Dark Space (24 page)

   “Of all the impertinence,”
Uudon shouted as he stormed toward Shawn. “I’ll have you know that this shuttle
is the property of the Unified Historical Society!”

   “They can bill me,” Shawn
said as he neared the doctor. “And as for you, you’re coming with us whether
you like it or not.”

   Uudon looked at the
Temkorian weapon in Shawn’s hand. “And you’ll shoot me if I don’t?”

   Shawn tossed the weapon
aside. “No. I’ll do worse. I’ll leave you here … with them.” He then nodded his
head in the direction of the sullen Temkorian guards writhing on the ground
behind him.

   Uudon didn’t take long to
make up his mind. “Seeing that I have little choice now, Commander, I’ll come
peacefully.”

   Shawn bowed slightly. “I
thought you might.”

   Grabbing the doctor’s
discarded bags, Melissa cast an impatient glance at Shawn. “Come on, before
anyone can help them.”

   Nodding in agreement, the
three took off in a sprint for the
Nautilus,
with Uudon’s droid flailing
its arms as it rushed to catch up with them. Minutes later, the Unified
transport was breaking through the Torvalian atmosphere at flank speed.

%%%

   The familiar sense of
nausea came over Shawn just as the
Nautilus
exited the final jump gate.
Closing his eyes, he allowed the rhythmic pulsations of the ship’s main drive
engines to sooth him into remission.

   “We’ll be at the designated
coordinates in less than fifteen minutes,” Melissa said as she looked down to
the navigation computer. Three hours earlier, just after transiting the second
of three jump gates, Shawn had taken advantage of the encrypted communication
channel provided by Admiral Graves. He’d told the admiral of the information
Doctor Uudon had given them regarding the transmissions destination, and asked
that the admiral forward a request for Tausan’s assistance in tracking it down.
Melissa’s father had assured Shawn that he would route the request immediately,
and to wait for an answer. Less than thirty minutes later, Melissa had received
a coded set of coordinates, although there was no other information about what
was to be expected of them once they arrived there. Turning to see Shawn’s eyes
closed, she wondered briefly if the commander had fallen asleep. “Shawn?”

   “I’m still here,” he said.
“Just taking a little breather.”

   She smiled, wondering when
he’d last had a good shave—not to mention a solid night’s sleep. “You need to rest.
I’ll keep things as quiet as possible until we get there.”

   Inhaling a deep breath, he
puffed his cheeks in an exaggerated exhale. “I really should. If we have to
take this thing into Kafaran space, we’re not going to have much time on our
hands to catch up on rest.”

   Pursing her lips, she
turned to look out her view port. Thousands of light-years away, a beautiful
nebula was forming, its red and purple glow giving it the appearance of cotton
candy suspended in the dark void. “Do you really think the colonel will be able
to help us?” she said after a moment.

   “Honestly, I really don’t
know.”

   “You seemed to have made a
good impression on him the last time we were together.”

   “That was a quite a while
ago.”

   “It wasn’t that long ago.”

   Shawn smiled. “Maybe he’s
forgotten all about us.”

   “Unlikely,” she said dryly.
Shawn felt the same. While most things about Kafaran lifestyle were conjecture,
there was one undeniable fact that most anyone who dealt with them would agree:
Kafarans had a crack memory. Whether you wronged them or honored them with your
actions, it wasn’t disregarded. Ever.

   “Tausan owes me a favor,”
Shawn said with a smirk. “I’m sure of it.”

   This time Melissa laughed.
“I’m pretty sure he saved
your
life … on more than one occasion.”

   “Are you sure?” Shawn asked
in jest.

   “Pretty sure.”

   “Huh,” he mumbled, then
dismissed her words with a wave of his hand. “He still owes me … something.”

   “Why wouldn’t he just do it
because it’s the right thing to do?”

   “It’s never that easy with
a Kafaran.”

   “He’s no ordinary Kafaran,
Shawn, and you know it,” she said in defense of the colonel. “Admit it. Even
you
liked him.”

   “Liking someone isn’t a
prerequisite for being able to successfully work with them, Angel.” When he
turned to her, there was a strong look of disapproval on her face. “We have an
understanding, that’s all.”

   “The word ‘respect’ just
isn’t in your vocabulary when it comes to the Kafarans, is it?”

   He stared at her for a long
moment, knowing she wasn’t about to back down on this point. “Fine. Yes,” he
said in defeat. “I respect him. I respect the
hell
out of him, but don’t
think that means I’m going to take him to the spring dance.”

    Sighing, she began to
fidget with her fingernails. “You said once that he was a friend. What’s
changed?”

   “Friends come and go,” he
said distantly.

   “You talking about Tausan …
or Jerry?”

   He shot her a glance, but
saw a look of sincerity on her face. “We can’t trust anyone right now. Even
friends. Isn’t that what
you
said before we took on this mission?”

   He was right, and Melissa
knew it. “Sorry I brought it up,” she said.

   Shawn saw the look of
discomfort on her face. It was a look he’d come to hate. “Still, Tausan is a
good friend. I’m sure he can help us out.”

   She locked eyes with him,
her frown quickly turning into a matching smile. “You’re really something
sometimes. You know that, right?”

   “So I’ve been told.”

   They shared a laugh before
settling back down into silence.

   “How’s the good doctor?”
Shawn asked after a moment.

   “Resting in his cabin, I
think.”

   “You did lock his door,
didn’t you?”

   She nodded. “I’m still a
little unsure why you asked me to do that.”

   “You saw what he did back
there,” Shawn said as he shot a thumb in the direction of Torval. “He’s not too
happy about tagging along with us. I’d hate to see him do something to our ship
that could jeopardize our safety.”

   “He may be a little
eccentric, but I doubt he’s dangerous.”

   “That has yet to be seen,”
Shawn said, rubbing his eyes a final time. “What about his droid?”

   “In the cargo hold,
deactivated. I still have no idea why we bothered to bring it along. We could
have just left it with his ship.”

   “Because that droid has
been privy to the doctor’s movements recently. If necessary, we can access its
databanks to verify his story.”

   She watched as Shawn
continued to stare out the forward window. “You think he’s under the influence
of the Meltranians?” she asked.

   “Uudon said the boosted
signal was directed deep into Kafaran space. That’s not really a place I feel
comfortable going—with or without Tausan’s help. I think anyone in the Unified
Government would feel the same way. But, there’s no way we can simply ignore
it, and I think our friend the doctor is aware of that fact.”

   “You’re saying we could be
walking right into a trap?”

   “That’s always a
possibility. If he knows more than he says he does, and by that I mean he knows
what was actually
in
the signal, then the best course of action would be
to eliminate the people who are searching for answers.”

   “Meaning us.”

   Shawn nodded. “And anyone
else who might come after us.”

   A flashing light on the
right-most console drew her attention away from Shawn. “Signal coming in. It’s
on a Unified frequency.”

   “Put it on the overhead.”

   When she diverted the
incoming transmission to the speakers, she gave him a nod before speaking.
“This is the transport
Nautilus
. With whom do I have the pleasure of
speaking?”

   “
Nautilus
, this is
Captain Litto of the Rugorian cruiser
Honor Guard
.”

   Recalling that Litto was at
one time the first officer under their mutual friend, Fleet Captain Ariah
Voula, Shawn turned to Melissa and smiled. Evidently, Shawn’s emergency request
to Graves for assistance had been routed to Voula. He only hoped that Litto
came bearing good news.

   “Understood, Captain
Litto,” Melissa replied. “Permission to come alongside?”

   “Where do you hail from,
Nautilus
?”
Litto asked. The captain’s tone was casual, and if he recognized Melissa’s voice
at all, he didn’t let it show. Shawn surmised Litto was playing it safe. If
their communications were at all being intercepted, any show of recognition
between the two vessels would betray their ruse.

   “Minos,” she said quickly.
“We’ve been out here for almost a week now. We haven’t seen a friendly face in
some time.”

   “Understood,
Nautilus
,”
Litto responded after a moment. “We’ve run the transponder codes from your
vessel through our security systems. You are indeed in the presence of friends.
I would like to offer you safe berth in our cargo hold. I believe you will find
the accommodations …
acceptable
.”

  
Cargo hold?
That
mean Litto was in command of a sizeable vessel, but nothing that would arouse
suspicion if it had departed the main body of the combined Unified fleet.
Needing to satisfy his curiosity, Shawn flipped on the short-range sensors and
was rewarded with the sight of a Rugorian blockade runner—not at all dissimilar
to the one on which he and Melissa had once been held captive. She was fast
enough to outrun most any hostiles they might encounter, small enough not to be
missed from the fleet, and had a pressurized cargo area just large enough to
envelop the
Nautilus
. 

   Shawn nodded to Melissa,
who in turn accepted Litto’s offer graciously. “We’ll be glad to come aboard.”

   “Excellent,
Nautilus
.
We will make preparations for your arrival. Change heading to three-three-two
mark-one. When you are within five hundred yards, our guide beams will tractor
you into the cargo bay.”

   “Understood,
Honor Guard
.
We’re changing course now,” she replied.

   Shawn did as he was
instructed. As soon as he began to turn the transport, he caught sight of the
Honor
Guard
hanging motionless in space. Slowing as he neared the stern, he saw the
large exterior door begin to open upward, displaying the well-lit and empty bay
within. An indicator on his panel began to flash, and Shawn quickly
relinquished maneuvering control to the
Honor Guard
’s navigational beam.
A few moments later the Sector Command transport was pulled slowly into the
cargo area. As soon as the vessel was clear of the stern door, the opening
closed quickly, and the bay pressurized. By the time the
Nautilus
’s
landing pads touched the surface of the
Honor Guard
’s hold, the air had
equalized to Terran-normal.

   While Shawn powered down
the ship’s systems, Melissa watched as a single officer appeared through a
doorway just ahead of the transport. As the man stepped closer, she recognized him
as Litto. “Looks like the captain is in a hurry to deliver us some
information.” Shawn looked at her, then followed her gaze out the forward
window.

   “Hopefully it’s what we
want to hear.”

   “What should we do with
Doctor Uudon and his robot?”

   Shawn considered the
question for a moment. “Keep the robot powered down in the cargo hold. No sense
in letting it tag along. We’ll bring the doctor out with us. Just to be on the
safe side, though, keep a fast-acting tranquilizer handy. I don’t want him
running off if he thinks he has half a chance.”

   Melissa patted the small
bag lying beside her. “I have just the thing in here.”

   One they had Uudon in tow,
the three exited the side of the
Nautilus
with Shawn in the lead. When
Litto caught Shawn’s gaze, the handsome Rugorian officer stepped forward with
an outstretched hand.

   “Greetings, Commander
Kestrel.”

   “Pirates,” Uudon spat in
disgust as he eyed Litto. “Fantastic job,
Commander Kestrel
. You’ve
managed to get us apprehended by a band of thugs!”

   Shawn gripped Litto’s hand
and shook it. “Don’t mind him,” he said as he nodded his head back toward the doctor.
“He’s been out of the loop for some time, and his etiquette skills are a little
rusty.”

   “
Captain
Litto?”
Melissa asked with a smile, admiring the crisp lines of Litto’s maroon uniform.

   Releasing Shawn’s hand,
Litto bowed gracefully toward her. “It was granted to me just two days ago for
this very mission.” He then turned his ice-blue eyes back to Shawn. “It’s good
to see you as well, Commander. Fleet Captain Voula sends his regards to you
both.”