Echoes of the Storm

Chapter 30

Jack had counted the Galilei heavy transports five times from Saber's apartment window, and watched barricades rise on the roads leading up to the HQ. Streams reported the horrendous attack on a civilian transport...or was it a cargo ship? Speculation was rampant. Hundreds dead? No casualties? Which was it? Galilei let the rumors fly—anything to keep the locals guessing.

He wanted to know that Ben was well. So much had gone into the planning. When he'd seen Ben eleven days earlier, Ben was all confidence, it's a go, no one will be hurt. The attack on Nightstorm had been staged, all part of the resistance plan with the Riga.

Outside, engines whined and a string of GPCs gunned along the avenue. Lights dimmed in office buildings as the workday ended for many. HQ remained lit like a beacon, and overhead, Galilei crusaders patrolled the skies. They'd be disappointed if they expected any action today. The Riga wouldn't return until a few other pieces were in play.

Jack left the window reluctantly. Standing there wouldn't speed up time or yield news of his friends. Of Ben.

You're a dead man, Norse.

His heart wanted to pull the trigger. His brain was winning the argument. This wasn't a spurned lover's revenge. This was the dark betrayal of an entire people. Norse needed to be brought before a Riga tribunal, a military one.

Footsteps sounded in the stairwell. Jack became alert instantly, aware of the gurgle of the brewing coffee he'd started only minutes earlier. He waited and was rewarded with the double-tap-pause-tap on the door before it opened.

"Just me, with friends," Saber said.

Jack saw a sliver of a gray-brown Galilei uniform shift from behind Saber. It was the sergeant, the woman from the bar. "What—" He jerked backwards, reaching for his blaster.

"Whoa!" Saber shouted, waving Jack back. "She's on our side."

"How...?" Jack asked

"Hey you," Ben said, looking around Saber before he could introduce the young woman.

"Ben..." Jack pushed between Saber and the sergeant. His arms went around Ben.

Saber dragged them into the apartment, surveyed the corridor, and then closed the door.

"That mechanics special is one helluva good drink," Ben said. His means of contacting Jack had worked without a hitch. He pressed a kiss to Jack's forehead and held him like he never intended to let go.

"Later, boys," the woman said, meeting Jack's shock with an expression halfway between amusement and relief. "Hello, Harbor."

"You're SEC. With Berg. Mother of Colonists," Jack said, the woman's identity fulling dawning on him. "Field?"

Costarossa nodded. "We can't stay long," she said.

"Spoilsport," Jack said, teasing, but recognizing the regret in her voice.

Ben laughed, and reluctantly released him.

Ben had waited at the pub an hour—an hour lost but necessary, Jack thought, and not so long considering it had been almost two weeks since their last meeting. Galilei would be watching Ben's movements, but Saber's tech-minded contacts had set up a looped vid at the pub that would keep their enemies satisfied for a short while.

"Your ship?" Jack asked Ben.

"Nothing forty thousand creds can't fix."

Jack winced.

Ben didn't exactly shrug off that ridiculously high-cost repair job, but there were no tears and no regrets. "Worth the sacrifice if her logs convince our enemies that Riga is about to control the space lanes between Galilei and her suppliers," he said. "Speaking of logs, some magic tech changed my status in their database. I'm no longer flagged as a deserter. Resigned my commission after three years of stellar service to Galilei." He saluted with a grunt.