Star Runners 2: Revelation Protocol

by L. E. Thomas

  Kadyn slapped her hands on her knees. “Oh, come on! Is this part of that stupid game you and Josh used to play?”

  “No, well, sort of. I—“

  “Stop it!” She wiped the tears from her cheeks. “My house is on fire, Austin! My parents might be dead! This is not a game!”

  Austin put the pistol in his jacket pocket. “I know this is not a game, but you need to get a hold of yourself. What I’m telling you is true.”

  “So you fly spaceships now?” Kadyn shook her head. “Am I really supposed to believe this? And you’re saying this to your Mom? Why am I involved, huh? Who attacked my house?”

  Austin shook his head. “We don’t know. We found out both of you were in danger, so here we are. If this hadn’t happened, you would never have found out any of this.”

  Kadyn shook her head and glared out the window. “I can’t believe you’ve done this to me.”

  Austin opened his mouth to speak. He wanted to console her, make everything okay, but Mom shook her head slightly. He nodded and sighed.

  They sat in silence. Minutes passed. Streetlights flickered across the backseat. Austin glanced behind them several times, but saw nothing following them.

  Austin gripped his mother’s hand and looked at both of them. “I’m so glad you both are okay.”

  She placed her hand over his and nodded. “My head’s still pounding.”

  “Carbon monoxide poisoning. You could have died.”

  She sighed. “You saved me.”

  The car snapped around a corner, speeding down an on-ramp leading to an empty four-lane highway.

  “Where are we going?” Austin asked, leaning forward.

  “We have a meeting in three hours,” Sharkey said, his eyes focused on the highway. “We will report to the EIF agent at the outlet mall and get our orders. I think the worst is behind us.”

  “I hate when people say that.” Austin rested his arm on the back of the passenger seat and stared at the burn marks on Sharkey’s shoulder. “You going to be okay, Chief?”

  Sharkey snorted. “Yeah. Amazingly.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “Because I should be dead.”

  Austin thought about Sharkey being killed in front of Kadyn’s house. “What would I have done?”

  “If I didn’t make it?” Sharkey shrugged. “Contact Base Prime. They would have sent a unit to evacuate you all if you were still around to be evacuated that is. I wouldn’t think too much about these things.” He glanced at his watch. “Sun will be up in a couple hours. We should make it by then.”

  *****

  Sharkey pulled into the outlet mall parking lot. The rolling mountains of North Georgia stretched across the horizon. Shoppers carried bags of different colors while they laughed and walked together. As Sharkey took his second lap around the collection of stores, Austin wished he were one of the shoppers instead.

  Earlier, two fire engines, their bright red and white lights flashing across the darkness of the early morning streets, rushed in the opposite direction. Austin knew they were headed to Kadyn’s house. His stomach twisted at the sight.

  Once they had driven thirty minutes away from the scene, Sharkey had shut off the shroud. Kadyn and Mom had sat in silence for the past two hours. For a while, Austin thought Kadyn had finally fallen asleep. Instead, she leaned against the car door and stared out the window without saying a word. Mom tilted her head back and closed her eyes, probably trying to fight the headache.

  Austin fought a sudden wave of fatigue. He needed coffee. After hearing laser bolts whiz by his head for the first time, the rush of adrenaline had faded in the boring drive north of Atlanta.

  “I’m going to stop up here in front of this nature store,” Sharkey said, his voice rattling as he winced. “You need to get out and go buy a bag of bird seed.”

  Austin stared at him. “What?”

  “Just do it,” he said with a grimace. “Then walk to the food court and sit in front of the carousel.”

  “And do what, feed the pigeons?” Austin shook his head. “I thought we would get Mom and Kadyn to a safe house and away from danger.”

  “That’s why we’re here. Just do as I say, Lieutenant. These are the orders Colonel Pierce had given me before you arrived at Tizona. These orders come straight from command.” Sharkey looked at him through the rearview mirror and held up a roll of money. “You’ll need this money. Leave the gun.”

  Austin grabbed the roll of cash. “What if they are here tracking us?”

  Sharkey shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. Stay public. Stay in the open. You’ll be fine. We have people here.”

  “What people?”

  Sharkey sighed. “Just do as I say. You’ll be fine.”

  Austin glanced at Sharkey’s cauterized wound. “Sorry, chief. I’ll hurry.”

  Austin sighed, remembering his training. He slipped the gun out of his jacket pocket and placed it on his mother’s lap.

  He glanced at Mom. “I’ll be right back.”

  She smiled, her eyes watering. “Be careful.”

  Sharkey stopped the car in front of the nature store, and Austin stepped out. He zipped up his jacket and strolled as casually as possible toward the store. A teenage girl wearing a bright yellow backpack smiled at him as he walked by. Austin glanced over his shoulder as she passed. Sharkey drove the sedan back into the sea of vehicles as if he searched for a parking place.

  Austin pulled back the glass door, heard the bell jingle against the metal frame. Inside the store, a middle-aged woman smiled from behind the counter.

  “Welcome,” she said. “Let me know if I can help.”

  Austin nodded and pretended to look around. Birdhouses and wind chimes filled the aisles. A strong smell of incense hovered over the entire store. He glanced at the yard games, wondering if he would ever get to play badminton again. One of Dad’s favorite games.

  He shook his head and wandered back to the stacks of birdseed. Seeing only the massive bags that had to be twenty or thirty pounds, he frowned.

  “That’s really good seed,” the woman said.

  He turned back to her. “Got anything smaller? I don’t think I have that many birds.”

  “That’s all we have,” she said with a smile. “It’ll keep the birds coming back to your house all winter long.”

  “Well, I guess I have to buy it then.”

  Swinging the large sack over his shoulder, he strolled up to the counter.

  The woman eyed him. “Do I know you?”

  Austin placed the bag on the table and froze. “Me?”

  “Have we met before?”

  His pulse raced. He frowned. Is this one of the “people” Sharkey had mentioned? What if this was one of the contacts he was supposed to talk with?

  “I don’t know.” Austin lowered his gaze. “Have we met before?”

  “I can’t remember.” She shrugged. “Maybe you just look like somebody I know.”

  Austin leaned closer. “Do you really think I need this much bird seed?” he whispered.

  She smiled. “I don’t know. I just work here.”

  “So you think I need the bird seed? Or can I just get what I came for?”

  “What?” She laughed. “You have a rough night or something?”

  Austin felt the blood rush to his face. “Just here for the bird seed. I’m sorry, ma’am. Have a nice day.”

  He hurried out into the crowd, trying not to turn back and look at the lady who laughed as he left the store. What was he thinking?

  He marched to the food court smelling of hot dogs and funnel cakes. Children laughed and ran toward the carousel, fragments of cotton candy hanging from their mouths. Austin picked out a bench near a trash can and set the birdseed on the ground in front of him. He watched parents stand in line with strollers before they boarded the carousel. Mothers gossiped about the latest celebrities and movies Austin had never heard of before. A lot had changed since he went to Tizona and Tarton’s Junction, he thoug
ht.

  A mother sat next to him for a few minutes, watching her child ride the carousel. She stood and left, arguing with a man Austin assumed was her husband.

  Austin folded his arms across his chest. Sharkey told him just to sit here, but he didn’t say how long. Was he just going to drive around the parking lot until he came out there? He kicked the sack of birdseed. And would he have to bring the birdseed?

  A man in a bright yellow shirt with black flowers sat next to him. He wore a white baseball cap and large, round sunglasses. He waved at a child on the carousel, who didn’t wave back. Burying his hand into a bag of popcorn, he crammed an entire handful into his mouth. Popcorn fell into his lap and onto the ground.

  “Don’t look now,” the man said, “but it is good to see you again.”

  Austin’s eyes widened. That voice …

  Stuffing another handful into his mouth, the man yanked out a cell phone from his shirt and pretended to text.

  Austin’s head jerked to the side. “Stetson?”

  “Easy,” Stetson Levine said softly. “You’ll blow my cover.”

  Staring at the floor, Austin’s jaw dropped. “How?”

  Stetson snorted and pretended to work on his cell phone. “Not everyone who left Tizona Campus was sent home or expelled. Some of us were recognized for other talents.”

  “You work in intelligence now?”

  Stetson nodded. “Bottom of the totem pole, but moving up. I volunteered for this assignment though. I wanted to see you again. Nice job with the birdseed lady.”

  Austin swallowed. “She’s not with you?”

  “Her name’s Krista. She lives a few miles from here and has worked in that store since her friend Sherry opened it twelve years ago.”

  Austin rolled his eyes. “That’s just great.”

  They watched the children play for a moment while Stetson typed into his phone. Austin thought back to the days on Tizona Campus. Stetson had been a helpless soul, cast adrift in a sea of angry, pushy students. Austin had wanted to help him when the other guys in the dorm threatened Stetson to cheat on an exam, but he didn’t. Soon after, Stetson had been removed from his dorm room.

  “I’m sorry about Tizona,” Austin breathed.

  “I’m not. You did the best you could. I’ll never forget it. You’re the only friend I’ve ever had.” Stetson placed the popcorn bag on the bench between them. “Inside this bag you’ll find your directives.”

  Austin pulled the bag closer to his leg.

  Stetson placed the phone to his ear. “Tell Sharkey the Star Runners are being targeted by Phantoms.”

  Austin blinked. “Phantoms? What are they?”

  “He’ll know. I don’t have time to explain, but let’s just say they are mercenaries. The kind you don’t want to mess with.”

  “What do they want?”

  “It seems they want to disrupt our operations here on Earth. We don’t know why, yet. I can tell you these guys are professional, well equipped, and expensive. Whoever hired them means business.”

  Austin grimaced. “Are we safe now?”

  “You won’t be safe until you get to a government location. Your orders will explain everything.”

  “Is Dax Rodon doing this?”

  For the first time, Stetson looked at him. Austin saw his own reflection in the sunglasses.

  “Follow your instructions and everything will be fine.” He nodded. “It was good to see you again, my friend.”

  “Wait,” Austin said, feeling like he had run out of time, “there’s so much I still don’t know.”

  “I know,” Stetson said calmly, “but there isn’t time. Sit here for another five minutes and go to your car. Goodbye, Austin.”

  Stetson stood and walked over to a hotdog stand. He bought a hotdog and disappeared.

  Austin waited the five minutes, thinking about his roommate Stetson Levine and wondering what the past year and a half had been like for him.

  Swinging the birdseed over his shoulder and grabbing the popcorn bag, Austin hurried to the parking lot.

  *****

  “Where is this place?” Austin asked, pulling the shade down to shield the sunlight beaming through the front windshield. He stared down at the information Stetson—now Agent Levine—had hidden in the popcorn bag. The crumpled paper, with numbers stretching like a barcode, meant nothing to Austin.

  However, Sharkey had nodded when he glanced at the paper. He simply drove away from the outlet mall, heading north on the two-lane highways winding through the forests and mountains of North Georgia. Mom and Kadyn dozed off in the back seat, but it appeared more like they had passed out. Kadyn leaned back in her seat, her mouth hanging open. Mom crumpled against the door, her arm folded like a pillow against the glass.

  “Not far off this highway,” Sharkey said. “We should be there soon if we’re not being followed.”

  A tingling sensation spread across his neck. Austin glanced at the side mirror, seeing nothing but empty road. “Followed? You don’t think this is over?”

  Sharkey looked at him, his dark eyes hard. “You really believe that was it?”

  Austin stared out the front window. “No.”

  “Neither do I.” Sharkey shifted in his seat, his gaze lowering as he gripped the steering wheel. “Whoever launched that attack back there means business. Once we’re stationary, I’ll check in with command. Something tells me all the Earth-bound Star Runners are having a hell of a night.”

  Austin sighed. He thought of Ryan Bean. After only a short time chatting on the plane and over one cup of coffee, Ryan had become a brother-in-arms. It was a kinship among the pilots he had seen on Tarton’s Junction when the other veterans marched down corridors. They seemed to move as one, even when they were not in their ships. And now Austin was one of them.

  A sick twist penetrated his gut.

  An unseen force attacked his family and friends, both on Earth and beyond. They must be stopped.

  “Do you have any idea who hired these Phantoms?” Austin asked, pressing back into his seat.

  Sharkey’s gaze darted to Austin. “Who said anything about Phantoms?”

  Austin swallowed. “Agent Levine did. Said the attackers were Phantoms.”

  Sharkey slowed the car, his eyes fixed on Austin. “Be very clear. Are you sure he said that? Was he very certain the attackers were Phantoms?”

  Austin looked at the road, replaying Stetson’s conversation from earlier that morning. “He seemed pretty sure, sir.”

  Sharkey sighed, turning back to the road. He accelerated, the engine straining up a hill. “Then this most definitely is not over.

  “What are Phantoms?” Austin asked, not sure he wanted to hear the answer.

  “Mercs. Bounty hunters, sometimes, but there’s not much difference in the two. They are hired guns, killers. Very professional, most of them ex-military who couldn’t deal with peacetime when their tour was up or simply saw the money and went for it.”

  “You don’t think they’re Zahl agents, do you?”

  Sharkey thought for a moment. “I don’t think even Zahl agents would use off world tech like those laser rifles. Not because they have morals or anything like that, but they wouldn’t risk a dark Legion world getting their hands on technology that could give them a jump. Most in the Zahl Empire believe our policy toward dark worlds makes us weak.”

  “You don’t?”

  Sharkey shook his head. “When a world comes willing into the Legion’s embrace, they are part of a family. They come to love the Legion and gladly do their part.”

  Austin remembered his conversation with Bean. “Then why do we recruit from dark worlds? If we are so benevolent and good, why do the recruiting? Why all the secrets?”

  “Because the galaxy cannot wait. Quadrant Eight has real dangers, and we need people motivated to keep it safe. We need personnel—especially Star Runners. To get the talent, we have to recruit from all Quadrant Eight planets. Listen, do you think someone from another planet would
care about keeping your Earth safe as much as you?”

  “No.” Austin paused. “What does the Zahl Empire do that’s so different?”

  Sharkey sighed. “When they see a dark world they need or want, they take it. Sure, they’ll make contact with the natives of the planet, give them terms to join the empire. If they agree, good for them. If not, well, it’s not pretty.”

  Austin stared out the window, watching the tree tops pass. “Guess I should be glad Earth is in Legion territory.”

  Sharky snorted. “Be very glad. Be a much different life if the Zahl Empire came knocking on Earth’s doorstep.”

  Austin turned to Sharkey. “You have a strong opinion about this, chief.”

  Sharkey grimaced. “I grew up on a dark world.”

  Austin blinked. “You did?”

  “Yes. In Zahlian space. A planet called Codara.” He focused on the road, his thoughts apparently on a different time. “My mother, father and little brother were killed in the initial attack when my people refused to bow to the newcomers. They were first heralded as a new era for Codara. That didn’t last long.”

  Austin’s jaw dropped. “What happened?”

  “The war was devastating but short. The Zahlian Warlord is leading the conquest, a man named Tulin, had no mercy. He seemed to love the blood, the carnage carried out on my people. Our technology simply couldn’t compete. My uncle led a resistance force for a time. I joined him. I was only a teenager.” He swallowed, his face contorting. “After his execution, the younger guerrilla troops were sold into slavery. I was being transported by a slave ship near the border when a Legion patrol intercepted the ship and rescued us.”

  Austin exhaled. “I had no idea, chief. I’m sorry.”

  Sharkey looked at him, a lopsided grin forming on his face. “I’m not. I would be dead if a Legion flyboy like you didn't decide to investigate the slavers’ ship.”

  Movement from the back seat caught his eye. Austin turned back to Kadyn, who pressed against the passenger door with her face obscured from view.

  “Hey,” he whispered, touching her shoulder as he leaned between the front seats. “You okay?”