Bernice nodded and did as he requested, her voice turning to a dull drone in his head as darkness swamped threatened to swam him.
Grimshaw dropped to the ground, face first. Someone called his name, but exhaustion paralyzed his limbs. He closed his eyes and focused on his breathing so as not to fall unconscious.
If he fell asleep, he’d likely forget the color of the assassin’s eyes.
THE CONTACT
Clio sat a the workbench in Zora’s hideout staring off into space. She had spent the evening trawling the Sentinel’s commumication signals in search of Chimera trnansmissions but came up empty handed. She wondered how Booster’s treatment was going and her mind wandered into all kinds of unpleasant places.
“Is everything okay?”
“Oh, hey Zora. I didn’t even hear you come in. How’s Taza?”
“He’s going for a walk to stretch his body after a shower. Is something bothering you?”
Clio thought about it for a second. She didn’t usually speak to people so openly, but Zora had become something of a sister figure since boarding the Sentinel. “The mission. Booster still being sick. Everything. It might be easier to start with what’s not bothering me.”
Zora drew up a stool and sat down next to her. “What about Swigger? You two seemed happy together.”
“He’s only a small part of it,” she said, unable to suppress a smile.
“He’s a good guy, incredibly loyal,” Zora said. “And therein lies part of the problem. He’s
“It’s not just that. I told him something I’ve never told anyone, and he didn’t take it too well.”
“Then take it as a sign that you weren’t mean to be together.”
“Us not being together doesn’t bother
“Would it ease things if we spoke about?”
Clio looked away. “I don’t know.”
“You know I’m here anytime you want to talk.” Zora playfully tapped her on the shoulder with a smile.
“It’s just I understand Swigger’s reactions. His loyalty to the Confederation is incredible. Where I grew up, most people didn’t value things like loyalty. And those who did were considered weak. They didn’t last too long.”
“I know how that feels.”
“What I’m trying to say is, I’m nowhere near as loyal as Swigger and the others,” Clio averted her gaze. “And I’ve done some pretty horrible things as a result.”
“Whatever you’ve done Clio,” Zora said softly, “it can’t be that bad.”
“While on Colony 115, I shared Confederation data with an unknown third party.” She lowered her voice. “What if it was Chimera?”
Zora stared at her without blinking for what felt like an age. “I see.”
“I told you it was bad.”
“When and where did this third part contact you?”
Clio steadied her shaking voice. “Before I joined the Confederation, at the Steelrose Correction facility on Morgana.”
“Listen, Clio.” Zora appeared alarmed all of a sudden. “There’s something I have to tell you.”
“I’m listening.”
“Did this third party go by the name of Gilgamesh7777?”
Clio felt her blood drain from her face. “How do you know that name?”
“I take it you're FierYFienX?”
Clio closed her jutting jaw. “You’re Gilgamesh7777?”
“You sent that data to me. I use agents from time to time to track certain events. You do not need to worry yourself.”
Clio expected to feel some great relief, but anger filled her instead.
“Did you know it was me all this time?”
“I knew it could have been you, but it just as easily could have been anyone.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Clio’s voice quivered. “You’re just as bad as them. And here I thought you were my friend. Wow.”
“Clio, you already know why I can’t divulge everything I know, not until the right time.”
“I don’t know why,” she said, wiping a tear from her cheek. “I just expected things to be different.”
Zora climbed out of her chair and drew Clio into a tight embrace. “I’m sorry. I wish it could be different. Sometimes I wish I wasn’t caught up in this space-time fabric mess my employer dragged me into.”
Clio let herself go and melted into Zora’s shoulder. “You’ve nothing to apologize for. We’ve all been dragged into shitty situations.”
“And we’ll get out of them together.” Zora drew back and held Clio’s face in her hands, gently wiping tears away with her thumbs. She leaned in an kissed Clio on the forehead. “You’ll see.”
Clio couldn’t help but feel a little better. Zora’s words always had a strange, calming effect. “I need some advice.”
“Of course.”
“Straiya has offered me a position as an acolyte Aegis. With everything else going on, I’m not sure what I should do.”
“You know that I can’t influence your decision, but you should weigh up the pros and cons. Straiya will have you on a leash, as she does with Grimshaw. However, it’ll grant you power and influence you won’t otherwise have.”
“It’s never easy.”
“You should ask yourself what you want more than anything else in the universe. Then ask yourself if your decision will align with what you want. That’s how I used to deal with major decisions.”
Clio didn’t need to give it any thought at all. She hadn’t forgotten the events of Colony 115. How the chits harvested every man, woman, and child without mercy. The screams haunted her nightmares most nights. Events on the Sentinel had served as a distraction, but the fire inside head still demanded vengeance. What she wanted more than anything else in the universe was to destroy every last chit she could find. “I know what I need to do.”
“That was fast,” Zora said, surprised. He exotool alerted her to an incoming message and pupils dilated.
“What’s wrong, Zora?”
“This wasn’t how things were supposed to pan out. Something I haven’t accounted for has changed.” Zora looked around the workshop, distracted. “I’ll need to leave for a few days. Promise me you won’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“I don’t mean to leave in such a hurry.” Zora leaned in and stole another quick squeeze. “We can pick this up when I get back. But at least you don’t have to worry about where that data went. Just don’t be telling anyone else about it. If it reaches the wrong ears, it could cause a lot of trouble.”
“Don’t worry. My lips are sealed.”
Zora reached the hidden door and looked over her shoulder. “And take care of Taza for me while I’m gone. You know how he can be.”
“Don’t worry. Do what you have to do. I’ll keep him out of trouble.”
Zora smiled before disappearing into the front of the weapons store.
Clio wasted no time in opening a new message addressed to Minister Straiyas direct mailbox.
I’ll become the best damn Aegi there is and purge the galaxy of every last chit doing it.
UNTIMELY
Taza relaxed against the rail as he watched the sheet of water cascade into the dark void below level 2. His eyes followed a golden Daroxian saber fish as it half-swam and half-flew in and out of the falling liquid. He traces a break in the water to its origin several yards up where the water gushed from the level 1 filters above. Several sabers had gathered there to hunt the small gelp that fed on whatever particles made it through the filtration process.
He cracked his neck and promised himself he would never crawl in another tunnel for as long as he lived. Taza realized he hadn’t taken time out in weeks, if not months. Life had become a whirlwind since meeting Zora. Taza found dealing with her baggage and the elusive nature of her job a challenge at times, but given the muddy conditions he’d been living in only a short time ago, he was fortunate to have her. He still couldn’t figure out whether she genuinely felt for him or
was just part of her employer's grand plan, but he was as happy as he’d been in years, and to Taza, that was all that mattered.
“I thought I’d find you here.”
He smiled as Zora joined him at the rail. “It’s the only place worth looking at down here. A pity we couldn’t stay on level 1.”
“That would be much too risky with your past.” She elbowed his ribs playfully, and Taza pretended it didn’t hurt. Sometimes, Zora didn’t know her own strength. “Even this level is a pretty big risk. I still think we should move to level 4.”
“We’ve talked about this before. I want to stay as close to the top as possible. Besides, the further from level 1 we are, the harder it’ll be to help Grimshaw.”
“This is true,” she admitted.
“We’ll not have to worry about it anyway once we get off the Sentinel, though I wonder if we’ll ever get off at this rate. I know the Captain’s doing his best, but it doesn’t sound like the Council is willing to give that ship up.”
“They’ll relent eventually.” she put her hand on his. “And even if they don’t, Grimshaw will eventually be reassigned to the Confederation Fleet Academy. Either way, we get a free ride out of here.”
Taza regarded Zora with a questioning glance. “It’s not like you to come looking for me. Is something wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong as such, but I have to go away for a while.”
“Go where?”
“That I can’t say, but it’ll only be for a few days.”
“But why.” He looked around to make sure no one was within earshot and lowered his voice. “We were just getting into the swing of things with the Chimera project.”
“Something has come to my attention. Something I can’t ignore.”
“Don’t worry.” Taza smiled to reassure her but wasn’t sure if he pulled it off. “I have no illusion of you settling down or sticking around anywhere for long. I know how demanding your job is.”
“I’ll have to drop off radio contact too, so stay out of trouble while I’m gone.”
He grinned. “Don’t I always?”
“I’m serious, though. Don’t be doing anything stupid. And do me a huge favor.”
“Anything.”
“Keep a close eye on Clio. A lot of uncertainty has arisen around her, and I don’t know what that means for the timeline. But I do know that if anything happens to either of you, we’ll be in a lot of trouble.”
“Sometimes I wish you wouldn’t speak in riddles. But of course, I’ll take care of Clio. I’ll increase her training regime. It seems to keep her occupied. Searching for Chimera’s signal will keep us busy the rest of the time.”
“How’s that going?” Zora asked.
“The STD is secure. Several maintenance bots have passed it by without so much as a glance. It’s just a matter of tracking down the signal now. Clio’s ocular implants are a cut above mine. Chances are she’ll find it before I do.”
“It sounds like you’ll both have plenty to keep you busy. Good.”
“You sound worried all of a sudden,” Taza pressed.
Zora leaned in closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder. “You know me. I just don’t like not knowing.”
“What about Captain Grimshaw?”
“Last I checked, his probabilities burned brightly.”
“Let’s hope it stays that way,” Taza said.
Something in Zora’s silence set him on edge, and he put his arm around her shoulder.
May as well enjoy what time we’ve got left.
Zora looked up at him, the galaxy handing on a needle in her eyes.
“What?” he asked.
“I suspect that Grimshaw’s going to die.”
Contact
If you want to read more books like Enter The Shroud, you can get more information on my website at www.kccarter.com.
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Killian
Enter The Shroud: Galactic Sentinel Book Two Page 6