last opponent brought her some semblance of calm, allowing her to have a couple of minutes of an interesting fight. Winning didn’t ease her pain and she didn’t even smile, when Sierra walked up, raising her hand up, announcing her as the winner.
Not really interested, Ghost agreed to be represented by the woman, understanding that it would be easier to find more interesting matches instead of the rookies she could challenge on her own.
Sierra introduced Pauliss – the very same man who was rude to Ghost when she was signing into the tournament – as her assistant and the fighter thought if that would bring any problems in the long run. Still, she signed the contract to be represented by Sierra and her local fighting career began, as she appeared in the club every week to fight whoever Sierra or Pauliss found for her.
Slowly getting into the routine, Ghost began to find some solace in the fact that she was no longer bothered by people to find out what she felt – Sierra and her assistant were more worried if she was able to fight. And that was no problem for her at all.
By the time a few weeks passed, Sierra understood the potential of having Ghost fighting more often and it was exactly what the woman fighter wanted.
Chapter 4. Trace
«Active Captain Lindon…» Lyssa’s voice tore Lindon out of his sleep.
«What is it?» the man growled.
«I believe you need to see this…» the AI said, switching on the screen near his bed.
Lindon wiped his face, trying to shake off the remnants of sleep from his eyes, and understand what exactly he was looking at.
On the screen was a short video of a fight going on in one of the many cages that were scattered all over the human colonies in the known Universe. In it was a very athletic woman, arms covered in intricate tattoos, and a large man. By the way both moved Lindon understood that they were both Veluthians – their manner of hand-to-hand combat was definitely belonging to that of Velutha.
«And what am I supposed to see here?» Lindon frowned, still barely awake.
«The female fighter is known as the Silver Ghost. Look at her closely.» the AI said.
Lindon squinted, studying the woman. Though she moved fast, he suddenly caught glimpse of her face and his jaw dropped.
«Serena…» he exhaled.
«Exactly.» Lyssa said. «This video was intercepted from a passing Laithorian Space Ship half an hour ago.»
«And it took you that long to wake me up?» Lindon jumped out of his bed, quickly getting some clothes on.
«I was scanning the ships logs for directions where it came from and what was the origin of this video. According to my analysis, the video came from Daruta, from one of the clubs located in the fighting district in Demogen city.»
Lindon darted out, immediately pommelling at Wolfin’s door:
«Wolfin! Get your ass up!» Lindon screamed.
The door slipped open to a very irritated looking man, who grasped at the sheet on his waist – a newly obtained habit since Kayla loved appearing at the most unexpected of times:
«What the fuck got you so riled up at this hour?» Wolfin growled.
«We found her!» Lindon nodded aside. «Get dressed, we’re going after her.»
Wolfin’s face lengthened, surprised to hear such news:
«Wait! You found Serena? Or Falana?»
«Serena! Get dressed! Meet me at the bridge!» Lindon hurried away. «Lyssa! Connect me to Cipher!»
«Yes, sir!» the AI replied.
As Lindon ran over to the bridge, he was already anticipating seeing Serena again. He didn’t care for her reasoning behind leaving them – he knew very well what urged her to do that. But what he was more worried about was the fact that she left when she needed them most.
Within half an hour the crew of MSS Lyssandra was gathered and ready for the jump. And SS Growler was notified of the new development and sent the information – in case Cipher and his crew won’t be able to follow up on their own chase and search for Falana and her associates.
And though Lindon and Wolfin were eager to find Serena, Laneth was hesitant, understanding that their Captain might still be hurting from the loss they took from their last encounter with Falana.
The woman glanced at Kayla, who followed her even though the girl was still half-asleep. The child lay curled up on Laneth’s lap and fell back into slumber, but for some reason Laneth knew what the girl could say.
Over the time that passed, she heard it more than once – Kayla made it evident that she knew the reasons for Serena’s disappearance.
«When we arrive, Laneth…» Lindon caught the mechanic’s gaze. «I will need you to help Lyssa sift through the articles and reports on the fighting clubs in Demogen.»
Laneth nodded, accepting her role. If she could – she would help them in any way she could, however unsure she was of their wish to get Serena back.
Perhaps, she thought, it was better for Serena to grieve on her own. Perhaps, this way she didn’t need the sedatives she’s been using while she was still aboard the ship.
But she kept those thoughts to herself, realising that the Veluthian men probably won’t listen to her – just like they didn’t listen to Kayla, when she asked them to leave Serena be for some time.
Arriving in Daruthian orbit, Laneth kept thinking that Serena must have chosen this planet for a reason. This way she could easily send them word whenever she would be feeling better – after all, they did visit Velutha from time to time to see if there were any updates from the Empress’ men.
Laneth still felt a pinch of guilt, knowing they never told the Empress that Serena was nowhere near MSS Lyssandra for the past couple of months. Though, this wasn’t an issue – at least, not to Laneth’s knowledge.
Undergoing the usual check and passing it easily – this was thanks to the Imperial decree that allowed them to visit any planet within the Laithorian Empire without any sophisticated checks or usual questions about their business – they descended to Demogen city and rented a parking plot in the nearest space port. With the Decree and available funds they could stay there as long as they liked – most of the rental price was always covered due to them being in direct employ of the Empress.
Laneth glanced at the Veluthians and for a moment thought if she could persuade them to wait and, perhaps, allow her to talk to Serena instead. Seeing how tense the men were, she decided to keep quiet – the two were obviously in no mood to discuss the matter further.
With a sigh, the woman caressed Kayla’s hair, watching her sleeping, and thinking about how drastic their life became with the job they found themselves on. If it weren’t for Falana and her crazy experiments – Hunter would have still been alive. And Serena could still be happy.
«Laneth!» Lindon’s voice made her flinch and Kayla grumbled
