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

We’ve been infiltrated by mutants!” Her voice became more shrill as she jumped from conclusion to conclusion.

“Calm down and shut the hell up!” Tempest roared.

Harmony abruptly stopped her tirade, but she quickly regained her composure, eyes pinching ferociously at the rebuke.

“You should know what it’s like, Rockland—” she said defiantly, although her tone was more restrained as she saw how livid Tempest was.

“And Gwen was there to pick up the pieces, remember? That’s who we’re going to get right now. Pull yourself together. She’s the reason you volunteered to come in the first place, was she not? You volunteered. I didn’t force anyone to come, but while you’re here, you damn well better listen and follow the chain of command. I’m not asking you to come along or even work with Prime, but I need her on this last part of the mission. If you refuse to help, then stay the hell out of the damn way. Do whatever you want when you get home, if it makes you feel better.” Tempest hid none of his anger as he let loose.

“My father lost his powers at Rockland! The Faction threw him away, and they’ve been harboring her? She’s one of them! Did you know about it? Someone had to know.”

“As a matter of fact, I didn’t. And I don’t care. Prime has a spotless record and has never betrayed any super on a team of hers or the Faction in all her years of service. Rockland happened decades ago, and I’d like to think that we’ve all matured somewhat in the intervening years. No one here was a part of it.” Tempest waved at the entire Crew. “Hell, even I wasn’t a part of it. So don’t be offended if no one rushes to embrace your prejudices. I put a lot more faith in actions than words, and Prime has earned respect in my book.”

He cleared his throat and continued. “I’m sorry about your father,” he said in a calmer voice, edge not totally gone. “I didn’t know him, but I’ve heard stories. You should know from what happened to me that I am all too familiar with being ‘discarded’ by the Faction, despite years of service. So don’t preach to me about what’s fair.”

Harmony glared at the rest of the Crew, still in disbelief that none of them had backed her up.

“No one? Some team!” she whined and shook her head. “I… I can’t deal with this right now.” She stormed off, her heels popping on the floor as she left the common room.

Members of the Crew blinked and the hum of the ship was pronounced in the resounding silence that followed.

Gus watched as the Crew alternated either staring at Prime, the empty doorway where Harmony had left, or conspicuously ignoring both.

Tempest keyed his comms. “Seneschal, you know where we’re headed, let us know when we get close. Aurora, Yuki, you’ll be with me as we try to gain access to the facility. Yuki, I want you to get us access and find out what his schedule is like. I need to know when he leaves.”

“On it,” Yuki said, flipping open her laptop.

“Gus, you’ll be with Prime as a lookout and communicating with us when we’re clear to breach. We’ll need to stake this place out for a bit to determine the best time to grab Gwen. First, we need to confirm she’s still inside, then come up with a plan to retrieve her. I want to know exactly where she is, so we can be in and out quickly.”

Tempest looked up and saw the rest of the Crew staring at them as they planned. “I’m sure you guys can find something to keep yourselves busy. Trust me, you don’t want me to assign you something right now…”

With those words, everyone sprang into action, suddenly remembering something vital that they needed to take care of at that very moment.

They finalized their plans, a large portion of which would be a waiting game and then settled in as the transport passed fewer and fewer buildings as they traveled to the outskirts. The outside faded to obscurity as holograms and lights ceased to illuminate the gloom, and only an occasional lightning crash would highlight the rain-spattered windows.

“This place is in the middle of nowhere. Is it even part of Hinansho? I’m surprised we’re still even in the storm radius,” Gus said as he looked out the window for some hint they were approaching their destination.

“I’ll bet he has to keep it separated so no one knows the crap he’s doing there,” Yuki replied, shuddering a bit and pulling her sweater tighter around her. “Normally a hospital is in a central location.”

“Or it keeps the riff-raff away by being where only the elite can access it.” Darik poked his head out and growled before disappearing back into the guts of the ship.

“You would be surprised how casually many of those in Hinansho view human life. It’s partially why I had to get out of here. Even though I was higher up in the caste system, it always bothered me how little value and effort was dedicated to maintaining basic rights. Everyone thought I was odd for not just enjoying my station. I knew Hinansho would always be part of my ruin, someday. I just didn’t know it would happen so soon,” Prime whispered. The melancholy was so thick in her voice that it made Gus’ heart hurt. Knowing more about Prime’s past than he should have made it that much more difficult.

The image of Prime’s daughter popped into his mind, and he knew that this was part of the despair she was feeling. He focused on her in his mind’s eye, looking at the girl and noticing that the edge to his headache started to recede. Encouraged, he chased after the memory as he stood next to Prime in silence.

What was her name again? Madge? Madeline? Maddy? Something like that. He longed to help her somehow, but he was no