Tiva Boon: Heir of Abennelp (Tiva Boon Series Book 2) (35 page)

Tiva woke early and lay awake for an hour, watching Adam sleep. A soft breeze blew through the window, and she knew where she wanted to be. Creeping out of his bed, she walked out to the balcony to watch the lightening sky. The tender warm breath of air caressed her cheeks; she smiled and stripped off her sleep shirt. This would be her last time to Calm and enjoy the nature around her for a while. There was work to do once they left the safety of the Milky Way. Glancing down, she smiled slightly and jumped over the railing, flipping once before landing firmly on the ground. Nearing the pond, she quietly sighed, as comfortable as Earth was, as free as she felt with Adam, she was still incomplete. The loneliness was unbearable at times, but she was opening up to more people, sharing more of her memories and thoughts with Adam. Her bond with Aries had grown strong, and the majority of the command crew had become close friends as well. Yet, something was missing.

Once immersed in the cool water, Tiva chanted the words to the Calming one final time. The need for clarity and peace within her mind was paramount. The Union Vexillum needed every person on guard and ready for anything. She wouldn’t let them down; she owed them her life and more.

When she broke through the surface, Adam was standing on the bank watching the sun beginning its ascent. He sipped something from a mug before turning to her.

“Mornin’ m’lady.”

“Hello, Adam.”

“I brought you a towel,” he quipped and then neared the edge of the water.

“Thank you,” she replied, blushing. “How long before we must depart?”

He held the towel open as she slipped out of the water. His eyes never left her face, but she couldn’t help feeling amorous as he wrapped the cloth and his arms around her. “An hour or so, enough time to eat breakfast.” Adam kissed her cheek softly, holding her tight. “I’m glad you were able to relax. I like it when you’re like this.”

“As do I.” She sighed happily. “I wish we had more time. I wanted to tell you I was ready to…” Pausing, she looked into his eyes and he smiled back knowingly. “I wish we did not have to leave…I could stay here for the rest of my life with you and be content.”

“Me, too, but there are people relying on us out there…”

“Yes, I know.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll come back here. I promise.”

She looked deep into his eyes. “Thank you, my love.”

He smiled. “You’re welcome, Solaeshyl.”

~*~

The atmosphere around the
Tolox
when she returned was lighter than before she left. However, the sadness of recent events still lingered. Greeting her friends as she walked through the slowly filling corridors, Tiva entered the lift a step behind Aries.

Business was first, so she gave him a detailed list of the weapons she retrieved from Earth, and he handed her a datarecorder of new personnel the
Tolox
was getting before departing the repair station. One was for security, a woman named Ala C’arra, the first person to join the Vexillum from Syfark. She was a former Speego Colony chief protector. Tiva remembered the people of the colony were small and fast, C’arra would be a fine addition to the team.

After a quick review, the lift stopped and she exited. “Did you enjoy your time o-off ship?” Aries asked, following close behind.

“Adam took me sightseeing around the planet. Our time was limited, but he showed me many wonderful places.”

“I’m g-glad to hear it. Earth’s a great place to visit; you’ll have to come back some day.”

“Yes, I believe I will.” She dipped her head slightly then made her way to her area, immediately bringing the station to life. The console was brighter than before, the repairs to the ship, even minor ones, seemed to make a difference. Aliri, Emerala, and Raife walked in soon after, followed by Adam and the captain. Ewan was last to arrive an hour later, but he brought the best news. The ship was jump capable again, and they were ready to return home.

Maar received clearance from the repair station to break dock, so Raife climbed up to the hub and prepped the ship for departure. The threat of the Triune was still very close, but the crew was ready to leave the Milky Way.

As Raife guided the ship away from the repair station, Adam glanced back and winked before turning to the captain and informing him they were clear. Maar ordered them to high warp and moments later the big blue and green globe that was Earth became just another tiny fragment of light in space.

The engineering crew was able to complete four jumps out of the ship by the time shift ended. Repairs went better than expected, and the engine upgrades were at peak efficiency. Returning to Ovvella would take two days less than calculated.

Adam had a meeting with the engineering staff to go over the new weapons array Earth Fleet installed. This gave Tiva the free time to train in the VR room and walk the arboretum before heading to bed after an early dinner. Sleeping in her own bed again, she dozed off easily and woke in the morning energized and refreshed.

The mess was alive with laughter when she walked in. Aliri, Ewan, Raife and Emerala sat together eating stacks of pancakes and waffles. Emerala waved Tiva over. Before she could sit, Adam pulled out her chair and kissed her cheek. “Mornin’ m’lady,” he whispered in her ear.

“Good morning, Adam.”

“So, we have something to tell you guys and we don’t want you to be mad,” Aliri announced suddenly.

“You ate all the pancakes?” Adam joked.

“No, no…all sensor reports have to be encrypted in ancient Latin from now on, right?” Emerala giggled.

“Or-or, the VR room will not work unless you pay by the hour?” Raife snickered.

“Shut up, jeez.” Aliri rolled her eyes. Tiva shrugged, unsure what the news was. “No, um... Ewan and I got married in Las Vegas while we were on Earth.”

“Vegas? Are you kidding me?” Emerala choked. “I bought a new dress for your wedding!”

“I’m sorry,” Aliri cringed. “But you can still wear it, we’re having a reception on Ovvella before our next mission.”

Adam stuffed his mouth with a fork full of waffles. “Are you gonna have cake?”

“Of course,” Ewan answered.

“Then I’ll be there.” He winked at Tiva and continued to eat.

“We didn’t feel like trying to make everyone happy with a big planned event, so we just got married and decided to throw a party and whoever can make it is invited,” Aliri said.

“Sounds great to me,” Emerala said.

“Spirited blessings on your marriage, my friends,” Tiva said raising her glass. “May you have many years of happiness.”

Enjoying the morning meal with her friends was the perfect start to the day. Though she would rather head directly to command center with the others, she had to stop by the infirmary for a checkup. Hino was a stickler for punctuality and Tiva did not want to disappoint. The quicker he checked her the faster she could get to work.

Luckily, the infirmary was vacant. With everyone on light duties after the battle, no one really needed any medical attention. Hino checked her shoulder and leg, having heard from someone about her previous injury. He didn’t seem pleased with the fact that she had healed, but he made no further remarks about it. After checking her vitals and asking a few routine questions, he cleared her for duty.

Tiva made her way to the security office to gather the reports from Hemko and Ranndom. After settling into her chair, she reviewed the reports and inventory manifest. Feeling the ship jump was comforting, they were continuing to move closer to Ovvella.

The computer screen on her desk blinked and she accessed the console. Hill and his crew were on their way to meet the
Tolox.
All the ambassadors of the council had met and begun planning the next wave of the war. No longer was the Vexillum to remain on the defensive, they were going after the Triune Syndicate now.

Sighing, Tiva shut down the computer and exited the office. She was not one to make the first move, neither was the Union on normal days. But like her situation at home, the Union faced odds they could no longer defend, they had to be proactive and take the initiative if they wanted to win. She knew and understood this better than most, she was in the same position as leader of Abennelp. When she returned home, she would not sit by and be a defender of the throne…she was going home to end the war and the means to that end was an offensive strike.

When she arrived in the command center, Maar stood and moved to the center of the room. The captain patted Adam on his back to gain his attention and called Raife down from the hub.

“In three days the Vexillum will launch an assault on the Triune Syndicate’s main base Chomllie 5. Simultaneously, several task forces will strike various Syndicate strong holds, as well as the two known locations of the global destroyers.” He met the eyes of each person in the room. “Jay and the
Venture
are meeting us in a few hours to relay our new orders. From what I’ve gathered, the
Lexilon
and the
Hemlock
are holding position at each location. Jay will direct the primary task force to the Aillo system; they’ve located the Syndicate base on a distant moon near Bayo. We are heading to the Cobee, it seems the intelligence on the global destroyer near Ovvella was wrong and the other weapon is on a moon a short distance from Uucor.”

Tiva glanced up, more attentive after hearing his last statement. “Has the planet been notified?”

“Yes, their military is prepping vessels to join the fight, as are several of the colonies and the majority of the Union planets. The Ambassadors have called all our allies together, this strike against the Syndicate will be unlike anything we have done before. Earth is safe, but the rest of the Union territories are still at risk and we’re not taking any chances this time.”

“How sure are we about these targets?” Aliri asked.

Aries turned and glanced up at her. “One can never be c-certain, but the data has been verified through several sources, including t-the information Ms. Boon retrieved from her o-operation.”

“Yes,” Maar added, “I have confidence that the captured Syndicate members from Chomllie and Mars Colony have corroborated the evidence found elsewhere.”

“Mr. Hill will h-have more details when he a-arrives,” Aries concluded and the captain took his seat.

Ranndom and the new security officer C’arra escorted Hill and his crew commander Chettron to the captain’s office. Tiva, along with the rest of the senior crew was waiting when they arrived. He seemed very confident and there was no trace of fear within him. This was a big undertaking for any captain, yet Hill acted as if this were just another day.

“In any event,” Hill continued, getting to points the crew had not heard, “this strike will cripple the Triune Syndicate. Hopefully, it will be enough to begin negotiations. If we can find out what they want, maybe we can find the road to peace.”

His second in command rose from his chair with a datarecorder. “These are the locations of all our ships involved. Every territory and planet has been alerted and is using internal resources to protect their borders. The armada of Vexillum vessels will handle the main attack location.”
“How many are we talking about?” Raife asked.

“In total, fifty three Syndicate targets have been identified; we are striking approximately thirty of them.”

“The Union isn’t out for blood are they? We’re being sent to disable and not destroy, right?” Emerala questioned, her voice cracking slightly.

“Casualties are inevitable, Teer,” Maar interjected. “But, yes, we are to disable and try and force them to surrender. We know ships will be lost, lives will end, and sacrifices must be made for the safety of the Union. But we will do our best to ensure that fatalities are kept to a minimum.”

“Has anyone taken into consideration the fact that the majority of their ships can bolt out of the area at any given moment?” Adam turned to the captain.

“Actually,” Hill replied instead. “We have. Over the last three weeks we’ve had our best engineers and scientists working on the wormhole devices and we’ve come up with a high yield plasma torpedo that should render them inoperable if executed correctly.”