Echoes of the Past

Chapter Thirty Six - Part Two

Chapter Thirty Six - Truth And Lies - Part Two 

"Jaxx is on the move," Jorak said, frowning under his beard and folding his arms across his large chest.

Sam placed his cup down with a soft thud. "He knows we're coming for him today?"

"Don't know," Liana said. "Our scout near the iron forge says Jaxx is loading several transport ships. It looks like he's preparing a large-scale transfer."

"Then we leave now," Sam said, pushing himself away from the table and standing.

"Something has frightened Jaxx," Den said as he reached for his hover device. "He may know we intend to bring him in today, or he may just suspect he has drawn too much attention in town. We have to consider that he means to not come back."

"Our presence yesterday in the forge would not have helped," Evan said, nodding to Liana.

"It doesn't look good," Liana said, her shoulders tense and jaw tight. "He has dozens of guards out on display. The whole place is on high-alert. More than we've ever seen it. We're readying our crafts now to head out."

Sam rounded the table and came close to Liana. James stood up and noticed how weak his legs felt. All of this was happening so fast, he had to mentally get himself into confrontation mode. Into soldier mode.

"How many men do we have?" Sam asked.

Liana shook her head. "Not enough. We can spare twenty-five soldiers, leaving the bare minimum of staff here. But Jaxx has over a hundred armed men."

Jorak pointed his chin at Den. "Den and I will hold back here and keep an eye on the local casts, particularly the Red Guards and Lawmen's channels. So far Jaxx hasn't requested exit air with Hath-Ba or any other of the nearby space-ports, but then he's likely not interested in going through official and legal channels."

"We're going in for an attack?" Sam asked, looking troubled. "Has it come to that, now?"

"Jaxx may not give us any choice," Liana said. "We just need to bring him in and send him to the authorities. The Avancheon will take over from there."

"What do the Avancheon have to say about this?" Sam asked.

"They might actually finally be concerned," Jorak said, the hardness in his voice showing his contempt for the lack of support so far. "They're sending a small squadron. But Jaxx will likely be off-world by the time they get here. So, we're on our own."

Sam responded with a troubled frown, and a tense silence fell on the room.

Liana's face hardened. "Sam," she said. "I've had your old possessions taken to your sleeping quarters."

Sam nodded and met her eyes. "Thank you. But I won't need them." At Liana's tense stare, he added, "I've made my choice, and I have everything I need to move forward."

The air around them had electrified. James looked from one to the other. He guessed the old possessions were Sam's sword and grapple hook. Both Jorak and Den held grave expressions.

James considered saying something, but didn't know where to start. As far as Sam knew, James didn't know about his past war trauma. He felt that he would just make things worse if he tried to talk to Sam about it.

"Fine," Liana said, with venom behind the word. Her eyes locked onto James. The focus on him quickened his heart. "We need a few minutes to load up the ships and arm the men. Right now, I think James could do with a better weapon."

James looked down and saw he had left his sword by his bunk. Was he meant to have carried it on him at all times? His face must have registered something that made Liana smile slightly, and her eyes warmed. Despite their circumstances, if felt like a nice moment between them, although he was aware of the others in the room watching them.