Kat shook her head. “I couldn’t calculate them.”
“Me neither. It cannot be a coincidence. Therefore, we, meaning you and I, need to go there and do some investigating.”
“Okay,” Kat said. “But how does that help with the crew?”
“We are going to tell them you are related to me—which could prove to be true. As my only close relative, I’ve managed to rescue you from a life of crime on Roma. You will be my niece, one who was unknown to me until our trip to Roma. With that, they will understand.”
Kat laughed and shook her head. “No, they won’t. You just happened to land on a planet where your lost niece was—and then you stumbled upon her. Talk about unbelievable.”
Captain Stone saw the problem and agreed. “Any ideas?”
“Sure. You got a message from an aunt you long thought dead. She told you about me and that I’d been taken to Roma for my protection because of something my parents had done. Whatever. You got a message that said where to find me if I was alive. You hired a detective. After your fight in the coliseum, you went looking for me.”
“That story is weak, but we can hammer out the details. It will work.”
“Is there more?”
“Yes. You have to convince Bill of the story, and worse, you have to let him know that he has to stay on the Escolta while you and I depart for parts unknown.”
Kat grinned and looked very much like images of cats Captain Stone had seen. She said, “As long as Lila is going to remain on the Escolta, convincing Bill will be no problem. Have you seen the way they look at each other?”
“No, but that’s good news. It will make things easier. Speaking of making things easier, there is another thing to share. You cannot repeat it out of this room. I need your promise.”
“You have it,” Kat said awkwardly.
“Of the three water worlds where the aquatic eggs were destined, two were worlds belonging to the Devonian Empire, the enemy of the Bradley Concord. Admiral Swain contacted her opposite in the Grand Army of the Devonian Empire and had a personal conversation.”
“About the eggs?”
“Exactly. The Escolta will make a small detour on the way to the Bradley Concord secret base. We will deliver one of the cargo pods to them for them to study. They will present it to the political leaders of the Devonian Empire and explain that the Bradley Concord prevented the invasion of two of their worlds. Admiral Swain thinks they may sign a peace treaty and work together to search out and defeat the aquatic race.”
“That sounds great,” Kat exploded.
“Even better, both sides are competing to reward us. Since the Bradley Concord is willing to stock and fuel our venture, the Devonian Empire has offered us a ship they happen to have that will suit our needs very well. When we deliver the cargo pod, it is supposed to be waiting for us.”
Kat shrugged. “What could be better?”
Captain Stone laughed as she answered. “Better than a fully provisioned ship being given to us at no cost? Well, some might say that ending a war is better. You could also say we’ve already done that. Who knows what comes next?”
The End
Author’s notes: I hate books that don’t tie up all the loose ends—and here I am explaining why I didn’t. During the writing of this, I attempted to resolve everything, but the scope of the story kept increasing and the task became impossible.
In the book, I tried to answer two fundamental issues and failed both because each would take too long, or I’d have to devise a cheap and dirty shorter resolution that nobody would like. The two ideas are so rich and diverse, they deserve books of their own.
The first is a visit to Prager Four where the three with empathic powers lived when young. Why did it happen only there? Are there more empaths living On Prager Four? Lots of questions. I wish I knew the answers, but I’m what is termed a “discovery writer” so I do not know what is going to happen until I write it.
The second is for the team of four to explore beyond the human sphere in the direction where the aquatic invaders first appeared. Who are they? What will the explorers find there? Again, lots of good stuff to write about.
Lastly, just a note of interest. Bill was intended to be the sidekick, Kat’s partner in all this, and a main character. In contrast, Fang was a very minor, making only a brief appearance. As the book evolved, Bill became less and less interesting while Fang did the opposite. I found I liked writing about Fang much more than Bill. Therefore, I introduced Lila to take Bill away from the next book and replace him with Fang.
Of course, you’re free to disagree with any of the above and burn me with an email telling me what I really do need to do to correct all this. Please . . . do it. I love hearing from readers.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
LeRoy Clary
LeRoy currently lives in Washington State with his wife and a big fluffy dog named Molly. He spends his time doing what he loves the most: writing about an action-packed fantasy world of dragons, space, and magic. LeRoy spends his leisure time traveling and exploring the beautiful countryside in the Pacific Northwest from high desert to forests to coastal terrain.
Writing has always been one of LeRoy’s favorite pass times and passions;
