Beyond Galaxy's Edge Read Free Page B

be after the fifty million e-creds.”
    Justyn whistled. That amount of money would tempt the scum of the galaxy.“But the document is worth far more than that, right? They could keep the document and sell it.”
    Dathan nodded. “Sure, but it would be difficult to fence something like that. Still, there’d be a few buyers willing to risk the wrath of the government, the Institute and the GSS to acquire it.”
    Eos made a frustrated noise. “Enough talk about money. The Constitution is more important than that.It is a vital piece of this galaxy’s history. One of the five documents that all our law is based on—”
    “She always like this?” Justyn asked.
    “Yep,” Dathan answered. When his wife jabbed her elbow in his ribs, he groaned. “I kind of like it.”
    Justyn had to admit, Eos Phoenix’s face had lit up during her impassioned little speech.
    She made noise in her throat. “I want that document returnedto the Institute, where it belongs.”
    “We’re too far away to catch the thief.” Dathan fiddled with the ends of Eos’s hair. “We’ve heard he’s headed to Galaxy’s Edge.”
    Eos leaned forward. “The finder’s fee will be yours. Please, find the Constitution.”
    Justyn looked at his brothers, eyebrows raised. This wasn’t their usual gig, but he had to admit he was tempted.
    Rynan shrugged and Daregave a slight nod.
    “Okay, we’ll do it,” Justyn said.
    Eos released a breath. “Thank you.”
    Justyn nodded. “So, who’s this thief and where do we find him?”
    “My informants tell me it’s a gridrunner by the name of Hewett Kenth.”
    “Kenth?” Justyn laughed. “No way Kenth could have pulled this off. Guy’s keen, has a good ship, but he couldn’t organize his way out of an empty space dock.”
    Dathanlooked thoughtful. “Someone else must be the brains behind this, but has handed it off to him.”
    “Who?” Dare’s voice was crisp.
    “No idea. I haven’t heard even the hint of a whisper. Only Kenth’s name came up, along with confirmation he’s been hightailing it through the quadrant on his way to the Edge.”
    Justyn stood. He’d wanted a distraction and finding a priceless galactic treasure was apretty damned good one. “Any idea when Kenth will turn up?”
    “Yep. Based on his last verified location, four hours ago, he’s about an hour away from the space station.”
    Justyn locked gazes with his brothers. “Do we wait for him here or intercept?”
    Rynan shook his head. “I wouldn’t risk waiting. He could hand it off before we get to him or change course to meet someone off-station.”
    Justynagreed. “I’ll get the Mercury ready to head back out. I think you two should stay here in case I somehow miss Kenth.” Justyn tossed a salute at his cousin’s wife. “Dr. Rai-Phoenix, I’ll get that document for you.” He winked. “Maybe I’ll be better at this treasure hunting thing than Dathan and his brothers.”
    Dathan rolled his eyes and gave Justyn the finger.

Chapter Three
    “Captain, we’ve picked up the Trader’s Dart on sensors.”
    Nissa stood behind her chair on the bridge, gripping the back of the seat. “Let’s catch ourselves a thief, Lieutenant Allard.”
    “Hang on a second—” Gavin tapped at his screen “—there appears to be another ship with the Dart .”
    Nissa’s gut tightened. “What?”
    “No, wait…it’s gone. There’s sensor interference from electromagneticradiation emissions from a nearby pulsar. It’s playing havoc with my readings.”
    Possibly another ship? Nissa frowned, a knot forming in her stomach. Well, there wasn’t much she could do until they reached the Trader’s Dart .
    “Hold course. And let’s squeeze a little more speed out of engineering.”
    “Yes, Captain.”
    They’d spent hours searching the area out of Galaxy’s Edge for Kenth’s ship.She wasn’t going to let him or the Constitution get away.
    Nissa pictured handing over the document to Admiral DeRuyter and finally getting a