Dave moved first, leaning forward from his casual posture on the couch directly across from her. “The small force you’re building will be no match for an outside invasion.”
Holly bit her lip before she gave herself away and asked him how he knew. Of course he knew. But it still smarted. She lifted her chin and pushed a smile onto her face. “I’m still going to do it.”
He nodded. “I know, Holly. I know.”
“I have a date, it seems,” she said, glancing at her communicator to check the time. “Got to run. We might be able to get that orrery back.”
Dave’s face brightened. “Where you headed?”
“If I tell you,” she began.
“You’ll have to kill me?” He shook his head. “Very funny.”
39
“That’s their ship,” Holly said, from the scaffolding in the hangar, using her comms and earpiece to chat with her crew. She squinted to get a better view through the space between the handrails. The cruiser class ship touched down and the violet aetheric glow of the thrusters faded as the landing gear caught the ship and the roar of power faded into a hum that dwindled into near silence.
“But can we be sure?” Shiro asked over the comms. He sounded skeptical. “Forgive me, Ms. Drake, but I prefer to take a cautious approach. Been burned far too many times these days.”
“I’m not sure, no,” Holly admitted. “But it matches the description Le Roi gave us. And that’s all we have to go on.” It had landed just outside the hangar doors in the space port south of the City of Jade Spires. This was the drop, supposedly. “Let’s see what happens. Wait for my signal. We get one chance to get this right.”
“I don’t even want to think about what happens if we screw it up,” Charly said from her position elsewhere in the hangar. Holly scanned the large space, looking for the rest of her team. It wasn’t a bustling hangar—in fact, it seemed to be a rarely used one on the far corner of the port, in a rarely trafficked area. Why Magna or Voss had chosen it, she could only guess. Why not pick a busy spot to draw less attention to what was happening?
Light from the early afternoon sun outside the hangar poured in through the open floor-to-ceiling doors, the skylight, and the two rows of upper windows just below the roofline, but she was still within shadows in the position she’d taken.
She checked the rappel setup again, her fingers trembling slightly from the cold . . . and nerves, if she was honest. She ran her fingers over the knots, double checking that the gates on the carabiners were closed tight. She exhaled slowly to calm herself. Holly had done other crazy, dangerous stuff involving ropes and ziplines, her share of skydiving, and learning new weapons and whatever else the gig called for, but this would be her first rappel from scaffolding in a warehouse in a highly tense situation.
Aelionaias—a weapons master at the Lion of the Spires training center who had trained Holly in many ways now—had done a quick crash course with Holly and the crew, drilling them for hours the day before as they repeatedly practiced. Shiro was the only one with experience in the sport and he was on the ground, hiding behind some crates. Her leg still smarted, but the pain wasn’t a distraction like it had been. She’d gotten better at not favoring it. All there was to do now was continue to use it and hopefully not injure it again.
Sudden movement at the ship caused her to draw in a breath and clench her jaw tight around it.
Four armed human thugs strode down the gangway and spread out in the hangar, pointing cautiously with aether guns as they fanned out and did a cursory check of the place.
Holly whispered, “Watch your back, Shiro. They’re searching the hangar. And unfortunately these guys are armed with guns.”
“I see them, Ms. Drake. Making myself invisible.”
She laughed softly. He meant that he was keeping track of the goons and would hide within a crate when or if they got near him.
“Charly, you ready?”
“Check, Hols.”
“Odeon?”
“Affirmative, Holly Drake.”
“Darius?”
“Yep. Though you should have left me back at the nest.”
“Tough. We needed the manpower.”
“You could have brought your lover. Or even your sister and her ex. They’re at least experienced in this kind of nonsense.”
“Stop complaining.”
The conversation continued in a whisper until they heard the goons call out their leader, claiming the coast was clear.
“These guys are actually terrible at their job,” Darius noted. “I’d fire them.”
“Yes,” Shiro agree, “their skills are questionable.”
“Good for us, bad for them,” Holly said.
“They didn’t even look up at the catwalks,” Charly said. She was situated on the scaffolding near the main doors.
“Quiet. Someone else is coming out of the ship,” Holly said. She wasn’t quite sure what she expected—maybe she wasn’t convinced this would in fact be the woman that had nearly killed her on the zeppelin, or perhaps she wasn’t ready for the rage that overtook her at seeing the woman’s face again—but Magna was suddenly there, striding into the warehouse, carrying something in a large case. She placed it on a table along the side of the hangar and waited. Her thugs kept watch, their gazes continuously scanning the area.
“Think she has it?” Darius asked. “I’m going to be annoyed if this is a waste of our time.”
“That’s what I heard,” Holly answered. “If she doesn’t, all the worse for her.”
“She’s got it, and we’re here to take it back,” Charly volunteered.
One of the thugs approached Magna and they began talking. Holly strained to hear what they were saying, but over the noise of the hangar, it was too faint.
“Shiro, can you hear them?” Holly asked.
“Yes, Ms. Drake. I’ll relay what they’re saying,” Shiro whispered, clearing his throat softly. “Seems that they’re discussing what they’ll do when whoever they’re meeting shows up. The woman, Magna, is saying that Voss had better show or else she’s selling the stupid device herself.”
Why wouldn’t Voss show? Holly wondered.
“Now they’re talking about how annoying it is to have Voss in their way. Sounds to me like this is not a unified group. Magna believes that she’d be handling the Shadow Coalition remnants better. Voss is too soft. The thug is going along with whatever Magna says.”
“They seem dumb to me,” Darius said. “Having this conversation in here. What if Voss’s agents were hidden inside, you know, like how we are?”
“Could be intentional,” Odeon said. Holly searched the ground level for him, and spotted him behind a stack of metal barrels on the opposite side of the hangar from Shiro’s position. “Perhaps they’re hoping to start a little battle.”
“Yes, an act of war,” Holly agreed. Movement from the group caught her attention. Magna sat down on the table next to the package. She crossed her legs and started swinging the top one in a carefree fashion. The irritation surfacing in Holly as she watched Magna was startling. Not even Voss aroused such negative emotions.
“Someone is calling them,” Shiro said.
As though to confirm what Shiro said, Magna pulled a communicator out and began speaking to someone.
Holly waited to hear Shiro’s explanation, her breathing shallow.
“Seems to be Aimee Voss,” Shiro said. “‘When, then? And where? Do you think I have nothing better to do than to chase around the 6 Moons on silly errands?” It took Holly just a few seconds to adapt to Shiro’s method as he repeated the conversation Magna was having with Voss.
“She’s not coming,” Shiro said, stopping his interpretation. Magna was still talking on her communicator. “What now?”
40
“That’s a development I wasn’t expecting,” Holly said, “but let’s get them before they leave. Everyone ready? Move in, now.” She hoped to catch them off-guard, with Magna still on the call with Voss.
Holly didn’t have time to worry about the descent. She tugged on all her knots one last time and climbed over the railing and, taking a deep breath, began her drop into the hangar. The rappel device made a zipping noise as she let herself down. She rehearsed mentally how she’d unclip from the rope and get into position fast. Her crew would be moving in at the same time, so not everything would be hinging on her but she didn’t want to leave herself open. “Shiro and Odeon, cover Charly and me when we hit the ground. Make sure no one shoots us.”
Holly hit the ground as Magna’s goons started scrambling to protect themselves and their leader. They formed a tight circle around the table. Magna switched her communicator off and grabbed the galactic orrery case, slipping off the table and trying to make a run for it. But Odeon intercepted her. Holly detached from the rope, pulled out her aether whip, tossed it to her left hand, and flipped it on. A low hum of the energy emanated from the device as it formed into the long whip. With her right hand, Holly stepped into a throw, aiming for the nearest thug with one of her knives. It was a long shot. She knew that. But this whole encounter was suddenly a long shot, all chances she was willing to take to avoid another chase around the 6 Moons.
The knife stabbed into the right shoulder of one of the goons, who dropped his aether gun and yelped in pain.
Holly used the whip to snag the gun, bringing it back to her, the weapon skipping across the concrete floor like a stone over water. She didn’t want to use it, but she wanted Magna’s goons to have it even less.
She picked up the gun with her free hand and aimed it at another one of Magna’s guards. The guard she’d hit with the knife took off back to their ship, his arm hanging limply, flapping as he ran.
“Stand your ground, you waste,” Magna roared at him, never taking her eyes from Odeon, who was currently in battle with her. Holly had her eye on their fight, hoping to get her chance to even things up with her.
She took stock of what her crew was doing, noting where everyone was, gauging what she needed to do. Charly had engaged a Constellation guard. She’d disarmed him, but still he fought. She saw Charly dodge a fist, and thrust her own fist at his face, which he’d left open. Shiro drew the fire of another, but currently lunged at the guard as he scrambled to reload his aether gun. Darius hung back from the fray, an aether gun pointed at the scrap, watching it, but he kept checking the ship, in case more thugs appeared.
Holly didn’t want to get technical, but Magna was hers. Holly owed the woman.
She caught a glimpse of Odeon’s club hitting Magna’s aether gun. The weapon flew through the air. Darius ran to retrieve it. Magna shrieked in rage, calling her goons a series of names as she pulled a long knife from a sheath strapped to her leg. In her other hand, the woman still held onto the case with the orrery in it.
“Bring us in, Trip,” Darius said, suddenly over the comms. His voice startled Holly—they’d been so engaged in their battle, none of them had been communicating using their earpieces.
“On my way,” Trip said.
“She’s coming,” Darius said.
If Holly was going to pay Magna back, now was the time to do it. Her hopes sank as she caught sight of a stream of fresh new bodies trotting down the gangway from Magna’s ship.
“Get over here!” Magna screamed at them. “What took you so long?”
Odeon took advantage of the split second that she was distracted. Holly caught the pleasing view of one end of his Ousaba connected with the hand that held onto the orrery case. It flew from her hand and slid across the ground, back toward Holly.
It was a perfect shot. She smiled.
“Darius. The case,” Holly said. She wanted to get the case herself, but she had a prior commitment.
“Got it, Drake,” Darius said.
The new thugs had filled out and immediately began engaging Holly’s crew.
“Trip, how far out are you?” Holly asked. She only had a few moments before one of the new thugs intercepted her. Magna was still seething from losing the case, but Odeon’s expert moves had kept her engaged.
The sword slashed across his chest, tearing through his clothes. He was getting tired, his guard dropping as the fight raged on. Odeon fell as Magna pushed harder at him.
Around Holly, the sounds of battle continued as her crew fought the remnants of the Shadow Coalition. Holly took five steps closer to Magna.
“You’re mine!” Holly called, distracting her before the woman could hurt Odeon more. Holly got just close enough that her whip, when she launched it, snaked around Magna’s leg. Holly jerked the whip back toward herself. Magna fell. The woman landed hard on one arm. In a glint of flickering steel, Magna’s her sword clattered from her hand.
The whip relaxed and Holly stepped toward the fallen leader. She aimed the aether gun at the woman responsible for the scar forming on Holly’s leg, her finger itching to pull the trigger. Magna seemed to feel the malevolence directed at her, and turned her head. She blinked as though she’d hit her head in the fall. Maybe she had. If so, Holly had missed it.
Magna had the presence of mind to shout for help from her thugs, before she narrowed her rage-filled eyes at Holly. “You were supposed to die in that zeppelin.”
“Oh, yeah? Funny. I guess you’ve learned a lesson. Next time finish the job,” Holly answered, debating with herself over pulling the trigger or not. She really wanted to. Wanted to pay back violence with violence. Destruction with destruction. It was her right, to return what had been given to her. Magna deserved it. Holly thought of all the bodies she’d seen on the zeppelin before they escaped.
“You better finish this one. If you don’t, next time I will finish the job. George’s daughter or not. I don’t give a shit.”
“Thanks for the warning. As they say, payback, right?”
“It’s a bitch. Just like you,” Magna said, really putting her colors on display. If there’d been any hesitation over Magna deserving it or being awful, there wasn’t now.
“I’m here,” Trip said in Holly’s ear.
“Drake, we have the orrery, let’s go,” Darius said. “On the count of three, run for it.”
Sirens began in the distance, coming closer. Gabe and Meg, on cue, coming for the thugs, coming to clean up the job. Holly knew that she couldn’t be there when they arrived, but she didn’t want to give Magna the chance to run.
“Did you make sure the orrery is in the case?” Holly asked. “Make sure we don’t need Magna’s finger or eye to open it. We can get those before we leave if we need to.” She said that last bit loud enough for Magna to hear. The woman flinched, just a fraction, enough that Holly saw it before Magna recovered. Holly took a step toward the fallen leader. She recoiled. Holly smiled.
“What’s the code, Magna? Or I’ll take some of your body parts to make sure I can get inside the case.”
Magna sneered. Holly aimed the gun. “Help me, Charly.”
Charly finished off the thug she’d been fighting with a decisive blow to the jaw. The female human fell. Holly cringed.
Together Holly and Charly moved toward Magna.
“Six-eight-zero-three-two-eight,” Magna blurted.
Holly hovered over the woman.
“Holly, it’s time,” Odeon said.
The sound of her Yasoan friend’s voice in her ear and so close, coming from two directions like a voice in stereo, pulled her out of the moment. She couldn’t kill Magna. She wasn’t sure she ever intended to.
Holly aimed at the woman’s leg and pulled the trigger. The violet projectile hit Magna’s leg. The woman shrieked, a sound of agony that Holly understood on a primal level.
She didn’t stay behind to see how Magna fared. She still had a few thugs with her. Holly met Odeon’s gaze. He nodded and they ran, the sound of Magna’s thugs calling out behind them, chasing them down as the crew raced out of the hangar to the open space where Trip’s ship waited for them, the glow of the thrusters beckoning to them with promises of sanctuary.
41
> “It was too easy,” Holly said, staring at the galactic orrery back in the Bird’s Nest later that day.
“Yeah, and Voss knows where we are,” Charly pointed out. The crew sat around the cocktail table, watching the lights and shapes of the galactic orrery move slowly in an orbit around the black sphere at the center. It was smooth like obsidian with veins of purple and flecks of blue.
“If indeed it was Aimee Voss who was after it,” Shiro said. “I must say that I remain skeptical on that.”
Odeon made a sound. “If not her, then who?”
“If you think about it,” Darius said, “It’s a really stupid device to represent multiple galaxies. This isn’t to scale, obviously, but how much a galaxy moves is just, you know, tiny.”
“That’s why it’s so interesting, chap,” Shiro said. “We’ll never see the galaxies move like this. It would take eons to see their motions.”
Everyone seemed transfixed as they watched the object move. Holly could see why the Centaus in whose possession it had been had kept it away from the world. There was a hypnotic power to it that enthralled them, but there was something more to it than simply the motion of the flickering spirals that represented seven galaxies.
“Seven,” Holly said aloud.
“Huh?” Charly said. “Yeah, there’s seven galaxies. Is that what you mean?”
“I just hadn’t thought about it much. But yes. Think it means anything?”
Silence settled over the room as the rest of her crew thought about it.
“What if it means more than just what it is?”
“Like a symbol?” Charly asked.
“There are indeed more than just seven galaxies in the universe, if that’s what you mean, Ms. Drake. There are infinite galaxies.”
“As far as we know,” Holly agreed.
“So, now to sell it and collect the dough?” Darius asked, rubbing his hands together.
The Colossus Collection : A Space Opera Adventure (Books 1-7 + Bonus Material) Page 125