by KT Belt
“We’re both here,” Inertia reported.
Gungnir nodded. “Good. I’ve received the report from the Space Force Special Forces team that took Solitary, and I’ve had Widget go through all the data you sent me.”
“Were they able to find Charon?” Carmen asked.
“No,” he said, regret palpable in his voice. “As Widget and I found when we were hunting him, he is very good at covering his tracks. It seems we will have to wait for him to make his next move. As for Solitary itself, it was mostly evacuated by the time the Space Force team arrived. Except, in their haste, the sortens weren’t able to completely wipe their data cores. The information Inertia found has also proven most useful.
“And Edge, for what it’s worth, the assault team was unable to find a sorten matching Rauon’s description among the dead.” Carmen nodded but didn’t know whether to be happy or troubled by the news.
“Gungnir,” Inertia said, “there’s a spaceport not far from our present location. I will drop off Edge and Phaethon there. They can get transport back to New Earth, or wherever they want.” Carmen looked at him sharply with a questioning face, but he didn’t seem to notice.
“Very well,” Gungnir replied. “Edge, this looks like the end of the road for you. Thank you, truly. I’m happy that, in all this, you were able to find your charge.”
Carmen heard him but didn’t listen to a word he said. Her mind was elsewhere. After a period of no one talking, she realized both Gungnir and Inertia were waiting for her to respond.
“You’re welcome,” she said with a weak nod. She was no longer looking at the screen and didn’t see Gungnir raise an eyebrow at her.
“Inertia, contact me once you’re finished with them. I’m not sure the next task is even feasible,” he said.
“We will see,” Inertia replied. Then the men nodded, and the transmission cut out. He turned to Carmen, who still had a faraway look in her eye. “Are you all right?” he asked.
She sat still, glassy eyed, till all of a sudden, she broke into a smile. “Drop Phaethon off,” she said.
“Okay?” he muttered quizzically.
Carmen laughed lightly and then slapped him playfully on the arm. “I’m your partner,” she said matter-of-factly. “I’m not letting you do this alone.” She relaxed in her seat. “There are more Phaethons out there,” she added introspectively. “I have to do what I can. Charon has to be stopped.”
He nodded slowly, a wry smirk coming to his lips. “Okay,” he said again.
“What’s this other task? Why is it unfeasible?”
Inertia stopped smiling. “Remember that second sorten base? The one they mentioned back at Solitary?” She nodded. “The data I pulled did have its current location. It’s a freighter just like we thought. But...”
“But what?” Carmen asked.
“But it’s deep within sorten space. We can’t get that far behind their lines with a ship this small. Even if we could, I’m not sure how we could avoid getting blown out of the sky. Worse still—”
“The freighter will move when it gets no response from Solitary, so our info is only good for less than a week,” she finished for him.
He nodded. “Exactly.”
Carmen sat solemnly as she turned the problem over and over again in her mind. Inertia said nothing as well. Her eyebrows furrowed as no immediate solution became apparent. On and on she went till, at last, she looked at Inertia. He simply watched her as he rested his chin on a closed fist.
“All right, go ahead and say it. It’s completely appropriate in this case,” he muttered after an exaggerated sigh.
Carmen laughed and then pulled her lips into a guilty smirk. “So, what now?”
About the Author
Yup, I’m the evil guy keeping you up all night to read, “Just one more page.” A storyteller from birth, it was inevitable that I’d find my way to writing books. All of my works have a very strong focus on character and believable worlds.
Other than books, I’m a licensed pilot and certified jet nerd. I’m also interested in motorsports and a lover of the “sweet science.”
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