Jeridan tried to stay calm as Mikael slowed the bus and stopped a few meters in front of the pair of armored cars flanking the gate. An officer stood between them in the light blue uniform of the Royal Guard. The man waved, both a greeting and a command to stop, and then walked up to the bus.

"Hello, professor," the officer said. "We have been assigned to provide some extra security for your research center."

"This is the first I've heard of it," Mikael replied, his words coming out wary.

"Last minute arrangement. When we heard the Antikythera was arriving, we knew that it would be carrying important data. It's best that we keep things secure. Nothing to worry about."

Any time Jeridan heard a figure in authority say there was "nothing to worry about," he got worried. Especially when the statement was accompanied by a flat smile that was anything but friendly.

The officer stuck his head in the window and peered at everyone inside. After a moment he nodded and waved the bus on.

"Best of luck with your research, professor."

The gate opened and Mikael drove between the two armored cars. Jeridan felt hidden eyes upon them. Each armored car had a machine gun positioned next to the driver and a turret with a small cannon. Primitive stuff, but deadly enough.

Jeridan felt much better once the gate shut behind them.

"What was all that about?" Nova asked.

"Hopefully nothing," Mikael said.

"There hasn't been any civil unrest, has there?" Negasi asked.

"Not that I've heard," the archaeologist replied.

"Would you have?"

"Good point."

All the planet's media were strictly controlled, and personal communicators were monitored for revolutionary activity.

Derren/Mason hopped out as soon as the bus was parked next to a long, low building with a satellite dish on the roof.

"Let's focus on what we can control," he said, "getting the data processed and downloaded onto the comm probes."

"Right," Nova said in a businesslike manner, following her husband/son.

She carried a satchel containing four memory blocks, each the size of a brick. Helen had another satchel with four more. The complete data from the Imperium research station. They had decided not to let ZHI out of his confinement. Too much of a security risk. They would be in communication with him if they had any questions.

Jeridan and Negasi got out and studied their surroundings, a reflex action they made any time they arrived somewhere new.

The compound was dominated by the building they were heading to, which on closer inspection not only had a satellite dish, but several other antennae and sensors to make a top-of-the-line communication and monitoring center. A row of three smaller buildings further on looked like housing units, and there was a canteen and a garage off to one side. They saw no one around. Jeridan wondered if they were all working inside.

He got his answer as they passed through the front door into a large lobby. A crowd of fifty men and women, mostly humans but with a sprinkling of aliens, stood there. A big banner tacked to the wall said, "Welcome home, heroes!"

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

The crowd burst into applause. Jeridan beamed.

"Oh, thank you everyone. You really shouldn't have!"

He loved it when people threw surprise parties.

Especially when attractive women threw them. He saw one near the front of the crowd looking at him with open admiration.

He took her hand, "Captain James Nelson, commander of the Antikythera. We fought quite a lot of space battles to get to you, but it was all worth it."

He looked into her eyes and she smiled back. This disguise was working wonders!

"Pleased to meet you, Captain Nelson. I'm Patricia Metcalf, assistant programmer."

"Well, you've programmed a wonderful reception."

"Lame," Aurora muttered, passing by.

Jeridan ignored her. "We've brought a heap of data for you folks to analyze. I hope it won't keep you too busy to show me around. I've never been to this planet."

Patricia's smile warmed up. "I'm sure I can find some time."

Everyone was mingling. Jeridan and Patricia moved over to a table of refreshments. There were snacks and, even better, bottles of champagne. The local bubbly was pretty good. Big drinkers, the folks on Eridanus Delta. The rich drank because they were spoiled, and the poor drank because they were depressed.

Jeridan poured Patricia a glass, and then poured one for himself.

"So tell me more about your work," Jeridan said.

"My expertise is Imperium programming code. Mostly I look at corrupted code and figure out how to fix it."

Jeridan thought of ZHI, still stuck on the ship.

"Really? Sounds fascinating. We might have some extra work for you."

Patricia laughed. "Looks like you have a lot of extra work for me. Tell me about the Imperium station."

Jeridan began to tell her the exciting tale of fighting Imperium combat mechs and how he had single-handedly saved the entire mission. Just as he was getting to the good part, Mikael rang a fork against the side of his own champagne glass. The crowd quieted down.

"Hello, everyone! I'm Professor Mikael Chapek. Most of you I know, but some are new to me." He gave Patricia and a couple of others in the audience a nod. "I hope I'll get to know you all in time. We have a lot of work to do. It's going to be fun work, though!"

The crowd let out a cheer.

"Our mission was a stunning success. On Yavari Prime we found a well-preserved Imperium laboratory with hundreds of jump gate parts. In the Imperium station, the databanks were pristine. We have everything we need to bring the jump gates back online and usher in a new era for the galaxy!"

Everyone cheered. Patricia jumped up and down and clapped.

Jeridan gave the crowd a gracious bow. This applause was for him, after all.

Still, he didn't enjoy the moment as much as he should have, because he couldn't help but notice the important details Mikael had left out.

He had said nothing about the experimental miniature jump gates and he had said nothing about the two ZHIs.

Why was he keeping intel from his own people? Didn't he trust them? Was he treating them the same as Nova had treated Jeridan and Negasi?

All in the name of "security," of course. But then how the hell were these people supposed to do their jobs? Maybe the League segmented out the work so no one could see the big picture except for the higher-ups like Nova and Mikael?

He reminded himself that he and his partner needed to be careful. So far, there hadn't been any moves made against them. They had to make sure it stayed that way.

Mikael had finished his speech and everyone got back to talking and drinking. Jeridan glanced over at Negasi and saw him chattering away with Nova. Good. Maybe that idiot would learn something.

Jeridan got distracted by a warm hand on his arm.

Patricia.

"So tell me more about the Imperium station."

Jeridan continued his exciting tale of derring-do, in which he was the hero, of course. Patricia listened, eyes sparkling, entranced. She poured them both a second (third? He wasn't sure) glass of champagne.

"That's an amazing story," she said once he had reached the finale. "Weren't you scared when facing that combat mech?"

Jeridan stood a little taller, aided by the electronic disguise that added a couple of inches to his height.

"It not about being afraid. Anyone who tells you they weren't afraid in a situation like that is either crazy or a liar. It's about ignoring the fear and doing what needs to be done."

The look she gave them told him he had clinched the deal.

That got confirmed a moment later when she squeezed his arm and said, "You wanted a tour, so let me show you around our facilities. After that, you can show me the Antikythera."

Jeridan felt a little niggle of worry. "Sorry, but Mrs. Bradford has strict rules about who can come aboard."

Patricia shrugged. "That's understandable. Let me show you everything here."

She plucked a fresh bottle of champagne from the table, took his hand, and led him through the crowd and out of the room.

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