Kholvaria (The Color of Water and Sky Book 2)

by Andrew Gates

  “Very well,” he eventually replied to the sound of a silent chamber. He straightened his back. “That is why I have decided to share this news with you. It is to demonstrate my loyalty despite any personal opposition I may hold.”

  This was not a lesson these experienced soldiers needed to learn. They were all loyal to the Chiefdom. But Ikharus understood the point and respected the Under Chieftain’s effort nonetheless.

  “Thank you, Kho Veznek,” Ezenkharam said as the Under Chieftain stepped back between his guards. “What this news tells us, is that the evolved-ones are indeed living on the surface. This is the first confirmed sighting of surface evolved-ones beyond inanimate relics like escape pods or weapons. We have no confirmed numbers right now, but based on the size of the escape pods, we predict there to be around 18. Prisoners aboard the Behemoth have been interrogated about the matter, but none seem to know anything about these surface-dwellers.”

  “It could be they are lying,” Veznek interrupted.

  “Yes,” Ezenkharam said with a turn of her head, “yes, that is always a possibility.”

  It was odd seeing someone speak out of place in this room, but Ikharus knew if anyone had the authority to do so, it was the Under Chieftain.

  “Interrogations will continue aboard this ship and we will increase our number of routine patrols on the surface. We hope to gather more information about these surface-dwellers, though we will not engage any evolved-ones in combat, as per the directive of the Supreme Chieftess herself. Is that understood?” Ezenkharam continued.

  “Understood,” the room replied.

  Beep, beep, beep!

  Suddenly a siren blared. Red lights filled this dark room. The screens around the room flashed some sort of text. Ikharus was too far away to make out the words, but it seemed important.

  Everyone stood at attention. The honor guards stepped in front of the Under Chieftain and dropped their spears in an X shape before him.

  “Emergency signal!” someone in the room exclaimed out of turn.

  Ezenkharam turned to face one of the screens behind her. She studied it for a few seconds.

  “Prisoner escape,” she read aloud. “Soh Saratti is free and somewhere aboard this ship.”

  Ikharus could hardly believe those words. They had gone through so much effort to capture him and now he wandered freely through the halls. How could this happen?

  “I thought this prisoner was secured!” Veznek shouted. There was anger in his voice.

  “He was. The cells in this ship are more secure than any other. There is only one way Soh Saratti could have escaped,” Ezenkharam explained as she turned back around to face the group. “He must’ve had help. Someone inside this ship may be collaborating with the enemy.”

  There were gasps around the room. Even Ikharus felt himself let out a faint exhale.

  More text suddenly scrolled across the screens. Ezenkharam turned to face it again.

  “Someone is triggering a beacon,” she read aloud. “No, not a beacon, a distress signal,” she clarified. “It’s being transmitted to the Empire.”

  “He is calling for help. This could mean war with Sorreveous!” Veznek exclaimed.

  Ezenkharam turned back around and slowly nodded her head. She twitched her mandibles.

  “This is dire. We need to act fast,” she explained. “Kreeds Inheritance and Rogue, assemble your squads. Your mission is to secure the Supreme Chieftess. Make sure she is safe from whatever is going on.”

  The two squad leaders bowed and immediately exited the room, not wasting any time.

  “Kreeds Nebula and Vanguard, protect the Under Chieftain. Go with him and his honor guards. Make sure he is safe.”

  The two squad leaders bowed as Veznek and his two guards walked over to them. Once together, they all turned and hastily made their way out of the room.

  “Kreeds Marauder and Echelon, find Soh Saratti. Get him off this ship and bring him to the surface. If there are traitors among us, we can no longer trust him to be secure in Vigilant Behemoth.”

  Ikharus bowed, as did Jakhu of Kreed Echelon. She still held her helmet by her side. They both turned and exited the room. Honor guards no longer stood on the outside of the door. Instead, they joined the Under Chieftain ahead of them in the hallway.

  Ikharus placed the helmet on his head and activated the comm. His team was likely still asleep. It was time for a quick awakening.

  “Kreed Marauder, assemble. Meet in the barracks common room. We are on high alert,” he said, contacting his team.

  There were a few moments of silence, followed by static. Eventually his team responded.

  “Understood,” they all replied in near-perfect unison over the comm.

  Ikharus turned to face Jakhu as the two of them hastily walked through the halls. Her helmet was now secured. It seemed she was ready.

  “How would you like to do this?” he inquired.

  “The hard part will be finding Soh Saratti. He could be anywhere in the ship. But the two most likely places are near the prison cells or near the source of the distress signal.”

  “Do we know the source of the distress signal?”

  “We do not, but if I were setting up a distress signal in a-”

  “Kho Ezenkharam and Kreed squad leaders, this is Under Chieftain Kho Veznek on a secure channel.” The Under Chieftain’s voice suddenly echoed through the comm, interrupting Jakhu, mid-sentence. Ikharus listened closely. “I have received intel from a trusted source. Soh Saratti is making his way to Hangar Bay 19. It’s a public bay. Numerous civilians. He is being escorted by two of our own, Kho Kytali and Kho Opkelah, two outspoken evolved-one sympathizers.”

  “Understood, did you hear that, Squad Leaders?” Ezenkharam said in response.

  “Understood,” replied a number of voices in unison.

  “Kho Ikharus and Kal Jakhu?” Ezenkharam clarified.

  “Understood,” they both said.

  Ikharus was glad to have this intel. It would save them a lot of time.

  “Kreed Marauder, correction, do not meet in the barracks common room. Meet in Hangar Bay 19. Is that understood?” Ikharus said to his team over the comm.

  “Understood,” they all replied.

  “That was convenient,” Jakhu said as they continued down the hall. They picked up the pace now, almost in a full sprint.

  “Fate should have it that we come by this intel.”

  Jakhu shook her head.

  “Fate? You may me misguided, Kho Ikharus, perhaps blinded by your credence in fate. I find it unlikely that the Under Chieftain could gain such valuable intel in such a short time.”

  “You question the words of our hierarch?” Ikharus wondered. To do so was treason.

  “I do not doubt his words, I simply question his sources,” she replied.

  “This is not our job. We do not question.”

  “With all intended respect, you are new to this world. I have been with my Kreed for many planet-cycles. I know when something doesn’t look right,” she explained.

  Ikharus did not want to hear more of this talk. Continuing along this line was dangerous.

  “Let us put these thoughts aside and focus on the mission,” he ordered.

  “Understood,” was all she said back.

  The two of them remained quiet the rest of the way, though still focused. They had a mission after all.

  It was not long before they were out of the secure area and surrounded by civilians. The two soldiers pushed their way through pedestrians as best they could. Ikharus was not completely sure where to go, but Jakhu seemed confident. He followed her the entire way.

  Eventually they reached an overlook. From here they could see hundreds of levels up and down. They leaned over the edge and peered below. If he was not focused on his mission, Ikharus would have stopped to take in the view. It was breathtaking.

  “Hangar Bay 19 is 52 levels below,” Jakhu explained as they looked down. She turned to face him. “I assume your thruster
s are functioning normally?”

  “Indeed, they are,” Ikharus replied.

  “Understood.” She nodded her head and pushed herself up over the railing. She swung each of her four legs over one by one until her body was completely over the edge.

  Ikharus did the same.

  “Remember, 52 levels down,” she reminded him.

  “Understood.”

  She let go of the railing. Ikharus did the same. They fell. Ikharus tried his best to count the floors as they descended, but with each passing level, the numbers got more and more mixed in his head. It was hard to keep track.

  After a moment, Jakhu activated her thrusters. Ikharus did the same, though he gave it too much power. Jakhu continued to fall a few more floors down, while Ikharus moved up. He made the necessary adjustments and started descending again.

  Jakhu stopped on a floor and hovered for a moment while Ikharus caught up. This must be it, he realized.

  His fellow soldier flew over the railing and took a few steps forward. Ikharus was not far behind.

  “You need to stay with me. We’re short on time,” Jakhu explained as they continued along.

  Ikharus felt ashamed. She was right. He was slowing them down.

  “Understood,” he said. “I apologize.”

  The two of them continued through another public area. A crowd surrounded them again, though this one was considerably thinner. Ikharus and Jakhu were able to get through easily enough.

  As they ran along, Ikharus saw three other soldiers pushing their way through the crowd on his left. He studied them out the corner of his eye. It seemed they were heading in the same direction.

  “It is my team,” Jakhu explained, apparently noticing Ikharus’s glance. “I ordered them to assemble in the hangar.”

  “As did I,” Ikharus replied, though he did not see his own team anywhere.

  The two of them continued through the crowd until they reached a large door. They stopped before it. The other three soldiers arrived, joining them.

  “Kreed Echelon, meet Kho Ikharus of Kreed Marauder,” Jakhu said as she pressed some buttons on the door controls.

  “Greetings,” they said in unison.

  The door opened before them, revealing a wide open rectangular room. Numerous small ships covered the floor of this expanse, along with civilians walking along left and right. On the opposite end of this enormous space was a glowing purple wall. It shimmered with light. Ikharus recognized this as a force field door, only to be lowered when ships came in or out of the hangar.

  “This is Hangar Bay 19?” Ikharus inquired.

  “It is.”

  This room was huge. If Soh Saratti truly was here, he would not be easy to find.

  Jakhu turned to face her squad.

  “Our mission is to retrieve an escaped Sorrevahni prisoner named Soh Saratti.” She held out her arm and activated the holodisk. The glowing image of Soh Saratti lit up the air. “This is what he looks like,” she explained. “He is aided by two Kholvari traitors, Kho Kytali and Kho Opkelah. Soh Saratti must be captured alive. The other two are expendable. Once we’ve retrieved the prisoner, our mission is to take him down to the surface and secure him there.”

  “Understood.”

  Jakhu turned off the holodisk and faced the wide room.

  Still no sign of my team, Ikharus thought. Like him, they were all new to the ship. He figured they were probably lost.

  “Status?” Ikharus asked his team over the comm.

  “En route. We are waiting for the lift,” Evirak replied.

  “Use your thrusters and jump over the railings on the overlook. It’ll save you time,” Ikharus ordered.

  “Lift door is opening now. We’re already here,” Evirak explained.

  “Understood. Proceed through the lift then,” Ikharus replied. He let out a sigh.

  Meanwhile Jakhu pointed to different areas of the hangar. Her team nodded and split up. Each of the three went in a separate direction. Good thinking, Ikharus thought.

  Jakhu turned around to face him.

  “Is your team coming?” she asked.

  “They are en route, but slowed down,” he explained.

  “I’m going to proceed with this mission whether your team is ready or not,” she said. Without wasting anymore time, she turned and walked away.

  I look like a fool in front of her, he realized. He had never felt so bad at his job. This was his first time working alongside another Kreed and already he was failing.

  Ikharus was not going to wait around like an incompetent fool. Even if his team was not here yet, he wanted to be useful. He walked up to the first civilian he could find and started asking questions.

  “Excuse me, sir. Have you seen this Sorrevahni?” he asked as the image of Soh Saratti glowed on his suit’s built-in holodisk.

  The civilian shook his head in an instant.

  “It’s been planet-cycles since I’ve seen a Sorrevahni,” he answered. “What is this about?”

  “That’s classified,” Ikharus replied. “Thank you.”

  He walked away and found another civilian.

  “Excuse me, miss. Have you seen this Sorrevahni?”

  “A Sorrevahni? No, I can’t say I have,” she replied.

  He asked more and more, but the answer was always the same. No. Nobody had seen Soh Saratti. This place is huge, Ikharus thought. No wonder nobody has seen him.

  “Attention!” the voice echoed through the hangar’s speaker system. “Force field deactivation in T-minus 100. Hangar crews, evacuate the hangar or enter your vessels. Outgoing vessels, prepare for launch.”

  In 100 seconds, the shield would go down and this hangar would be exposed to open space. Anyone without a pressure suit would be killed. Civilians started clearing out one by one, making their way to the closest doors.

  Soh Saratti will try to leave on this next opening, Ikharus realized. If he’s not already on a ship, he will need to find one soon.

  “Squad Leader, do you copy?”

  “Affirmative. Whose voice graces my ears?”

  “This is Kho Evirak. We have arrived in Hangar Bay 19,” he explained over the comm.

  “You arrive in good time. A departure wave is preparing to leave,” Ikharus replied. “Each of you spread out. We are looking for Soh Saratti. He has escaped captivity and is likely aboard one of these ships. We need him alive.”

  “Understood,” the three members of his team said.

  “Force field deactivation in T-minus 50,” the voice echoed.

  They were running out of time.

  Ikharus scanned the area as best he could, searching for anything out of the ordinary.

  Nothing.

  “Does anyone have eyes on Soh Saratti? Anyone?” Ikharus asked.

  “Negative.”

  “Negative.”

  “Negative.”

  Suddenly, through the window of a small two-person craft, Ikharus saw a pale-skinned Sorrevahni remove a Kholvari helmet from his head. The ship was powering up and preparing to move.

  “There,” he said as he pointed towards it. “There!” He turned, hoping to get the attention of a hangar operator, but the large room was abandoned now.

  “What is it, Kho Ikharus? Do you have eyes on the target?” Jakhu asked over the comm.

  “Affirmative. Target is in a small two-person vessel approximately 15 kotans from the shield door. He’s preparing to launch. Track my position. I’m going in.”

  “Understood,” Jakhu replied.

  Ikharus activated his thrusters and proceeded to the target as fast as he could. At times it was difficult to navigate through the sea of ships in the hangar. Most were parked, but some were powering up, ready to leave. They would sometimes move when he least expected it.

  “Force field deactivation in T-minus 25,” the echoing voice said. “Hangar doors locking in 15.”

  25 seconds until that shield goes down. Ikharus knew he had to act fast.

  The solider finally caught up to
the ship and landed on the window. His sharp feet pressed against the thick transparent surface.

  Ikharus turned to look inside. Soh Saratti glared back at him with wide eyes and open mandibles. He seemed shocked. A male Kholvari sat next to the escaped prisoner. Ikharus assumed he must have been one of the traitors.

  “Soh Saratti, you are hereby ordered to stand down!” Ikharus shouted through the window. He was not sure if they were even able to hear him on the inside, but he figured it was worth the attempt.

  The Kholvari inside gripped the controls. The ship started rising.

  So they wish to proceed with defiance, Ikharus thought. His job was never easy.

  “Force field deactivation in T-minus 15. Hangar doors locking in five.”

  Ikharus thought about his options. He could not breach the window of the ship. That would mean killing Soh Saratti once the force field went down. He could not destroy the ship either. That would also lead to Soh Saratti’s death.

  “Force field deactivation in T-minus 10. Hangar doors are now locked.”

  The soldier remained standing as the ship started jolting up and down. He’s trying to throw me off the hood, Ikharus realized. He tried his best to stay balanced.

  “Force field deactivation in T-minus five.”

  Evirak, Ukhrani and Khreznor came into view. They raced towards the ship. Their boosters appeared to be on full power.

  “Four.”

  Kreed Echelon came into view now too, approaching from the other direction.

  “Three.”

  The ship started moving sideways. Ikharus leaned down and gripped the hood with his sharp claws, digging deep into the metal.

  “Two.”

  His Kreed was close now, only mere seconds away. Ikharus could make out the members of his squad clearly.

  “One. Force field deactivated.”

  All sound stopped. The craft bolted forward and soared out of the hangar. Ikharus felt a pull on his body in what seemed like every direction at once. He held onto the ship as hard as he could, not letting go. His left arm felt as if it had been hit with another barrage of debris.

  “Aah!” he screamed, though he was the only one to hear it in the vacuum of space.

  “Kho Ikharus, do you have the target?” Jakhu asked over the comm.

  “Affirmative,” he said with difficulty. “I’m latched onto the front. I have visual confirmation on Soh Saratti.”