Chapter 2

TWO

A fter a quick stop at Central Station to drop off their "cargo"—kicking and screaming, and good riddance to Ms. Dunbar-Harrington—the Chaos headed for humanity's gate to the Tau Centauri system, more commonly referred to as the Hub. As they waited in the queue, Zed reflected on the Guardians' message. It had been vague, as usual—the mysterious aliens communicated telepathically, which was more an exchange of thoughts and concepts rather than words. At the core of the message had been anticipation. In most cases, Zed would say that anticipation—that fluttery, butterfly feeling in your gut—was a good thing. But with the Guardians anything was possible.

He still didn't know what they expected him to do. He might be their proof—evidence that the essences of the galaxy's races were not so different, if they could all coexist in one body—but he didn't really know what that meant . Absently, he rubbed the back of his neck, exploring the ridge of something that the Guardians had inserted under his skin, just above his spine. Did that bit of whatever have a connection to Species Four?

Shuddering, he lifted his hand away.

The scene around Hemera Station, humanity's outpost in the Hub, was more chaotic than usual. More ships, more comms chatter, more fuss. Zed didn't know if the news of the stin probe being destroyed had spread and people were showing up to witness the aftermath—though what they might hope to see was beyond him—or if traffic had increased since Species Four's gate had opened six months ago. It had been a while since the Chaos had visited the human station here.

They dodged and weaved through the traffic before entering the neutral zone, or empty space between the territory of each species. As they approached the convention parked along the Species Four border, it was easy to pick out the AEF ships. Compared to the ashushk's, they were ugly. Compared to the stin's, thankfully camped a respectful distance away, they had a look of smooth utility.

Zed hung over the back of Qek's chair, eyeing the holoscreen. Reaching forward, he manipulated the image to zero in on the ship he wanted. "There. That's the Jitendra . Anyone who's in charge will be on it."

"You sure we shouldn't have hit up the AEF offices on Hemera?" Elias frowned at the image on the holo. "I mean, yeah, I'm not doubting that the field commanders are on that ship, but shouldn't you be talking to someone higher up the chain?"

"And get caught up in bureaucratic bullshit? No, thank you. The field commander is who I want to speak to. He or she will be a level of brass I can tolerate. Anyone higher will be more worried about image and appearance rather than action."

Qek clicked slowly. "Even with your cuff, Zander? Surely that symbol will have weight with those in charge."

"Maybe." Zed brushed the smooth surface of the cuff fastened around his right wrist. It was meant to symbolize his connection to the Guardians—his status as their emissary—and although the AEF had officially acknowledged what it meant six months before, Zed didn't trust them to honor it. Okay, so, being tortured on the orders of a fucking AEF admiral was probably coloring his perception a bit. Thing was, he didn't trust the brass anymore. Hadn't for a long time, if he was going to be really honest with himself. Admiral Saito's desire to eradicate all evidence of Project Dreamweaver from existence had been just the proverbial final nail in the coffin.

What he needed right now was someone close to the rank he'd held on retirement. A captain or a major—hell, even a light colonel—would have the knowledge of the larger picture but enough closeness to their troops that they hadn't yet had the humanity burned out of them.

In theory.

"Set a course toward the Jitendra ," Zed said.

Qek looked at Elias for confirmation. He was still captain, after all. Elias shrugged. "I'm cool with that."

They hadn't gotten too far out of the crowd of ships before an AEF scout ship approached and hailed them all formal-like, using their registration number and everything. " Chaos , you are in violation of ? —"

Zed leaned over Qek and flicked on the comms. "I need to speak with the commander of the Jitendra ."

"Identify yourself."

"This is Zander Anatolius." He smiled. "C'mon, boys, you need to actually read the database output on the ships you challenge."

Silence descended. From his seat next to Qek, Flick nudged Zed's elbow. "Try not to enjoy yourself too much, man," he murmured.

Zed shot him an embarrassed smile. Having the AEF actually pause and listen to him was something he probably shouldn't like as much as he did. But who could blame him, after getting shafted by the organization? It felt good to have the power again.

"Major Anatolius." Was it just him or had the AEF pilot's voice wavered slightly? At least the use of his old rank seemed like nothing more than the poor guy being respectful. "On whose authority are you here, sir?"

"The Guardians'."

"I…uh." That was definitely a hard swallow that reverberated across the comms. "I will need to, uh, verify…"

"Sure. You do that." Zed leaned against the wall, smirking.

Flick was right. He really shouldn't be enjoying this so much.

Five hours later, he wasn't.

The Chaos still hovered out of reach of the Jitendra , held there by an increased presence of AEF scout ships. So, good news, they hadn't been forgotten. More good news, they hadn't been chased off.

The bad news was that no one on the AEF side of things seemed to want to touch them or their presence.

"Just connect me to the—" Zed bit off a colorful adjective. "The commander."

"Once again, Major, let me apologize for the delay." The voice that had taken over the communications was smooth and calm, quite clearly a public relations rep. She had introduced herself as Lieutenant Nareiko. "I'm sure you can appreciate that the situation is delicate, as I mentioned previously."

"And I'm sure you can appreciate my patience is getting very, very thin. Does the AEF not recognize the authority of the Guardians?"

The pause was slight but noticeable. "The AEF remains thankful for the benevolence of the Guardians ? —"

"Cut the bullshit. I'm tired, you're tired, I'm sure the pilots hovering around my ship need to take a piss." They'd have jumpsuits to take care of that, no doubt, but pissing in a diaper was never all that enjoyable, no matter how good the smart fiber was at breaking it down. "What are your orders here?"

"M-my—" Nareiko cleared her throat. "My orders are to welcome you and ? —"

"Your orders are to stall me." Fuckers. Of course they were. This was the AEF's little pissing match with him. He might have the biggest badasses on his side, but the Guardians weren't here right now, were they? Which made him fair game for this sort of nonsense.

Zed dragged his fingers through his hair and tugged. Despite his misgivings, he'd hoped the AEF would honor the proclamation the Guardians had made six months ago.

God, sometimes he was so bloody na?ve.

"Will I be allowed to speak with the commander or not?"

"When his schedule ? —"

Zed stabbed the off button on the holo interface with more force than necessary.

"They're fuckers. All of 'em," Flick declared.

"What do we do now?" Ness asked.

"What I probably should've done in the first place, instead of trying to play nice." Zed brushed a pair of fingers over the cuff on his right wrist and concentrated.

When the cuff had first appeared on his wrist, Zed had thought it was little more than a show of ownership or protection or something. The Guardians hadn't really explained it, trusting that Zed would just know what it was for. After some trial and error, he'd determined it acted as a comm unit and opened locked doors. It hadn't been until the Guardians helped to liberate him from AEF custody that they revealed that the cuff could do a lot more. It gave him a connection to the Guardians, no matter where he was in relation to them. And a connection to their technology.

The comms interface popped up from the console again. Zed was vaguely aware that a message holo had appeared over Flick's wrist as well. Satisfied that he had full access to all available channels, Zed spoke.

"This is Zander Anatolius, emissary for the Guardians. I have approached the Allied Earth Forces ship Jitendra in good faith on the Guardians' behalf in order to speak about Species Four and the possibility of opening negotiations, only to be rebuffed at multiple levels. Let me be clear—this request for the AEF's cooperation is merely a courtesy, and my welcome thus far has been an insult. I expect an immediate response from the commander of the Jitendra or I will assume the AEF has no interest in any upcoming negotiations." Letting out a breath, Zed released his mental grip on the comms systems and sagged a little.

Flick gripped his elbow. "You okay?"

"Harder than I thought it'd be." Both physically and emotionally.

"You've got balls, man." Elias whistled softly.

"I've got a mission and I'm tired of them fucking with me. I?—"

"Emissary Anatolius, this is Ambassador Theodor Paredes of the Central Alliance of Planets and Stations."

Flick's mouth dropped open, but Zed wasn't sure if finally getting a worthwhile response was worthy of that reaction. "Ambassador, this is Zander Anatolius."

"That was quite the trick, sir." There seemed to be a note of amusement in the ambassador's voice. "I don't suppose you would share how you managed to hijack all of the comms systems from here to Hemera?"

He'd reached that far? Whoops. He'd intended only to grab the lines from the ships in the immediate vicinity. "I don't suppose you're actually calling to invite me and my crew aboard the Jitendra ?"

"I am indeed. I would be honored to welcome you aboard so we can discuss what we're going to do here."

Zed arched a brow and shared a glance with Flick, who still looked stunned. This ambassador sure came across as a hell of a lot more genuine than most diplomats Zed had had the displeasure of encountering over the years. "Toss the docking coordinates our way and we'll be there shortly."

"Will do, sir. And thank you for not calling in your backup."

"Uh…yeah, no problem." Zed flicked off the comms and finally took a few steps away from the pilot's chair to lean against the wall.

"Docking coordinates and clearance received, Captain," Qek reported.

Elias swept a hand forward in a gesture for Qek to get underway. "On to the next adventure, then, crew."

Drift ships did not enter j-space. Instead, they cruised the galaxy in slow arcs, providing travel opportunities for vacationers and folks unable to withstand the rigors of folded reality. Permanently stationed at the Hub, the Central drift Jitendra represented the pinnacle of human engineering—all they had adapted from the ashushk and the stin, configured to be uniquely human.

Elias tracked the approach to their berth through the forward view screen and gaped with the rest of the crew. Though the scale of the drift meant she had to borrow much of her architecture from the military, the docks brimmed with color and bustled with life. Ships of all varieties bobbed in the gravity differential at hundreds of piers. But for the lack of artifice overhead, they might be on Alpha Station.

"Locked," Fix reported.

A small delegation ringed Dock Gamma Four. Thankfully, of the six men and women present, only two wore AEF uniforms and none held out media wallets. None appeared to be affiliated with the Church of Omega, either.

"Someone rolled out the red carpet," Elias murmured.

Beside him, Nessa let out a long breath. "Looks like we all get to exit by the front door today."

Minutes later, they were walking through Cargo One toward the lowered ramp. The tallest man at the center of the delegation stepped forward with an almost imperceptible limp. "Captain Idowu?"

"That's me." Elias strode down the ramp, his crew following behind.

A hand thrust out to meet his approach. "Theodor Paredes. A pleasure to meet you."

Seemed like it was too. The ambassador's shake was long enough to mean something, short enough not to be weird and clingy. Paredes held his gaze for a respectful beat before glancing up and to the side, no doubt looking for Zed.

Zed moved forward, his own hand extended. "Ambassador."

"Major." Paredes flashed a quick and easy smile.

"I'm retired." Zed returned the smile. "Just Zander, or Zed is fine."

"Not Emissary or Oh Benevolent One?"

Elias shared Zed's blink. Behind Paredes, the rest of his delegation paled.

Zed recovered first. He laughed, and the rich tenor of his voice relaxed everyone within earshot. "Just Zed."

"Zed it is." Paredes showed them all another genuine expression of good humor. Why was it weird to meet someone who actually seemed nice? The ambassador's gaze locked on to Qek, next, and he offered the small ashushk a brief bow. "I'm honored to welcome you aboard the Jitendra , Qekelough." He'd researched her full name. Interesting. Nessa got her welcome next. "Dr. O'Brien." Another not-too-long, not-too-short shake.

Then Paredes turned his attention to the man Elias only just realized he'd been subtly avoiding. His smile warmed, and oddly, so did his eyes. "Felix."

"Theo."

Theo? This was…Turning sharply enough to snap his own neck, Elias checked out Fixer's expression. The blush said it all. Fix must be cursing his pale skin right about now. Elias pieced together the mental puzzle. This Theo must be that Theo, the only person outside of his old school buddies from Shepard Academy that Fix kept in touch with.

Elias had had his suspicions about Theo's place in Fixer's past, and this charming little scene confirmed several of them. Oh man, this was going to be interesting.

Paredes had Fix's hand in his, and by some miracle, Fixer hadn't shaken the guy off or told him to keep his hands to himself. Yep, had to be that Theo . Elias resisted the urge to check out Zed's reaction.

Paredes reached up to clasp Fixer's elbow with his other hand. "It's been too long."

Fix shuffled in place. "Yeah," he murmured, gently shrugging off Theo's hand. Attaboy . "You know me, head so far up my own ass it's a wonder I can breathe."

"You haven't changed a bit." Then, to everyone else assembled, Theo explained what Fix probably wouldn't. "Felix and I were in specialist training together…and I'm gonna guess he never mentioned me."

"Actually, he has," Elias said. "You're AEF?" Paredes wasn't wearing a uniform, and last time Elias checked, the AEF didn't have a rank of ambassador.

"Former." Paredes's dark blue eyes twinkled. Enjoying his retirement? "We'll have to exchange embarrassing Felix stories later. Over a pint or two." He grinned at Zed. "And I'd love a firsthand account of what happened on Engadini with the civilian transport. Not often one gets to meet a real live hero."

"Ah, I don't think…"

"Relax. I'm not going to ask for your autograph. Not on the first date, anyway." Paredes sobered slightly. "But first, I think we've got some business to discuss. I'm going to be straight with you. News of your latest, um, adventure has been playing on every news network within reach of Hemera." He eyed Fixer again. "Nice to see you haven't lost your spunk, Felix. Last two times I've seen your face, you've been instructing some reporter to do unmentionable things to…" Paredes cleared his throat. "Anyway. We've got a bit of damage control to do there, which my aides are taking care of. Hopefully, stories of Zed's death and resurrection are now the main topic of conversation at the Hub—after Species Four, that is."

Zed groaned.

"And here I thought you'd be grateful." Paredes's gaze flicked back and forth between Zed and Fix before settling on Zed. "As an Anatolius, I'm pretty sure you're aware of how the game has to be played, though."

"Yep. Ah, thanks?"

"Anytime. Next is the matter of the fleet of Church of Omega ships that followed you to the Hub."

"A fleet?"

"Three ships. A small fleet."

Fix grumbled under his breath.

"They claim you kidnapped one of their members," Theo continued.

"Liberated, more like," Felix murmured.

"We had a missing-persons contract for a sixteen-year-old girl who had decided joining a cult would be a great way to piss off her parents." Elias tapped the pocket where he kept his wallet. "Got all the relevant documentation right here."

Theo grinned at Zed. "Better watch out. You keep sending kids home and you won't have much of a cult left to worship you."

"If only it were that simple," Zed said.

To Elias, Theo added, "If you'll transmit the contract number to my office, I'll make sure the Church continue to beat their heads against the same obstacle you all did when you arrived." AEF bureaucracy had its uses. "Hopefully our gatekeepers can keep them stalled until we figure out a way to talk to Species Four. That's why you're here, isn't it?"

Zed pulled out a confident smile, which suited his handsome face—and highlighted the fact that Fixer really did have a type. Tall and broad-shouldered, with dark hair and blue eyes. Structured features. Good-looking and well-built men. Elias was looking at two of them right now and couldn't help wondering if Theo and Zed had noticed what they had in common.

The way they were eyeing each other, he was pretty sure they had.

Being in a room with the only two men he'd ever been in a proper relationship with was weird, especially with everything being so…formal. Theo had barely changed. In the quick glances Felix had darted in Theo's direction, he'd picked out two important facts: twelve years of maturity and a notable career looked good on him, and he must have worked hard to be able to walk with barely a limp. His right leg had been shattered halfway through the Human-Stin War. After his recovery, Theo had returned to active duty, of course.

"The stin have posted an official response to the destruction of their probe," Theo said. "They plan no retaliatory action at this time."

Around the conference table, twelve sets of shoulders dropped several degrees.

"We're sure of this?" The speaker wore an AEF uniform and colonel pins. Her posture indicated a long and distinguished service.

"Our analysts have turned the statement inside out and all agree on this interpretation. The stin are a fairly blunt species. Do or die and all that." A few titters followed the small joke. "Based on our observation of stin culture, the issuance of such a statement is aberrant, however."

No kidding. The stin didn't usually fire warning shots, and they didn't usually back off afterward. They spied something they wanted and took it. Or manufactured an offense and leaped in to restore their apparently tarnished honor. They didn't issue statements.

Felix darted a look at Zed, wondering when he was going to enter the discussion. Add a personal observation, a word of Guardian wisdom or perhaps share the results of hours of discussion with Marnie, Ryan and the rest of the crew. Speaking of which, how had Elias and Nessa managed to duck out of this one? At least Qek had been suckered into it. She thought it was exciting to sit down and talk about new species. Felix plucked at a loose thread on his pants and wondered if he'd be tossed out if he unraveled himself. A hand stilled his and he glanced up to meet Zed's gaze. Zed offered a quick smile, then turned his attention back to the meeting.

"The stin are not prone to subterfuge." Qek clicked once before continuing. "But the terms of the accord they have with humanity allow for more concessions than the treaty brokered with the ashushk at the end of our second war."

"They're learning to be civil," the colonel put in.

"Next step is mastering the perfect insult," said a suit. Diplomatic functionary, Felix assumed. One of Theo's staff. Shit, Theo had staff. He was an important man.

What was it with him and men destined to be great?

Save it for Dr. McMann.

Another suit spoke up. "Their linguistics do allow for insult. That's how they motivate themselves."

"They throw insults at one another?"

Felix leaned back from the table, uninterested in participating in a discussion on stin culture. To his mind, only good stin was a dead stin, which would be why no one had asked him to be a diplomat.

"Put epaulets on every shoulder and we could be in every mission briefing I ever had," Zed murmured as he leaned back to join Felix in the neutral zone.

Felix indicated the clear tumblers of water set before every place. "Except the AEF fuels its fleet with caffeine." Zed grimaced slightly, demonstrating his aversion. He hadn't told Felix exactly how caffeine affected his altered body chemistry, but Felix had a couple of ideas…

"Something to add, Lieutenant?"

Theo's dark brows were at off angles, one straight, the other quirked in inquiry. His navy blue eyes were directed at Felix. His expression, though—Felix had forgotten how Theo could combine so many subtleties into one look. He questioned, teased, gently reprimanded and invited Felix to participate all at once. Theo had always been like that—intent on not letting Felix coast along the outside of life.

"The stin won't retaliate," Felix said.

Every gaze in the room landed on him with a prickly thump, and the blush that had crawled out of his collar at Theo's attention crept over his jawline, destination: cheeks.

"He's right." Straightening his posture, Zed took command, demonstrating why he'd been a team leader, a major and a hero in the AEF. "The stin might be bullies, but it would be a mistake to compare them to any human models."

"I think?—"

Zed rode right over the interruption. "No one knows what destroyed the probe. There are no reports of a strike or detonation other than the probe itself. The stin have no clear target, outside of the Species Four Station, which is twenty thousand klicks inside S4 space."

Every gate at the Hub was surrounded by a hundred thousand kilometers of space designated as sovereign territory. The virtual borders were respected and only crossed by invitation, even among allies. Only the stin actively patrolled their border.

"Where are you getting your information?"

Zed put on his most charming smile for the colonel. "I have my own team of analysts."

Marnie and Ryan. Marnie still had contacts in Mil-Int and there wasn't a system Ryan couldn't hack. Whatever the AEF knew, the crew of the Chaos knew too.

"Do the Guardians?—"

Theo cleared his throat and shook his head. "Let's not distract Major Anatolius with irrelevant questions." He turned to Zed. "If you'd continue?"

Zed opened his mouth, only to be cut off.

"How exactly is the major relevant, then, if not as a representative of the Guardians?" Small eyes should never be narrowed, but no one had told this fellow that. "As he claims."

Zed pushed his hands across the table, not coincidentally exposing the wide cuff encircling his right wrist. The metal had a dull sheen and in certain circumstances emitted light. Felix itched to get the thing off Zed's wrist so he could pull it apart and study it, but two things stopped him. One, you didn't fuck with the Guardians. Two, it had no clasp.

The gesture had the desired effect. No one in the room would be unaware of what the cuff was and what it meant, especially not today. Theo's aides had been working overtime replaying the press conference Zed had held after his release from AEF custody six months before. The one where he exposed Project Dreamweaver and the AEF's plans to cover it up. He had also shared the details of his death and subsequent resurrection at the hands of the Guardians, and his role as their emissary. That no one from the AEF had tried to refute or discredit a single fact said more than any statement they might have issued.

"My role here is not in question. But if you're not interested in the insights of my team, which includes former military intelligence operatives and a man who spent nearly four years behind enemy lines—" all attention shifted to Felix, specifically to the scar marking the left side of his face from brow to jaw "—then I'll let you continue your discourse on stin insults." One shoulder hitched upward in a dismissive shrug. Zed leaned back from the table.

"Is the Church of Omega part of your team?"

A chorus of groans rippled around the table.

Theo never lost his smile, but the warmth had left his gaze as he picked on one of the suits. The guy squirmed under the ambassador's stare but remained silent. Theo turned back to Zed. "Any further insights to share with us?"

Zed elbowed Felix, and Felix found himself wishing Elias had volunteered to accompany his highness delegate emissary wunderkind to this meeting. Or that Zed had been content to attend with just Qek. An ashushk was relevant. A fuckup former POW wasn't. But Felix had seen the same intel. Had discussed it with his crew. When Zed mentioned he had a team, he meant exactly that. The crew of the Chaos might be unconventional in many respects, but they had a certain synergy that regular think tanks lacked, and real-world experience.

And he was Zed's partner, in all ways.

"They're outnumbered on this battlefield," Felix said. "It's as simple as that."

Zed added the punch line. "And they'd prefer to ally with Species Four than antagonize them. We have the ashies, they want S4."

Though Zed couldn't be telling them anything they hadn't already deduced, the meeting exploded into chaos. Theo let everyone pick a single bug out of their ass before restoring order with another quiet clearing of his throat. Felix didn't stop to wonder when Theo had acquired such a commanding presence, but he did take a moment to admire it.

"Anyone else want to suggest Major Anatolius and his team are wasting our time?" When no one spoke up, Theo moved to the next order of business. "Now, rather than waste more of his time, let's move to the reason he's really here. Major?"

Though Zed had invited Theo to use his first name, short version, Felix understood why he refrained in the conference room. Over half of the people in attendance might be civilians or retired, but the AEF was a huge component of humanity's presence in the Hub. They were not governed by their military as the stin were, but they shared their enemy's need to show their might. Human psychology might not apply to the stin, or the ashies, but everyone understood a pissing contest.

Now Zed truly was on the spot—because he didn't know why he was here, except to answer the Guardians' call. But he had shared some ideas with the rest of the crew, and one in particular would make him very relevant to the situation.

"The Guardians indicated that it was time for me to be here. My top priority is figuring out a way to communicate with Species Four."

The hubbub greeting this statement was less riotous than before. Rather than decry Zed's purpose when they calmed down, however, the delegates all had suggestions for how to help him accomplish that goal. Felix's least favorite was the one that had them taking the Chaos across the border. From the look on the colonel's face as she proposed the sally, she wouldn't mind one bit if they were mysteriously blown apart.

Yeah, not happening, bitch .

"The one aspect of S4's comms that remains consistent is the time they make their attempt," Theo said. "Their messages are separated by intervals of seventeen hours, twenty-three minutes and eight seconds, Standard. Opinion is split fifty-fifty as to whether the interval represents a half or full day in the Species Four home system. For all we know, it could even be their equivalent of a single hour. If we could have the Jitendra in position at the border—" dark brows flipped up and down "—rather than across it, at the time of transmission, maybe you can…" Theo's confident mien showed a hint of strain. Whether he meant to share his anxiety with the conference or not, the glimpse of his humanity worked to quiet the room. "Maybe you'll catch something we've been missing."

"When is the next call?" Zed asked, even though he already knew.

"Tomorrow, a few seconds after 1300 Standard."