The Inquisitors (The Space Merchants Book 6) Read online

  My sulkiness answered for me. Uncle Kagan kissed Aunt Seyla and returned to the Palace. I looked hopefully at Kane.

  He shook his head. “I’m overseeing retrogrades to my fleet. There is no way that I can get away at the moment, Tiny Cousin. Maybe, you can compete next year.”

  After Kane left, Aunt Seyla and Grandmother tried to comfort me with food. Stuffing my face didn’t help. “I’d better get back and tell Cormac to forget it.” I got my kisses, my spider, and drove back to the Palace. I had a feeling that Aunt Seyla and Grandmother would call and tell Momma on me, not that it mattered.

  My Omnes Videntes gave me my space. At least Laconian males didn’t think of females simply as house décor. I moped into the Palace. Thunderdrop chirped at me in an effort to make me feel better.

  Vice Admiral Dario Galerius strode toward me, gave me a dashing smile, and bowed low. He was wickedly handsome with his black hair and dark-brown eyes. “Teagan, who has put the sadness into your eyes? Allow me to punch him repeatedly in the face for you.”

  I smiled and glanced up at him. “I’ve made myself sad. You wouldn’t understand.”

  “Try me. Walk with me in the gardens,” Dario said as he offered me his arm.

  Looking up at his dark-brown eyes, I took his arm and let him guide me outside and down one of the garden paths. Thunderdrop scampered off into the flowers.

  Quietly, Dario asked, “What troubles you?”

  “The Warrior Caste, the Materfamilias Caste, and the future.”

  “Those are broad concerns.”

  “How am I supposed to raise my daughter and help her become who she is meant to be in a society where females don’t have equality?”

  I had shocked Dario. I couldn’t recall ever having done so, or ever having seen the expression of disbelief on his features.

  “Females are treated with superiority within the Empire.”

  “No, they aren’t. My little girl may just want to raise a family like me, or she may want to be a fleet admiral like you. How can her dreams come true if her own mother can’t even earn the rank of ensign?”

  Dario guided me over to a bench. We sat, and he lowered his chin so he could catch my eyes with his. Gently, he asked, “Will you start at the beginning?” After I had explained, Dario appeared deep in thought. “If we do this, we follow the rules. If I am forced to intercede and assume command, your team’s participation is forfeited.”

  I clasped my hands together and stared at him. “Oh, Dario! You mean it?”

  “Go get your orders from Inquisitor Gordian. Now remember, if I help you in any way, your team fails. I’ll be there, but to compete, you’re on your own.”

  I nodded and ran back to the Palace. “Thunderdrop!” I called over my shoulder.

  He jumped onto my skirt and crawled to my upper arm. I ran smiling all of the way to Inquisitor Gordian’s office. Cormac wasn’t alone. Papa, Drex, and Eli turned their heads and looked at me and my exuberant expression.

  “Absolutely not,” Papa said.

  My smile transformed into genuine tears. “Oh, please, Papa. Please. Just give me a chance!”

  “Teagan, do you have any idea of the security nightmare it would be? How do you expect your Imperial Guards to protect you?” Papa asked.

  “We won’t be alone! Dario said he would be our supervisor. Please, Papa. Sparrow, Tracy, and I can do this. Don’t you think we’re as good as teenaged boys?”

  “Is that what this is about?” Papa asked. He looked furious.

  “I may not want to be a captain or an admiral anymore, but Neema may one day wish to be one. Do you want your granddaughter relocating to the Laconian Sector or to the Galaxic Expanse where she would be allowed entrance into the Galaxic Militia?”

  Papa glared at Drex, who paled and stood at attention. To me, he said, “Of course, not, my darling.” Papa took me into his arms and held me. While stroking my hair, he asked in a terrifying tone of voice, “How do you expect to keep her safe?”

  Eli said, “I can arrange a security detail.”

  “No! That would give us away. We are supposed to remain hidden. If you find us, we lose. Papa, we’ll be in the Empire, and Cormac and my Omnes Videntes will know where we are. Right?” I asked as I peeked around Papa at Cormac with hopeful eyes.

  “Yes, Princess.”

  “Please, Papa? Please?”

  Papa asked, “What do your husbands have to say about this?”

  I shrugged. “Fitz went ahead to Thalassa. Nico, Yukihyo, and Zared will probably be fine with it.” I pouted at Drex, who remained quiet.

  Papa smiled, held me at arm’s length, and said, “Alright, I will consider their opinions before making my decision.” His pleasant expression told me that he expected Yukihyo, Nico, and Zared to vehemently refuse. Drex avoided eye contact with me. “Shall we ask?” Papa gestured toward the door.

  I prepared myself for a fight. Together, we walked to my wing. What I found in my sitting room left me speechless. Jazon was helping Tracy pack a small bag. She had her hair up and wore pants and a long-sleeved T-shirt. Sparrow was making adjustments to an odd-looking device that she examined through a set of magnifier goggles. Xavier arranged her tools and placed them in a satchel.

  “Do you want this or this?” Yukihyo asked while holding up a sweater in one hand and a leather jacket in the other.

  I pointed to the jacket.

  “What is all of this?” Papa asked in a strangled tone.

  Yukihyo said, “The empathic connection that I share with my wife has made it abundantly clear how important participation in this activity is to her. Neema is fortunate to have a mother who would go to such lengths for her. How can I not provide support to my wife when her goal is to do the same for our daughter?”

  I ran to Yukihyo and threw my arms around his neck. As I drew his intoxicating male scent into my lungs, I shared with him my feelings of gratitude for his acceptance and belief in me. “I love you, Yukihyo Lee,” I said fiercely.

  “I love you, Teagan Lee. May you have a successful mission.”

  I stared up into his eyes and then gave him the most passionate kiss I could manage while rolling pleasure through him. Yukihyo held my hips and unconsciously ground himself against me. For a moment, I feared he might change his mind and carry me away to our bedroom. Then, I started to worry about the children.

  “They will be fine,” Zared said. “You should hurry. The training exercise begins soon. You may wish to change your attire.”

  I looked at my dress and rushed to our bedroom. Zared followed me. He was wearing his black uniform with its silver trim and had his long dove-grey hair secured in a ponytail at his nape.

  “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

  Zared grinned at me, and his solid black eyes seemed somehow to change with his excitement. “There are many things I would enjoy doing with an ensign in the shower.”

  I laughed, kissed him, and rolled just as much pleasure through him as I had Yukihyo.

  Once his heart had slowed and his breathing had returned to normal, he said, “I will see you when you return.” I began having naughty thoughts about sharing my bed with both of my dove-grey-haired husbands at once. “Such thoughts are not conducive to my continued cooperation, female.”

  I grinned at him and changed into pants, a T-shirt, and leather jacket, all in black. I brushed my hair up into a high ponytail and started studying our mission. I didn’t bother trying to keep my thoughts hidden from Zared or my Omnes Videntes. The hybrid warriors would know every thought that Sparrow, Tracy, and I had. They would know where we were at all times. We returned to the sitting room.

  “We won’t tell,” Jazon grumbled.

  Tracy pushed his cheeks together with her hands and kissed his overly puckered lips. “No cheating. You can’t even think solutions at us, or it won’t count,” she told him.

  “Alright,” he said once she released his face.

  Tracy narrowed her eyes at Drex and Eli. I pretended not
to notice. Nico had been warned. I saw him leaning against the wall. He gave me a kiss and didn’t argue about my participation. Nico and the other males in the room were focused on Drex with an unnerving intensity that made my heart feel all light and fluttery. The anger and annoyance of which I had feared I would be the recipient had instead gone to Drex. Smiling, I kissed Drex’s cheek. Sparrow, Tracy, and I hurried through the Palace to the garage and selected a simple black transport.

  “My Queen!”

  I stopped and turned. Farowyn of the Eloneave rushed toward us, his claws tapping against the ground. He bowed low to me.

  “My Queen, please accept my service on your mission. I could not help but to overhear.” Farowyn had shaved the sparse hair on his head. He had begun wearing black pants and sleeveless garments that left the patagium at his sides free. Over the black shirt, his chest harness held several sheathed blades. From a distance, he looked like an average Parvac soldier.

  “I can’t. That would really be cheating.”

  “In what way? I am not a Parvac warrior.”

  “No, but you are the equivalent of an admiral, spent your entire life in space, and know how to handle every situation. We have to do this on our own, or it doesn’t mean anything.”

  Farowyn bowed to me. “I will respect your wish and honor your decision.”

  “Thank you. Wish us luck.” I smiled at him and got in the driver’s seat.

  My Omnes Videntes had followed us. Xavier took a seat in the back beside Sparrow.

  Absently, Sparrow said, “They will keep our identities hidden from the minds of our observers while I obscure us from facial recognition bots and drones with this program.” She glanced up at me from her vid-pad.

  “I didn’t know that was possible.”

  Sparrow grinned at me, and her brown curls tumbled over her forehead as she returned her attention to her screen. I wondered what would happen once the Inquisitors learned of her newest invention.

  In my mind, Xavier said, “She may sell it to them for the right price.”

  Tracy said, “Start this thing up and let’s go! I’m ready to show Parvac what we can do.”

  I didn’t enter the land port’s location into the transport for fear of being tracked. Once we had arrived at our assigned stealth ship, we grabbed our packs, Xavier gave Sparrow a steamy kiss goodbye, and the ladies entered the vessel. My Omnes Videntes continued to obfuscate our identities, which was helpful since I needed to begin my pre-flight inspection. After I had assured myself that the ship was sound, I oversaw its fueling. All of my concerns about Momma, the Eloneave, the Talpa, and Felix Jiri began to drop away as I concentrated on my tasks. Again, I checked the cockpit, window ports, nose, fuselage, wings, weapons ports, hatch, and landing gear. Once I had inspected our seats, helmets, and safety harnesses, our fueling was complete.

  Tracy made certain that our food, water, environmental requirements, and emergency medical unit were sufficient and in working order. Vice Admiral Dario Galerius observed us from where he sat on a couch. Tracy stowed our packs. Then, I explained to my crew the procedures we would follow in case of an emergency and made certain that we all knew where the escape pods and distress beacons were located.

  When I slid into my captain’s chair, I felt more empowered and in control than I had in months. The Galaxic Militia Fighter Ship Training course and the Parvac Training course that Kane had insisted I take had remained a part of me. The disembarking and pre-propulsion checklists were still fresh in my mind, and I carried out my duties as captain of the stealth vessel with text-like precision and attention to detail. Once I received clearance, I took us up into the stars and realized that I was giggling like a happy idiot. It was contagious, and Tracy joined me.

  “If flying makes you so happy, why don’t you do it more often?”

  I looked at her black eyes and black hair. “That’s a good question. Yukihyo and Nico used to be so adamantly against it, but that was before my heart transplant. Now, I don’t see why I shouldn’t be able to.”

  Sparrow entered the bridge, sat in front of a console, and started to dismantle it.

  I stared out at the stars and watched as warships, merchant ships, and fighter ships ascended or descended to the land port. I marveled at the beauty of it, feeling like a queen overseeing my domain. “It’s like my dearest dream keeps coming true.”

  “What is?” Tracy asked.

  “Being here amidst the stars with the freedom to burst forward to explore anything I want. Just sitting up here in orbit is divine.”

  “Done. This little system should throw the training team trying to track us for a loop,” Sparrow said.

  “Wait. The ones tracking us are only students?” Tracy asked.

  “Yes,” Sparrow answered. “However, the ones who always spy on Teagan and the Warrior Caste males who stalk her are the ones from whom we need to hide.”

  “Agreed,” I said. “If some Warrior Caste male ruins this for me….” I growled angrily.

  “About whom are you most worried?” Sparrow asked.

  “Captain Merick Carus worries me the most since I don’t have to worry about Dario hunting me.”

  Sparrow said, “I’ll take special care with Captain Carus.”

  “Where to?” Tracy asked as she rubbed her hands together.

  “My least favorite planet in the Empire, Naxa.”

  “How long will it take us to get there?”

  “In this thing? At least two days going at full speed. However, I don’t think that would be wise.”

  “I don’t either. Small ships all racing toward planets on the same day and at the same time will alert the Inquisitors trying to track us,” Sparrow said.

  I grinned. “That’s why we are heading to Apellan’s moon. If we are detected, we will be dismissed. They haven’t set up any beacons on the moon.”

  “Will it lengthen our journey?” Tracy asked.

  “Not by much, but it may save us the time and energy that would be required by evasive tactics.”

  “Permission to make adjustments to our weapons, Captain?” Sparrow asked.

  “Permission granted. Sparrow, is there anything you can do to change the signature we emit? Can you make us look on sensor readings like a freighter and not a stealth ship?”

  Sparrow pulled up information on her console. “Yes, but you would need to decrease your speed to match that of a heavier ship. Most freighters carrying fuel to Gamma Moon are heavily laden.”

  I matched my course to the speed which Sparrow suggested. A pang of guilt from leaving my babies hit me.

  “Female, the children are surrounded by love and attention. Concentrate on your task,” Zared whispered into my mind.

  “I’m going to need for you to divert power from weapons to our shields so I can send fake sensor readings into it,” Sparrow said.

  “Done.”

  “And, none too soon. We have a spy probe closing in on our location. Let’s see if my little trick works.”

  I held my breath while the probe scanned us and let it out when its beam shut off, and it sped away in a different direction.

  “They must be checking every vessel that leaves the land port today,” Tracy suggested.

  Thinking, I said, “That’s a good reason for us not to dock at Naxa’s land port. The Inquisitors intent on capturing us will have our beacon under observation. We need to sneak to it. If they catch us before we input the code, we lose.”

  After a few hours, I needed a bathroom break. Dario sat with an amused expression in the small habitation area. Ignoring him, I saw to my needs, washed my face, and then made myself a cup of coffee with the beverage dispenser. Four narrow bunks that were opposite the kitchenette and bathroom were currently closed and secured to the hull. With the accommodations being what they were, I was glad it was a short trip, not that I had any intentions of relaxing. I could nap in my captain’s chair.

  “Teagan and Sparrow, you both need to take a break and have something to eat,” Tracy
said.

  I glanced up from my console at her. “What?”

  “At the Palace, we would have eaten dinner an hour ago.” Tracy looked angry.

  “Oh, okay. Whatever.” I left the bridge, grabbed a meal from the cold storage, heated it up, and took it back to the bridge to eat. Tracy shook her head at me. “What?” I asked around a mouthful of steak.

  Tracy and Sparrow were asleep when Dario joined me on the bridge.

  “Are you allowed to be up here?” I asked as I raised an eyebrow at him.

  “As long as I do not participate in any way, yes.” Dario pointed out to me the recording cameras that I hadn’t noticed. “They are here to keep me honest.”

  I grinned at him. “Thank you for this, Dario. It means a lot to me.”

  “It means even more to me to know that I, in some small way, facilitated the smile on your lovely face.”

  The seductively low tone of his voice and full lower lip that moved ever so slightly captured my attention and sent a distracting ache down to the juncture of my thighs. Dario’s brown eyes grew darker. Leaning forward, he slipped his hand behind my head and stared into my eyes for a moment before slowly bringing his lips down to mine. Dario slid his tongue into my mouth, and I responded to him with a hungry intensity. Moaning into his mouth, I moved my hand down the hard muscles of his chest and cupped his hard length, rubbing my palm against him through the fabric. Then, I slowly returned to my senses.

  In a breathy whisper, I said, “I need to concentrate on my mission, not on what I would do with you if I had a decent bed or simply some floor space and privacy.”

  “Perhaps, we can continue this conversation later.”

  “You can be certain of it.”

  Dario straightened and sat back in his chair. “Most of your family is furious with Drex.”

  “Is that so?”

  “Yes, had he not mentioned this training exercise to you, you would be at home in the Palace.”

  I snorted. “I was so bored. Now, I have no choice but to give Drex a very public thank you so he doesn’t ever hide things like this from me, like everyone else tries to do.”