Star Carrier (Lost Colonies Trilogy Book 3) (5 page)

-6-

Admiral Halsey paused for not more than forty hours before shipping out again. There was a great fanfare on Earth and the station as they left orbit. Seven princely battleships surrounded their queen, the star carrier. Encircling these capital ships were several dozen smaller vessels and a growing cloud of fighters.

The armada floated away into the void, stopping off at Mars to load yet more fighters before heading to the edge of the Solar System to find a breach point. From there, they would enter an ER bridge and exit the star system.

After they’d gone, I was left in a glum mood, unlike the rest of my crew. Most of them were overjoyed to learn
Defiant
was to remain parked in orbit while the fleet journeyed out into the unknown.

I could not share their happiness. I felt I was being left behind, relegated to guard duty just when Earth needed my skills most.

Durris seemed to understand my plight, but he didn’t share my sentiments.

“Can’t get enough of the glory, can you Captain?” he asked.

“It’s not that, Durris. I feel useless here. Admiral Halsey is about to leave the system, but I think he’s going to need our experience and guidance once he’s gone.”

“Maybe he will, or maybe he won’t, but I guess it’s not our place to say.”

I nodded in agreement and finished packing a duffel bag. I’d given everyone a further extension of their shore leave, and this time I’d included my command staff. We’d placed stand-ins on
Defiant
for now. There were plenty of green spacers begging for the chance just to fly my ship in circles.

When I was finished, I headed for the station docks. I couldn’t help but tap at the walls of my ship as I walked the passages. I’d truly believed we were about to fly her into the unknown once again. It was such a disappointment.

Zye met me on the station decks. She’d obviously been waiting around for me to disembark. I didn’t complain as I knew she was nervous whenever we returned to Earth. Too many people here seemed to wish me harm, and as my self-appointed bodyguard, she was keenly aware of this fact.

My implant buzzed as we rode the sky-lift down the umbilical. I checked reflexively for storms or other oddities, but all seemed peaceful this time.

Zye was stoic as usual. Her staring green eyes roved over the environment, suspecting every man, woman and child present of ill intent.

Checking the identification of the caller, I knew in an instant it was Chloe of Astra. I smiled despite myself and answered quickly.

She did not materialize at my side, but rather summoned me to her location. I went with the invitation, and I appeared beside her within the Astra family mansion.

House Astra was richly appointed. There were crests, moving holo-portraits and deep carpets that gently massaged the foot. As I was only a hologram myself in her surroundings, I couldn’t enjoy the sensations, but I could hear and see everything else.

Chloe was speaking with two of her house agents. I was glad to see their breed hadn’t been wiped out during previous unfortunate encounters at House Astra. The agents were impressive, as always.

Fiercely loyal and bred for the job, they had the bearing of predatory beasts in human form. I knew from experience they weren’t thoughtful men. They were more akin to a special breed of dog. They’d been cultivated for nearly two centuries to serve the household with zeal.

They had short dark hair, broad shoulders and expressionless mouths. Wearing midnight blue, their capes hung low and were dripping wet. I could tell they’d been out in the rain.

My ghostly form stood motionless, waiting for her to finish with her agents. Chloe turned away from them at last and stepped toward me.

“Thanks for accepting my invitation,” she said.

“I wouldn’t think of refusing.”

Her lips fluttered as if trying to form a smile, but failed at it.

“What’s the matter, Chloe?” I asked.

She licked her lips and stepped close before answering. The two men behind her stood silently. I knew that if they could have seen how close I was standing to her, they would have watched with great disapproval.

“William, did you meet with certain people on Earth—after your last mission?”

I shrugged. “I met with many people.”

Her eyes darted around the room then landed back on me. “I’m not sure our words are private, but I must ask you more directly. Did you meet with certain individuals of… shall we say… unusual age?”

This last question caused me to wince slightly. I had indeed met with a grim tribe of oldsters. People who should be, by all rights, long dead. People who our history files no doubt listed as deceased—but who had somehow evaded the reaper.

“I might have,” I said cautiously.

The oldsters in question had commissioned the very fleet I’d just seen off to war. They’d exhibited great power over earthly events, and I’d opted to follow their advice and keep their existence a secret.

Chloe was quite possibly the only person I knew who could cause me to talk about something I’d sworn not to. I hated breaking my word in any form, but in her case, I just had to do it.

She nodded knowingly. Her face seemed to tremble, almost as if she was about to cry.

“What’s wrong, lady?” I asked. “Tell me.”

She compressed her lips and regained her composure.

“Nothing,” she said. “I’ve made a difficult decision, that’s all. I’m thinking about resigning my seat at the Ministry. About stepping down as a Public Servant.”

“What? Whatever for? You recently devoted your life to the task.”

“Yes… but I’ve changed my mind.”

I sensed that she was holding back, that she was concerned we were being listened to, somehow. Over the last year or so, I’d learned our implants could be used for more purposes than I’d understood. They could track a person, certainly, and they could also be hacked.

“I understand,” I said. “I know it’s your decision, but I would urge you to reconsider.”

“I value your advice,” she said, eyes downcast.

“May I ask something?”

“Certainly,” she said.

“May I come visit you in person? Tonight, perhaps? It’s been a long time, and if your reason for ending our previous acquaintance was related to your role as a Servant—”

She smiled weakly. “You’ve divined my secondary purpose for this call. I’d love to see you tonight.”

“Excellent,” I said, feeling a surge of well-being despite her odd behavior. The truth was, I’d never felt quite the same way around other women. I’d moved on after our breakup, and I’d assumed she had as well. But now I hoped there could be a rekindling.

“I’ll take a car to your mountaintop,” I said. “I should be there by nine.”

“No,” she said quietly. “Can I come to your residence?”

“My…” I began, disappointed. “Of course. I’ll be there by eight, in that case.”

There was nothing wrong with my ancestral home. We Sparhawks were quite wealthy, if not as rich as House Astra. The trouble was my parents lived there too. Unfortunately, they weren’t the sort who excelled at allowing two young people the privacy I was craving right now.

“I’ll see you at eight then,” she said, and the channel closed.

Muttering, I crossed my arms. “I should have moved out a decade ago.”

“What’s that, sir?” Zye asked.

“My parents,” I said heavily. “They’re bound to be asking me a million irritating questions.”

She looked at me quizzically. “Were you talking to someone just now? I thought I heard you muttering.”

“A private matter. I’m going to have to part company tonight, Zye, if you don’t mind. I’m going home.”

“Oh,” she said disappointedly. “I’d hoped we might share a hotel room and a drink.”

There it was. She still hadn’t moved past our brief relationship. I’d wondered if that was the case, and it apparently was.

“Well, my parents do have plenty of extra rooms to spare…”

“No, no,” she said quickly. “I’ll find my own drinking partners. Plenty of crewmen have inquired about my availability on shore leave.”

It was probably true. Zye had developed something of a reputation for her appetites—both in drink and men. She also knew from experience that my parents weren’t fun at a party.

After climbing into the back of a purring vehicle, I rode home in comfort. The niceties of a Sparhawk air car with a professional driver were luxurious when compared to the simple fare of the Guard.

The man driving the car spoke not a word. Even when I asked him an idle question about the weather, he seemed not to hear it.

Shrugging, I took no insult. People these days often were distracted by having conversations with individuals that weren’t visible to anyone else.

On another day, I might have become annoyed with him, but not today. I was in a good mood. Chloe seemed distraught, but she was also interested in seeing me again. I was surprised how much that meant to me even now.

It was only when I saw we were outside the city and drifting down into a wooded area, that I became alarmed. I rapped on the glass between us—there was no response.

Working the controls, I tried to lower the barrier—but it wouldn’t budge.

Heart pounding, I reached out with my implant, finding there was no signal, no service. I tried the latch, but it didn’t work.

My PAG was in my hand by now, and we were almost on the ground. I aimed the weapon at the back of the driver’s head, gave him an ultimatum, then fired a power-bolt.

To my surprise, it was deflected. It spat around the enclosed space, narrowly missing my right knee before it splashed into the velvet-covered door and filled the cab with blue-white smoke.

“Sealed in,” I said, coughing.

My eyes were wide and my teeth bared when the car came to a rest. I thought I was prepared for anything when the door finally opened—but I was wrong.

-7-

Three striking individuals were standing outside the car. Their type was known to me. Feral in face and attitude, I recognized them as House agents.

They wore black, from their capes down to their gloves and boots. They each carried a PAG in one hand and a powered truncheon in the other. The electric glow around the truncheons matched the gleam in their eyes.

“Step out of the car, Sparhawk.”

I lifted my PAG, pointing it at them through the glass. They lifted their weapons in turn. Their lips slid up to display their teeth.

The driver turned to face me at last. I hadn’t gotten a good look at him when he’d picked me up at the station. Now, I studied him closely.

“You’re one of my father’s men…” I said through the intercom. “A traitor?”

“I’m a hired hand, just like the rest. Today, I resigned and took new employment. Now sir, if you would be so kind as to put aside your weapon, I’ll unlock the doors.”

The agents outside the car stood tensely, watching us.

Their kind was neither bright, nor thoughtful. But what they lacked in personality they made up for in tenacity, loyalty and vigilance.

I thought about various delaying tactics, but I doubted they would improve my circumstances. Since they hadn’t seen fit to assassinate me thus far, I decided I might as well find out the nature of their plans.

Placing the gun on the seat beside me, I waved for the driver to proceed.

He shook his head. “The sword as well, sir.”

“It’s ceremonial,” I protested.

He chuckled. “Not for your family, it isn’t. If you would please hurry—these agents will soon lose patience.”

His words were true. Two of the agents now stood at my door while the other had circled around to the far side.

“You have no honor,” I told the driver flatly.

This seemed to cause him a pang. He looked down, avoiding my gaze, but he still watched as I drew my power sword from its scabbard and placed it aside.

The doors unlocked the instant I was disarmed. Both sides were wrenched open. A grasping hand snatched my PAG away. The agent’s other hand grabbed for the power sword at the same moment.

I could tell the agent had no experience with this type of weapon. He’d grasped it by the blade in a gloved fist.

When I’d drawn it, I’d thumbed the blade to its lowest power-setting. It was on, but appeared dormant.

A shock of current caused the agent’s gloved hand to squeeze spasmodically around the blade. The edge of my sword was a mono-filament and extremely sharp. Three of his four fingers were severed, sending up a wisp of blue smoke.

Before I could take advantage of the moment, two additional sets of hands reached in from the other side to haul me out.

My cooperative mood vanished. I’d never liked being arrested or kidnapped, and I wasn’t enjoying the process now. I’d already decided to resist as best I could.

Reaching up to my neck, I activated my cloak. A personal shield sprang into existence around my body.

From inside the effect, the world appeared translucent as if observed through water. Angular planes of force surrounded my body, like moving blocks of clear ice.

Unfortunately, each of the two agents already had a hand inside my shielding. They were able to pull me from the car, snarling.

They dropped their PAGs and pulled out their powered truncheons. They knew a bolt from their guns couldn’t penetrate the shield.

An uneven struggle began. They were beating on my shield ineffectually, causing showers of sparks and sounds like that of electrical discharges to fill the night air.

The driver took this moment to emerge from the car and wave to them. “He’s got a button at his neck,” he said. “Turn it off or tear it free.”

I might have spared him if he’d stayed in the car, but in my estimation, he’d gone too far. He was beyond redemption. As the two men struggled to reach the button at my neck, I dropped to the ground and managed to grab hold of a fallen PAG.

The pistol spat fire. I landed a bolt on the driver’s chest. He slumped down with a stunned look on his face.

The man with the missing fingers reentered the fray then. He’d come around from the far side of the car and taken aim. He fired his PAG at me, splattering my shield and making it turn a burnt orange. Fortunately, it held.

The two men who had me now were grasping at my wrists, cursing. I managed to line up the gun briefly with the man who was missing three fingers, but I ended up hitting one of the men who were struggling with me instead. He spun around and thrashed in a pile of dry leaves.

My luck ran out after that. The last undamaged agent got his hands to my neck. Rather than throttling me, he managed to turn off my shield by fumbling with the clasp.

Grunting with excitement and fury, he began to rain down blows with his truncheon. Shocked, numb and face down in the leaves, I soon lost consciousness.

* * *

I awakened what seemed a short time later. My clothes were gone, except for a light smock of gauzy white.

Inside…
I thought hazily,
I’m inside now, not out in the forest...

I tried to use my implant, to reach out and contact the Guard. There was no response, no signal at all. I’d been cut off from the rest of the world.

A figure stirred by the bed. She stood and laid a cool hand on my wrist.

The woman was elderly in the extreme and gaunt. Her face was like that of someone who had lain in a coffin for years yet still somehow managed to draw dusty breath. I almost recoiled from her touch.

“He’s awake,” she said. “Call the Chairman.”

“You should not stand so close to him, Lady,” said an agent with a husky voice. “He’s dangerous. He killed two men as we were bringing him in.”

Her sallow face smiled thinly. “He’s a Sparhawk. You’re lucky he didn’t kill you all.”

The agent shuffled about, uncertain and frowning. I knew he didn’t want to leave her alone with me.

“Have no fear,” I said to the man. “On my honor, I will not harm this woman.”

She made another dismissive gesture, and at last the agent retreated.

“Call if you need us, Lady,” he said.

“I won’t. This one is true to his word. He’s not like your kind.”

Slowly, I sat up. I was aching in a dozen locations. I rubbed at my torso, and I found swellings and ridged nano-patches. More patches overlaid my scalp and my cheeks.

“They really worked you over,” the woman said, watching me.

“Who are you, Lady?” I asked.

“My identity doesn’t matter,” she said. “I’ve passed on, beyond the knowledge of the young such as yourself.
You
matter, however.”

“Why have I been forcibly brought here?”

“Tell me, do you recall standing before the Council last year?”

“Yes, I do.”

“You joined your aunt and made an impassioned plea for us to intervene in events. It’s been a long time since anyone has moved the Council to take drastic action.”

Pulling my probing fingers away from my bruises, I took a good look at her. Unless I was fooling myself, I thought that I recognized her. She’d been present in the gallery of the shadowy council chambers. She was one of those who ruled Earth in secret.

“I remember you,” I said.

“Good. It’s a blessing to be remembered. I was once a famous physician, you know. That’s why the Chairman sent me here to make sure you survived.”

“You’ve done your job well. But now, I’d like to take my leave. I have an appointment.”

Her hand came up, but not in a threatening manner. “Won’t you please meet with the Chairman? He’s very upset about this. It was all a misunderstanding.”

“How so?”

She took in a breath before answering. The sound was like that of a dust broom on flagstones.

“The agents should have told you who had sent them, who you were being summoned by. They wrongly assumed you could be handled like a child.”

“I acted in self-defense.”

“Yes, of course. They were arrogant. Their instructions were to quietly bring you to us—not to die or abuse you in the process. The agents will be punished.”

I considered asking about the nature of their punishment, but I thought the better of it. Something told me I didn’t want to know the details.

“A misunderstanding,” I said, “such things seem to happen often in my presence.”

She shrugged her bony shoulders. “You have to understand, the agents treated you like a Guardsman, not a member of a Great House. The Guard isn’t respected here.”

“A common mistake. I intend to reeducate people on the subject one at time, if necessary.”

She made a wheezing sound. After a moment, I realized it must be laughter.

“What is your name, if I may ask, Lady?”

“Dr. Peis,” she said, “Ariel Peis.”

“Thank you for telling me. It seems to be a big deal to your group to be identified.”

She stared at me for a moment. “You’ve never heard of me, have you?” she asked. There was a wistful tone in her voice. “Outside of this place?”

I frowned and thought about it. “No,” I admitted, shaking my head. “I don’t think I have.”

She nodded and looked away. “It’s only to be expected. My achievements were forgotten long ago.”

She left me then, and I stood and stretched painfully. I found my clothes and put them on. None of my weapons or my personal shielding device was to be found. That didn’t surprise me.

Dr. Peis did leave me with lingering doubts, however. She’d thought I might know of her—of the achievements from her youth. Was she really someone famous? I had no clue. It must be painful to live so long you’re forgotten by the public.

When I tried the door, I found it was locked. The doctor had allowed it to snick shut behind her.

I considered yelling and banging, but I thought it would do little good and might even prejudice my captors against me.

At last, another visitor came to see me. No less than six agents with feral faces accompanied him. They watched me the way guard dogs watched visitors they were unfamiliar with.

The visitor was the Chairman. He beckoned for me to follow him.

I exited the cell gratefully. I found the passageway outside to be just as gloomy, however. Shadows seemed to hang everywhere as if two thirds of the lighting had been switched off.

“You might recall that we like it dark down here,” he said. “It’s due to our longevity. Our eyes and minds can’t take the daylight easily anymore. We started extreme biochemical processes so long ago… they’ve had certain dire effects.”

“Yes, my aunt told me about them. Speaking of her… have you seen Lady Grantholm lately?”

He glanced at me with black, calculating eyes. I was deliberately name-dropping to raise my status in this place. We both knew it, but he didn’t seem impressed. At least he didn’t take offense.

“Yes, of course. She comes here now and again to ask for favors and make reports. William, we must talk seriously.”

“Excellent. First, I’d like to discuss your role in today’s criminal activity.”

He stopped walking and stared up at me. “Are you serious?”

“I’m a Guardsman, sir. I’m always serious when a crime is involved.”

He laughed and started walking again. He shook his head. “Your aunt said you were a firebrand. An unbending force of upright duty.”

“Be that as it may, your agents illegally detained and abused a uniformed starship captain.”

“The results were regrettable for everyone. You must understand that I wanted to talk to you urgently.”

“Then why didn’t you simply contact me and tell me I should meet with you?”

“That isn’t how we operate, Sparhawk. Officially, we don’t exist.”

I thought about his explanation, and I found that nothing about it pleased me.

“This entire situation is unacceptable. In the future, please send a courier or something. I would have happily come here to talk to you.”

“That’s what I did!” he protested. “Yes, I agree, they were heavy-handed, but you were as well.”

“They didn’t identify themselves. How was I to know that you were behind it? Many assassins have attempted such moves in the past.”

“Hmm,” he said. “I may have miscalculated in that regard. Very well, in the future when my agents come to summon you into my presence, we’ll make sure that you are more clearly informed.”

Despite my best efforts, I was close to becoming irate. This sort of behavior wasn’t an isolated occurrence. Members of the Great Houses treated government officials with similar disdain. They believed they were above the law, and the annoying part was how often they were correct in that assumption. Their behavior was never punished as it should be.

“You said it was regrettable,” I pressed, “but you didn’t apologize. A man in my employ and another in yours are dead over this, and a third man was maimed.”