going to let that happen,” said River.” He
kissed her. “We will come back to
you, Marianne.”
“You’d
better,” she whispered, trying hard not to cry.
They
each kissed her so many times, and whispered how much they loved her, that
Thane and Rune had to pry them away from her. She kept her composure until she
watched them board the ship with Thane and Rune, the four of them dressed as
Tyrann guards. Then she put a hand over her mouth to stifle a scream as the
craft lifted off the ground, and stood outside watching until long after she
could no longer see it.
Finally,
Callie gently led her back inside. “Come on. Jakara found a way to bring up
free cell on Vaughn’s computer. He’s been trying for months.”
Marianne
almost smiled, grateful that they were trying to distract her with something
familiar, but she knew she couldn’t sit at a computer and play a game right
now. She only wanted them back here, and she wanted her aunt and uncle with
them. Nothing else would make her feel safe or happy ever again.
She
loved Vaughn and River with her entire heart and soul, and she always would.
****
Vaughn
wanted to ask River to turn the ship around as soon as they cleared Addonian
air space. He kept picturing the look on Marianne’s face as they’d boarded,
after he and River both turned to wave to her one more
time. She looked like she was certain she’d never see them again, and his heart
had nearly burst.
Vaughn
wasn’t worried about this part of the plan. The ship with the real guards had already
left, and those same guards would soon be on Earth with no way to contact the
Tyranns or get back here. They knew when the scheduled raids occurred, and
another one wouldn’t happen for forty-eight hours. By the time the real guards
convinced those flying the transports to Earth who they were, this would be
done, one way or the other.
And
the guards wouldn’t be able to identify who had knocked them out, regardless.
They didn’t know Vito, Daven , Rygal ,
or Tallis by name because the four had used fake ones.
All they’d be able to tell the Tyranns was that the men had told them they were
navigators and pilots coming to work on Voyeur Moon, and that they’d put them
to sleep as soon as the ship was in the air. When they’d woken, they’d found
themselves on Earth with their uniforms and credentials missing.
That
part hadn’t been necessary to the plan since Vaughn, River, Thane, and Rune
already had credentials and uniforms, but Jakara thought it would be a fitting
touch to leave the four guards on Earth with no clothing and no ID.
Less
than twenty minutes after their ship left Addo , Vaughn
and River heard from Jakara . Rygal , Daven , Vito, and Tallis had
deposited the real guards on Earth, and they were on their way to rendezvous
with Vaughn, River, Thane, and Rune on Voyeur Moon. There was no turning back
now.
This
plan would work. It had to. Because
all he wanted to do was hold Marianne in his arms again, and then continue
holding her for the rest of his life.
Once
they were in Tyrann air space, it didn’t take long for their radio to crackle.
The voice asked for identification, and River sounded so smooth and confident as he told them a big fat lie. The voice on the other end
didn’t even hesitate as it told them they were cleared for landing on Voyeur
Moon.
They
had contacts inside the Zoo, and they’d been in place for a while now. Those
contacts had arranged for Vaughn, River, Thane, and Rune to be the guards
assigned to travel to Atkins and pick up the two prisoners, again by hacking
into the Tyranns’ computer systems.
They
had talked about simply trying to arrange to have this ship fly directly to
Atkins, but had been advised by their moles inside that it would have been
outside the normal procedures to do that. Ships flew from the Zoo to Atkins if
there were prisoners to pick up, not directly to the prison from off the
planet.
But
even though all those things had fallen into place
kissed her. “We will come back to
you, Marianne.”
“You’d
better,” she whispered, trying hard not to cry.
They
each kissed her so many times, and whispered how much they loved her, that
Thane and Rune had to pry them away from her. She kept her composure until she
watched them board the ship with Thane and Rune, the four of them dressed as
Tyrann guards. Then she put a hand over her mouth to stifle a scream as the
craft lifted off the ground, and stood outside watching until long after she
could no longer see it.
Finally,
Callie gently led her back inside. “Come on. Jakara found a way to bring up
free cell on Vaughn’s computer. He’s been trying for months.”
Marianne
almost smiled, grateful that they were trying to distract her with something
familiar, but she knew she couldn’t sit at a computer and play a game right
now. She only wanted them back here, and she wanted her aunt and uncle with
them. Nothing else would make her feel safe or happy ever again.
She
loved Vaughn and River with her entire heart and soul, and she always would.
****
Vaughn
wanted to ask River to turn the ship around as soon as they cleared Addonian
air space. He kept picturing the look on Marianne’s face as they’d boarded,
after he and River both turned to wave to her one more
time. She looked like she was certain she’d never see them again, and his heart
had nearly burst.
Vaughn
wasn’t worried about this part of the plan. The ship with the real guards had already
left, and those same guards would soon be on Earth with no way to contact the
Tyranns or get back here. They knew when the scheduled raids occurred, and
another one wouldn’t happen for forty-eight hours. By the time the real guards
convinced those flying the transports to Earth who they were, this would be
done, one way or the other.
And
the guards wouldn’t be able to identify who had knocked them out, regardless.
They didn’t know Vito, Daven , Rygal ,
or Tallis by name because the four had used fake ones.
All they’d be able to tell the Tyranns was that the men had told them they were
navigators and pilots coming to work on Voyeur Moon, and that they’d put them
to sleep as soon as the ship was in the air. When they’d woken, they’d found
themselves on Earth with their uniforms and credentials missing.
That
part hadn’t been necessary to the plan since Vaughn, River, Thane, and Rune
already had credentials and uniforms, but Jakara thought it would be a fitting
touch to leave the four guards on Earth with no clothing and no ID.
Less
than twenty minutes after their ship left Addo , Vaughn
and River heard from Jakara . Rygal , Daven , Vito, and Tallis had
deposited the real guards on Earth, and they were on their way to rendezvous
with Vaughn, River, Thane, and Rune on Voyeur Moon. There was no turning back
now.
This
plan would work. It had to. Because
all he wanted to do was hold Marianne in his arms again, and then continue
holding her for the rest of his life.
Once
they were in Tyrann air space, it didn’t take long for their radio to crackle.
The voice asked for identification, and River sounded so smooth and confident as he told them a big fat lie. The voice on the other end
didn’t even hesitate as it told them they were cleared for landing on Voyeur
Moon.
They
had contacts inside the Zoo, and they’d been in place for a while now. Those
contacts had arranged for Vaughn, River, Thane, and Rune to be the guards
assigned to travel to Atkins and pick up the two prisoners, again by hacking
into the Tyranns’ computer systems.
They
had talked about simply trying to arrange to have this ship fly directly to
Atkins, but had been advised by their moles inside that it would have been
outside the normal procedures to do that. Ships flew from the Zoo to Atkins if
there were prisoners to pick up, not directly to the prison from off the
planet.
But
even though all those things had fallen into place
Similar Books
