ArcadiA: A Game Space FastRead

by Peter Jay Black

  I peered back over the balustrade.

  The printer was now working on the man’s feet, producing bone, flesh and leather boots over the top.

  My stomach churned at the sight, and my gaze moved to Matt, sitting at the other end of the room. I had to reach him somehow. I focussed on the nearest Kraythons standing guard over the hostages. “Wait a minute,” I whispered to Nix. “Where’s Black Beard?”

  Nix didn’t reply, and the colour drained from his face as he stared past me.

  Realising what he must be looking at, I turned. Sure enough, Black Beard stood behind us, stun weapon raised. Behind the silver mask, dark eyes glared at us.

  Fifteen

  The Kraython Black Beard forced Nix and me down to the laboratory at gunpoint, grumbling the odd threat whenever we delayed or he felt like it.

  The second I reached the bottom of the steps, Matt leapt to his feet. “Kira.” His face lit up and he moved toward me, but one of the other Kraython guards grabbed his arm and snarled.

  “Don’t you dare hurt him,” I yelled.

  I received a sharp jab in the back for my outburst, but ignored a fumbled attempt to grab me as I hurried over to Matt. I threw my arms around him. “Are you okay?” I pulled back and checked him over, scanning him from head to toe the way Mum did. A wave of relief washed over me that I had caught up with him.

  “I’m fine. How come you’re here?” Matt frowned. “And what are you wearing?”

  “Shut it.” Black Beard gestured with his gun. “Sit down.”

  Matt, Nix and I did as we were told.

  The printer continued putting the finishing touches to the man on the table, under the watchful eye of the fourth Kraython.

  “Who’s he?” I murmured, staring at the lifeless form.

  “Sagan,” Matt said.

  I screwed up my face as I remembered the Professor mentioning someone of that name, but I couldn’t recall if he’d said more.

  “Are you serious?” Nix asked Matt. “That’s Sagan?” When he noticed my puzzled expression, he added, “Valorion is the leader of the Kraython army. Sagan is like his general. Second in command.”

  I stared at my brother. “How do you know that?”

  “Heard them talking.” Matt nodded at the three guards. “The tall one with the beard is Hath, the stocky one is Breen, and the other one with the bald head is Triant, or Trent.” He shrugged. “I’m not sure.” Matt gestured at the Kraython working the printer. “That’s Noon. He doesn’t say much. Unlike these three Chatty Cathys.” Matt rolled his eyes. “Practically got their entire life stories while we’ve been sitting here.”

  I held back a laugh. That was rich, considering my brother rarely shut up. The other guests looked petrified and I felt bad for them. I scanned the room for an exit. Not finding an obvious way to escape, I let out a frustrated sigh.

  The printer finished its task, then pulled up and out of the way. Noon, the Kraython operator, removed a two-inch grey ball from his pocket, set it on the table next to Sagan’s printed form, then took a step back.

  Everyone watched in rapturous silence as the ball split across the middle, revealing a glowing, bright-blue interior. Gossamer strands of energy spiralled from the ball and connected to the top of Sagan’s head, lighting up his skull like an X-ray.

  “What is that thing?” Matt asked, gaping.

  I looked at Nix.

  “I don’t know,” he said. “It’s a Bluestone artifact, though.”

  Ten seconds later, the ball snapped shut, severing the connection.

  Sagan gasped and sat bolt upright, his eyes flying open. His skin was translucent white, with deep scars across his face.

  Noon rushed forward and rested a hand on his shoulder. “Sir.”

  Sagan took a deep, raspy breath, and another. His chest rose and fell, the ribs showing through his thin shirt as he sucked in air. After a minute, his gaze moved to Noon.

  Noon gave a single nod. “You’re back. As you were. No changes or modifications, just as Valorion instructed. He unfastened a mask from his belt and handed it to his boss. “We have taken care of everything.”

  Sagan slipped it over his face, then swung his legs off the side of the table.

  Noon steadied Sagan as he stood. “It will take a while to—”

  Sagan pushed him away and his black gaze roved around the room, resting on the other three Kraythons. They gave deep bows.

  Sagan then surveyed the hostages. “Kill them.”

  “Sir,” Noon said in a low voice. “They are part of the plan. We need them.”

  Sagan gave him a disdainful look. “You defy me?”

  “No, of course not, sir,” Noon said, bowing more deeply. “They will”—he glanced at us—“face their destiny soon enough.” When Sagan didn’t respond, Noon swallowed. “Time to go.” He snatched up the ball, slipped it back in his pocket, and pulled a metal frame from under his coat.

  Nix sat bolt upright. “That’s it.” His jaw muscles flexed. “That’s the jump gate they stole from the safe. Gits.”

  Noon stepped to a clear space in the middle of the lab and opened the frame until it was six feet high by two-and-a-half wide. He swiped his hand down the side. The air within shimmered and stretched like the surface of a bubble, then a familiar location appeared on the other side—the main shuttle hangar.

  I groaned. That’s how they planned to escape. Why didn’t I figure it out sooner?

  “Up. Up,” the three Kraython guards snapped, waving their guns, and the frightened guests stood.

  Noon and Sagan stepped through the jump gate first, then the other three Kraythons corralled all the tourists after them.

  As Matt and I followed close behind, I whispered to Nix, “What are they doing now?”

  “They’re out of their minds,” he said. “No way they’re going to escape ArcadiA.”

  I nodded, remembering the formidable gunship outside, but knowing the Kraythons must have taken it into account in their escape plan.

  Once everyone was through the jump gate, Noon and the others cleared the shuttle bay of staff, under threat of shooting them, then sealed the main doors, preventing any escape for us.

  Noon then worked a control panel, using the gigantic arms to select six shuttles from the racks and set them down.

  The Kraythons hustled the hostages to the shuttles, splitting them into small groups. Matt, Nix and I, along with two other tourists, climbed on board the first shuttle. Black Beard strapped our arms and legs to the chairs, and Noon typed commands into the shuttle's control panel.

  I leaned over to Nix and whispered, “Any idea what he’s doing now?”

  “Setting the autopilot.”

  Sure enough, Noon and Black Beard left, and the shuttle door closed behind them.

  The other two guests seemed petrified, frozen in their seats, holding hands and staring directly ahead.

  Matt fought against his restraints, grumbling under his breath.

  I pondered the situation; how the Kraythons had split the hostages into groups, and lined up the shuttles. “They’re sending all six ships out at once,” I said to Nix. “I’m guessing that battleship will have no idea which shuttle has the bad guys and which the innocent people?”

  “Not unless we can get free and tell them, but I don’t see how that will help us. They’ll have to let all the shuttles leave or risk firing on the wrong one.” Nix wriggled in his seat, but the straps were too tight.

  “Sagan will get away.” Matt looked at me. “We can’t let that happen. It isn’t right.”

  “Never mind that,” Nix said. “Where’s the autopilot taking us? These shuttles could wind up in deep space and out of power in a matter of days.”

  I tensed. Days? I struggled against the straps, but it was no use.

  “Hey, you could phase through them,” Nix said. “Do it, Kira. Just like the wall. Phase through the straps.”

  “What are you on about?” Matt asked.

  I took a deep breath and co
ncentrated. Warmth radiated from the bracelet, creeping up my arm and into my body, and my skin and clothes turned translucent.

  “Woah.” Matt’s eyes widened. “How are you doing that?”

  I stood, passing through the straps as though they weren’t there, but too quickly. I shot forward several feet, then through the side of the shuttle, and landed on the floor of the shuttle bay. By the time I’d clambered to my feet, my body had returned to its solid form.

  “What the hell?” Sagan, standing next to another shuttle, glared at me. “How did she escape?” He took a step in my direction, but Noon grabbed his arm.

  “Sir, you are weak. Allow us to take care of her.” Noon gave Black Beard a meaningful look.

  Black Beard smirked, then turned to face me, lip curled.

  I tensed.

  As Noon led his master into their shuttle, Black Beard marched toward me, raising his stun gun.

  A split second later, he fired. Before I had time to react the blast hit me square in the stomach, knocking me back a few steps, but the armour absorbed the impact. Energy rippled over the surface of the fabric, then faded.

  Straightening up, I pressed my collar, and the helmet and face mask covered my head. However, I wasn’t sure how many direct hits it could take.

  Black Beard fired again, but I phased and dodged him then kept moving, darting right then left to avoid the volleys. Before I knew it, I stood behind Black Beard, who started to turn, but he was too slow. Instinctively, I raised my right hand and a blast of energy erupted from my palm, the force slamming into him. He flew through the air, the gun slipping from his grasp. Black Beard hit the floor, slid a few feet, then smacked into the base of a pylon. He stared at me, glassy-eyed, then slumped unconscious.

  I turned back to our shuttle, but a gasp escaped my lips as it lifted from the deck with the others. Screwing my face up in concentration, I ran as hard as I could, arms pumping the air, and jumped, phasing through the side wall of the shuttle and landing squarely inside the main cabin.

  I staggered, straightened up, and pressed the armour’s collar, retracting the helmet.

  Matt gaped at me and then through the window at Black Beard’s motionless form. “That. Was. Rad.”

  “Thanks. We need to hurry up.” I unfastened Nix’s and Matt’s restraints, then released the other two alien hostages.

  “Thank you,” the man said, still hardly moving.

  Matt and I followed Nix to the cockpit as the six shuttles glided from ArcadiA’s hangar bay, weaving around each other, making it impossible to know which one held Sagan and the remaining Kraythons.

  I swore.

  Up ahead, the battleship moved into position, its guns ready and aimed, but so far not opening fire. Nix’s assumption appeared correct; they didn’t know which shuttle to aim for, so couldn’t take the risk.

  Nix worked the controls of our craft. “They’re blocking transmissions. There’s no way to call out.” He checked the display. “I can tell the autopilot to return home.” He reached for a button on the console, but I stopped him.

  “We need to save the others.” The shuttles flew in formation, but their windows were dark; there was no way to tell which was which. “Somehow we have to figure out what shuttle have the Kraythons onboard.”

  “How?” Matt asked. “It could be any of them.”

  I pondered for a few seconds, knowing we were running out of time. Soon we’d be out of range of the battleship.

  Then an idea popped into my head. “Damage,” I muttered.

  Nix blinked at me. “What?”

  A rush of hope coursed through me. “I think I can figure out which is the Kraython ship.”

  Sixteen

  I studied each of the shuttles, running over the idea in my head, trying to figure out if it would work. But seeing as I couldn’t come up with anything else, I said to Nix, “Take our shuttle off autopilot.”

  “What do you have in mind?” he said. “I’m no good at flying on manual. Failed my tests. Can’t even remember the proper startup sequence, let alone—”

  “I’ll fly,” Matt said. I gave him a dubious look.

  “Seriously,” he said. “Let me fly. You know I can. Please, Kira? It’ll be rad.”

  “Anyone could do a better job than me.” Nix gestured at the controls. “I can fix stuff; I know how it works. But don’t ask me to fly.” He glanced out the window. “Whatever your idea is, we need to hurry. Only a few minutes before we’re out of range.”

  I stared at my brother, still unsure.

  “You know I can do it,” he said, pleading. “Trust me.”

  I sighed. “Fine.”

  Matt punched the air. He swapped seats with Nix, then bounced in the chair as he examined the displays.

  “You’re sure about this?” I asked him.

  “Positive.” Matt grabbed the control stick. “Looks simple enough.”

  I hoped he was right as I faced Nix. “Once damaged, and on autopilot, a shuttle will head straight back to ArcadiA, right?”

  He nodded, and then his eyes widened. “That’s brilliant.”

  “What’s brilliant?” Matt asked.

  I moved behind his seat and leaned in, keeping my voice calm and casual. “I want you to hit each of those shuttles.”

  Matt blinked. “What?”

  “Only a slight scratch,” I added. “Nothing too bad. Don’t risk anything major.”

  Matt frowned at me. “Why would I do that?”

  “Because the ships on autopilot will return to ArcadiA when they detect damage,” Nix said. “But a shuttle being manually flown by Kraythons won’t. Then the battlecruiser will know which one to target.” He strapped himself into a seat behind us, and gestured to the two alien guests to do the same.

  I dropped into the chair next to Matt. “Do it.”

  Matt switched off the autopilot and immediately swung the shuttle to the left, slamming into the nearest spacecraft.

  It wobbled, then flew away.

  I leaned over in my seat. “Brilliant. Four more to go.”

  Matt’s tongue poked from the corner of his mouth as he chased the next shuttle.

  I gripped the dash and braced myself.

  Matt rear-ended the shuttle. It spun out of the way, stabilised and headed back to ArcadiA too.

  Wasting no time, Matt went after the remaining three shuttles. “Watch this.” Our ship spiralled up and over the nearest two, then dropped between them, scraping the sides of each as it went.

  Laughing, Matt aimed for the next shuttle and flew straight across its bow, knocking it aside. Then he swung the shuttle back around and we watched, leaning forward in our seats.

  I pointed through the cockpit window. “There.” Two shuttles headed back to ArcadiA, but the third resumed its previous course. Yet the battlecruiser remained motionless, and no guns fired.

  I frowned at the huge ship. “I thought they were on our side. Why aren’t they doing anything? Why aren’t they shooting?”

  “They’re not sure if the rogue shuttle is them, or us.” Nix leaned forward and grabbed Matt’s shoulder. “Return to ArcadiA. Quick.”

  Before Matt could change course, a giant ship appeared from nowhere. It was almost as large as the battlecruiser—all sharp angles and pointed shapes—and it fired indiscriminately.

  “Woah. They’re not messing about.” Matt dodged several blasts, spiralling, turning as the two giant craft fired on one another . . .

  I held on, watching helplessly as the remaining shuttle dove into the Kraython spaceship and they flew off under a hail of gunfire. I glared at the battlecruiser. “Why aren’t they chasing it ? This is ridiculous.”

  “No match for the Kraythons. They’re way too fast.” Nix unfastened his belt and approached us. “It’s over.” He tapped the corner of the screen, putting our shuttle back in autopilot mode.

  As our ship headed back to ArcadiA, I slumped in my chair.

  Sagan had gotten away.

  We’d lost.

&
nbsp; * * *

  Back at ArcadiA, a wall of sound hit us as the side of our shuttle swung open. As we disembarked, crowds greeted us—thousands of people cheering and celebrating, with holographic characters and fireworks joining in the chaos.

  Nix smiled and gave a modest wave.

  Matt grinned, raised his hands in celebration, then did a robot dance.

  I pinched the bridge of my nose.

  After a minute more of cheering, the crowds parted. Jax Newton glided over as though he were on skates, flanked by his security guards.

  The crowd roared their approval.

  Jax Newton beamed at us. “You saved the day.”

  Nix nodded in my direction. “Kira’s idea.” Then he gestured at Matt. “And the flying ace here helped, too.” Matt’s grin looked as though it might split his podgy face in half.

  Security guards flanked Black Beard and I guessed there was no loyalty among Kraythons because they’d left him behind. The Guards led him from the shuttle bay.

  “A valuable asset,” Jax Newton said, following my gaze. “He may provide the authorities with useful information about Kraython plans.”

  “What happened to the three guards at the security station?” I asked.

  Jax Newton smiled. “They are perfectly well. Once the Kraythons had used them to gain access to the lab, they stunned the guards and tied them up. We found them in a supply room.”

  “And the animals?” Nix said.

  “Back under control,” his father said. “We’ve reactivated their mood collars. It will take some time to return them to their habitats and repair any injuries, but we got off lightly. It could have been far worse.” He smiled again and shook Matt’s hand. “I owe you an enormous debt of gratitude.” Then he shook mine and frowned at his son. “I told you to stay put.”

  “They escaped,” I said, feeling deflated. “The other Kraythons.”

  “You have saved many lives here.” Jax Newton nodded in the direction of the crowds of park guests, and was about to let go of my hand when suddenly he frowned. I tensed as he nudged my sleeve back, revealing the bracelet. “Where did you get that?” He gestured inside the shuttle. “A private moment, if you please.”