by L. E. Thomas
Austin blinked, staring at her. “You beat me all the time. I’ve admitted that since day one.”
“I know.” She flashed a smile, her eyes sparkling in the dawn light. “I just like to hear you say it.”
Reaching forward, she placed her hand on his shoulder and stretched. Sweat finally dotted her forehead, so she was human after all. She leaned closer to him, using him as a foundation to do her final stretch. He listened to her breath and stared at her glistening skin.
“Sky?”
She stood straight, brushing the sweat from her skin. “Yeah?”
He tilted his head, thinking of all the time they had spent together. “You … you’re a pretty amazing runner.”
She smiled. “Thanks. You’ve come a long way, too. Remember back at the Academy? You could barely make it a mile without coughing.”
“Yeah, well that was South Georgia.” He gestured to the plains. “You think the humidity’s bad here. This is nothing.”
“True.” She looked down. “Some of my favorite memories, though.”
“Mine, too.”
Her eyes met his. “Really?”
“Course they are.”
Skylar looked at him, her eyes taking in his entire face. She took a step closer, leaning her head back without taking her eyes off him. She opened her mouth slightly as if she wanted to say something. Closing her eyes for a moment, she exhaled. He felt her breath on his neck.
“You have no idea, do you?” she asked.
“Idea?”
“Yeah.”
He touched her shoulder. “Listen—”
The alarm shattered the early morning silence, followed by the hissing intercom.
“Star Runners, incoming ship bound for the hangar bay. Rock, report to the hangar immediately. All other Star Runner report to the briefing room.”
The message repeated.
Skylar touched his face. “We can talk later?”
“Sure thing.” He squeezed her shoulder. “See you soon.”
A compact transport vessel with a black hull filled the hangar’s open space in front of the Scorpions’ Tridents. White gasses released from the hull, sending a hiss echoing. From the angular shape and the sharp, pointed nose, the newly arrived ship had the appearance of Legion craft. But it was unlike anything Austin had seen before.
Major Wilkos stood before the ship with his hands clasped behind his back.
“Ah, Stone,” he said, turning his head toward Austin as he approached. His eyes flicked to the damp sweat suit. “Glad you could dress up for our visitor.”
He stopped, glancing down at his clothes. “The announcement told me to report here. Should I—”
Wilkos waved his hand toward Austin. “Lighten up, Rock. Stand at attention.”
“Yes, sir.” Austin filed in next to Wilkos and straightened his posture.
The vessel’s landing ramp lowered. Maintenance crewmen and women scurried toward the ship, assessing everything from the landing gear to the hull. A Star Runner in a red Excalibur flight suit strolled down the ramp and addressed the nearest member of the crew.
Austin repressed a frown, but couldn’t help wondering why Wilkos had summoned him to the hangar bay to meet with a random Excalibur Star Runner.
Another figure wearing a crisp Tizona blue dress uniform descended the ramp. The man had a tablet tucked under his arm. With the bright light shining down from inside the ship, Austin couldn’t make out the man’s face. The man came to a stop at the foot of the ramp.
“Hello, son.”
Austin’s jaw dropped.
Stepping away from the cover of the ship’s hull and into the light, Major Jonathan Nubern smiled as he stared at Austin. “It’s good to see you.”
Austin took a step forward without thinking. Correcting his mistake, he snapped to attention and saluted. Nubern returned the gesture, his grin widening.
“Cap—I mean,” Austin said as he shook his head, “Major Nubern. Excellent to see you, too.”
They embraced. All the memories with Nubern came rushing back. He thought of the initial recruitment meeting in his living room with Mom looking on, the first time they had traveled to Atlantis and, later, Tarton’s Junction.
Nubern placed both hands on Austin’s shoulders and looked at him. “You look older.”
He nodded. “I feel older.”
“Life does that,” he said, squeezing Austin’s shoulders. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
“I’m good, sir. How’s Mom?”
Nubern nodded. “Fine woman, she is.”
Austin looked at his mentor, wondering how or why he had come all the way out here.
Wilkos took a step forward, his boots snapping against the hangar floor. “Welcome to Omeya, Major Nubern.”
“Cayo!” Nubern said, saluting Wilkos and grasping his hand. “It’s nice to see you, brother. How’s life way out here?”
“‘Bout how you’d expect.” He glanced at Austin. “Been a little unusual the past week.”
Nubern followed his stare and looked at Austin. “What’d you do with my recruit?”
“Your recruit?” Wilkos shook his head. “He’s a Scorpion now.”
“Damn good one, I’d bet,” Nubern said, his chest swelling with pride.
Wilkos made an expression as if he were making an assessment. “I think I’ll let him stay a little longer.”
“You’d be crazy not to,” Nubern said. The amused expression rapidly faded from his face, replaced by tension lines creeping from his eyes. “Gentlemen, we need to talk.”
“This place is as good as any,” Wilkos said, closing the door to his private office and gesturing to the seats in front of his desk. “You going to tell us what’s going on?”
Nubern nodded, taking a seat and releasing a long, slow breath. Austin sat in the chair next to his mentor, his brow wrinkled in concern. In the years he had known Nubern, he couldn’t remember the man looking more preoccupied and worried. It left a feeling of nausea burning in his stomach.
“Everything we talk about in here will not leave this room,” he said, shifting in his seat. “I have to make that clear to start with.”
Wilkos and Austin exchanged glances but nodded.
“There have been some disturbing reports coming through our normal channels,” Nubern continued. “What happened here earlier this week is just the latest.”
“What kind of reports?” Wilkos asked.
“Star Runners on the edge of space disappearing for varying periods of time. Some officers had been written off as missing or presumed dead only to resurface later on. When they do return, they are changed.”
“Like trying to kill fellow Star Runners,” Wilkos said, his face rippling into a shade of red. “Or harassing the local population. Or disgracing the uniform.”
“Exactly.” Nubern activated his tablet. “Most of the Star Runners who have resurfaced have gone on to disappear again or have died in tragic accidents. Omeya is the farthest Legion world we have. It’s far from the normal space lanes, far from any other outposts. When the Fifty-Fourth went out of contact, Command didn’t think much about it. In fact, they wouldn’t be listed as overdue for twenty-one standard days.”
Wilkos shook his head. “Good to know.”
“Cayo, listen to me: I have known Captain Sio Jameson my entire career. The man was solid as a rock. Fiercely loyal to the Legion and, more so, to the Star Runner program. He would not have acted in this way on his own. I swear that on my word as an officer.”
Austin cleared his throat. “Then what would have made them attack me?” He nodded toward Wilkos. “Or any of us?”
“I have read the autopsy reports from Jameson and his Star Runners,” Nubern said, looking down at his tablet. “There was no evidence of any known drugs in their bodies, but their brains were a different story.”
“They put drugs in their brains?” Wilkos added.
“No,” Nubern said, his voice grim. “Something fired inside their head. Our best s
cientists say they have never seen anything like it. Whatever was in there self-destructed and liquefied the entire organ.”
Austin’s mouth dropped open. He remembered Jameson’s face the night he shoved a gun toward him. “Jameson was dealing with something.”
“What?” Nubern asked.
“I’m not sure. He was twitching and shaking. It didn’t look right to any of us.”
Nubern sighed. “It’s got Command on edge. If our Star Runners are compromised, the entirety of Legion space is wide open to invasion. The Navy is asking for all Star Runners to undergo an examination. They have the equipment onboard the ship I arrived on. All the Scorpions are ordered to undergo the check before they are allowed back in the cockpit.”
Austin stared at the wall. He thought of Jameson and the other members of the Fifty-Four Tizona. They hadn’t been crazy or evil; something had been controlling them.
“Why would anyone do this?” Austin asked. “I thought relations between us and the Zahl had improved in the last year.”
Nubern and Wilkos glanced at each other.
“That’s all on the surface,” Nubern said. “Underneath, the game’s still alive and well.”
“So you know it’s the Zahl Empire that did this to these guys?” Austin asked.
“No one will ever know for sure. It’s the way these things go.”
Austin thought of the possibility of Star Runners not being able to trust their comrades. How could you ever fly into battle without the confidence of your wingman?
“I’m sorry, Jon,” Wilkos said, propping his elbows on his desk, “but you are in recruitment now. Why are you presenting this report?”
Nubern frowned. “That’s a good question, and it’s the reason I asked for Lieutenant Stone to be here when I arrived.”
“Okay,” Wilkos said, holding his hands out in front of him, “let’s have it.”
“All high-ranking officers have been made aware of the situation, Cayo. Reason you haven’t heard is ‘cause you are way the hell out here. But this has to do with the mission you and I failed to complete years ago.”
Wilkos sat rigid in his seat. “How?”
“During the mission, I was told we were escorting top secret equipment dealing with a brain-altering technology that had been developed during a local war on one of our dark worlds.” Nubern shook his head and stared at the floor. “It was crazy stuff, far beyond any sort of standard interrogation tactics using drugs or torture. Some fat cat at a desk somewhere thought it would come in handy if there were ever another galactic war. A team of Serpents was sent to the world to retrieve the technology.”
Wilkos lowered his gaze. “Why were you told about this?”
“It was need to know, Cayo,” Nubern said. “I’m sorry, brother. They told me because it was my command and they wanted me to know how important the cargo was to our operations. When I failed to protect the convoy, I failed the Legion.”
“We failed.” Wilkos rubbed his jaw. “Not you. I was there, too.”
“Doesn’t matter now,” Nubern said, his eyes focused on a battle in the distant past. “Anyway, the Legion believes this technology made it into the wrong hands in the Zahl Empire, and they’ve been working on perfecting it in the years since our failure. Somebody has taken it far enough to affect our Star Runners.”
“Insane.” Wilkos leaned back in his seat.
Nubern eyed him. “You and I both know our Legion would do the same to gain an upper hand in a galactic war if it were ever to happen.”
“I doubt it.”
“You know we have.”
Wilkos nodded, looking at his desk. “What’s Rock got to do with all this?”
Staring at Austin, Nubern shifted his weight in the metal chair and took a deep breath. “He’s the other reason I was sent out here, and it’s the reason I insisted on accompanying the examination equipment to Omeya.”
Austin looked at both of them, his heart racing. The thought of the Zahl Empire placing a device inside his brain made his skin crawl. The memories of his mission to steal the Wraith flashed in his mind. He thought of Ravi, Blaine, Major Tanner, Major Vakar, Tia, and Val—none of them had performed surgery requiring them to drill into his head. He glanced down at the strange, circular Originist tattoos on his forearm. Sure, there had been some weird stuff done to his body during that mission, but it wasn’t brain surgery, and it wasn’t done by the Zahl Empire.
Was it?
“I’ve been behind enemy lines,” he said as a fresh stream of sweat slid down his neck, “but I was never captured. They never—”
Nubern touched his arm. “Easy, son. Easy.”
Bringing his hand to his forehead, Austin took a deep breath and tried to ignore the image of someone drilling into his skull. “I just … the thought of something being inside my head bothers me.”
Nubern sighed. “I almost wish that were the news I had to share with you.” He looked down at his tablet and opened a new file. “It would make this easier.”
Austin blinked. “What do you mean, sir?”
With his eyes locked on Austin’s, Nubern held the tablet away and out of sight. “This isn’t going to be easy to see, son, but I want you to prepare yourself. It’s the reason I wanted to come out here to see you.”
Shaking his head, Austin swallowed and shrugged. “Okay.”
Nubern gazed at the ceiling and took another breath. “Our listening posts recently picked up an isolated signal from a world formerly known as Tarrafa.”
“Formerly known?” Wilkos asked.
Nubern cast a sideways glance in his direction. “Recently conquered by the Zahl Empire. It was a dark world far from Legion Space.” He looked back to Austin. “It was hard to retrieve all the images from this invasion, and those we have are very grainy, distorted images. The Zahl Empire held a parade in one of the prominent Tarrafa capitals, as they tend to do, to celebrate their victory. After Intelligence cleaned the images … well, there was no mistaking the identity of one of those on the parade platform.”
Slowly, he passed over the tablet.
Austin gripped the device in his hands and stared at the fuzzy, black and white image.
His hands trembled, shaking the tablet.
“No,” he breathed. “It can’t …”
Standing on the platform next to Zahlian officers and wearing an enemy uniform, Ryker Zyan peered out at the crowd. Her hair had been shaved nearly to the scalp, but it was her.
Austin traced his finger down the side of her face, his chin quivering.
“Ryker …”
PART TWO
Fifteen Months Earlier
CHAPTER ELEVEN
She saw purple without definition, her vision blurring into a painful and swirling collage of stinging liquid. Closing her eyes, she brought a numb hand to her face. She felt her left hand pinned … somewhere.
The fingers on her right hand hit a hard surface when she tried to touch her face. Feeling around, she felt a smooth surface through her gloved fingertips.
A helmet. She wore a helmet. Her fingers halted at a gash in the metal.
Opening her eyes, she ignored the burning sensation. Something had split her helmet from the top of her skull down the right side leading to her jaw. Shaking her head, she used her free hand to press the release. The collar released its vice grip, and it split away. Humid air surrounded her as she leaned back in her seat and wiped the liquid from her eyes.
She stared at two purple objects moving closer together. They inched closer before merging into one. She squinted, gazing at the item as her vision cleared.
A mushroom.
A purple mushroom loomed over her. It reminded her of something, something she had seen from a great height—
A jolt of electricity shot through her.
The bright daylight beamed onto her damp face. The warmth of the bright star comforted her as she climbed the rocky incline and adjusted the survival pack over her shoulder. Taking a deep breath, she stretched and t
urned around.
Behind her on the opposite side of the ravine, a trail of broken ground and shattered rocks speckled the hill to her devastated escape pod. Metallic debris littered the canyon, making it easy to see from the air. Looking to the escape pod’s impact area, she shook her head.
The pod, she thought, saved her life. They designed the escape pods of the Galactic Legion to automatically safeguard a Star Runner’s life, adjusting course and speed in the event the pilot was unconscious. Following the explosion, her pod must have taken over and brought her to the planet. Without it, she would have been a bloody mess.
As she reached the summit, she passed another enormous purple mushroom. She leaned against it with one hand and wiped sweat from her face with the other.
Far in the distance, a cloud of smoke darkened the clear sky in the east. Kneeling down, she opened her satchel. Standard in all escape pods, the survival pack included signal flares, binoculars, a laser pistol, protein bars, and enough water for three days. It also included a Whisper encryption transmitter in the event the Legion sent a rescue party.
She froze, staring at the Whisper about the size of her fist. Her stomach ached, and it seemed her heart stopped beating.
Would they send a rescue party?
She thought back to her final hours on board the Formidable. Before they departed, Major Ty Braddock had provided few details about their mission to protect the “asset.” The other Star Runners guessed this “asset” to be the Wraith. For once, the scuttlebutt had proven to be correct. Flying a motley-looking squadron of Tridents, Corvos, and one Karda with all identification marks removed, the team curved to a remote star system within Zahlian Space to retrieve the Wraith.
The resulting battle had been the most chaotic she had ever witnessed. Tridents with no official markings battled Zahlian Interceptors in a system in deep space. What had happened after they destroyed her Trident? The image of the missiles crashing into her fighter flashed in her mind. Was the mission successful? Had the Wraith escaped? Had Austin?
Shaking her head, she focused on the present situation. This planet was located far from Legion Space, so any potential rescue would take time. Pressing the binoculars to her eyes, she scanned the horizon. Black smoke floated into the sky, but no spacecraft descended on the location.