Page 25 of Lorrd
He spun in his seat and focused on isolating the rotating frequencies of the unsanctioned transmissions.He couldn’t yet tell if the new transmissions contained another virus, but he didn’t want to take any chances, and he created several kill command codes just in case.
At last, he managed to stop the incoming transmissions—and the noise—by masking theKerrla’sunique signature and then remotely installing it on one of the drones that currently monitored the skies of Hillsboro.
He waited at the console until he was certain the tactic had worked, and he nearly released a cry of triumph when it did.The transmissions now kept hitting the drone, while the drone mimicked the responses of his ship.It was the perfect strategy.
Indeed, the new transmissions contained a virus, but at least it was affecting the drone rather than theKerrla.If he worked fast, he could still have his vessel repaired and ready for launch in three days.Possibly two.
“What’s happening, Lorrd?”Wren’s worried voice reached him, and he turned to face her, then rose from the console chair and rushed to her side.
He gathered her close and inwardly cursed whoever was responsible for the repeated attacks on his ship—on his ship, on him, and most of all, on his mate.Murderous impulses seized him, but he forced in some deep breaths and strived to remain calm.He didn’t want to scare Wren with his rage.
He would solve this problem.He would fix his ship and get Wren to safety.He would take Wren back to New Vaxx, where a planetary shield protected the entire world from enemy attack.
But if he took Wren to safety at the first opportunity, would he miss out on the chance to make the culprits pay?In his mind, whoever had sent the transmissions deserved to die, and if someone had paid them to send the transmissions, then they deserved to die as well.
“It will be all right, little star.”He smoothed a hand through her hair.“Are you okay?Do your ears still hurt?”He withdrew slightly from the embrace and peered down at her, wanting to verify her wellbeing, even though logically he knew the nanobots would take care of any bodily matters.
“I am fine, Lorrd, but thank you for your concern.”She exhaled a shuddering breath.“It would seem you have an enemy, or perhaps someone wants to keep you from leaving Earth.”
“Unfortunately, I think you might be right,” he replied, but the situation still confounded him.Because he’d never visited Earth before, nor had he had many interactions with humans during trading missions to outposts as he’d helped collect supplies for New Vaxx.
The only possibility that made sense was… Wren.
Harmony.The guards in the street, including her brother.
ThefluxxingProphet.
Perhaps Harmony possessed resources—including galactic credits—that Wren wasn’t aware of.It would make sense that regular citizens of the compound wouldn’t know much about the Prophet’s activities.
“Wren, I’m afraid I must ask you a few more questions about the compound,” he said.
Her eyes flared with surprise.“Whatever you want to know, I’ll tell you, but I still don’t think Harmony could have anything to do with this.The Prophet doesn’t like working with the outside world.He only sends guards out when runaways need to be tracked down, or supplies are needed.”
“Supplies from the outside world?”Lorrd continued stroking her hair, hoping to provide her with comfort as he questioned her about the repressive place she’d fled.“How does Harmony pay for these supplies?”
Wren appeared pensive.“I asked my brother about this once, since he was sometimes sent to the towns for supplies, and he wouldn’t give me a straight answer.He changed the subject quickly, and I was afraid to ask him again.If I’d appeared too curious about the outside world, it could’ve tipped him off that I was thinking about leaving.”
“I don’t fault you for being careful and not questioning your brother further, little star.”He lifted her and set her directly upon his lap, then he wrapped his arms around her, guiding her to rest her head against his chest.He commenced running his hands up and down her back.How brave she was to have escaped a place like Harmony.
He'd sent drones toward the town earlier, of course, after privately asking Myles where it was located.The images transmitted back to theKerrlahad showed a small, enclosed town that contained over a thousand tiny houses—most of them dilapidated—and a few larger buildings as well.Lorrd supposed one of those larger buildings served as the Prophet’s home, but after studying the images from the drones, he hadn’t been able to figure out which one.There was also a tall watchtower in the center of the compound, which several armed guards had occupied.
Though the images sent by the drones hadn’t revealed any indications of wealth, there was no telling how much money the Prophet possessed.He likely didn’t keep old-fashioned paper money or even gold on hand, the type of physical money humans had used before most of Earth transitioned to galactic credits.He might have secret accounts that contained vast amounts of galactic credits, credits he might’ve used to pay off a corporation like Poseidon.
An idea struck Lorrd, and he rose from the bed with Wren in his arms and took a seat at the console in his quarters again.She sat quietly on his lap, watching as his fingers bounced over the console.
At last, after a bit of hacking, he found what he was looking for—evidence that Poseidon recently received a deposit of one hundred thousand galactic credits from a private account based right here in Virginia.
Well, he was now more suspicious of the Prophet than ever.
“Wren, little star, have you ever heard the name ‘Amos Stanley Elrod?”
“No, never,” she said with a shake of her head.
“I believe that’s the so-called Prophet’s name, and I’ve found evidence that he sent a substantial sum to Poseidon very recently.One hundred thousand galactic credits to be exact.”
Her brow furrowed.“That doesn’t make sense.Even if Harmony, or the Prophet himself, possessed that sort of money, I don’t understand why they would use it to try to keep you—or rather,me—grounded on Earth.”
“The evidence is there on the screen,” he said with a nod at the console.“Someone from Harmony wants to keep you from leaving.But please don’t worry, my sweet mate.Whatever it takes, I will keep you safe.Anyone who dares to try to take you away from me will pay with their life.”
