Echoes of the Storm

Chapter 29

Note from the author: If you've been reading Echoes and have made it this far, thank you! You are going to notice something a little different from this chapter going forward to the end. "Corona" has been renamed - it is now Galilei. (I polled a group of SciFi writers and all recommended the change given a certain pandemic sweeping the world in 2020.) If there's a way to globally change that in earlier chapters, let me know!  If you want the full novel right now, you can find it at online retailers: https://books2read.com/EchoesoftheStorm. Thank you for reading! (I will add all the chapters here, too, and continue to appreciate your feedback.) 

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Berg was early for his meeting with Norse. Lately it seemed that was the only thing he and his team were doing right. In the month since the medic Payntz had been arrested not a single lead had been uncovered on Tic Ford. Payntz' interrogation got them nowhere. The traitor hadn't broken. Berg's team came up empty-handed.

What team?

Berg stiffened, guilt and rage still—always—his companions now. Densiger's execution at Norse's hand was a festering wound. In fifteen years serving Galilei, Berg had never seen a more useless and insane act. Nothing could justify Densiger's death.

How did men like Norse get away with murder? Was this the Grand Emperor's idea of a hero?

Fists clenched, Berg crossed the deserted HQ atrium, stepping around the droid buffing the floors to shiny brilliance. Debris from the rebel attack had been removed, and the smoke and ash-covered walls cleaned. The gardens were bare, but the smell of newly turned soil wafted through the air.

Berg couldn't blame the emperor for Norse's action, but the Code of Galilei decreed that loyalists do what was necessary for the protection of Galilei lives. Who decided what was necessary? Norse?

The guard at the checkpoint waved Berg into the south corridor. Senior Captain Lirrani was waiting at the lift, early for her Ops Center shift.

"Good morning, sir," he called, and hurried to catch up to the captain.

Lirrani turned around, but didn't inspect him like some officers would. "Chief. Ready for another day."

"Always am, sir." Berg kept his voice optimistic, unwilling to drag her into his dark thoughts.

"There's an update on the insurrection on New Mars. Conqueror made orbit last night," Lirrani said after they'd stepped onto the lift.

Berg had been surprised as anyone when Norse ordered the battlecruiser to quell the uprising there. It was hard to believe Riga was involved in the rebel attacks, especially after the rout from their secret base at Rysis. The streams had played like that had been a resounding victory for Galilei, diminishing Riga's ability to provide support for traitors on any world.

The lift creaked and wobbled like the old wooden coasters at Jupiter Park. It hadn't operated normally since the invasion.

Lirrani leaned against the wall to steady herself. "You'll want to review the Ford and Gamble sightings," she added.

"On New Mars?" Berg shook his head. "Next we'll hear they're both sitting outside the Grand Emperor's palace on Galilei."

Lirrani tried not to smile. "That's old news. Maybe the ambassador will have some substantial information at this meeting. That's why you're here early, isn't it?"

"Wish I had something worth reporting myself," Berg said. "Ford's trail is dead."

"I gathered that from your reports," Lirrani said somberly. "Sorry to hear it." She knew, like everyone else in HQ, what SEC was up against. "The investigations are certainly keeping you busy even if you're only reporting quiet."