Undaunted (Battle Born Book 6) (17 page)

He sounded calm and assertive, but she knew him well enough to spot the flash of cunning in his eyes. “You’re ready for humans to spot you, or you wouldn’t have brought the
Undaunted
to Earth.”

“It’s time.” His shoulders squared and his expression hardened. “We mean Earth no harm, but we can’t allow human bureaucracy to delay us any longer.”

The Lux brothers finished harassing each other and approached Garin and Berlynn. Garin motioned toward the ship’s temporary commander. “This is General Sedrik Lux. Sedrik, this is Berlynn Tandori, one of the ambassadors representing Tandori Tribe.”

Sedrik held out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Ambassador Tandori.”

“Likewise, General Lux.” They shook hands and Berlynn noted the similarities, and differences, between Sedrik and Kaden. Their features were bold and masculine. Their builds strong and muscular. Sedrik was several inches taller than his younger brother and his hair was almost as short as Garin’s. She’d seen mischief sparkle in Kaden’s eyes and he wasn’t afraid to laugh. Sedrik, on the other hand, appeared to be all business. Not surprising. Garin wouldn’t have left his “pride and joy” in the hands of a less serious man.

Garin took the lead as they moved farther into the ship. Berlynn walked at his side, feeling as if she were part of a royal procession. The others fell in behind, forming an untidy train. Rather than attempting to follow what Garin was saying to her, the others struck up their own conversations.

Nearly everyone they passed greeted Garin with obvious respect and comradery. Berlynn just took it all in. The corridors were arched and rounded, appearing more like winding tunnels than traditional hallways. They passed several banks of elevators, but ladders also allowed crewmembers to climb from one level to the next. Berlynn was used to the textured floors. Every walkway in Lunar Nine had been constructed with the same matte-gray substance. The walls, however, were smooth and marbled with a variety of metallic colors, giving the corridors an iridescent sheen unlike anything she’d seen on the outpost.

“You’re awfully quite all of a sudden.” Garin reached over and took her hand.

“I can’t decide if I’m impressed or intimidated.” She glanced up at him, then away as her heartbeat pulsed in her ears. “I knew you were a general, but I never really thought about what that meant.”

“You’re not in the military,” he pointed out with a faint smile. “It doesn’t have to mean anything to you.”

“It’s a little hard to ignore when everyone we pass greets you like royalty.”

“Would you rather they glare and mutter obscenities?”

“No.” She shot him an impatient glance. “I just keep waiting for paparazzi to jump out from around the next corner.”

“I can guarantee the
Undaunted
is paparazzi free.”

They passed a series of maintenance bays where teams of men repaired a variety of smaller ships. Then they took a lift up seven decks. Down one corridor and around a corner was a small cafeteria. Either the ship had numerous dining halls or this one was reserved for officers. There was no way this one room could serve six thousand men.

Rather than taking a seat at one of the tables, Garin led her across the room and out another door. She looked back to see if the others followed and they did.

“Where are we going?” She had to rush to keep up with his purposeful strides.

“This is a shortcut to the officers’ quarters.”

At the end of the next corridor, they turned down a short hallway that led to a double-doored entrance. Garin scanned open the doors and motioned her inside.

Berlynn’s breath caught in her throat as she stepped into Garin’s private quarters. Much larger and more luxurious than any ship’s cabin she’d been in before, the room was impressive. L-shaped and elegant, one end of the room contained a sitting area while a dining room had been arranged at the other. The bedroom wasn’t in view, so she presumed it was behind one of the adjacent doors.

“Does anyone want a drink?” Garin asked as the others joined them inside the cabin.

“I’m good,” Kaden told him.

“I’m better,” Zilor teased.

“You sound like adolescents.” Bandar rolled his eyes then moved toward the sitting area.

Sedrik and Raylon just shook their heads.

Berlynn watched the exchange, fascinated by the scrape and flow of their personalities.

Garin motioned everyone toward the sitting area then moved to one of the kiosks inset in a nearby wall. Berlynn sat on the loveseat, hoping the others would leave the seat beside her for Garin. Bandar and the Lux brothers quickly claimed the remaining chairs, forcing Zilor and Raylon to drag dining room chairs over to the sitting area. Garin procured two identical beverages from the kiosk then brought one to her.

“If you don’t want it, or don’t like it, just set it aside,” he suggested as he sat down beside her.

“So catch me up,” Sedrik prompted. They sat more or less in a circle, so everyone could see everyone else. “When do we move against Quinton?”

Berlynn took a tentative sip of the beverage as Garin began a review for his first officer. The drink was golden with an orange swirl through the middle and the taste was lightly sweet and citrusy.

“The past week has been eventful,” Garin said. “I’m not sure where to begin.”

“What have you heard?” Kaden asked his brother. “It might be beneficial to compare notes.”

The brothers sat in identical chairs, facing the loveseat. Again Berlynn was struck by their resemblance. Kaden looked like a typical trouble-causing younger brother when compared to his immaculately turned-out sibling. Both men were striking in their own way, but then all of the battle born were attractive by human standards. They were the personification of tall, dark and dangerous. Her gaze drifted to Raylon, reinforcing the conclusion.

“How hard did they try to find you?”

Garin’s question refocused Berlynn on the conversation. Why had Sedrik needed to be found?

Sedrik shrugged and his gaze darted toward her for just a second before returning to Garin. “They knew I’d abandoned my post and moved the ship without logging a flight plan. Fortunately, I was one of many. Things have been rather chaotic since your departure.”

“Are you talking about yesterday or have you been MIA since Garin came to Lunar Nine?” She was starting to feel ornamental, so she voiced the question instead of adding it to her long list of things to ask Garin about later.

“MIA?” Kaden asked.

“Missing in action,” Garin supplied.

Ignoring the momentary tangent, Sedrik looked at her, his purple phitons brightening. “Shortly after Garin left, I moved the
Undaunted
to a location about halfway between Earth and Rodymia. That’s why we were able to arrive so quickly.” His gaze lingered a moment longer before he turned back to Kaden. “As for what I’ve heard, our sources confirmed that both Integration Guild and Harbinger Guild have lost their leaders. Now everyone is betting on which guild master will die next.”

Garin waved away the possibility. “One death had nothing to do with the other. No one is out there bumping off guild masters.”

“But the two most powerful guilds on Rodymia are currently without leaders, correct?” Sedrik persisted.

“Letos will take over the IG.” Garin stated it as if it were fact not opinion.

“I thought he’d only agreed to an interim post,” Bandar echoed her thought.

“He’s good at it and no one else wants the responsibility. They just want to sit back and reap the rewards. They’ll elect him, I have no doubt.”

No one argued with Garin’s assertion, so Sedrik asked, “What about Harbinger Guild?”

Garin drained half his drink before setting the glass aside. “They’ve asked Danvier to become guild master and they want to establish a guiding council rather than allowing any one member to dictate to all the others. I’ve encouraged him to accept the position.”

“Wow.” Sedrik was clearly surprised by the news. “I know how beneficial it is to be anchored to a harbinger. I’m not sure I could let that sort of power go so easily.”

“Danvier’s in love,” Kaden announced with melodramatic flare. “He had to dissolve his bond with Garin so he could claim Haven.”

“Haven? Haven Tandori?” Sedrik chuckled. “You weren’t kidding that the past week has been eventful. When and how did Danvier and Haven happen?”

“Long story.” Garin dismissed the topic with a wave of his hand. “We have too many other things to cover right now.”

“All right. Then back to my original question,” Sedrik proposed. “When do we move against Quinton?”

“Soon.” Garin smiled at Sedrik’s persistence. “Paytor’s latest actions were doubtlessly ordered by Quinton, which means Quinton is starting to feel the pressure. He’s pulled out the big guns.”

“At the risk of being insubordinate,” Sedrik said with a smile. “What are you waiting for?”

“Quinton isn’t the problem,” Garin stressed. “If I’d wanted him dead, I could have killed him when he summoned me and my brothers to court. He needs to be deposed, not murdered. To establish the battle born as a legitimate power on Rodymia, it’s going to take a military coup with the specific purpose of installing the new regime. That’s a lot more complicated than hiring an assassin.”

Sedrik nodded, conceding the point. Then he asked, “What sort of new regime? Do you have something specific in mind?”

“A governing Triad,” Zilor told him. “One member representing the battle born, one for the guilds, and one for Tandori Tribe and their supporters.”

After a thoughtful pause, Sedrik’s brows drew together and he tilted his head as he looked at Garin. “You’re not actually battle born. Can you still represent us on this Triad?”

Garin shook his head. “I have no desire to be on the Triad. I’m happy right where I am. Or I will be once the people I answer to start listening. And I feel strongly that the representative needs to be battle born, not just sympathize with you.”

Sedrik accepted the decision with another nod. “Only one seat for all the guilds? They’re not going to like that.”

“They’ve already agreed to it.” Kaden clearly enjoyed his brother’s astonishment.

“Letos agreed to it,” Garin stressed. “That doesn’t mean the rest of the Integration Guild will fall in line.”

“I agree.” Raylon perked up, clearly more interested in this topic than the others. “I’m worried about the technomages. They’ve enjoyed unchecked power for decades now. They’re not going to give that up without a fight.”

“I’m not sure I consider their power unchecked,” Sedrik argued. “Javin kept them on a pretty short leash.”

Garin rubbed his chin as he often did when he was deep in thought. “Javin’s dead and Letos is a very different sort of leader. Even if the IG elects him guild master—which I’m convinced they will—Raylon’s right, he could have a fight on his hands.”

“If Letos supports our efforts, we’ll need to support him during his transition,” Kaden mused.

“I’ll ask him what he needs,” Garin offered.

“What about Paytor?” Bandar asked. “He’s not just following orders. The Paytors have been fiercely loyal to the Keires since Rodymia was founded. He’s the fist inside Quinton’s glove.”

“True. But his crew is battle born,” Kaden pointed out.

Garin shook his head, his expression almost as grim as Raylon’s. “We can’t presume every crewmember on every ship will mutiny simply because they’re battle born. Once it becomes clear that the battle born will be victorious, the masses will rebel. But we can’t expect complete cooperation as we start the process. There’s a comfortable security in the status quo.”

Silence lengthened as each person absorbed the facts and thought about various possibilities. Berlynn’s mind was racing. Despite the casual setting, these men were deciding on events that would change the fundamental makeup of one, perhaps two, different planets. And she was beginning to understand what Haven meant. Garin and his officers seemed to be entirely focused on the political conflict. Had they lost sight of the reason for the war?

“What’s our next step?” Sedrik finally broke the silence.

“I hate to divide our forces, but I see no other option.” Garin scooted to the edge of his seat, in full general mode. “The transformation program is just as important, perhaps even more so, than what must be done on Rodymia. Without warriors who can manipulate magic, we have no hope of taking on the technomages. And an eventual confrontation with the IG is inevitable.”

“I agree,” Raylon said.

“I’m glad, because you’ll remain in charge of all earthbound activities. Once I officially announce our intentions, discretion will no longer be necessary, so you can hit the ground running. I want five hundred empowered soldiers by month’s end.”

“Five
hundred
?” Berlynn gasped then pivoted in her seat so she could look at him directly. “Do we even know that the transformation process is safe? It’s been barely six weeks since the first test subject was transformed.”

“Well, speaking as test subject number one,” Bandar interjected with a sly smile. “The process is safe and worth any risk. I’ve never felt stronger or more capable.”

“Not to mention that he can shoot fire from his fingertips,” Zilor bragged.