Empire Reborn (Taran Empire Saga Book 1): A Cadicle Space Opera by A.K. DuBoff (brene brown rising strong .txt) 📗

paused. “And Wil, I’m glad we’re finally working together. We should have done this a long time ago.”

“Better late than never, as they say.”

“And just in time. The storm is brewing.”

—     —     —

Lexi couldn’t help looking over her shoulder at every turn. Sending that message to the TSS might get me killed! What was I thinking?

She had been acting independently, and that was the problem. The Alliance expected her to fall in line and do whatever they said without question. She wouldn’t, couldn’t, do that—not knowing they were killers and were behind her friend’s disappearance. Now, if only the help she desperately needed would arrive.

Yet, she couldn’t wait around forever hoping someone would swoop in to take out the Alliance. She needed to keep digging deeper and learn everything she could.

The past week had been tense around the office. She’d been instructed to take the hovercart for each of her daily pickups from the port, and the heavy crates had almost maxed out the equipment’s capacity. The inventory duty had been passed off to a new recruit, so Lexi hadn’t had the opportunity to see inside. Based on the little snippets she’d dared to glean from people’s minds, she had gotten the impression that it was something destructive—either weapons or explosives. The Alliance was going to make a big splash.

Lexi went about her tasks around the office, listening and gathering information whenever she could. She kept getting pieces, but she didn’t have nearly enough to get the bigger picture.

“Oren wants to see you, Lexi,” Shena said as she came up behind her.

Lexi jumped at the sudden address. “Where?”

“His office.” Shena walked off to do whatever else. Lexi still, for the life of her, couldn’t figure out how everyone passed their time throughout the day.

Not having a real choice in the matter, she went down to the basement.

Oren was working at his desk when she arrived. She knocked twice on the open door to get his attention.

He motioned to the seat across from him, and she took it.

“So, I hear you’ve been asking questions.”

Lexi’s heart dropped to her feet. She swallowed and forced herself to breathe. “I just want to do my part to the best of my ability. Understanding the larger goals helps me prioritize and be effective in my tasks.” Her voice didn’t quaver, thankfully.

“I appreciate your attitude. You know we keep things compartmentalized for a reason.”

“Yes, I know. Just… everyone was so excited to see Magdalena speak, and I was hoping to know more about her.”

Oren cocked his head. “Why didn’t you come to me and ask?”

She shrugged sheepishly. “I didn’t want to bother you. It seemed silly.”

“You shouldn’t feel that way at all. There is some information we need to share with our trusted members.”

That phrasing was encouraging. I’m still on the inside, it seems.

“The Alliance is a piece of something much bigger,” Oren continued. “Magdalena is one of the visionaries behind what is known as the Coalition. I will simply say that there are very powerful players working behind the scenes to make sure we have the resources to be successful.”

Lexi nodded. “I’ve gotten the impression that we have moved from a time of talking to a time of action.”

“Indeed, we have. In fact, our biggest move is about to be set in motion.”

“May I ask what that is?”

He studied her. “It’s a big responsibility to be brought into the next level. Are you sure you’re willing to commit?”

“Have I done anything to make you question my loyalty?”

He was silent for longer than Lexi would have liked. “No,” he said at last. “And we’re going to need more people to help see us through the next phase.”

She kept her expression neutral. “Tell me what you need.”

“We’re expecting an important shipment. Rather, Duronis is. Two freighters are arriving tonight, and we need to secure them.”

Her heart skipped a beat. “How?”

“A team from another office will be leading that portion of it. The reason I called you here, though, is we need to prepare messaging to the citizens of the world, to deploy once our task is complete. You’ve had great ideas in our recent strategy sessions, so I thought you would be perfect for leading that communication effort.”

It was a lame assignment, and she would have been offended if she’d actually cared; a simple copy-paste from previous materials would get the job done in short order. “That sounds great. What should this communication say?” Her pulse pounded in her ears with fear that Oren would detect her disingenuous intentions.

“It should focus on how Duronis has achieved its independence and now we have the chance to lead the charge for other planets in the sector and beyond. We will be the hub of something new and great.”

Shite! What are they doing to make that happen? Lexi was having difficulty keeping her rising panic in check. She had an awful feeling that a lot of people were about to die, and she couldn’t stand by and do nothing while that happened. If ever there was a time to risk reading Oren’s mind again, it was now. She reached out telepathically to see what she could glean on the surface.

The first impression was a thirst for power and control. It didn’t map over clearly to a plan, only a strong emotional charge. Oren felt it so strongly it was like they had already carried out the act; an independent Duronis, at the hub of a new, rising power. He fancied himself a lord in this future scenario, reaping the benefits from years of hard work and sacrifice.

Lexi pushed deeper. How does Oren think that future will come to pass? The two cargo freighters were fixtures in his mind. They were filled with supplies on a massive scale—enough to let the entire planet