“Varn, this is Preston Lewis. Grandpa, this is Varn Wallish, the Sage Racer pilot.” I motioned between them, and Preston nodded.
“I saw the Race,” he said. “You did an admirable job.”
“I would have won if Hawk hadn’t cheated,” he said, but with a grin. “I think I missed something. Are we on the same side? Or is this one of those ‘enemy of my enemy’ type scenarios?”
“Varn, I assure you, I am a friend to Earth. The same can’t be said of specific Velibar.” Preston waved us inside. “Come. We have plans to make.”
The bay’s ceilings were high, the room bright and hospitable. More Velibar were present, some wearing the brown armor of the soldiers, others in gray uniforms. The workers. Engineers and tradespeople. We followed Preston and Beter as two soldiers dragged Zonrial off my ship. R11 stayed on board, attempting to contact Bryson at home. He’d also be able to relay communication from Stin.
“Hawk, can I have a word?” Jinx asked. The others went ahead, and I waited back with my friend from Titan.
“You hanging in there?”
“Sure, Hawk. But are we doing the right thing?” His gaze bounced around as he searched the halls.
“The Darlor and Hidan lied to us. They’re not allies. They were using us.”
“I know, that’s what I mean.” Jinx nervously wrung his hands.
“Spit it out,” I told him.
“Refuge. They knew where we lived. The communication from Jade had our location imprinted on it,” he said.
I stared at him, taking a moment to grasp his intentions. “You think…”
Jinx nodded. “If the Hidan and Darlor aren’t to be trusted, who’s to say they didn’t drag us out to Refuge while they invaded Earth?”
SEVENTEEN
“You’re positive the Velibar didn’t strike Earth?” Jade paced the room. It was unlike her to be so anxious. I usually relied on her to combat my own impulsiveness.
“At first, I wasn’t sure, but since Garret Breaker was at Refuge, I doubt anyone would have broken their word. No other Velibar would dare supersede the First Ruler’s commands.” Preston and Beter Con sat nearby in the dining hall. The workers were off as a result of the assault on Biks, and our group had the place to itself. We devoured food that was actually better than one would expect an underwater alien to eat.
“But he’s dead,” Luther reminded Preston.
Preston intertwined his fingers. “They don’t know that.”
“You haven’t told the other Velibar?” I asked.
“No. I’ll advise them when I return to Dutis.”
“Do you have the message?” Beter Con asked, speaking English.
My PersaTab was on the table, and I reached for it. “Everything was going fine. We were in touch with Major Barnes, Octavia Post, and Bryson Kelley, using Jade’s communication system. The final communication came as a shock.” I hit play, and we listened to the ominous recording.
“If anyone hears this, my name is Octavia Post, Lead Chair of the Board. The invasion has begun. We’re under attack.”
“And that’s it?” Preston asked.
“That’s it,” I confirmed.
“It could be the folks from Refuge. We can’t verify the source,” Jinx said. “I’ve been thinking about it more, and it all makes sense. Refuge understood we were being confronted by the Velibar, but they also were aware that we fended them off. We told them as much in our back and forths. They advised us there was a sanctuary and suggested we visit them. They were also informed that we were building a defensive fleet, but that it wouldn’t be ready for some time.”
“Implying we were vulnerable,” Luther added.
“I can’t believe I helped them.” Jade finally sat, and she rubbed her eyes until they were red.
I put my arm around her shoulders, trying to comfort her, but she shook me off. “It’s not your doing, Jade.”
“If I hadn’t figured out how to detect these distant signals, we’d be back at home. Preston would have managed to convince the Velibar that they didn’t need Earth, and we’d have been able to return to life as we knew it.” Jade frowned, and I could hear her teeth gritting.
“How were you to know? If anyone is to blame, it’s the Velibar,” Preston said. “They were the ones who intercepted Obelisk.”
“Wait, are they out in Proxima?” I hadn’t asked him yet.
“No. The Velibar found no use for it. Apparently, their contact with us was pure happenstance,” Preston said.
“Can we circle back to what Jinx was talking about?” Luther dropped a utensil on the table. It was a claw-like fork, and it clattered off his plate and fell to the floor.
“The races from Refuge were lying to us.” I wanted to throttle the entire fleet of them.
“It would appear so,” Preston answered.
“Then we have to go home now. My dad…” Holland was already on his feet, anxious as ever to return to SeaTech.
“There’s a problem.” Preston frowned, and the air deflated from Holland with a single exhale.
“What?” I leaned closer, almost sticking my elbow into a plate of soggy vegetables.
“The drones. We have no means to make a gateway to Earth,” he said.
“No problem. We fly there. We have FTL on the Racers,” I reminded him.
“But we don’t. The Velibar can’t travel faster than light,” he said.
“What does that mean?” Varn’s mouth was full.
“The Word doesn’t permit it,” Preston said.
“And you? Does that mean you won’t fly with us?” Who was this man across from me? He looked human, but I was gathering a lot had changed within him over the last seventeen years since his capture.
“I will not. If I am to convince the Velibar to name me First Ruler, I cannot break the Word.”
Beter Con nodded, smiling at his answer.
“How long to travel there?” I asked Jade. She was still frozen, her face pale. I had to tap her on the arm. “Jade?”
“What?”
“How long for us to arrive at Earth?”
“From Biks? A month,” she said. “Give or take.”
“Then we leave right away,” I told them.
“Son, don’t be impatient. Do you want to rush head first into—” Preston stopped, and smirked at me.
