Preston steepled his fingers. “Things are changing within the Velibar.”
“Is that so?” I glanced at my grandfather. “I’m listening.”
“It all started seventeen years ago when we arrived at Proxima Centauri.”
SIXTEEN
The stories were incredible. Garret Breaker’s treachery clearly stung, but my grandpa was a resilient man. When he spoke of his designation as First Regal of Biks by the First Ruler, we remained silent. It felt like he was leaving something out , but I didn’t ask him to elaborate. His eyes told me a tale of regret and sadness, but his words were powerful, drawing our group in.
A screen projected the battle above the surface, and twenty more of those smaller Squids joined the other two. Things weren’t going well for Zonrial and Trid.
“Captain, the Stin and Trid are attempting to reach you,” R11 interrupted.
I peered at Preston, and he gave me a nod. So self-assured. Like I was seeking his guidance. Maybe I was. “Patch it in.”
I pulled my PersaTab out, and Trid’s voice garbled through the speakers. “Arlo, where are you? We’ve been ambushed. I escaped, but Zonrial is in the heat.”
“When were you going to tell me the Hidan weren’t here?” I asked.
“Arlo, whatever you think you know is—”
“He thinks that you betrayed him, Trid of the Darlor,” Preston said. “Why don’t you tell him the truth? That the Darlor were at Refuge because no one would bring them in. That the Hidan are your co-conspirators, and that the Velibar were hired to destroy Refuge because of your threats to countless civilizations.”
Trid’s reticence to answer was all the admission I sought.
“That’s what I thought. The Stin on the other hand. We had an arrangement,” Preston told me after ending the transmission with Trid.
“R11, will the Stin remain loyal to us?” I asked the SeaTech robot. His eyes dimmed and returned to normal.
“Stin accepts.”
I recalled Stin’s words about destroying the Velibar home planet, and I knew I couldn’t trust the AI program either. But as long as they performed today, we could figure the rest out later.
“I assume the Kvan were caught up in their lies.” Preston closed his eyes for a second. “I will tell my people to leave them alive. As for the rest…”
“Don’t kill them,” Jade said.
“What would you have me do?” Preston asked her.
“Grandpa, this is Jade. Erik Trevors’ niece.”
His eyes widened and even Preston was unable to suppress a grin at the news. “A Luna Corp woman. You’re Ginger’s daughter?”
Jade nodded, idly grasping her black earrings. “That’s me.”
“We met a few times, when you were a young girl.”
“I remember,” she said. “Erik liked you. I think he was scared you’d attempt a takeover of Luna Corp, though.”
Preston laughed loudly at this. “Me? All I wanted was to take care of my family and retire.”
“That’s the reason my uncle lobbied to send you on Obelisk.”
Jade hadn’t told me any of this. Preston stopped smiling and tapped his chin with a finger. “That conniving…”
“You didn’t know?” Luther asked him.
“That Erik was nervous about me? Not the slightest inkling. What was his reasoning?”
Jade crossed her legs and sat back into the chair. “I guess he realized something he was lacking. You were charismatic and had the respect of the executives. If you’d gone to them and suggested you were a better suited replacement for Erik, he thought the Board might have listened. It’s happened before.”
“So I have the Luna Corp CEO to blame for this. Maybe he’s the one after all,” Preston said.
“The message you sent me.” I got his attention. “Who were you telling me not to trust?”
“Frank Under, the Sage Industries CEO.” Preston’s eyes twinkled while he frowned. “But I might be mistaken. I’ve been in communication with someone from Earth for years. They’ve been helping the First Ruler facilitate this invasion since the beginning. I assumed it was Frank, but now I’m reconsidering that.”
“It could be any of those CEOs,” Aster said. “None are to be trusted.”
“It’s definitely not my dad,” Holland told Aster.
“Whatever helps you sleep at night, kid.” Aster walked across the room and poured another glass of water. “What are we doing down here? Shouldn’t we be checking on Earth?”
“Why?” Preston asked.
We’d been so interested in catching up that I hadn’t told him about the message from Octavia. He lost color as I filled him in.
“Breaker’s made his move.” Preston rose and strode to a console on the wall. He hit a few keys and uttered indistinguishable alien words.
Luther leaned forward on his chair. “Breaker? We just saw him a few days ago at the fake Refuge.”
“Then he did listen to orders. Since the First Ruler’s death, there has been a power struggle within the Velibar hierarchy. The four Regals envision the future differently, and Breaker is on the wrong side of our people. Maybe it was another of the First Regals. I’ve been wary of Tarre for a long time, but also Equar.”
I blanched at the way Preston referred to the Velibar. Our people. He really did see himself as one of them. “We’re missing something. The First Ruler is dead?” This was important.
“Yes, I realize we hadn’t got to that part of the tale yet. Would you like to hear it?” Preston returned to the table and took his seat.
“Very much so,” Jade told him.
“Okay. It started four months ago…”
____________
Four Months Ago
Preston Lewis appreciated the familiarities of being on Obelisk again. Only now, he was the sole human on board. The Velibar crew were adequate, but it wasn’t the same as having his own people around him. He understood why the Ruler had structured it this way. It was a reminder to Preston that he was Velibar, not human.
His motives were usually less than subtle.
“Is everything in order?” Preston asked Beter Con. She was his acting commander and had accepted the role with ease.
“The drones are initiated. In a
