Star Runners 2: Revelation Protocol by L E Thomas Read Free Book Online Page A

brains, and confidence. He was intimidated. He also didn’t know if she liked Austin. Their relationship always seemed deep, but it didn’t materialize. Austin never made a move. He should have asked Austin about his feelings toward Kadyn. Now, he would never get the chance to tell her anything.
    He remembered their last conversation.
    “I’m going to the Falcons’ game on Sunday,” he had said.
    Kadyn turned, staring at him under her red-rimmed sunglasses. “This weekend?”
    “Yeah. My family’s going. I haven’t been in a while.”
    Kadyn had smiled at him. “Huh, I’ve never been to a pro football game before.”
    “Really?” he had asked, the memory hurting his heart. “You should go sometime. They’re awesome.”
    A coldness shot through him. Idiot.
    He should have told her then, opened up to her in the way he always wanted to. Everything had moved so quickly that final Christmas when he won the scholarship to LSE. He barely said goodbye before he left for San Francisco.
    His body ached worse than it had following the Gauntlet in the mountains of northern California. His joints complained with each movement, his muscles burning. He knew his body was shutting down. He had not eaten a proper meal since his imprisonment. The clock fought him with each passing moment. Seconds became minutes; hours became days.
    He allowed his mind to wander again, reliving the memories of Mom, Dad and friends he would never see again.
    *****
    "Dzina lanu ndi ndani?”
    Josh jolted from a restless sleep. "I told you. I cannot understand your language. I can't understand you!"
    "He wants to know your name," a different, deep and rougher voice said.
    Josh sat in silence for a moment. He wasn’t sure if what he heard was real. It had been a long time since he heard someone speak English. The silence continued, and the only sounds became his beating heart and rapid breath. I must be going crazy.
    "Well?” the voice asked again. “Your name?"
    Josh jolted. He paused a moment to catch his breath. "My name is Josh."
    "Dosh."
    "No. Josh."
    "Ah, Josh. You speak Earth tongue very well."
    The voice spoke in another language for a moment, apparently translating as a conversation ensued. Josh stared into the darkness as he listened.
    "Earth is a long ways from these space lanes,” the voice finally said. “How did you learn this tongue?"
    Josh thought a moment. Should he reveal his identity to voices whispering in the dark?
    He turned his head in the direction of the voices. "I spent many years there. You?"
    "I have as well."
    Josh frowned. “You lived there?”
    “Worked there.”
    Worked? How could someone work on Earth and end up a captive of the Tyral Pirates a thousand light years from anywhere? The man speaking from down the hall had to be lying, or there was more to his story.
    "I don't know your name," Josh said.
    "Delmar Wain."
    "What do you do?"
    "I transport things."
    Josh blinked. "What? Like mail?"
    "Sure. The mail."
    Josh sighed. "You're a smuggler."
    "Of sorts.” Delmar paused before sneering, “Not all of us are fortunate enough to be a Legion Star Runner."
    Josh’s eyes widened. “Who told you that lie?”
    Delmar snorted in the dark. “I know everything that happens on this rock, pilot.”
    “How’s that?”
    “I listen.”
    In class, Josh learned about the dangers smuggling posed to the Legion space lanes. Legion agents struggled to root out such corruption on core planets, but it was nearly impossible on dark worlds. He never considered smugglers operated on Earth.
    “How long have you been here?” Josh asked.
    “We’ve been in this spot for at least … how do you say it? A month?”
    Josh brought his knees to his chest. “Have they done anything to you?”
    Delmar paused for a moment. “Not directly. Most of us have been waiting here in these cells. A couple of weeks ago they used me and some others to help strip a stolen freighter and fighter, but nothing recently. A group was taken away just