Chapter 13
Armathea
Orbiting Valeria
Tia, Garrett, Quinn and Odin stood on the bridge, digesting the communication they intercepted, the one between Reyne and Talear command. Upon hearing Kendra’s angry voice, they all expelled sighs of relief.
“Odin. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn’t Reyne supposed to land on Valeria when his fuel ran out?” Garrett pointed a long, accusing finger at the large blue-green planet looming large through the bridge window. “That’s not Valeria, that’s Calypsta.”
Three sets of eyes stared at Odin with brewing anxiety.
Odin’s lips compressed into a thin line. “I assumed he would land on Valeria. I never even considered Calypsta as an option. Fuck.” He ran his fingers through his greying hair in frustration, tugging at the roots. “Last I knew she was toxic and uninhabitable for humans.”
“You assumed?” Quinn stormed towards Odin.
“Why did we listen to you?” Garrett pulled out his vaporizer and took a long, deep drag. “Now Kendra is in even more danger.”
Odin face flushed with boiling rage. “I didn’t hear any of you coming up with suggestions?” Quinn opened his mouth to speak again, but before he got a word out, Odin spat, “Go ahead Quinn, make one smart-ass remark and I will throttle you. Right here. Right now.”
“I just don’t understand why you didn’t kill him when you had the chance,” Quinn retorted with blazing golden eyes, refusing to cower. “We wouldn’t be here if you had, and Kendra would be safe.”
Odin grabbed Quinn’s shirt and prepared to send his clenched fist into his face.
“Go ahead, Odin. Take your anger out on me.” Quinn encouraged him.
“I agree with Quinn.” Garrett chimed in after releasing a smoke ring. “You should have just killed him.”
“Shut up, Garrett. Or you are next,” Odin snarled, his fist raised, ready to land an angered punch. “I had my reasons.”
Tia jumped between them with her hands raised. “Stop it. All of you. I may have a solution if you will all cease behaving like children and listen to me.”
Odin released his grip, lowering his fist.
Tia looked to Odin, asking, “What are the chances of Reyne successfully landing on Calypsta?”
“I would say pretty good,” Odin admitted. “As much as it pains me, I was impressed by his ship. Taleari technology seems to have made advancements in the last eight years.”
“Good. I’m thinking we lie in wait until Talear’s rescue party departs. We can use Armathea to jam their transmissions and intercept their convoy without Talear being wise to us.”
Odin leaned against his control panel and drummed his fingers. “Go on.”
“Once we have their ship, we knock out the crew. Just like Rhygarion Three.”
“Just like Ragarion Three.” Odin repeated with a sudden grin.
“We masquerade as their crew, then land on Calypsta at the designated rendezvous point. We would have the element of surprise on our side. If we do this correctly, Reyne will never suspect a thing until it’s too late. Well, what do you all think?”
“Brilliant, as usual,” Odin said. Garrett and Quinn nodded in agreement.
With a sparkle in her dark sable eyes, Tia slid into her control station and went to work.
“How are we going to get them to open up their ship once we have their vessel inside the cargo bay?” Garrett questioned as he tucked his vaporizer back into his vest pocket. “The landing plank needs to be down for the meridian gas to knock them out.”
Odin reached under the control panel and pulled out a silver armband with intricate symbols, holding it up for everyone to see. “With this. It’s Reyne’s Ramachii armband. I stole it from his ship.” He tossed it in the air and then caught it. “The Taleari will come out for this.”
“What's so special about it?” Quinn asked.
“It's a Taleari relic, and there are only twelve of them in existence, at least that I am aware of. Now, let’s get started. Garrett, position Armathea in Talear’s orbit. Quinn, prepare the meridian gas.”
“With pleasure.” Quinn headed for the door, then spun towards Garrett. “You took my side earlier.” He flashed a cocky grin and patted his heart with an open palm. “I’m touched Garrett…truly touched.”
Garrett rolled his eyes. “Fuck off, Quinn.”
Quinn chuckled on his way out.