Chapter Sixteen
Thorin was in the middle of a quick nap to recharge his synapses when a ping came from his communicator. Without opening his eyes, he barked, “Yes?”
Syzel’s voice answered, “Come to engineering quickly, sir.”
He opened his eyes and banished the dream of Vala he’d been using to calm his mind. He rose from the bed, dressed, and took the shortest route possible to the ad hoc engineering space being used by Syzel.
For good reason, none of them trusted the old space. Especially since the army reinforcements still hadn’t arrived yet.
Thorin arrived at Syzel’s office in record time. As soon as the door closed behind him, Thorin asked, “What did you find?”
Syzel motioned toward the flat-screen workstation at waist level. It displayed a map of the surrounding planets and galaxies. A small, faint red dot flashed slowly. He didn’t dare hope for it to be Vala.
His fellow warrior said, “You can let out your breath, Thorin. The signal is coming from the device you had me rig to track.”
The red light flashed as if mimicking Vala’s heartbeat. He willed it to be so.
Refusing to think of the pendant sitting on her cold, lifeless body, Thorin focused on the area with the blinking light. “That’s not far from the official Tallarian and Kelderan territorial border.”
“Correct, but the light is on the Tallarian side of the demarcation.” Syzel met his gaze. “If we step foot in that area of space without prior permission from the Tallarian government or merchants’ association, it could be seen as a sign of aggression. The bigger question is why they would want to kidnap our people. I could understand Azalyn Sulani since her family has snubbed some leading Tallarian merchant trading contracts in the past, according to public records, but why take anyone from our engineering department? Let alone forty souls.”
“Since the Tallarians haven’t bothered us in decades, finding out the why will take some time. However, we can get some answers related to the Sulanis easily enough.” Thorin walked to the door. Once it opened, he ordered the low-ranking warrior, “Bring the head of the Sulani family here immediately.”
Once the male made a fist and pounded it over his heart in affirmation, Thorin went back inside to Syzel’s side and said, “I dislike conjecture, but if the Tallarians or a rebel family from that planet wanted to force the Sulanis’ hands, it would require weakening our ship’s defenses and ability to fly away before they could kidnap Azalyn. Therefore, taking our crew members and draining our power makes sense. Moreover, they could also use our crew members as negotiating points.”
Syzel shook his head. “I’m still not convinced. The Tallarians have suffered a number of Brevkan attacks over the last few years. Their central government would want to prevent a war on two fronts at any costs. If they knew of anyone who planned to take revenge on the Kelderans, they would’ve tried to contain the problem. Because if both Keldera and Brevka attacked the planet, the Tallarians would lose handily.”
“All of this makes me wonder if there’s someone who wants to see Tallaria fall.”
Syzel shrugged. “Apart from Brevkan, I can’t think of anyone. And the Brevkan always prefer combat to elaborate machinations. Not to mention the Brevkan avoid teleportation since it brings out their rage.”
When a Brevkan went into a rage, they usually killed anyone in sight, regardless if the people nearby were their own kind or not.
Thorin replied, “We also know that Keldera has tight restrictions on any teleportation use. But even so, we can rule out anyone from our planet since Kelderan teleportation technology is different from what was used to kidnap our crew and passengers.”
“It’s true, our capabilities are a bit dated by teleportation standards. Still, I’ll dig deeper and see if I can find any matches on nearby worlds. It’s always possible someone from Keldera bought it off a space pirate,” Syzel stated.
Thorin remembered Vala’s theories. “If it can be traced to a space pirate’s offering, then look into any antimonarchy connections. It’s unlikely, but I want to investigate every avenue.”
Since Syzel had been helping Thorin with his list of potential traitors, the warrior merely nodded without question.
“Have you shared this information with anyone else?” Thorin asked.
“Not yet. You’re in command, so you deserved to hear the news first.”
Thorin studied the male warrior. He’d never gotten along well with his fellow army members, but when Thorin let down his barriers and gave males such as Syzel and Ryven a chance, they came through.
He never would’ve done so without Vala’s influence.
Vala. He may not know if she was alive, but the signal might be one step closer to finding her.
Still, his emotions surrounding her possible location would be kept locked up until a later time. He couldn’t afford to make a mistake because of his concern for his female. “Thank you, Syzel.”
“Of course, sir.”
He motioned toward the map. “Now, let’s run through a list of the nearest inhabited planets and see if any of them could possess the teleportation technology used on us. It’ll be a good idea to also look for possible hiding spots, in case this has been a multipronged attack with a ship here acting as a go between for whatever or whoever is near the Tallarian border.”
As the pair of them studied the coordinates and took note of the nearest planets and moons, the door chimed. “Enter,” Thorin stated.
A male with graying black hair and light blue skin appeared in the doorway. It was the head of the Sulani merchant family, Ulrick Sulani.
“You wished to see me, General?” Ulrick asked. “I’m curious as to why, since the young male refused to elaborate. Did you find my niece?”
Thorin decided bluntness was best. “How are your relations with the Tallarians?”
Ulrick frowned. “The Tallarians? I’m not sure what that has to do with anything, but my family has a number of trade treaties with Tallarian artisans and craftspeople. I assure you that we follow the letter of the law on both planets.”
“Do you have any Tallarian enemies?” Thorin barked.
Ulrick raised an eyebrow. “Why? Do you think the Tallarians took Azalyn?”
The head of the Sulani family was quick. “Just answer the question.”
The older male shrugged. “A few of our former suppliers started to cheat their orders and provide inferior products, nowhere near our required standards. Per clauses in our agreement, I severed the relationship and made sure my fellow merchants knew of the deceit. It’s common practice among merchants to share such information. In the end, it bankrupts the deceivers and allows us to better run our businesses and maintain customer loyalty.”
Thorin grunted. “Which means the former supplier will never trade with any Kelderan merchant again. Bankruptcy sounds like a motive for kidnapping to me.”
“Perhaps, but keep in mind that the Tallarian government receives updates regarding all trade agreements, both when they begin and when they end,” Ulrick replied. “The government would’ve kept an eye on the former suppliers, in case they extended their deceitful practices to Tallaria. If they tried to take revenge, they would’ve been caught almost immediately.”
Ulrick had more faith in the foreign government than Thorin did. “How powerful were these suppliers? What kind of resources did they possess? Could they have done something like kidnap your niece?”
“Unless something has drastically changed in the last few months, they weren’t powerful or wealthy enough to launch a full-scale kidnapping plan, let alone incapacitate a Kelderan colony transport ship.”
Thorin studied the older male, but he didn’t detect any deceit. “Syzel will send someone to your quarters to ask more questions and take names of any potential enemies.” He tapped a button and the door opened. “Dismissed.”
“What about Azalyn?” Ulrick asked.
“I promise you that once we know more and can ensure her safety, we’ll inform you.”
Ulrick bowed his head and exited the room. Once the door locked, Thorin turned to Syzel again. “I tend to believe Ulrick Sulani’s words and opinions surrounding his former supplier, especially if they only severed relations a few months ago.”
“I agree. This plan must’ve been mostly in motion for quite some time. Even if the colony is a recent development, someone must’ve been looking for Azalyn prior to our agreement with Jasvar. There must be another reason for the kidnappings.”
Thorin remembered something Vala had mentioned. “There is another reason someone could’ve taken Azalyn Sulani. Her former name was Azalyn Rippak. I’m sure you’ve heard the stories about her and Prince Keltor.”
Syzel’s eyes widened. “She’s that Azalyn? Do you think someone wants to use her against Prince Keltor? The incident happened over twenty years ago. Surely they don’t expect the crown prince to surrender to their demands because of a young dalliance.”
“Perhaps. But I’m not about to rule out that possibility just yet. Find everything you can on the Tallarians and the current situation on their planet. Something might enlighten us as to their motives for taking our crew and passengers, if it exists beyond wanting something to bargain with.” Syzel bobbed his assent and Thorin continued, “While you do that, I’m going to visit my second-in-command and give him temporary control of the ship. I need to inform Prince Keltor of the situation so that the royal family can prepare for any contact. It might never come, but I’d rather play it safe. The prince can also grant us permission to enter the Tallarians’ territory to verify if the locator is working correctly and that our people are there.”
Syzel frowned. “We’re out of secure communications range, Thorin. And important points such as those shouldn’t be transmitted any other way.”
“I know, which is why I’m going to take an exploration shuttle until I reach a place where I can use secure communications again. It won’t take me more than a few hours to reach that range.”
Syzel crossed his arms over his chest. “That’s risky. If the unknown threat senses your engine’s power source, then you could become an easy target.”
Thorin nodded. “I know, but don’t worry. I have a plan. As for this ship, while my second will officially be in charge, I want you and Ryven to keep doing what you’re doing. I’m relying on you to help us reach our eventual goal of Jasvar.”
“We will, provided you take others with you to assist.”
“I thought I was the general?”
Syzel smiled. “You are, but sometimes a general needs reminding that he’s not invincible. Considering we might’ve just located your female, your chances of being foolish have increased exponentially.”
Thorin should deny Vala was his, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. “I don’t have time to comb through the warriors to find trustworthy ones. Each minute that ticks buy is another the Tallarians, or whoever, can contact the prince and throw him off guard.”
“If you trust me and Ryven, then we can provide you with a few candidates.”
Thorin studied the slightly older male. His initial instinct was to ignore Syzel’s suggestion and make his way as soon as possible to contact the prince. He’d always worked best alone in the past.
However, that course of action would indeed be foolish. He’d never be able to warn Prince Keltor or fight to find Vala if he were dead. For all he knew, someone could attack during his transmission to the prince. Without additional warriors to man weapon controls or defenses, he would fail in that situation.
Syzel spoke up again. “If it helps, Ryven is friends with both Prince Kason and Princess Kalahn. Vala is connected to them both, even if Kason’s connection is through his bride. Ryven would never betray either of the royal siblings. His recommendations would be sincere.”
Thorin decided to chance it. “I’ll take them, but I’ll need them quickly. Send five of your trusted warriors to shuttle bay twelve in the next thirty minutes.”
Making a fist, Syzel pounded it over his heart. “Yes, sir.”
Thorin returned the salute before exiting the area. It was time to find his second-in-command.