Ripples of Consequence, Broken Power Trilogy Book 3

By T. Russell Benedict

When the true face of the enemy is revealed, what will it cost them?

Welcome back to our AI friends, our freighter pilots, and our gamer chic, still fighting for their lives in a war that just won't end. Then meet the crew of teenage cyberpunks wreaking havoc in cyberspace, and a group of liberated sex androids living in the shadows and trying to find their way. But beware of an ancient evil with hatred in its heart, and a strange and nearly forgotten prophecy that could change things.. And what happens when people we trust turn on us? With whole entire worlds in play like marbles and chess pieces, everything and everyone become suspect, as hidden agendas vie for control.

Just don't forget the slavers, traffickers, and politicians too, that keep life interesting. And on top of everything else, when family gets involved, things can get very very personal...

But when the true face of the enemy is revealed, will the cost be too high?

Welcome to Book Three of the Broken Power Trilogy, the third and final installment of what happens, and the epic war that follows, when a weary, deep-space pilot runs afoul of pirates and slavers, politicians and dirty cops, and the woman who guards his heart...

It's action and adventure. It's romance and heartbreak. It's philosophy and a deeper look at who we are and what we stand for. It's good versus evil in a story interwoven with feeling and emotion. In a multi-layered plot set in a realistic and believable universe not too far down the road from here, come get lost for awhile...

Story begins in:
Book 1: Sparks of War
Book 2: Stones of Silence

Contains mature themes and material...

• Language: English
• Publisher: T. Russell Benedict
• Release date: Dec 16, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311961426

T. Russell Benedict

In the mountains of Southwestern Idaho in the Pacific Northwest, T. Russell Benedict lives a life that's anything but boring. Dad to 9 kids now mostly grown, he fights forest fires in the summertime, works in Alaska as an electrician in the wintertime, and fills in at a youth ranch for troubled teens in the in-between times. And after work each day, on cold nights often lit by either the northern lights or raging forest fires, he writes his stories and ideas down, challenging all who read them.

Book preview

Ripples of Consequence

Book Three of the Broken Power Trilogy

By

T. Russell Benedict

Copyright 2016

Part three of the story started in:

Book One: Sparks of War

And Book Two: Stones of Silence

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

http://www.TRussellBenedict.com

http://www.EvergreenMountainPublishing.com

http://www.BrokenPower.com

http://www.RipplesOfConsequence.com

Cover art by T. Russell Benedict

Contains mature themes and material…

Special thanks to Robert Bryne

In whose book 1,911 Best Things Anybody Ever Said

I found a number of the quotes that I use throughout this book.

Dedicated

To my wife Karen

My best friend

And

The woman who warms my life and home with her presence…

Excerpt…

Who do you serve? Karl asked the wounded alien lying before him on the bed.

Lucifer, the angel of life and death, the creature answered in a slow, deep, raspy voice.

Why do you serve him?

He owns me, in every way. He would kill me if I ever deserted him. Karl snorted. It had honestly never occurred to him that the aliens might also have feelings and basic emotional reactions to things.

You sound like he scares you.

He does… Morlock spoke, his voice sinking to a whisper. And now he will kill me.

Why?

Because I am talking to the enemy.

I am not the enemy. Lucifer is. Morlock turned sad glittery eyes to Karl.

You do not know his power. You would never stand up to him.

Can anyone stand up to him?

Only one, that I know of… Morlock looked off into space above him. Sarton. An angel, I think, from your own Halona. He nearly destroyed me, before Lucifer brought me back from near death. Karl swallowed wrong, and doubled over in his seat coughing. Do you know Sarton? Morlock asked, looking back over at him. Dumbly, trying to get his breath back, Karl nodded. I admire him, this Sarton, Morlock continued, staring blankly back off into space again. He stood up to Lucifer and did not fall. He was so beautiful... How did he do it?

I don’t know. There are a lot of things I don’t understand about Sarton.

That makes two of us, Morlock responded, almost bitterly. He is here... and Karl choked again.

Excerpt from Book Three, Ripples of Consequence…

Star Ship Sizes and Classifications

Class - Approximate length - Typical usage (freighters, cruise ships & space stations come in all classes, lengths, and sizes)

1. < 30 ft - personal craft, light fighters, lancers, scouts

2. < 90 ft - pleasure craft, fighters, fast transport, scouts, the Testrika

3. < 150 ft - small freighter, armed escort, the Hawk

4. < 300 ft - typical midsize freighter, battle cruisers, armed escort, the Phoenix

5. < 500 ft - typical large freighter, large battle cruiser

6. < 800 ft - typical large freighter, space marine frigate, personal pleasure cruise ship

7. < 1200 ft - frigate, small commercial cruise ship

8. < 1700 ft - super frigate, cruise ship

9. < 2300 ft - destroyer, cruise ships

10. < 3000 ft - passenger/cruise liners, the UPC Centurion battleship, the Olympus cruise ship

11. < 3800 ft - miscellaneous battleships, cruise liners, super freighters

12. < 4700 ft - miscellaneous battleships, typical cruise liners, super freighters

13. < 5700 ft (1mi) - Starcrusher-class & Halonan Vampire-class battleships, cruise liners

14. < 6800 ft - miscellaneous battleships, cruise liners

15. < 8000 ft - Eliryan Mockingbird class battleship, cruise liners

16. < 9300 ft – D’haren wedge-shaped battleship, cruise liners

17. < 10,700 ft (2mi) - miscellaneous battleships, big cruise liners

18. < 12,200 ft - miscellaneous battleships, big cruise liners

19. < 13,800 ft - alien blunt-wedge battleship, big cruise liners

20. < 15,500 ft (3mi) - alien disc-shaped battleship, really big cruise liners, Fliri flute-shaped battleship

21. < 17,300 ft - dreadnaught

22. < 19,200 ft - super dreadnaught

23. < 21,200 ft (4mi) - starship carrier

24. < 26,000 ft (5mi) - super carrier

25. 5 mile-10miles - starbreaker

26. > 10 miles – small battlestar, colony ship

27. > 20 miles - BASS ship – Big Ass Ship, battlestars, colony ships, world ships, Dyson worlds, etc.

Table of Contents

Thanks & Dedications

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Epilogue

Other Books by This Author…

Prologue

It was as though space itself had come to life. Fireflies of fusion fire winked from the exhausts of a thousand dogfighters battling it out between the fourth and fifth planets of an isolated and nearly deserted star system, most of it occupants having fled before the advancing maelstrom of death. Delicate blossoms of fire unfolded silently in the eternal night as men and women of five different races gave their lives to protect what they held dear. Unheard, their desperate cries for help and assistance streaked out among the starways, only to be lost in the infinite confusion of star chatter and silent radio song.

Watching from the shadows, a dark being cloaked with night itself smiled in ugly satisfaction.

In another part of the galaxy, on the nearly forgotten world of Krysolarus, a group of robed figures was clustered together by candlelight, diligently pouring through ancient manuscripts, hardback books, spiral bound notebooks brittle and yellow with age, and even a few parchment scrolls. Hidden away deep in a dry stone dungeon beneath a castle built from rough hewn rock, the monk-like gathering, both male and female, had been searching for something very specific.

I found it! one of the hooded figures finally hissed to his friends, well after midnight, after two weeks of rotating shifts. They immediately gathered around the speaker as he carefully smoothed the open pages of an ancient looking, three ring binder notebook before him on a log plank table in the center of the room. The riddle we were looking for. The root of the legends. Recorded by Desprin Zitek in his own hand in Old English.

Read it, an incredibly old lady, hunched and bent over with age, whispered faintly. The riddle finder glanced over at her briefly, took a deep breath before starting, and then began carefully enunciating the words.

"When darkness falls, and stars grow dim,

One will come forth, to bring hope again.

Unwilling to follow, he leads a child,

Rescues the lost, and love defiled.

Yet reluctant hero, heart of fire,

Still lifts his voice, all to inspire.

When the ring of three is broken,

He stands alone, yet three shall rise again.

When by the actions of single men, worlds fall to heel,

Renewal begins, the truth to reveal."

What does it mean? a young voice asked in the ensuing stillness.

It means we have more research to do, yet another much older voice answered…

Chapter 1

The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.

- George Patton

Ploink, ploink, kerploink... The dripping of water sounded loud in the utter darkness around a slender but muscular young man of average height lying on his back on the ground, and it echoed mournfully. In confusion, he felt around himself, while blinking his eyes, feeling moist, warm sand beneath him, and smoothly chiseled walls rising up on either side of him. A small rock under his back dug into his tender skin, even through the heavy canvas shirt he had on. He rolled over onto his side, muttering.

Things were a blur; he couldn’t remember anything. Gently rubbing his cramped neck, he slowly sat up and took a deep breath. Where the bleep? Still a blur. He could vaguely recall engaging in hand-to-hand combat with someone, but even that didn’t make any sense either.

Groaning, he shook his head, trying to see something, anything, in the dank air. It was no good. Ploink, kerploink. Water. For lack of anything else to do, he crawled toward to the sound, not able to see a pool of water in front of him till his hands slipped on suddenly water-slick rock. With a splash, he landed face first in the pool’s mineral laden coolness. Gasping and wheezing, he sat up, slipping completely into the pool now, and felt the dripping water now landing in his dirty, wet, long, tangled hair, of what color he couldn’t remember. One droplet hesitated above his eyebrow before it ran down across his wet cheek. He licked his lips, and tasted the muddy grime. Space, rocket exhaust, grease; where the heck had he been...? And how could he not even know the color of his own hair, or eyes, or even remember what he looked like in a mirror?

For that matter, he couldn’t even remember his own name. Now that didn’t make sense at all.

He sat up and leaned back against the wall, just letting the droplets run down his face, and tried to remember something. Anything.

*

A week after Tom and Kyra Rossman’s official wedding, reception, and honeymoon on their adopted home world of Halona, the whole Alliance council, now thirty-some-odd members worth, went out to eat in a rebuilt Crater City on the planet of Caldera. The planet had almost completely recovered from the devastating earthquake that had resulted in Tom Rossman taking firm control of the system under the Star Cloud organization, something he ran with his two friends, Rooster and Dan Dragon. Halonan Special Forces bodyguards under Kosh, their red-skinned, burly, flat but wide-faced, stout Falencian security chief with squinty green eyes and a perpetual camouflage colored ball cap atop his head, that hid not much hair, they all made themselves unobtrusive.

Rooster, a buff, Caucasian human man in his mid thirties, with short cropped reddish-brown hair, a close cut goatee, intense hazel eyes, and angular features, that often dressed the part of a middle-aged business man with only a few spare pounds on him, sat talking and drinking with his friend Dan Dragon, a clean shaven and solidly built ex-football player with boyish good looks, short brown, crew cut hair, green eyes and perpetual grin. Dan had remarked how things had changed, with Tom Rossman back from his various escapades, and the pirates beat. But the upcoming confrontation with the alien from beyond the rim overshadowed everything with dread... Their discussion went from there. Tonight though, most everyone else was trying to put things behind them for the moment, and just bond as a council.

On one side of the restaurant, Travin Seitz, a heavy world, leathery skinned guy, with thinning dark hair, Marlboro man rugged good looks, and heavy eyebrows framing dark eyes, and Sarah Slade, his fiancé, a beautiful woman with fine features, long straight brunette hair, graceful curves, and golden yellow eyes that sometimes turned black, long eyelashes, and heavily scarred cheek, sat with the three-member furry batwing Fliri delegation, talking and laughing. Anlyth the Eliryan sat with the other tall, pale, slender elven Eliryans talking about Eliryan home world politics. Draybak Warfall and several of the other short, broad-shouldered but graceful D’haren sat with a battered looking Tom Rossman and his wife Kyra, trading philosophical arguments and matching wits.

As each party or persons eventually left the posh eating establishment, comfortably full and in good humor, Tom Rossman watched them go, silently wondering about the future fate of each of them. When first meeting him, people often mistook him for something much less than one of the leaders of the Alliance faction that currently ruled over half the galaxy. His shoulder length, fine, dark brown hair, bangs perpetually in need of a haircut, occasional facial stubble, striking steely blue eyes, and slender but broad shouldered athletic frame, nothing about him looked like a political leader, especially not dressed in the faded, ripped blue jeans, cowboy boots, ball cap, and t-shirts that he always wore. Not even his six foot frame seemed very intimidating, unless you happened to torque him off, and then his eyes would flash, weird things happened, and people got out of his way fast.

His wife Kyra though, with her long wavy brown hair, model-perfect flawless cheeks and sharp cheekbones, vivid brown eyes, fair-skin, slender but endowed figure, and gamer reflexes and grace, she was the one that usually got the second glances and double-takes. Tonight though, she was watching Tom’s eyes, saw what he did and also became pensive, as she too wondered. Finally, Tom just smiled, stood, and bid the fifteen or so remaining delegates a good night, and with Kyra at his side, left the restaurant. Silently, a Halonan SF bodyguard followed them out. They ignored him.

So what do you think? Tom finally asked quietly, standing at the edge of a nearby scenic area cliff overlooking the city below, leaning on a handrail there, staring out into the darkness at the sky city that hovered on its platform over the crater city below. Beside him, Kyra stood with her back to the view, also leaning on the rail, watching the side of Tom’s face in the pale moonlight as he continued. Rooster told me today about the D’haren council’s decision. If either me or Sarah pull any more mind stunts, they will pull out of the Alliance. This was in response to Tom and Sarah Slade fighting off an alien telepath that had attacked them recently on Fell Star, their actual Alliance nerve center world. A moonlit breeze played lightly with stray strands of Kyra’s silky hair currently pulled back in a pony tail. She looked away before speaking again.

I think you had better play things real careful. Tom didn’t respond with anything for a second.

Yeah... They’re afraid of me, I think.

What’s it like, your mind shooting out across the galaxy like that? Kyra asked, referring to how Tom and Sarah had previously tracked the alien mind named Morlock across the void of stars. Then she looked up at the moon overhead. Tom smiled slowly.

I’ve only done it once or twice now, but it’s... it’s... well it’s like suddenly you’re just out there, with no body, no limitations, and you fly, free, with nothing holding you back. You can actually see and feel the stars fly past... I guess that’s why Sarah calls them the starways. It’s like being a pilot, but with nothing... nothing to slow you down, and no ship to carry you.

Do you still feel the background magnetics wherever you go? She turned around to join her husband facing the crater city below. After getting almost faded out by their out-of-tune, deep-space flux drives during their escape from the pirate world of Scarough, Tom had discovered he could sense the background magnetics of any location he visited.

Yeah, he spoke softly, a smile playing on his face. They swirl about us, too faint for most people to feel them. But I can feel them; they race inside me. It’s like since almost getting faded out, I’m extra sensitive to them.

Do you think that will make you more sensitive to different minds too, now?

Probably. At least if Sarah is right. Then they were silent for a long time. Kyra eventually turned her head to look back out over the forests behind them, while moving closer to her husband. Gently, he put his arm around her and pulled her to himself. Murmuring in her ear, he kissed her cheek lightly. I love you.

Thanks. They were silent, listening to the breezes whisper in the trees behind them. Tom, I’m thankful to be with you, and to be at your side. There’s no one in the world I respect or love more, than you. In response, Tom just hugged her tightly. For her to say this said a lot about how much she had recovered from her own events in hell on Scarough.

An hour later, they climbed back in their hovercar and returned to their room at a hotel on Caldera. They didn’t make love; they just laid there, naked bodies pressed warm against each other, safe within each other’s comforting arms.

*

The next day, Drake and Quintessa, Tom’s younger brother and sister that had come from Earth for the Rossman’s official wedding the previous week, finally paid Tom a visit in his office back in the port city on Halona. News people and paparazzi, after becoming obnoxious about loitering in the offices and around the front of the building, were now chased off or even physically removed from Star Cloud’s headquarter offices and building by security teams working for Kosh, head of Halonan security. But the newcomer paparazzi always coming in from other areas of the galaxy often didn’t know this yet, that Halona didn’t like its leaders to always be harassed. So Drake and Quintessa got to witness firsthand, another two-person camera team be forcibly evicted from the premises, while they waited for Tom to finish up some phone calls.

Come in, come in! Tom exclaimed to them when he finally opened his office door up on the tenth floor to admit them both. Smiling broadly at him, both Drake and Quintessa entered, each shaking Tom’s hand in turn as they went past. Both now mid-twenty something young people, Drake was a younger, nicer-dressed version of Tom, without Tom’s longer-ish hair or 5’oclock shadow that always seemed to grace his face. And medium-framed, athletically built, brunette Quintessa was one of those women that you didn’t really notice unless she really dressed up, and then she drew stares from everyone. She bore strong resemblance to her two brothers, and her handshake was solid.

Once the door closed behind them, Tom couldn’t help it. He enveloped Quintessa in a massive bear hug before setting her back down, smiling boyishly. Delight shone on her face.

It’s good to see you, big bro. It’s been too long, she stated as she finally took a seat in front of his desk while he and Drake gave each other that man hug thing, a hug with two quick pats on the back before separating.

It’s good to see you guys too! Tom affirmed with a huge smile before going back around his desk to take a seat. Still not having said anything himself yet, Drake also took a seat, a contented grin on his face. Thanks for coming to the wedding too. I saw you, thought it was you, but you slipped out so fast afterwards, I was bummed that I didn’t get a chance to say hi. Drake nodded before answering.

Sorry about that. We didn’t want to intrude, and we weren’t sure how you would respond to seeing us. It has been a few years, you know, since we actually talked… So we didn’t want to make a scene. And we’re sorry we blew you off too, when you came home last time, right before the war. We thought you might still be mad at us over that. Quintessa nodded matter-of-factly in agreement.

I’m not mad, Tom responded. It hurt, but I’m not mad. I wasn’t in a very good space at that point in time myself. I’m just glad we’re starting over, and trying again.

Kyra’s so beautiful. She glowed next to you. She loves you deeply, Quintessa abruptly changed the subject, and Tom nodded quietly.

She’s my best friend, he summed up simply.

It showed, Drake affirmed, smiling.

How’s Dad? Tom asked next, his face growing serious, and the other two faces also changed.

Not so good, Drake answered. It’s his heart. You really need to go home and see him soon, because the doctors don’t know how long it will hold up. For whatever the reason, they say they can’t fix it with gene therapy like you would normally expect. Tom’s eyes fell.

You know he and I aren’t getting along though…

Whether you know it or not, he is so proud of you, Quintessa broke in. You’re all he talks about sometimes. Tom’s eyebrow went up in genuine surprise.

You’re kidding me, right? but Drake and Quintessa both shook their heads. Drake picked up the thought next.

We actually have to rein him in sometimes, just so he doesn’t say something that could hurt you. Tom gave him a puzzled look. Rooster let us know that the pirates had a contract out to kill you, and asked us not to talk about you in public, or it could put both you and the family in danger. Tom nodded in new comprehension.

I’m glad he did. With the pirates dealt with now though, I think that danger is probably over.

That’s why we finally felt safe enough to come see you, and leave Mom and Dad home alone for a bit, Drake spoke.

I’m glad you came, Tom answered him. Then he paused a moment. Does Dad still talk all the spiritual Yahweh God stuff all the time?

Of course he does, Quintessa answered. He loves God and all Yahweh stands for, very deeply. It amazes him that you can stand for so many of God’s ideas of justice, mercy, gentleness, strength, loyalty, love, family, and just everything, and yet still be so angry at Him. Tom froze.

He said that?

He says it often, as he weeps while praying for you, Drake answered. Tom sat very still, while his two siblings waited for him to speak.

I’m not sure how I am supposed to respond to that, Tom finally muttered quietly, casting his gaze downward.

You know your face still looks like a herd of water buffalo trampled all over it, from whoever you got in a fight with? Quintessa changed the subject again, grinning mischievously.

Yah, Tom grimaced. Still feels like it too.

So the rescue wasn’t successful? Drake asked quietly. Dan’s wife Alicia told us where you went. Tom shook his head sadly.

She was already dead. The pirate just used her for bait to try to trap-kill me and Kyra and someone else on my team. Quintessa’s eyes grew big in horror, but said nothing.

That would torque me off pretty bad, Drake growled.

It did, Tom affirmed.

Tom? Quintessa asked.

Yah? and Tom looked up, taking a deep breath to clear the pain off his face.

I don’t know if we’ve ever told you this, but even though it hurt the family pretty bad when you left home, I don’t think I could ever ask for a cooler big brother than you, or be prouder of you than we are. Drake nodded in agreement, and Tom suddenly couldn’t talk, choking up, and turned away from them for a moment to wipe unexpected tears from his eyes.

I’m glad you took care of Mom and Dad for me when I couldn’t, he finally managed. And thanks. That means a lot to me. Drake and Quintessa both nodded.

We have another question, Bro, two of them, actually, Drake switched thoughts. It felt really uncomfortable seeing his older brother cry, and wanted to change the subject fast.

Shoot.

Can we move Mom and Dad here to Halona, where it’s safer for them, and where we think they’ll probably get better medical care and more respect to boot?

Absolutely. Have you talked to them about it yet?

Us and Mom did, but not Dad.

By all means, make it happen. Do you need a ship or anything?

No, Drake answered. We have a little class-two cruiser of our own named the Olympus. It’ll get them and what stuff they actually need, here. It might take several trips, but it’ll work.

Can I loan you a class-four freighter? Tom responded after a moment’s thought. That way they can bring along more of their personal effects too, in one trip, stuff to make their home still feel like their home. And besides, if they move here, what are you two going to do? Drake and Quintessa glanced quickly at each other before Quintessa answered.

That was our second question. We were hoping to move here too, and help you. Tom’s eyebrows shot up in surprise once again, and he had to clamp down hard to stop the instant rebuff that flew to his tongue. He took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. Twice. His siblings waited expectantly.

I… and Tom paused, unsure of his next words. On the one hand, the idea thrills me to death. Quintessa breathed relief, but Drake still waited, eyes narrowed.

But? and Tom looked hard at him.

I would die if I got either of you two killed in action. Quintessa frowned at him, puzzled.

Why would you do that? A true leader doesn’t waste his pawns. If he gives them up, there is always, always, a good reason for it. And you, and she looked hard at him. You are a true leader. I would rather die a thousand deaths serving you, knowing that my death counted for something each time, than die once of old age with a life that didn’t amount to anything, or change anything, for the better. Now that stopped Tom cold. He stared at her.

It’s the truth! she protested.

Sis is right, Tom, Drake broke in. And I agree. Tom just stared at them both for a long minute. Drake fidgeted with his shirt tail, but Quintessa held his gaze. Finally Tom looked away.

The way you just said that, it puts things in a whole new light for me, he answered quietly. I never thought of it that way. Drake looked back at him.

And if you’re anything like me, Bro, I don’t like to waste my chess pieces for no reason. I know we can trust you. And I suspect you get pretty lonely up there at the top, though your wife Kyra seems like she is good for you. Tom nodded in agreement to all of it. But Drake wasn’t finished.

Me and Quintessa both thought that maybe us being here, helping you out, would also help keep you from feeling so lonely. Not having a family to lean on when things get tough has just gotta suck.

You have no idea, little brother. You have no idea, Tom answered quietly. Everyone fell silent while Tom studied Drake and Quintessa both, and felt stirrings of pride for them, for the maturity each of them were showing.

Don’t either of you have significant others of your own that would keep you on Earth? Drake and Quintessa both violently shook their heads before Drake answered.

We’ve always had each other growing up, and never had an interest in other relationships. Maybe someday, but no, we’re unencumbered. In any case, the doctors tell me I can’t have kids, so why bother? We’d like to move here as soon as possible.

And college? Tom asked.

We both have associates degrees already, me in astro-navigation and Quinn in nursing, Drake answered proudly. Tom slowly began to smile, and Drake finally breathed relief.

Then I welcome you both to Halona. What can I do to help things happen?

Just get Mom and Dad set up with a place and some 24-7 care, and me and Quintessa will figure something out, Drake answered.

I can do that, Tom nodded, grinning. Want to use that freighter so all four of you can move at once?

Would you mind? Quintessa asked hopefully.

It’s not a problem. In fact, hold that thought. Tom then picked up the phone on his desk and put a call through to one of the logistics guys down at the field in Port City. It only took a few minutes, and Drake and Quintessa were set up with a freighter with one of the new hyperdrives, to return to Earth to start the move, immediately.

One more thing, though, Tom spoke to his siblings again as he hung up the phone. Drake and Quintessa were looking at him incredulously, at how fast the arrangements had been made.

What’s that? Drake asked.

You fly with a Halonan fighter squadron escort, you leave Olympus here, and you let a Halonan pilot run the freighter. Drake was clearly taken aback. Trust me on this one, little brother. I want you to fly under escort. The ship I just requisitioned for you has secret technology on board, and even though I’m not worried about the pirates anymore, this war isn’t over yet. I’ll tell you more about what’s actually going on, once you get back here.

If you say so, Bro, Drake answered doubtfully.

I say so, Tom affirmed. Then he at least told them about the new hyperdrives aboard the freighter, the ones that would let them flux travel nearly unlimited distances, without having to rely on the stargates or short flux hop sequences. Drake’s and Quintessa’s eyes both grew large when they realized what he was telling them. Tom continued. If this move you are suggesting is going to happen, I want it to happen fast, before anyone else gets wind of it and interferes.

I get it, Drake acquiesced. My first lesson in big boy politics. Move fast, before your enemy can respond, he stated matter-of-factly.

Yeah, something like that, and Tom chuckled.

Quintessa’s smile grew huge as she took everything in. She finally just jumped up and came around Tom’s desk to him and gave him the biggest hug she could when he stood up.

Thanks, Tom. It’s so good to feel like your sister again. In chagrin, Tom wrapped his arms around her too.

I’ll try to be a good big brother this time. Sorry for bailing on you guys before. Please forgive me for that.

Forgiven! Drake and Quintessa both blurted out at the same time.

You are so forgiven, Tom. You are family, and Quintessa squeezed him tight one more time before letting go and backing off to rejoin Drake on the other side of the desk.

I look forward to getting to know you two again, Tom spoke to them, from his heart.

It’s mutual, Bro. It’s mutual, Drake answered while Quintessa nodded seriously.

Now if you’ll forgive me, I do have another meeting… Tom apologized, with the Director of local Halonan Space Defense. Can we sit down again as soon as you get back, and catch up on things better?

Deal. And no worries. Who do we coordinate the move with? Drake answered then asked.

Ask my secretary outside to put you in touch with Kosh, and he’ll help you coordinate it all. He’s Falencian, but I trust him with my life. Falencians generally had a bad reputation around humans, but Kosh, and the Halonan president Rochester, both completely broke the stereotype.

Thanks.

Then Tom came around the desk to shake each of their hands one more time, and give Quintessa another quick hug before he opened his office door and showed them out.

Waiting in the secretary’s office outside, Sam Sloan, Kyra’s cousin and Halona Space Defense Director, a young, pale, vaguely nerdy looking, slender young man with wire rimmed glasses, blue eyes, and sandy blond hair, watched Drake and Quintessa leave the office, and their last interchange with Tom. His eyes grew big.

Who was that? he couldn’t help but ask a couple of minutes later as he walked into Tom’s office, his eyes still following Quintessa back over his shoulder as she and Drake finally left the area after getting instructions from Kosh on the secretary’s phone. Tom immediately started laughing, and Sam turned to him, puzzled.

That, Tom answered after a moment to take a deep breath and stop chuckling. That was my little brother and sister. And no, she’s not going out with anyone, and yes, they are moving here. Sam’s face immediately blushed the deepest shade of red he figured he had ever done. Tom couldn’t help it; he burst out laughing again.

Straight magnetic flux drives and flux jumping were limited. If you went too far in one jump, it messed a guy up. Hence the use of the stargate system, one major system for each one of the four galactic quadrants. But you could, if you could handle it, make a long trip without the stargates by splitting it up into lots of short flux jumps. It was all but guaranteed to bring on serious headaches though, and was obscenely hard on fuel loads. So for the Alliance to have a new method of travel, that didn’t rely just on short haul flux jumping, it gave them an incredible commercial, economic, and military advantage over the rest of the galaxy. And for the moment, they wanted, needed, to keep it a secret.

*

Shivering with a sudden chill, the amnesiac figure finally crawled out of the water back onto the sand and leaned back against the wall, his teeth chattering. Forcing his mind to think logically, he mentally ran down a list of places where he might possibly be.

He was probably still in the old D’haren tunnels on Caldera; he did seem to remember that much. But heck, he could be anywhere. And where were Sarah and Kyra? He knew the names, but they meant nothing to him, even though he knew they should. He rubbed his eyes. Things just weren’t making sense. His thoughts felt scrambled.

He had got here somehow, but how? He wasn’t even sore after the fight with the pirate like he should have been. He began to run his fingers lightly over the sand around him, finally finding the shallow imprints of the heavy boots of whoever had dumped him there. That made him feel a little bit better, until he realized he had on heavy boots himself... He sat back against the wall, fighting rising panic.

Who was he? That was first. And he hadn’t a clue. He was slender, but muscular, with thick hair that tumbled down around his shoulders. He felt his face; it was wide and angular, rugged almost. It didn’t stir anything in his memories.

The air wasn’t that cold, thankfully; it was just the water on him that made him feel a chill. He stripped his clothes off finally and rung them out, then spread them on a dry spot of the sandy tunnel floor to dry out. Then he lay back in the warm sand in the utter stillness and relaxed, listening only to the sound of water dripping.

Something else didn’t feel right either, aside from the obvious things that were wrong, but he couldn’t put a finger on it. He finally fell asleep, with questions still whirling through his mind.

When he awoke again, his clothes had dried, mostly. He pulled them on, with his mind blank but for the thought to get out. He drank long and deep from the water pool in the darkness and then stood up, wiping his mouth with a dirty shirt sleeve. Then listening to his own breathing echoing around him, he started crawling back in the direction his original footprints had come from, letting his fingertips guide him, as they brushed lightly over the sand to track his footprints.

*

The next day back on Halona, Tom Rossman fought to contain the restlessness that again gnawed at him. Anywhere he went, people quietly recognized him and his wife Kyra, and nodded respectfully to the two of them. He hated it, but he also found himself thinking deeply about Quintessa’s words to him, about living and dying in such a way that it meant something.

On the one hand, that people would trust him with that kind of responsibility, to give them a way to live and die in a meaningful way, that bugged him considerably. On the other hand though, it also lessened some of the guilt he felt over people dying when they got too close to him. Each of their deaths had meant something, and had not been in vain, and that is what they had each wanted anyway. It was just up to him to insure that each death was never a pointless death, if they had all truly been working towards the same goal. It was a different kind of responsibility than he had felt before, and one that sobered him deeply. Before, he thought it was his responsibility to just keep them all alive. Now it was different. Now he could accept the reality that some of those in his care were going to die. He just had to make sure their deaths were not in vain.

When finally able to put them into words, he shared some of his thoughts with a quiet Kyra, who, when he was finished, simply gave him one of the biggest, deepest hugs she had ever given him.

The evacuees they had rescued from the pirate world of Scarough right before their sun had gone nova on them, were sorted as their sun blazed fiercely. The federal courts gladly received most of the GFBI listed pirates that the Alliance singled out, and quickly prosecuted them. Scarough itself disappeared in the growing supernova within days.

The primary Eliryan sun had also been stabilized, and the Eliryan home world, though too hot to live on anymore, at least wasn’t a total loss anymore. The Eliryans had bestowed their Yellow Badge of Honor on Rooster for his part in that rescue, and receiving it had done something deep down inside Rooster. It created conflict. A part of him screamed that he was unworthy to wear the medal, after millions had died when he had ordered the attacks on the pirate world of Laston. The constant guilt he felt weighed heavily upon him, and no amount of honor for anything else was going to make it go away.

The next week, Tom also finally got a chance to sort through the vids and reports of everything that had happened since he had first been captured by pirate forces. And then he went to see Rooster.

Rooster looked up from his computer screen as Tom pivoted in the doorway and carefully closed the heavy door behind him. Hey, Tom. Don’t you ever even knock anymore…? Then he saw Tom’s eyes, ice blue, flashing suppressed fire, when Tom turned back to him. Okay, what’s going on? Rooster leaned back in his leather chair and hit the mute button on his desk, effectively sealing the room.

Tom just stared at him a moment, his lips in a thin line, nose flared, resting easily with his feet apart in fighting stance. Then his eyes shifted up to a spot on the window behind Rooster’s chair. The air felt electric, and Rooster frowned as he unconsciously ran one hand over his arm, feeling sudden goose bumps.

Rooster, you… you... fool! Tom snarled, with venom. Rooster recoiled as though struck, before deliberately getting to his feet also and facing Tom across the desk. What you did to the world of Laston? That was uncalled for! Rooster noted the white knuckled fists Tom held at his sides, then looked back to Tom’s eyes again, and couldn’t tear his own gaze away. His blood chilled; the hair on his neck was standing up.

And what would you have done? he asked fairly calmly, still not able to pull his eyes from Tom’s own.

Not that! We build this Alliance on trust, not blood. There were innocents on Laston along with the pirates! He paused to take a slow measured breath.

Rooster felt cold. He still had nightmares about the piles of dead and decaying bodies, bulldozed unceremoniously into raging funeral pyres under Laston’s cold sun after the Alliance had attacked there with knock out gas.

I know, he gasped, trying suddenly to get his own breath. Why do you think I saved the refugees on Scarough before it went nova? he asked, finally admitting the truth. He felt guilty. Besides, we weren’t expecting a toxic reaction to the KO gas. How could we have known?

Tom stared at him, eyes narrowed to mere slits. Their gaze held steady, and Tom broke the silence a moment later.

The workers? The slaves? The innocents? he whispered, his jaw clenched. Rooster finally looked away and shrugged, hopelessly.

What was I to do? He looked back.

What if I had been a prisoner on Laston instead of Scarough? The air was quiet, still.

Okay, okay! Rooster blustered. I made a bad move. I’m sorry! Can we get on with this war?

Just so it doesn’t happen again. Tom’s threat was only thinly veiled.

And you’d better keep your tail here where we need you! Rooster fired back, his own eyes now flashing. They stared at each other for a minute, each daring the other to back down. Tom finally whirled and exited the room, pulling the door closed behind him none too gently. Rooster sat down and wiped the sudden sweat off his forehead.

The last thing he wanted to do was to set himself up to be accountable to anyone, but to Tom in particular. Sure, some of Tom’s Boy Scout ways annoyed him, but for Tom to suddenly try to hold him accountable over acts-of-war-gone-wrong while fighting the pirates, that just rubbed him all sorts of wrong ways. Especially when it was something Roster already felt guilty over. He fumed in silence while shuffling through the papers spread across his desk. It took him a minute to re-find his train of thought on what he had been working on before Tom had come in. Half an hour later, he was interrupted again.

Tell them to come on in, he told his good looking secretary on the intercom. A moment later, two men carrying scanners of some sort walked into the room. What seems to be the problem? he asked, frowning at the nearest fellow, an Eliryan.

Oh, nothing too much sir, we hope. A little while ago, security downstairs detected a sustained magnetic pulse centered somewhere in the building. Rooster’s frown deepened. Well, everything seems okay now. No damage to the computer systems. And our scanners are only picking up residue magnetics now, quickly fading. I’m sure it was nothing. Sorry to have bothered you, and the two swept out the door.

Rooster frowned at the papers on his desk, his train of thought again lost. Frustrated, he finally stood up and began to pace the room.

*

When he had first returned from imprisonment on the pirate dominated world of Scarough, what seemed like just a few short weeks previously, but was in reality much longer, Tom had found his starship The Hawk ready to be enshrined at a local Halonan museum. He had put a quick end to that and had had her completely repaired and outfitted with the latest in Star Cloud weaponry and communications equipment.

In appearance, she was still a plain, boxy little class-three freighter ship, all of fifteen feet high, a hundred feet long, and thirty feet wide, but it was her engines and the armaments aboard that made her a nasty adversary in a fight. Her engines consisted of two high-density plasma fusion drives built right into the rear quarter panels, whereas most ships her size only had one. And retractable dull gray metal plating comprised her outer hull, hiding such things as the radar maskers and shield and inertial-stasis generators, as well as the all important magnetic flux and gravity-manipulation nodes.

But heavens forbid that officials see the armaments the shielding also hid. There was now multiple magazine-fed mini-torpedo tubes forward, high-power plasma cannons both above and below, two moderately powerful beam guns mounted on each side, two belly-mounted, multistage yidrium-pumped UV lasers, several missile tubes aft, and a handful of salvaged .75 caliber electromagnetic railgun phalanx turrets filling in the gaps. It was all under full computer control, tied in directly to his bridge console.

This was the ship that had carried him through numerous firefights, rescued countless sex-trafficking victims, and served as his home, office, and sanctuary when he needed solitude time. This ship, he now took up and out of the system with Kyra for the weekend, just to clear his head.

When they returned several days later, Kosh scheduled an appointment with Tom, to voice some concerns.

What do you mean, something feels off? Tom asked of Kosh, who sat seated across Tom’s desk from him.

I mean, something with Rooster is off, Kosh repeated. I know you, Dan, and him are good friends that go way back, but I don’t trust Rooster. Something isn’t right.

Can you put a finger on why?

No, Kosh muttered in frustration, his face downcast. Then he looked up. It’s just a feeling I get, in the pit of my gut, every time I’m around him, that says I shouldn’t trust him. Does this make any sense to you? Tom studied Kosh intently a moment.

But you trust me?

I would trust you with my life, Tom, he answered. With my life. Rooster I wouldn’t trust with my dog’s dinner!

Is that a Falencian idiom for something? Tom asked, frowning.

Sorry, Kosh answered. It is. I don’t trust Rooster. Something isn’t right about him. And I wanted to let you know. You and my old boss Tasha are cut from the same cloth, cloth that doesn’t break or burn in the fire. Rooster is too quick to try to please people with his words, without intending to follow through. I haven’t really seen him actually do this, but that’s the personality I recognize. I’ve seen it before, I’ll see it again, and I’ve never been wrong about it.

Tom regarded Kosh with a serious eye as the Halonan head of security fell silent. After a long minute, Tom finally spoke again.

Kosh, can you keep a quiet eye on Rooster, and keep me up to date on anything strange that he does, or anything else that you think might threaten or jeopardize me or Kyra or anything that we are trying to accomplish?

I can do that, Tom, Kosh instantly answered. I can do that.

Thank you.

*

Several weeks passed uneventfully as the Alliance finished mopping up a few remaining pirate strongholds. They heard nothing from the Federation. Nerves grew taut as everyone wondered who would strike first, the alien or the Federation, and where.

Drake and Quintessa finally returned from Erath, their parents in tow, aboard their borrowed Halonan freighter. After some initial misgivings from their father, he had finally agreed to the move, and was now just as excited as any of them about the transfer to Halona, and everything that it meant. One of Kosh’s best men had personally assigned himself to coordinating the whole thing before they had even arrived, and did what he could to make the transition as easy as possible for everyone involved.

Mrs. Rossman was a severe looking willowy woman with silver hair up in a bun, and Tom’s dad, a graying but imposing figure, had intense blue eyes and a blocky masculine face. Kosh’s man quickly got them both set up in a nice house in a quiet Port City neighborhood near an assisted care center so that if the need arose, quality care was close at hand. He also scheduled a whole battery of tests for Mr. Rossman senior, and his heart, to try to figure out what was going on, and how to fix it. Drake kept Tom up to date with the progress of everything, while Quintessa stayed with the elder Mr. and Mrs. Rossman constantly, helping coordinate everything.

Kyra also introduced herself to Quintessa and Drake, and then to Tom’s parents too, helping them get the house set up, pictures hung, furniture arranged, etc and so forth. She would have preferred that Tom do the introductions, but she also knew he wasn’t up to it yet, and had his hands full anyway. So she stepped up, and made it happen.

She found that she genuinely liked Quintessa and Drake, and enjoyed the company of the entire family. They were neat people.

Several times in there, Sam Sloan also found excuses to get away from their headquarters on Fell Star and go help the Rossmans get set up, or run errands for Quintessa, and just in general try to be helpful. At first Quintessa found his interest in her amusing, but at the same time, soon found herself beginning to depend on him and his knowledge of Halona.

And as Drake and he started to get to know each other better too, the two young men started hanging out and doing stuff together, more and more. This soon included doing basic Halonan Space Defense Director stuff, with Rochester’s approval.

Tom watched all this with amused approval, but he still held off going to meet with his mom and dad a little bit longer, but for what reason, he wasn’t even quite sure.

At the next Alliance evening council meeting, on the nearby world of Fell Star, a barren planet linked to Halona by a direct flux portal, they reviewed the situation in the galaxy. After swearing Drake and Quintessa both to absolute secrecy, Tom let them accompany him to the meeting where they could sit unobtrusively in a corner with some of the other support staff and press pool, and listen in.

One of the Star Cloud tacticians, human, outlined in a holo map above the square council table, just how much space the Alliance controlled. Between the D’haren, the Fliri, Star Cloud, the worlds run by Elirya, captured pirate space, and turncoat Federation starbases, the Alliance effectively controlled a full three quarters of the galaxy. The federal half of quadrant three, wherein lay Earth, Loran Prime, and Dekalb, still remained staunchly pro-Federation, but the Alliance hoped not to get too much more interference from them, especially if war with the alien broke out. Deep space around the three big pirate worlds of Scarough, Masa and Laston, all lay firmly in Alliance hands though, a vital foothold right in the center of that quadrant, located two galactic spiral arms in from Earth.

Additionally, the Alliance ran all the major federal starbases in quadrant two, wherein lay the Alliance capital worlds Halona and Fell Star, as well as many of the starbases in quadrant four. The Fliri almost completely controlled quadrant one, and they had pledged their support to the Alliance too.

By control, the man explained, he meant control of all major military starbases, and the politics of the strongest worlds. Literally thousands of small systems were spread throughout each quadrant, not under direct Alliance control. Rooster, without saying anything as he listened, played with several different scenarios in his mind, of ways they might take control of some of them.

Dan Dragon then stood and gave his economic report and commerce updates, and his attempts at integrating the reclusive Fliri into their system. The Alliance war machine