Fugitive Heroes by James David Victor

Author:James David Victor [Victor, James David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Fairfield Publishing
Published: 2024-04-23T00:00:00+00:00

7

It wasn’t long after Novossum finished her demonstration and explanations that Melias knew they would be getting close to Waystation and dropping out of the wormhole. He realized that they might still have to deal with the blockade if it was still there. There was a chance that they would have left to follow the Goose, but he was sure some Union and Ter’ Oroi presence would remain, if not as an implicit threat than as a simple reminder.

He wanted to know what he needed to be prepared for. They had left to draw the blockade away, and they’d done so much since then that he’d almost forgotten about the dire straits they’d left their home in. He simply had faith that the Union and the Ter’ Oroi weren’t so monstrous that they’d destroy a highly populated space station over greed.

He put in a call to Waystation. Him and Niath sat in silence as the comm pinged Commander Thandriel’s office. She didn’t answer.

“That’s odd,” he said. Even if she was busy, she had plenty of attendants that could answer and at worst, they could take a message. He tried again, and again, it went on too long until the call ended, unanswered.

“I don’t like that one bit,” Niath said with a hard swallow.

“Do you think the Union attacked them, or the Ter’ Oroi?”

She shrugged. “I hope not. They would be fools to do that, but these are dangerous times, and fools are quick to do dumb and reckless things.”

Even the ravenous war parties of the Ter’ Oroi wouldn’t be so callous. They liked to attack small Celerean colonies and sometimes random colonies of other species if they were in contested or uncharted space, but attacking a heavily populated and heavily fortified station or world was another matter. And even if they did, he was sure the Union would get involved.

Still, the silence was deafening.

“Let’s not assume anything yet. There are other people we can call.”

So, they kept trying. First, they tried Clod’s personal line, then Thandriel’s, the line he was strictly forbade to ever use unless it was a galactic emergency. This seemed like one of those times. But again, she didn’t answer. Now, he was worried. They tried a few of the bars they frequented that had outgoing comm frequencies, but none of them answered either. Finally, he tried Ortega, even though he was loathe to do so.

There was no answer. He tried again and again, but nothing. His heart began to race as he stood over the comms, elbows locked, sweat trickling down his face.

“Oh no, oh no, oh no.”

Niath put a hand on his shoulder. “Relax, Captain. We shouldn’t fear the worst just yet.”

His head snapped in her direction. “Oh yeah? Why shouldn’t I? What the hell else could this mean?”

“It could mean that their comms are jammed by the blockade of military ships surrounding the station. It doesn’t necessarily mean they’ve been invaded and killed.”

Melias forced himself to take deep, calming breaths. In and out. “Yeah. You’re right.

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