Whisper & Fury: Eydulan Series Book 1 (6 page)

“I wouldn’t have picked it out for you, but it looks great.”

“Thanks.”

“So why blue?”

“It’s always been my favorite color, and it just feels right to me somehow.”

“Gale has been asking about you, and she’s worried. You haven’t been coming to our place at night, and then there’s that man you got on your ship.”

Kat nods, “I’m alright. I don’t want to be at your place and cause you trouble if someone tips off Mars Security. Gravan’s out cold, and has been for weeks now. There’s nothing to worry about with him.”

“That may be the case now, but what are you going to do with him?”

“Not sure yet. He tipped me off about the explosives that were in my arms, the drug Mallory was giving me, and was sent to contact me originally by General Ajax. He can’t be that bad. I’m going to hear what he has to say, and then go from there.”

“That’s a good plan, and good reasons. Just be careful.”

“You know anything about him?”

“Aye, but it’s not for me to talk about. I know his military record and have heard him talked about by some of my contacts in the forces. They all say the same, keep an eye on him.”

“Oh I will, he did shoot me already, remember.”

Knox lets out a laugh. “Yes, you told me.”

Kat crosses her arms, and shifts to one leg, “Hey, that’s not funny. He shot me in the leg with a shotgun blaster, at close range.”

“Like you said, he did have a bomb around his heart.”

Kat’s face flushes, “I… yes he did.”

“Just watch yourself girl, I want to hear from you more often, not hear about what happened to you.”

She smiles, “I know, and I will.”

“Now come on back to my place, Gale is waiting with some lunch for the two of us. She won’t care if you just finished those left overs either. She’ll just say you need to eat more, and you know how she gets if we’re late.”

…

Two weeks pass and the ship was finally finished getting it’s final paint job. Knox always insisted on if things were going to be done, to do it right. He told her it was a manner of pride, and this is his Kitty Kat’s first ship. He wanted to make doubly sure that it was up to snuff before letting her go back out into the star ocean.

She has felt like a teenager all over again, these past few days. It almost let her forget that she needed or wanted to get revenge. More than revenge, she wanted freedom. It was something she had realized coming back to the last place she called home. While Mallory was still after her, and the Ai’s, there wouldn’t be any home for her. He would make sure of it. She needed to figure out a way to get him off her back, and permanently. It’s just the question of how.

Knox looks over to her, “Kat you listening?”

“What’s that Knox?”

“The ships gonna need a name, any thoughts?”

“Isn’t Crucible a good name?”

Knox scratches his beard, “It’s what they called it right?”

“It is what they called it, so you think I shouldn’t use that.”

“I would make it meaningful to you, this is going to be your home after all.”

Home. She hadn’t thought about Crucible that way, but it would be where she is going to be for the majority of her time for the foreseeable future. There had to be something she could call it that would make it a home to her. Some name that would make her want to come back to it.

“How about something happy and lucky. Like Felicity?”

“Felicity is a good name. Like how you were when you lived here with me and Gale. Now with that done, you can leave anytime you’re ready, and use all the official jump points.”

“That’s great Knox, I can’t believe it’s almost been a month here.”

“Time goes by faster than we want in times of peace, and slower than we need in times of strife. All things considered Kitty Kat, you can stay as long as you want.”

“I know Knox, but I can’t stay here indefinitely. Mallory is bound to start searching for me soon, if not already. I got Mars Security that may still be on my tail for a few more months, or longer. If either of them find me with you, you’ll be in the crossfire.”

“You don’t need to protect this old dog. I still got a few tricks up my sleeve.”

“Still, I would rather you not have to use them unless it’s necessary. Crucible… I mean Felicity is a great ship, with a lot of space, and it’s the most advanced ship out there. I’ll be safe inside her.”

“Once you set your mind on things, It’s a losing battle to argue with you. Let’s get her supplies loaded up, and when you’re ready, Gale and I will see you off.”

Kat hugs him tightly around the neck. “Thanks Knox, I’m glad I have you in my life.”

…

The medical bay has been quiet for months, save for an occasional snore. Kat has been watching over Gravan, praying that he wakes up, so she can get some answers out of him. Today was her birthday, and she wondering around in space, with no goal of where to go. There are a few planets she had wanted to visit, where Knox and Gale had told her stories of their travels. She could start registering for cargo hauls, like she had planned when Knox came up with the idea, but none of that seemed right.

She could always go back to Bexar Omega, and check in on her family. The last communication said that everything was good there, and the Mars Security Forces had officially stopped looking for the rogue Guild ship that attacked their outpost. More than anything she wanted another person to talk to. Whisper and Fury were great company sure, but it just wasn’t the same some how. It was almost easier to talk to Gravan, who was still in a coma that to the AI’s. Her funds were starting to run low, and her free time was almost up.

“Gravan, what do you think I should do?” She says aloud, even though she knows he won’t answer. “Today’s my birthday. Another year gone by, and I am now even further away from everything I wanted when I joined the Earth Forces. It sounds silly, but I grew up dreaming about having a wedding, and marrying the man of my dreams. When I was around Mallory, some part of me thought he might be the one. Then he does this to me.” She looks at her hands, and clenches her fists. “I told him, no cybernetics, and that I didn’t care if I died. Of course he probably planned to keep me as an obedient pet or something.”

She gets out of the chair she was sitting in and begins to pace around the room. She didn’t know why she was telling him all these things, and it was borderline crazy, but it was helping her settle her nerves.

“It’s funny the ways things turn out. I always told myself that I would never be one of those frontier people. Drifting along, barely making it, and look at me now.” She reaches out and grabs his hand. “Please… wake up, and have the answers I want.”

“Are you about to have a nervous breakdown?” Whisper asks.

Kat screams, “Damn it Whisper, why did you have to do that?”

“Because you are talking to a person who is in a coma.”

“People do that, they say the body can still hear us and it might be comforting to the coma victim.”

“Yes, the monkey wants the meat bag to feel better.”

“Whisper!”

“Yes, yes. I will leave you alone for now, and go back to reading my romance novels.”

“How are you getting the money to pay for those?”

“I’m not, I scour the internet for free downloads. I don’t always understand what is going on, but it’s fascinating.”

“I bet it is.” Kat lets go of Gravan’s hand and walks for the door herself.

Gravan mumbles, “Katrice… run… get out of here… leave me.”

Kat is sitting down in the medical bay next to Gravan holding his hand. This was her daily routine since she left Bexar Omega. Run around the ship, do maintenance, monitor the net for bounties on her, and talk with Gravan. She was telling him about her time with the Earth Forces, her tours of duty during the rebellion, and her time with Mallory. The last part of her life is a terrible mixture of happy and muddled memories that she can’t trust were of her own choosing.

“Well, It’s been two months. I wonder why you still won’t wake up.” Kat looks around the room. “Whisper, you’re not recording this again are you?”

Kat can almost hear a smile in Whispers voice as she replies, “Who, me? Never.”

“Just leave me alone for a bit.”

“But it was just about to get good. I have my digital popcorn here and everything.”

“Please.”

“Alright, but you’re going to have to tell me how the story ends.”

“You already know how it ends, I’m right here.”

“I know that meat bag, but there is no flare, no music to that. It’s just a dull tone, I want the song.”

“Fine. You can stay, but no comments from the peanut gallery ok?”

“What’s a peanut gallery?”

“It’s an old Earth saying, it means stay quiet.”

“I’m not sure I like that tone in my monkeys, but I’ll let it slide.”

Kat rolls her eyes. “Let’s see where did I leave off last. I told you about how I met the general, and how I became known as Wyldefire.”

“I liked that one, lots of explosions, and dead meat bags.”

“Was that someone in the peanut gallery just now?”

“Nope not a word.”

“Good, now let me continue.”

…

“We need supplies.” Says Gravan.

Kat shoots Gravan a look, “What’s this
we
business you’ve been pushing for the last couple of days?
We
aren’t anything.”

“I just think that we need to work together. Mallory is going to be coming after the both of us, why not pool our resources?”

She was so excited that he woke up, it was another person to talk to. Then he started talking. He wasn’t living up to the idea of him, and that was putting her on edge. Maybe she shouldn’t have brought this guy onboard. She could have listened to Knox, and left him at the spaceport before she left.

She sighs, “You tried to kill me.”

“I know, but you saved me, and kept me alive till I woke up a couple of days ago. I owe you, one soldier to another.”

Kat looks into his soft blue eyes, and can feel butterflies in her stomach begin to flutter again. When he first woke up, they discussed how they got to Mallory, and then Gravan started to make suggestions. Each of which she didn’t like. His eyes make her heart flutter, and his voice is so commanding. She tries to mentally shoo the butterflies out of her stomach because she was supposed to be frustrated at him, not smitten.

Gravan continues, “Seriously though, you seem to have been getting along till now, but how much longer can you just get along. Don’t you want to have a life without looking over your shoulder all the time?”

“Yes, I would like to not have to run anymore, but I don’t even know where to start. Yes I need supplies, but I have already asked Knox for them once, and I’m not about to put him in harm’s way for helping me. It’s too risky to keep going back to the same place.”

“That’s why you should let me help. You saved my life, and I want Ryker dead as much as you do. I can try to contact General Ajax and see if he can offer me support.”

“General Ajax is dead.”

“What!? When did that happen?”

“Two months ago. They claim it was a terrorist raid, not connected to the rebellion. I got a communication from my secured line from an old subordinate, saying that Mallory ordered the hit.”

“But… how, he was in a secured Earth military base.”

“I stopped a plot like that before, remember.”

Gravan looks away from Kat’s face. “He was a good man, and didn’t deserve to die that way.”

“No he didn’t, but there isn’t anyone else we can go to now in the Earth Armed Forces. We are branded as traitors, and have bounties on our heads in all of the Earth defended territories. I don’t think there needs to be a ‘we’ because it will just draw more attention to ourselves.”

“Wait, there is one more person I can call.”

“Who’s that?”

“Zane Richmond.”

“Zane!? He works for Mallory, why would he help you?”

“He’s an old military buddy. I asked him to apply for the detail with me originally, but he didn’t know why I was in the first place. He’s someone I can trust.”

“That’s insane. Your plan is to go to Mallory’s headquarters and resupply there.
Brilliant
.” Kat sarcastically emphasizes brilliant.

“He isn’t looking for us there, and wouldn’t expect us to just show up for supplies. So yes, I do think it is brilliant.”

“Then you’re a bigger idiot than I gave you credit for.”

“Maybe you should listen to him Kat.” Whisper butts in.

“Maybe you should stay out of this Whisper.”

“I can see your biometrics are off slightly, should I explain it to your primitive monkey brain?”

“Whisper.” Kat says angrily.

“I just figured I should tell my meat bag when they are about to make a bad decision.”

Gravan asks, “What is she talking about?”

Kat replies sharply, “You definitely need to stay out of
this
conversation.” She motions her fingers between her and the ceiling.

“Ok.” He raises both hands in the air as a show of surrender.

“Whisper, this isn’t something we need to discuss right now, and I am not going to go along with that plan anyway.”

“From my experience in monitoring you, which you asked me to do by the way, your metrics become skewed around him. I have told you before about this and you keep ignoring me. It’s like your fleshy processor of a brain won’t see what I keep telling you.”

Gravan asks, “Is she saying what I think she is Kat?”

Kat’s face goes flush, and she averts her eyes from his. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, and Whisper I will tell you again. I do not have impaired judgment around him.”

Whisper says, “I don’t have to tell you that your face just flushed, and your heart rate increased when you looked at him after I say your decisions around him are impaired. That is all the proof you should need.”

Kat says under her breath, “Bitch.”

“I heard that, and I am not a female dog, I am an Artificial Intelligence.”

“You should search alternative means of that word on the internet you’re so fond of Whisper. As for you Gravan get back to sleep, you still need rest. I’ll come back later to discuss this
we
business.”