Omega Force 5: Return of the Archon by Joshua Dalzelle Read Free Book Online Page A

feeling he was getting involved in something he would rather not. Again.
    “Very well,” he said. “Kage, Twingo … go up front and get us flight prepped and cleared for launch. I’ll be up shortly.”
    Twingo turned to look longingly at the pile of trash on the bay floor. “Captain, I was sort of in the middle of—”
    “Now!”
    “Right.”
    “Connimon,” Jason said carefully, “while we’re not necessarily a danger-adverse group, what assurances do you have that I’m not taking my ship and crew into a war?”
    “I have none, Captain,” she answered bluntly. “But if you care for Felex at all, this is something you will find worth the risk.”
    “Who is Felex?” Kage asked from behind him. Jason didn’t answer; instead he simply turned and glared at him.
    “Fine,” Kage huffed, “I’m going.” Jason watched him until he had made it all the way up the stairs to the mezzanine that led to the crew entry hatch. When he turned back to suggest they also enter the ship, he saw that Crusher (he still couldn’t think of him as Felex Tezakar) was standing near the ramp, arms crossed, with an openly hostile expression on his face.
    “Crusher,” he said. “Go ahead and close her up, I’ll take our … guests … up to the bridge to get settled in for departure.” Without a word, Crusher turned and smacked the controls to close up the ramp and pressure doors hard enough that Jason was surprised the control panel wasn’t torn from the pedestal. Wisely choosing to ignore his friend’s abuse of his ship, he turned and ushered the rest of the geltens up the steps and through the ship.
    *****
    “There’s one thing I love about Colton Hub,” Kage said as he scanned the surrounding traffic. “Once we clear the doors, we’re free navigating and no pain in the ass departure control to argue with. By the way, we’re on a collision course with that light-freighter. Range is fifteen thousand kilometers.”
    “I’ve got him,” Jason said, nonplussed as he continued to swing the nose of the Phoenix around to line up with their mesh-out vector. “Keep scanning for anybody taking an unhealthy interest in us. By the way, Connimon, how did you get to Colton Hub? Are you leaving a ship here?”
    “We paid for passage aboard a freighter of ill-repute,” she said simply. “The voyage was … unpleasant. This is an impressive vessel, Captain.”
    “Thanks,” Jason said absently. Her story of flying in aboard some random smuggler’s scow raised more than a few flags in his mind. Their decision to go to Colton Hub had been a spur-of-the-moment choice when they had flown off of Aracoria. There was no possible way they could have known their destination, much less their arrival time and where they’d be on the massive deep-space station. He filed those concerns away for later when he would have a chance to sort out exactly what was going on.
    There was another concern he had with two Galvetic warriors standing on his bridge. Although smaller than Crusher, he had no doubt they could be a deadly duo if things turned violent. It was fortunate he had a trump card in his hand that could nullify the advantage of even two Galvetic warriors. He subtly turned to Lucky and scratched his ear with three fingers, a seemingly meaningless gesture that the battlesynth would recognize as part of their prearranged signals: keep an eye on the two heavies and be ready for anything.
    When he turned back to the forward canopy, he caught Connimon looking directly at him. Her mouth twitched up in a small smile and she shook her head, as if in amusement, before turning back to the terminal she was sitting near. Damn, she caught that and she’s only just met us. The brothers may not be the most dangerous passengers after all. All the terminals not in use by crew members were displaying a generic flight status for the benefit of their guests. There was nothing to see outside the canopy in interstellar space save for a few random