sense of duty. The battle of Shorret-3 is told to our young trainees as an example of what can be possible, even in a hopeless situation, by even a few warriors with heart.”
“Don’t remind me,” Jason said with a shudder. “So answer me this … if you’re aware of our operations even as far back as the Eshquarian affair then why the need for secrecy? I would think Crusher would be welcomed home with a parade, or at least allowed to land the ship in an actual spaceport.” Jason had almost called the secret order nonsense, the theater of the absurd, but despite what he saw as a flair for the melodramatic, these were still powerful and deadly fighters. It also wouldn’t do him any good to insult the people he would likely need later on this op, wherever the hell it ended up.
“I’m still in exile,” Crusher answered, turning to him. “Landing the Phoenix here, a ship they likely have a description of, would only cause trouble. While many are loyal to traditions and to the Archon, their first loyalty is to Galvetor. They would see it as their duty to apprehend me or to alert the capital … and they’d be right.”
“So what will we do now, my lord?” Zetarix asked.
“We haven’t much of a choice,” Crusher answered. “We’ll do that rash thing you were so worried about … we’ll break Fordix out of Casguard Prison.”
Jason groaned.
Chapter 10
“So what’s the story?” Twingo asked Jason when they were alone. Connimon had arranged for a suite of rooms within the building under which the secret meeting place of the Archon’s Fist was. Apparently it was not only a sort of administration center but living quarters as well.
“This is about to turn into a cluster fuck of epic proportions,” Jason said, leaning back in his chair and accepting a beer, or beer-like drink, from his friend.
“That good, eh?”
“I’m serious, Twingo,” Jason said. “I would never walk out on Crusher, or ask him to abandon something he feels so strongly about, but we have absolutely no idea what the hell is going on here. We’re used to rolling into situations blindly, but this is absurd.”
“What did you find out in their secret clubhouse?” Twingo asked.
“Only that they know less than we do and Connimon knows more than she’s letting on. I get the feeling she’s feeding out information to manipulate the situation to her liking, but the others don’t take her seriously anyway so it doesn’t really matter much,” Jason said. “This Fordix supposedly knows what’s at the heart of the unrest on Galvetor, but he’s in jail. So, of course, we’re going to try and break him out.”
“We’ve done that sort of thing before,” Twingo argued.
“Twice. We’ve only done it twice and both times with the benefit of airtight intel from Crisstof and logistical support from the Diligent ,” Jason said.
“Speaking of which, did you let them know where we were heading?”
“Shit. No,” Jason admitted. “I’ll call them when we get back to the Phoenix . I don’t trust any of the com nodes here, at least not enough to enter the Defiant’s codes into.”
“You gonna call Kellea out here to run interference for us?”
“No,” Jason said, swallowing the last of his beer. “Crisstof has no influence here and the Defiant would just draw attention since it has no reason to be in the system.”
“So what do you think of the geltens?” Twingo asked, finishing off his own drink.
“Ker was a bit of a surprise,” Jason admitted. “I had thought I’d completely misjudged them based solely on Crusher when I first saw it, but in the end they didn’t disappoint. Crusher caved in the face of one of the warriors in there just to reestablish the authority of his position, and this was even among a group dedicated to who he is. But there’s a brutal simplicity to a warrior culture that I can appreciate.”
“Yeah … it should be a grand adventure for you and Lucky. Not so much for the
“Don’t remind me,” Jason said with a shudder. “So answer me this … if you’re aware of our operations even as far back as the Eshquarian affair then why the need for secrecy? I would think Crusher would be welcomed home with a parade, or at least allowed to land the ship in an actual spaceport.” Jason had almost called the secret order nonsense, the theater of the absurd, but despite what he saw as a flair for the melodramatic, these were still powerful and deadly fighters. It also wouldn’t do him any good to insult the people he would likely need later on this op, wherever the hell it ended up.
“I’m still in exile,” Crusher answered, turning to him. “Landing the Phoenix here, a ship they likely have a description of, would only cause trouble. While many are loyal to traditions and to the Archon, their first loyalty is to Galvetor. They would see it as their duty to apprehend me or to alert the capital … and they’d be right.”
“So what will we do now, my lord?” Zetarix asked.
“We haven’t much of a choice,” Crusher answered. “We’ll do that rash thing you were so worried about … we’ll break Fordix out of Casguard Prison.”
Jason groaned.
Chapter 10
“So what’s the story?” Twingo asked Jason when they were alone. Connimon had arranged for a suite of rooms within the building under which the secret meeting place of the Archon’s Fist was. Apparently it was not only a sort of administration center but living quarters as well.
“This is about to turn into a cluster fuck of epic proportions,” Jason said, leaning back in his chair and accepting a beer, or beer-like drink, from his friend.
“That good, eh?”
“I’m serious, Twingo,” Jason said. “I would never walk out on Crusher, or ask him to abandon something he feels so strongly about, but we have absolutely no idea what the hell is going on here. We’re used to rolling into situations blindly, but this is absurd.”
“What did you find out in their secret clubhouse?” Twingo asked.
“Only that they know less than we do and Connimon knows more than she’s letting on. I get the feeling she’s feeding out information to manipulate the situation to her liking, but the others don’t take her seriously anyway so it doesn’t really matter much,” Jason said. “This Fordix supposedly knows what’s at the heart of the unrest on Galvetor, but he’s in jail. So, of course, we’re going to try and break him out.”
“We’ve done that sort of thing before,” Twingo argued.
“Twice. We’ve only done it twice and both times with the benefit of airtight intel from Crisstof and logistical support from the Diligent ,” Jason said.
“Speaking of which, did you let them know where we were heading?”
“Shit. No,” Jason admitted. “I’ll call them when we get back to the Phoenix . I don’t trust any of the com nodes here, at least not enough to enter the Defiant’s codes into.”
“You gonna call Kellea out here to run interference for us?”
“No,” Jason said, swallowing the last of his beer. “Crisstof has no influence here and the Defiant would just draw attention since it has no reason to be in the system.”
“So what do you think of the geltens?” Twingo asked, finishing off his own drink.
“Ker was a bit of a surprise,” Jason admitted. “I had thought I’d completely misjudged them based solely on Crusher when I first saw it, but in the end they didn’t disappoint. Crusher caved in the face of one of the warriors in there just to reestablish the authority of his position, and this was even among a group dedicated to who he is. But there’s a brutal simplicity to a warrior culture that I can appreciate.”
“Yeah … it should be a grand adventure for you and Lucky. Not so much for the
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