Madas reached around and pulled the bag containing the items Star would need from her back. “Remember, help will come from the man with glowing eyes. He is a friend. Do not fear him.”
“I will,” Star said as she knelt looking at the bars. “Look for my signal to know it is clear.”
“We will,” hissed Madas quietly. “Little warrior, believe in your skills and be safe.”
Star nodded solemnly. “I'll be careful. I just want to get Jazin out of here and somewhere safe.”
“Do you remember the configuration of the controls that work the above ground defense system?” Dakar asked.
Star nodded as she slid her feet through the bars. “Yes, I remember. Give me at least two hours,” she said as she carefully lowered the rest of her body through the bars. It was a tight fit, even for her petite form. “Drop me the bag,” she called up softly once she was through.
Madas dropped the small bag that she had been carrying inside her larger one. It contained the explosives Star would need, plus several weapons and a device that would override the controls for the doors. She stood back so Dakar could drop the last items she would need, her crossbow and arrows and a staff that extended out with a push of a button. Star would need that to help balance her as she crossed the wire.
“Two hours,” Star called up to the two faces looking down at her before turning. “Show time,” she muttered under her breath before she moved to the narrow piping that tunneled through the mountain.
*.*.*
“I'm going to chain my mate up when I get my claws on her,” Gril Tal Mod growled out in fury as he studied the latest Intel that had come in.
They had wasted two days’ worth of travel when they had followed one false trail. The one they now followed had been sent to them anonymously by an informant that told them information that only his mate could have told the male. Information she had shared with him and he had ignored. Guilt and fear ate at him for not listening to her. This was something he would change the next time he got his mate under him. He would listen to her dreams and take them seriously in the future. If he had a chance in the future.
There will be a next time, he swore under his breath.
“Do we have any idea who the informant is?” Ajaska asked as he stared at Torak and Gril. “Torak, were you able to authentic the video disk images that were sent?”
“They are authentic. I double checked them myself,” Torak replied looking at the three-dimensional image they had received that also included images of the prison fortress that was supposed to be holding his younger brother.
“There is no information on the informant but he knew things only my mate could have told him,” Gril said. “He knew things she would never have told anyone, even under torture,” he added reluctantly.
“He also knew things about Jazin that only a few select people know about,” Torak added.
Ajaska nodded as he studied the information they had and analyzed the best way to get his youngest son out alive. When Gril had come to him with the video disk and information that Jazin was alive and being held prisoner, Ajaska had been stunned. When River approached him and Torak that same morning with what Madas and Star had told her, he had been furious. Not with the delicate blue-eyed warrior but with himself for having accepted that his youngest son had been killed without verifying the information personally. He had let grief cloud his judgment. That was something he would never do again. Because of his lack of action, his son would have been lost without him ever knowing what had truly happened to him. He still might if they did not get to him soon enough.
His fists clenched under the table in fury at his former councilman. He should have killed Tai Tek when he first suspected he was behind the assassinations of some of the other members of the council. The fact that he didn't have concrete proof was the only thing that stopped him. In the old days, he wouldn't have cared but the new Alliance set up guidelines for each galaxy. Killing members of your council just because you had a feeling they were murdering others was on the list of what was not allowed. The Alliance wanted proof first.
“The informant said he would contact us if they needed further assistance. I just hope we get there in time,” Torak said. “The defense system at the fortress is a relatively new one set up by the Corazans. We can take it out but it would alert Tai Tek and his guards they are under attack. There are several escape tunnels that lead out. We can also cover those. We have three A-Class warship and six C-Class. Each has over a hundred fighters on board.”
“I have three Tearnat warships that will be arriving shortly. They each have fifty fighters on board and will cover the outer region for enemy star ships,” Gril added.