Waking in the Stars (Marston Chronicles Book 2)
Page 34
Aboard the Star Killer
The monstrous alien dreadnaught powered towards the Cencore gate. All human ships fled, like small fish running from the giant predator. The lone, Mortek warship owned Bridgelen’s space and it knew it. Bright running lights lit up the dark. Weapons bristled over the giant orb. The bright, burning gasses of its exhaust ports spewed particulates kilometers behind, as it fought to gain maximum speed.
“Captain, no sign of the crippled human ship.”
“Full scans? All bands?”
“Yes, Captain. Only asteroids. I have analyzed all of the fleeing soft skin ships. None of them match the profile. Also, the speeds are too great.”
“I wonder if the pink skins scuttled their ship. Could they have used it as the explosion which destroyed my convoy?”
“Possible, Captain.”
“Review the recordings around the gate. Determine if you can locate any debris not Mortek.”
“Your will, Captain.”
The Captain of Star Killer waited. After a time, Sensor gave his report.
“No soft skin debris, My Captain.”
The Mortek captain raised his head cone to emphasize his point. “Then it is still out here. No matter. War has tasked us with securing the soft skin gate leading to their seat of power. Continue. If the ship attempts to enter the gate, we will destroy it.”
Aboard Odin
Fourteen days later, Vice-Admiral Weiskoff held his standard position aboard Odin, staring out the forward view screen as the flat gray of the wormhole blinked into the black space and bright star of Corrinar. The lone warship pushed deeper in, with its captain secure in the knowledge that no pursuers chased them down.
“Well, Captain, back again. Gregor’s back yard. I wonder where he fled to. Status?”
“A moment.” After listening to reports from Odin’s repair crew, Captain Brewer continued, “All damage capable of being repaired while under power are completed. All weaponry loaded with remaining ordinance. One more big battle and we’re dry. Hull and shield damage requires a shipyard.”
“Thank you, Captain. Continue steaming towards Corrinar’s star. We will hide in its corona.”
“Captain?”
“Yes, Mr. Bradley?”
“I’ve been monitoring traffic patterns and comparing them to previous trends.”
“And?”
“Something funny is going on. There seems to be an inordinate number of ships moving towards the Arium gate.”
“What kind of ships?”
“From their I.D.’s, mostly freighters. And mining tugs. A few fast transports.”
“Vice-Admiral?”
“Com them. Let’s see what they’re up to.”
“Sir. Mr. Connors, set up a video link with the largest freighter. Have it directed to my ready room.”
“Aye, aye, sir.”
“Vice-Admiral?”
“I’ll be along shortly. Mr. Clark, would you sit in, please.”
By the time Weiskoff reached the Captain’s ready room, His First Officer had found a seat and contact had already been established. Taking a place in front of the large view screen, Lieutenant Clark saw an older man, grey-bearded, with sharp eyes.
“Vice-Admiral, this is Captain Adams of the heavy freighter, Fairstar. Captain Adams, this is Vice-Admiral Weiskoff of the Federacy Space Force.”
“An honor, Vice-Admiral.”
“Thank you, Captain. Why are you heading to Arium?”
“Ah, quick and to the point. Hauling goods, Admiral.”
“What’s in Arium that’s causing all these ships to head there?”
“It’s the Governor of Latina. Apparently there’s some push on construction and building. He’s ordered equipment and material from all over the system. And the shipping rates are good. So, here I am, hauling cargo to Arium.”
“Thank you, Captain. We’ll let you get on with it.”
Once the connection ended, Weiskoff, Brewer and Clark all looked at each other.
“Something’s up, David.”
“You could say that, Theodore.”
“It’s that weasel, Sheldon Moreno. Him and that whole planet. All crooks. He’s planning something. Something sneaky.”
“That’s my bet.”
“Well, since that’s where the action is, that’s where we’re going. David, belay the command to sail towards Corrinar’s star. Set a heading for Arium.”
“On it.”
Oishi Scout Team
Without a ripple, Taketa broke the surface of the lake, scanned his destination and determined it still stood clear. Slowly rotating, he observed the bug-like aliens as they continued to search the area of his and Juro’s previous camp. After completing his visual assessment, he again sank into the lake’s depths.
Facing his mappai, Taketa signed, “All clear. Follow.”
Taketa turned and slowly kicked towards the intended beach, secure in the knowledge that Juro followed. Reaching shore, the Nightshade leader slowly crawled up the sand, around a rock and settled in. Juro quickly followed.
After pulling off his pack and unloading his tablet, Taketa activated the formerly hidden drone and looked down on the searching aliens. One stood on the shore, waved its arm at the rock hiding the two Sasanians. Still watching, he saw other creatures join the one on the beach and continue the conversation. One pulled some sort of device from his belt and held it to its snout.
“They know where we are. Time to move.”
Both Nightshades pulled off their water suits, packed those, strapped on their packs and flipped the switches on their chameleon suits. Two stealthy infiltrators, their gear and their weapons disappeared, becoming nothing but shimmering light. Taketa kept his tablet handy, periodically activating its screen and looking through his drone’s eyes.
Without his years of training and discipline, Taketa would have become anxious, maybe alarmed. He saw another alien team, eight well-armed soldiers and one strange one.
The strange one didn’t walk upright, on the four legs attached to the abdomen. It walked on all six appendages, using its manipulators to feel the ground as it searched going forward. Periodically, it would extend its pink, tubular tongue and touch it to a spot or lick another.
“Another patrol,” Taketa signed. “It has some kind of tracker alien. Coming this way.”
“Orders?”
“Move inland. Drop a snuffer every kilometre.”
Complying, Juro reached back, blindly zipped open a side pocket, withdrew a small disk and activated it. Setting it on the ground, he covered it with sand and carefully moved away.
“Completed, Sousui”
Taketa didn’t bother to respond. He just moved out, quickly, silently and invisibly. Watching the ground swirl in front of him, Juro followed behind.
To Be Continued
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Read farther for a snippet of Marston Chronicles, Book 3 – Meeting in the Stars.
Elonia
Cold. Just below freezing. The landing pad, itself, wore a covering of ice and snow. A tower, five stories high and a city block square, squatted at the edge of the landing port. Metal antenna, glistening from their shells of ice crystals, spiked its dome. Lights flashed and swirled, denoting its location.
The Wisdom Seeker’s royal shuttle descended, blasting rockets of hot air, melting and breaking the sheath of ice covering its assigned landing pad. Frozen remnants and water vapor clouded into the freezing air, partially hiding the landing. Eventually the constantly blowing, biting Elonian winds dispersed the artificial cloud, revealing the now-grounded space shuttle.
The runners on the armed escort vehicles cut through the ground ice as the five heavily-armored vehicles skated
towards the landed shuttle. Bracketed by this defensive encompassment, the royal limousine carried the King, Queen and brother to meet their daughter and sister. Another, less ostentatious limousine followed. Ice bolts extended from the undercarriages of all six vehicles, at first scraping, then gouging into the ice, bringing the royal procession to a stop, well short of the space craft.
Forty Royal Guardsmen leaped from the five armored vehicles, finding purchase with their foot claws digging into the ice. Holding the same strange weapons which first appeared on Wisdom Seeker, the elite Royal Guardsmen formed a double line leading from the shuttle to the royal limo.
“Sorry about all this,” Princess Analyn mindspoke to all as she and her own entourage waited for the shuttle’s ramp to lower. Vidhee passed the telepathic apology to Buster and Krag. Buster passed it to Keiko, Mack and Sue, via their personal coms.
“Not a problem, Your Highness. We go through the same pomp with our royalty and dignitaries on all of our planets.”
“Thank you, Ambassador Suzume.”
“Just speaking the truth, Your Highness.”
The shuttle ramp dropped. The shuttle’s occupants waited. The royal footman jumped out of his side of the limo, raced around its trunk and opened the double doors leading to the royal personage’s compartment.
King Kaporine exited first. As he had done a million times before, the King reached, flicked and rotated the palla of his toga so that it draped elegantly over his furred arm. Turning, the King extended his paw to his queen, his wife. Taking her husband’s paw, she elegantly rose. Prince Daruke followed. The three formed a triangle with the King at point. After majestically walking to the midpoint, the three stopped.
The Royal Family’s stopping gave the signal.
Princess Analyn walked down the ramp first, accompanied by Honorable Vidhee and Ambassador Suzume. Wisdom Seeker’s Captain Kakkarna and Griffin’s Captain Marston came next. Gopai followed one step back and one step to Krag’s right, placing the young Elonian equidistant between the two captains. The Wisdom Seeker’s own triangle finished with Mack and Sue bookending Buster.
The leader of the Royal Guardsmen stepped out of line and addressed his princess.
“I am sorry, My Princess. But the human synthetic, Buster, is not allowed to approach His Majesty.”
That brought Princess Analyn’s procession to a stop. “That is absurd. Buster is a cherished member of Griffin’s crew. And my friend. Honorable Vidhee’s friend.”
The flustered commandant, replied, “Yes, My Princess. I understand, My Princess. But Prince Daruke has ordered this.”
“We’ll see about this!” Princess Analyn’s bull-headedness came out, full force. Before she could take a step, Vidhee placed an artificial paw on her arm.
“Prince Daruke is just being cautious, My Princess.” As Vidhee spoke, Princess Analyn flashed daggers at her brother. “Buster is a very different being. A synthetic with battle algorithms. There will be fear. I will remain with Buster. I will insure that nothing happens to my friend.”
Only slightly mollified, Princess Analyn acquiesced. “I’m going to have a word with father.”
Vidhee moved back to stand at Buster’s side. The two stopped. The rest continued. They reached the proper distance and held. Princess Analyn bowed deeply.
“Your Grace.”
King Kaporine only slightly bowed.
“Princess Analyn.”
They both straightened.
“Now that that’s over with, come here, Little Flame.”
Analyn rushed into her father’s arms and received her first loving hug in a long time. Queen Naliana’s hug came next.
Turning to the Prince, still with anger in her eyes, the Princess acknowledged, “Brother.”
“Sister.” He hid his disdain and haughtiness very well.
“Well, daughter, bring on your Humans.”
Princess Analyn sent a telepathic command to her ship’s captain. The Elonian led the humans and Gopai up to his Princess. They all went through the same presentation ritual as they previously did. But this time, in person and without the banter. At the end of the re-introductions, King Kaporine gave a long look at Gopai.
“I am really glad these heater shields work, Cap,” Mack whispered as they all were led to the royal limo.
“You and me both,” Krag responded as he noticed the guard formation separating him and his people from Buster and Vidhee.
“Buster, be ready. I don’t know what’s going on here.”
“I was born ready, Cap.”
“More Mack. Great.”
“Vidhee and I have had a good conversation. They won’t do anything with you. It turns out that the Honorable Vidhee, one of only eleven level one synthetics on the entire planet, and a judge on the Monarchal Legal court is now my hostage. She will remain aboard Griffin until all of you return. In good health, I might add.”
“Good to know, old friend. I’ll pass that on.”
“See you when I see you.”
Again, Krag just shook his head in resignation. Dropping back from Captain Kakkarna, he aligned himself with Keiko.
“We’re all good, Keiko. It seems Vidhee made a play. Her staying with Buster insured that nothing bad is going to happen to us. So, you’re free to do your thing.”
“That’s a relief. A little worried there.”
“Nope. Let’s just play this out. Get home.”
By this time the troupe arrived at the limos. Buster and Vidhee stood at the base of the shuttle’s ramp, watching the royal footman help the royal family, including Princess Analyn into the royal limousine. The two synthetics watched four of the Royal guardsmen help Krag, Keiko Mack, Sue and Krag’s vassal into the second one. Then they saw the four Elonian guards follow their charges in, take up their seats and insure that nothing happened during the ride to the palace.