“What do you know?” Kymberlynn asks.
“It was some research facility in the Throgen section of space that found the Iphigenians’ transport ship. There were a few Osirians able to be reanimated. The labs had a collection of alien artifacts including the Dragon and a Calthos clan sword.”
A revelation clicks for Kymberlynn. “Answering how he got Joe’s people to train him—he returned their sword.”
“I don’t know how long he was at the Throgen lab facility before he returned the sword, allowing him the privilege to ask about being trained. Joe says they only train those who are worthy.”
“How long did he train on Calthos because someone had to instruct him in piloting?”
“He spent a year on Calthos,” Amye recalls. “Then someone gave him pilot lessons.”
“He never found the shuttle at that point because he could barely fly the ship.”
“I understand why Reynard didn’t discover it. The Osirians from his world could barely visit their only satellite moon and without gravity.”
“Zero-g. Wow. Imagine traveling an entire trip in free fall—destroying their muscular system.”
“Focus, Kymberlynn.”
“I’m focused. Why don’t you just ask Athena?”
“Brilliant.” Amye asks before her sister gloats over using her brain before Amye could. “Computer. Why did the crew have no access to the shuttle’s…location?”
“Access to shuttle information remains restricted to Genesis Level clearance,” Athena responds.
“Australia and Reynard both have Command Level clearance. The highest level.”
“Incorrect,” Athena’s feminine robotic voice responds.
“Reynard figured out the command clearance code, giving him control over the ship.”
“Not the highest level code. There are elements on the Dragon he’s still unable to access,” Kymberlynn points out.
“So how did Ki-Ton?”
“I’ll have to ask him before I kill him,” Amye sneers.
“ARE WE ABLE to track him?” Reynard buckles his seatbelt. Not his actual first question, but it is on his list.
“He broke orbit and spent a great deal of time calculating his jump into hyperspace, allowing Athena to speculate his destination,” Australia reports.
The parking lot full of spacecraft shrinks on the main view screen as the Dragon breaks the asteroid’s orbit.
“So it’s a trap.”
“One you have to spring. He took the princess.”
“Athena, plot a duplicate trajectory,” Reynard orders. “Track our shuttle.”
“Pull up the engine signature information from the computer,” Scott adds. “I’ve seen no schematics on us even having a shuttle.”
“It’s not a misplaced broom closet. It’s a fucking shuttle. What did you think was under the bridge?” Reynard snarls, angry at himself for never asking before.
“Athena won’t release information about the shuttle to me.” Scott slams his fist onto the control panel. “Commander, I thought it was energy cells.”
Australia presses in her command codes. “I show no record of a shuttle, and my clearance level…”
“Is not Genesis Level clearance,” Amye storms onto the bridge.
“There’s no Genesis Level clearance code.”
“I was just in the shuttle bay. Athena says there is. Somehow Ki-Ton has locked us out because he knew the higher level code than the command you have, William.”
“First, we recover the princess.”
“Who is this woman who takes precedence over finding Admiral Maxtin?” Leahla demands.
“A member of our crew,” Australia says.
“I’ve read little on the Nysaean. I thought the Tibbar invasion eliminated the species,” Leahla says.
JC finds Leahla’s utter lack of taste to be disconcerting. To remind Australia she’s the last of her species would upset most people, and JC’s sure it even affects that computerlike brain of her first officer. Australia fails to show distress. Before she pulverizes the graduating cadet. Australia motions to JC to keep quiet.
Scott’s use of procedure should put the cadet in her place, “Nice way to introduce yourself to your commanding officer, cadet.”
“Give her demerits later. Someone track the shuttle,” Reynard demands.”
“Based on Ki-Ton’s trajectory there are twenty-six solar systems on a direct path,” Australia reports.
“Too many. Narrow it down.”
“Athena, does the shuttle have a tracking frequency?” Scott asks.
“Shuttle information requires Genesis Level clearance code,” Athena responds.
Reynard enters his command code into the computer. “This cypher should give me access to all the ship’s systems.”
“Systems not including a hidden shuttle.”
Reynard hasn’t the computer aptitudes to find the Genesis encryption. He must take action or lose the respect of the entire crew, especially the three new additions.
“JC, take the cadets and get them some quarters. Amye, Scott, you work on accessing the computer core for this Genesis code. Aus, we need to narrow down those twenty-six star systems to one.”
Claxton alarms.
“I wasn’t wrong about the Mokarran,” Hauser points to the growing gray mass on the main view screen.
As the battle cruiser grows in size, targeting alarms warn of danger.
“Give me the coordinates of the closest system along Ki-Ton’s projected path. We’ll work out how to track the shuttle en route.”
“Course locked in, Commander,” Australia reports.
The Silver Dragon slips into hyperspace. The smooth transition from regular space to the folded dimension gives Reynard a moment to breathe despite the churn it stirs in his gut. “Athena, estimation until target solar system?”
“Four hours.”
“Scott, you have four hours.”
“Admiral Maxtin assigned us to your crew. Give us a task,” Leahla offers.
“Assigned to your quarters, first,” JC says.
“I desire to work with the Nysaean.”
“Through the academy you acquainted yourself with dozens of species. Why am I so fascinating?” Australia asks.
“Your ability to speak over two-hundred alien languages. Had the Tibbar not extinguished your people, imagine a ship with a living, thinking translator. Our linguist instructor at the Academy told us you could even speak the Tymonyan language.”
“Tymonyan, a series of insect mandible clicks,” JC says.
“It hurts to perform—only do basic greetings and polite questions. I do not count it as a language I have mastered. There are tones and pitches within each click. One octave difference changes the meaning. You could be asking for the bathroom or you could be insulting an ancestor.”
“You still make some of the sounds. I’ve met no sapiens who could.”
“What were you studying at the academy?” Australia asks.
“Navigation, weapons, command procedures…”
Australia interrupts, “You were allowed to follow only a few electives. What were they?”
“I wanted to do languages,
