Page 63 of Desperate Measures

They traveled the corridors of the massive cargo freighter. They met no one on their way to the ship’s brain center. The captain had been very careful to hire only crew he swore whose loyalty could be bought…at quite a high price, to hear Piras talk. It was a small crew, the members of whom Hope and Lokmi had viewed via vid to verify they hadn’t been taken over by Darks.

What the hell. The money paying Clan Piras’ way and the transport crew’s silence had come from the empire’s treasury, not their personal pocketbooks. Kila refused to worry about Kalquor picking up the tab for their latest mission.

The group stepped onto the cargo vessel’s bridge. Hope wrinkled her nose for a moment at the thick woodsy smell of fur, then smoothed her expression. The smiling captain, a rust red Adraf, boomed a hearty greeting. “Nice to see you again. Please, come in, come in.”

Kila glanced around, curious. He’d never been on board an Adraf craft before. The dark, vast space was a maze of glassed-in cubicles, within which the three-legged crew stood at tall podiums. The long-necked Adrafs wore visors, through which they peered. Tiny vestigial arms waved styluses at what Kila guessed were virtual reality screens.

Piras focused on their host. “No issues thus far from the Galactic Council fleet?”

The captain’s furry muzzle wrinkled back from large gray teeth in the Adraf version of a smile. He spread his small hands in a careless gesture. “What’s to excite their suspicions? Adraf has declared itself neutral, as we always do when worlds go to war. This is a normally scheduled delivery to Jedver’s transit space station of staple goods. We’re engaged in lawful commerce, and I have the proper documentation, which they’ll find in perfect order. Your, uh, experts—” he nodded to Lokmi and Hope “—vetted and approved my crew. Nothing to worry about.”

“I’m glad. I don’t have to repeat our agreement for your crew’s benefit?” Piras glanced at the Adraf personnel. None had acknowledged their presence, at least as far as Kila could tell. The visors hid their eyes.

“They’re well aware. A second generous payment upon your safe return to your home space, including a bonus doubling whatever the Galactic Council offers should they suspect we have guests on board and try to buy our information.”

Piras nodded, his taut jaw relaxing slightly. “Excellent.”

“Would you like to see what you came to check on?”

“Please.”

“Vid monitor, display magnified view.”

Planet Jedver, seat of the Galactic Council of Planets, swam into view on a large holoscreen at the far end of the bridge. Kila had visited it on half a dozen occasions. To him, it looked no different than before: a blue-hued terrestrial world. A seemingly serene jewel in the black setting of space.

He’d angled himself so he could observe the planet and his clanmates at the same time. Piras had also assumed a similar pose. After a cursory glance at Jedver, his gaze trained on their Matara and Imdiko. Kila was also focused on the pair as they stared to the side of the world in order to see any Dark presence in their peripheral vision.

Big, muscled Imdiko and tiny pixie human wore identical stunned expressions, making them appear shockingly similar for the space of a second. Shouting an oath, Lokmi twisted away. His arm clutched his midsection and his hand clapped over his mouth, as if he were on the verge of being sick. Hope slammed both hands to her face hard, covering her eyes. She wailed, though Kila was unsure if it was from the pain of hitting herself or horror.

The Adraf captain gaped at their reactions. His earlier merriment had vanished. He looked from his passengers to Jedver’s image and peered at it intently.

“What? Is it the same thing we saw at Bi’is or something else?” Piras demanded.

“It’s huge,” Hope sobbed from behind her palms. “It’s so insanely huge.”

“Chief,” Kila boomed to Lokmi. “Report. How big are we talking?”

The Imdiko turned stricken eyes to him. “I can’t see Jedver. The Dark is blocking the entire fucking planet, Captain. The planet, the stations and moons orbiting it, and beyond. It fills the whole vid image.”

“It’s the All,” Hope moaned. “It has to be the All itself, and it’s swallowed Jedver.”

Chapter Seventeen

Alpha Space Station

“Stacy—”

“Let me see her, Ken,” Stacy ordered Bryant on the audio com. She sat stiff at the edge of the lounger in Clan Rihep’s quarters. Rihep, Kuran, and Etnil sat next to or stood behind her, staying in contact, offering their silent support.

“All right but remember…she’s held out longer than those who’ve been as sick as her. The doctors are hopeful she’ll turn the corner at any moment now.”

Stacy had heard from the doctor leading the fight for her sister’s life. He had said the same, almost verbatim. His optimistic tone had been as false as Ken’s.

“Okay. I’m in the room, right outside the isolation bubble. She’s surrounded by a lot of machines. They’re having to oxygenate—”

“Ken.”

He sighed. “Sending visual.”

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