Galaxy's End: Book One by LeRoy Clary (popular ebook readers txt) 📗

back to her. “My superiors will want to know everything.”

“And I will tell him everything. In the meantime, why have you not dispatched your ship and one of your destroyers to the nexus where two enemy ships will appear very soon?”

“You cannot know that,” he said.

She drew a breath and decided to bully him. Military types always had a weakness in carrying out orders. She said, “You are charged with protecting the secret of this military base while on patrol. If, as I say, a pair of enemies appear, then turn and reenter the wormhole when you knew of their arrival and you did nothing to protect the secret of this location, it will not go well for you, sir. I suggest you let one destroyer remain with us while you go become a hero.”

His face reddened. He snarled, “If you power up or attempt to use subspace radio, we will obliterate you.”

Obliterate. A nice word. She refused to smile. “Yes, sir.”

The commander broke the connection without warning. She watched the screen and the frigate, and one destroyer broke from the last. It took up position by matching velocity and course, a few kilometers distant from each other. The captain of that ship didn’t attempt to communicate, and she had no doubt there were missiles hot and programmed to strike her ship.

“Incoming communication link established,” Bert said as the screen came to life again.

A woman with puffy, sleep-filled eyes and wild, tangled hair stared at her. Despite that, there was no doubt she was in charge. Without identifying herself or asking for the same from Captain Stone, she snarled, “What’s this all about?”

“Two more ships will exit the wormhole near where we emerged. I’ve asked your commander to move and block their reentry. They are enemies and followed us through the wormhole despite our best efforts to lose them by switching at junctures.”

The woman sighed. “Ships close enough can determine where others are. Even in wormholes, young lady.”

“I am Captain Stone of the trader ship Guardia and have been in command of my ship for over a decade. If your use of ‘young lady’ was a compliment, I accept. I know and understand that ships nearby can detect each other briefly at any nexus, but the two following behind us were at light-month distances and still able to track us.”

“Impossible.”

“If you blockade the entrance to the wormhole and capture either or both of the ships, the technology is yours alone. Consider that for a moment.”

The unidentified woman sighed and spoke off-screen before turning back. “There are no other ships. I’ve just confirmed that fact. What are you up to?”

Captain Stone locked eyes and without looking up, said, “Bert, when will the other two ships exit the wormhole?”

A ping sounded. “On your screen.”

Stone fought to keep a straight face. A decrementing number was spiraling down at a rapid pace.

The other woman demanded an answer.

Captain Stone remained silent.

The woman began by making threats she couldn’t enforce, yet. Captain Stone believed nobody was going to pull every hair from her head before the ships appeared in normal space.

Captain Stone remained silent and ignored the threats as the numbers continued getting smaller.

In the middle of another angry tirade, Stone held up four fingers and curled one. Then a second as the number decremented.

“What are you doing?” The woman demanded; her face flushed.

Stone had just curled number three. She lowered number four.

“Two ships emerging,” Bert snapped.

The woman wrinkled her brow and said, “What was that?”

“Two ships have emerged,” Bert said louder.

“Not you,” the woman said. “I’m speaking to the captain of my frigate.” She blanked the screen and shut down the audio.

Captain Stone allowed herself to smile. She knew the woman in charge had just received the same information, a few seconds after Bert had made his announcement. Stone waited. The woman would set up the link again. Soon.

The screen filled with the agitated woman. She said without preamble, “There is no way you could predict the emergence of those two ships, let alone when. Yet, you did it precisely on time.”

Captain Stone said, “I would like very much to meet with you in person and provide all the information I have.”

The woman glanced down at her dressing gown and then back at the screen. She nodded and allowed a slight smile. “As our valued guest, of course. I’ll have that destroyer escort you and one of my shuttles will bring you to meet with me and my staff, if that is agreeable, Captain Stone.”

Before she could agree, the screen blanked again as the connection was terminated. She imagined the flurry of orders from the woman to her staff and others. Stone realized the woman had never identified herself. However, she had signed off after using her title and name, a measure of respect not provided to prisoners.

Stone looked down at the bright green blouse Kat had purchased at the spaceport, the too-baggy pants, and shoes with bows on the instep. Before the meeting, she intended to find something more presentable to wear and that would entail the dead captain’s cabin.

Bert pinged and said, “It appears both ships were taken captive without incident. All four are following us. I believe both were boarded and are traveling with Bradley Concord officers on their bridges. Ahead of us is a complex built for constructing spaceships, all military. We are heading for a habitat constructed from what appears to be a small moon or exceptionally large asteroid.”

“Anything else of interest?”

“Perhaps fifty warships in various stages of construction.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

 

Kat

 

I still couldn’t get Chance off my mind. He was hiding information. At least twice, he’d attempted to use his empathy powers on me. Not only did I resent it, but I was also