Apex (27 page)

 

Chapter 29

R
IAX
FLEW
HIS
starfighter back into orbit and landed in the
Resolute
's bay a mere seven hours after he'd left, with Orrona waiting for him at the foot of his ship when he debarked. Marren and Ella emerged from the shadows as well.

“That was quick,” Orrona commented.

“We need to keep on the move,” Riax commented as he narrowed his eyes. “What's wrong?”

“We think it's time to call for support,” she said as the other two joined the impromptu council. “This ship's sensor profile must be common knowledge by now, and with all the upgrades you've made we can't leave it behind either.”

“You think they'll be waiting for us at Iras?” Riax surmised.

“It's a jumpship hub,” Ella weighed in. “They'd be stupid not to.”

“Add in the fact that we've only seen mercs chasing us since we left Borris,” Marren reminded him, “and the question remains . . . where are the major players at? I doubt their fleets just turned tail and went home.”

“With the battleship in tow, our speed is limited,” Riax said, laying out their options. “Even so, the jump to Iras will only take nineteen days. That's not enough time for a jumpship to arrive from even the edge of Cres space, and I don't like the odds with us waiting it out somewhere. The faster we move the safer we are.”

“Call for support to meet us down the line,” Orrona suggested. “Unless you want to hide the
Resolute
and take alternate transport.”

“We're past that now. I can't leave all this unattended,” he said, gesturing to the Human technology strewn about the cargo bay. “But if I send a signal that our enemies can intercept, we'll be walking into a trap at any rendezvous point we arrange.”

“Either way, we don't like our chances,” Marren announced. “We need to get off the grid again.”

Riax gripped his right hand in his left and massaged it as he thought, a habit he'd picked up since regrowing it. “With the engine upgrades I've made, we can exit at a jumppoint outside the star system, assuming we're not in a hurry getting there. We can send the Concordat battleship ahead of us, hang back on the periphery, and take a look at what's waiting for us before we dive into the fray.”

“There's a chance the battleship has been tagged by now too,” Ella added.

“No choice there,” Riax declared. “It has to exit deep within the system. It doesn't have the engine power to do otherwise.”

“Maybe we should split up,” Marren suggested. “If we have to make a run for it the battleship is only going to slow us down.”

“Forget the mercs and forget the technology,” Ella interrupted. “We have to get
you
out of here. Nothing else matters. If we need to abandon this ship, then do it. Dump it in a star if you're worried about it falling into enemy hands.”

“I don't think Jalia will be too hot on that idea,” Riax commented.

“Doesn't matter,” Ella argued. “With what we're paying her she can afford to buy ten ships. Getting you to safety is the priority, and right now this ship is just too hot to risk going any further with.”

“I'm inclined to agree,” Orrona added.

Riax held up a hand to forestall more comments. “Point taken.”

The Human remained silent for a long time, considering all options and weighing their odds. He'd been down this logic path multiple times already, but hadn't liked the options. He'd preferred to keep searching for new ones, but the Cres were right. Something had to change.

“We split up,” he said at last. “With the reactor I've installed, this ship won't have to refuel again, so it can hang out on the periphery of star systems, take the long route around to the jumplines, and slowly make its way through the backwater systems, the more remote the better. Stay out of sight, stay anonymous, and keep this cargo safe. I need it to start rebuilding, otherwise I'm going to have to start from scratch and that is a headache I do not want to tackle.

“When we get to Iras, I'll go planetside and lose myself in the mix along with one of you. We'll make our way through the jumpship network to Cres territory, then send a jumpship and escorts back to pick up the
Resolute
. I'll modify this ship's communication systems so it can receive interstellar signals and I'll build another transmitter using Cres technology, that way the jumpship can locate you for pickup and we don't have to worry about the signal being traced.”

Orrona nodded. “Risky, but I think stealth is our best option, on both fronts.”

“What of the battleship?” Marren asked.

“We'll need it to get to the surface,” Riax said. “I can't take any of my craft, they'd draw immediate attention.”

“So you need to transfer ships before we jump,” Orrona noted.

“Yeah,” Riax said, looking around. His eyes fell on the pair of starfighters and the kelzats parked next to them. “Sorry fellas, looks like there's going to be another delay. I'll be back for you later.”

The Cres thought he was talking nostalgically until the kelzats bobbed their heads and spoke in a flurry of electronic bleeps before kneeling in a power conserving stance that didn't require their ‘muscle' fibers to actively support them aloft. Simultaneously, shorter bleeps sounded from the fighters that remained motionless.

Orrona raised her eyebrows in Riax's direction.

“Ah, don't mess with them while I'm gone, alright?” he asked/warned in a joking manner.

“Are they sentient?” Orrona asked.

“Depends how you define sentient,” Riax wavered. “They're autonomous when need be.”

“I thought they were just ships,” Ella commented, looking at the Human tech around the bay anew.

“Just them,” Riax answered her glance. “Save for the workers.”

“Who will be your escort?” Orrona asked, back on task.

“I'll take Ella. You two will be tasked with protecting all this and the crew. Lay low, move slowly. You should be good on foodstuffs for several months, but the Kayna will run out before that. Use your discretion when you need to resupply . . . no, wait, actually we can take care of that now. Find out where the battleship is and there should be an exchange nearby. The Rikator allow some commerce to come through the system, so you should be able to purchase what you need. If not, I'll ask the Matriarch for assistance, though I'd prefer not having to do that.”

“I'll get on it,” Marren offered, nodding respectfully before jogging off in the direction of the nearest ramp.

“Take care of the Kayna,” he told Orrona. “I'd take them with me if I could, but . . .”

“There won't be any trouble,” she said confidently.

“It's not that. They need guidance and training, and they're loyal to me, not you. I'll explain the situation before I leave, but sitting in a ship for months more isn't going to be easy on them.”

“Not a lot different than the merc ship, I'd imagine.”

“True,” Riax admitted, “but they need to be active. Keep them running through drills as much as you can. I haven't told them, but I'm making some small genetic alterations and the physical activity is necessary for it to fully process.”

“What type of alterations?”

“Removing mental inhibitors. Whoever did this to them wanted them to become weapons without a will of their own. Their original minds are still present, but subjugated by additional brain tissue that acts as a regulator. That is what I'm slowly removing, and in order to activate dormant portions of their psyche . . .”

“ . . . they need to be active,” she finished. “I understand.”

“And keep an eye on Jalia,” he added. “She's skilled, but very naïve.”

“She's young,” Orrona said dismissively.

“Nevertheless, she's done things that no other living Junta has. I want to bring them back into the fold and I think she'll be key to that.”

“Cres know how to hide,” Orrona mildly chastised him. “We'll take care of this ship and its contents, you worry about yourself. Without you, none of this matters.”

Riax nodded. “Thank you, again.”

Orrona smiled and returned his respectful gesture.

Riax looked over at Ella. “Time to pack.”

“Y
OU
'
RE
LEAVIN
G
?” J
ALIA
asked when she found him working on the
Resolute
's comm system, his head buried inside a console.

“Temporarily,” Riax said from inside. “We'll meet up again in Cres territory.”

“Why aren't we sticking together?”

The Human sighed, then pulled himself out from under the panel. “This ship has a giant target on its back. Odds are we won't be able to make it to a jumpship, but me and one of the Cres probably can. It's a lot easier to hide two ­people than a two kilometer long ship.”

“You won't have any backup,” she argued.

“I know, but we'll be very hard to track. And right now that's the best defense we have.”

“And the rest of us are supposed to do what, exactly?”

“Make your way to Cres space, slowly,” Riax said, standing up and facing his friend. “With the engine modifications I've made you can jump in and out of star systems on the periphery if you maintain the same speed as we've been traveling. You should be able to keep hidden at range and creep around to the next jumppoint without anyone's being the wiser.”

“So why aren't you staying with us then?”

He placed both hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eye. “Because it will take years to get to Cres space if we go that way. If I go I can build tech for the Cres that will allow them to come back, find you, pick you up, and bring you back to me far faster than this ship can go on its own. If I stay we have to wait it out.”

“You've been in a crate for 16,000 years. What's a few more in the grand scheme of things?”

“Did I mention Humans are impatient?” he said deadpan.

Jalia punched him in the chest. “This isn't funny.”

He grabbed her wrist and held it gently, but firmly in his hand, then reached down and grabbed her other one and held them both together in front of him, staring into her green eyes.

“I know you want to stay with me, and spending time getting to know you on a long trip in virtual isolation may seem appealing . . .”

“Very,” she confirmed.

“But I have work to do. The galaxy is a mess and it's not cleaning itself up. I can't start to fix things until I get the technological seeds on this ship to their destination. I can do that faster by sneaking there by myself and getting help. Once I get to the Cres I'll have them send a jumpship with escorts back to pick you and this ship up,” Riax continued emphatically. “You won't have to wait that long. A year tops.”

“If you make it,” Jalia reminded him.

“Twenty credits say we do.”

Jalia smiled in spite of her ill mood. “And how am I supposed to collect if you're dead?”

“Not my problem,” he said, giving her a soothing kiss on the forehead before locking eyes with her.

“This is reckless,” she whispered.

“And you weren't when you took the Cres onboard?”

“Ouch . . . guilty as charged.”

“It'll work,” he promised her.

“You trust the mercs?”

“I'm not worried about them giving us up,” Riax assured her, “but if there's a fleet waiting for us at Iras and the Concordat have been tagged as our allies, things might get a bit hairy.”

“I'd say that's a pretty big hole in the plan.”

“They won't blow it up,” Riax said definitively.

Jalia frowned. “And you know that how?”

“They won't know if I'm aboard or not. Until they confirm that, they either have to board the ship or keep it under surveillance. Plus, I'm not sure how interested they'll be in attacking the Concordat out of vengeance for helping us. If they don't think I'm there they might just let them go.”

“A lot of ‘ifs' there,” she pointed out.

“I know, but we won't be aboard long. If we can make it planetside we'll be alright, even if we miss the first available jumpship.”

“Let me go with you instead of Ella. Junta blend in better than Cres do.”

“She has the contacts and the currency.”

“Then let me come with you two.”

“And abandon your ship?”

“Not my first choice, no.”

“But you'd be willing to do it for me?”

“Are you in my head again?”

“Don't need to be.”

“Yes, I would.”

“Sorry, but I'm not risking my new best friend. You'll be safer here, and until we can get the
Resolute
to Cres space, you and the others will be in constant danger. I can protect you all better by shortening the timetable, but to do that I have to go on ahead.”

“I still don't like it.”

Riax let go of her arms, but she kept them up and rested them against his chest as she leaned into him.

“I know.”

“Can't you think of some other way?”

“I'd stay with you and my tech if I could, but I need to get you all to safety as soon as possible.”

“I don't mind living dangerously.”

“That we have in common.”

Jalia balled up a fist and hit him again. “Why do you have to be so . . . smug?”

“What would you prefer?”

“I don't know,” she said, leaning her head against his, leaving their eyes an inch apart, but she was looking down at her hands and his body. “This just feels wrong.”

“I have to do this.”

“Fine,” she said at last.

Riax paused for a moment, reading her mind, then he wrapped her up in a big hug. “I understand.”