Wrath of the Void Strider (33 page)

Dryden raised his brows.  “We count on them for food and raw materials.  If Thayless decides to cut us off, we’re in trouble.  We need to send a strong message, make whoever fills the power vacuum think twice about pursuing a similar course of action.”

“Sure, that makes sense.”  Zerki puffed her cheeks.  For a drawn moment, she watched the glow from above as it flickered upon Dryden and his desk. 
I’m sorry, Gavin.  I hope you can forgive me
…  With a subtle nod, she checked her tablet, drew a deep breath and said, “He’s at the cantina.”

·· • ··

The bar was closing up for the night.  Taryn followed D’Arro into a taxi, and the navigation interface requested a destination.  “Hotel,” stated D’Arro.  Several options cascaded into view, followed by a prompt asking if he was employed with the military.  When he selected “No,” all but one choice turned gray.

“It looks like we’re going to the Fly-By-Night,” chuckled Taryn.

“Looks like,” said D’Arro, and he hunched down into a forward seat.

With a hopeful smile, she settled next to him and asked, “How’s your shoulder?”

“Better than it was.”  He rotated it slowly as the taxi accelerated into motion.  “Not quite as good as it’s been.”  He pointedly looked through the windshield as they traveled the road.

She sighed heavily.  “Why do you do that?”

“Do what?”

“That!”  She waved toward him.  “This!  You won’t even look at me.”

His posture stiffened.  “Not sure what you mean.”

Crossing her arms, she insisted, “Yes, you do.  Valerie tells me you took the Vow of Interment.  Was she telling the truth?”

His amber eyes were piercing as they regarded her.  “And if it was, you know I couldn’t talk about it.”  He turned to face her directly.  “Is that what this is about?  Is that why you think I won’t dance for you?”

Caught off guard by his sudden directness, she coughed quietly and said, “You’re life-bonded to me now.  It supersedes the Vow of Interment.”

“I was life-bonded to Collins long before I knew you.”

“You said your debt to him was paid.”

He nodded.  “It is.  But life-bonding isn’t retroactive.  Yeah, you saved my life.  And I thank you for that.”  He faced forward, his gaze faraway.  “But it doesn’t give you the right to ask me why I won’t betray a sacred oath.”  Tears gathered in his eyes.  “And it doesn’t mean I owe you anything but a mountain of gratitude.”

“Don’t you like me at all?”

D’Arro closed his eyes.  “Taryn, I’m your boss, and you’re practically an osling.”

“But I’m not an osling.”

“What do you want me to say?”

Her voice quavered.  “Tell me I’m not foolish for hoping.”

He held the ridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger, his eyes pressed tight.  “I… can’t.”

Taryn’s throat tightened.  “Okay.”  She fought back tears.  “Thanks for being honest.”  She struck the emergency stop panel, causing the cab’s glassy interior to turn bright red.  It halted abruptly.  With a forceful shove, she opened the side panel and stepped out onto the pavement.  Wiping at her eyes, she begged, “Aren’t you even going to try to stop me?”

D’Arro’s shoulders sagged.  He tapped the emergency stop button again, and the red lights switched off.  Slowly, the door slid back into place, and the cab resumed its travel.  Under his breath, he whispered, “Taryn, I’m sorry,” and he pressed away the tears.

Taryn watched the cab vanish around a corner.  Clenching her jaw, she sniffed, “How could I be so stupid?”  Consumed by a wave of sorrow, she ran back toward the bar.

·· • ··

Gavin and Valerie stayed until the cantina’s lights had brightened fully and everyone was asked to leave.  They wandered outside, where they lingered near the grand building, gazing upon silvery dunes.  Winds howled in the distance.

“We should catch up to the others,” said Gavin.  “I don’t know if the taxis run when the covers are down.”

Valerie smiled as they began walking.  “I bet they do.  Where’s everyone staying?”

“At the Fly-By-Night, I’d imagine.  It’s the only hotel around here that’s civilian-friendly.”

Suddenly, she doubled over, gripping the sides of her head.  “No,” she whispered.  “No, please.”

“Are you okay?” he asked as he steadied her. 

She snorted in response, clenching her teeth.

“Valerie?”  He led her to a post and eased her down to sit.  “Valerie, what’s wrong?”

At last, she gasped, and her eyes went wide.  “Oh, Gavin,” she breathed, and tears welled.  She wrapped her arms tightly around her body.  “I had a vision.”

“Are you alright?  What did you see?”

Ahead of the approaching sandstorm, the pathway shells creaked as they swung down.  Within seconds, the road had become a dimly lit tunnel.

“I’m fine.”  With a wistful look, Valerie wiped her eyes and whispered, “Listen to that.”  From tiny gaps in the barrier, constant gusts whistled up and down the enclosure, echoing softly against the shells.  Here and there, grains of sand found their way in and gathered in tiny mounds along the edges.  “Help me up,” she said, and she took his hands.  Gavin supported her as she stumbled toward a nearby bench.  It had the look of a bronze spider web.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” he asked as she sat down, and he brushed the hair from her ice blue eyes.

“No,” she said, practically crying.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

She gazed upon him, a mix of longing and dread.  “I don’t want you to go.”  She wiped at her eyes.  “I want you to stay.”

Gavin shook his head reassuringly.  “I’m not going anywhere, I promise.”  He squeezed her shoulders.  “I promise.”

“Look, I… I need to tell you something.”

“Tell me anything.”

She steeled herself as her mind raced.  “I don’t know if there will be another time to say it.”  She took his hands into her own.  “And I really need you to know.”  Her heart pounded as she inhaled sharply and opened her mouth to speak.  “Gavin, I…  I think…”

From behind him, Taryn stumbled into view.  Dejectedly, she plopped down on the bench and buried her head in her hands.  “Oh my god, I’m such an idiot,” she cried.

Regarding Valerie, Gavin whispered, “Sorry, one second.”

Facing Taryn, he took her into a loving embrace.  “What happened?”

With her head buried in his shoulder, her jaw moved only slightly as she said, “D’Arro shot me down really hard.”  Her eyes were bloodshot.  “He was mean about it, too.”

“Oh, Taryn.”  He pulled her closer.  “I’m so sorry.”

“Me too.”  She lingered in his arms as her body shook.

In time, they parted.  Taryn wiped her nose, regarding Gavin and Valerie with a sheepish smirk.  “Sorry if I interrupted anything.”

“Oh, it was nothing serious,” said Gavin.  “We were just talking.”  He turned to regard Valerie.  “Actually, you were about to tell me something, weren’t you?”

With a deep breath, she got to her feet and brushed herself off.  “Yeah, well.  Nothing serious.”  She smiled distantly.  “Really, it was nothing serious.”

“I still want to hear about it,” he said with a wink, and he helped Taryn to stand.

Overhead, the shroud creaked and thrummed as it cranked open.  Stray gusts tossed Valerie’s hair, danced between Taryn’s head feathers and ruffled Gavin’s vest.  For a moment, all three looked to the stars, before turning to walk the gritty path, heading for the inn that awaited them.

Upon arriving, they spotted a dusty luxury sedan parked in front of the drive, with two well-dressed marines standing on either side of the vehicle’s back doors.  Gavin, Taryn and Valerie cut wide, giving it plenty of room.  As they passed by the back of the car, one of the rear doors opened, and Dryden stepped out.

“Gavin Santiago!” he called out.

Gavin stopped and turned around.  “Yes?”  Valerie tightly squeezed his hand, and Taryn moved protectively to the other side of him.

Dryden wore a friendly smile as he approached, his hand outstretched.  Gavin gripped it firmly and shook.  “I’m Admiral Dryden Decker.”

Gavin’s eyes widened.  “
The
Dryden Decker?”

Dryden nodded.

“I thought I recognized you,” he said and laughed nervously.  He cleared his throat.  “Wow, this is an honor, sir!  What’s the occasion?”

“I’m sad to say it’s a rather dire one.”  He released Gavin’s grip, and his cheer faded, though his smile remained.  “We’ve been looking for you, Mr. Santiago.  You’re a very talented young man.  Unique, in fact.”

Gavin crossed his arms.  “What exactly do you mean by that?”

Dryden gestured toward the luxury sedan.  “Will you join me?”

Valerie leaned in and whispered, “Gavin, don’t.”

“No, Valerie, it’s okay.”  He exhaled heavily.

“You’re Valerie Sawyer?” asked Dryden.

Suspiciously, she studied him for a moment before answering, “I am.”

“Good!  That saves me a trip.”  With two hands, he gestured toward his car.  “Will you both join me?”

“Why should we do that?” she asked.

Patiently, Dryden explained, “Because the Union is facing a threat to its very existence, and I know what Gavin can do.”  He held her gaze.  “And I know what you can do.”

“What about me?” asked Taryn.

“You’re free to go,” said the admiral.

She hugged Gavin and watched as they climbed inside the sedan.  Its taillights brightened as the headlights switched on, and it drove away.

Chapter 21

An excerpt from Thorne’s Galactic Encyclopedia, regarding K’n-yal…

Positioned one ring closer to the sun than her sister world of Ry’leh, K’n-yal shares a similar range of temperatures and seasonal periods, though has little else in common.  Vast oceans of emerald surround patchwork masses of vividly colored land, giving the shorelines an appearance of glowing green outlines.  Flocks of great flying beasts wing through the air.  Clouds ever heavy with rain travel slowly through the troposphere.

During a forgotten time, under the rule of the long disbanded Kwercian Forest of Planets, K’n-yal had been a jewel of civilization, a witness to the balance that could be achieved between sentience and the natural order.  The tree-like kwercians had reached for the stars on the backs of colossal living starships, and for millennia had spread like moss and ivy across the vast reaches of the central galaxy.

It was their meeting with the humans of Earth on January 27, 2153 that gave birth to the first interstellar alliance, laying the groundwork for what would later become the Galactic Union of Allied Worlds.  Driven by their desire for greatness, the kwercians exchanged their way of life for the secrets of electronics and synthetics, and the natural balance they tended was lost.  Made to dock in spaceports alongside starships made of plastic and steel, their living starships no longer recognized the people they once ferried.  On September 21, 2371, the longships vanished.

Their heads now filled with visions of Earth’s great metropolises, the kwercians returned to K’n-yal, intent on surpassing their human allies.  Soon, great cities stretched from shore to shore, but the byproducts of advanced industry strangled K’n-yal’s skies and poisoned her seas.  In time, she could no longer sustain life.  On December 13, 2647, the people that once called her home abandoned her to an endless, gray winter.

On May 20, 2792, the Union’s remediation fleet found its way to K’n-yal.  To the surprise of the reclamation crews, K’n-yal had returned to its natural glory.  The most prominent scientific minds flocked to the mysteriously resurrected planet.  While the reasons for nature’s return could not be isolated, Union environmentalists nonetheless seized the chance to establish nature preserves, transplanting many of the galaxy’s endangered species to regions where they could thrive.

On May 29, 2792, kwercian leaders exercised the right of imminent domain to assume custodianship of K’n-yal.  Food grew abundantly, and rich veins of rare metals and minerals abounded.  Although Ry’lyeh was hardly inhabitable at the time, its proximity to K’n-yal made it an appealing candidate for terraforming.

By August 15, 2812, Ry’lyeh was fully remade and established as the seat of the Union Navy’s Star Fleet.

Legends of the kwercian longships have since faded into the mists of folklore and myth, found now in texts of questionable scientific value and sold alongside incense, charms and talismans.

·· • ··

Upon Ry’lyeh’s surface, deep in the Union’s Command Center, Gavin and Valerie sat and waited, quietly talking to each other.  “Hey, guys,” said Zerki, as she stepped inside.  It was a large room, brightly lit, crowded with computer stations and holographic displays.  Near the back, where Gavin and Valerie sat, several rows of chairs faced a large glass screen.  Presently, it displayed an image of a brown and blue planet with no visible cloud cover, slowly rotating in place.

Gavin looked surprised.  “Captain, what are you doing here?”

Valerie stood up as Zerki drew near.  “You’re blocking me, again!  You’ve been blocking me since we were on Varuna!”  She watched Zerki sit down at her side and lean back in her chair.  “Why?”

“I’m sorry, Val.  I really am.  I’ll explain it all, one day, I promise.”  She regarded Valerie calmly, following with her eyes as she sat back down.

Gavin leaned forward.  “How come you’re here?”

“Dryden asked me to come.”

At that moment, Dryden entered and crossed to the glass board.  “The Union’s great hope,” he said with a friendly smile.  “I’m going to show you some things.”  He called up images of citywide devastation.  Bones of the countless dead littered the streets, framed by enormous buildings.  The metropolis was dense with ornate buttresses and bridges.  “This is Thasad, the ellogon home world,” Dryden stated.  “The same fate awaits Earth, if the ithirals aren’t stopped.”