AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Hi, Dru,” she said with a smile in his direction.
“Ma’am,” he said in reply. He had a broad, easy smile, and Tinsley immediately warmed to him.
“Dru is a comms wizard,” continued Dante. “If there’s a signal out there, he’ll pick it up.”
“It’s a knack, that’s all,” he replied self-effacingly.
“What’s the update, Dru?” Dante pressed him.
“I’ve got confirmation that the pirate vessel we’ve been tailing has docked at Midpoint. Their security code was detected half a flick ago.”
Dante wore a grim expression. “Good, let’s hunt down those dogs.”
“I’ve cleared a channel for your conference call with your family. They’re on the line waiting.” Dru fiddled with the dials on the comms unit as he spoke.
The small comms room was a bit cramped with the four of them. Dante invited Tinsley to sit next to him in front of the screen, which meant their arms were touching. It felt like her entire right side was engulfed in his warm protective energy, and she didn’t want to be away from it for a second.
One by one, various members of Dante’s family appeared on the screen, and Dante introduced them to Tinsley.
Trigg and Willow were first. They were at the base on Noxxa, controlling the search from there.
Kozien, who had an erratic signal, was in hyperdrive going to check out a different lead.
Both Zyair and Grux were on Lorr, mustering Lorr forces in case they were needed. The Lorrz family took the abduction of the princess very seriously.
Finally, King Vrondo appeared in the center. “Your Majesty,” Tinsley said when she was introduced, bowing her head slightly.
The king nodded and then looked pointedly at his son with an imperceptible smile.
“Greetings to all. What’s the current situation to report?” asked the king in his deep rumbling voice. “Trigg, please go first.”
“We’ve gotten confirmation that she was taken by pirates,” said Trigg. “We believe it’s the ship you’re chasing, Dante. We’ve not received any demands for ransom as of yet.”
“That’s unusual. Isn’t it?” asked Dante. “To steal a princess and not demand a ransom?”
“We think the Jorvlen government is involved, and this is a political move. They likely want more than a simple ransom.”
The family members looked at each other ominously.
Kozien gave his report next, but the signal was so bad they couldn’t make sense of any of it. Tinsley was impressed that Dru had been able to produce an image of him. Communications were notoriously tricky out in deep space, and in hyperdrive, they were virtually impossible. The fact that Trigg was also in hyperdrive made Dru’s feat phenomenal.
The focus moved to Zyair and Grux. Both the brothers looked grim.
“I have a special tactics team ready to send out at a moment’s notice,” Grux reported. “Zyair will need another day or two to ready the main forces. But he’ll have the entire army mobilized within the week.”
Tinsley could see Zyair glaring at Grux for giving his report for him. Although he’d overstepped, she got the impression that as Zyair’s elder, he was entitled. Tinsley was getting a better understanding of Dante’s mixed feelings about his place in this family.
“Dante. Please give your report,” demanded the king.
“We’ll be docking at Midpoint within the flick. Dru has a lock on the pirate ship that we think Maraliza is being held captive on.”
“Good. Don’t lose them,” the king admonished, and Tinsley could read the irritation on Dante’s face at his father’s suggestion that he might fall short. “I want my daughter back unharmed.”
“Yes, sir!” confirmed Dante.
The images on the screen flickered out. “I’ve lost them, captain,” Dru reported.
Tinsley was amazed. She’d had a brilliant comms guy once, a Turantugan, who was phenomenal at fine-tuning Zefa radio waves. Even he could hold a signal for just five minutes at warp speed. Dru had kept our signal active for nearly an hour. She’d never seen such wizardry for tech.
