Total Betrayal (Deep Space Endeavor) (57 page)

             
"Alright fine," she conceded. "You may have three minutes, Captain."

             
"Thank you, Ursula," he replied in a soothing voice.

             
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say she likes you," Tanna teased as she came alongside him and took his hand.

             
"Well, it's a good thing she's not my type, then," he replied as he smiled at his girlfriend. Just then, Jesse's face filled the screen.

             
"Am I interrupting something, Jo, I can call back if you want."

             
Reece and Collin started laughing as Josiah replied, "No, now will be fine," as if his best friend had not said anything.

             
"What's up, buddy? You gotta make it fast; I think Ursula is timing me."

             
Josiah smiled as he heard, "No I'm not," in the background. "You want fast, well here it is; we got him." Josiah proudly proclaimed. "We got Tovanoras. He was killed during the apprehension, and no, it wasn't an assassination. He was about to kill Maria and we all still like her a little, so Reece took the shot. We did take Yartan alive, although he's a little worse for wear."

             
Jesse was stunned, he had not expected that. He thought maybe an update on rumors, but not that. It took him a moment to form the words. "That's fantastic, Jo, how? Where?"

             
"He was on the Jyal homeworld in the Federation with some local warlord named Sagan. We got info about a meeting and set up the team to bring him in on his way out of Sagan's meeting. He had more men show up during the take down and that enabled him to temporarily elude us. Maria and Xanu followed him into a warehouse and he nearly killed them before Reece took him out. Xanu almost didn't make it and he is off active duty for a few months, Doctor Steven's orders. Other than that, it went off without a hitch. What do you want us to do with Yartan?"

             
"Jo, I can't tell you how great this is. Nina and Ariel are going to be thrilled. Kimi is going to be over the moon, especially since he's dead, and Lana and Sun will finally sleep easy. Thanks, man. As for Yartan, let me talk it over with a couple people, but I have a feeling we might wind up sending him as a gift to Hyperia. King Dominus knows he was second-in-command behind Blade when the pirates were chasing his daughter and he's gonna be happy that Yartan is off the board."

             
"I thought you might say that. Give me a call when the decision has been made and we'll prep a trip to Hyperia. I've been wanting to show the palace to our new crew members. And tell Ursula that that was two minutes and eighteen seconds." He laughed as he heard something unintelligible in the background.

             
Jesse smiled as he replied. "Will do, Captain Jackson, and if you do go to Hyperia, you'll have to bring Ariel and Jason. They really want to see it, too." He smiled again and added, "And Lana will probably worm her way onboard, too, so be ready for that. I'll get back to you in a few." As the connection terminated, Jesse smiled as he felt a wave of relief wash over him. Tovanoras was out of the game and the price wasn't too high, he could now get back to the business of running a quickly developing world. As he thought about being Donara's leader, it struck him as funny that even though he never wanted this type of position or authority he wound up with it anyway. A part of him rued the fact that it didn't happen for him in the Coalition, but the rest of him knew that he was in a better place. The road would be difficult and he still had enemies, but he was securing a future for his family and his friends as well as a planet full of people that had put their lives in his hands. He still longed to be out among the stars looking for his next adventure, but he had responsibilities now. Gone was the Special Forces soldier rushing from one battle to another and in his place stood a leader that people relied on. He only hoped he was a good enough leader to make this grand experiment in the Kalephi Galaxy worth the while.