The Alliance Boxset Books 4-6

Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

Western Region Council Offices:

Prymorus stood at the window of the office he had taken over in the Western Council. He had sent the Kassisan on a mission to check the ore productions at one of the remote mines. He didn’t care that the man had proven himself to the Drethulan warlord that was overseeing this project. The bastard had saved his life as well, but that didn’t mean he trusted him.

He turned when he heard the knock at his office door. Calling out a command for the person to enter, he stared coldly at the young officer that he had instructed to retrieve information on the bodies of the Trivators.

“Well?” he demanded.

The Disesian looked just over his shoulder when he responded. Prymorus knew the male was terrified. He could smell it, but he remained standing at attention.

“Nothing, sir,” the Disesian replied. “The patrol reported that there were no remains of Trivators in the rubble. The report stated that the area appeared to have been pillaged. One of the hunters followed the tracks back to an underground drainage on the northeast side of the mountain. A second patrol discovered a number of captives trying to escape across the desert to the mountains and opened fire. The sole survivor stated before she was killed that the group had escaped from the lower catacombs of the fortress.”

Prymorus’ features twisted in rage at the knowledge that the Trivators had escaped. His fists clenched. Striding over to his desk, he pulled up a map of the area.

“Where is the patrol now?” he asked in a harsh voice.

“They… They are dead, sir,” the male said. “The second patrol found them. It appears most of the men were killed during a sandstorm.”

Prymorus’ head jerked up and his eyes narrowed. “Most?” he repeated.

The male looked away. “Yes, sir,” he replied in a quiet voice. “The three Drethulans with the patrol were killed by laser fire.”

“Get me the Kassisan, Dakar,” Prymorus ordered, sitting down at his desk.

Prymorus looked up when the male didn’t immediately reply. His mouth tightened as he pulled up a message that had been waiting for him. The message was from three hours ago. He had heard it come in, but had ignored it. Pressing the control, he saw Dakar’s standard signature.

I told you that I don’t take orders from you. Our work service has been voided.

Rage pulled Prymorus out of his chair again. “Shut down all departures. I want that Kassisan’s head on my desk,” he growled.

“He… He has already left the planet, sir,” the male stuttered.

Prymorus walked around the desk with slow, purposeful steps, like a huge predator stalking its prey. A vicious smile curved his lips as he stared at the young Disesian with piercing black eyes. His hand moved to his hip.

“Then, I guess your head will have to do,” he snarled, raising his laser sword.

An hour later, Prymorus stepped out of the cleaning unit in his office. He ran the towel over his bald head as he walked by his bloodstained desk. Tossing the towel to the side, he poured himself a glass of his favorite liquor. He had only taken a couple of sips of it when the computer on his desk chimed.

Turning, he walked over to it and sat down, staring moodily at the computer before he leaned forward and pressed in his code. A message from his client immediately came up. He read the message through twice before he leaned back in his chair. Lifting the glass in his hand to his mouth, he quickly swallowed down the contents before ordering one of the guards to enter.

“Yes, sir,” the guard said, not looking at the desk.

“Have my warship prepared for immediate departure,” Prymorus ordered.

“Yes, sir,” the guard said with a bow of his head.

Prymorus waited until the door shut behind the guard before he turned to stare into the empty eyes of the young officer. A calculating gleam came into them. A Trivator values one thing above all else – his female, he thought. Bending, he stared into the sightless eyes.

“I wonder if the Kassisan does, as well?” he murmured. “Just think – a new planet to destroy and perhaps a mate or two to go with it. What could be better revenge than that?” he asked as he reached out and closed the male’s eyes. “Yes, I thought you would agree with me.”

“Hold up,” Saber called down as the transport glided to a stop just outside the canyon.

“What is it?” Razor asked, staring straight ahead.

“Trig, scan for detection systems,” Saber ordered.

“What is it?” Hunter asked in a quiet voice, standing up in the back next to Saber.

“For just a second, I had a reading,” Saber murmured. “My gut is telling me to check it out.”

Hunter leaned over and tapped Razor on the shoulder. He waved his hand across his throat for Razor to turn off the transport. Saber, Dagger, Trig, Ace, and Hunter climbed out of the transport.

“Spread out,” Saber ordered. “Look for a low pulse system.”

They spread out, not crossing into the canyon, but surveying the outer area. A low curse escaped Saber when he caught another glimpse of the pulse, but lost it before he could capture the frequency. It was an antiquated, but effective security system.

“I’ve got it,” Hunter called out. “Switch down to two point one seven.”

Saber nodded, adjusting the detection system on his goggles. He drew in a swift breath when he saw the extensive maze of red laser beams crisscrossing the canyon floor. Taylor wouldn’t have known to check. Hell, if he hadn’t caught a brief glimpse on the frequency scan in his goggles display screen, he would have missed it.

“Hunter, can you bypass it?” Saber asked, staring at the red lines.

Hunter shook his head. “Dagger, what about you?” he asked.

Dagger raised an eyebrow. “You need to be talking to Jordan. She could do it. Me? I just kill things. She won’t even let me near the vidcom to watch a movie. She says I killed the last one,” he grunted.

“I might be able to,” Trig replied, staring at the system. “There was one similar to this on a mission I did a couple of years ago. I need to see if we have the equipment to do it.”

“Do it,” Razor ordered. “What do you need?”

Trig snorted. “An electro-magnetic pulse controller.”

Saber scowled at Trig. “Where in the shewta do you expect us to find one of those?”

“You’re wearing it,” Trig replied, looking at Saber’s right leg.

An hour later, Saber stood next to Trig as he synced the controller for his brace with the security system. Trig explained that the signal that emitted the low pulses in the brace that enabled the contraction of the nerves and muscles in Saber’s leg were essentially the same frequency as the security system.

“We need to stay as close to you as possible. The controller should keep the signal from being broken,” Trig explained. “The key is that it will only sync with the surrounding signal for about one and a half meters. We need to stay within that diameter.”

“Let’s do this!” Saber growled, shifting uncomfortably.

“One thing I forgot to mention,” Trig muttered as he gripped the rifle in his hand.

“What’s that?” Saber snapped, glancing over his shoulder at Trig.

Trig grimaced. “It is going to drain the battery life on your brace,” he muttered with an apologetic look. “You’re going to be using a lot more energy.”

“What about his leg?” Hunter asked with a frown.

Trig glanced down at Saber’s leg before looking up again. “It might get a little twitchy, too,” he added.

Saber could already have told Trig that. At the moment, his right leg was tingling and felt like he had a line of those damn insects the humans called ants climbing up it. He had made the mistake of stepping in a bed of them when he was back on Earth. It was an experience he wasn’t likely to ever forget. Dagger and Hunter had laughed their asses off when he stripped out of his clothes and ended up in a pool of water, at least until they joined him.

“Can we just do this?” Saber asked through clenched teeth. “It feels like those insects from Earth are in my pants again.”

“Goddess!” Dagger hissed with a shudder. “That was a miserable experience."

“Yes,” Saber agreed. “Now, I’m heading out to find Taylor. If you are going, get in a circle.”