Star's Storm(59)

Both men watched as Star jerked forward knocking the cup off the table. Her fingers curled as the shock moved through her body, clenching her muscles before darkness settled around her. The taller man entered, picking up the cup and placing it in the cleansing unit while the other man pushed the cart inside the cabin. Within minutes, they were heading down the long corridor. They only had minutes to get the body of the female in position. Every three days, liquid waste was flushed out of the ship. This time there would be a solid mass going with it.

*.*.*

Jazin rubbed the back of his neck tiredly. He had been receiving reports from all over and had conferenced with his father, brother, Gril, and the Commander of the warship they had left behind at Elpidios. His father discovered the mining asteroid had been destroyed. There was nothing left of it except some chunks of metallic fragments. Whoever was responsible was long gone by the time they reached it. Gril discovered the group of rebels were nothing more than a small group of young Tearnats that had been promised extra credits and time with some females if they caused a disruption. He was interrogating them separately but the stories were all the same. Three older Tearnat males came to their villages with the promises of wealth and women. In exchange all they had to do was pretend to cause an uprising. They had all been told it was to help with a military training. Gril was ready to slap every single one of them into the military for some real training!

The commander of the warship left at Elpidios couldn’t understand how the circuit boards had received water damage. The only way was if they had been sabotaged on purpose. He was reviewing the crew roster to see who had access to that level. The only thing that appeared to be going right was on his home planet. Torak had arrived just in time. He had gone to one of their largest Crystal Replication Plants. During a tour of the facility he had observed several workers acting strangely. He had his elite guards stop and search the men. Enough explosives to disable the plant and kill an untold number of workers was discovered. The men had resisted and two of the three were killed. The last one was gravely wounded. Torak ordered all plants to undergo lockdown and be searched thoroughly. All workers were to be reviewed as well. Once the worker who was injured recovered enough to speak, Torak said he would find out what other terrorist acts were planned.

“You need rest, my friend,” Jar said coming to stand next to where Jazin was standing watching the men below him on the bridge.

“Soon,” Jazin responded. “How far are we to where Dakar thinks Tai Tek may have taken refuge?”

“Another two days,” Jar said quietly. “I am concerned with the things that have been occurring. An analysis of the events suggest they are just a distraction for something else. I have run each through several different scenarios. Only one comes up with a higher than normal percentage of acceptability.”

Jazin shook his head, looking down tiredly before his lips curved in a small smile at his unusual friend. “What outcome is that?”

Jar looked at Jazin with a frown. “That it is a distraction to limit the number of warships available is obvious but the second is to perhaps take something without it being know.”

Jazin looked at his friend with a thoughtful look. He was about to ask him what he thought someone would take when the Blue Star rocked violent. Alarms blared as the lights flickered. Red emergency lights came on. A second wave hit the warship tilting it upward on the port side briefly before the stabilizers kicked in. Jazin grabbed the railing around the upper level of the bridge. Jar did the same. Both men reached out to grab a warrior who reached for the railing but missed as the second wave hit. The male was thrown up and over, his body falling to the level below with a sickening thump. Jar held onto the back of Jazin’s vest when he almost went over the railing after the male as he grabbed for him.

Shouts and moans echoed throughout the bridge as calls to extinguish the small fires and those thrown around that could still move struggled to their feet. Jazin looked at Jar who nodded to him and focused. Jar’s amber eyes glowed and he began speaking rapidly.

“One of the Tearnat’s warships exploded. Our shields are holding but the blast sent shockwaves through space. The other Tearnat ship was closer and it has received severe damage. Hull integrity has been compromised on the Tearnat warship on decks eight, twelve, and fifteen. Evacuation is underway. Implosion of the warship is probable. The Blue Star’s hull is undamaged. The engines are off-line due to the shockwave. Minor damage on decks one, five, six, ten, eleven, twenty, and twenty-two. Unknown number of causalities or injuries at this time. Emergency response teams have been activated and medical teams have been deployed. I would recommend moving eight point four-five kilometers away from the Tearnat ship to reduce further damage,” Jar said as the amber light in his eyes slowly returned to normal.