CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
She floated in the void, a realm of darkness and light blended in chaos.
She was flesh and scale. She was consciousness and meat. She was serpent and simian. She was Xerka, queen of the basilisks. And she would live.
She watched her flagship destroyed. She watched many of her precious Rattlers burn. She watched the apes gloat, smug with their victory.
Yes, the humans won this battle. But Xerka knew the war was hers.
When the scaly warship approached her, when the basilisks pulled their queen into the hull, they found her smiling.
She was hurt. Maybe badly. But the Harmonians inside her, the creatures she had enslaved, would heal her. She crawled toward the bridge of the Rattler. She saw that the ship was fleeing the humans.
"Mistress." The basilisk pilots knelt before her. "Shall we return to battle?"
It took only moments. A few swipes of her claws. A few bites with her powerful jaws. And the cowards were dead. Xerka would allow no cowards in her army.
She took control of the Rattler, and she turned the ship around.
But she did not fly back to face Rowan and Bay. No, let that small human fleet languish in darkness for now. She would destroy them in time. Nor did Xerka fly to Earth. Ten thousand Rattlers already surrounded that planet, ready to open fire.
Xerka had a more important task now.
The Galactic Council was gathering in only a few days. If she flew fast enough, she would get there in time.
It would be there that Xerka would deliver the final blow to humanity. It would be there that she had her ultimate revenge.
"You hurt me, Rowan," Xerka said as the stars streamed outside. "And so I will kill you last. I will exterminate every other human—and make you watch. And finally, when you are begging for death, I will devour you. And then truly, my sweet daughter, we will be one."
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
They glided through space in a tin can, heading toward a blue star.
"There it is," Leona said. "Tangaroa. New seat of the Galactic Council. The center of the galaxy."
The blue star had many names. Humans had named it Tangaroa after an ancient deity of the sea. It was an ordinary system, ignored throughout history. No intelligent life had ever risen here. No empires had ever fought over its planets. That made it perfect for the New Galactic Order. It was here that the Milky Way's civilizations could forge a new start.
"The others are arriving," Tom said. "Look."
Hundreds, maybe thousands of lights shone around them, heading toward the star. The ants had installed a rudimentary telescope in their capsule, and Leona peered through the lens. Spaceships of every kind were flying all around. Spaceships from a panoply of civilizations. They ranged from dreadnoughts the size of villages to pods the size of shoe boxes. Some ships were spiky, others smooth. Some ships were made of metal, others of stone, and some of hardened organic shells. Many ships were filled with air, others with water. Some contained biological life, others robots. Thousands of alien worlds had sent their ambassadors.
Here, at Tangaroa, they would recreate the galaxy.
Leona lowered her head. "We should have spent the past year meeting with these species at their homeworlds. Lobbying for votes. Sharing humanity's tale of suffering and nobility. Instead we were stuck with a bunch of ants. Tom, can we still do this?"
He looked at her with kind eyes, and he took her hand. "I don't know. But we still have a fighting chance. We can still share our story."
Leona looked at all the other spaceships. The vessel she flew was, by far, the most primitive. After all, she had built it herself within only a year. Well, with help from the ants. It was horribly cramped inside. Leona had been stuck here with Tom for two weeks. By now, both were suffering from serious cabin fever. They had been bickering. Going mad. There was barely any food, absolutely no privacy, almost no sanitation. Over the past few days, both had felt their sanity fraying. Their minicoms offered some entertainment—movies, books, music. And they had exercised however they could. Still, by now both were ready to kill each other. Both knew that the trip had damaged their bodies and minds.
But they were finally here.
The journey was ending—and hopefully Earth's new golden age would begin.
Leona doubted the ant capsule could actually land. The thing could barely even fly. With the crude radio, Leona broadcast a signal across the system, sticking out a metaphorical thumb.
"Can anyone offer two humans a lift?"
The alien ships ignored her. Many, Leona was sure, were tempted to blast the capsule out of the sky.
"We humans defeated the Hierarchy," Leona muttered. "We saved the galaxy from the Skra-Shen. Yet even now, they hate us."
Tom nodded. "For thousands of years, they learned that humans are demonic, a pestilence, the enemy of civilization. It'll take a while to change hearts and minds. That's why we're here. To speak up for our kind."
Several signals were arriving from other ships, flashing across the capsule's monitor.
Filthy apes, begone!
Who let the pests in?
The scorpions should have finished the job.
Leona sighed. "We have our work cut out for us."
One ship came flying toward them, and Leona tensed, worried it would attack. She adjusted her telescope, and the ship came into focus. It was a silvery, dagger-shaped starship, graceful and glimmering.
An Aelonian ship, Leona knew.
She breathed out in relief.
A transmission reached her minicom.
She accepted the call. A familiar face appeared on her monitor. The alien had transparent skin, revealing glowing blood and organs. The skull was formed of pale crystal. It was a visage Leona had always found disturbing yet oddly beautiful.
"Admiral Melitar!" she said. "It's good to see you, my friend."
Melitar smiled. Or at least, gave the Aelonian analogy, which involved orange bubbles forming behind his skin.
"It is Emperor Melitar now," he said, and his blood turned indigo. "Though the title seems a bit outdated, given that we've lost most of our empire in the war."
Leona nodded. Yes, Aelonia had once been a mighty empire, its silvery ships reaching the far corners of the galaxy. At its height, it had ruled a quarter of the Milky Way. But the great Galactic War had decimated these glowing humanoids. Most of their planets had burned.
If she were honest, it was hard for Leona to feel sorry for Aelonia. She felt a little guilty about this, but couldn't deny it. After all, throughout history, the Aelonians had hunted humans. Had driven them into hiding. Had slaughtered entire human communities. The blood of countless humans stained their alien hands.
Yet during the war, both races had found a common enemy. They had fought the scorpions together. And Melitar, despite his people's tradition of hatred, had shown humanity great kindness. Leona trusted him. She had not known Melitar had risen to command his race. But she was glad to hear it.
"Would you give us a ride, my friend?" she said. "I doubt our ship can handle atmospheric entry."
Melitar nodded. "I'm surprised you even made it this far. I'll send out a shuttle to pick you up."
A few moments later, Melitar greeted Tom and Leona at the airlock of his starship, the long and silvery Iliria. The Aelonian gave them both warm embraces.
"Welcome, my friends!" said the luminous alien. "It is good to see you. We have much to discuss, I know. But first—rest from your long journey. Refresh yourselves. The Council vote is not until tomorrow. We will come up with a plan."
He accompanied them through his starship. The Iliria had no installed lightning, for the Aelonians glowed, filling the ship with their own light. The walk was strenuous. Leona had spent two weeks in zero gravity, trapped in a tin can. Walking down the corridors, her muscles protested every step. But here was a ship of opulence. She spent a luxurious hour under a hot shower—her first true shower in ages—while robots laundered her clothes. Tom emerged from
his shower with his face clean-shaven, his silvery hair cropped short and neatly combed.
"We look like humans again," Leona said.
Tom nodded. "Hopefully that's a good thing."
A willowy Aelonian accompanied them into a terrarium. Glass panels afforded a view of the stars. Trees grew from pots, their fruit luminous. Small aliens, similar to dragonflies, fluttered between the branches on lavender wings. Robed servants set a table with a feast. Leona recognized none of the foods, but they all smelled delicious.
Melitar joined them for dinner. Leona and Tom devoured their food, barely pausing for breath. Both were famished. But Melitar ate little, instead sharing his tale.
"These are dangerous times," he said. "The Aelonian Empire was once the mightiest in the galaxy. But we lost most of our power. Our homeworld, the beautiful Aeolis, burned. Our fleets shattered. With the help of humanity, we won the war. To be more precise: Humans won the war while we helped. But it left my people weak. The future of Aelonia is uncertain. We too are worried about the vote. We too hope to cling to whatever worlds we still can."
"We humans only want one world," Leona said around a mouthful of sweet alien fruit. She gulped and took a sip of hot, velvety liquid. "We don't want an empire. We only want one planet among billions."
Melitar nodded. "And you deserve it, my friends. I will vote for you myself. A vote from an emperor, especially the emperor of Aelonia, carries weight. And before the vote, I will speak for humanity. I will tell the Council how you fought courageously at my side. How Ayumi, a brave human, destroyed the scorpion fleet. How Rowan, just as brave, slew the scorpion emperor. How Emet Ben-Ari, a good friend of mine, fought honorably alongside Aelonia. And how you, Leona and Tom, are among the noblest warriors I know. The other aliens might scorn you. But they will listen to me. I cannot promise you that I'll change every heart and mind. But I can promise you that few aliens will dare break rank with Aelonia, even in our weakened state." He smiled. "I believe that you can win. That the Council will award Earth to humanity."
Leona sighed with relief. "Thank you, my friend."
Melitar turned toward the terrarium's glass walls. "Ah, look outside! It appears before us. The new center of the galaxy."
A planet shone outside, covered in water aside from a handful of islands. Here was Tangaroa Ceti, a neutral world with no native civilization. Thousands of ships were orbiting the planet. Every spacefaring species in the galaxy had come to the Council.
"The voting begins in ten of your Earth hours," Melitar said. "I have a cabin for you on this ship, where you can rest. Tomorrow we'll fly down there together. And a new dawn will bring a new day."
The cabin was cozy, but it seemed palatial compared to the ant capsule. The blue light of Tangaroa streamed through the porthole. There was only one bed.
"I'm sure that after weeks in our tin can, you're sick of me," Tom said.
She nodded. "I am. And you're sick of me. But here we are again, stuck together in a tiny room."
"I'm not sick of you," Tom said.
Leona blinked. "Sure you are! I drive you nuts. I snore. And I bicker. And I chew too loudly."
"Truly, a horror to rival Xerka herself," Tom said.
Leona turned toward the porthole. She gazed out at that blue world. "I wonder if she'll come here too. Xerka."
Tom came to stand beside her. They watched the ocean world for a while. And then Tom did something that surprised Leona. He stroked her hair. She let him do it. He passed his fingers again and again through her brown curls. She turned toward him, and he kissed her.
They made love in the light of a blue world. His body was hard, muscular, the body of a man who had been fighting for long years. Both their bodies were scarred. The bodies of soldiers. Both were no longer youths; she was in her early thirties now, Tom in his mid-forties. But their lovemaking felt virginal to Leona. It too was a new dawn. A new life of hope. Of healing.
And of happiness, she thought.
Afterward, she snuggled up against him, and he held her in his strong arms. She kissed his cheek.
"I know that you don't believe we can be happy again, Tom Shepherd," she said. "But right now, I'm happy."
He held her close. "So am I, Leona Ben-Ari. So am I."
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Tom woke up early. He lay for a moment in bed, gazing at the beautiful woman beside him. Leona seemed so peaceful in her sleep. Her dark curls spread across the pillow, and her cheek rested on her palm.
I love you, Leona, he thought. For a long time, I didn't think I could ever love another. I lost so many loved ones. I wrapped my heart in iron. But here, you're not the Iron Lioness. I am not a man with an iron heart. Here in this bed, we are a man and woman. Humans. And I love again.
He checked his minicom. There were still three hours before the Council.
Silently, Tom rose from bed and dressed, letting Leona sleep. He padded through the shadowy halls of the Iliria, this graceful starship, making his way toward the terrarium. He had spent so long in space. He needed to sit among trees, even trees that grew from pots, and play his flute, if only for a few moments.
He entered the terrarium and inhaled deeply, savoring the scent of trees. He walked among them, seeking a place to sit, when he heard a soft chinking, then a loud series of cracks.
Tom frowned. He stepped around a few trees, following the sound, and froze.
His heart burst into a gallop.
Oh Ra.
Xerka, Queen of the Basilisks, was here aboard the Aelonian ship.
The queen had not seen him, and Tom retreated behind a bole. He peered between the branches, heart hammering.
The basilisk's long, scaly body was coiled, shifting and tightening. More cracks sounded from within. Finally Xerka uncurled her body. A corpse thudded onto the deck, its crystal bones shattered. The body stared with glassy eyes toward Tom.
Tom recognized the corpse.
It was Melitar.
Tom struggled to control his breathing. To make no sound. Xerka had still not noticed him. His mind reeled, and his heart kept hammering.
Several Aelonians emerged from behind trees and approached Xerka. Tom dared to feel relief, hoping the Aelonians would slay the basilisk queen. But they greeted her with satisfied nods.
One of the Aelonians was particularly tall and gaunt, even for his kind. He wore flowing burgundy robes and a hood. All Aelonians had transparent skin, revealing glowing organs. But while Melitar had glowed blue and silver, this Aeolian had insides the color of flame. He seemed nothing like the beautiful, ethereal Melitar and more like a fiery demon, his insides a vision of inferno.
Xerka smiled at the robed Aelonian.
"I have done as you asked, my dear Valik," the basilisk empress said. "Now will you grant my wish? You will vote for me in the Council?"
Valik stared with red, glittering eyes. "I will vote for Aelonia alone. My fatherland. The humans destroyed our grand empire. And so I will destroy them. It so happens our interests align, Xerka the snake. But never think that I serve you. My only goal, my only passion—is the destruction of humanity."
Xerka's grin widened. Her forked tongue slipped between her fangs and flicked. "Then we will be the closest of allies, my dear Valik. Together, we will purify this galaxy."
Tom's heart sank to his pelvis.
The cosmos seemed to be shattering around him.
We have to get off this ship, he thought. My Ra.
He took a few steps back, still hiding, when his boot snapped a twig.
Xerka spun around and stared, red eyes narrowing.
She saw him. Her smile widened into a toothy grin. The Aelonians spun around too.
"Hello, human pest!" Xerka cried.
Tom drew his pistol and fired.
His bullets slammed into Xerka and shattered against her scales. Her face changed, all amusement leaving it. Her jaw unhinged, becoming huge, larger than Tom's entire head. She lunged, claws extended.
Tom had never run from
a fight.
But humanity needed him.
Humanity needed him below on that watery world, speaking on its behalf.
He knew he could not kill Xerka. So today Tom did something he had never imagined.
He ran.
He reached the corridor, then turned and fired again, shattering the terrarium's transparent walls.
The vacuum began sucking out the air, uprooting trees, filling the terrarium with shards of glass and wood and storming soil. Somewhere in the maelstrom, Xerka screeched.
Tom ran down the corridor and burst into his cabin.
Leona was against the wall, wearing the shirt and boxer shorts she had slept in. An Aelonian soldier stood before her, raising a dagger.
Tom fired, splattering the Aelonian's brains across the wall.
"We're getting out of here," Tom said. "To the hangar!"
Leona grabbed her rifle from under the bed. They ran into the hallway, only to see Xerka storming toward them, her scaly body rippling, her jaws obscenely extended. Saliva dripped between her fangs.
Both humans fired. The bullets slammed into Xerka, shoving her back, but barely seemed to hurt her.
Leona sneered and began charging toward the basilisk queen, but Tom grabbed her.
"Humanity needs us at the Council!" he said. "We can't help Earth by dying here!"
Leona grunted but let Tom pull her down another corridor. They ran, pausing every few steps to fire. Xerka kept pursuing, moving faster now. Her shrieks filled the corridors.
Tom and Leona raced through an archway, then slammed the door shut and locked it. The basilisk queen crashed into the metal, denting it. She screamed, clawing at the door, cracking the thick iron.
"What the hell is going on?" Leona cried, running onward.
"A coup!" Tom said. "Melitar is dead. The Aelonians sided with Xerka."
"Muck!"
They burst into the hangar. Their crude capsule was still there, but several Aelonians were busy tearing out its engine. They dropped their tools and raised their guns.
The War for Earth (Children of Earthrise Book 4) Page 26