Tiva Boon: Heir of Abennelp (Tiva Boon Series Book 2) (27 page)

“And what did the Union tell you about us?”

“Your organization never came into the conversation.”

“It makes sense, President Jukan, they aren’t known for their loose tongues,” Anann interjected.

“She has lied to us, misrepresented herself, and thanks to you has access to the majority of our facilities…she could be a spy.”

“A spy for who? We have enough data to verify who she is by her appearance. And we know her people haven’t mastered space flight.
Your
reports tell us as much, President Jukan. I believe her.”

“Then you shall bring her home where she can face her fate without our help or support.”

Tiva stood up, her markings dark. “I did what anyone in my position would do. At first glance would you believe I was royalty?”

The president moved toward her swinging his arm. “Learn your place female…”

She caught him by the wrist right before his hand met her cheek and bent it back using every bit of strength she possessed. The leather covering his arm began to smoke. Several of the men gasped slightly, Anann sat back with a smirk on his face. Tiva released him with a slight push. Something was different…she rubbed the tips of her thumb against her fingers. Despite the heat emanating from her hands, she was not in pain…the crystal’s side effect was not dissipating.

The general glanced at her aghast and took a step backwards. Anann stood up and whispered in the president’s ear. He grunted, turned, and stormed out of the room followed by his guards. When the doors closed, the general began laughing.

“I haven’t seen him that shocked in years,” he wiped his cheek. “I’m impressed, are all your people as strong as you?”

“If they train, they can be,” she answered and adjusted her clothing. “What did you say to him?”

“Well, I told him if you were strong enough to stop him mid swing, it might be worth getting the council involved for a reevaluation of your case. A race such as yours would be a fine addition to our fold. He didn’t like that very much…”

“I am grateful, general. I did not mean to mislead you. All of what I said was true, I just did not tell you the entire truth up front. My situation is delicate and complicated. Not many people would believe such a story.”

“You have an honest face,” he said and motioned for the door. “I will take you back to your room. I’m afraid you will be guarded from now on until the president is satisfied or his concerns allayed.”

“I do not mind, it was my own doing…” She paused at the exit. “If it is determined you will not help, what will happen to me?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. They’ll probably just drop you off on the nearest neutral planet or send you home.”

“If that is the worst case, then I supposed I am lucky. I have tried everything to find an alliance to help me…the universe is an unforgiving place,” she responded dejectedly.

“I’ll do my best to sway the council, you have my word.”

T
he general’s attraction to her was a saving grace. He was going to do all he could to help. She felt bad—for a moment—lying to him, for he seemed like a good man, but knowing his allegiance to the Triune Syndicate angered her. Whatever their true motive, they were the evil force perpetrating war. The meeting with the president, however, brought her a step closer to her goals. The Bujeni Separatists were responsible for the deaths of Harer, her family, and the other guardians.

On the eve of her twelfth day on Chomllie 5, two guards came to collect her. They ordered her to bring all her belongings, so she knew they had come to a decision. Entering a meeting room, one much more comfortable than the previous, she saw Anann waiting for her. His disposition was dour.

“I have good news and bad news, Tiva Vren,” he announced upon seeing her. “The council has agreed, we are not getting involved in your conflict. They feel your technology is of little use to us and your resources are easily found elsewhere.” Tiva nodded somberly. “However,” he continued. “They’ve agreed to return you home safely and remain in contact with you if you wish. When your internal strife is resolved, and if you claim rule over your land, we can renegotiate at that time.”

“I understand, General Anann. I thank you for trying on my behalf,” she answered, knowing it mattered little whether they agreed or not. “When will I be returning home?”

“In less than an hour, they are preparing a ship as we speak.”

“Are you my escort?”

“Sadly, no. I have other duties I am needed for here,” he said, moved closer, and took her hand in his. “I wish you the luck of my gods, Tiva. I hope one day we meet again.”

“As do I, Vekor,” Tiva squeezed his hand while meeting his gaze.

He pulled her Timbur out from behind his back and gave it to her. “Safe journeys.”

Maorist collected her an hour later and escorted her to a Pizilite scout ship and into the cockpit. In total ten men were on the ship with her.

Leaving Chomllie was a relief, however, being on an enemy vessel kept her sharp. Though they saw no threat in her, she was devising her plan to incapacitate them one by one.

Fourteen hours into the journey, she asked to stretch her legs. She toured the ship with three guards, locating all ten members of the crew. Returning to the cockpit, she asked for a place to rest and received a blanket and pillow. Obviously, they were not leaving her alone, and with good reason, for she was almost ready to begin her assault.

Feigning sleep for a few hours, she listened carefully to the navigator and heard the call for the first use of the wormhole. Her understanding was such that only certain points in space had the correct properties to create the jumper wormhole, and it only bridged a small gap in travel time. That explained why they had to use it often during battle.

After the third jump, she woke and asked what their location was. They only told her they were three days from Cobee space, so she bided her time for one more day before activating the second signal of the tracking device.

~*~

All but three of Maorist’s crew was unconscious when she entered the cockpit after her walk. None of them turned upon hearing her. They were accustomed to her frequent need to move about the craft.

“Where is Jol?” the navigator asked her.

“Speaking with the engineer.”

He nodded and turned back to his duty. “Colonel, I’ve got a ship heading our way.”

“Identification?” Maorist leaned forward glancing at the display.

“It’s Union…and we can’t jump here.”

This was Tiva’s cue. She rose from her seat and neared the others. “Are they going to attack us?”

“Don’t worry, we’ll be fine. Take your seat.”

“I am sorry, Colonel, I cannot do that,” she said and with her confiscated guns at the ready, pulled the weapons officer out of his seat and held him in front of her as a shield.

“What the hell?” He turned and reached for his weapon.

Tiva pressed the gun to the man’s temple while keeping the other pointed directly at the colonel.

“Jol, Ruttan, get up here!”

Knowing no one would respond, she slammed the gun into the back of the weapons officer’s head blasted Maorist and the navigator, knocking all three unconscious.

Rushing to the controls, she sent out an encrypted message to the
Tolox
praying they were heading her way. She put the ship on auto navigation, dragged the last three men down to the bottom of the ship, and secured them with the others in a holding cell.

When she returned to the cockpit, a message came in from the Syndicate. She sent back a distress call citing the Union was tracking them, and increased her speed toward the incoming ship. The scout ship was almost in displayer range of the Union vessel when a message came through.

The
Tolox
had found her.

“Thank the spirits,” she sighed, adjusted her course accordingly, and went down to check on her captives. Luckily, they were still out cold.

The docking clamps latched onto the scout ship and when she opened the hatch, Maar, Aries, and the entire security and engineering teams were waiting for her. She informed them of her transmission to the Triune Syndicate. Having no other choice but to move quickly, Maar spat out orders to the crew and everyone went to work instantly.

The next several hours passed by in a blur. Security took Maorist and his crew into custody, three of them already dead by their own hand.

Tiva stayed on the scout ship going over the details of their flight path, while Aries and Maar downloaded the computer core information and the engineering teams stripped the craft of all its technology.

The crew moved the dead men back to the scout ship per Tiva’s request. When the captain was satisfied they’d confiscated everything they could, he ordered the crew back to the
Tolox
.

A sigh of relief escaped Tiva’s lips as she exited the scout ship and walked down the corridor.
It is good to be home.
The statement, though surprising, was true. Tiva would have liked to rest in her own bed, but the captain had other ideas and called the staff to a meeting. Having no time to change, she entered the captain’s office in her Kihlmaro outfit.

“All right, we have a lot to go over,” Maar said and turned to Aries.

“First, welcome back, Ms. Boon,” he said with a slight bow of his head.

She returned the gesture and sat back in her chair. The entire group was excited and energized. Ewan the engineer and Aliri smiled at her. Emerala and Raife waved half-heartedly as they continued to read the datarecorder information, her security teams standing around the room nodded, and Adam winked. Feeling her stomach tighten was not comforting, yet she knew her confession about Litru was inevitable.

“Now, before we hear your story let’s find out what we’ve recovered from the Pizilite ship.”

Ewan spoke first, “We were able to disconnect the wormhole device from the scout ship. So far, it appears to be operational and intact. The technology is compatible, it might be possible for us to replicate it, but I won’t know until we test it out further.”

“Do whatever is necessary and use whomever you need,” Maar responded and turned to Aliri. “What’s on their sensor logs?”

“I’m still going through them, nothing too interesting so far, just your normal stargrids and course alterations due to spatial anomalies. But I have plenty to go through.”

“Captain, if I may…” the doctor said as he entered the room.

“What is it Hino?”

“We’ve had another death among the captives, the navigation specialist,” he huffed and flopped down in a chair. “If anyone is going to interrogate them, they better do it soon. Aside from sticking them behind a charge-field buck naked, I can’t prevent them from committing suicide.”

“If that’s what it takes, do it,” Maar said then turned to the security detail. “Escort the Doctor back to the infirmary and take care of the prisoners. Do not harm them unless absolutely necessary.”

“Thank you, Captain,” Hino stood up and followed Ranndom, Hemko and the others out. Tiva felt for him, his aura was as tired as his appearance.

“All right, what else do we have?”

“I’ve only just begun to access the data we…uh…took from the ship,” Emerala began. “Raife and I will have the navigation logs and the computer data sorted out by the end of the day.”

“What time and day is it?” Tiva asked. She hadn’t paid much attention since leaving Chomllie 5 and she was curious to know how long she’d been gone.

“It’s Friday, December the f-first,” Aries answered.

She’d been gone for almost three weeks. Doing the conversion in her head, she realized it was the middle of the Cooling season back home. Now would be a good time to contact Neola as the colder weather usually slowed down the activity around the planet. Lost in her head, she heard the captain ask for the remaining reports and turned to listen.

“I have all the weapons and records in the cargo hold,” Adam stated. “I should be able to give them a once over and have a preliminary report in about a week.”

“All the computer information is being sorted as we speak. I’ve only just started going through their communication transmissions. The last one sent to the scout ship was a request for an update…” Emerala trailed off allowing Tiva to finish.

“Yes,” she said. “I responded with an automated distress call. That was the only thing I could do to give us more time. The closest Triune Syndicate ship is two days from this location with jumper ability.”

“Jumper?” Aries’ brow arched.

“That is what the Kihlmaro navigator called the wormhole maneuver,” Tiva answered. Glancing over to the captain, he dipped his head allowing her to continue. “They will come looking for the ship. I suggest we destroy the vessel with the already perished crew on board.”

“Why?” Aliri asked. “I mean, they’re already dead…”

“I found them to be very scrupulous. I have no doubts they will find the craft and scan the debris. If they find no organic material in their scans, they will know something was wrong. Several key people were hesitant about me and my story, though I did my best to tell them true facts.”

“How true?” Adam asked.

“I did not give them reason to doubt me, but they knew more about my planet than I was aware. So, it would be prudent of us to make sure they believe the vessel was destroyed along with everyone on board, including me. Since the Union is already at war with them it will seem the most reasonable.”

“G-good point, I think it’s a sound idea, too.”

“Will it be enough to divert their attention from you?” Adam asked ignoring everyone else.

“With the state of their organization as it is now, I am not a priority.”

“Can we get it done in the next hour?” Maar glanced at his crew, interrupting the exchange. Most bobbed their heads. “Fine, we’ll do that. What else did you learn, Chief?”

“Their command base was twice the size of Ovvella. Maorist, the colonel we have in custody, was my first contact…”

Tiva went through every detail of her mission, including her dinner with Anann, the interrogation, and finally her departure. Some asked questions, but nothing in depth, as she was very thorough. Aries estimated it would take the crew three to four weeks to go over the information completely, and scheduled everyone accordingly.

When the final preparations on the scout ship were complete, Adam blasted it into a million pieces with the laser canon and the crew went back to work as if nothing had ever happened. Tiva and her team were responsible for reviewing Syndicate security measures, and categorizing all the displayer images from the scout database. Emerala was already working on the file they would be using. Everyone else had various tasks, most of which were technical and beyond her comprehension.

It seemed that they had a good amount of information, though she was slightly disappointed she was unable to gain access to the stations main computer. Even a few minutes of her searching could have been helpful. Still the core of the scout ship had more than expected and would undoubtedly be useful to the Union.