just going to check on an old friend. If he chooses to leave with us, that’s on him.” She held her hands up.

  “I pointed out the obvious to you months ago, and you continue to ignore the fact that Joe will undoubtedly be under surveillance by the TSS. He’s been banished from the Empire. He might—all of us might—end up in a jail cell for life for trying to ‘liberate’ him from Earth.” Cierra looked squarely at Iza, her eyes wide and serious. “Do you want that on your conscience?”

  Iza had thought about the consequences of bringing him back on board. She’d considered it and dismissed it when she realized what would happen to them all if he wasn’t on board. “I have another scenario for you. I’m getting him whether you like it or not.”