So Close to Home

by Galen Surlak-Ramsey

  “That cube has all their data, does it not?”

  I shook my head. “No,” I said. “It has a lot, but even with the cube, there’s still a good chance you wouldn’t be able to get what you need anyway.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Because that ship can traverse the entire universe,” I said. Okay, I was taking a stab at that, but hell, it had to be right. “Not only the universe, but it can travel through time, too. I doubt anything you’ve got will be able to get to a lone planet that’s in another supercluster and a hundred million years in the future.”

  Ito looked over to Okabe, and while the commander looked more and more annoyed that he had to entertain any of this, Okabe’s eyes continued to brighten at the possibilities. “I think we should give her a chance, Commander,” he said. “That ship could be the key to unlocking everything.”

  “How do we know she’s right?” he asked. “Even if she’s not lying, you’re asking me to risk the only ship that managed to escape—a ship carrying precious cargo at that.”

  “Please,” I said, my voice bordering on begging. “My friends are down there, friends who have faithfully served the Empire. They don’t deserve to die.”

  “Even if I let you go on this suicide run, I’m not so delusional as to think you’re a match for this new foe.”

  “She’s not,” Tolby said. “But Jainon and I are. We’re both veterans of many campaigns against the Nodari. We can sneak her onto the ship. All she has to do is pilot it.”

  Though we hadn’t discussed the particulars, I was glad Tolby volunteered to do all the fighting. I was hardly the Force Recon space marine. Hell, if you really got down to it, I was more like the hapless VIP that had to be safely escorted. Hopefully, I wouldn’t end up like the dummy in various games who wandered around and did stupid things to complicate the mission.

  I was pretty sure I wouldn’t.

  Pretty sure.

  “I can’t agree with this. The risk is too much,” he said. “When we can get into contact with Empress Tamaki, I shall tell her of your proposal. Perhaps she will be willing to launch a counterattack.”

  “It’ll be too late by then, Commander,” Jainon said with a tiny growl. “We need to go. Now.”

  “If it is in the gods’ will that we reclaim the planet at a later time, then it will happen,” he said.

  Jainon shot up, her face full of fiery anger. “The gods do not embrace the cowardly, Commander,” she said, slamming both paws onto the table. “As the high priestess, I assure you they will not look favorably upon those who duck opportunity to demonstrate their faith in the face of any adversity.”

  The room felt tenser than a twelve-way standoff with gun-toting poker players after a game went south. A few tense moments passed in silence, and the comm on the wall sprang to life. “Engineering is reporting repairs are complete, Commander,” the Kibnali on the other end said. “We can make the jump home on your orders.”

  “Acknowledged,” he said. “Any update on reinforcements?”

  “Negative,” the Kibnali replied. “As far as I know, the 39th Flotilla is still en route. ETA unknown.”

  “Good. I’ll be on the bridge soon. Let me know if anything changes.”

  “Commander, don’t leave,” Jainon said. “We can do this.”

  “I don’t doubt your heart,” he said before drumming his claws on his side. He then turned back to the comm and pushed the button. “Question. Have we cleared Caul?”

  “Negative,” the Kibnali replied. “The planet is coming up, portside.”

  “I want you to chart a course that slingshots us around it,” he said. “We’re headed back.”

  “Repeat?”

  “You heard me, pilot,” the commander said. “I want us shooting back to Nagakuro so fast photons couldn’t keep up. We’re making an assault drop. Understood?”

  “Understood.”

  Jack ran an arm across my shoulder and squeezed tight, while Jainon nuzzled Tolby.

  “Thank you, Commander,” I said, keeping my celebration down to a giant enormous smile. “May Inaja bless you with good fortune.”

  The commander straightened and cocked his head. He then touched the top of his head and bowed slightly. “May her luck be your luck, tailless.”

  Chapter Twelve

  The Drop

  “Stop squirming,” Tolby said as he tightened one of the straps to my modular armor and gave it a look. “These won’t fit right if you keep moving around.”

  “I didn’t know these doubled as corsets,” I said, feeling my lungs collapse.

  “Data has shown that armor that is formfitting and snug against the body is up to twelve percent more effective than generic counterparts,” he said.

  “Yeah, but at what expense?” I asked. “I think being able to breathe is pretty important to being effective as well. Besides, I’m not sure I want to be turned into a beetle, which is what this armor makes me feel like.”

  Tolby ignored my comment and turned around to face the weapon locker inside the armory we were in. Inside were a number of large rifles that looked like they could punch through a tank if need be, as well as a number of smaller firearms, and even a few melee weapons such as swords and combat knives. Actually, the sizes for all of that is relative. Since they were made for Kibnali hands, every last one of them was absolutely gigantic in comparison to myself, and as such, I certainly didn’t have any hope of wielding any but the smallest effectively. I probably couldn’t even pick up one of the rifles, to be honest.

  Tolby seemed to share that sentiment. He plucked a flat-gray pistol from the rack and handed it to me. “Here,” he said. “It’s still a little big for you, but if you treat it like a carbine, it should work.”

  “Is it loaded?” I asked, giving it a once-over. It looked similar to all the other pistols throughout the galaxy that I’d seen. Funny how firearms tended to all evolve in the same direction. Well, some firearms. There were certainly a number of variations, as some species had adopted a more pole-like design.

  “No,” he said as he handed me a few power packs. “Those can be inserted into the side right here. They’ll give you about two hundred shots each before being drained. You can chuck them after that.”

  I attached each pack to my new utility belt. “I’d rather not have to chuck any at all to be honest.”

  “As would I,” he said. “But make no mistake, Dakota. Where we are landing will be completely overrun by tomorrow morning. The chance of us not getting into a fight is zero.”

  “I know,” I said.

  “Good,” he said. He then nodded toward a mirror behind me. “Want to give yourself a once-over? I think we’re all set.”

  I turned around and looked at the total badass stranger looking back at me. She sported modular armor that contoured to her body in dark red and black plates. They covered everything from the tops of my feet, all the way up my torso and down each arm. What gaps there were in the hard plates at the joints were covered by a flexible but incredibly strong mesh of high-tech alloy. Tolby had made a point that these spots were indeed weak points, but they sure as hell felt strong to me.

  “Oh, I like this,” I said, turning a few times and giving myself a playful war face in the process. “I almost look like I know what I’m doing.”

  “Leave the knowing to me,” he said.

  “I’ll try,” I said with a half grin.

  “I mean it, Dakota. Things are going to happen fast down there, and when I make orders, I need you to follow them without question as quick as you possibly can,” he said. “I’ll feed you orders and tactical overlays through your helmet.”

  My face matched the seriousness to his tone. “I will. I trust you. Always have.”

  Tolby nodded but didn’t let the point drop. “You say that now, but your instincts for survival might say otherwise.”

  “This is your pep talk?” I said with a laugh. “A normal girl might think she’s about to be killed.”

  “If I wanted t
o get you killed, I wouldn’t be telling you this,” he said with deadly seriousness. “I mean it. If you ever find yourself doubting anything I’m telling you, do it anyway. Even if you think you have knowledge I don’t. Chances of you being right and me being wrong are far, far lower than vice versa.”

  I reached up and put my hand on his armored shoulder. “I am your fang and claw.”

  The corners of Tolby’s mouth drew back revealing a bright grin and razor-sharp teeth. “Good, but don’t you ever let any other Kibnali hear you say that. That is reserved for the Empress and the Empress alone.”

  “Sorry,” I said with a chuckle. “I’m still trying to learn all your customs.”

  “I know,” Tolby said as he went back into the weapons locker and took a handful of cylindrical devices about the size of a large soda bottle. He held one up for me to see and pointed to various parts as he gave his crash course in Kibnali weapons tech. “Blast grenades. Push the top down here. Twist here. Throw. Each one can blow anything organic apart for thirty meters.”

  “That might be a problem,” I said, taking one and realizing it weighed a couple of kilos. “I don’t think I’m throwing these ten meters let alone thirty.”

  “Then I suggest you take cover,” he said.

  “Are they shock resistant?”

  “Very. Why?”

  “Because I can always give one a friendly boost,” I said, holding up my right arm.

  Tolby grinned. “Already thinking to your assets.”

  “It’s starting to be a habit, it seems,” I said as I attached the three grenades to my belt. “Yeah, I’m still surprised you have anything that fits me. I would have to be such a runt when it comes to fighting in a Kibnali army.”

  “You’d be a runt’s runt,” he said, bopping me on the head. “But as I said before, formfitting armor has been shown to be incredibly effective, and our scientists took that data very seriously. The plates will interlock and bend to fit practically any size.”

  “Well that’s handy,” I said, impressed. I looked at the armor on my left arm more closely, and although I hadn’t paid attention at first, sure enough, I could see that the plates were not solid pieces that just happened to be of the right size. No, the individual parts were much smaller, and together they formed the whole, much like the absolutely fantastic kid’s ultraplex building blocks, Megoblocks.

  Note to self: Once home, strike a deal with the Mego corporation to come out with a line of Kibnali Megoblock spaceship sets.

  Addenda to note to self: Once home, use a portion of revenue after selling the resonance crystal to own a controlling share in the Mego corporation and corner the market.

  Addenda to the addenda: Time release of Kibnali Megoblocks spaceships with release of book, Whatever You Do, Don’t Touch That for maximum sales.

  “If you’re done daydreaming, we need to get to the drop pod,” Tolby said. “We only have fifteen minutes to launch.”

  “I wasn’t daydreaming!”

  Tolby dipped his head.

  “Okay, maybe I was a little. But I wasn’t that distracted.”

  “If you say,” Tolby said, clearly not believing me one iota. He handed me a helmet and waved me to follow. “Let’s get moving before your brain has you chasing another thought.”

  At that point, we hurried out of the armory and ran through the corridors until we reached the staging area. It was a tight room bathed in red light and set in the portside, midship. One hatch led back the way we came, while a second, currently closed, led into the drop pod. Inside the staging area were Jack and Jainon, each dressed for battle in a similar fashion as Tolby and me.

  “Do you have any thoughts on where we will make a landing?” Jainon asked.

  “No,” Tolby said. “I was going to make the call as we approached. There’s probably too much chaos down there right now to blindly pick anything.”

  A panel next to us lit up with a blue light, and the commander’s voice came through. “Tolby,” he said. “We’ve got a transmission coming through that you’ll want to hear.”

  “From the planet?”

  “Yes, but more important, from one of your own.”

  “Put her on.”

  “Already done,” the commander said.

  Yseri’s voice came through next, and while her transmission was slightly broken up and crackled with static, we could at least communicate relatively well. “Tolby, the commander says you’re coming back?”

  “Affirmative. What’s the situation down there?”

  “As bad as you can imagine,” she said. “I’m with about a half dozen others along with Empress. We’re at the edge of the city and can’t stay here much longer. I don’t think any place can be considered safe. Abort your landing.”

  “We will do no such thing,” Tolby said. “We’re coming to get you both. Dakota is going to pilot one of those Progenitor ships and get us all out of here.”

  “She is?” Yseri said.

  The conversation suddenly halted as the line filled with chaos and the sounds of a firefight. I cringed as an explosion sounded, but then relaxed when I heard Yseri cursing up a storm. “We have to move. I’m transmitting coordinates of an old bunker five kilometers from the city that as far as we can tell is devoid of Nodari activity. Meet us there. It’ll likely be our only realistic choice at a rendezvous.”

  The line went silent, and we all exchanged concerned looks.

  “I guess we know where we’re landing,” I said with a grin.

  “Correction,” Tolby replied. “We know where to meet. We won’t land anywhere near it. We can’t chance the Nodari seeing us land there.”

  Jainon went to the panel and closed the inner hatch before opening the one leading to the drop pod. “We can continue lessons in assault drops on our way down,” she said. “We need to strap in.”

  The drop pod had a hexagonal floor pattern and a teardrop shape to the interior. In the center were six chairs with combat harnesses all in the center and facing outward. Above each chair was a monitor, each one currently turned off. We filed in quickly and took our seats after stowing our weapons on racks above the chairs. Like the harnesses on the shuttle, the ones here were made for Kibnali and made me look like a little kid getting strapped in for the first time in the back of a car.

  We’d barely gotten in place when the hatch sealed shut and the interior lights dimmed from a light blue to a deep red. The commander’s voice came in loud and clear. “Switching on your outside feeds now,” he said. “We’ll be coming in hot, but hopefully those cruisers will be more interested in us than you.”

  The monitors above our heads flickered on. Dead center was the planet we’d just left. It took up a majority of the screen, and I was surprised at how close we were. A timer popped up on the top left and counted down the minutes until we dropped. We had a little over three to go, and we spent that time in silence. I wasn’t sure what everybody else was thinking. Tolby and Jainon were probably rehearsing all the ways to kill a Nodari or maybe thinking about when they could run off for a romp again, but all I could do was wonder when the cruisers would start firing at us.

  It didn’t take long to get that answer.

  A little over a minute until the drop, bright streaks flashed by. My stomach jumped upward as our ship took evasive maneuvers. I don’t think they hit us, as I didn’t hear any alarms or giant explosions. Still, I would’ve liked us to have come in undetected.

  “Maximizing ECM,” the commander said. “That should keep their shots wide.”

  “I hope so,” I said.

  “Me too,” Jack replied. “Or this could be the shortest assault in history.”

  With about forty seconds to go, Tolby and the commander began to coordinate.

  “Standby cross locking now,” the commander said. “Prelaunch on a cycle engaged, and primary are couplers released.”

  As he spoke, I felt our launch pod shift and heard the whine of gears and nearby hydraulics.

  While this was going on, my
furry buddy reached up and hit some buttons on his armrest, and a control stick popped up. “Setting the internals,” he said. “Confirm cross lock and drop station secured.”

  “Affirmative,” Jainon chimed in, hitting a few buttons near her seat as well. “Drop stations secured.”

  “May Inaja bless you with good fortune,” the commander said.

  “May her luck be your luck,” we all replied in unison.

  Tolby shifted in his seat and briefly wiggled the control stick. “Standby to initiate sequencer on my mark.”

  My stomach tightened. This was it.

  “Five…four…three…two…one…mark!”

  I lifted in my seat to the sound of a massive rocket engine firing, driving us toward the planet with a rumble. I gripped my armrests, and my knuckles turned white. Tolby and Jainon let out fierce roars as if they were charging into battle. I guess in a way, they were.

  “Yeeehaaa! Express elevator to hell,” Jainon shouted. “Going down!”

  I wasn’t all that excited about the idea of being dropped into hell, but I’ll admit, if this had been a park ride, it would’ve been intense. I bet it would’ve easily earned a solid three Super Vortex icons on how hard it lifted me in the seat alone.

  Ten seconds passed, and then twenty. The acceleration from our initial separation from the ship lessened, and I managed to breathe a few times as I kept my eyes glued to the monitor. The planet grew tremendously fast, and I could easily pick out finer details of the terrain such as mountain ranges and large lakes and rivers.

  Then we hit the atmosphere, and everything rumbled and shook so badly that I clutched the armrests once again, fearing our pod would tear itself apart.

  “You’ll be fine,” Jack said, giving my hand a brief squeeze. “Nodari have nothing on the Queen of Space and Time.”

  I liked the sound of that and couldn’t help but smile. Maybe one day I’d start a church in my honor. Ha-ha. Just kidding. The last thing I ever want to do is be responsible for writing a sermon every week. “Thanks,” I said. “But if I die…”