Loyalty: Old Mans Comeback Book 5, page 25
“Not really.” Flip put his hand on his shoulder. “Right now, come with me. You can watch what we’re doing. You’ll see some serious wonders.”
“That’s okay?”
Flip nodded. “Of course. There’s no reason you shouldn’t. No one’s going to believe you, but at least you’ll have seen it.”
“Thank you.” Hamish smiled. “And I’m… I’m so sorry about the way I acted. I didn’t mean…”
“You’re fine.” Flip held up his hand. “Seriously. Come on. Let’s forget about our problems for a while.” He gestured at Jake. “Get some downtime, man. We’ll talk again when we’re on our way back to Earth.”
Then they’d be on their way to Sorsha’s homeworld. And the potential end of their problems. Key word potential.
Epilogue
The Collector World
Frada Wrate
“Cade!” Frada shouted. “Wake up!”
“What?” Cade called. “What could possibly make this necessary?” He came to the door of his room, squinting at him.
“The satellites… I believe they’re done!”
“Okay…” Cade shrugged. “Why does that matter right now? Isn’t it still dark out? Have you not slept?”
“No, I’ve been focusing on the problem of the Mahshi, trying to think of ways we might counter them in the future. Not just defending worlds, but confronting them directly.”
“That’s easy,” Cade replied. “You need a large force capable of overwhelming them in a military fashion.”
“Or…” Frada held up a finger. “We discover a way to counter their current technology in a way that allows us to defeat them with a smaller force.”
Cade furrowed his brows. “Because of some of the technology I’ve given them?”
“And what they’ve found on their own.” Frada gestured to the computer. “This database has plenty of information about Kultarin technology. We can easily utilize this to discover the weaknesses. The methods to defy it. Then… we can outfit ships. Prepare people. Make a proper stand against them.”
Cade took a seat next to him. “Alright, now I understand why you woke me up. This makes sense.” He pursed his lips. “And if we could get the remaining Kultarins behind this, pull in all the various factions out there that we know of, use the contacts of the Hostel…”
“We could stand a very real chance of dealing with them. And afterward? Just imagine. Maybe not another empire, but at least a unified concept of policing to deal with the pirates and scum. Safe trade lanes. Places where people could live with their families without experiencing what happened to your home.”
“Yes.” Cade nodded. “And it wouldn’t take all that much, would it?”
“No. With your help, we can dive into what we know they have, and start looking for ways within the database, and even without, to deal with them. Confound their sensors, play havoc with their comms, lower their defenses… there are no limits to the possibilities if we’re willing to try.”
“Did you have the satellites loaded onto the ship?”
“I did,” Frada said, “though I have to be honest, I’m somewhat concerned about taking them without some kind of escort.”
“Who is going to stop the ship if it immediately goes to warp from this sector?”
“We want it to bounce, don’t we?”
Cade frowned. “Yes… out of an abundance of caution… I suppose I want to close the book on protecting the Hostel before we move on to the next bit of excitement.”
“Of course.” Frada stood. “Take a look at the project I opened. I’ve listed out what I can think of. I’d like you to go over it as well. Fill in the blanks with the things you did for them. We might get some good information from Kesta as well. Now that he’s faced them, he should be able to help.”
“I’m sure there are many people there who have some ideas.” Cade nodded. “This is a fantastic idea, Frada. I hope we can sell others on the necessity.”
“I’m sure we will. They know how bad it is too.” Frada shrugged as he backed away. “I’ll check with the ship, talk to Kesta, then we can proceed. I’ve got a good feeling about this.”
“As do I.” Cade chuckled. “Just imagine. The two of us, sitting alone in a facility far from any civilization, may end up responsible for saving the galaxy from a true terror.”
“That would be something, huh?”
“One that would go down in history.” Cade leaned forward to get to work. “Let me see here…”
Frada hurried to the hangar with a spring in his step. His thought process started as an academic exercise, but quickly escalated the longer he dwelled on it. The more he worked, the more possible it seemed. The sobering part came to what they’d have to sacrifice to make it happen.
But in the end, it would be worth it. The key would be finding someone capable of convincing others to put their lives on the line for that brighter future.
They had a lot of work to do.
John Walker, Loyalty: Old Mans Comeback Book 5
