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ISRA PACED THE length of the med-bay, while Tarsk and Kara stared at her. Waiting. Yet she didn’t seem ready to speak. She stopped at the cabinets that ran the length of the side wall and started lining up the supplies on top of the bench in neat little rows. The silence in the room continued as she then slid a cabinet door open above her and packed them back inside.
Tarsk and Kara shared a look of concern. They knew Isra had reacted strongly to the newscasts, but this was unlike her. They’d never seen her so unsettled and unsure.
Kara faintly cleared her throat before speaking, “Should we ask Daku to join us as well?”
Isra paused, one hand raised over a can of ano-spray. She picked up the can of antiseptic wound-sealing foam, slowly turning it in her hand.
Kara waited.
Isra slotted it into place in the cabinet and closed the door with a precise click.
Kara reached over to the intra-ship comms and quietly called Daku. Though she probably could have just as easily shouted down the corridor. Less than a minute later he stuck his head through the door, eyebrow raised in query. Kara waved him into the cramped room.
Isra turned at the sound of the door sliding shut and contemplated them, before giving a slight nod, as if to herself.
“I have been working on something for a while now,” Isra finally said. “I’ve had to carry it out quietly and carefully. I couldn’t afford to raise suspicions about what I was seeking, but I had to know.”
Daku looked at Tarsk and Kara in confusion, but they shrugged in unison, just as clueless as he was. He flashed her a quick smile, flicking his eyes between her and Tarsk, and Kara squeezed his hand in silent thanks.
Isra shifted again, tapping her hand on the bench. “I have not wanted to mention this to you before or involve you in it directly, Kara, as it relates to your modifications. Instead, I asked the Sword and Shield to investigate, which has taken time and careful sifting of facts and misinformation.” She braced herself against the bench, her hand still lightly tapping.
“You know I can accept information on my modifications and the Dark Raiders now,” Kara reassured her. “I’m not going to break down because you tell me something new or different.”
Isra inclined her head in acknowledgement, but her expression didn’t lighten. “I have just contacted the Sword and Shield and they have told me something very disturbing,” Isra said.
Tarsk puffed up in agitation and fear. “You called them over comms? Anyone could have been listening to it. We’re supposed to be in hiding here!” He nearly yelled at the end, his fur rippling.
“I’m aware of that, which is why I only opened the vid-link so they could locate me. The entire conversation itself was held via telepathy, give me some credit for being sensible.”
“Why did you feel you had to risk your current, very hidden location, to confirm a hunch?” Kara demanded.
“Because after what Speaker Badal said, I needed to know what we’re facing,” Isra replied, her face hard, her muscles pulled taut. “And it was vital information.” She paused and drew a breath as if preparing herself for what she had to say. “The Sword and Shield have confirmed that some of the technology and techniques used to modify you, Kara, have Dralden origins.”
Kara and Tarsk both stood frozen.
“But I thought you said Dark Raiders did this to you?” Daku frowned in confusion once again.
“They did,” Kara whispered.
“Then they probably stole the tech off the Draldens during a raid. Why are they such an issue, anyway?” Daku asked. “They’re just our trade partners, aren’t they?” his voice drifted off at the end as he took in their expressions. “How much wasn’t Fleet Intel telling us?” he muttered under his breath, glaring down at his boots.
“Fleet Intelligence does not know the full details either. Only we in the Elites do, and even then, I have not divulged all of the particulars.” Isra gave an apologetic look to Kara. “But the Draldens have pushed for engagement and influence not only as advisors directly to my mother but for a position in the Council, despite not being a part of the Empire. Not a single meeting or trade negotiation has gone by without them suggesting it. Their perseverance has been concerning.”
Kara nodded in agreement, noting Tarsk and Daku did the same.
“In light of this information, we have been wise in not agreeing to it, despite the pressure from those keen for much greater access to Dralden tech and expertise,” Isra said, her body still tense. “And to answer you Daku, the Dark Zone doesn’t extend as far as the Sapphire Zone, the closest Imperial space to the Drald Collective. The only way the raiders had access to the information and skill needed for Kara’s modifications is if the Draldens had given it to them.”
“Or someone working with the Draldens gave it to the Dark Raiders,” Tarsk followed up, but he stared blankly at the cabinet across from him. “How did I miss this?” he asked.
“Because you are not familiar with their techniques,” Isra replied.
“So the Dark Raiders are being backed by the Draldens?” Daku cursed and tension vibrated around him. “That’s unbelievable.”
“It makes sense, though,” Kara finally stated. “I mean, why else did they have that base on a planet in Jade Zone space? Why risk being discovered right under our noses unless they thought they weren’t going to be caught? All three have been working together, and it’s a closer point than taking everything into the Dark Zone.”
“What three?” Tarsk queried, ears going flat.
Kara looked around her; at Daku, confused and out of his depth, but rapidly adapting; to Tarsk, his body quivering, mind sharp; and finally to Isra who was watchful as ever, but the mask of calmness had slipped, and anger and worry cloaked her. “Someone controlled the rogue transmissions on the beacons at Outpost 7JZ,” Kara said. “It blocked the Agate’s comms and prevented the outpost from having prior warning of the Dark Raider attack. Whoever did that, betrayed us. They’re the traitor. No Dark Raider or Dralden had those codes, only the Jade Fleet.”
“Eternities,” Daku breathed. He stumbled backwards, his legs wobbly and propped himself up against the wall.
Isra faintly paled, her hand clenching on the edge of the bench. “I have to return to Catera. I have to root out the traitor and get rid of the Dralden presence.”
“You can’t do that,” Kara objected. “Not with the accusations currently flying.”
“Your mother would have our heads if we let you go back,” Tarsk chimed in, his tail swishing across the floor.
“I have to do something!” Isra cried out. “My people have been killed and injured over decades, and these traitors have gotten away with it. I am not going to hide away and accept it. I have to do something.” She stared them down.
But Kara did not bend. “Do you think I don’t want to get them just as much, if not more than you? Do you think I like being on this freighter in the middle of nowhere, unable to act, unable to change the rumours, change what’s happening? I want to go back right now and tear the Jade Fleet apart until I find the traitors. I would do the same to the Draldens too.” Kara bit out, before taking a calming breath. “But I know that if I did so, I would jeopardise everything. And your return to Catera would do the same. We need to keep moving. If they get hold of any one of us, it could spell disaster for the Empire. And you know it.” Kara returned Isra’s stare in equal measure, taking a step closer to her.
Isra wilted as the fight left her and weariness took hold. “I can’t stand this. Everything has changed, become so tangled I don’t know where I stand anymore. What I should do,” she whispered.
“Right now, we need to change course,” Kara stated, moving towards the door. “I know you didn’t speak over that vid-link, but that doesn’t mean someone wasn’t paying attention.”
Isra gave one brief nod, still looking slightly stricken.
Kara paused as the door opened. “It was about time we did, anyway. It’s not like we could have rocked up at that mining rig without really blowing our cover.”
Isra smiled, but it was strained. Her face had not lost the tight, pinched look that had started during the breaking news segment. Daku and Tarsk weren’t looking much better either, but Kara had a job to do and long years of having few strong emotions had allowed her to find a place of remoteness, to be able to pack the stress and worry up and slot it away for later, and not have it impact her in the present. Not that it always worked, but right now it was.
But as she stepped into the corridor, the freighter’s proximity alarm went off. The warning blared out, the strident sound reverberating through the metal all around them.
Kara and Daku didn’t hesitate, their training kicked in and had them sprinting for the bridge even before the first note died away. Kara outran him, fairly leaping the entire way up the first ladder and bolting past the crew quarters. She was in the pilot’s seat rapidly bringing up the freighter’s long-range systems by the time Daku entered. He slid into the co-pilot’s seat, dropping the ship out of autopilot and onto manual controls.
“What’s out there?” he asked snapping his attention to the nav system.