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

by T. S. Valmond

  “Agent Anderson, Captain Sundari.” He inclined his head toward them. “I thought you assured me you wouldn’t try to get yourselves killed out here.”

  “We did our best. If you’d be so kind as to escort us to our ship, we’d be very grateful,” Skyler said.

  Iza couldn’t see behind her black shades, but she knew that Skyler had the ability to read thoughts and intentions before they were spoken. But she wasn’t sure Skyler would try it on these men. It seemed her TSS rank was more than enough to get them moving.

  “Very well,” he said in a gruff voice. “Baelsen, Korsek, make room for the survivors and get them loaded and ready for takeoff.”

  “Yes, sir,” they said in unison.

  Brontes helped Iza through the hatch and Skyler followed close behind. Soon, their entire group was seated in next to the Enforcers. The Quetzali parents were the most gracious, thanking the officers for coming for them. The shuttle ride to the Verity was short, and before long, they were docking with her ship.

  The familiar smells of the cargo hold washed over her as soon as the hatch door opened, and Iza’s eyes landed on the empty space where her AS-225 shuttle used to sit. The small ship was old and weathered, but it was hers. Douketis was going to pay dearly for taking it. There must have been something on her face because Captain Brontes cleared his throat and questioned her.

  “Do you want to file a formal complaint for the theft of your shuttle?”

  “No,” Iza said rather quickly. Then, she remembered she was dealing with an Enforcer after all. They had very different ideas about justice. “No, sir. I already know who took it and I know how to get it back. Your services aren’t required.”

  “Well then, I guess that concludes our business. We need to be off, there are a lot more civilians who need help. I would appreciate it if you would be on your way. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

  “Thank you again, Captain and I owe you one.”

  “Not at all. We’re just doing our duty.”

  Iza and the others made their way off the shuttle and the Enforcers undocked, leaving her with the Quetzalis and the rest of her crew. Atano was the first to welcome them back, bounding forward. He stopped short when he caught the scent of the new Quetzalis. After a quick pass of Iza, he moved to press his nose to their wrapped feet and legs.

  Karter must have been waiting for them because he stepped forward with Becca at his side. She looked wary, though Iza couldn’t imagine why. She was off of her flight deck, so for the moment, Becca didn’t have anything to worry about. It was a good opportunity for introductions.

  “Welcome aboard. Let me introduce everyone. We have Joe’s sister, Agent Skyler Anderson,” who nodded in acknowledgement, “the Quetzalis,” she said, waving a hand in the direction of the family. Both parents and Cierra all lifting a hand in greeting. “We also have Karter’s assistant from Apex Manufacturing joining us.”

  “Becca Drejas, a pleasure,” she said, lifting a hand in return.

  Mrs. Quetzali nodded with one hand still on her husband’s arm. “Thank you for coming for us, I don’t know what we’d have done if you hadn’t come.” Her eyes filled and she bowed her head to hide her tears.

  “I’m only sorry you lost the house and all your things,” Iza said thinking of all the items that had been either destroyed or left in the small house.

  “Those were only material items. The most important things are right here with us,” Mr. Quetzali said, reaching out for both his daughters. Cierra was under his arm, but Viper had to be pulled in by her mother and she didn’t look particularly thrilled about it.

  “And you brought us here. If you hadn’t agreed to move so swiftly…” Cierra couldn’t finish her sentence as the tears welled up in her eyes, making Iza more uncomfortable. She fought off the urge to tear up thinking of her own lost family.

  “I hope you can accommodate us for a bit, Captain,” Mr. Quetzali said with a beaming smile on his face. “We promise not to be too much trouble.”

  “I think we can fit you all, though we’re going to have to double up with so many people on board. Viper, your room is still available. It’s up to you and Cierra to figure out which to give your parents. But you’re welcome to stay as long as you have need.”

  “Thank you, Captain,” Viper said. She stood, shifting her weight from one foot to the other as she stared at the floor as if embarrassed to meet her gaze. The kid was a virtual genius, but she’d have to remind her that she wasn’t on board the Iron Dog anymore. Viper didn’t have to grovel in front of her to avoid being berated.

  Then, Iza turned to Karter. “I hope it’s not too much trouble to put your assistant in with you.” Becca’s pale cheeks flushed under Karter’s gaze, and Iza knew she’d done the right thing. “The only other available space is with Skyler or Braedon, so work it out amongst yourselves.”

  Becca nodded without saying a word.

  Cierra was anxious, it seemed, to be out of her boots and had already slipped them off, carrying them in one hand and turning toward her cabin while her parents, Viper, and Braedon followed behind her. The Quetzali family chattered about the ship and asked questions as they went.

  Iza, exhausted after being in the cold for so long, dragged herself through the ship toward her cabin to get into dry clothing. Trix had been notably absent in the greeting party, no doubt on the flight deck, and she wanted to check on her friend. By the time she’d changed and stepped out into the corridor, it seemed everyone was getting settled.

  Viper’s music reached the corridor, but it didn’t seem to be bothering anyone else. Iza passed Cierra with a bundle of clothing and coverings in her arms, heading for Braedon’s room. Iza averted her eyes. I don’t even want to know. The Quetzalis had, apparently, taken over her room, and they were still exclaiming about how wonderful and at home it smelled.

  On the flight deck, Trix stood looking out at the stars alone. Atano followed Iza in as she sat down in the captain’s chair, where he curled up. She was thankful for his heat, still feeling a bit chilled from her ordeal on Leveckis.

  “Hey, I’m back,” she said as if the android didn’t know. “Any news?”

  “Nothing you don’t already know,” Trix said, her voice still in its natural tone instead of the robotic one she’d grown accustomed to hearing.

  Iza’s mouth clamped closed, unsure what to say.

  “It appears that Mr. Hyttinen’s assistant will be staying with us for some time,” Trix said.

  “Yes, and Viper’s back along with her parents. We’ve got a full ship.”

  “Your heart rate and blood pressure have returned to a normal range. Are you not still missing Joe?”

  “No, I am, but to be honest. I’m preparing myself for the worst. If Arvonen is still hurting him, he may never come back, and I have to be ready for it.”

  “I see.”

  There was a slight change in her tone that Iza didn’t miss. “What?”

  “It seems you and I are similar that way. We are always preparing for the worst.”

  Iza regarded Trix more closely. She’d changed her hair recently. Instead of the low ponytail over one shoulder, she’d taken it out of the binder all together and her hair hung down her back. She wasn’t just using a different tone of voice. Trix seemed all-around more relaxed.

  Braedon came onto the bridge with Viper following close behind.

  “Permission to enter the flight deck?” Viper asked when she saw Iza in the chair.

  “It depends. What are you two up to?”

  “I want to show Viper the message we got from Raquel. I’ve been running a tracing program in the background on the ship and it came back with an interesting tag.”

  Iza nodded her assent. “Where did it originate?” she asked, leaning forward in her seat.

  “It can’t be right. I mean, I did what I would normally do, but the result is so strange it can’t be. I want Viper to double check my calculations.” Braedon gestured to his station at the helm, and Viper sa
t down at the console to begin going over the trace while he stood by looking over her shoulder.

  “Fine, but where did the signal come from?” Iza asked again, growing impatient.

  Braedon ignored her question as Viper stopped tapping and looked up at him with a strange expression on her face. “This is the trace I would have used. It’s not wrong.”

  Braedon finally looked up from the console and turned to Iza. “It originated from right here. In orbit of Leveckis.”

  “What?” Iza was standing up again. “How can that be?”

  “At the time she sent the message, she was right here,” Braedon said again.

  “When?”

  “Just a few hours before the transformation of the planet began.”

  Iza ran her hands over her face.

  “Is there any way to figure out where they went next? Joe’s running out of time.”

  “No,” Braedon said.

  At the same time Viper said, “Yes.”

  They all turned to look at her as she put up the message Raquel had sent on the front display. Viper tapped out something on the console and the image was replaced with what looked like random red dots connected with red lines on the screen.

  “She sent an export of data from the nav console, but it was disguised in the metadata of image file attachments. All the places they planned to go.”

  Braedon stared at her incredulously. “How did…?”

  “Honestly, Little Lamb, I’m disappointed in you,” Viper ribbed him.

  Iza dared let her heart lift with a glimmer of hope. “Where were they heading after Leveckis?”

  The image on the viewscreen changed again. This time, Viper placed a star chart overlay onto the red dots and she saw it.

  “There,” she said, swiveling out of Braedon’s chair and standing up to pat him on the shoulder. “Someday, you might just be as good as me.”

  Braedon crossed his arms with a huff.

  Iza grinned. “Trix, plot a course for those coordinates. We’re going after Joe.”

  — — —

  Ian Mandren filed into the conference room next door to the High Commander’s office with the group of TSS officers colloquially known as the Inner Circle. Most had trained directly with Wil as the first cohort of Primus Elites, and a few others were close friends who’d played a significant role in their lives and had won a place at the table.

  Ian sat near the door with a view of the holopaintings depicting a space backdrop, which called out to him whenever he entered. Ian normally enjoyed getting together with his team. It was like ‘old times’—the good times before the war when they trained, ate, and slept together. Ian knew more about the people in this room sitting around the broad oval table than he knew about anyone else in the Taran Empire. They were his family. Of course, some of them already had grown children, but he’d been content to find his family among them and now the circle extended to his trainees. It was no wonder he was so worried about Joe. After what he’d just seen, he couldn’t trust the assignment to anyone else, he was going after him, the meeting was only a formality.

  Wil Sietinen, their High Commander, led the meeting. In general, he’d never liked meetings, and it was usually obvious by the roll of his bioluminescent blue eyes and the way he slumped in his chair. But, the boring reports of the day brought them all together, and for that Ian couldn’t be happier. Today, however, was going to be different. Ian had just handed him the latest news on the Verity only minutes before.

  Wil gave them all a nod of acknowledgment. “By now, you are all familiar with the disturbances happening in the Outer Colonies. Based on information relayed from the Verity, it appears it may be an act of warfare on the part of a race known as the Gatekeepers. Several of our planets have already been transformed, some from hot to cold, from cold to hot, and others from dry to wet. Some believed the locations to be random. I don’t.”

  Ian leaned forward as the room of Agents clamped down on their questions waiting for more details as they’d been trained to do.

  “I know you have questions, but we don’t have a lot of time. The planets where the transformations have occurred all correlate with one ship’s movements. We now believe that the Gatekeepers have found a way to target Victor Arvonen. How? I’m not sure, but I believe there are at least some Gatekeepers living in our system and posing as Tarans.”

  “What?” Ethan couldn’t hold back his questions any longer and it was as if the room was released and the others started in on their own concerns.

  “Where is he going next?” Curtis asked.

  “Are more planets at stake?” Tom chimed in.

  “What about the treaty?” Michael asked, his voice last and thus carrying over the others.

  Wil held up a hand and they quieted again.

  “I don’t have all the answers yet. Most importantly, the Arvonen One has been found and they aren’t going anywhere for the moment. We have a chance to catch up to him and bring him in while rescuing one of our former Agent, who was taken captive during his escapades. If the Gatekeepers have caught up to him, we need to be prepared for anything.”

  “We?” Ian spoke the question aloud before he had a chance to think.

  “Yes, Saera and I will be going with you, Ian. I know you’ve been running point on this, so I’ll defer to your knowledge of the players, but when it comes to the Gatekeepers, I need to be there. This could be the end of a peace treaty that’s held for millennia, and we didn’t even know it was in place until days ago. Until people had already gone rogue with selfish actions that may have irrevocably violated it. It’s my hope that we can quell any misunderstandings on the part of our people and maintain the peace.”

  Ian gulped down whatever he was going to say and settled back into his seat after the blow to his chest. Another war? Could it really come to that? Then he saw the twinkle in Wil’s eye. He was excited, which could also be interpreted as a bad thing. Everyone knew the High Commander had the ability to do more than fight. What are we in for this time?

  “What about the rest of us?” Ethan asked.

  “Michael will oversee operations here at Headquarters while Saera and I are away. I trust you collectively can handle anything else that might arise.” It was more a statement than a question, but the Agents all nodded.

  “Good. Curtis, I’d also like you to come along on the Conquest. I’ll be back with answers as soon as I can. Dismissed.”

  Ian hurriedly packed for the trip. When he arrived at the TSS spacedock, he found the Conquest was already powered up and ready to go. It seemed like ages since he’d been aboard. Walking toward the ship, he heard the sound of boots running to catch up to him. He sucked in a breath. He knew who it was, and he had his answer ready before he turned to greet the younger man.

  Emery Valackas’ dark hair and baby-faced features hadn’t changed much since his days in training.

  “Emery!”

  “Sir, it’s good to see you.” He raised his hand in formal greeting. Emery, unlike Joe, had done considerably well as a trainee and had even taken the time to help Joe progress in their off hours. Ian knew it was because of his attention and help that Joe had made friends and had completed the training at all.

  “I wish I could chat, but at the moment, I’m heading out.” Ian didn’t want to get into the dangers or what they might be facing.

  “I know, that’s why I’m here. I’d like to join you on your mission.”

  “Emery—”

  He held up a hand and continued to speak. “Before you dismiss me out of hand, you need to understand something. My best friend and my future wife are in danger. If you’re going with the High Commander, then there’s something else at stake. I want to be a part of it, because I can’t just sit here while you go off and deal with whatever is. If you wind up deploying two teams of Agents to deal with the rescue and retrieval, I would be a familiar face to both of them. I’m begging you to take me with you.”

  Ian looked at the young man he’d trained and
knew his skills. Emery was no Primus Elite, but he’d been one of the best trained Agents in his graduating group. Given his bond with Skyler, without a doubt he wouldn’t be dead weight on a mission like this one.

  He nodded. “All right, I need to clear it with the High Commander, but I agree you could be an asset.”

  “Thank you, sir.” Emery’s face beamed as he boarded the ship.

  Ian rolled his eyes to the ceiling and hoped he wasn’t making a huge bomaxed mistake.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Iza gathered everyone in the galley to reveal her plan. Once she had explained what she was willing to do to get Joe back, the others were quiet, no doubt processing the implications. Whatever they were expecting this wasn’t it. Iza wanted to assuage their fears, but she didn’t have the gift of foresight. There was a chance that the plan would fail. She couldn’t guarantee they’d all survive. But it was for Joe, so she had to try. The question was, would they be willing to trust her one more time?

  The Quetzalis were on the far end of the table with their daughters on each side, silhouetted against the bright backdrop of subspace visible through the viewport. Skyler and Trix stood with their backs to the cabinets. Braedon sat on Iza’s left, tapping out a repetitive beat on his thighs with his thumbs, while Karter sat on her right with Becca on the other side of him. The room didn’t feel overcrowded with everyone there, though it should have since some of them had to stand. Iza stood fighting the nerves as she spoke, all eyes on her.

  “You all know where we’re going. I’ll be straight with you: this is about as real as it gets. Each and every one of you has become a part of this crew. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t considered doing this without you. But, the truth is, I need you. It’s taken me a long time to admit that sometimes I need to rely on others, so here we are. I can’t do this alone. But I also can’t ask you to keep putting yourselves in danger for me. I understand if you don’t want to do this.” She nodded in the direction of Mr. and Mrs. Quetzali. “We can find a place for your parents to wait for us, and when everything is done, we can go back for them if you prefer.”