Without Hesitation, Talia Jager [warren buffett book recommendations txt] 📗

Chapter Twenty-Four

Akacia

When we woke, the mood was somber. Ever shuffled to the bathroom and got ready. She left her hair down and put on very little makeup. I took my time getting prepared. As glad as I was to be going home, I was heartbroken to leave. Ever didn’t say anything during breakfast or on the way to the bridge. It was as if talking would hurt.

“Briar? What’s the news on Caspar’s ship?” Ever inquired.

“Reports are saying an internal explosion destroyed the ship. No talk of foul play,” she responded. “I’ll keep listening. I do have some news on the tracking device.”

Ever’s head snapped up. “What?”

“It looks like it’s been on there a while. I think Caspar put it on the ship when he handed it over to us. He’s always been keeping track of us, we just didn’t know. We never had a reason to disobey him before.”

“You never realized it was there when you hacked the ship to take control?”

Briar shook her head. “No. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. Are you sure it was the only one?”

“Yes. I did a sweep of the ship and I asked Lael to verify it was the only one.”

Ever seemed to be lost in thought as she doodled on paper.

“Can you hail Valinor?” I asked.

Briar pushed a few buttons and then Galton appeared on the screen.

“Empress.”

“Galton. We will be arriving shortly.”

“Who exactly?”

“Whoever I decide to bring with me, Galton. I expect you to treat them as guests.”

He gave a firm nod and the screen went black.

“I think it would be best if just you came at first,” I said to Ever.

“We can jump down.”

“Okay.”

Out the window, I could see Valinor getting closer and closer. The planet was beautiful from afar. White clouds swirled above the blues, greens, and purples. That was my home, my planet. My people were waiting for me.

“Are you sure about this?” Ever asked, holding the jump device.

“Yes.”

Ever put in her earpiece and led me to the jump circle. Nero joined us. Seconds later, we were standing in the grass just outside the compound. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and filled my lungs with the familiar scents around me. Home.

Ever was checking in with the rest of the crew. “We’re fine. Stay there.”

I heard the door open and opened my eyes to see Galton standing before me. His eyes shifted to Ever and a scowl came over his face.

“Galton,” I said to get his attention.

He smiled, approached, and took my hands. “Empress. I’m so glad you’re home.”

“Thank you.”

“Kaci!” Bristow came running around the corner, picked me up, and spun me around. “You’re really okay?”

“I am.”

He gave me a big bear hug. “Good. I’m tired of running this place. It’s hard and quite boring.”

Laughing, I messed his hair. “I’d say you did good a job. The planet is still here.”

“And now I’m placing her back in your hands.” He gave a slight nod and I kicked him. “I tried my best to find you. I just didn’t do it in time.”

“It all worked out.”

He nodded. “So who did you bring down here?”

My eyes flicked to Ever. “Galton, Bristow, this is Everleigh. She is here as my guest.”

Galton huffed. “She’s the one who turned you over to Caspar. The reason you crashed on that planet. And the reason you were almost sold back to him.”

“Galton, I appreciate your concern, but it is none of your business.”

Bristow at least was understanding. “Hi, Everleigh. I’m Bristow. Kaci’s best friend.” He stuck out his hand and Ever shook it.

“Kaci has told me about you.”

He grinned. “She has?”

“Something like best friends and partners in crime.”

Galton cleared his throat and Ever looked like she was caught doing something wrong, but Bristow laughed.

“That we are. I’m glad she didn’t forget about me while amongst the stars. Speaking of which, weren’t you the one who didn’t want me to leave and then you decided to go off adventuring?”

“Wasn’t exactly voluntarily, but I won’t hold you back, Bristow. I told you that before. I will miss you, but I want you to be happy.”

A smile spread across his face. “You are the best.”

“I know.”

Nero, who had been on Ever’s back, climbed onto my shoulder.

“What is that?” Bristow asked.

“This is Nero. He hitchhiked back with us from Terronda.”

“Does he bite?”

“I’m sure he does, but he hasn’t bitten us.”

Bristow shot me a look, but then smiled, and held out his hand. Nero looked at me and I nodded and said, “He’s okay.”

Nero then jumped onto Bristow’s arm and crawled up to his neck sniffing him. Bristow laughed and tried to get him back in his hands.

“I hate to interrupt, but there are things that need to be attended to,” Galton stated.

“Bristow, could you entertain Everleigh while I catch up with Galton?”

“Of course,” Bristow responded with a smile.

“Don’t go too far. I want you both to join me in a few minutes.”

In the command center, everyone welcomed me back. Vika gave me a hug. “I’m so glad you’re okay. We were all very worried about you.”

“Thank you, Vika.” Speaking loud enough for everyone in the room to hear, I continued, “You all did a wonderful job taking care of Valinor. As your Empress, I thank you.”

Galton went over everything that had taken place since I had been gone. The weather had been mostly good, but one storm caused some damage.

“One of the dams broke, but we got it fixed and water supply has been good since. Food is growing. President Loera of Flion wants to set up trading. And Hettie passed away,” Galton reported.

“Oh, no. She was a lovely lady.”

“Her daughter has taken over the shop.”

“I’ll stop and see her. I also want to see the families of those who died when the Razor was destroyed.”

Galton brought me up to speed on a bunch of small things that had happened in my absence. I was beginning to think he was stalling. “We need to talk, Galton. Can we go into the conference room?”

“Shall I get Vika?” Galton asked.

“No. I’d prefer it just to be the four of us.” I waved to Bristow and Ever as we entered the room. “Please, join us at the table.”

“You want me to be here?” Ever asked.

“Yes.”

She followed and sat next to me.

“I need some answers, Galton, and I’m hoping you have them for me. I should be dead, but for some reason, I healed. What do you know about that?”

Galton swallowed, but Bristow was the one who spoke first. “What do you mean?”

“I mean exactly what I said. First Caspar tortured me and then we crashed on a planet. I was also shot by a guard in Terronda. Yet, I don’t have a mark on me. I healed.”

The three of us looked at Galton waiting for him to say something. He seemed reluctant to speak and it angered me.

“Let me tell you what I know. I have nanites. What I don’t know is why.”

Galton took a deep breath. “Your father, Atlas, was a brilliant scientist as you know. He had perfected using nanites to heal someone and word got out. We’re not sure how or by who. While your father was working, you were running around playing when someone broke in trying to get the nanites. Bristow’s father, Braylon ran in with a couple of guards. There was a firefight with the intruder. Nobody realized you were in the room and you got hit in the crossfire. The intruder was killed and you were critically injured. Your mother pleaded with your father to help. The nanites hadn’t been tested on a child, but he agreed and put them in you.”

“And I healed.”

“You healed.”

“Why didn’t he or someone tell me?” I asked, my voice shaky. When Ever put her hand on mine, it didn’t go unnoticed.

Galton forced his eyes back on my face before continuing. “I’m sure he was going to—”

“But he died, Galton! He died and you helped raise me and never mentioned it. I have machines running through my body.”

“I’m sorry, Empress. I only had your best interest at heart. You never really got hurt after that, but anytime you fell down and healed quickly, I waited for the questions. They never came.”

“I never asked. You never told.”

“I figured I would when you stepped into your own, but something was always going on. There’s no excuse. I apologize.” He looked away, tears brimming in his eyes.

“What if something had happened? A side effect of some sort.”

“I figured it was fine. It had been years since your father injected you and there had been none.”

Bristow reached over and took the hand that Ever wasn’t holding. “I know you, Kace. I know what you’re thinking. This doesn’t change who you are.” His eyes were sympathetic and he gave me a half-smile.

“That’s what I told her,” Ever said.

“They’re right, Empress. You’re no less of a person.” Galton tried to sound reassuring.

“No. I’m something more.” I sighed. “I want the details of what went down when my parents were killed.”

Bristow sat up in his seat. This concerned him, too. We had talked about it plenty of times, but neither of us asked for the particulars before.

“The details?”

“Yes.”

“You know them. Late one night, your parents were in the lab when it was attacked.”

“You told me that my parents were killed because someone was trying to take over the planet, but that’s not exactly true, is it?”

Galton stroked his chin for a minute before taking a deep breath. “People had tried to get their hands on Valinor—that part was true. You’ve seen that happen yourself. But, no, your parents’ deaths were not for that reason. Atlas, Braylon, and Raysel had been in the lab all day working on Project Infinity. With the nanites and another success—”

“Splicers?” I guessed.

Galton’s eyes widened and he nodded. “Yes, with the success of the nanites and the Splicers, he was researching something new. Your mother had gone in to check on him, convince him to get some rest. A team of four highly trained assassins