Houston's Peril: Ardent Redux Saga: Episode 5: Ardent Redux Saga, #5

By J. L. Stowers

She's waited her entire life for this moment… she just didn't see it coming.

Dani Devereaux thought her life path was crystal clear.

Perfect her abilities as a pilot and serve the Galactic Conglomerate, just like her heroic late father. But was she ever really in control?

The surprise of her life turns Dani's universe upside down. Now she has to figure out which way is up… and, in typical Dani fashion, she'll sort it out while fighting for her life.

The Houston is in danger.

Rescuing her will require the combined efforts of the rebels, the pirates, and, of course, Dani and her crew… but will they be enough?

Everything is at stake in the fifth installment of the Ardent Redux Saga.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sixth Moon Publishing
• Release date: Sep 29, 2018
• ISBN: 9781393020332

Book preview

Houston’s Peril

Ardent Redux Saga:

Episode 5

Houston’s Peril

Ardent Redux Saga:

Episode 5

––––––––

By

J.L. Stowers

Copyright © 2018 by J. L. Stowers

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

First Edition, 2018

Editing: Keri Karandrakis

Cover Art: Tiffany at Dark Matter Book Covers

Visit the author’s website at http://jlstowers.com/

Dedication

For those who stand up against tyranny.

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 1

Breathe. Howard tugged on Dani’s arm until she settled back into her chair, still staring at her father.

What? But... how? Dani muttered to herself.

Bob Devereaux leaned toward Roni with a furrowed brow and a deep frown.

Dani strained to hear the conversation, but at this point the hall was mumbling in discord and the whispers were lost in the noise.

Roni, visibly upset, seemed to stammer something back at Bob before stomping off stage and down the aisle, finally slamming the door outside behind her.

Bob’s eyes found Dani again, and she watched as he inhaled deeply. He’d worn the same look when he’d catch her doing something in her youth that she knew she wasn’t supposed to do. Taking the podium once more, he addressed the restless crowd.

We’ll reconvene in two hours.

The rebels cleared out of the hall, most appearing mildly annoyed. But Dani’s attention didn’t linger on the passing glares. Instead, she focused on the man on the stage. He was easy to recognize, as little had changed aside from the passage of time. His short, dark hair was buzzed in the same manner it always had been, the only difference now being that the grays outnumbered the dark hairs three to one. The same eyes, same shoulders, same jaw from years ago stared back at Dani.

With the last of the rebels gone, Dani and her crew remained seated, staring up at the former Six-Ring GC Captain in a mixture of awe and confusion. Bob’s eyes eventually left Dani and worked their way down the row as though he were examining each of the individuals in her company. Then, with a sigh, he started toward the edge of the stage.

Dani was frozen in her seat as she watched her father approach. Her open mouth was now dry and she searched her mind for something to say, but the words just weren’t there.

Dani, Bob said as he neared her. He opened his mouth as though he had more to say, but closed it again after a moment.

Hearing her father say her name for the first time in more than a decade was shocking to her. A fire of rage boiled within her stomach as confusion ran through her mind. She wanted so desperately to jump up and hug him, but she also wanted to slap him for staying away so long. Finally, after struggling to speak, she uttered a single word, How?

There’s much to discuss, he explained with a sigh. And we weren’t supposed to be reunited this way. Please, come to my quarters... all of you.

Bob turned on his heel and made his way toward the front door, Dani staring after him before jumping to her feet and walking briskly to catch up. She could hear the scuffle of feet and chairs from the others behind her but didn’t want to wait any longer.

Groups of rebels gathered outside the hall were whispering amongst themselves, and straightened up into a salute as Bob walked past. Dani hurried to keep up with his long strides the best she could without running.

Bob led the way to a simple-looking home. His boots clunked up the wooden steps and the door creaked open. As Dani entered, her fingers trailed along the door’s red paint. It was the same color as her childhood home.

The rest of Dani’s crew piled into the small living room, taking a seat on what little furniture was available. There were no decorations of any type in the room. Aside from a rug, a couch, and an armchair, it was empty. Bob continued further into the home as Dani, Jag, Howard, and Zadria squeezed together on the couch. Cruz remained standing, arms folded across his chest, near the door.

Well, this is awkward, Jag muttered. Oof! Hey, watch it.

Howard glared at Jag and retracted his elbow from his side.

That’s Dani’s dad, right? Captain Bob Devereaux? I recognize him. I thought he was dead, Zadria rambled in a hushed tone.

Yeah, Dani managed to mumble. Me too.

The group sat in silence until Bob returned, carrying a tray of water glasses. He offered one to each of the crew, Dani eagerly accepting and wetting her dry mouth.

Bob sat, the armchair squeaking beneath him. Where should I start?

Maybe your ‘death’ might be a good place? Jag said with a chuckle.

Actually, Howard cleared his throat and shot a sideways glance at Dani. Perhaps it’s best to start at the beginning.

Dani furrowed her brow at Howard. Wait, did you know?

Sure, the beginning, Bob started.

"Howard, did you know?" Dani asked again forcefully.

Bob leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. Focus, Dani.

His voice was haunting. It was the same thing he’d said to her so many times when her emotions had started to get the best of her. The words often echoed in her mind during times of turmoil, but hearing them spoken aloud by her father once more rendered her speechless yet again.

It started while you were in the academy. We were sent on a rescue mission. A small space station was taken by the Vaerians. The situation was suspicious from the start. Only a handful of people were on the outpost, and the GC typically doesn’t send in the cavalry for so few. It’s sad, but true.

I believe it, Jag said before sipping his water.

We knew when we got there that it was too late. The space station was ripped open from top to bottom, but we suited up and boarded anyway. Sure enough, everyone was dead. It was obvious that there had been some tampering with the memory units, so we pulled them and took them back to the ship. On our way out, Patrick was checking the crew for ID and he found a video recorder beneath a body and grabbed it. He thought maybe it was a video recording to the guy’s family and he wanted to make sure they got it. Of course, you can’t just hand those things over to the family without making sure the footage isn’t traumatizing. So we watched it.

Bob pushed his palms onto his knees and stood. Dani took more notice now of how he moved. His body seemed stiffer and his movements more cautious; so many years between them—lost.

He crossed the room and rested his forearm on the mantle of the fireplace that adorned the largest wall in the room. Bob looked down into the soot and wood remnants as he continued. It wasn’t pretty. The recording showed the attack on the space station, every gory detail. The most disturbing part, though, was the fact that the attackers weren’t Vaerian, but fellow GC troops. Their uniforms were different, though—I hadn’t seen them before.

How could you tell they were GC? Zadria leaned forward and asked.

Bob raised his eyes and studied her face. Everything from their weapons to their boots screamed GC. And if that wasn’t enough, they had a GC patch on their uniform. Different than that, but a GC patch nonetheless.

Zadria looked to her shoulder where Bob had gestured at the GC patch adorning her uniform and covered it with her palm.

Anyway... Bob sighed before continuing. We checked the memory units after we saw the video and found that they were wiped clean. Whatever information they were there to get or destroy was gone. All we had was a broken space station, a few dead bodies, and the video. After a long chat with the rest of the crew, we decided to turn over the video to our commanding officer.

Please tell me you made a copy, Jag blurted out.

A half smile created wrinkles at the corner of Bob’s eye. "We did. And it’s a good thing, too. I met with my commanding officer and we reviewed the recording together. He was distraught, to say the least. He said he’d run it up the chain of command. I left his office, and then never saw him again. Shortly after that, I