Defender of the Empire 2: Facades Page 6

  But I had told Marius, and he had probably said something. Well. If I get in trouble, I get in trouble. I don’t think that anyone will get hurt for my lapse except for me, I thought. To be honest, I was used to that happening. I could reasonably guess that Ace had visited for me, since I had been in his gang and had left. He was the one who would followed ‘deserters’, as he called those who moved on from the gang. Since my roommate hadn’t signed anything, I really was the only one who could get burned by my own forgetfulness. Ace tended not to get too many people involved when he went after one of his own.

  I figured being away from the Academy made me safe, and I could stop wasting my dwindling hour of free time on ‘what ifs’. Instead, I thought to focus in on searching the Shade database for information on my parents.

  As Marius had told me, any device could access the Shade database. Now, before people believe that security is truly lax, let me tell you that while any device can access the database not everyone can read what is there. The code was written in the Spectral language. It is a language corporals couldn’t even see. Only someone who had a link to a Spectral could make it out. The link would automatically enable the person to read it. Of course, it would be strange if someone was staring intently at a blank screen, so some sort of cover page was in place. So, what I was looking at on my tablet, to anyone else would seem to be some mundane site. I couldn’t see it, so I didn’t know. I’m not even going to ask how that works. Jason probably would know, being the whisperer of all things tech. But he wouldn’t be able to see what I was really looking at.

  It took a little time since the information I sought was thirteen years old, but I was able to find what I was looking for. It was a report on my parent’s final mission. They had been investigating rumors of a militant group on Coronaius. It was a long term assignment. The assignment itself was not explained in detail, but what it did say was that they were to verify the existence of, and stop the threat of said group. It sounded very familiar to what Luna’s Shade, Nico, had been doing more recently. Since Luna had been in the Lous-eci’dalb and Knight wielded that blade, I reasoned that the militant group was his organization, which would base it on Coronaius. If it wasn’t based there, then at the very least it was a hub.

  THAT, AND PERHAPS IT IS A TRAP, Kylesst murmured weakly over our link. My eyes widened. It had been weeks since I’d heard Kylesst’s voice. Though it still held his usual dry wit, it made me cringe at the inherent wrongness of hearing it weakened. I still didn’t know what creature Kylesst took the form of, but it was not weak.

  Are you okay? I asked silently.

  He grunted. I’VE BEEN BETTER. After a pause he continued. YOU ARE SEARCHING FOR YOUR PARENTS, I SEE.

  I focused back on my reading and nodded. I am. Not to sound rude, but you’ve been around for a while. What do you know about them? I asked. I would have asked him sooner, but this was the first time I’ve heard from him since I found out their names.

  THEY WERE YOUNG, RYLYNN. AND WHILE I AM OLD, AS YOU POINTED OUT, I HAVE BEEN TRAPPED IN THE LOUS-ECI’DALB FOR A LONG TIME. WHEN I WAS LAST FREE, THEY WERE PROBABLY YOUNG CHILDREN AND NOT SHADES. NOT YET.

  I slumped. It seemed Admiral Wingstar really was the only one who had actually known my parents.

  SORRY, LITTLE ONE, Kylesst murmured. I could tell that he meant it. I nodded and continued searching through the files. There was a report filed by the Shade who had led the recovery team. My mother’s Spectral, a snake named Sylth, had gone to share the sad news that his Shade had died. His return was what sent the recovery team. He led them to where she had died. The sad part was, she had been left there to rot. Amber was found to have been pregnant when she died, which was a detail previously unknown to the Order. The investigating Shade, a Paul Grayson, didn’t seem too surprised to find that out. The two were a married couple and they had been gone a month shy of a year. A lot could happen in that time period.

  What did bother Shade Grayson was that she had been killed while pregnant, and it was obvious that the baby had been cut out. Who took the baby? And where was Joseph, because there was no sign of him. Any doubts about Joseph’s integrity were shattered when Sylth explained that it hadn’t been Joseph who had killed Amber. She had been mortally wounded when they were ambushed. Amber had died in her husband’s arms. Sylth was not surprised that the baby had been taken, as he assumed Joseph had done what he could to save the child.

  The recovery team returned Amber’s body to her family, and she was buried on her homeworld of Forestrium. No leads had been found to point the investigating Shades to Amber’s murderers, which was another point that strongly bothered Shade Grayson. The Shades might not have be able to find anything, but the Spectrals should have been able to. But they couldn’t. Finding nothing, they had to return to their previous duties.

  What could do that? I asked Kylesst. What could keep Spectrals from finding something?

  AN ANCIENT ENEMY, Kylesst replied. SOUL SHADOWS COULD ERASE EVIDENCE OF THEIR PRESENCE SOMETIMES, ESPECIALLY IN A CROWDED PLACE LIKE CORONAIUS. IF THEY WERE INVOLVED, THEN IT IS NO WONDER THAT YOUR PARENTS WERE CAUGHT UNAWARES, AS IT SOUNDS LIKE THEY WERE.

  How do you figure that? I asked, scanning over the report again. I was afraid that I had missed something between the lines.

  Kylesst chuckled at my reaction. PARENTS MAY SEEM DISTRACTED BY THE UPCOMING ARRIVAL OF A CHILD, AND IN MOST CIRCUMSTANCES THEY ARE BLISSFULLY SO ENGAGED. THAT SAID, PARENTS ARE MORE AWARE OF WHAT COULD POSE A THREAT TO THEIR CHILD THAN MOST WOULD BELIEVE, ESPECIALLY IF THAT CHILD IS A FIRST. CONSIDERING WHO AND WHAT YOUR PARENTS WERE AND WHERE THEY WERE, IT WOULD NORMALLY BE IMPOSSIBLE FOR SOMETHING TO SNEAK UP ON THEM.

  If that is the case, why were they there? Why didn’t they leave when they knew I was on the way? I asked. And I will admit there was a lot of wistful pleading in my mental voice. If they had left Coronaius before the ambush that Kylesst was sure had trapped them they would still be alive. I would have known them and wouldn’t have to beg others for any scrap of information about them. As much as I loved Aunt Sylvie, I often wondered what it would have been like to have parents like some of the people I knew did.

  LITTLE ONE, Kylesst murmured in a soothing tone, THEY WERE SHADES. IT WAS THEIR DUTY AND HONOR TO CONTINUE WITH THEIR MISSION. THEY WERE NOT THE FIRST SHADE COUPLE TO CONTINUE A MISSION EVEN IF THEY WERE EXPECTING. I’M SURE THEY WILL NOT BE THE LAST. I shook my head and Kylesst continued. WOULD YOU WANT TO LEAVE YOUR PARTNER IN DANGER WHILE YOU WENT HOME BECAUSE YOU WERE PREGNANT AND SOMETHING BAD MIGHT HAPPEN?

  I’m not in a relationship like that, I pointed out.

  Kylesst sighed. I WAS BEING HYPOTHETICAL.

  I know. And I understand your point, too. It would be hard to leave someone I care about to be safe while they remain in harm’s way. I sighed. I can’t help asking ‘what if’, though.

  SO DO ALL WHO LOOK BACK AND WONDER AT THE CHOICES THEY MADE.

  I grunted and continued scrolling through the file on my parents. I knew what had happened to my mother. And I knew that my father had taken me to be raised by my aunt. So what happened to him? Since he cut me free on Coronaius, does that mean I’m a Primary Citizen? I wondered while I searched.

  There was quite a bit on my mother. Pictures of her were all over, and I paused to stare at one. I’m sure it was said a lot, but my mother was beautiful. Her red hair was long, and gleamed in the picture like a newly minted coin. In this particular picture her moss green eyes, similar to Aunt Sylvia’s, seemed to glitter with life. I looked nothing like her. Where she would draw attention, I would fade into the background. The only thing I seemed to have inherited from her was her courage, if Admiral Wingstar was correct. Looking at my mother’s image, I could see that courage he mentioned. But I wasn’t so sure that I had inherited it. Courage was something I struggled with, since it was the name for the ability to accept one’s fear and still do what needed to be done. Shaking my head slightly, I continued scrolling through various documents. There were new
s reports on the passing of a distant relative of the imperial family. In those, she was said to have been an ambassador. In a way, that wasn’t a lie. It just wasn’t the whole truth.

  Eventually, I discovered what happened to my father. A few weeks after my mother’s death, Joseph Raven reappeared in the Medrais System. He had been in a small civilian trade ship that had bypassed the Medrais Space Station. After many attempts to contact him, he had finally responded to announce his name, before cutting all communication and flying straight into the star. It had been so public and obvious what had happened that no Shade investigators were required to find the body. There was nothing about Raj, his Spectral Raven, other than to say what it had been. Nowhere in the report did that sound atypical, considering that Spectrals spend some time to mourn their companion’s passing before finding a new Shade, which meant that Raj was out there somewhere… Was it possible for me to find him?

  I frowned as I continued scrolling. I found some news reports that told of the tragedy of a broken hearted Joseph Raven committing suicide. There was no mention of a baby, probably because only the Order knew there had been a baby. I guess they figured that I had been with my father when he flew into that star but hadn’t wanted to share that horrible tale with the public. Since that hadn’t been true, I’m really glad they kept my existence to themselves. But had it really been a broken heart that led my father to commit suicide? Had I not been enough to hold him to this existence? Is that why he gave me to Aunt Sylvia? How had he found Aunt Sylvia when she hadn’t even told her family where she was?

  A RAVEN SPECTRAL, Kylesst explained. THEY HAVE A GIFT FOR SEEING AND KNOWING THINGS BEFORE THE REST OF US.

  If that is true, why hadn’t he warned them about the attack? I asked.

  THAT I DON’T KNOW. Kylesst sounded troubled. IT COULD HAVE BEEN BECAUSE THE AMBUSH WAS LED BY SOUL SHADOWS. But, he didn’t sound convinced. There was something else going on. I could feel it. My gut said that no Spectral would voluntarily, or in any way knowingly, lead their chosen Shade or that Shade’s dearest friends into danger. They would do everything they could to protect. They were inherent protectors.

  So what could fool a Seer Spectral? I didn’t have enough information and Kylesst’s comforting presence had faded. As I had observed before, he was weak. I let him go, praying that he would speak with me again. Perhaps he might even be able to tell me where he was, so I could come and save him as he had been saving me since we met. Though, I don’t think I could be anywhere near as cryptic.

  I noticed something as I looked through the articles the Order had on my father. It made the hair rise on the back of my neck. There were no pictures of Joseph Raven. None. There were places for it in the documents, but no image. It was eerie, just like the public Citizen Archives. Though at least there it had been noted that the family wanted the images out of the public eye. But the Shade Order’s database was not public nor would they erase any information, seeing as only a Shade could read it. I wondered briefly if a Soul Shadow could, but if they could it begged the question ‘why were there still Shades?’ Wouldn’t the Soul Shadows do what they could to erase the Spectrals ability to fight them?

  Tangent aside, I still couldn’t understand how the database had no image of Joseph Raven. What am I missing? I asked myself, before turning to someone who had more experience with the database. “Hey Becky,” I called privately to Marius’s handler. Since I was his student, Becky got to deal with me as well.

  “Hey there sweetheart. What can I do for you?” Becky asked with a smile coloring her tone.

  “I have two questions I hope you can help me with.”

  “Shoot.”

  “I’m looking for information on my parents, and I noticed that there are no images of my father. It’s like they don’t exist. The question is, what am I missing?”

  “I don’t get it either,” she replied far faster than I expected.

  I blinked blankly at my tablet. “That was fast…”

  Becky laughed. “Sound a little shell-shocked, Rylynn. Be impressed by my skills but not intimidated,” she continued after a couple more chuckles at my expense. “Marius already asked me to see what I could find. Personally, I think that letter from your aunt made him curious. I am sorry about what happened to your parents, Rylynn,” she added in a much more somber tone.

  I shrugged, though I know she couldn’t see it. “It’s hard to miss what you’ve never known.”

  Becky snorted. “Keep telling yourself that and you might believe it one day,” she said bluntly. “It still hurts when you wonder ‘what might have been’.” she continued, unknowingly parroting what I had said to Kylesst not that long ago. Before I could say anything else, Becky continued. “I don’t know how the Shade database was altered, I will have to talk to Sam about it, but I can’t imagine that there are no images in existence. I bet his parents probably have some copies. We’ll find something,” she assured me.

  “Thanks Becky.”

  “No problem. Now what was your second question?” she prompted.

  I hesitated a moment, trying to figure out how to word this one. “Reading through what is here, it sounds like I was ‘born’ on Coronaius. Does that make me a Citizen?”

  “Yep,” she answered again quickly, though this time I wasn’t quite as surprised since she had already been looking through the same documents. “I’ve been looking into getting the paperwork done for you,” she said. “After all, you are already considered one by being in the Legion Fleet. We are just adding more credence to what is already true.”

  “Thanks,” I said before ending the transmission. I was grateful that I would soon be officially part of this new universe I was in. I wanted to know if the looks I had been getting from Lassie and her ilk would change once it was known that I was a Citizen. Even more hilarious, the Prime rock I had been born on was Coronaius, the same place as Lassie. But it was also the same place as Adrian Knight… I shuddered before sinking into my chair. It wasn’t the planet’s fault who lived on it. But now that the thrill of anticipating the look on Lassie’s face had worn off, I had to ask myself, what had actually changed? I hadn’t. I was still me. Still Rylynn Tara Sinclair. A girl who was raised by her aunt and who was now a crewman on a starship, the LFH Hail Mary. I just knew a little bit more about where I came from.

  It was about that moment that I realized that if I didn’t get moving soon I was going to be late for the briefing.

  ***

  Ace

  That should do it, Ace thought as he finished his modifications to the computer access point. He smiled as he knelt beside it to check that everything was working perfectly. Happily, it was. The computer, and thus the crew, was blind to his presence here on the Hail Mary. Short of someone walking into this storage room and catching sight of him, that was how it was going to stay.

  He smiled as he thought of what Rylynn’s roommate would think of what he had just done. It probably wouldn’t be kind at all. Most Citizens would have a problem knowing that the Guardians used technology that could utilize Citizen Technology without anyone being the wiser. And if anybody noticed the piggy-backing signal, they would have the brain-aching task of trying to untie the knot of bounced signals and systems. There were so many that finding the source would be next to impossible. It made Ace glad, and admittedly smug, that he was the source of this signal. He had the somewhat easier job.

  Satisfied that everything was well, he sent the quick pulse to his waiting friend. After a couple of seconds delay, an answering pulse arrived. Ace nodded. Everything was ready on both sides. Now, all he had to do was transmit the marking signal and get a shuttle lined up. And when they arrived at Lenti, he would retrieve his prodigal sister that was the hope of his home.

  Chapter 7 – “Greetings”

  Near Colony Lenti

  Lenti-Solum System

  Spectral Empire

  Rylynn

  One moment we were traveling through a deceptively calm hyperspace tunnel. The next we we
re appearing in real space, and getting shot at. At least that is what the constant trembling in the ship made me think of. My assumption was supported by the klaxons roaring to life and turning the corridor’s lights red after the first jolt. Lovely, ‘music’ to go with the welcoming committee, I whimpered, as I leaned against the wall a few yards from medical and pressed my hands over my ears. Why does it always seem that welcoming committees are out for blood? I thought inanely. Any moment now the ship would stop trembling from being hit, right?

  “It’s not very welcoming, is it?” M. Kit muttered.

  If it is who I think it is, they don’t know the meaning of the word ‘welcoming’. Or ‘civil’ for that matter, I thought back, as I tried to convince myself that the racket would not in and of itself kill me. Can you deaden my ears a little? I asked my Medi-Comp.

  “I’m sorry, Rylynn. But you need to be able to hear what is happening around you. I cannot inhibit a sensory organ. But I am healing whatever damage is done,” M. Kit helpfully told me. Groaning, I began to move back toward medical since it was closest. I had left it because my shift there had been over and my next assignment was on the bridge. But the bridge was several decks above, and farther toward the front of the ship. The truth is, I wasn’t sure what was expected of me in this circumstance. I figured since I was at the nearest medical they would appreciate all the helping hands they could get. It was medical, after all, and if the shields failed and damage was done it would become a madhouse. I might not be able to do surgery, but I knew the basics of first aid.

  The klaxons desisted, thankfully, a moment before Admiral Wingstar began speaking over the ship’s intercom. I continued heading toward medical as he spoke. The lights still painted the hall red. “All crew to battle stations! A few mercenaries and their friends decided to have a pissing contest with us.” I blinked at the emotion that colored the usually calm admiral’s voice. There was a quiet anger, tinged with annoyance that made me almost feel sorry for those attacking us. Almost—but they had made the decision to attack us, not me. “Medical be prepared. Pilots, be ready.” I felt a stab of fear as I realized that Westley and perhaps Marius were likely part of that group. And where was Jason? On the bridge? I honestly couldn’t remember where he was stationed at the moment.