“Next,” Capt. Felt said, “I would like to introduce Col. Mila Sukareva. She is our engineering specialist. She is involved in special responsibilities now that war has broken out.”

  Sukareva, a beautifully sculpted woman who wore her hair in a tight bun, shook hands without a word. Felt finished the tale.

  “The Colonel will be based in Episteme for some time. She will be signing contracts with Halifax and Atumwa. Their output will be vital for the war effort.”

  Trevor wanted to jump all over that with an objection, but Haas beat him to the punch. She kept her cool.

  “I certainly hope we’re not talking about weapons manufacture. Amity is a neutral site.”

  Felt and Sukareva shook their heads in unison.

  “Weapons? Not in the least.”

  Trevor couldn’t help but wonder: Why here?

  The question disappeared when Felt made the final introduction.

  “Everyone here knows Mid-Star Lt. Hoshi Oda. But I should caution: Not all of us know the real Hoshi.” He motioned her forward. She maintained a stiff upper lip. “Last year’s misunderstanding is behind us. Few in the UNF have sacrificed and suffered like Hoshi. She is as fine an officer and a warrior as anyone I know. She now takes on the job of UNF Liaison to Amity Station. Lieutenant?”

  Hoshi stood tall and glared into the President’s eyes. Up close, it was clear: The woman added bulk in the past ten months.

  “It’s an honor, Madam President.”

  Haas played it well.

  “The time for recrimination is in the past, as Capt. Felt wisely said. I look forward to our discussions.”

  “Yes, mam.”

  To Trevor’s surprise, Hoshi softened as she gazed up at him.

  “Governor. Good to see you again.”

  “Lieutenant. We’ve both come a long way in the past year.”

  She widened her grin. A hint of the old Hoshi escaped.

  “My road was a little longer, but I take your point. It’s good to be back, Trevor.”

  “Hoshi.”

  Just like that, the moment ended with none of the angst or fanfare Trevor imagined. Yeah, right. One phrase dominated his thoughts:

  Too good to be true.

  The President took the next bit.

  “The Governor and I would love to show you our station. We know you’re eager to learn your way around. So, if you’d follow me ...”

  Felt raised a hand as if to make a point of order.

  “Madam President, we’d prefer not to pose an inconvenience. We realize you’re used to this sort of thing with dignitaries. But the truth is, we already have the perfect tour guides. Lt. Oda and Lt. Stallion know the ins and outs. And I’m sure with today’s events, both you and the Governor have a hefty agenda.”

  Felt wasn’t wrong. Trevor had scheduled a confab with his Chiefs in half an hour. He was also damned hungry. Would a quick, quiet meal with Shireena be too much to ask?

  “I rarely say no to a man in uniform,” Haas quipped. “If you prefer Connor and Hoshi to do the honors, we’ll happily step aside.”

  “Thank you, Madam President.”

  “Gov. Stallion and I have an open-door policy with the Amity guardians.” Trevor wasn’t aware of said policy. “Feel free to contact us at any time.”

  Connor came around and squeezed Trevor’s shoulders.

  “Not to worry, bruv. Hoshi and I got this. See you soon.”

  Trevor would’ve preferred to know the definition of soon.

  The officers of the Hampton Wave moved toward Customs, where they would be gene-stamped and given temporary LinkPass identifiers. Hoshi told Connor to show the team through Customs.

  “Madam President, if you don’t mind, I’d like to have a few words with the Governor.”

  Haas slid away but not without a daring side-eye. Trevor understood: Keep it under your collar.

  OK. Here we go.

  Hoshi tucked her hands behind her back.

  “I want to square things between us now, Trev. We’ll be working together. I expect a professional relationship. After today, we don’t talk about the past.”

  Blunt. Concise. Not the same Hoshi.

  “We’ll see how it goes. Say your piece.”

  She sighed. “You haven’t changed. A suit instead of a uniform.”

  “Don’t make this about me.”

  “You’re right, Trev. There’s blame to go around. I spent months trying to forgive you for the dark room. Worked hard. If not for Connor, I wouldn’t have gotten over the hump. He made me realize you weren’t to blame. You were curious and stubborn. You outplayed me. The rest was down to that cunt Devonshire. Good riddance.”

  Trevor took the verbal blows with a steady hand.

  “Correct me if I’m wrong, Hoshi, but you don’t sound like you’re over the proverbial hump.”

  She licked her lips with apparent relish.

  “There’s a war on. This station would fall without us.”

  “Good chance. Yes.”

  “Which means we’ll find a way to work together. I start my days early. I like a large breakfast. Connor tells me the Executive Dining Room has a great reputation. I’ll see you there tomorrow at H6. Don’t be late, Governor.”

  She pivoted with military precision and caught up to her contingent, never looking back.

  Trevor sidled over to Haas, who watched with equal bewilderment.

  “That went well,” he said with a dose of snark.

  “They act as if we’re an inconvenience.”

  “Straight from their playbook, I suspect.”

  She petted his arm.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t bring you in sooner. We have to be careful.”

  “Yep. We also need to know their plans. This Sukareva business worries me. What are they expecting from Halifax and Atumwa?”

  “No idea. I was thinking, Trevor. Since we’ve been given a reprieve, would you like to join me for dinner?”

  Trevor used his imagination.

  “A kiosk meal in the stairwell landing, perhaps?”

  She let rip a chuckle.

  “I thought it was time we got to know each other.”

  “Sure, but how about tomorrow? Would you mind if Shireena joins us? She’s my partner.”

  “Will she be your next wife?”

  “I hope so.”

  “Love to, Trevor.”

  He led her toward the Customs gate.

  “My head is swimming. I don’t know where to start.”

  “One item at a time works best for me. Don’t push too hard.”

  “Got it.”

  They followed the Hampton Wave contingent to the rifter docks, bid farewell, and went their separate ways.

  Three hours later, Battle Group Capt. Remy Graygone turned over Guardian command to Capt. Andre Felt. Trevor watched the ceremony then the secure cam feeds as the three warships reached departure coordinates and opened wormhole apertures. When they jumped away, Trevor felt a desperate sense of loss.

  He settled in for the night at H21. Sleep beckoned, but he also wanted to make love to Shireena. Couldn’t he end the day with something good and pure?

  She wasn’t in the mood. The meeting with Intel officer Delhi turned her stomach. He wasn’t a bad man, she said, but far too eager to “root out” the hidden enemy.

  “He advised we work overtime to finish our profiles then start again with a more intrusive approach. The things he proposed ... Trev, we already crossed lines.”

  “Play nice, hon, but remember: He has no authority here. He’s an advisor. I’m the Governor. I set policy.”

  She smiled but with a tinge of doubt.

  “You’re right. Of course. I can’t shake this feeling, Trev.”

  “I know. The galaxy’s on fire, and everything we knew is about to change.”

  She buried him in a kiss.

  “I’m not alone then. Good.”

  They embraced for a quiet moment until Trevor whispered:

  “Stay with me.”

  “Not tonight. I need to sleep in my own bed. I want to call home. See how my people are reacting.”

  “Understood. I’m glad the Kingdom isn’t in the war zone.”

  “Not yet.”

  They kissed inside the door which Trevor never wanted to open. Before they parted, he took the President’s advice.

  One item at a time.

  “Will you marry me?”

  She shifted between a gasp and a grin.

  “Your divorce isn’t even final.”

  “Eight days. Or is it seven? I’ve lost track. Why wait? We love each other. I can’t do this without you.”

  She caressed his cheek.

  “Ask me in eight days.”

  Not bad for a spontaneous proposal.

  “I’ll slot it in my calendar. How about during lunch in the Green?”

  “Perfect.” She kissed him and pressed the door chime. “I love you, Trevor Stallion. Now, I want you to promise: No dawdling. A good night’s sleep. You have an early breakfast. Yes?”

  “Nice way to ruin the moment,” he said with a snigger. “See you tomorrow, hon. I love you.”

  He missed her as soon as the door slid shut.

  Run. Catch her, jackass.

  No. One item at a time.

  At least something nice came of the day. Maybe two things. He became a confidant and co-conspirator with the President. Not bad.

  The rest?

  Trevor couldn’t wait to get out of his damned suit. He threw his jacket and shirt with ruffled collar onto the bed. Afterward, he stared at himself in the water room mirror, his mind circulating through the long day’s events. The front row to history, Connor called it.

  More like being pummeled over the head while waiting for the next blows to rain down.

  “The game is too big. I can’t keep up.”

  Trevor reached into his pants pocket and felt the extra pom he forgot about. Connor tossed it over before bigger events overwhelmed the day. Trevor read the name and gene stamp code on the back.

  “Thomas planned to ruin me. Why do I feel sorry for him?”

  Mau appeared at Trevor’s side but with a notable difference. Trevor saw the avatar’s reflection in the mirror.

  “You are not static, Trevor. You grow and change. The Enzathi will help you grow and change.”

  “I heard your pitch the first time, thanks.”

  Mau pointed to the traitor’s pom.

  “These events prove the wisdom of the Enzathi’s proposal. Other humans lie and deceive. They seek to control. The Enzathi wish to balance the weight.”

  To his credit, Mau dropped bag from his translation and emphasized the correct word. His effort impressed Trevor.

  “I understand what you’re saying. Action rather than reaction.”

  “A shift in the currents will diminish a wave.”

  “Only if the shift is strong enough. I’m one man.”

  “So was he,” Mau said of his original self. “He could have become a variable they did not foresee. He lost himself only because the weight exceeded his capacity to understand.”

  Putting it mildly, Trevor thought. Mau went mad and became a walking nuclear bomb.

  “Why am I better suited?”

  “Mau never agreed to the proposal. He left the Enzathi alone to fight the Void’s remnants. Three opposing currents are not tenable.”

  “But as one?”

  Mau nodded.

  “The Enzathi wishes for nothing more, but it will not consume against the human’s will.”

  Mau made the lifeform sound benevolent, even noble in its intent. Trevor suspected it could have consumed him at any time over the past seven months. Yet it played nice. Complied with his wishes.

  A long game, perhaps?

  “If I say no, will you leave?”

  Mau closed his eyes and bowed as if in prayer.

  “The Enzathi will seek another host though it has become fond of Trevor. It promises action not reaction.”

  More of the sales pitch. Trevor tried a new tack.

  “Prove it. Show me.”

  Mau perked up.

  “The Enzathi warns Trevor of pain and despair. It does not wish to harm, but to see demands payment.”

  “Nothing’s free. I get it. Show me.”

  “Close your eyes.”

  Trevor complied.

  His heart raced. A well of deep, lingering rage boiled his blood. And then, the anger transformed into an instant of immense satisfaction.

  Trevor opened his eyes and stared at a red pill in his left hand. Then he saw Thomas Quinlan on the floor, beaten and bloody.

  “It’s called CNZ-4,” Trevor said in Connor’s voice. “My team stores it in our superflex when we’re on the battlefield. It’s only to be used if we’re captured. We give the enemy nothing. Not even our bodies, bruv. It’s an acid specifically targeted to break down every component of the human body.”

  Thomas gasped, pleading without words. His eyes ballooned. Trevor Connor refused to reassure Thomas of what lay ahead.

  “I won’t lie. This is going to hurt. It will literally rip you apart. But the pain won’t last long.”

  Thomas wriggled about like a fish thrown from the water. Trevor Connor did not take pity.

  “The alternative is to arrest, convict, and execute you for treason. Too much trouble! No one will ever know.”

  Trevor Connor wrenched Thomas’s mouth open and dropped the pill inside. He backed off, sat in a kitchen chair, and watched with curiosity.

  As the effects began, Trevor Connor recited a mantra.

  Purpose, order, execution. I am whole and true to myself. My purpose cannot be denied. I will show no mercy to my enemies. Leave no dream unfulfilled.

  Thomas screamed through desperate gurgles and flopped about. His body spasmed. The chest cavity imploded. Steam rose from evaporated blood. The bodysuit emptied. Cheeks melted. Eyes sank. Hair charred to a crisp. Eventually, the skull dissolved.

  Trevor Connor relished the small victory and searched his pockets for tools to cleanse the scene.

  Trevor’s mind crossed a long, dark bridge, yanked along by an undefinable current. Trevor opened his eyes and stared at the traitor’s pom.

  He dropped the device, stumbled to the toilet, and vomited.

  “Payment is difficult,” Mau said. “Pain cannot be avoided.”

  Connor, what have you become?

  Trevor wiped his mouth and rested against the shower door.

  “Humans lie and deceive. The bridge will allow you to see. From these observations, you may balance the weight.”

  Trevor cried for his brother.

  “It’s too late. I can’t change what he did or what he’s become.”

  Mau bent down and gazed into Trevor with a wry grin.

  “The bridge moves backward, sideways, and forward.”

  “What? Even to the future? How?”

  “Enzathi is not ephemeral. Enzathi is always of a bridge.”

  Trevor didn’t understand, but he recognized why Mau Ping never accepted the proposal.

  “If I do this, I lose myself. The people I love won’t see me the same way.”

  “Incorrect. You will not see them the same way. What you will see is greater. The Enzathi will shape you as a current against the waves. So fluid are the streams between the stars.”

  Trevor froze.

  “Nexus told me and Kieran Haas the same thing. What do those words mean?”

  “Accept the proposal,” Mau said, “and you will see.”

  Trevor closed his eyes and whispered.

  “I won’t play from behind anymore.”

  He made a decision.

  25

  Epilogue

  MX Transport Dalliance

  SHAD ABDELMANI LIKED TO PAINT. He ran a dry brush across an empty canvas in his beautifully apportioned quarters. Colors and patterns emerged, seen only within his mind’s eye. Some paintings reminded him of his childhood home before the family estate. Others drew upon his countless travels and those rare glimpses of beauty among the vast rot.

  When the urge arose, he focused on bridges.

  Today marked one of those times. A sudden, blistering thrill excited his blood and tickled his fingers while watching the many holos. He rushed to the canvas and lifted the brush.

  He prepared to create a masterpiece joining the impossible.

  Naturally, Shad was interrupted.

  The door slid open. Malik entered.

  “We’re fifteen minutes out, Father. Raul confirmed he’ll be there.”

  “Perfect. We have a great deal to navigate. And please, set aside your anxiety about Raul. He’ll be a gentleman. I promise.”

  “Not likely, but I’ll give him a chance.”

  “Thank you, Son. The fires are lit. We’re almost there.”

  After Malik retreated, Shad studied the canvas again but realized the inspiration had passed.

  He was OK with it. He painted so many other bridges.

  Shad set down the brush and made a cup of tea.

  “The timing is perfect. Don’t you agree?”

  An internal echo replied:

  “The Enzathi agrees.”

  He added a pinch of sugar to the tea.

  “I dared hope the right one might accept the proposal.”

  “Soon, he will see. Then he will know.”

  All those amazing journeys. And to think, it began that day in Philadelphia Redux with those two boys.

  “The odds were incalculable.”

  Shad’s internal echo replied:

  “So fluid are the streams between the stars.”

  ------

  How will it all end for the Stallion brothers? The series concludes now with Book 5: Fallen Stars. Before you forget, I’d dearly love if you could leave a star rating and brief text review of Code Exodus on Amazon.

 

 

  Frank Kennedy, Code Exodus: A science fiction thriller (Farewell Amity Station Book 4)

 

 

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