Fracture Lines (The Glass Complex Book 2) (40 page)

“See, boss, we’re all coming. You know you need us to look after you,” said Finch.

Steg smiled. “Thank you.”

“Do you think it’s anything to do with the dream we all had, last night?”

“While I don’t see how, I suspect it does. If you’re all agreed, we’ll board
Red Desert
to depart at the half hour. In the meantime, I’ll meet with Commander Gillespie and confirm what we’re doing.” Steg headed out the door, followed by his Fain companions.

Minutes later he met with
Wasp’s
commander and tried to reply to her question.

“Commander, I have no idea, at all. It’s worrying, I’ll admit, when the largest starship I’ve ever seen sends me a message that it wants me to visit.”

“You’re comfortable with going?”

“I keep asking myself that same question. My answer includes—well, there’s no reason to be otherwise. I think I’ve convinced myself. Finch, Stacia, and Tessa are coming—they claim I need looking after—sometimes I think they’re right. I’ve instructed Kirby to board Ebony Company—we’re taking
Red Desert
. We’ll depart at the half hour.”

“Do you want any of our people to go with you? Rose? Dean? Any of the Stingers?”

“No, thank you all the same. Something tells me it would cause difficulties if I took crew from
Wasp
.”

“Well, good luck. We’ll keep our eyes on you.”

“Thank you.”

Steg headed to his cabin to shower and change into a clean uniform. Refreshed, he headed to the shuttle bay where Ebony Company was preparing to board
Red Desert
. He watched as Kirby organized the process. After a few minutes he was joined by the three Fain.

“We’ll go on board once the company is settled,” he said.

It didn’t take long for the boarding process to complete, and Kirby met Steg as he stepped on board
Red Desert
.

“Welcome to your starship, sir,” Kirby said.

“Thank you. I’m impressed with the details Curtis provided. Comfortable, fast, and in good condition—you were fortunate to find her for sale.”

“Sometimes, sir, I can be lucky,” Kirby tried to maintain a sad face and failed. Both he and Rose Curtis were pleased with the acquisition they’d made on behalf of Steg. “While
Red Desert
’s a lot smaller than
Wasp
, there’s plenty of room for the company, plus a small crew, and there’s an owner’s cabin, forward on A deck, close to the bridge. There are four guest cabins in the same area. The medical section is on level B.”

“For now, let’s go to the bridge and shove off. You can give us a tour while we’re in transit.”

Aadan settled
Red Desert
gently on the landing pad indicated by landing lights. Steg had been surprised to see the Tacian on board, and Aadan had explained.

“When Rose told me about
Red Desert
, I couldn’t resist. Gillespie agreed to allow me to join you—she said you might need my helm skills.” She had looked anxious for a moment. “You don’t mind, sir?”

Steg had laughed and said, “I hope you don’t mind when we find out what this is all about.”

Now, with
Red Desert,
which was the same size as a naval corvette, locked inside the huge starship, Steg was starting to wonder. Kirby was organizing the company, setting guards in place to at least provide a token of security. Steg had told him he didn’t want an escort—it was enough that Ebony Company was on board.

“Come on,” he said to Finch and her two companions. “Kirby should be organized by now. We’ll meet him at the lock and transit into
Wanderer
and explore.”

After Kirby briefed Steg, they joined Finch, Stacia, and Tessa and exited
Red Desert
. The external superdreadnought doors had sealed, and the bay now contained a breathable atmosphere. Green lights along a walkway flashed a sequence leading to another lock some fifty yards away, which Steg assumed would allow them to enter the interior of the starship.

“Well, let’s go.” He led off along the path. The heavy door opened automatically, and Steg stepped through, followed closely by Kirby and three Fain.

“I wish you had allowed me to arrange a guard for you,” muttered Kirby as his steps faltered.

Steg was entranced. They had entered a small park area, with trees, shrubs, and flowers in colorful display. A bot was mowing grass, creating neat lines of trimmed lawn. Another bot was clipping a hedge. Overhead, some fifty feet above them, what appeared to be bot spiders climbed across the ceiling, and Steg thought they were carrying out some form of maintenance. As he and his companions stared, an electric vehicle, driverless, slowed and stopped beside them. It had three rows of seats, each with enough space for three passengers. While it lacked doors, it had a front windshield and a fabric roof.

A voice directed, “Please board and sit. The conference room is five minutes away.”

They sat as instructed, and the vehicle silently accelerated. Its tires hissed slightly on different sections of the roadway. No one spoke. The park extended along the roadway, providing a mix of greens and more exotic colors. Almost to the second, at five minutes, the vehicle slowed and turned off what appeared to be the main road. After winding around another two corners on a side road, it stopped.

The voice said. “Please exit. The conference room is through the first door on your right. Please enter.”

Steg exited the vehicle followed by his companions. He headed to the door as directed, and opened it. The room was well furnished with a central table and ten or so chairs. There was coffee and other refreshments on a sideboard. A viewscreen covered the end wall. Casual chairs and small tables were scattered around the room.

“Come on in,” Steg directed. He sat at the conference table, and Kirby followed his example. Finch walked over to the coffee equipment and started to pour coffee for everyone. Stacia and Tessa stood and stared.

“Are we still in a starship?” asked Tessa, her eyes wide.

“I think so,” Steg said. “Sit down, relax.”

Kirby shook his head. “Gardens inside a starship?” His voice faded.

There was a knock on the door and it opened. A man entered and looked around the conference room. He was dressed in a plain shipsuit without insignia. His hair was either blond or gray, cropped short. He looked at the two men.

“Steg de Coeur?” he asked.

“Me,” said Steg.

“Oh. My name’s Dekker. They sent me to talk to you. I’m a miner, an asteroid sled jockey. Oh, I’m from Homeworld.”

Steg stood, intrigued. “What did you say?”

Dekker backed away; he was nervous. “I—I’m from Homeworld.”

“What are you doing here, on board this gigantic starship?”

“It’s—it’s a long story. Oh, I need to tell you—
Wanderer
is heading for its first s-t jump.”

“What?” Steg moved away from the table, towards Dekker. Kirby stood. The three Fain looked startled, not sure what they were hearing.

“Y-yes, we’re underway.”

Steg stood in front of Dekker. He was restraining his anger—he did not like being hijacked. “Destination?”

“Jochum II.”

Steg, shocked, pale, turned and re-seated himself at the table. Kirby appeared bewildered and also sat back at the table.

“Why?” Steg asked.

“The Xesset are massing for an attack. They are assembling a major war fleet.”

“So why does
Wanderer
want me and—?” he indicated his companions.

“Oh, it wants more than you—it also wants the support of the Imperial Intelligence Agency and of the Imperial Navy.”

“Why?”

“Wanderer
believes the first system they plan to assault is Djii. Ambassador Tziksis is extremely concerned.”

“But—that’s—”

“Yes, we’re jumping to 1800—”

“PD?’’

“Yes.”

Steg said,
“Wanderer
has to stop and allow my companions to return to
Wasp
. Likewise for the Ebony Company.”

“Sir, it’s too late—we’ve already made the first jump.”

Steg regarded his fellow Homeworlder and shook his head in disbelief. “I want to talk to whoever authorized this.” He turned to his companions. “I’m sorry. We’ve been hijacked. Or kidnapped.
Wanderer
is taking us on an extremely long journey—I don’t know if we’ll be able to return.”

“Where to, sir?” Kirby asked.

“It seems first we’re going to a planet called Jochum II, which is the base for the Imperial Intelligence Agency.”

“Why, sir—why you?” asked Tessa.

“I’m a captain in that agency. Also, Ambassador Tziksis is a close friend.”

“But sir, you told me ImpSec couldn’t find any trace of the IIS?” queried Kirby.

“Which gives us a major issue,” Steg said.
“Wanderer
is taking us to the IIS base. The major issue—the IIS was formed in 1800 PD—Post Diatonic.”

Finch, wide eyed, said, “But sir, that’s over a hundred and fifty years in the future.”

“My point, exactly. We’re being taken for a ride—
Wanderer
must be able to carry out time jumps.”

The rush of questions overwhelmed Steg. He held up his hand and his companions quietened. He said, “No, I’m not crazy. I didn’t know starships could make t jumps—I do know a number of Imperial starships have portals that individuals can use to do s-t jumps.”

A loud series of knocks on the conference room door interrupted the flow of questions. Steg nodded to Kirby who stepped over and opened the door. A young woman was about to knock again. She peered into the room.

“Can I come in?”

Steg jumped up before Kirby could answer. “Jessie—Jessie Brent. What are you doing here?”

“Captain de Coeur—you sent a shuttle for me?”

“No, not me.” Steg could not hide his shock. “What made you think that?”

“We received a message on the compad you used for communicating with the skipper—with Captain Montrose. It said something like—
Have critical need for
Tactician Commander Brent. Shuttle on the way
—and Captain Montrose agreed I could be detached from duty for a year. He said he wants me back. It was a crazy rush to get here.”

“Julie, you are welcome. Come in, take a seat—we’re all learning what this is about. I’m not sure I’ll be able to return you to
Defender
within a year. Come on, sit here.” He indicated a seat next to Aadan. “Aadan’s our Helm—you’ve seen some of her work—she hid us in that asteroid belt.” He introduced the other people around the table, explaining their roles.

When he completed the introductions, Steg turned back to Dekker. “As I said, I want to meet with whoever authorized this venture. Are they on board?”

“Oh. Oh, not really.”

“What do you mean? Who authorized this?”

“Sir, it was
Wanderer
—that is,
Wanderer’s
AI.”

Steg collapsed back into his seat. “An AI arranged to come here, to this era, to find me, pick me up, and take me to back to my time?”

The Alliance tactician did not hide her astonishment at Steg’s question. “Sir, you’re going to make a real s-t jump?”

“I understand it’s already underway.” He held up his hand to halt an expected flow of questions. “I need Dekker’s answer—then I’ll try to explain. Dekker, answer, please.”

“Oh, well, yes, you’re almost correct. The Glass Complex on Homeworld helped, sir. The Acolytes tracked you down. We can’t go back to Eos, sir. We’re needed to help fight the Xesset.”

Steg looked at his companions seated around the table. They were wide-eyed, staring at him, and judging by their expressions, they had thousands of questions to ask him. He sighed. This was going to take a while.

Thank you
for reading Fracture Lines. I hope you enjoyed the story—and if you did, please share your experience by adding a review to Amazon. The third book in the Glass Complex Trilogy – Diamond Cut – will be available by the end of the year. Keep up to date by subscribing to my newsletters; see the offer for a free ebook – a collection of my short stories, A HOLE IN THE UNIVERSE. Check Amazon or my web site for details of all my books.

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John writes science fiction and thrillers, sometimes with crossover. Well, he claims you need a thrill in your science fiction and an occasional touch of science in your thrillers. John originates from Australia, has lived in England (plus a number of other countries—it’s a long list), and now lives in the High Sierra region of California where he is writing full time. He could be hiking, kayaking, or skiing, when he's not writing.

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Science Fiction

Glass Complex Trilogy

Book 1: Broken Glass

Book 2: Fracture Lines

Book 3: Diamond Cut

Shen Ark: Departure