Freedom Saga 3: The Dawn of Liberty by Marcus Johnson Page B

said.
    “Put
her through,” Baeron ordered.
    “Yes
sir,” the female officer said.
    Veda
appeared on the monitor from the empty docking bay. Behind her was the Ick-Tckt
craft Valis had captured earlier.
    “I’m
glad the two of you are together for this,” Veda said before pointing at the
craft. “In our first battle we recovered this mobile armor. We’d like to give
it to you as evidence.”
    “I’ll
wager your people have already worked it over,” Baeron said.
    “They
have,” Veda said. “But we kept everything, including all the video and scans we
took as we did so. Our coordinates have already been given to your
communications officer.”
    “I’ll
head up in a few hours,” Baeron said.
    “The
dock is ready to receive you anytime,” Veda said.
    “Thank
you Veda,” Siata said.
    “No,
thank you,” Veda said before ending transmission.
    “She’s
offering us such a gift,” Siata said.
    “I’m
glad,” Baeron said. “I don’t approve of everything Heaven’s Light does, but
they follow the letter of the law. The Ick-Tckt who instigated these attacks
they did so recklessly. The only ones who should die in battles are those
fighting in them.”
    “We
may be working with them soon,” Siata said. “Be prepared to explain that to you
troops.”
    “They
understand,” Baeron said. “That’s because they feel the same about Brian and
Heaven’s Light. They may not approve of them but they respect them. I have no
respect for cowards who attack in the night with poisoned daggers.”
    “At
least we’ll have one of those poisoned daggers,” Siata said
    “Hopefully
it’ll let me hunt them down,” Baeron said.
     
    * * *
     
    Jesela
and Dreka were working in the command center of the Columbia base on
implementing the new detection system. The birdman noticed something was off
because Jesela was not only quieter than usual, but not dancing or anything as
she worked. As she stared at the data on the console he walked up behind her
and cawed, causing her to jump into the air. Reban looked up from her work
while quietly laughing to herself.
    “What
did you do that for?” she asked.
    “You’re
dragging your posterior, that’s why,” Dreka said. “Something’s going on,
right?”
    “You’re
fretting again, that’s all,” Jesela said.
    “Don’t
give me that relk ,” he said. “I know something’s wrong because of the
way you’re acting. So spill it.”
    Reban
looked up from what she was working on.
    “Should
I leave?” she asked.
    “Don’t
bother,” Dreka said. “Jesela can say it in public, right?”
    “Alright
then,” Jesela said. “I never could keep my mouth shut.”
     
    * * *
     
    Baeron
and Siata exited their ship and stepped onto the dock of the Columbia base.
Baeron marveled at the construction.
    “No
wonder we lost,” he said.
    “Their
technology is quite advanced for a group of younger races,” Siata said.
    Veda
and Grigon wandered from the Ick-Tckt craft over to their guests. Both Siata
and Baeron noted the size of the new vessel.
    “Can
I ask how you got that?” Baeron asked.
    “It
seems all of their crafts are programmed to self-destruct should they be
damaged to a certain point,” Veda answered. “Valis was lucky to recover this
one.”
    “Have
you disarmed the explosive?” Siata asked.
    “Of
course,” Grigon said. “Everything else is intact. You can fly it if you want
to.”
    Daes
stepped out of the inside of the craft in a sealed suit. She was covered in bug
guts even worse than the time before. She walked over and noticed Veda, Grigon,
and Baeron didn’t like the smell.
    “We’ve
saved all of these for you take as well,” Daes said while pointed at her suit.
“I’m done now, it’s all yours.”
    She
headed for the decontamination chamber to change her outfit. Baeron signaled
for his men to load the vessel. Four Lances emerged and moved the thing inside
the ship.
    “Have
you found anything about who attacked you?” Siata asked.
    Veda
shook