Unity by Carl Stubblefield (epub read online books TXT) 📕

“Let’s go see what’s going on.”

“I told them where you were, that you were not to be disturbed, but also that you were safe. There was a little grumbling, but they accepted it overall,” Nick informed Gus as he hit the call button.

“Sorry for being gone for so long, there was something I had to check out in the manor. I had no idea it would take so long. What’s going on? What’s happened?”

The Crew separated and Prime sat there dejectedly. Her eyes red and swollen as she dabbed at them with one of Grimdark’s pocket squares. As Gus approached, she broke down again.

“They took her, Gus! They took Maddy. When I went to pick her up, Eldon was there—”

“And who is Eldon?”

“The butler, or manservant, whatever. He was there in the center of the big house that had been hastily packed and moved. They were gone. They commanded him to stay there and give me a message. Eldon trembled but delivered it to me, he even wet himself when he was done. I think he thought I was going to kill him right then and there. But it turns out I can’t even be mad at him. He’s indentured and had to obey. They told him if he did this, his contract was paid.”

“I don’t know what all that means, but what did he say?”

“He quoted them, reciting it like an actor in a play: ‘Sanura, thank you for giving us time to liquidate everything and disappear. With my connections, you will never be able to find out where we’ve gone. And you’ll never see Madeleine again. You brought this on yourself, and only have yourself to blame.’”

Gus flushed at the audacity, and took a knee by her and grabbed her hand. “You helped me get my family back, and I’ll help you get yours. No matter what.”

Quest Granted: Family Ties.

Quest objectives:

1) Find out where Maddy has been taken.

2) Reunite Sanura with Maddy unharmed.

Optional) Seek suitable punishment for the offenders.

Quest rewards: 75,000 XP.

Time requirements: 3 days.

Accept (Y/N)?

Gus accepted immediately. “Everyone, get ready. We have three days. I don’t know why three, but let’s get this done.”

Chapter Ninety-One

Master of Puppets

Gus sat in a sunny patch on the top of the manor. The mammoth corsair covered most of the landing pad. Aurora wanted an hour to try something before everyone left, and Yuki insisted on coming, eager to try out her new ability.

Everyone but Harmony was going, and she was still a little petulant when it came to Sanura. Harmony appeared to be regaining her normal mannerisms, and had rebounded from whatever Mengele had done to her.

Prime had mentioned to the team that when she wore the helmet, to refer to her as Prime, especially around others, but with it off she was just Sanura. Gus didn’t really see the distinction, but for some reason it was important to her.

While waiting for the others, Gus tried to practice meditating again, but he gave Nick the message to pull him out if the others were ready to go. The wind whipped in from the sea, easing the heat of the summer sun. Gus focused on his breathing and he was able to visualize the sand-sized spheres again, spilling out with each breath, floating to the ground like soap bubbles.

With eyes closed, he could sense them accumulating around him, when one winked yellow like the first star at twilight. As his attention focused on it, another sphere glowed a cerulean blue. Slowly the yellow and blue spheres lit up, but were unmoved when he inhaled deeply.

Nick roused him as Seneschal exited the lift and entered the ship to do her pre-flight checks. Gus got up and stretched, looking out at the waves crashing far below.

“Gus, that seems to be keeping that mental buildup from accumulating. Those levels are virtually undetectable after you go into a trance.”

“Finally, some good news for a change. I didn’t manage to collect anything that time, but I’m totally relaxed, like I just got out of a hot tub after a nice massage.”

The lift opened again and the rest of the Crew exited in a large group. Everyone was in good spirits as they gathered together, talking animatedly.

“Gus, guess what?” Anastasia grabbed Gus’s hands with excitement. “Aurora and Yuki found a way to tap into local cams and scanners to track where they took Maddy! We basically just have to go and backtrack their route. The logs are overwritten every week to save on storage so I think that’s why we only have the three days. But it should be smoother than when we were be-bopping around Hinansho trying to find your mother.”

“That’s good news, Anastasia. I think things might finally be turning around for us all.”

“I spoke with Harmony, too. I tried to convince her to come along and put past prejudices behind her, but she was stubborn. I didn’t press her too hard, but this is the situation now, and we’re going to all have to get along, somehow. She’s still contemplating whether she wants to stay or go back home. You may have to choose if you prefer Prime or Harmony, if it comes down to it.” Her voice was laced with concern.

Gus sighed. “That’s disappointing, to be honest. But she has to decide what’s best for her. She’s welcome to stay, or we can get her a portal back home if she’d like. Maybe she just needs some time, though. We’ve all been through the wringer.”

“She misses her family, so maybe if she could contact them, that might help…”

“I’ll see if there’s anything Yuki can do to improve communications when we get back. We’re sitting on a lot of FP after our recent escapades, so we can get some goodies. Yuki just hasn’t had time to review what we need in the security aspect, but I’m sure we can do something to stay connected.”

Darik waved for them to get aboard so they could get underway.

Mengele landed