CHAPTER 13
“What have you learned?” Gauge asked as soon as he and Teo stepped out onto the bridge.
“Not as much as I’d hoped,” the captain replied.
“Come, I’ll show you.” She led Gauge and Teo over to navigation.
“This is where we entered folded space. Everything looks completely normal. There is no sign of a rogue wormhole, which our instruments would have picked up. The trip to Earth’s solar system should have taken two days, which it did.
And we exited folded space at the right coordinates. ”
“So what’s the problem?” Teo asked. “It sounds as if everything went as planned.”
“Yes, except we should have been awake and performing our normal duties during this time. Apparently, the whole crew has no memory past entering folded space. It’s as if we were all held in some type of stasis during the journey.
This is not a normal occurrence, Hunter, and I have yet to find a satisfactory reason for it. ”
“Have you contacted the council?” Gauge asked. He too could find only a blank spot in his memory after they entered folded space.
“Yes. They have halted all ships entering folded space until we can figure out what went wrong.”
“Was anyone hurt?” Teo asked.
“Not hurt, at least not that we know of. But, Prince Kiernan is missing. His personal guards are all still accounted for, but the prince himself is gone. We cannot account for his disappearance, Gauge. Of the rest of us, only the serpent female on the bridge remains unconscious.”
Gauge turned his attention to the instrument panel. As the captain had said, there was nothing there to show what had caused the anomaly. Wormholes left an energy signature, even those that had dispersed. There was nothing here.
“Hunter,” the captain said. “The chairman would like to speak to you in private for a few minutes. You may use my office to make contact.” She motioned to a door to the right.
“Thank you, Captain.” Gauge walked toward her office, wondering what the chairman wanted.
He couldn’t explain what had happened during their trip through folded space any better than the captain.
It could have to do with the missing prince, which would likely turn into a diplomatic nightmare once King Caelium learned of it.
It only took a moment to open a channel to Falkner.
A holographic image of the chairman appeared in front of Gauge, the male much shorter than the average Laizahlian, though he knew well you couldn’t judge one of their kind by appearance alone.
Falkner was one of the oldest, if not the oldest, of their kind.
He’d never been around a more formidable Laizahlian.
Thankfully, Falkner had a mate who kept him grounded.
“What can I do for you, Chairman?” Gauge asked, offering a shallow bow, his right fist crossed over his chest. “I can tell you no more than the captain about what happened when we entered folded space.”
Falkner, dressed in flowing white silk, bowed back before he replied.
“That is not why I wanted to speak with you, Gauge. You are aware that Amanda, Tallyn’s mate, is a vessel for the Umi queen.
” He didn’t wait for Gauge to acknowledge him before he continued.
“Because Amanda and her friend Kimberly were raised on Earth, we thought it best for them to open negotiations with human authorities. At the same time, we wanted the Umi queen to try to speak with her shifter descendants on Earth. Until we know exactly what the Djinn did to the hybrid mates of our Hunters and shifters, we can’t afford to allow them to remain on Laizahlia.
We had hoped the shifter groups on Earth would agree to take them in, but negotiations have not been going well. ”
“Who did Amanda go with besides Kimberly?”
“Amanda’s mate, Tallyn, of course, and Kimberly’s mate, Neyvarre.”
“Where are they now?”
“They are being detained at a military base on the east side of Oregon in the United States. We did not want to force human authorities to cooperate with us, but it is looking more and more like we may have no choice.”
Neyvarre was an ancient Hunter. Perhaps not as old or powerful as Gauge, but he should be able to handle anything humans could throw at him. And no one knew for sure what the Umi queen was capable of. “Why do you fear they might be in trouble?”
“My contact with Neyvarre was severed the second they entered this facility. I don’t have a blood bond with the Umi queen or her mate, Tallyn.
We know of at least one serpent who was temporarily held in this same facility.
Xavier and his tracker helped free him more than a decade ago.
Like us, serpents use telepathy to communicate with one another, especially while in battle form.
We believe humans used the captive serpent Xavier freed to find a way to block telepathic transmissions.
I don’t know if our group is in trouble, but we can’t afford to sit back and do nothing if they are. ”
“What would you like me to do?”
“Go in and check on their condition. If they have been trapped, you will find a way to free them. If everything is under control, you will return and report to me and the rest of the council. I will give you coordinates to their last position. Be aware of your surroundings at all times, Gauge. The serpents aren’t the only ones their scientists have been trapping and experimenting on. ”
“What if I am required to use force?”
“Do what you must, unless the Umi queen is in control of their situation. If this is the case, follow her orders until you leave this facility.”
“Yes, Chairman.” Gauge hesitated, not sure if the chairman had been informed about Kiernan, not only his need to claim a suitable mate, but the fact that he was now missing.
As if picking up his thoughts, Falkner said, “Gauge, I know about Prince Kiernan’s maturing shaprata.
I agree with your decision to allow him to claim a human or shifter mate, but only if the female is willing.
We will never allow Raiden warriors to claim mates by force.
” The chairman hesitated a moment before adding, “And we will discuss your growing attachment to the serpent female once you return to Laizahlia. Zephralena, Seraphym, and his mate, Samantha, will be transported down to a cougar pack in the Pacific Northwest. Kiernan will stay with them for now. Perhaps he can find a willing mate there. Teo, Jax, Commander Rafa and his mate Aaliyah will accompany you to the military facility. I expect you to keep me up to date on your findings so I can inform the rest of the council.”
“Chairman, Kiernan has come up missing. When we exited folded space, he could no longer be accounted for on the ship. We have no record of him being transported out. No record of anyone being transported out. His personal guards are still on the ship. Only Kiernan is missing.”
“How could something like this happen?” Falkner said.
“We don’t know,” Gauge replied. “The captain is trying to pin down exactly what went wrong while we were in folded space.”
“Tell Captain Eisher to keep me informed of her findings. Until we learn exactly what happened, we will try to keep this information from the Sabula king. Keep the Raiden guards sequestered from the rest of the crew. Tell them we will locate their missing prince.”
“Is that everything, Councilor?” Gauge asked, hoping not to be questioned about Lena.
Falkner paused, his hard gaze never leaving Gauge’s face.
“Is there something more you need to tell me, Gauge? Perhaps about the serpent female you went to Raiden for?” When Gauge hesitated to answer, Falkner said softly, “This is not the time to try to keep secrets from us. We are on the precipice of war with Djinn. We are exposing ourselves to humans, who we knew would react badly to our presence. The shifters of Earth are wary of their Laizahlian cousins. Xavier and the shadowborn are still missing, as well as the young female Xavier abducted. Most of my ancient Hunters are either mated or on another assignment. If there is a reason for your hesitancy, I need to know now.”
“I am not compromised enough that I cannot perform my duty, Chairman, but . . .”
“But what?”
“I may have to keep Lena close to Aaliyah, and me. Aaliyah helps keep her calm.”
Falkner frowned. “Why you, Gauge? Is it true? Is the serpent a potential mate to you, as Teo suggested?”
“Teo believes she is, but I’m not so sure.” Though she certainly meant something to him.
“Very well. Take the young serpent with you, but do not allow any harm to come to her. It’s bad enough we’ve lost the Raiden prince. We will need the serpents, both Earth’s and Raiden’s, to help us in this upcoming war with Djinn.”
“Yes, Chairman,” Gauge said, relieved when Falkner didn’t press him for more information. How could he explain what he didn’t understand himself?