Capital Games (Audacity Saga Book 2)
Page 34
“Main conversational components and relational algorithms remain offline. Rebooting will take approximately three minutes and twenty-nine seconds more. Thank you for your patience.”
Kael couldn’t help but laugh a little beside her, and for some reason, it did ease the tension slightly.
“I can’t wait,” Adan muttered. “She was all stuttering before. It was strange.”
“Wait a minute. Simmons called in not long after we left Capital. He was flickering too,” Kael said, frowning. “I thought maybe it was just the connection, but…”
Adan raised his eyebrows.
“Get him on the comm,” Ellen barked. “Now.”
Adan attacked the console, viciously entering commands.
A line crackled as some sound came through, but no video. Just black.
Adan turned to look at her, and he didn’t have to say a thing. Just the look in his eyes told her he couldn’t get through.
“Simmons?” Ellen stepped toward the view screen, as if that mattered. “Try something else. Anything!”
“I—” Adan started. “Hold on.”
The silence in the room was heavy.
“Here’s an open line,” Adan said. “But there’s no one there. Nothing.”
“Doug?” she said, more loudly now.
“See if you can get through another way. Text. Anything. Xi, when you’re available, can you help?”
“Patron Simmons cannot be reached,” said the computer voice.
“Why not? Is there a problem with the connection?”
“Connection to Redacted Location is possible.”
“How far? To the planet? To the town?”
“Planet is reachable. One receiver in the Simmons compound on Redacted Location continues to be functional.”
She frowned. “What does that mean? How many receivers should the compound have?”
“Thirty-eight. One hundred and two for the entire island.”
She froze. “Adan, set a course for—” She stopped short. The course was already set. “We have to help him. Xi, can you reveal the location of the Simmons compound to us?”
“These events meet requirements set for location disclosure at your request.”
“I request it.”
“The location is Island 83 on Tetra VII. Further details I can input into the flight plan.”
Ellen swore under her breath. She had known where he was. Merith had fragging known.
“I already have the beginnings of a flight plan in,” said Adan, a little apologetically.
Kentt spoke up now. “I believe she gained access to this information somehow during the time you were on Capital. This appears to have been her first chance to use it. I also believe that getting to this Simmons was her primary goal.”
“Did you see who she was working for?” Ellen demanded. Merith had been on board for two whole years. It had to be someone other than Arakovic. Didn’t it?
Kentt shook her head. “I didn’t have much time beyond noticing her moving into action, locating Jenny, and coming here to stop her.”
Ellen rested a hand on Adan’s shoulder. “Well, it’s a good thing you acted when you did.” Her gaze drifted back to Merith on the floor, then the view screen, where a rotating model of another island planet glowed, spinning in the air. She glanced at Kael. “Guess we aren’t going to Faros after all.”
He shrugged. “I’d much rather find out where Doug gets his shirts anyway.”
She permitted herself a small smile.
A flurry of footsteps rushed up outside, making her tense for a fight. But it was Nova and Zhia who burst across the threshold, Mo on their heels. Nova’s eyes caught first on Jenny. “Mary Mother of God, what happened to you? Your hair! Did you win the lottery or something? I know they say Capital changes people but—” She stopped short as Zhia pointed at the floor. And the blood. Nova’s muttering continued, but in Spanish and primarily curse words. Zhia and Mo looked to Ellen. Another gasp came from the hallway, and she caught a glimpse of Vivaan out there. Great.
Ellen cleared her throat. “People, we have a problem. Several, actually. Merith attempted to disable Xi and hijack the ship. With the help of our new passenger, Jenny was able to thwart her, but we haven’t been able to reach Patron Simmons. He appeared to be her target. So—we’re going to help.”
“Reboot complete. My sincerest apologies, Commander and crew.” Xi sounded… mortified. “I will do my best to gather information on Patron Simmons.”
“Doug,” corrected Ellen weakly.
“My apologies. Some preferences may have been reset to defaults.”
“We forgive you, Xi,” Kael murmured.
She nodded. “And call me Ellen.”
Afterword
Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed.
This is the closest thing to a cliffhanger ending I have ever tried, and I sincerely hope it was a fun one. In either case, the next book in this series is planned for Spring 2019. I have not decided on the length of the series yet, but it will at least be 1-2 more books.
If you’d like to be notified when Audacity Book 3 comes out, sign up for my mailing list! I share upcoming book news and occasional free bonuses, like maps and character interviews, rarely more than once a month. If that. I’m kinda slow about it. Sloth-like even.
If you’re feeling froggy, consider leaving a review. Reviews help readers discover their next favorite book—and avoid ones that aren’t for them! Whether it’s five stars or one, I truly love hearing from readers and appreciate your honest feedback.
Also by R. K. Thorne
The Enslaved Chronicles
A warrior prince. An enslaved mage forced to kidnap him. An epic tale of love, adventure, and sacrifice.
Mage Slave
Mage Strike
Star Mage
Audacity Saga
The Empress Capsule
Capital Games
Untitled Book 3 (Coming 2019)
About the Author
R. K. Thorne is an independent science fiction and fantasy author whose addiction to notebooks, role-playing games, coffee, and red wine have resulted in this book.
She has read speculative fiction since before she was probably much too young to be doing so and encourages you to do the same.
She lives in the green hills of Pennsylvania with her family and two gray cats that may or may not pull her chariot in their spare time.
For more information:
rkthorne.com