Tripple Chronicles 1: Eternity Rising (43 page)

Lee and Dana
were beginning to establish a suitable work environment at Maeve’s beach home.
They’d been there just over a month. Media reports told them that ground war
had broken out in most areas along the border. This worried Dana, but Lee was
pre-occupied with organizing his new space and studying Rhys Krell’s brain. The
lady at the desk was also with them, by Lee’s invitation. She’d arrived only a
few days ago and Dana was happy for the company. She found out that her name
was Ina and that she’d stayed behind in the lab at the request of Lee. She was
needed to handle the termination of all the technicians in Tripple
Laboratories.
 
Then, she ended up
being put through hours of questioning by government officials, who now walked
freely in and out of the lab. Lee’s disappearance was causing quite a stir,
especially so soon after Ganesh’s disappearance. After three weeks of getting
nothing out her, they’d let Ina go. She’d waited a few more days to be sure
they truly were finished with her before making the journey north to join Lee
and Dana, traveling only by night.

Camden had
also been questioned, but was able to tell them the truth; he had no idea where
Ganesh or Lee was or what was missing from the lab. All equipment, specimen,
and chemicals left behind had been confiscated and brought to the atrium lab,
now empty, at the TRU Building. Camden laughed at their efforts when he
suffered through the questions about each and every item found in Tripple
Laboratories. He explained the things he recognized…all outdated and useless.
Finally, it seemed that General Cline and the others believed Camden, when he
said he knew Lee well enough to know that he wouldn’t have left behind anything
profound. General Cline cleared him to return to the space travel project, but
continued his own line of questioning each day about Lee’s work.

Dana loved
living at the beach house, mostly because she could go outside whenever she
wanted. Not that she could stay out for long. The coastal region where Maeve
had built her home was extremely cold. It was one of the few unpopulated areas
of Daxia and it was clear that privacy was the top priority for anyone who
chose to live here. The house itself was large and open. It was simply
decorated in shades of blue, gray, and white. Glass panels, from floor to
ceiling, spanned the length of the house facing the ocean and the wall opposite
had a long rectangle fireplace cut into it. A large, white plush rug lay in
front of the fireplace and instantly became Dana’s favorite spot in the house.
Lee preferred the large basement. When they arrived, it was filled with Maeve’s
weapons and technical gadgets, organized in cabinets and shelves that protruded
and retracted by remote. It had been Dana’s job to clear the area and box up
her things. It was now a mini version of Tripple Laboratories. Ina had been
sent out to a nearby town the day she arrived, to procure a large refrigeration
system. Lee installed it in one of the smaller rooms off the basement’s main
floor and Dana was happy to not have body parts taking up space in the kitchen
freezer anymore.

Lee had
begun working on his weapon project for Maeve, but put it aside after a week
went by without word from her. Now, after a month, he was beginning to grow
anxious and decided it was time to contact Camden. He did not want to be found
by the government until his amnesty was returned and his passage to Myris was
secure. Camden could help with that, even if it took years.

Today, it
was raining and Dana took a break from working in the basement and made some
tea. She sat on the floor in front of the fireplace and Ina joined her.

“Are you
worried?” Dana asked, “that we have imprisoned ourselves here?”

“Not yet.
I’ve been with Lee a long time and I believe this will pass,” she answered.

“I just wish
Maeve would contact us.”

“If she does
or if she doesn’t, Lee is an important man. The government will welcome him
back soon.”

“Maybe. But
you don’t know what he’s working on down there.”

“Nor do I
want to. I’ve learned over the years that the less I know about his work, the better
I sleep.”

“You’re so
loyal to him. Where does that come from?” Dana asked.

“He’s the
only family I have.”

“Family? You
and Lee are family? I had no idea.”

“No one
does, not even Lee. He knows we have a connection, that’s why I was given
permission to come here, but he doesn’t know he’s my brother.”

“What about
your parents?” Dana asked.

“Both dead,
tragic really.” Ina started, and then stopped because Lee walked in. “But
that’s a longer story,” she added softly.

Lee looked
displaced and out of sorts. He stood there looking at them and scratching his
head.

“Tea?” Dana
offered.

Late that
night, the rain stopped and the sky lit up with stars and moons. Dana wrapped
herself in one of Maeve’s warm coats and climbed up a staircase that led to the
roof. She sat, hugging her knees, breathing in the moist clean air, and staring
at the sky. She wondered if the embryos were still safely in their stasis, or
if they’d been discovered and why they hadn’t heard from Maeve. She focused a
small handheld telescope, which she’d found in a closet, on the surface of
Myris, looking for any sign of life. It wasn’t powerful enough to see details,
so she found nothing. She missed Bearden and her parents and felt her stomach
tighten into a knot as she scanned the almost barren landscape of what would be
her future home.

Watch for book two in The Tripple Chronicles

Mother
Myris

Coming out in late 2012!

www.mvkallai.com