a missing forearm loomed over her like a bloodied mountain. Before she could react, the Ttaunz swung the butt of his blaster down like a bludgeon.
An explosion of pain crashed into Mhir’ujiid’s skull, so hard that her feet left the ground.
Then everything faded to black.
Chapter 7
“So we’re getting nothing? Again?” Habraum asked, trying to curb his anger. The Brigade Executive Officer wore casual clothes—white, long-sleeved tee with dark, baggy slacks. Feverishly, he paced back and forth across his red-hued and modestly decorated office. Sitting in front of the Cerc were the life-sized 3D holos of three different sentients from three different locations across Union Space. “We caught at least forty Children of Earth adherents, M’Kuvuh.”
“My interrogators are doing their best, Captain Nwosu. You know how the CoE structure has changed these past few years,” retorted one of the three—M’Kuvuh Markan-Enthyra, Deputy Director of Terra Sollus’s UniPol division. The Kintarian’s lithe and wiry build was covered in pure white fur with a few scattered brown spots. “Everything is very compartmentalized. Except for their leader, each cell only knows what goes on in their unit.” An animalistic growl colored M’Kuvah’s retort.
“Capturing Kingston Reyes might’ve been more helpful,” added a human with a slim build and a large head full of dark, curly hair. That would be Atom Greystone, liaison between Star Brigade and the Union Defense Ministry, as well as a constant source of irritation for Habraum. “Star Brigade forced itself onto this operation over a month ago, and loses another viable lead. How’d you mess that up, Nwosu?”
Habraum’s hazel-gold eyes glittered with subtle disdain. “Reyes is currently being tracked, and UniPol alerted planetary authorities of his status. If you read my briefing, you’d know this, Greystone.”
Greystone scowled. “And if Reyes ditches the trace?” he fired back to regain some ground.
Habraum chuckled. “He doesn’t know he’s being traced. But if it fails, we’ll work our other leads.”
“M’Kuvuh tells me you’re keeping all tracking data in-house?” asked the third face on Habraum’s holoview screen—Admiral Hollienurax, Habraum’s superior officer from UComm’s Joint Special Operations Group, wearing crisp white military regalia. The Galdorian’s stalk-like amber eyes curved out and upward inquisitively.
“Yes. Since Children of Earth had quite a few UComm moles in the past, we’re keeping this as compartmentalized as possible,” Habraum added, recalling the Corowood Zoo attack months ago and then the mysterious murders of all known perpetrators. He glanced beyond the holos in his office to the rectangular realtime display on the wall behind his desk. Gas giant Zeid’s stunning jade cloud layers were needled with inbound and outbound spacelane traffic. Habraum had no actual viewports in his office, so this was the closest he could get. “One of my CTs will make observing Reyes their top priority. I believe he’ll be key in dismantling CoE’s paramilitary arm.”
“Smart strategy, Nwosu,” Hollienurax extoled. “Let us know if you require additional resources.”
Habraum casually saluted the three. Every holo winked out at the conference’s end—except Greystone, much to his chagrin. “What?” he snapped, making no effort to hide his dislike.
“Children of Earth?” Greystone let out a condescending laugh. “That’s the white whale you choose to hunt?”
Habraum narrowed his eyes. Deep down he felt the same, but would never give Greystone the satisfaction of knowing that. “UniPol requested the Brigade take point on taking down CoE after seeing the value we added to their operation. I’m not questioning that order out of ego.” He picked up his datapad from a chair in front of his desk, prepping to head to the War Room.
“The good soldier response? That’s not fooling me. At the end of the day,
An explosion of pain crashed into Mhir’ujiid’s skull, so hard that her feet left the ground.
Then everything faded to black.
Chapter 7
“So we’re getting nothing? Again?” Habraum asked, trying to curb his anger. The Brigade Executive Officer wore casual clothes—white, long-sleeved tee with dark, baggy slacks. Feverishly, he paced back and forth across his red-hued and modestly decorated office. Sitting in front of the Cerc were the life-sized 3D holos of three different sentients from three different locations across Union Space. “We caught at least forty Children of Earth adherents, M’Kuvuh.”
“My interrogators are doing their best, Captain Nwosu. You know how the CoE structure has changed these past few years,” retorted one of the three—M’Kuvuh Markan-Enthyra, Deputy Director of Terra Sollus’s UniPol division. The Kintarian’s lithe and wiry build was covered in pure white fur with a few scattered brown spots. “Everything is very compartmentalized. Except for their leader, each cell only knows what goes on in their unit.” An animalistic growl colored M’Kuvah’s retort.
“Capturing Kingston Reyes might’ve been more helpful,” added a human with a slim build and a large head full of dark, curly hair. That would be Atom Greystone, liaison between Star Brigade and the Union Defense Ministry, as well as a constant source of irritation for Habraum. “Star Brigade forced itself onto this operation over a month ago, and loses another viable lead. How’d you mess that up, Nwosu?”
Habraum’s hazel-gold eyes glittered with subtle disdain. “Reyes is currently being tracked, and UniPol alerted planetary authorities of his status. If you read my briefing, you’d know this, Greystone.”
Greystone scowled. “And if Reyes ditches the trace?” he fired back to regain some ground.
Habraum chuckled. “He doesn’t know he’s being traced. But if it fails, we’ll work our other leads.”
“M’Kuvuh tells me you’re keeping all tracking data in-house?” asked the third face on Habraum’s holoview screen—Admiral Hollienurax, Habraum’s superior officer from UComm’s Joint Special Operations Group, wearing crisp white military regalia. The Galdorian’s stalk-like amber eyes curved out and upward inquisitively.
“Yes. Since Children of Earth had quite a few UComm moles in the past, we’re keeping this as compartmentalized as possible,” Habraum added, recalling the Corowood Zoo attack months ago and then the mysterious murders of all known perpetrators. He glanced beyond the holos in his office to the rectangular realtime display on the wall behind his desk. Gas giant Zeid’s stunning jade cloud layers were needled with inbound and outbound spacelane traffic. Habraum had no actual viewports in his office, so this was the closest he could get. “One of my CTs will make observing Reyes their top priority. I believe he’ll be key in dismantling CoE’s paramilitary arm.”
“Smart strategy, Nwosu,” Hollienurax extoled. “Let us know if you require additional resources.”
Habraum casually saluted the three. Every holo winked out at the conference’s end—except Greystone, much to his chagrin. “What?” he snapped, making no effort to hide his dislike.
“Children of Earth?” Greystone let out a condescending laugh. “That’s the white whale you choose to hunt?”
Habraum narrowed his eyes. Deep down he felt the same, but would never give Greystone the satisfaction of knowing that. “UniPol requested the Brigade take point on taking down CoE after seeing the value we added to their operation. I’m not questioning that order out of ego.” He picked up his datapad from a chair in front of his desk, prepping to head to the War Room.
“The good soldier response? That’s not fooling me. At the end of the day,
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