“Impossible. It would draw attention.” JC realizes, “Zayars never leave their home world.
“Exactly.”
Reynard should understand why this information brightens the room, but he doesn’t. “Why?”
“Zayars are isolationists. For there to be two of them off-world attracts more attention than any secret operation would warrant. Luckily, they all look alike, so I doubt anyone realizes one was the Admiral.”
JC glazes over the two contusion- and abrasion-covered cadets. She kneels next to them and waves her hand over their foreheads. “They are UCP cadets, Commander,” she reports. “They don’t know Hauser. He snatched them from Summersun.”
Reynard’s hand instinctively reaches for his magnum only to find the empty holster.
Hauser raises his gun again as a reminder. “Easy, lad. They didn’t want to come quietly, so I had to…persuade them. I couldn’t have witnesses. They would report the missing Admiral and blow his cover. They were meant for your crew.”
“There’s still the matter of the bounty activation.”
“The one on me is not real. It’s a signal code broadcast on open channels.”
“We didn’t know it wasn’t accurate.”
The two bound and gagged cadets attempt escape. Within a second JC dumps the female to the floor on her rump while Reynard twists the male into a restraint hold, allowing him to have access to the back of his left hand. Reynard fights through the pain of his fractured hand. Five minutes in the Dragon’s medical bay—
“What should we do with them?” JC asks.
Reynard runs a scanner over the implanted DNA bar. The entire personal history of the cadet prints out on the scanner screen. Reynard activates the holography display and reads the information while keeping the aggressor pinned.
“UCP Academy Senior Cadet Mark Calrissian,” Reynard reads. “This is why I don’t have one of these things. His entire life story just scans in an instant.”
“Removes the need to torture for information,” Joe’s tone suggests malice, but Reynard assumes it’s a bluff to instill fear. Not that a seven-foot-tall four-armed Calthos warrior with swords would scare anyone. “You’ve been reassigned to special operations for advanced training under one of Admiral Maxtin’s extraordinary programs.”
JC releases the manacles on the female cadet first. She rubs her wrists.
“Do you have a name?”
“Leahla.” She has no trust for the woman who releases the gag in her mouth. “Don’t you dare scan me, telepath.”
“I won’t.” JC nods at her.
Reynard pulls Mark to his feet. “Why did Maxtin assign you?”
The male cadet raises his hand, pleading for his cuffs to be released. JC yanks off his gag.
Upset with the disrespect of not placing his rank before his surname, Mark sneers at Reynard, “Admiral Maxtin…”
“Look, kid. I get the respect of rank. You need to drop the attitude with me and learn real quick that identifying your commanding officer on a mission will get him killed. You salute the Admiral in the field and a watching sniper will paint your face with his brains.”
“You’re my assignment, sir. I’m here to instruct you in Mecat combat,” Mark explains.
“First, we’ve got to recover the admiral.” Reynard faces the mercenary.
“Do you mean to collect that bounty?” Hauser adds, “Because I mean to prevent you.”
“Any man brazen enough to wear Tibbar hide would be difficult to apprehend.”
“Smerth’n near impossible,” Hauser assures them.
“Not for a Calthos warrior,” Reynard tucks the pain of his hand away. In about five seconds on the Dragon it will be as if it never happened.
“I don’t see one of those here.”
Joe snags the gun from Hauser’s hand.
“The beauty of a Calthos warrior is your encounter’s over and they’ve killed you.”
Joe keeps the weapon.
“I’m on your side. We both want to find the Admiral. I know of your crew’s involvement with his operations. I was his backup on Summersun; if it went to hell he’d activate the bounty to call in other operatives. I wait here until one of his team attempts collection. One of your squad should know the Admiral’s protocols.”
“We’ve been following the Admiral’s orders on several clandestine operations. He’s never informed me of these secret protocols. Even Ki-Ton never said…” Even the most secretive of the secretive could be mistaken as a local comrade. Ki-Ton’s unwillingness to trust the crew could be more than just his intelligence training. Reynard meets JC’s eyes. She either felt his thought or had the same one.
Reynard realizes he must ask: “When did Admiral Maxtin go missing?”
“By the UCP Time Codes, better part of two weeks. It took me that long to investigate on Summersun and return here with those two to prevent them from revealing the disappearance.”
“You’ve kept these cadets secured for two weeks?”
Reynard’s confused face sparks JC to answer an unasked question, “Right after the weapons delivery, Commander.”
“The timetable’s NOT correct.”
“The cadets will confirm when Maxtin was taken,” Hauser says.
Hauser notes that any stoicism the cadets attempt becomes lost in inexperienced poker faces, “You haven’t been with Maxtin’s organization long.”
“We thought we’ve been following the Admiral’s orders.” Reynard balls his fist until his knuckles whiten. The ensuing pain gives him something else to focus on.
“Calm, sword brother.”
Hauser’s eyes widen as he takes a pre-emptive step back from the Commander. He has faced the skill of a Calthos warrior in his past and realizes this Osirian has been trained by someone matching his own skills. “You’re a sword brother…to the Calthos?”
“I survived their training.”
“I know of no off-worlders fitting into such a category.”
“We share our teaching with only those who are worthy,” Joe bows low before handing Hauser back his weapon.
“You maintain your honor. Most Calthos I’ve encountered do not.”
Joe’s face never changes. “Traveling off-world was forbidden.”
“Just because it’s forbidden doesn’t stop people. Even among your honored race.”
“You boys are losing focus,” JC interrupts. “The queen didn’t know you were coming, and as for the death of the politician...”
“We murdered a man in cold blood. We’ve been removing Maxtin’s allies from the playing board,” Reynard snaps.
“You helped the queen save her daughter. Whatever devious
