Tempest Rising

by Eric Warren

  Ronde shrugged. “We’re dead in the water at the moment, I had some time to spare.”

  Xax made a sound of disgust in her throat and raised one of her arms, activating her comm. “Captain, this is sickbay. I need to confirm you’ve ordered Box confined to quarters.”

  “Confirmed, sickbay. We can’t take any chances at the moment. Not until we know what’s going on,” Greene’s voice replied.

  Ronde turned back to Box, his smile wider than ever. “Are you going to be a problem or can we be civil about this? I can have a contingent of guards here in twenty seconds.”

  “Afraid I’ll break your spine?” Box asked, seething but unable to show it. “I know which vertebrae I’d need to shatter to rob you of your legs. Or your ability to pee.” He leaned closer to Ronde whose smile faltered for the first time. “Wanna test my knowledge?”

  “Box,” Xax said from behind him. “I’m sorry but this is Captain’s orders. I’m sure it’s only temporary and you’ll be back here shortly.”

  Ronde looked more triumphant than ever. He stuck his arm out toward the door. “After you,” he said.

  Box took one last look at the sickbay, all of the nurses and Xax staring at the scene before them. Even Zorres had turned from her chair. He wanted to smash something, or at least yell at the man wearing the shit-eating grin, but what choice did he have? Any outburst would be read as confirmation of their fears and without Cas he’d be taken down to one of the science labs and disassembled. It was a good thing they couldn’t see his fear.

  He walked ahead of Ronde out of sickbay without another word, accompanying him in the hallway where three other security guards waited for them. He didn’t even look back at Ronde; the man was just waiting for any excuse to bait or taunt him and Box wouldn’t give it to him. If Box couldn’t do the work he enjoyed he needed to figure out what had happened to Cas and why.

  And maybe that would keep him busy enough not to think about the humiliation he just suffered.

  22

  This was how he should have done it the first time. No Tempest, no Captain Greene, no other people to get in his way or trying to help him. The Coalition should have sent him in here alone.

  Cas regretted leaving Box behind but bringing him along only would have made them both targets and he was doing much better on Tempest by himself. Cas chuckled. Box still thought he didn’t know he was going down to sickbay every day. Frustrated with Laska last week Cas had come back early to find Box returning to the room ahead of him. The next morning, he tracked Box’s movements using the computer, and every morning since. It was always the same thing. He’d leave fifteen minutes after Cas left for the day, spend it in sickbay, then return fifteen minutes before Cas was due to end his bridge shift, where he’d arrange himself in the exact same position as he was in when Cas had left to give the illusion he hadn’t moved all day.

  He considered calling Box out on it a few times, but decided his friend would tell him when he was ready. Cas was glad whatever he was doing down there seemed to be working out for him. Had there been a problem there was no question he would have heard about it by now. Pulling him out of that to get his help to steal a shuttle wasn’t what was best for Box, and Cas could only hope he’d understand in the end. And Evie would take care of him; or at least she better. Cas put his chances at returning somewhere around twenty to twenty-five percent and if he didn’t come back they better not take it out on his partner.

  He took a breath and stood up, stretching. The shuttle wasn’t spacious but it wasn’t cramped either. Enough to walk around and stave off stiffness. A fair sight better than those Spacewing fighters, but then again people weren’t expected to spend hours upon hours in those at a time. His journey back to Sil space would take at least as twice as long due to the limited nature of the shuttle’s undercurrent drive. He couldn’t help but crack a smile. A Claxian wouldn’t even fit in here.

  He accessed the rear sensor panel to check on the breach from the Spacewing, finding it not as serious as he’d first thought. Calypso should have no trouble getting him where he needed to go.

  Cas returned to his seat, searching the shuttle’s database for anything interesting. He’d been quite proud of himself for out-maneuvering those fighters back there. Having barely piloted anything it was comforting with how easy the controls responded. But a Coalition ship was designed to be easy and comfortable. Back on the Reasonable Excuse if he’d wanted to hit the throttle and break right at the same time he either needed very long arms or two people manning the controls. Perhaps he wasn’t as bad of a pilot as he thought.

  Cas leaned back in his seat, watching the stars pulse by as the walls of the undercurrent enveloped the ship like a protective cocoon. It was so deceiving that way. If even one of his stabilizing emitters failed the wall of the undercurrent could collapse, crushing him at any moment. It had been a minor miracle Tempest hadn’t suffered more damage when the Sil ship knocked them out of the undercurrent. Somehow that ship had come up behind them with little warning. Like they’d known exactly where they would be. That was a trick Cas wouldn’t mind learning.

  “Maybe they’ll honor a last request,” he said to himself as he laid his head back and closed his eyes. Sleep came quick.

  ***

  He was awoken by a warning claxon followed by the shuttle lurching to one side throwing him from the seat. “Damn seatbelt,” he mumbled, pushing himself up and onto his knees. He was still in the undercurrent; somehow the blast hadn’t knocked him out. The scanners showed a large Sil ship behind him, just like what had happened on Tempest.

  Cas disengaged the drive, returning to normal space and upon checking the maps realized he was right at the edge of their territory. The large Sil ship exited after him, continuing to take shots at him but never hitting the shuttle. They seemed to be nothing more than warning shots. But he couldn’t take that chance. He tried making some maneuvers Box had showed him but the shuttle was slow to respond and despite the controls being easy to use, the ship just wasn’t doing what he wanted it to.

  Cas hit the comm, trying to send a broadband message but he didn’t get a confirmation of anyone receiving. “Pointless not to try anyway,” he said to himself before clearing his throat. “My name is Caspian Robeaux and I’m here representing the Coalition but I am not part of the Coalition. I was the person who sent the distress call seven years ago which resulted in your ship being saved.”

  The blasts around him stopped at once. “Wow. That was easi—” The ship jerked forward and Cas realized something had penetrated the hull. He tapped a few of the sensor cameras trying to get a good look at it when the ship jerked again. They’d hooked on to him somehow and despite the thrust of his engines he couldn’t pull away. He got a camera on the outside of the ship. Two long cables ran from the Sil ship to his hull where they had embedded themselves deep into the bulkheads with spikes.

  Cas couldn’t say he was surprised. He’d hoped to at least begin negotiations on the shuttle but there was no guarantee the Sil would work that way. And here was the proof. They would bring him in to interrogate him and that would be all she wrote. He hoped he’d be able to convince them of the impending threat before they sliced his head off. He just had to keep telling himself this was what he wanted. This was the only way.

  Panic seized his chest. What the hell was he doing? Sacrificing himself for the Coalition? That hadn’t been part of the plan. Somehow over the past couple of weeks Laska had wormed her way inside his head, made him think the Coalition was all that mattered. Had she brainwashed him? He couldn’t be certain but something was definitely wrong. This wasn’t how he was going to die.

  Grabbing the controls of the shuttle Cas turned it to face the way he was being pulled and hit the accelerator. The shuttle shot forward and the cables pulling him went slack, until he jerked the ship up, attempting to wrap the cables around the “nose” of the Sil ship, hoping perhaps they’d snap. The shuttle jerked again and Cas realized they’d embedded a third cable and
could now hold him in a steady position as they pulled him in.

  Cas hit the controls with his hands as they flashed off and back on again, sending out an error message. He turned to the front window of the shuttle. He could at least get an idea of what he was going into here.

  The Sil ship was sleek and black, like a series of knives held together by the handles. Exactly like he remembered from seven years ago. He wiped the sweat forming on his brow and took a breath. On the side of the ship he saw the same familiar purple symbol he’d seen in the video feeds. Just as expected. Whoever was on this ship they were obviously the designated “border patrol”, tasked with taking care of any errant Coalition units coming across their borders. Cas had to admit, they had been fast to stop him. Tempest was lucky to get out of here. If he hadn’t sent that comm if he would they still have spared him? They didn’t seem interested in destroying him as he skirted their border, only scaring him off otherwise they could have plowed one of their missiles directly into the side of the shuttle. So, what did they want? To extract information?

  The shuttle was pulled into a hangar not much larger than the shuttle itself. As soon as it was inside the hangar door closed sending the room into pitch black. The only lights were those inside the shuttle. Cas tried looking out through the windows but could see nothing. The only thing he could tell was the Sil did use artificial gravity because the shuttle was parked on something solid and wasn’t drifting in any direction. Either that or those cables they’d used to pull him in were stronger than they looked.

  The side doors to the shuttle opened without warning, causing Cas to jump back, pressing himself up against the main console. A figure stepped in, though it was unlike anything Cas had ever seen before. It was a bipedal creature, that much was clear, but as far as Cas could tell it had no face. It had a head, but where the face should be were only what looked like carvings or runes on a stone. As he looked further, the “carvings” were all over the creature, whose mono-color body didn’t seem to have a seam or break anywhere. Could this be the natural form of the Sil? Above the creature’s head was a small crystal or perhaps power source that glowed purple. It wasn’t bright though it did seem to pulse every few seconds. And it seemed to be suspended directly in front of the creature’s forehead, not actually touching anything.

  The creature reached out and Cas noticed it had five fingers on the end of its long hand which he found oddly comforting. Behind the creature some kind of molded cape came down the back and wrapped back up in the front, becoming part of the full body. The cape reminded Cas of insect wings.

  Unmoving, the creature held its hand out to Cas, as if to beckon him forward. He wasn’t sure how to react. “My name is Caspian Robe—” he stopped talking when the purple glowy thing in the creature’s head pulsed in rhythm with his words. Was that how they heard? But how could they see? Unlike the Claxians who were completely blind but had a large number of appendages and “feelers” this creature appeared to be not that different than any of the other bipedal races. The only difference was the distinct lack of a face. “I…uh…can you even understand me?”

  The figure—roughly two meters tall—stepped forward and grabbed Cas by the shoulder. Pain surged through the connection point as well as the strange sensation of something absorbing into him.

  “I understand you fine, you trash. Now come with me or suffer dismemberment,” a voice said. Cas glanced around, not sure of the source of the voice. It was as if it had come to him in his mind, but he’d definitely heard it as well. It had to be the creature; there was no one else around.

  “I’m here for formal negotiations,” Cas said. “I need to inform your people of a threat—”

  “Be quiet,” the voice warned, louder now. Cas stared at the creature who hadn’t moved other than putting its hand on him. He needed to do something.

  “I’m not in the Coalition anymore. I only represent them,” he said.

  “Final warning,” the creature said.

  Cas dropped his head and put his hands up, relenting. He couldn’t talk if he was dead. And the only way any of this would be worth it was if he made them understand before they killed him.

  That familiar panic shot through him again. Had this been worth it? Why had he run off half-cocked on some suicide mission? Laska must have done something to him; inserted some kind of programming in him. If he made it back he’d see that she and everyone she worked for would face the same consequences as Rutledge. But now he needed to focus on staying alive.

  Cas stepped out of the shuttle into the darkness. The only light in the room came from ahead of him where two more purple energies glowed. As he grew closer—his hands stretched out in front of him to keep him from smacking into the ground should he trip on anything—he realized the light sources belonged to two more Sil, flanking a doorway. Both these Sil looked different from the one who had come to retrieve him. They seemed to be made out of the same material, but it flowed and moved in different ways, neither of them with the insect wings on the back. And both of their head auras were slightly different as well; the energy patterns moving in different sequences and held by a different shape. They were mesmerizing in their own way.

  One turned before he arrived and walked ahead of them through the corridor beyond; the second waited until Cas had passed and fell into line behind them. It was so dark Cas could barely make out any details at all, but they were in some kind of hallway. He could see the walls and the but not the ceiling. Either the Sil also breathed oxygen or they’d created this environment for him; he couldn’t be sure. At some point the corridor curved to the right and Cas continued to follow the lead Sil. There was something very strange about this place, it felt different than where he’d parked the shuttle. It was as if when he passed through into the corridor everything changed, but he couldn’t tell how. Their footsteps were so quiet it was almost silent. And the air was devoid of any smell. It was as if it had been purified so it contained as few particles as possible.

  The corridor slanted up, causing him to work harder to get up the “hill”, though it didn’t slow down the Sil at all. Finally, they came to a door which they passed through into a long room. Despite its apparent size—as it was still dark as space—it felt claustrophobic. The Sil in front of him turned around, placing its hands with their long fingers on him. Cas glanced at both hands. “What…?”

  “Quiet,” a different voice said. The figure in front of him pushed him back to the wall, holding him there for a moment. As soon as the figure let go Cas attempted to relax, only to find his body immobilized.

  “Hey, I can’t, ungh, I can’t move.” It felt like his body was made of stone. His internal processes still working, but everything below his neck had frozen.

  “Wait here,” the voice said. The three Sil turned in unison and filed back through the doorway.

  “Wait. I need to speak with a representative, I have urgent information I need to relay.” But they were already gone.

  “Perfect,” Cas said, now enveloped in complete darkness. “Just perfect.”

  23

  Cas couldn’t tell how long the darkness enveloped him. He felt as if he was drifting into an infinite abyss. At one point he began to even question if he was on a ship at all. Perhaps he had died in the attack and this was whatever the afterlife was supposed to be. If he were alive shouldn’t he at least be able to hear the hum of an engine or the movement of plasma through a conduit?

  There was nothing. He’d close his eyes and open them again, hoping each time the nightmare would be over but to no avail. His appendages became sore, then tingled, then went numb. And at one point he needed to pee and had absolutely no way to mitigate the mounting pressure. All he could do was grit his teeth and bear down, praying to Kor he didn’t piss his pants on the first diplomatic contact between the Coalition and the Sil.

  When he wouldn’t be able to hold it any longer a pinpoint of purple light appeared to his right. The longer he stared at it the more he thought he was hallucina
ting. But no, it was really there and growing closer. Finally he saw the form the light belonged to: another Sil, though this one was bigger than the other three, by an order of magnitude. It was at least twice as wide and almost another half meter tall. And its purple head aura was more intense than the others; it glowed with a subtle brightness that hadn’t been present with the other Sil. Cas could only assume this was the…captain? Owner? Diplomat? It was impossible to tell.

  The Sil touched him on his shoulder. “You’re a human?” the voice asked. It was husky in a way, but with an undercurrent of empathy. Was it empathy? He couldn’t be sure, but there was something under there. Something he didn’t understand yet. But it sounded as if this person might be female, if the Sil even had genders.

  Cas nodded.

  “You have a buildup of waste,” the Sil said.

  Cas, embarrassed, tried to remember which of Laska’s classes covered normal bodily functions and how to deal with them in diplomatic contact.

  But only a moment after the voice had said it the pressure was gone. Cas tried to look down to see if he had let go all over the place only for the voice to return. “It’s been taken care of. Why are you here?” it asked.

  It’s been taken care of? What did they do, suck it out of my body?

  Now was his chance. “I’m here representing the Sovereign Coa—”

  “You said you weren’t part of the Coalition,” the voice said. Cas felt as if the faceless creature was boring into his mind. All that were present were the runes on its face, but Cas could almost feel it looking at him. He really wished he could see something else in the “room”. It would give him something else to focus on other than this strange…person.

  “I’m their representative. I was arrested and imprisoned after I helped save your ship.”

  The figure swayed. “You saved nothing. That ship was captured.”

  Dammit. They did know about the Achlys’s success in retrieving their ship. Rutledge’s arrogance was going to cost him his life. No sense in pretending he wasn’t aware of it. Cas narrowed his eyes. He couldn’t worry about Rutledge’s actions now; this might be his only chance. “I’ve come to warn you of a threat.”