Chapter 7

proximity to snacks always made the game more enjoyable. There’d been a

few mishaps along the way in that respect early on, but a mandatory napkin

rule had eliminated card grease and salt smudges.

Kira grabbed the galley’s designated Fastara deck from a storage cabinet

near the pantry and got situated in her usual seat at the table. She soaked in

the ethereal blue-green light of subspace shining through the viewport—still

an incredible sight after nearly a decade of traveling between star systems.

“Who’s dealing?” Kira asked her team.

“I will,” Kyle volunteered, sitting across from her. “I won’t have any

more of Nia’s nonsense like the game on the way out here.”

Nia smiled innocently. “The universe saw it fit for me to deal myself

winning hands.”

Fastara had been spacefarers’ staple entertainment for as far back as

anyone could remember. Even growing up on a backwater planet, Kira had

spent many nights in her youth playing the game. The complex rules took

time to pick up, since there were a lot of contingencies based on the specific

cards in play. Her team had set their own house rules, as was customary—

incorporating favorite practices from each of their backgrounds. Nia had

often found ways to exploit her own house rule, which favored the dealer, but

it was all in good fun.

Kyle began dealing out the plastic playing cards, with the colored

symbols face-side down. “First person to ten?” he asked.

“Of course,” Kira confirmed; they never played any other way, but they

always asked just the same. She evaluated her hand once Kyle finished

dealing—a pair and several run potentials depending on what was dealt into

the common pool.

“Blue dominant,” Kyle stated, as was his place as dealer to set the high

suit for the round.

Nia groaned when she saw her own cards. “My lucky streak has ended.”

“Thank the stars for that.” Ari, to Kyle’s right, laid down a blue pair as

his opening move.

Kira could work with that.

They went around the circle several times, playing cards when they could

and drawing when they were unable to make a move. After the common pool

of cards built up a little, Nia got the telltale glimmer in her eyes that she was sitting on something good in her hand.

“I’ll trade you for the green diamond,” Kira offered, trying to anticipate

her friend’s move.

“Not a chance,” Nia declined.

Bomax, she’s going to block me . Kira knew she had already lost the

round, though it wouldn’t be realized for a few more rotations. The

competitive side of her was miffed, but she’d learned long ago that it was

important to keep the game in perspective. It was sport among friends,

nothing more.

“Aaand, bam!” Nia laid down a perfectly structured run in her hand,

connecting to two common pools on the board.

“Shite!” Ari threw down his cards.

“I’m sorry, I can’t helping being so awesome.” Nia beamed, clearly

pleased with herself for turning around a terrible hand.

Her sharp wit and adaptability made Nia an asset to Kira’s team. Unlike

Kyle being born practically with a computer in his hand, Nia had led a simple

childhood on a freighter. She was entirely self-taught, learning computer

systems by effecting repairs on her parents’ aging ship. The youngest on the

team, she still had some growing up to do, but Kira was certain that Nia had a

bright future in the Guard—provided she didn’t kick the wrong general’s ass

in a game of Fastara.

“Successful round?” Major Sandren ask, coming down the corridor from

the access ladder.

“Yes, sir!” Nia gloated.

“Depends on who you ask,” Kyle grumbled.

Sandren chuckled. “Good to see you’re recovered from the firefight

earlier.” He headed for the refrigerator.

Kira smiled. “Sweet victory is the best way to get over a sideways op,

sir.”

“Not that you’d know anything about winning.” Nia playfully elbowed

Kira.

“Hey, I came in second. Cumulative points, my dear. I’m still in it.”

Nia eyed her challengingly. “Uh huh.”

Sandren selected a bottle of juice from the refrigerator and then walked over to the table. “You all performed admirably under the circumstances

today. Command asked me to pass on their thanks.”

A thank you? The op follow-up kept getting weirder and weirder.

“Did they find what they were looking for in the info?” Kira asked.

“We’ll know soon.” Sandren nodded to the team. “Enjoy your game.” He

departed.

Once Sandren entered his cabin, Ari leaned forward over the table. “All

of this feels… off.”

“For sure,” Kira agreed, “but nothing we can do about it now.”

Nia gathered up the cards to shuffle the deck. “You heard the major—

we’re under orders to enjoy our game.”

“Your turn to deal,” Kira said. We may as well play while we can. She

had a feeling that things were about to get serious.

— — —

Colonel Terence Kaen reviewed the information extracted from the

MTech lab. It confirmed his worst fears.

Shite! Those sick bastards don’t know when to stop. As he flipped

through the pages of lab reports on his tablet, his face paled the more he saw.

They were going to lose containment on the situation if they didn’t act fast.

MTech, the preeminent research institution in the sector, was based on

the planet of Mysar. The Mysaran Coalition was the most aggressive of the

three planets in the Elvar Trinary near the border of current Taran Empire

territory. Colonists had set out to the fertile system several hundred years

before, settling Mysar, Elusia, and Valta in an attempt to escape the chaos in

the Taran Empire surrounding the war with the Bakzen. While Elusians

valued peace and harmony as they established their new culture on the border

world, Mysarans had followed in the grand Taran tradition of conquering and

expanding. Caught in the middle was Valta, a lush garden-planet with such

unique properties that it was at constant risk for exploitation.

As a policy, the Taran Empire didn’t get involved in civil disputes.

However, Elusians had expressed a desire to rejoin the Empire now that the

Bakzen conflict had been resolved and the corrupt Priesthood on Tararia had

been overthrown in the post-war aftermath, so the ongoing tension with

Mysar was a concern. Kaen himself had gone to meet with the leadership of