Lost Planet 02 - The Stolen Moon (30 page)

Admiral Shaw! Chase immediately recognized the name—this was the man Captain Lennard had called his mentor. “Who are you kids?” Shaw continued. “Where's Lennard?”

“The captain's locked up on the flight deck with the rest of the crew,” said Parker breathlessly. “Well, he was—he might have gotten out by now. The ship's pretty messed up though. We stopped the hijackers from attacking Storros. I tried to tell the
Destrier
, but I couldn't get through to them.”

Shaw squinted like he was trying to see further into the screen. “You kids stopped the Werikosa? By yourselves?”

Chase glanced over his shoulder where Asa glowered in the doorway, Mina and the girls peeking in behind him, and turned back to the screen. “We had a little help. But Parker here gets most of the credit. How did you hear us? Did we reach you on the public band?”

Admiral Shaw chuckled. “Son, you didn't just reach me. On that frequency you reached nearly everyone in the galaxy.”

“Are we safe now?”

“I've ordered the
Destrier
to hold their fire.” Admiral Shaw paused. “You're safe.”

The relief that flooded through Chase brought on a million different feelings. He bowed his head in front of the screen.

“You boys have done an excellent job. Will you have Captain Lennard contact me once he's freed?” asked Shaw.

“Yes, we will,” said Parker. “And thank you, Mr. Admiral.”

A smile started to crack the corner of Shaw's mouth, and with a brisk nod he ended the comm.

Chase looked up at Parker, who slowly broke into a wide grin and clapped Chase on the shoulder. “We did it. Lords, we were lucky that guy heard our distress call.”

“Captain Lennard told me about Admiral Shaw a while ago. That's his mentor—one of the people in the Fleet he said he can trust.”

Asa shook his head, wiping the blood from his mouth where he'd split his lip. “So you think Shaw went against the Fleet and stopped the attack because he's Lennard's friend?” He raised an eyebrow. “Or do you think maybe he
had
to stop it because the Fleet couldn't destroy the
Kuyddestor
after your plea for help went live across the star system?”

Chase's smile faded as doubt crept into his mind. Asa's paranoia was contagious. “Does it matter? We're safe now. The
Kuyddestor
is safe.”

Asa gave a one-shouldered shrug. “Until the next attack.” The communicator at his side chimed. He glanced at the screen and didn't answer. “It's time to leave now. Jericho's about to fold up to the thruster hatch again.”

It was too soon. Chase wanted to talk to Maurus about the hacker, to tell Captain Lennard how the Fleet had orchestrated the whole hijacking. He wasn't ready to leave yet. He turned to Asa, the request on the tip of his tongue.

“You promised.” Asa cut him off in a tone that left no room for bargaining.

“Don't worry,” said Parker, putting a hand on Chase's shoulder. “We're coming.”

When they came to the main stairwell, Analora turned to head upstairs. She stopped outside the stairwell door when she realized that everyone else had walked past it. “You're … Aren't you coming up?”

Chase hesitated. He couldn't bear to tell her that he was about to leave the ship forever. He wanted to just sneak away, to avoid seeing the disappointment of all the people he was leaving behind. “We need to go help Asa with something first.”

She looked warily at Asa and nodded, and then gave Chase a quick hug. “I have to go look for my dad. I'll see you soon.”

Chase returned the hug and nodded, looking away quickly. “See you soon.”
Only that's not true. I'll probably never see you again.

They continued down the hall toward the spot where Jericho would pick them up, taking the narrow stairs down to the last corridor. Ahead lay the door to the access hatch where they'd boarded the ship. Asa touched something by his ear, and then touched Parker's arm to stop him from opening the door. “Wait a minute. Jericho's still working out the fold coordinates.”

Parker leaned against the wall and rubbed the angry red marks on his arm where Asa's earlier grip was going to leave some ugly bruises. “You don't have to manhandle me so much next time,” he said in mock resentment. “We make a good team though, your brawn and my brains.”

“Parker, I'm not your father,” said Asa abruptly.

Parker flushed a deep scarlet. “I never said…”

“No, you didn't. But I can see what you're thinking and it's only fair to let you know. You are uncommonly intelligent; I know that now. But that's only because you're the son of two uncommonly intelligent people.”

Chase looked at the floor, feeling the heat in his cheeks on Parker's behalf. Asa could have at least waited until they were back on his ship to do this. A person with normal social skills would have.

“Who were they?” Parker was barely able choke the words out. “I'm assuming the whole story about them being employees who died in a teleport accident is a big fat lie.”

“Just like Henk and Caralin, I found someone to help me after we escaped from the Fleet. Your parents were biological engineers. I'd heard of them because of their vocal opposition to genetic manipulation, and I thought I might be able to trust them. They understood the depravity of what the Fleet had done in creating us, and they helped me to hide. Eventually we worked together for a time. When you were born, I made them a promise that if anything ever happened to them, I would care for you.”

Parker looked up. “And?”

Asa kept his gaze straight ahead. “It was the only time the Fleet nearly caught up with me. They sacrificed themselves so that you and I could get away.”

Parker turned his face toward the floor and said nothing else.

Giving no indication that he realized how he'd just shattered Parker's world, Asa touched his ear again. “Jericho, are you in position?” He reached for the door, looking around to make sure everyone was there. “Alright. Let's go.”

As he took his final steps aboard the
Kuyddestor
, Chase couldn't stop thinking about the months he'd spent on the ship, the friends he'd made and the busy hum of life aboard the starship. Only silent hallways awaited his future. He glanced over at Parker, who, judging by the pained look on his face, was having even worse thoughts.

But it was Lilli who stopped first, just inside the access chamber. She looked back toward the corridor with panic in her eyes. “I won't go.”

Asa turned to face her, cold and menacing. “You promised.”

“Where are we going to go?” asked Chase. “What will we do?”

“You'll be safe,” said Asa.

“Just like my childhood,” said Parker bitterly. “Safe, and sheltered, and alone.”

Lilli turned to run, and Asa reached out, lightning-fast, and grabbed her arm. “I'm your guardian. You're coming with me!”

The access hatch was open, and on the other side of it was Jericho, standing inside the smaller vehicle. Chase didn't want to go either, but they'd given their word, and Asa had kept up his end of the bargain in saving the ship, however much of it had been their own doing. But watching Asa drag his sister forcefully toward the hatch, he felt ill. And angry.

Lilli screamed in defiance, and a half dozen of her copies appeared, pulling at Asa's clothes and trying to help Lilli pull away from him. “Stop that!” Asa shouted. He grabbed both her arms and shook her like a rag doll. “Stop it!”

“Ow, you're hurting me!” she screamed. The copies vanished. “Chase, help!”

Behind them in the corridor came the sound of a door opening and then footsteps. “What's going on there?” shouted a man's voice.

Before them was his sister's tear-streaked, hysterical face.

That was all it took for Chase to make a decision.

“Help us!” Chase yelled. “The hacker's in here! He's trying to kidnap us!”

The look on Asa's face: fury, hurt, betrayal—in an instant it was seared into Chase's memory. Asa glanced at Lilli, at Parker, back at Chase. His blue eyes were bright and hard, furious and desperate.

“Freeze!” yelled the soldier over the sound of his blaster charging.

Without saying a word, Asa turned and ran. Before the soldier could fire a shot, he dove through the hatch back into his ship, and it clanged shut behind him.

Chase turned back toward the corridor. “Run!”

They raced back out of the access chamber before it could depressurize, slamming the door shut behind them. Then they stood shocked in the corridor, looking at each other, realizing what they'd just done. They had broken their promise, and betrayed the only man who knew exactly who they were and where they'd come from.

The soldier stared at all of them, holding his blaster awkwardly. “Was he really the hacker?” he asked.

“No,” said Chase bluntly. He took Lilli's hand and squeezed it, and she threw her arms around his waist.

Parker looked over at Mina. “What are you still doing here?”

Mina shrugged. “He told me not to leave your side.”

*   *   *

A haze of gray smoke filled the hallway when they reached the main level of the ship. The halls were packed full, people running to seal off the parts of the ship that had been damaged by the
Destrier
's attack. Chase held Lilli's hand to keep from losing her. Behind them, Mina followed Parker as casually as if she'd been living on the
Kuyddestor
this whole time.

Chase strained to look through the crowd as they slipped, largely unnoticed, into the chaos. He had to tell someone the things they'd learned—about Ksenia's lies, Corporal Lahey's treachery, and most importantly, the Federation's plan to attack Storros and the
Kuyddestor
.

“Chase! Chase!” Maurus came running up behind them, breathless. “I went to the engine room to look for you and you were gone—I was afraid Asa had taken you away!”

“No, but he's gone now.” Chase said nothing more, the shame of his betrayal chipping at his conscience. “Did you find Corporal Lahey?”

“I haven't seen any sign of her, but we told the MPs to be on the lookout for her. She won't get far.”

A voice came from behind them. “Not far at all, I'm afraid.” Vidal stood there, a grim look on her face. “MPs found her body in another section of the engine rooms, along with Chief Kobes. They were both armed, but we're not sure yet if the Werikosa got them, or if Kobes discovered what she was doing and confronted her.”

In his shock, the first person Chase thought of was Dany Kobes, far away at the academy, probably still with no idea that his father had been killed. He looked at Parker. “Then who was running the attack on Storros?”

“Once she installed the trojan, it could have been anyone as long as they had the right access. Even someone on another ship.”

“But, Parker, you stopped the trojan.” Maurus grabbed Parker's hand, shaking it fiercely.

“No, I didn't stop it,” said Parker. “It's still running in the navigation system, and probably other places as well. We just destroyed the external weapons system so no more missiles could be launched.”

Maurus looked alarmed. “Then we need to get you in touch with someone from the engine room to follow up.” Ensign Cutler was standing two groups away, talking to Seto and another officer. Maurus flagged him down, and after a brief explanation sent him off to the engine room with Parker. Mina followed quietly on their heels.

Before Chase could tell Maurus about the Fleet, Seto came over and slapped him on the back. “You're back!” he exclaimed. His other arm was in a makeshift sling.

“What happened to you?” asked Maurus.

“Oh, I learned a lesson: Don't fight a Werikosa in the dark.” He looked around at the four of them, rubbing Chase on the head with his good arm. “Where's Derrick? Still down on Storros?”

Maurus looked at Chase, hesitating. Chase could tell he was deciding how much to tell Seto. “He got hurt.”

Seto's smile faded. “How hurt? Dead hurt?”

Good question.
After all that had happened, Chase wondered if Asa would still heal Derrick's injuries, and what he would do with him afterward.

Maurus shook his head. “We don't know yet.”

“Do you know where the captain is?” Chase asked Seto.

“I think he went up to the bridge to try to get things back under control. Forquera's directing teams to seal up the damaged parts of the ship. And I'm sitting on my butt waiting for the medical bay to clear up enough to get this mended.” He raised his wounded arm slightly.

“I need to talk to the captain,” said Chase.

“He's probably pretty busy right now,” said Seto. “If it can wait…”

Chase gave Maurus the kind of look that said it couldn't. Maurus nodded in understanding. “Let's go find him,” he said. Chase put his arm around Lilli, and they followed Maurus from the flight deck, leaving Vidal behind to help Seto to the medical bay.

As they walked down the hall, they passed the spot where Asa had left Ksenia lying on the floor. She wasn't there any longer, but Chase supposed she could have been taken to the medical bay. Or she could be hiding somewhere, waiting to make her escape from the ship. “Have you seen Ksenia?” he asked.

Maurus shook his head. “No one's said anything about seeing her.”

Chase looked around at the walls of the ship, at the people passing by. Something didn't feel right, and he couldn't put his finger on what it was.

They rounded a corner, and there in the middle of the hall was the captain. His back was to them as he gave orders to the crew that crowded around him, coming and going in packs like schools of fish.

“Captain!” called Chase.

The captain turned around, and in three strides he had crossed the distance between them. He dropped to one knee and threw his arms open, engulfing Chase and his sister in a long, strong hug. He pulled back and looked at both their faces, his own face haggard, as if he hadn't slept in days. “I'm so glad you're both okay.”