Reavers (Book 3) (49 page)

“What just happened?”  Tardos asked as he struggled to catch the wind that had been knocked out of him.

“I think Kevin just saved us,” Revel said in awe.

“What is this fog?  How are you . . .” the Weaver muttered in a strained voice as she collapsed to one knee.

“Blocking your abilities?” Kevin asked.  “That’s a long story.  One I’d rather not share.  My family business is my own, thank you.  Although, you might want to stop trying to control me before you hurt yourself.”

The Circle members stared at the unconscious guards, the straining Weaver, and the elite trooper - who hadn’t even broken a sweat.

“It would appear we are at your mercy,” one of the distorted voices said.  “What do you plan to do to us?”

“Me?” Kevin asked in surprise.  “I don’t plan to do anything.  I’m here on behalf of a good friend.”

He unbuttoned the top of his shirt and reached into a concealed compartment.  Fearing a bomb or some other weapon, the Circle cringed in place - not daring to run or anger the elite trooper.  The object Kevin pulled out of his shirt was unlike anything they had seen before.  It was a solid black half sphere that easily fit in his hand.  Carefully placing the semi-sphere on the ground, Kevin took a few steps back and stood at attention.

“It’s done, sir.”

A light green hue filled the floor around the black semi-sphere.  The outer shell of the semi-sphere broke off into six pieces and a plume of green light gently rose from the device.  The six pieces lifted off the ground and moved into a diamond formation.  Slowly they started to spin and rotate around the plume of light.  The speed of the six fragments increased, growing faster and faster.  The diamond shape faded into a sphere of swirling light.  The light danced and played within the barrier created by the six black fragments.

Rosalyn and her crew remained on the floor, fearful that their standing would upset whatever was happening.  The dancing lights shown brilliantly in the mirror masks as each member of the Circle locked their gaze on the spectacle.  A vague form started to take shape, a blob of green light that was slowly coalescing in on itself.  The blob took on more defined detail as the light steadied at a constant illumination.  The form was of a head, the floating head of a man.  Ears and a nose took shape as the head finally finished taking on form.

“Can you hear me?” the green face asked.

“Loud and clear, sir,” Kevin said.  “Although, this is a bit unnerving.”

“I’m sorry about that, but there was no other way.  If I used a standard communications device, the local military would have been alerted to the presence of the Circle.”

“You
don’t
want to expose us?” one of the distorted voices asked.

“Not at all,” the head said warmly.  “In fact, I need your assistance.”

“We don’t normally deal with people in this manner.”

“I beg your pardon; it must be quite a shock.  My name is Brent and this man who’s infiltrated your ranks is my good friend Dante.”

“Don’t you mean Kevin?” Tardos asked aloud.

The head spun in place to focus on Tardos and the others behind him.

“No need to cower,” Brent said.  “Please, come closer - or at least sit comfortably.”

“Who are you?” Rosalyn asked as she slowly stood.

“Well, you know my name but I doubt that’s what you mean.  The story is long and not really important for the time being.  So why don’t we just say I’m a concerned third party.”

“And what would this
concerned third party
ask of us?” one of the female Circle members asked.

“Truth be told, when I set all this up my aim was to get you to pull back on the raiding.  To let vital building and medical supplies travel freely.  No offense, but you have slowed down the rebuilding efforts by at least three fold.  I expected faster results, Dante,” he said with a playful smile.

“There were complications, sir,” he said, standing at attention.

“We will not be bullied into . . .” one of the Circle protested in an annoying loud voice.

“Oh, shut up chrome dome,” Rosalyn shouted over him.  “Didn’t you notice he said ‘was?’  That
was
his aim.  I’m guessing you have something else in mind now?”

“It’s nice to know that even among pirates there are fools and level headed thinkers,” Brent said with a small grin.  “You are perfectly correct.  As Cain would say, there has been a change in the narrative.  We have more to worry about than just rebuilding.”

“What could worry a being like you?” one of the male Circle members asked.

“A being like me?” Brent asked in surprise.  “Dante, what exactly do I look like on that end?”

“A giant green floating disembodied head, sir,” he said as he tried to keep from smiling.

“I am Oz - the great and powerful!” Brent said in an overly dramatic voice.

Everyone exchanged unsure glances at one another.

“Sir?” Dante asked.

“Sorry, I couldn’t resist.  Maybe I have been hanging around Cain too much.  It’s an old joke based on a reference I doubt many remember.  Hold on a moment.”

Abruptly, the head disappeared completely back into the green light.  A moment later a new form took shape, this time of his entire body, scaled down a bit too far, making him look just a hair taller than Tardos.

“Better?”  Brent asked.

“Much, although you are a bit on the short side now,” Dante confirmed.

“I don’t know, I kind of like him this way,” Tardos said as he confidently stood next to the young man he knew as Kevin.

“It will have to do,” Brent said as he folded his arms.  “I’m still getting used to some of this Shard technology.”

“You are a Shard?” Andreas asked in surprise as he stood protectively in front of Rosalyn.

“That’s a hard question to answer,” he said as he scratched his head.  “I’m not here to kill anyone, and I don’t dream of the extinction of the human race, if that’s what you’re worrying about.”

“He’s a puff of smoke,” Rosalyn said indignantly as she walked around Andreas.  “Even if he was a Shard, he couldn’t harm a hair on our heads.”

“His puppet might,” a female Circle member said as she gestured to Dante.

“Kevin didn’t hurt anyone!” Tardos instantly protested.  “He could have, but he didn’t!”

“It’s Dante,” he said as he shrugged to Tardos.  “Sorry for the confusion, but I couldn’t use my real name.”

“Really?” the short old man asked with a hint of disappointment.  “I think I like Kevin better, much lighter.  Dante sounds so . . . dark.”

“A pirate complaining about something being dark?” Brent asked with a smile.  “Sounds like an odd concept for people who live off the misery of others.”

“They are not all as bad as I thought,” Dante said begrudgingly.

“Good to hear,” the man in green said warmly.  “But I fear time is short.  I need your assistance; the entire Commonwealth needs your help.”

“Our help?” one of the mirror-masked Circle asked.  “Didn’t you just describe us as those who live off the misery of others.”

“I did,” he said with a nod.  “That’s also why we need you.”

“What are you . . .”

Abruptly, the image of Brent vanished and was replaced with a bird’s eye view of a rural world.  The view had all the detail expected, but was completely green.  Vast fields of grain and animals dotted the landscape.

“This is Jeirude,” his voice spoke over the image.  “It’s a ranching rim world of little strategic or economic value.”

In the center of one of the fields a massive explosion erupted.  As the field burned, a second and third denotation erupted nearby.  The view panned until it was looking into the sky.  Several V shaped asteroids were dropping bomb after bomb.

“Roughly three weeks ago, it was savagely attacked.”

“By who?” Rosalyn asked.  “Some of your Shard friends?”

The view instantly changed, and the massive form of a black spider dominated the image.  A few gasps escaped from the Circle as they realized it had nine, not eight, legs and was larger than any building in the image.  The massive spider fired a beam at one of the attacking craft but did no damage.

“Shard forces put up a
defense
of the world to little effect.  Little is known about our foe except that they are almost immune to energy based weapons, and that they can move at speeds that should be impossible.”

“You want our help with
this
?” a male member of the Circle asked.  “Let the Shard and whoever it is duke it out on their own.”

“Jeirude is a planet within the Commonwealth,” Brent said glumly.  “The goal of the attackers is unclear, but at the moment it looks like they want us all dead.  Every attempt to communicate with them has ended in death and disaster.”

“How do you know all this?” Revel asked.

“I’m currently in possession of a Military Intelligence craft and have scoured its database thoroughly,” he said, sounding oddly embarrassed.

“So you work for MI?”

“Not at all.  I was apprehended by their agents and am currently en route to their staging ground.  I’d rather not go into details on that matter, if you don’t mind.”

“It doesn’t matter who you are or who you work for,” one of the mirror-masked men shouted.  “If the Shard cannot defeat them, we’ll do no better.”

“That’s where you are wrong.”  The image of Jeirude faded and Brent reappeared with a grin.  “As I said, you feast on the misery of others.  That means you have to be able to deal with other humans.  The Navy uses weapons designed primarily for dealing with the Shard and other heavily armored, slow moving targets.  Against this new threat, most of their weapons are useless.  You, on the other hand . . .”

“We don’t use energy weapons; they destroy not disable,” Andreas said as he put the pieces together.  “Are you saying our weapons are superior to the Navy’s?”

“In some ways, yes.”  Brent nodded and turned his back on the Circle to face Rosalyn and her crew.  “The average pirate ship has triple the number of missile launchers, and fires ordinance that travel twice as fast as the Navy equivalent.  The MI records I’ve uncovered suggest that missile weapons are very effective against these mystery invaders.”

“So you want us to risk life and limb against this threat . . . because you asked
nicely
?” Rosalyn asked.

“If it’s a reward you’re after,” Brent said with a grin, “I’m sure I could arrange something suitable.”

“The Circle will never agree to this,” a loud distorted voice shouted.  “Let the Navy handle this.  We do not owe humanity anything, and I will not risk my men on a fool’s errand.”

“Fine,” Brent said with a shrug.  “Have it your way.  Ignore the problem.  But know this.  The enemy has a single base.  One.  In the last six months they have increased the number of craft we can detect by at least six fold and we don’t even have a clue how many more are hiding inside the base.  That’s with a single base.  When they take another world - that is a when, not an if -
When
they take another world they will
double
that amount of production.  By the time they reach you here, they will no doubt have claimed dozens of worlds.  There is no second chance.  If you decide not to fight now, know there will not be a second option.”

“You can’t threaten us,” the mirror-masked man said firmly.

“Threatening?” Brent asked in surprise.  “That wasn’t a threat.  That was just a neutral analysis of the situation.  If I wanted to threaten you, I’d let you know that for the moment MI is focused on this.  If we fail and are wiped out, you can be certain that whatever is left of MI will hunt you down to make sure you pay for betraying the human race.”

A few of the Circle shifted under their robes uncomfortably.

“I’m transmitting coordinates for the rendezvous point,” Brent said, completely undeterred.  “If any of you have second thoughts, I’d suggest you act sooner rather than later.  I’ve attached the date of the operation as well.  We will wait until that point in time.  If you haven’t joined us by then - we will attempt to deal with this threat alone.”

With that, the transmission ended, and the six black fragments landed back in their original positions on the semi-sphere.

A heavy sense of fear and worry overwhelmed Jack’s senses.  The emotion was so strong it let him forget the monumental headache that was lurking in the back of his head.  With a casual yawn, he sat up and turned to face Nathan.

“What brings you out here?” Jack asked.

Nathan jumped out of his chair and stared at Jack in surprise.

“Well that’s a fine way to wake up,” he said as he caught his breath.  “You’ve been out of it practically forever, and that’s your first question?  Or do you just like trying to scare me?”

“Seemed reasonable to me.”  Jack shrugged.

“Reasonable?  No question of who was at your side all this time?  How long you were out?  What happened after you lost consciousness?”

“Your ever present sense of worry gave you away I’m afraid.  No one else in the Commonwealth worries half as much as you do.  As for the other questions, I’m not dead, so obviously things ended well.”

“I might worry, but you are too calm for your own good!  This is a terrible mess you’ve gotten yourself into.”

“Oh?  How bad have things gotten?”

“That’s the thing, I have no idea!  As an Administer, I’m used to being kept in the dark somewhat.  However, most people are at least courteous about it.  These Weaver wannabes won’t give me the time of day.  I’ll have you know I was practically kidnapped without a single explanation why until I was unceremoniously dumped in this room with your unconscious body!”

“Ah, so we’re still hanging out with MI.  They like their secrets.”

“I’ve gathered that.”  Nathan folded his arms.  “Arrogant, too.  They demand I drop everything at the academy, and then they abandon me here.  I think they called me out here just to baby-sit you.  As if I had a clue what to do.  Which I could have told them, if they had just
asked
.”

“No doubt dumping me on anyone they could,” he said with a grin.  “Would you want to deal with a damaged Master Weaver?”

“Wrong person to ask.  I’ve been putting up with you since our days in the academy.”  Nathan chuckled to himself.  “Although, Helen will probably kill me for not telling her.”

“Tell me what?” Helen asked from the doorway.

Nathan instantly fell out of his chair at the surprise.  Jack gingerly got out of bed and helped him to his feet.

“They called me in, too,” she said with an apologetic smile, “although I didn’t just drop things.  I made them wait until
I
was ready.”

“I know I’ve said this a thousand times, but you two are perfect for one another,” Nathan said with a smile as he dusted himself off.  “Although, I’ll never understand how you two can balance your natural stubbornness.”

“So, how is my reckless husband?” Helen asked with a light blush.

“Still alive, more or less,” Jack said.

“More or less?” Nathan asked, obviously worried.

“That . . .
encounter
took its toll, but I think I’m back in one piece.”

“Encounter?” Helen asked.

“Right!  No one has told either of you anything.”  Jack rolled his eyes.  “Drag people out of their lives and Military Intelligence can’t even be bothered to think up a cover story.”

“I gather it’s serious,
whatever
it is,” Nathan said with frown.  “Never been called during one of your jobs before.  Most times I get the story months later when you stop by the academy for a visit.”

“It’s not nice to make a beautiful woman wait,” Helen said with a smile.  “Spill.”

Jack chuckled and gave his wife a long kiss.  He wondered how exactly to put into words the
thing
he had sensed.  During the operation with the MI, he had gotten a clear picture of one of the aggressors.  Its emotions weren’t normal.  Not even remotely so.  There were hints of common things like fear and anger, but the being was
much
deeper.

Level upon level of emotions that Jack had never encountered before, all of them existing and fading in an elaborate dance of sorts.  Or maybe it was better to call it a song.  There was almost a melody and a pattern to the shifting of emotions, but it was far beyond his understanding.  Their enemy was either emotionally unstable in the extreme - or alien.  As Jack tried to figure out where to start, a single tone rang out.

“This is commander Yamakawa,” the public address system spoke clearly throughout the entire ship.  “Would all essential personnel please report to my office immediately.”

Something seemed odd about the sudden message, but Jack couldn’t put his finger on it.  With a shrug, he dismissed it as fatigue and started walking down the corridors of the ship.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Helen asked as she joined his side.

“Last I checked I was still on the essential personnel list for the last operation.”  Jack smiled to himself, “although I’m sure he won’t be happy to see me.”

“Was it just me, or did that voice sound . . . young?” Nathan asked as he quickly kept step behind the two.

“That was Nobue Yamakawa, current commander of this ship,” Jack said over his shoulder.  “Don’t think the kid has seen any actual combat.  But I wouldn’t let that color your opinion of him.  He’s got a
killer
nasty streak in him.  After all, nice kids don’t become MI commanders.”

“Kids?”  Helen asked with a slightly raised eyebrow.  “How old is he?”

“No clue.  Mid to upper twenties would be my guess.  I’d be shocked if he was thirty.”

“That’s not a kid, Jack,” Nathan said as he restrained a chuckle.  “We’re just old.”

Helen glanced over her shoulder.

“Don’t give me that look,” Nathan protested.  “
You
were the one who married a fossil.”

Jack laughed as she sighed.

“You know, it’s not nice to call my bride a fossil,” he said with a grin.

“Have you lost your sense of hearing?  I called you a fossil . . . and myself one by association I suppose.”

“Nathan, she’s two years
older
than I am.”

He came to a complete halt and stared wide eyed at Helen.

“Didn’t you know?” she asked as she turned to face him.

“I had no clue,” Nathan stammered.  “I had always thought . . . I thought Jack was robbing the cradle.  You’re not pulling my leg, are you?”

“What do you mean robbing the cradle?” Jack asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, you are ruggedly handsome,” Helen said as she tried not to laugh.

“She means you
do
look like a fossil,” Nathan joined in.

“Very funny, Nathan.”  Jack rolled his eyes.

“I suppose I should take all this as a compliment then,” Helen said with a warm smile.  “You honestly didn’t know, Nathan?”

“Cross my heart and hope to die with a shred of dignity.”

Helen’s chuckling died out as they entered Nobue’s oversized office.  Jack stood perfectly rigid, like a vicious animal was staring him down.  Nathan started acting strangely, too, rubbing his eyes and blinking profusely.  As Helen looked over the massive room, she found nothing out of the ordinary. 

Like any other military ship, the walls were a gleaming white.  The only thing that was remotely odd was that the assembled troopers weren’t wearing the dull black she had seen the MI personnel wear.  As she studied those not in the dull black uniform, a strange sense of familiarity filled her.  It dawned on her that she knew them.  In fact, she had treated several of them as a doctor back on the academy.

“
Brent
?” Jack called out reluctantly.

“Weaver Davis!” he shouted back.  “I didn’t expect to find you here.”

“You’re one to talk,” Nathan said.  “What are all of you doing here?”

“Wish I knew,” Cain said with a small smile.  “A bunch of nasty MI troopers abducted us and dragged us all here.  Gave us a bit of a shower, too.”

“A shower?” Jack asked.

“You’ll have to forgive the manners of our agents,” a deep, gruff voice announced.  “Commander Yamakawa asked them to arrange this little reunion but forgot to mention they should be civil to our guests.”

“I’m sure it just slipped his mind,” Cain said sarcastically.

“And who are you?” Tyra asked.

“You can call me Agent Kántor.  Nobue will arrive shortly.  He had some . . . stowaways to deal with.”

The sounds of struggle in the distance slowly developed.  After a while, several armed MI agents in dull black uniforms literally drug in four troopers.  Brent didn’t recognize a single one of them, although Henry seemed to be startled by their presence. 

He thought to ask Henry how he knew them, when he realized one of the female troopers had stopped struggling and had locked her gaze on him.  A look of fear filled her face as her eyes adhered to him.  When the MI agents released the troopers, the frightened girl hid behind one of the male troopers and dared only peek occasionally at him.

“Kindra?” Rhea shouted in alarm.

Lifting his glance from the hiding girl, Brent found Kindra and Sanderson being led into the room.  Kindra had a worried expression on her face, while Sanderson seemed to be simply miffed.

“So this is where you two disappeared to!”  Cain bellowed.  “You know, I’ve been looking all over for you.  Hold on . . . why are you together anyways?”

Kindra glanced at Sanderson with a particular kind of embarrassment that Brent was all too familiar with.  He hadn’t figured Kindra to be as easily embarrassed about relationships as Cassandra was.  Angela quickly blushed and elbowed Cain.  As one of Cain’s eyebrows slowly raised, a loud abrasive tapping sound filled the room.

“Excellent, looks like all my
favorite
people are here,” a man said as he drummed his fingers on the sole desk in the room.

The man had entered without anyone noticing and was apparently not enjoying the show.  He wore the same dull black as the others, but had a few pins and badges that no doubt denoted his rank as a superior.  As Brent studied the man at the desk, he realized his glance shifted between Sanderson and the male trooper that was concealing the girl.  The man had no love for either.

“I told you Nabie was up to no good,” Frank whispered.  “That had to have been the first time I’ve ever heard him say
please
.”

“Knock off the tough guy routine,” Diana whispered back as she slugged him in the shoulder.  “Unless you want to make Zia cry when he
kills
you, call him Nobue and pretend to be civil.”

Frank held his tongue.  Zia had been clinging to his back ever since they had been drug before Nobue - although she didn’t seem to be worrying about him.  She had been staring at one of the other troopers in the room.  They weren’t wearing the uniform of MI, but they were definitely troopers.  They all carried themselves like Sanderson did.  The very way they stood was proof they were a force to be reckoned with.

He couldn’t help but wonder exactly how dangerous they were.  He, along with everyone else who joined the military
after
the Shard invasion, had gotten a quick shove through an academy.  His training had been brief, and his assignment had been nothing more than an extra body for a planetary garrison.

These people, on the other hand, had gone through full training and looked like they had seen their share of action.  Despite all that, the man Zia was locked on seemed - playful.  Frank couldn’t think of any other way to put it.  He had a warm smile and seemed to be enjoying the small confrontation.  Of all the people gathered in the room, he couldn’t help but feel he was the least threatening.

“What do you want, Nobue?” Sanderson asked in a polite, formal voice.

“Just like you to be so calm.”  Nobue snickered.  “You do know it’s against regulations to hide troopers in your quarters, right?”

“I believe it’s also against regulations to drag troopers away from their duty assignments without authorization.”

Nobue’s smile faded.

“What’s the meaning of all this?” Jack asked in a strong voice.

“Nothing that concerns a Master Weaver like you,” Nobue said diplomatically.  “Just an internal matter.”

“So you regularly kidnap people to solve your little problems?” Cain asked.  “Sounds like Military Intelligence could use a few more trust building exercises.  You know, Core Industries has several very good consultants that could help out with that . . .”

“Hold your tongue,” Gazsi growled at him.

With a smirk, Cain stuck out his tongue at Gazsi and then gingerly grabbed the tip between his thumb and forefinger.

“Ike issh?” he asked as he continued to literally hold his tongue.

Despite himself, Nobue let out a brief chuckle while Nathan burst into laughter.

“Be serious for once,” Cassandra said.

“Aw, do I have to,
mommy
?” he whined as he let go of his tongue.