Trying to think of a new topic, Cierra’s mind flitted around for something—anything—to break the silence. “There was a survivor from the shelter on Sirsette.”
Theo’s heart leapt into his throat. A survivor? “Who was—”
She cut him off before he could even form the question. “It wasn’t Naia. Gyrra the pilot was the one that managed to escape.” Her chest ached as she saw his face fall.
One of his hands reached up to touch the marriage medallion around his neck. A quick jerk snapped the cord that it hung on. The necklace hung limply in his closed fist. He couldn’t very well continue wearing his medallion when his body was filled with mourning for another woman. It wasn’t fair to Mari, and it wasn’t fair to Naia.
“It seems like a lifetime ago, doesn’t it? Relisse…my life before the Brotherhood…It’s getting harder for me to remember what it was like to just be a farmer.” Theo shook his head as if to clear the cobwebs off of the memories of his old way of life.
“Theo…”
He chuckled dryly and put on a small smile. “I’m okay, really. It just struck me as an odd thought, that’s all. Why don’t you go ahead and get some real sleep? You don’t have to babysit me.”
“I don’t mind. I really don’t want to leave you alone after everything that happened.”
“No, really. Go get some sleep. You have to remember to take care of yourself, too, not just everyone else.”
“Alright.” Cierra stood up and leaned over to give him a goodbye hug.
Their cheeks rested against one another. Her breathing was short and shallow. She pulled away slowly until their noses brushed. For one tantalizing moment, their lips hovered only a breath apart. Cierra gave in and pressed her lips to his passionately. The kiss sent goosebumps along her skin.
Suddenly, her eyes flew open. Cierra pulled back and clamped her hands over her mouth as if she couldn’t believe what she had just done. She backed quickly away from his bed. Turning on her heels, she fled the room without a word. Theo watched her go, stunned at what had just happened. His stomach was in knots. Two of his fingers reached up to touch his bottom lip. It was still slightly wet from her kiss. She had left him breathless. Theo let out a long, slow breath, as he tried to process what had just happened.
A rap of knuckles on his door interrupted his thoughts. Maybe Cierra had come back to talk about what had just happened. He prepared himself to apologize for the kiss, but stopped short when he saw a man enter the room. Senator Philo closed the door after him, sealing them both inside.
“Good. You’re awake. I was hoping you would be.”
“Do I know you?” The man looked familiar, but Theo couldn’t quite place where he had seen him before.
“I’m Senator Philo.”
“Oh!” No wonder he had looked familiar. Theo had seen him a few times on broadcasts when he was enlisted with the Carristoux Regional Militia. It was odd seeing a government man outside of the typical robes that separated them from the general public. The Senator was clad in the plain jumpsuit that Theo had learned to associate with the Brotherhood.
“Can you stand? You’ve been bedridden for quite some time. It may do your muscles good if you stand up and stretch some.”
Theo swung his legs over the edge of the bed. It had only been a few days, but his limbs were already shaky. He walked over to the far wall where Philo stood. Fantastical sea beasts swam past the thick window. Some of them were creatures Theo had only heard about in stories. They were so far beneath the surface that some of them glowed dimly in the depths of the ocean. The swirling patterns of their bodies was similar to a dance or the way Theo’s wheat fields had once swayed in the breeze on Relisse.
“I have no reservations now of telling you that I initially thought you were the spy.” Philo’s voice was matter of fact. “You were with Makram’s group when Yareck was killed, and you were with them on the last two ground missions that were sabotaged. Not only that, but from what I heard, you were perhaps a little too friendly with Naia. After you left Sirsette, that shelter was also destroyed. If you had been awake when you arrived here, you would have been—skillfully—interrogated. Needless to say, things were not looking well for you, Theo Jaiteoux.”
“Well, then I’m glad you had a change of heart.”
“Change of heart had nothing to do with it. If the Josti had not been exposed, things would have gone quite differently.” Philo paused momentarily. “Tell me, what exactly did you and Naia talk about?”
“I don’t see how that is relevant anymore.”
Philo didn’t turn to face him, but Theo could see a cloud of anger pass over his face in the reflection of the window. “I will decide what is relevant.”
Theo chose his next words carefully. He didn’t want to sully Naia’s memory, and he didn’t want to give the senator any more reason to hold a grudge against him. “We mostly just talked about how she could communicate with the trees. Our conversations didn’t have much to do with the mission.”
“I find it odd that a new recruit would choose to talk to a shelter leader about conversations with trees.”
“Maybe that’s the problem.” Theo felt bitterness building up inside. “You only see recruits and members, instead of people. Whatever Hojae may have been, Naia was loyal to the cause and the Brotherhood until the end.”
The senator grunted in discontent. “You speak so highly of a woman you barely knew, when Cierra was the one who never left your bedside. Perhaps you should examine your own perceptions of people before you call out others on theirs.”
Theo paused for a moment to consider this. He had noticed that she was attractive before, but Cierra had always been…off limits. To distract himself, Theo asked some of the questions that had been burning at the back of his mind. “Now that we know the traitor was Hojae, what is the Brotherhood doing to take actions against possible threats? Surely none of the bases are safe now. Hojae would have been able to tell the Yasta all of the Brotherhood’s current plans and locations. Whatever you had in the works, you might as well scrap it all now.”
Philo sighed. “Unfortunately, that does appear to be the case.”
“Well? What are you going to do about it?”
“What would you suggest? If you’re so gung-ho to trash all of our efforts—years of work put together by hundreds of agents, mind you—then what do you suggest we do once all of our networks are destroyed?”
“I say we do something they won’t expect. We need to infiltrate the Yasta.”
Nine
“Ha!” Philo chuckled at the outrageousness of the idea. Then, his smile fell as he caught Theo’s expression. “Oh, you were being serious.”
“Yes, I was being serious.”
“Do you know how much risk that would put our members at?”
Theo turned away from the window, where the sea life was still swimming past. “Members are already dying every day. Yareck, Naia, the recruits at Sirsette, and Kurga are all proof of that. The people in the Brotherhood are prepared to die for the cause. Why not at least put them in a position where if they do die, they can make a bigger impact?”
“You’re proposing that we gamble with people’s lives.”
“No.” Theo was unbudgingly firm. “You’re already gambling with people’s lives. I’m suggesting that you make their gamble worthwhile. Think about it. How long will it take you to set up new shelters and bases on every planet, every moon? Months? Years? By the time you get back to even a fraction of your current operating power, the Yasta will be so far ahead of us in technological advances that we won’t stand a chance. If we are going strike, we need to strike hard and fast.”
“So, you want us to delay rebuilding in order to place people inside the monasteries?”
“Why not? It worked for them. Look at all the damage one spy did to the Brotherhood? Even if we only had a few people on the inside, it could give us an edge. We could synchronize an attack and take out their leaders. If you cut off the head of the solar s
nake, its body stops working.”
The gears in Philo’s mind began to turn. The more Theo talked, the more he considered it a viable option. “We may not be able to get members into all of the monasteries, but we could probably manage a few. If any of our people were exposed, it would put all the others at greater risk.”
“Nothing worth doing was ever easy. Once we were on the inside, we could train under them and learn their weaknesses. There’s no better way to learn someone’s vulnerabilities than to train with them. That’s why Hojae was so adept at manipulating us. He was the one that did most of my initial training when I decided to join. Looking back, it must have been a clever way for him to teach me everything I know, while still not teaching me everything he knew. If we time this right, the Yasta will be forced to retreat and recoup their losses.”
“You seem to have thought this all out.” Philo was slightly impressed with Theo’s enthusiasm. Maybe he had written the boy off too quickly.
“I don’t know if I would say that.” Theo ran his fingers through is hair. “This is just what makes the most sense to me. It will give us a chance to put something into play before we completely lose the upper hand. Once members of the Brotherhood are in position, you would have plenty of time to rebuild and make even bigger long-term plans. Your scientists can continue working on technological advances, and when the time is right, we can strike them where it will hurt them the most.”
“With the proper training, you may turn out to be quite the strategist one day.” Philo smirked at the new recruit in front of him. Theo would be a comrade to keep an eye on for the future. There might even be an opportunity to use Theo’s gumption to forward Philo’s own career if he kept his eyes open.
Theo thought for a moment, before he spoke again. “There may be something else you should know about.”
“And what would that be?”
“Cierra thought she saw something back on Relisse.”
“Oh?” Philo raised one of his eyebrows in curiosity.
The newer recruit licked his lips to wet them. “She thought that she saw some of the Yasta monks disappear. She said it was like they were there one second, and gone the next. If what she saw was true, it’s possible that the Yasta have developed some sort of Relissarium cloaking device.”
“Oh, yes. I’ve been informed of her…recollections. Please, do not worry about that. Everything is under control.” Senator Philo plastered his campaign smile on his face. “Let’s go back to your infiltration plan for a moment.”
“Okay.”
“If this is going to work properly, we will need to strike on Mithuna.”
“Mithuna? Why?”
Philo’s lips formed a tight, thin line. He hated having to over explain things. “There is an important religious holiday coming up on Mithuna soon. Many people from different star systems will be journeying back to their home planet for the pilgrimage to one of the five major monasteries. We can take your team, and a few others. This isn’t a job your task force will be able to handle on your own. It’s too much ground to cover at once.”
Theo thought back to the monastery incident on Turtiez. That was not something he wanted to go through again. Still, it was his idea to infiltrate the monasteries. Plus, with Hojae out of the picture, they might just stand a chance at making it in and out alive. He focused on the anger he had felt at Naia’s death, and the loss of his planet and family. Whatever the risk was, whatever he had to do, Theo was going to make sure the Yasta paid for their sins. “I’m ready when you are.”
Ten
Philo paced behind his desk. “I thought you said you had paged him? Where is he? I don’t like being kept waiting.”
Pulling up the communication log on her tablet, Chanta scrolled through the messages. “It says he’s on his way. You know he gets distracted easily. He gets absorbed in his work.”
“Obviously he gets too absorbed to keep the Council properly informed. I can’t afford to let anything fall through the cracks right now. We are in a very precarious position.”
A knock on the door made both of them turn. Chanta walked over in a few slinky strides and opened the door. Hubard walked inside. His eyes were glowing with excitement, and his cheeks were rosy. A metallic trinket shone from between his fingers. He was oblivious to the tension in the room.
“Chanta, can you leave us, please?” Philo leaned on his desk. His thick brow cast a dark shadow over his eyes.
“Yes, sir.” The senator’s aide slipped out of the office door and closed it with a click behind her.
“Take a look at this!” Hubard scurried over to the desk holding out his trinket with a childish grin. “This is—”
“Unless it is information that the Yasta might be developing Relissarium cloaking technology, then I’m currently not interested.”
“Huh?” Hubard blinked from behind his magnifying spectacles. “Cloaking technology?”
“Hubard, did one of your team members provide you with information that such a thing might exist?”
“Well, yes, but—”
“But what? Technological advances and developments are your specialty, but you also have the responsibility to keep the Council updated on any advances that might be happening on the enemy side. How can we properly prepare if we don’t know what to prepare against?”
Hubard furrowed his eyebrows together, leaving his forehead wrinkled. “The information was more of a rumor. I can think of no possible application for that sort of technology at this time. Most likely, the girl only saw the monks disintegrated by the blast. It was a mere trick of the eye.”
“That is not your call to make. You are to inform us about everything. You could have presented your concerns and allowed us to make the call on whether or not we thought it was relevant information. I trust you will not make the same mistake twice.”
“I-I-I apologize. I didn’t mean any harm. Yes, of course. It won’t happen again.” Hubard bowed his head.
“Good. Now, what were you so excited about? Do you have something to show me?”
“Oh, yes!” Hubard regained some of his former glow, but it was clear that some the wind had gone out of his sails. He held up the item he had been cradling in his hands. “This is the future of technology.”
“It looks like a computer piece.” Philo was unimpressed.
“Yes, but it isn’t just any computer piece. This little chip is made out of Relissarium. We already knew the mineral absorbed energy, but what we didn’t know was that it absorbed information as well.”
“What?” Philo’s interest was piqued. He leaned forward to get a better look.
“This little thing can hold an almost infinite amount of information. Think of it as a data sphere on steroids.” Hubard lowered his voice to almost a whisper. “Have you ever wondered why Relissarium can cut through practically anything?”
Honestly, the thought had never really occurred to Philo. He was so caught up in the fact that it could cut through so much that he hadn’t considered why it could do so. “It hadn’t occurred to me, no.”
“It remembers.”
“What?”
“It remembers. It absorbs energy and remembers the makeup of everything it cuts through. It isn’t simply sharp, it intelligently severs fibers on an atomic level. This material is almost as old as the known universe. Who knows how long it has existed? Before man? Before the birth of stars? This mineral has had the chance to learn and evolve in order to be the best. Our lifetimes, our feuds, are merely the blink of an eye for Relissarium. It has been off of our radar up to this point. It makes me wonder, did we discover it, or did it allow itself to be discovered?”
Eleven
Makram had managed to snatch an old, wax candle from a forgotten supply closet. They were hard to find anymore. Everyone used bio-lights, or electric cartridges. Still, Makram felt strangely attracted to the simplicity of a hand-dipped wax candle. He had managed to swipe an empty wine bottle, too—well, it hadn’t been empty when he had found it, b
ut he had soon seen to that.
He was in an old lecture theater. No doubt it had been used to bring new recruits up to speed at one time. Now, with the operation so far spread out, most of the original lecture halls at their current base went unused. The training happened on other planets and moons. The Grand Council used the underwater base as a sort of corporate office. Everyone knew it existed, fewer knew where it was, and fewer still had ever been in person. Makram patted down his pockets. The problem with old technology was that when the candles went away, so did the matches.
“Need a light?” Cherish’s voice startled him.
“Oh, Batumah! What did they do, give you soundproof feet now?” Makram placed his hand over his heart.
“Not quite, but close.”
“I’m glad everything is working properly. I’m not going to lie. I was pretty worried about you when I found you after the cargo ship crashed. Guess I had just never really thought of you as damageable before. Not like the rest of us, anyway.”
“It’s true. When the crash began, I did a few calculations, and took the seat most likely to receive the most damage. In doing so, I was able to take the brunt of the damage instead of one of you.” Cherish cocked her head to the side. “What are you doing?”
Makram looked at his feet and then at the candle he had shoved into the wine bottle. “It didn’t seem right to not have some sort of memorial for the ones we lost.”
“I see.” Cherish stuck out her finger, and a small flame flickered on the tip of her metal appendage. “Allow me.”
The heaviness in Makram’s chest eased a little as the tiny flame flickered. The window wall they were close to reflected the light and made it slightly brighter. Swirling sea creatures swam past the glass. A few of them cast curious glances at the wavering light. Makram sank to the floor and crossed his legs. Cherish joined him.
Firestorm: The Relissarium Wars Space Opera Series, Book 4 Page 5