Omega Force 5: Return of the Archon (18 page)

“As soon as we get to where we’re going, let’s get this sorted out and make preps to get out of here,” Jason whispered back. “Now that Fordix is out I don’t think we’ll be needed.”

“Will he be coming with us?” Kage asked, nodding towards Crusher.

“I hope,” Jason said, frowning, “but the choice is his, just like it is for all of us.” He hadn’t really considered that Crusher might stay behind on Restaria and try to reclaim some of his old life, but as he watched his friend become more integrated with the Order, he had to admit that he had his doubts. He didn’t want to think about what might happen to Omega Force without Crusher there.

When they finally arrived at the next hidden location belonging to the Order and climbed out of the airtruck, Jason went to where the Praetores had congregated.

“Excuse me,” he said. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but if there is no longer anything pressing for us, I’d like to collect the rest of my crew and check in on my ship.”

“Your crew members returned to your ship shortly after you left,” Mutabor told him. “They said they would be more comfortable there and less of a risk of being spotted on Restaria. They were transported out there by one of our members days ago.”

“We have been unable to raise the ship, or them,” Jason said. “All the more reason to check in on them if you can spare a vehicle.”

“It would be unwise for you to move through Ker on your own,” Fostel said with a frown.

“I’ll take them,” Mazer volunteered. He’d been hovering around Jason, seeming interested in what was being said. “There’s nothing for me to contribute that Morakar doesn’t also know.”

“Very well,” Fostel said after a moment. “But please be quick about it. If their ship is discovered it will raise some uncomfortable questions.”

“I will be careful, Praetore,” Mazer said with a bow. “Captain?”

“Let me tell Crusher what’s going on and then we’ll be on our way,” Jason said. He was beginning to become anxious over the situation … there was no logical reason why Kage shouldn’t be able to at least ping the
Phoenix
and get a status update at this range.

*****

“I could have sworn this is where I parked,” Jason said with a humor he wasn’t feeling. The four of them were standing in a large, empty field that used to have a DL7 heavy gunship parked in the middle of it.

“This is the right place, isn’t it?” Kage asked.

“It is,” Jason confirmed, “I can still see the indentations from the landing gear.”

“Judging from the way the grass has popped back up in those indentations, I would estimate that the ship has been gone for some days,” Mazer said, kneeling down where the nose gear had been sitting.

“Captain,” Lucky called from near where the right wing would have been. He held up a customized scanner with a cracked display for Jason to see.

“That’s Twingo’s,” Jason confirmed.

“That would indicate there was some sort of struggle,” Mazer said, walking up beside Jason.

“The screen has always been cracked,” Jason said, “but he would never just leave his gear lying around outside.”

“Maybe they were spotted and had to lift off in a hurry,” Kage suggested.

“Doubtful,” Jason said. “The grav-drive was in standby. To lift off in an emergency they’d have had to fire the ventral repulsors and that would have chewed the ground up pretty badly. The only disruption I see is where the wheels and the end of the ramp were sitting.”

“There is something with a power supply near the edge of the clearing over there,” Lucky said, pointing towards the trees to the north. They all walked over and found the remains of what had once been a blaster rifle. It was impossible to determine the origins or manufacturer since it was mangled and charred.

“Whoa! Look at that,” Kage said, pointing back into the woods. When Jason looked closely he could see three exploded tree trunks and some heavy scorch marks along the ground that had been obscured by the foliage from their original vantage point. Jason looked back over his shoulder and tried to get a bearing on how the
Phoenix
would have been oriented.

“This is from the tail guns,” he said finally. “Something triggered the defensive protocols.” A hard, cold knot was forming in his gut. The
Phoenix
was gone without a trace, and so were his friends.

The four inspected the landing site for another two hours, expanding their search outward, before finally walking back to the vehicle they’d arrived in to head back to Ker. Jason had wanted to find some definitive evidence that Doc had been there as he had with Twingo’s scanner. He worked hard to stay focused on the task, but his anxiety about what had become of his friends was making it difficult. So he relied on Lucky and Mazer to approach the problem with a more dispassionate eye, but they turned up nothing past the initial findings of a missing ship and a broken hand tool.

“Kage,” Jason began.

“Already forming a plan, Captain,” Kage said, his eyes a little distant as his brain ran through parallel probability calculations. “I will need access to a slip-space com node, but if the
Phoenix
is out there and in one piece I should be able to track it down. I can’t guarantee how quickly though.”

“I’ll do my best to leave you alone while you work,” Jason said, knowing he tended to hover when he wasn’t able to do anything useful to help. “I know you’ll crack it faster than anyone else would be able to.”

“Captain,” Lucky said, “I do not think it would be prudent to announce our trouble to the members of the Order when we return.”

“I was about to say the same thing,” Jason said.

“Why not?” Kage disagreed. “We could use their resources.”

“I agree with Lucky’s instincts,” Jason explained. “Something isn’t feeling right. For starters, where did they get that shuttle we flew back on? That’s easily a one hundred million credit ship. I also get an odd vibe from Fordix. No … for now we play this one close to the chest.” The three members of Omega Force turned simultaneously to look at Mazer.

“Hey,” he said, raising his hands, “I’m with you guys. I agree that something doesn’t quite ring true regarding recent events. I had no idea the Order had access to that type of weaponry either.”

“Can you get us a slip-space com node and a secure location for Kage to work from?” Jason asked.

Mazer thought about it for a long moment before nodding his head. “I have the perfect place, actually,” he said. “You’ll be safe there and it should have any equipment you need to begin your search. What are we going to tell the others when we get back?”

“Why do you ask?” Jason said.

“I’m sure it’s occurred to you that there were only a few people who knew the location of your
Phoenix
,” Mazer said seriously. “I hesitate to even utter this aloud, but it is entirely plausible that someone within the Order orchestrated the capture of your ship.”

“The thought has crossed my mind,” Jason admitted. “But I don’t want to focus on the worst case scenario until we have more evidence.”

“I can understand that,” Lucky said.

Kage looked back and forth for a moment until he couldn’t stand being silent any longer. “Okay,” he said, “why is that the worst case scenario?”

“If the Order captured the
Phoenix
that means we were likely lured here for reasons other than what we were told,” Lucky said.

“And it means Twingo and Doc are likely already dead,” Jason finished, the lump of ice in his gut becoming heavier.

*****

The drive back to Ker was silent and tense. Mazer, despite his helpfulness, had the demeanor of someone who felt guilty for something he didn’t actually do. Jason’s mind was racing as he tried to think of who on Restaria would have a motive to take the ship. Not only that, but how? It was obvious the
Phoenix
tried to defend itself at least once, but there wasn’t near the amount of carnage he would expect from someone forcibly boarding the gunship. There was also the fact that without the proper code clearances, a forced boarding would result in incremental amounts of damage to the main systems. The harder they tried to get it running, the worse it would damage itself, just short of full destruction.

He also had to consider the possibility that Twingo had been captured in order to gain entry to the ship, but the engineer didn’t have the command authorization to unlock the primary flight systems. Not only that, but Doc would be useless to them if their mission was just to steal the ship, so his body should have been lying in the grass when they arrived.

All of his various conclusions were sunk, however, when he remembered the shiny new combat shuttle parked in a nondescript staging yard in the city that was now on the horizon. With access to that sort of firepower, why bother going through the enormous trouble, and danger, of stealing a single gunship? He forced himself to slow his breathing and heart rate. Flying off in a million different directions wouldn’t help him find his friends if they were still alive. Since he hadn’t heard from them, he had to assume they were counting on him to put the pieces together and come get them.

“This is it,” Mazer said. “It was one of our first safe houses. It’s been long abandoned since it is quite small, but it should fulfill your needs. There is a food prep area, sleeping quarters, and a full slip-space com suite.”

“Lucky, I want you to stay here with Kage,” Jason said. “I’ll go back with Mazer and tell them you guys decided to stay on the
Phoenix
. Either that will explain your absence or I will get some sort of reaction out of them.”

“I’ll be fine here by myself, Captain,” Kage insisted. “I’ve had to sneak around in a lot more dangerous places than this and I’ll keep my com unit close by. My absence is easy to explain, but Lucky not returning might arouse suspicion.” Jason stared at his diminutive friend for a moment, considering the request.

“Very well,” he said finally. He pulled a small blaster out of the holster at the small of his back and handed it to Kage. “Be careful and keep me updated on what you’re finding. Make sure you encrypt the signal.”

“Will do, Captain,” Kage said, accepting a code card from Mazer that would gain him access to the safe house. “Don’t worry … this is what I do. If they can be found, I’ll find them.”

Jason nodded once to him. “Go,” he said. “Find them and report back to me.”

“Is he really that good?” Mazer asked as Kage disappeared quickly up the stairwell that would lead to the upper floor of the three-story building.

“You have no idea,” Jason snorted. “He’s not bragging when he says he’s the best. He’s so good that when I found him he was locked up in a stasis cell to be sold to the highest bidder.”

“Were you all captured to be sold? Is that how your group came to be?” Mazer asked, pulling the vehicle back into the sparse traffic.

“Not all of us,” Jason said absently. “Twingo, Doc, and I were never in stasis pods.”

“So Lord Felex had been captured and put into one of those things?” Mazer asked incredulously.

“Don’t read too much into it,” Jason said. “Crusher’s … Felex’s mistake was that he assumed everyone in the galaxy operated under the same honor code he had since he’d been born. It was a tough lesson, but one he’s learned well. It doesn’t matter how powerful a warrior you are when a drink laced with a powerful sedative is served to you.”

The younger warrior remained silent for a while as they drove through the heart of the city. “I never considered the hidden dangers out beyond our world,” he said finally. “We’re so safe here in our isolation and with the legions surrounding us. I have to wonder how well I would do out there on my own.”

“You’re smart enough to realize that you don’t know everything,” Jason said. “You’d do fine.”

*****

Jason wasn’t quite prepared for the changes that had taken place in the few hours they were gone. When he and Lucky were led into the room where everyone had been meeting, Crusher looked to have undergone a complete transformation. He was in some sort of ceremonial armor that was comprised of a sculpted cuirass, black enameled pauldrons, and heavy forearm guards. There were also a pair of armored gauntlets on the table in front of him and Crusher was standing at the head of the table with the obvious air of command about him.

“Where is Kage?” he asked when they walked in.

“Stayed back on the ship,” Jason said casually, depending on Lucky’s unparalleled situational awareness to record and analyze any reactions from the Praetores or Fordix. “He said this wasn’t really his scene. So what’s going on?”

“Captain Burke,” Fordix began, “while we appreciate your service, I don’t believe that you’re needed to—”

“I don’t believe I asked you, Master Fordix,” Jason said pleasantly. While the exchange may be viewed by those in the room as unbelievably rude, the insult was quite intentional. He wanted everyone in the room as off balance as possible so that Lucky could record any inadvertent slips or odd reactions.

“We’ve just been debriefed by Fordix about the situation on Galvetor,” Crusher said in the silence, giving Fordix a warning glare. “It’s more problematic than we thought. I’m afraid now would not be the best time for us to leave, Captain.”

“I see,” Jason said neutrally, glancing at the maps and documents strewn about the table and allowing his neural implant to record everything for later. “How problematic are we talking?”

“Likely a full-blown civil war,” Crusher sighed. “Galvetor has been secretly putting together an assault force to try and capture the legion leadership. After that they will assume command here on Restaria via the oversight committee.”

“To what end?” Jason asked dubiously. “There has to be a larger political goal here, a reason for action against the legion’s leadership in the first place.”

“We’re not entirely sure,” Morakar admitted. “We were fortunate to learn as much as we have.”

“So what will be our next course of action?” Jason asked, maneuvering himself in the room so that he could turn his back on Fordix.

“We’re assembling the leadership here in Ker,” Crusher said.