Lost Planet 02 - The Stolen Moon (31 page)

“We're glad
you're
okay,” said Chase. Lilli's eyes shone.

Lennard smiled. “How did you get back onto the ship?”

“Asa brought us.”

“Asa Kaplan? He's here?”

“He left. But he helped us take the ship back. Mostly it was Parker, though.” Chase looked around the hall before whispering, “It was all a set-up. Everything.”

Lennard nodded. “We know someone on the ship helped the Werikosa take over. Parker was right about that hacker.”

“But the Werikosa on the ship never attacked Storros. They weren't even on the bridge. It was the Fleet, firing
Kuyddestor
weapons from somewhere else and using the Werikosa as an excuse. They did everything.”

Lennard's hand tightened on Chase's shoulder, and his face shifted from relief to a much more serious expression. “Come back to my quarters with me. I want to hear the whole story. Starting with how you ended up back in the company of Asa Kaplan.”

 

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

The captain placed Lieutenant Thandiway in temporary charge of recovery and led Chase and Lilli back to his quarters. Maurus went with them and helped Chase explain everything that had happened from the moment they met up on Storros. Thankfully Lennard didn't say anything when Chase admitted to stealing the jump pod to go to Storros, although he did give him a look that promised further discussion later.

When Maurus explained how they had ended up on Asa's ship, he provided the details of how Ksenia had shown up at the mineworks after Mina had rescued Chase and the others, and how an unmarked vehicle with an unknown pilot and an android had picked them all up.

Captain Lennard rubbed his forehead, taking a deep breath. “So Lieutenant Derrick is still with Asa?”

“He was in bad shape, sir,” said Maurus. “If he survives, what Asa chooses to do with him is anyone's guess.”

“And you never saw the pilot of this other vehicle? But now we can assume that Asa has more people working with him.”

“Her name is Nika,” said Chase. “She's another genetically engineered soldier. Like my parents. Like Asa.”

“What?” asked Lennard, incredulous. “Asa?”

Chase went on to explain what he'd learned about the seven soldiers and their escape, including the fact that three of them, including Asa and Nika, were still alive. The one detail he withheld was Nika's cover identity as Parri Dietz. It wasn't that he didn't trust Lennard or Maurus with that information, but her secret was so huge, he didn't feel right sharing it. At least not yet. A nod from Lilli when he omitted that part of the story made him feel like he was doing the right thing.

Lennard ran his hands over his face, shaking his head. “Henk and Caralin never hinted that there were others like them. I'd assumed they were an Adam and Eve project. If this is true, I need to speak with Asa.”

“I don't know how we're going to find him again,” said Chase. “Unless Mina can tell us where he is.”

When it came time to explain how they had stopped the attack on Storros, Chase felt guilty about sharing Parker's side of the story since he wasn't there to bask in his own glory. He told them about what Ksenia revealed to him outside the bridge, and how the Federation had instigated the entire hijacking and run the
Kuyddestor
remotely like a video game. And finally, Chase explained about how the
Destrier
kept firing, even after Parker had contacted them to let them know the ship was retaken.

“Sinjan Devore has a reputation as a reactionary and a vicious leader,” said Lennard. “No wonder High Command called him in as their attack dog.”

“The
Destrier
was involved in a huge massacre just off of Pranatine a few years back,” Maurus told Chase. “Everyone from the Fleet side was cleared, but to me it always smelled like a cover-up.”

“Though I'm not surprised it was Shaw who stopped the attack,” Lennard continued. “I was his second-in-command back when we served on the
Roscommon,
and we've always had a good relationship. He was a good, fair commander, and he has enough seniority and influence within the Fleet to stand up to the people who are taking it in the wrong direction.”

“He told us to have him contact you when you were free again,” said Chase.

“I've already spoken with him. He's coming over later today to survey the damage.”

“How long is it going to take to fix the ship?” Chase asked.

The captain grimaced. “A while. Once we get all the systems wiped clean and the engines back online, we should be able to fold back to one of the shipyards around Earth. Maybe I can find a place there for you kids to stay while the ship's being worked on.”

“No,” said Chase and Lilli at the same time. Chase shook his head. “This is our home.”

Lennard smiled at their outburst but didn't reply, looking down instead and scrolling through some information on his communicator. He gave a low chuckle. “Reports from the engine room say that Parker is schooling the entire division on how to hack their own ship. There's going to be a scheduled blackout later today when they flush out the trojan.”

Thinking of the engine room made Chase remember what had happened to Chief Kobes. “Who's going to run the engine room now?”

“Petty Officer Bycraft is the next in command.” Lennard was quiet for a while, tapping his fingers on the arm of his seat. “Luister Kobes wasn't the most personable fellow, but he'll be a tough act to follow as Chief. MPs are investigating the scene to figure out exactly what happened between him and Lahey.”

“I never liked her,” Chase admitted.

Maurus shook his head. “I can't believe she was a traitor. She was always so rigid about the rules.”

Lennard was looking at his communicator again. “Looks like there's a problem containing the breach on level seven,” he said, moving like he was about to stand.

“I'll go check it out, Captain,” said Maurus. The captain nodded assent, and Maurus left with a quick salute.

Now that they had a moment of stillness to think about everything that had happened, some of the small things that were still bothering Chase began to rise to the surface of his mind. “Is somebody looking for Ksenia?”

“I put out a ship-wide alert as soon as you told me,” Lennard said. “There's so much activity right now, stabilizing the ship, helping the Storrian delegation return to their planet, and detaining the remaining Werikosa, she may have found a way to sneak off already. She'll probably be protected by whoever gave her this assignment in the first place.”

“What's going to happen to the Werikosa?”

“The hijackers will be taken before the Federation courts, as well as the leaders on Rhima and anyone else associated with the plot. And from what I understand, the remaining settlers on Rhima will be rounded up aboard the
Destrier
and taken back to Werikos.”

Chase knew the Werikosa had forfeited any right to Rhima when they attacked the
Kuyddestor
, and he would never forget the terror of crashing on the moon in the
Falconer
, but a part of him still felt sorry for the struggling civilization. “I know it's probably the right thing to do, but it seems a little unfair. They were set up and used.”

Captain Lennard gave a little shrug. “Situations like this are never purely black and white, right and wrong. All the contributing factors make things much more complex, and a fair-minded person like you will always see that. Maybe the Werikosa were manipulated, but at the end of the day, you have to remember that they were willing participants in the hijacking.”

Chase wondered if he would ever be so desperate to do something like that, if the people around him were dying. Did their situation justify any of their violent actions at all, or would it be the right thing to accept their agonizing fate in silence? He remembered all the strange, laughing Werikosa children, and wondered what kind of life they would have back on their acrid homeworld. He looked up and saw Lennard watching them with a serious expression.

“What?” asked Lilli.

“I was serious about finding you a different place to hide when we go back to Earth orbit. It won't be safe for you on the
Kuyddestor
.”

Her immediate response was to scowl. “Will you come with us?”

Lennard shook his head. “My place is on the ship.”

“Then that's our place too,” she said.

Lennard sat back and rested his chin on his hand. “Knowing what I know now about Asa Kaplan, I almost wish you both had gone with him.”

This was the last thing Chase would have expected to hear from Captain Lennard. Lilli looked positively wounded. “But you're our family,” she whispered. “
You
keep us safe.”

“Believe me, Lilli, there is nothing more important to me than you and Chase. But after all this, I have to question how smart it is of me to keep you both on the
Kuyddestor
.”

“Hiding didn't do our parents much good,” said Chase.

“But it seems to me that Asa Kaplan's found a way to do it.”

Yeah
, thought Chase.
By cutting himself off from everyone and spending his life traveling constantly through the galaxy aboard a silent ship, thinking about nothing but revenge.
It wasn't a life that he wanted.

The notification chime sounded at the door. Frowning, Lennard answered the door, and it slid open on the trim, silver-haired figure of Admiral Shaw. He leaned inside before entering. “Captain, may I come in?”

The captain stood, saluting. “Admiral, I wasn't expecting you until this evening.”

Shaw stepped inside and shook Lennard's hand, giving him a few hearty claps on the shoulder as he did. “I guess there's no need to stand on ceremony, Lionel. Especially after a few days like you've had.” Chase automatically stood in the admiral's presence, feeling almost like he should salute, although that would have been silly. Lilli remained perched on the edge of the hard brown sofa, watching the admiral with cautious eyes.

“Sorry to surprise you like this, Lionel. I must have ticked off someone important, because I've been tasked with the thankless duty of mollifying the Storrian leadership.” Shaw barked out a loud laugh. The admiral was shorter than Chase had expected, and although he gave off a strong commanding air, the plain way he spoke made him seem less intimidating. “So I did what any good leader would do and threw it all at my second-in-command, and said it was vital that I come speak with you immediately.”

Lennard laughed. “Well, it's good to see a friendly face.”

The old admiral looked around at the other occupants of the room with sharp eyes, landing on Chase. “You would be the one I spoke with on the comm, correct? What's your name? Where's the other boy?”

“I'm Cor—Chase,” he said, stopping himself at the last second from giving a fake name. Somehow it seemed wrong to lie to the admiral. “Parker's out helping in the engine room.”

The captain motioned for everyone to take a seat, and Shaw nodded at Chase as he lowered himself into an armchair. “You wouldn't believe what a shock I got, hearing your young voice crying out SOS on the public band. Captain Devore said the
Destrier
never received your message with the all-clear. You boys truly saved the day.” His gaze shifted over to Lilli on the couch. “Lionel, who are these kids?”

“Orphans from the Trucon disaster. Some of our crew found them stranded in a gray sector on Qesaris, and rather than place them in the already overcrowded refugee camps, we informally adopted them. They have great cadet potential.”

“Obviously. How do you like living on a starship, son?”

“It's … it's great,” said Chase.

The admiral turned his attention back on Lennard. “Sounds like it was a very lucky stroke indeed that you got these kids on your ship.” There was something strange about his tone that seemed to imply more than he was saying, but Chase tried to brush it off.

The notification chime sounded again, and with a slight frown Lennard rose and hit the entry key. Round-faced Ensign Cutler entered, snapping a salute.

“At ease, Ensign,” said Lennard. “What brings you here?”

“I did, actually,” said Shaw casually.

From one second to the next, the entire atmosphere of the room changed. Lennard started to move toward his desk, but before he'd taken more than a step, Shaw whipped out a handblaster and pointed it at him. Meanwhile Cutler turned around and pressed a finger-sized silver device against the door. It made a quiet
beep-beep
as he did, and a shot of adrenaline rushed through Chase. He jumped to his feet.

“Sit down, son,” said Admiral Shaw. The friendliness in his voice had completely vanished. “Nobody's leaving. We'll get this over with quickly.”

At those words, a cold chill settled over Chase.

“What is going on here, Peter?” Lennard's tone was stony. “Cutler, what did you just install on my door?”

“Ensign Cutler here has sealed up the exit with one of his special hacks. Nobody comes in or out until he says so.”

Lennard loomed over the small ensign. “Cutler, am I or am I not your superior officer? Open the door.”

Cutler stood completely still, looking past the captain.

Shaw smiled. “As a hacker, Robin's abilities are absolutely unparalleled. I found him a few years ago on Ueta, toiling away on code to run the equipment on his parents' farm. A pure natural genius. And so easy to work with. You may as well stop trying to swipe your communicator, Lionel. He's got a jammer in that front shirt pocket.” He turned to Cutler. “Did you give Ms. Oriolo her return ring?”

“I did, sir.”

Chase sat forward. “You helped Ksenia get away?”