Kirby shook his head. “Gardens inside a starship?” His voice faded.
There was a knock on the door and it opened. A man entered and looked around the conference room. He was dressed in a plain shipsuit without insignia. His hair was either blond or gray, cropped short. He looked at the two men.
“Steg de Coeur?” he asked.
“Me,” said Steg.
“Oh. My name’s Dekker. They sent me to talk to you. I’m a miner, an asteroid sled jockey. Oh, I’m from Homeworld.”
Steg stood, intrigued. “What did you say?”
Dekker backed away; he was nervous. “I—I’m from Homeworld.”
“What are you doing here, on board this gigantic starship?”
“It’s—it’s a long story. Oh, I need to tell you—Wanderer is heading for its first s-t jump.”
“What?” Steg moved away from the table, towards Dekker. Kirby stood. The three Fain looked startled, not sure what they were hearing.
“Y-yes, we’re underway.”
Steg stood in front of Dekker. He was restraining his anger—he did not like being hijacked. “Destination?”
“Jochum II.”
Steg, shocked, pale, turned and re-seated himself at the table. Kirby appeared bewildered and also sat back at the table.
“Why?” Steg asked.
“The Xesset are massing for an attack. They are assembling a major war fleet.”
“So why does Wanderer want me and—?” he indicated his companions.
“Oh, it wants more than you—it also wants the support of the Imperial Intelligence Agency and of the Imperial Navy.”
“Why?”
“Wanderer believes the first system they plan to assault is Djii. Ambassador Tziksis is extremely concerned.”
“But—that’s—”
“Yes, we’re jumping to 1800—”
“PD?’’
“Yes.”
Steg said, “Wanderer has to stop and allow my companions to return to Wasp. Likewise for the Ebony Company.”
“Sir, it’s too late—we’ve already made the first jump.”
Steg regarded his fellow Homeworlder and shook his head in disbelief. “I want to talk to whoever authorized this.” He turned to his companions. “I’m sorry. We’ve been hijacked. Or kidnapped. Wanderer is taking us on an extremely long journey—I don’t know if we’ll be able to return.”
“Where to, sir?” Kirby asked.
“It seems first we’re going to a planet called Jochum II, which is the base for the Imperial Intelligence Agency.”
“Why, sir—why you?” asked Tessa.
“I’m a captain in that agency. Also, Ambassador Tziksis is a close friend.”
“But sir, you told me ImpSec couldn’t find any trace of the IIS?” queried Kirby.
“Which gives us a major issue,” Steg said. “Wanderer is taking us to the IIS base. The major issue—the IIS was formed in 1800 PD—Post Diatonic.”
Finch, wide eyed, said, “But sir, that’s over a hundred and fifty years in the future.”
The rush of questions overwhelmed Steg. He held up his hand and his companions quietened. He said, “No, I’m not crazy. I didn’t know starships could make t jumps—I do know a number of Imperial starships have portals that individuals can use to do s-t jumps.”
A loud series of knocks on the conference room door interrupted the flow of questions. Steg nodded to Kirby who stepped over and opened the door. A young woman was about to knock again. She peered into the room.
“Can I come in?”
Steg jumped up before Kirby could answer. “Jessie—Jessie Brent. What are you doing here?”
“Captain de Coeur—you sent a shuttle for me?”
“No, not me.” Steg could not hide his shock. “What made you think that?”
“We received a message on the compad you used for communicating with the skipper—with Captain Montrose. It said something like—Have critical need for Tactician Commander Brent. Shuttle on the way—and Captain Montrose agreed I could be detached from duty for a year. He said he wants me back. It was a crazy rush to get here.”
“Julie, you are welcome. Come in, take a seat—we’re all learning what this is about. I’m not sure I’ll be able to return you to Defender within a year. Come on, sit here.” He indicated a seat next to Aadan. “Aadan’s our Helm—you’ve seen some of her work—she hid us in that asteroid belt.” He introduced the other people around the table, explaining their roles.
When he completed the introductions, Steg turned back to Dekker. “As I said, I want to meet with whoever authorized this venture. Are they on board?”
“Oh. Oh, not really.”
“What do you mean? Who authorized this?”
“Sir, it was Wanderer—that is, Wanderer’s AI.”
Steg collapsed back into his seat. “An AI arranged to come here, to this era, to find me, pick me up, and take me to back to my time?”
The Alliance tactician did not hide her astonishment at Steg’s question. “Sir, you’re going to make a real s-t jump?”
“I understand it’s already underway.” He held up his hand to halt an expected flow of questions. “I need Dekker’s answer—then I’ll try to explain. Dekker, answer, please.”
“Oh, well, yes, you’re almost correct. The Glass Complex on Homeworld helped, sir. The Acolytes tracked you down. We can’t go back to Eos, sir. We’re needed to help fight the Xesset.”
Steg looked at his companions seated around the table. They were wide-eyed, staring at him, and judging by their expressions, they had thousands of questions to ask him. He sighed. This was going to take a while.
oooOooo
Thank you for reading Fracture Lines. I hope you enjoyed the story—and if you did, please share your experience by adding a review to Amazon. The third book in the Glass Complex Trilogy – Diamond Cut – will be available by the end of the year. Keep up to date by subscribing to my newsletters; see the offer for a free ebook – a collection of my short stories, A HOLE IN THE UNIVERSE. Check Amazon or my web site for details of all my books.
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John writes science fiction and thrillers, sometimes with crossover. Well, he claims you need a thrill in your science fiction and an occasional touch of science in your thrillers. John originates from Australia, has lived in England (plus a number of other countries—it’s a long list), and now lives in the High Sierra region of California where he is writing full time. He could be hiking, kayaking, or skiing, when he's not writing.
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Also by John Hindmarsh
Science Fiction
Glass Complex Trilogy
Book 2: Fracture Lines
Book 3: Diamond Cut
Shen Ark: Departure
Contributor to Quantum Zoo (anthology); published by Orion's Comet
Thrillers
Mark One
Mark Two
Mark Three
Mark Four
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Also by John Hindmarsh