by M. D. Cooper
“Whooooooooaaa,” Marion held up her hands. “OK, this part is new to me—and makes me feel more than a little ill. There was an IC aboard…when?”
“The whole flight from Ceres to Europa,” Tanis replied, unable to hide her grin.
“Explains why the CO was a bit bitchier than—” Seamus stopped himself. “Uh…I mean a bit of a b—”
“Best just to stop there,” Connie advised.
Seamus took the advice and clamped his jaw shut, face turning a brilliant shade of red.
“How’s about I start back at the beginning,” Tanis offered, folding her arms across her chest. “There are a lot of things you don’t know about that went down, as far back as the mess on Vesta.”
“Now that doesn’t surprise me,” Marion replied. “Always felt like we only knew a tiny bit of the story.”
“But first.” Tanis paused as she swept her gaze across her crew. “I need your tokens and acknowledgement that you agree to the secrecy involved in what I’m about to tell you. I’ll be logging your agreement with the Division. This puts you in the mix.”
“Will we be Mickies?” Liam asked, a look of excitement on his face.
“No, you’ll just have more information about what we’re doing on this ship.”
“Not a fan of being in the dark,” Smythe said. “Sending my tokens.”
The rest of the crew followed his lead, and a minute later, Tanis launched into the real story of what happened on Vesta with Admiral Deering and the SWSF. She then proceeded to tell them about what had happened behind the scenes on Ceres and Europa, and then explained why they’d been traipsing about OuterSol for the past six months.
When she was done, the crew sat in silence for a most a full minute before Jeannie spoke up.
“Well, I’m glad this all makes a hell of a lot more sense now.”
“You’re telling me,” Seamus added. “I mean, the space force does a lot of weird stuff, but how much we were flitting about was getting a bit odd, even for them.”
“Soooooo,” Tanis drew the word out. “I’m sure there are questions.”
The entire crew spoke up at once.
* * * * *
Tanis settled into her bunk, more than ready for a long night’s sleep—or at least six hours—before she had to start reviewing her covers for Terra.
Just as her eyes closed, a knock came at her door, and she tapped the corridor feeds to see that it was Liam, holding a parcel.
Tanis cast a mental glare at Darla’s avatar, but the AI didn’t respond. She took care not to groan as she rose and pulled on a robe before opening the door.
“Umm…sorry, Commander, I didn’t know you were asleep.” Liam held out the package, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else at the moment.
“Don’t worry, Liam,” Tanis said as kindly as she could manage in her sleep-deprived state. Darla must have thought this was important. “Thanks.”
She took the package and gave the spaceman a nod of dismissal before closing the door and turning on the lights.
“Pretty sure I know what this is, Darla.”
Tanis pulled off the wrapper, unable to hide a smile at the sight of the green gown. The light show wasn’t active, but as she unfolded it and shook it out, bolts of electricity ran down the sleeveless dress, following a pattern that she could see would highlight her figure in a very flattering fashion.
“It’s gorgeous,” she whispered, wondering what Peter would think of her in it.
Tanis acquiesced, and a minute later she stood before the holomirror, spinning and watching as lightning raced down the fabric, striking the hem in a brilliant show.
“So which cover gets to wear this?” she asked Darla. “I thought you weren’t creating a new debutante any time soon.”
“Hide?” Tanis saw the puzzled look on her face in the holomirror and then scowled at her image. “I don’t think I hide.”
Tanis shook her head and laughed at Darla’s logic. “I think you’ve misunderstood me, Darla. I've always known I’m beautiful—heck pretty much everyone is, unless they choose not to be. But I care more about being strong. The TSF’s uniform projects that strength for me.”
Tanis spun once more, watching herself in the holo. “Well…maybe there’s another sort of strength I’m learning about. And another sort of weapon.”
AN YLL WYNDE
STELLAR DATE: 03.04.4085 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Dublin, Ireland
REGION: Earth, Terran Hegemony, InnerSol
If Mikayla didn’t know better, she would have thought that Urdon was botching ops just to maneuver her out of the way.
Well, I don’t know better for sure. Urdon’s a true believer in what we’re doing; I can’t envision a scenario where he’d sabotage us this much—even if he did want a seat at the table.
Either way, the failure of the New Amsterdam mission was a serious setback. In her original plan, the death of Alden, followed by the destruction of New Amsterdam—both of which should have connected back to the TSF—would have turned the rumblings of resentment that the Jovians had for the Terrans into public outrage.
Now she had nothing. Alden was alive, and the near-destruction of New Amsterdam was being pinned on eco-terrorists. She’d even heard that the Sanctity of the Sol System group had claimed responsibility.
She thought through her other operations, considering which ones could be accelerated, when a message arrived from the Lunar embassy.
Mikayla opened the missive and ran it through her decoding algorithm, finding a message relayed through Luna from Kristoff.
Shit! I thought he was on Nibiru. The news about New Amsterdam won’t reach them for another five days. That means he’s insystem somewhere.
She set her concern over Kristoff’s whereabouts aside and read over the message.
[I’m very disappointed to learn of your failure at Saturn. Colonel Urdon has informed me that the Kirby Jones was present there as well. It seems this Tanis Richards has an uncanny ability to foil your plans. Either that, or you’re not as skilled as you’ve led us to believe over the years, Mikayla. This endeavor requires us to execute with unerring ability, and that has not been the case in recent months. I want you to remove Commander Richards from the equation. She’s just the sort of wildcard we don’t need right now.
I’ll be seeing you soon.]
Mikayla rose from her desk and turned to the window behind her, looking out over the Muir Éirann. From the thousandth floor of the Howth Tower, she could just make out the coast of Wales and the high peak of Snowden Mountain rising above the mist that always seemed to shroud this region of Earth.
Kristoff coming to Terra was not something she was pleased about. He was always agitating for more direct and decisive action. She worried that if he were to have his way, it would expose them. If the people of Inner and OuterSol realized that it was the Diskers who were behind several recent calamities, it would close the very gap between the two groups she’d been working to create.
He was right about one thing, though. Tanis Richards had become a thorn in her side that would have to be removed.
With extreme prejudice.
THE END
* * * * *
With Saturn now behind her, Tanis has Terra in her sights. Admiral Mikayla is her target, but it won’t be a matter of simply capturing the woman.
The real challenge is figuring out how to get Oligarch Alden’s hooks out of her without ruining her life in the proce
ss.
See where her work as an MICI operative takes Tanis next in Tanis Richards: Kill Shot.
THE BOOKS OF AEON 14
Keep up to date with what is releasing in Aeon 14 with the free Aeon 14 Reading Guide.
Origins of Destiny (The Age of Terra)
- Prequel: Storming the Norse Wind
- Book 1: Shore Leave (in Galactic Genesis until Sept 2018)
- Book 2: Operative
- Book 3: Blackest Night
- Book 4: Kill Shot (November 2018)
The Intrepid Saga (The Age of Terra)
- Book 1: Outsystem
- Book 2: A Path in the Darkness
- Book 3: Building Victoria
- The Intrepid Saga Omnibus – Also contains Destiny Lost, book 1 of the Orion War series
- Destiny Rising – Special Author’s Extended Edition comprised of both Outsystem and A Path in the Darkness with over 100 pages of new content.
The Orion War
- Book 1: Destiny Lost
- Book 2: New Canaan
- Book 3: Orion Rising
- Book 4: The Scipio Alliance
- Book 5: Attack on Thebes
- Book 6: War on a Thousand Fronts
- Book 7: Precipice of Darkness
- Book 8: Airtha Ascendancy (Nov 2018)
- Book 9: The Orion Front (2019)
- Book 10: Starfire (2019)
- Book 11: Race Across Time (2019)
- Book 12: Return to Sol (2019)
Tales of the Orion War
- Book 1: Set the Galaxy on Fire
- Book 2: Ignite the Stars
- Book 3: Burn the Galaxy to Ash (2018)
Perilous Alliance (Age of the Orion War – w/Chris J. Pike)
- Book 1: Close Proximity
- Book 2: Strike Vector
- Book 3: Collision Course
- Book 4: Impact Imminent
- Book 5: Critical Inertia (Sept 2018)
Rika’s Marauders (Age of the Orion War)
- Prequel: Rika Mechanized
- Book 1: Rika Outcast
- Book 2: Rika Redeemed
- Book 3: Rika Triumphant
- Book 4: Rika Commander
- Book 5: Rika Infiltrator
- Book 6: Rika Unleashed (2018)
- Book 7: Rika Conqueror (2019)
Perseus Gate (Age of the Orion War)
Season 1: Orion Space
- Episode 1: The Gate at the Grey Wolf Star
- Episode 2: The World at the Edge of Space
- Episode 3: The Dance on the Moons of Serenity
- Episode 4: The Last Bastion of Star City
- Episode 5: The Toll Road Between the Stars
- Episode 6: The Final Stroll on Perseus’s Arm
- Eps 1-3 Omnibus: The Trail Through the Stars
- Eps 4-6 Omnibus: The Path Amongst the Clouds
Season 2: Inner Stars
- Episode 1: A Meeting of Bodies and Minds
- Episode 2: A Deception and a Promise Kept
- Episode 3: A Surreptitious Rescue of Friends and Foes (2018)
- Episode 4: A Trial and the Tribulations (2018)
- Episode 5: A Deal and a True Story Told (2018)
- Episode 6: A New Empire and An Old Ally (2018)
Season 3: AI Empire
- Episode 1: Restitution and Recompense (2019)
- Five more episodes following…
The Warlord (Before the Age of the Orion War)
- Book 1: The Woman Without a World
- Book 2: The Woman Who Seized an Empire
- Book 3: The Woman Who Lost Everything
The Sentience Wars: Origins (Age of the Sentience Wars – w/James S. Aaron)
- Book 1: Lyssa’s Dream
- Book 2: Lyssa’s Run
- Book 3: Lyssa’s Flight
- Book 4: Lyssa’s Call
- Book 5: Lyssa’s Flame
Legends of the Sentience Wars (Age of the Sentience Wars – w/James S. Aaron)
- Volume 1: The Proteus Bridge
- Volume 2: Vesta Burning (Fall 2018)
Enfield Genesis (Age of the Sentience Wars – w/Lisa Richman)
- Book 1: Alpha Centauri
- Book 2: Proxima Centauri
- Book 3: Tau Ceti (November 2018)
- Book 4: Epsilon Eridani (2019)
Hand’s Assassin (Age of the Orion War – w/T.G. Ayer)
- Book 1: Death Dealer
- Book 2: Death Mark (Fall 2018)
Machete System Bounty Hunter (Age of the Orion War – w/Zen DiPietro)
- Book 1: Hired Gun
- Book 2: Gunning for Trouble
- Book 3: With Guns Blazing
Vexa Legacy (Age of the FTL Wars – w/Andrew Gates)
- Book 1: Seas of the Red Star
Building New Canaan (Age of the Orion War – w/J.J. Green)
- Book 1: Carthage
- Book 2: Tyre (2018)
- Book 3: Troy (2019)
- Book 4: Athens (2019)
Fennington Station Murder Mysteries (Age of the Orion War)
- Book 1: Whole Latte Death (w/Chris J. Pike)
- Book 2: Cocoa Crush (w/Chris J. Pike)
The Empire (Age of the Orion War)
- The Empress and the Ambassador (2018)
- Consort of the Scorpion Empress (2018)
- By the Empress’s Command (2019)
The Sol Dissolution (The Age of Terra)
- Book 1: Venusian Uprising (2018)
- Book 2: Scattered Disk (2018)
- Book 3: Jovian Offensive (2019)
- Book 4: Fall of Terra (2019)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael Cooper likes to think of himself as a jack of all trades (and hopes to become master of a few). When not writing, he can be found writing software, working in his shop at his latest carpentry project, or likely reading a book.
He shares his home with a precocious young girl, his wonderful wife (who also writes), two cats, a never-ending list of things he would like to build, and ideas…
Find out what’s coming next at www.aeon14.com