Empire Reborn (Taran Empire Saga Book 1): A Cadicle Space Opera A.K. DuBoff (guided reading books TXT) 📖

She smiled. “He’s great. And fiancé now, actually.”

“Oh, congratulations!”

“I don’t think we’ll ever get legally married, but there was no sense kidding ourselves that we weren’t in it for the long haul. The official paperwork doesn’t matter to either of us.”

“That’s common in the TSS, too.”

“Look at us, finding all of these similarities! Maybe this whole ‘integration’ thing between the TSS and Guard will work out, after all.”

“Hopefully, because there’s a lot to take on.”

“Yes, to business,” she said. “What’s the deal?”

Jason had been authorized to share the details of the attack on Alkeer as well as the other information that was still classified within the TSS. Since Kira had had direct alien contact herself and was, in fact, carrying a variant of alien nanotech within her, she was in a unique position to understand the circumstances and need for discretion. Plus, there was no way he could ethically send her on a mission without her having a clear understanding of the risks and stakes. They needed complete buy-in from their key people on the ground.

“We’re facing an invasion by transdimensional aliens who probably want to wipe out the Taran race.”

Kira raised an eyebrow. “That it? So just a regular day at the office.”

“Exactly.”

“Well, fok.”

“Yeah. But it’s actually a little worse than that, because there appears to be a separatist group in the Outer Colonies that’s taking advantage of the present disruption to make a move. And that’s where we’d like you to come in. The TSS is going to be beyond tapped out dealing with this alien threat, and we need someone reliable to gather information about what’s going on from a civil unrest standpoint. Someone who doesn’t stand out like an Agent.”

“You’re thinking an undercover op inside whatever organization is behind the movement?”

“That’s the idea.”

“Hmm.” She pursed her lips.

“We got a tip from someone on the inside. Sounds like she would make a good point of contact, assuming the whole thing isn’t a trap.”

Kira nodded thoughtfully. “I could probably make that determination easily enough.”

“There’s another wrinkle,” Jason continued. “This ‘Alliance’ is recruiting new members—specialists, this time. Engineers, biologists, the works. Leon is a geneticist, from what I recall.”

“Oh, I see.” She shook her head and looked away.

“If you don’t want to get involved—”

“No, I’ll do it. Jasmine’s in. Leon will, too; I’ll talk to him.”

“Are you sure?”

She shrugged. “Beats most of the boring shite they have me do. Assuming Command signs off on it, of course.”

“My father will make the formal request with Admiral Mathaen. We wanted to check with you first.”

“That’s not really how this works. I’m a soldier. I go where I’m told to go and do what I’m ordered to do.”

“I appreciate that,” he said, “but we do things a little differently in the TSS. For any kind of high-risk undercover op, we like to get buy-in. It’s a choice, not an assignment.”

“How ‘high-risk’ are we talking here?”

“The informant’s friend disappeared. The Alliance has planted a bomb on a station and killed two people. Extrapolate from there.”

Kira bit her lip as she considered the information. After several seconds, she gave a resolute nod. “We’re still in. It’s nice taking out the one-off baddies, but it’s not every day there’s an opportunity to tackle something big like this. I want to know what they’re up to.”

“You might be in for… months.”

“With Leon there with me, it’ll be a nice vacation.”

Jason nodded. “Okay, I’ll pass it up the chain. Thank you.”

“Sure thing. It’s good to talk to you, Jason. Take care.”

“You too. In case I don’t talk to you again before you head out, best of luck.”

“Thanks. And good luck with those aliens. You know, saving the Empire and all that.”

He smiled back. “Like you said, just another day.”

CHAPTER 20

“Thank you for lending Kira’s unique abilities to our investigation,” Wil said as he concluded his check-in with Admiral Mathaen. “I’m glad you were able to send her out to the field so quickly.”

The admiral nodded. “It’s fortunate the timing worked out. Admittedly, I’ve heard a lot more about her than an admiral should ever hear about a major. Her commanders haven’t known what to do with her.”

“Then I’m glad we can put her skills to full use. She’ll be an asset in this endeavor.”

“I hope you’re able to get the answers we need to stay ahead of this thing.”

“Indeed. I’ll keep you apprised.”

The admiral nodded. “Thank you.”

“On that note,” Wil began, shifting gears, “with all this talk of unity, it’s occurred to me that both of our organizations are due for name changes.”

“How so?”

“Well, they’re ‘Tararian’. It’s very capital-centric. We serve Tarans as a whole.”

“That’s a good point.” Mathaen stroked his chin.

“I suspect others have thought about it in the past and then promptly realized what an utter nightmare the paperwork would be for a rebrand of that scale.”

“An even better point.”

Wil shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s something to consider in the future.”

“The sentiment is important now, though, given the political climate.” Mathaen paused in thought. “I wonder if there’s a way to present a new umbrella that encompasses both the Guard and TSS. Not anything official to the point of needing legal name changes or reorganization, but more symbolic.”

“I like that idea. But what to call it?”

“I’m about as far from a marketing expert as one can be. Don’t ask me!”

“I’ll get some input,” Wil stated. He wasn’t much for branding himself, but he knew many people who were. It would be nice to show up in a more inclusive way. I don’t blame the Outer Colonies for distrusting us when everything down to our name points to the Central Worlds.

“Sounds good.” The admiral