The Copernicus Deception (The Human Chronicles Saga Book 15) by T.R. Harris

planning.”
    “You wish me to get on a…a horn?”
    “Make a call, a link.” Tobias resisted adding ‘you idiot’ to the end of the sentence, needing the alien as an ally, not an enemy. He turned to the Formilian. “Arieel, it looks like you’re stuck here, too. Your ride back to Formil has been canceled. But call your contacts, as well. We need information, people. In the meantime, I’ll contact Cain and Tarazi.”
    “What about me?” Sherri asked.
    “You do…whatever the hell you want. You’re going to anyway.”

 
    Chapter 9
     
     “So much for using Cain and Tarazi to free the cartel ship.” Nurion looked from the report he had been reading to glare at the face of the Silean on the CW comm screen.
    Onix Gru was not his jovial self. Since his last conversation with the Point-Operator of MK Weapons System, he had reevaluated his place in the scheme of things and found it to be untenable at best. He let Nurion vent.
    The room where Nurion sat began to shake.
    “Another rumbling?” Onix asked.
    Nurion gnashed his teeth. “To borrow a phrase from the Humans, fuck the rumblings! They are of no concern. Focus on what is important, Onix. It says here the Visidorans did not find anything aboard, at least nothing of note. We have been acting upon your intelligence. Where is the artifact?”
    “My sources say it was aboard the ship when it departed Incus. It must be well-hidden.”
    “That is one option. Or it is not aboard. You are the one who claims to be connected to the Frontier, to know all that goes on there. It was your reporting that even alerted us to its existence. Yet as far as I can tell, the prototype could be simply a fantasy within your mind, used to entice MK to lavish even more credits upon you. As a Silean, I would not put that past you.”
    “It exists!” Onix defended. It was one thing to not be of value to the Point-Operator. It was another thing to be accused of defrauding him. “You have seen the evidence.”
    “Evidence you provided.”
    “What do you wish of me?”
    “I wish you to recover the prototype and deliver it to me. Is that too hard to understand?”
    “That is what I am attempting to do. The Human has been given ample incentive to recover his vessels. What has happened on Visidor is just a temporary setback.”
    “And what of this coming war? How will that affect the Human’s chance of success?”
    “He has not failed me in the past. The Humans have only recently been detained on Visidor. They are quite resourceful.”
    “I am aware of that, yet if you are correct, and such a device exists, then I must have it. If not, then MK will suffer, and as a consequence, so will you.”
    “I will report back as the situation evolves,” Onix said, only a moment before Nurion cut the link.
    The huge Silean leaned back in his creaking chair. “Such an orifice,” he mumbled. Then he continued talking to the empty room. “He failed to mention that if MK suffers, he shall, too. He may try to blame me, but others will hold him responsible. At that point, even if he wanted to punish me, he would not be in a position to do so.”
    But then he pursed his fat lips. “It is all up to Adam Cain now. And he is not even aware.”
     
    ********
     
     “Are you sure it was Adam Cain?”
    “Yes, my Elder. I cross-checked all references. He is traveling with Rayard Tarazi,” Senior Overlord Daven Kri reported.
    “It is pronounced Ree-odd,” Synnoc corrected. “You have them secured?”
    “They have just arrived at the local prison facility.”
    “Why are they on Visidor?”
    “The native enforcement officer said it is to assist in the release of a service repair crew and the ship they were towing at the time it was confiscated.”
    “What ship?”
    “It was rumored to be a smuggler’s vessel belonging to the Gradis Cartel, yet no contraband was found aboard.”
    Synnoc looked out the west windows of his office, which sat at the very pinnacle of the Malor Pyramid on Juir.