Erebus Dawning: A Space Opera Adventure (Seven Stars Saga Book 1)

by AJ Super

  Phoebe knelt on the shining black floor next to Nyx as she cradled Erebus’ Sia. “She’ll still be on the Thanatos. Leave her with me. I’ll make sure she’s safe, and make sure she gets fixed. There’s a coup d’état coming, and they want the Stars. If they think they have her, they’ll quit looking.”

  “A coup? Is that what you’ve been hiding?” Nyx growled.

  “I had plans set to break it up… but you interfered. Now we’re all in danger. And I still haven’t figured out who started the damn thing to begin with.”

  Nyx looked down at her distorted reflection on the floor. “Who’s out there? Who’s coming?”

  “Some of your compatriots from the Thanatos beat the coup forces to the door.” Phoebe turned to the shaking Coeus. “Go let them in.” He bowed and set the Queensman’s pistol on the floor, turning to the door.

  “What happens now?” Nyx whispered. Was all this just a trick? Why hadn’t the queen merely told them about the coup d’état? Not that Nyx would have given herself or Erebus to her to use as political pawns anyway.

  “First, you let Coeus and I go,” the queen grimaced.

  If she let them go, they would be invariably linked to her. Phoebe would need to be downloaded into Nyx’s consciousness in order to contain her, and Coeus would have to be killed if she didn’t want another immortal human traveling the universe.

  Nyx sighed. Erebus wouldn’t forgive her for hurting family.

  Nyx pulled her wisps from the queen, and Phoebe slumped to the floor. Then, Nyx eased her coils away from the cracks and holes in Coeus’ ochre lines, leaving behind a white flame that beat with her heartbeat and breathed with her breath. Coeus sagged as the black doors swung inward, drowning the yellow light of the room with white from the corridor. Two people stood, one knelt, next to the panel by the door, silhouetted in the bright light. A petite shadow reached and tugged the ponytail of a kneeling figure as a tall shadow hovered over the figure’s shoulder.

  “Ah, Raphael,” the petite shadow whispered, echoing through the large black room.

  “I’m trying. I’m not as good at this as Falak. Or the ExO,” the kneeling shadow echoed back.

  The petite shadow pulled the ponytail again. “Raphael. The door’s open.”

  “Can’t be. I didn’t—” The ponytailed shadow shifted. “Huh. I must’ve done something right.”

  “Shut it, you two,” the tall shadow ordered with a strong Queen’s Speech accent. The tall figure stepped out of the shadows of the doorway, her hands together with a projectile pistol at the ready. Sarama stepped into the yellow light of the glass-domed room. She glanced around her briefly and walked forward.

  Emlyn and Raphael strode in behind her, weapons drawn, gawking at the space-scape visible through the domed glass. Earth rose high in the vista.

  The doors closed behind them.

  Nyx glanced over Sarama’s shoulder at the two gaping officers and smiled. “Not that I don’t appreciate you turning up. But why did you bring them?”

  Sarama shrugged. “Je ne sais pas. Why not? Couldn’t get them to not come.”

  Emlyn noticed Erebus on Nyx’s lap and trotted over to the tattooed Sia-unit. “What happened?”

  Nyx laid Erebus gently on the floor as she stood. “Who’s in charge of the Thanatos while you’re gone, Sarama?”

  “I don’t plan on being gone long.” The Black woman grinned. “I plan on bringing back at least one person to captain her. Where’s Kai?”

  Nyx’s lips thinned. “He’s with the Medusa now.”

  Sarama nodded. “Then you’ll do nicely. And I’m sure the rest of the crew will concur. Especially since you’ve already served with both the Medusa and Thanatos crews.”

  Raphael traipsed up behind Emlyn. “We need to go. The North American Union and the African Continental Governance have soldiers crawling all through the halls. Really organized soldiers. Almost like they’re mechanical.”

  “But they can’t be,” whispered Emlyn. “They bled when we shot them.”

  Raphael shook his head. “But it was blue. So… Something’s up.”

  Nyx turned to the queen. Coeus had taken her up the platform steps to rest in her etched black throne. “Your coup d’état?”

  The queen stared down at her, gold-ringed eyes cold. “Yes. I was hoping that it wouldn’t happen so quickly. But they have their soldiers, apparently. I really needed Erebus.”

  Nyx looked at the queen blankly. Phoebe obviously had a plan and hadn’t let them in on it. “Is there another way out of here?”

  The queen stood and walked down the steps of the platform, her gold dress spilling after her. She stepped to a blank black wall and pushed it. A crack opened in the seamless wall, letting a blue light into the room. She motioned to the group. “Well. Get in.”

  Nyx’s jaw dropped. There were several blue-lit leather seats with shoulder straps above them in a hidden alcove.

  “The NAU and ACG won’t keep anyone here alive. And I can’t let them have the Star of Nyx. Get in,” the queen growled.

  “What about Erebus?” Nyx choked. “This is her primary avatar.”

  “And it will do nicely to help me find out who is behind this coup and war.” Phoebe pushed Nyx in front of her. “How many times are you going to ruin my plans and predictions?”

  Raphael trotted to the alcove and peered in. “It’s a pilotless emergency shuttle. Should be near impossible to track if no one sees us launch.” He scrunched his face and stepped inside. “That makes me useless. There’s a beacon here. We’d just have to set it so that the Thanatos can hear it and pick us up.”

  Sarama tilted her head to Nyx. It was the only way out. They had to trust the queen.

  Nyx nodded to the Thanatos crew members to get onto the shuttle.

  Something pounded on the black door, making the metal ring hard.

  Emlyn jumped and frowned. She looked down at Erebus’ Sia-unit. “Who dressed you up like a doll? Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good look. Very sinister. But not very practical.” The blonde woman patted Erebus on the shoulder. “See you around.”

  “I was going to use the Thanatos to deal with this.” The queen gestured to the banging at the door to the hall.

  Nyx didn’t know what to say to the Star. She stepped into the alcove and turned. “There are more seats. You could come with us.”

  The queen’s eyes widened. She looked back at Coeus standing atop the platform by her galaxy-etched throne. “If I leave, then this universe will be worse off than it already is. You don’t realize it now, but you would. I balance so many things on a knife’s edge. This edge just happened to slip. My people need me and Erebus to be captured. I need to know who’s behind this.”

  Nyx nodded. “Will you both be alright?” She hesitated. She couldn’t just leave family behind.

  Phoebe smiled. “They’ll need a figurehead. Someone they think they can outmaneuver. I’ll be fine. This will all just be an instant in a very long lifetime.” She waved her hand and the doors began to close. “Be well… sister.”

  Nyx raised her hand. “Be strong, sister.”

  Epilogue

  Nyx crouched in the black leather captain’s chair. She stroked the purring grey kitten stretched against her stomach. Folded black space filled the view-screen. The Command Deck hushed. Nyx rolled her head back and wrapped an arm around a bent knee, foot on the seat of the chair. She wasn’t looking forward to this meeting.

  “Do I really have to?” Nyx whined.

  Sarama ran a hand over loose black curls. “We need an ExO and a Security Officer. They’re on that ship,” she spat.

  Nyx wasn’t sure if Sarama’s disgust was for the ship or for her choice of Executive Officer and Security Officer. Granted, her choosing Malcam and Red for those roles didn’t exactly endear her to the Thanatos crew, but they still supported her. She had needed someone who would challenge her in a position of authority, someone who would keep her on her toes. Malcam was that person. She also needed Malcam in a
place where she could keep an eye on his immortal cul. And Red, well, there was no way Elizabet would leave Kai’s side, so she would have to settle for Red. Not that the copper-haired woman from the African Continental Governance wasn’t cut out for the job. In fact, with what they dealt with on La Terre, someone familiar with the ACG may come in handy, especially now that they needed to rescue Erebus and Phoebe from the new Protectorate government. She’d be practically inseparable from Malcam anyway.

  Sarama sighed. “You still have a few minutes before we return to normal space.”

  “Thank you, First Officer Sarama,” Nyx said sourly, scrunching her face. She stared at the black screen. She turned to Sarama. “Are you sure you don’t want to be ExO? I’ll give you the job. Malcam can be low man…”

  Sarama sniffed. “Power goes to people’s heads. Never wanted this much responsibility. Would rather have my comms position back.”

  Nyx smiled at her First Officer. “Not gonna happen.”

  Raphael turned from his Navigation console and tapped his heart with two fingers in a religious salute.

  Nyx rolled her eyes. He’d been doing that ever since they returned from La Terre.

  “Do you think it’ll be hard? Seeing Captain Ionas again?” he asked.

  It had been a couple weeks since Sarama’s rescue on the city-ship, and Nyx had been putting off seeing Kai.

  But she had also had a couple weeks’ worth of settling into her new role as Captain, with a big C, to deal with. Surprisingly, when the vote had been held, it was unanimous. The entire ship had wanted her as a leader. Not that anyone else was stepping up. She assigned Emlyn as Quartermaster, to make sure everyone had a role in swabbing the decks, one of Kai’s more brilliant ideas of equity, as well as assigning roles to any new crew members who signed on and managing any current employment issues.

  Nyx smiled. Really, the blonde-bobbed woman was great at the job. Her secret ability to judge what people were good at was extremely useful, and she was better at it than as a Weapons Specialist. Raphael got his promotion to First Navigation Officer since he was a pilot through and through, and both he and she were looking forward to the return of Falak to take over the Head Engineer role, though she still had doubts as to whether he would rig everything in sight.

  The new faces on the bridge were recruits straight from Elysion, Downsiders looking to better their circumstances, not afraid of a little rough and tumble, or of coming across the Queen’s Navy now and again, or more likely African Continental Governance or North American Union privateers, which seemed to be popping up in even greater numbers.

  Nyx wasn’t sure what that would mean for the space lanes and her new family. Both under-governments were known for their particularly controlling administrations. If they were allying, she couldn’t think of a worst-case scenario for the future of the trade lanes, or for the Protectorate.

  “Coming out of jump space. Now,” Raphael said brusquely.

  The stars resolved on the view-screen. A large white moon floated independently from any planets, pocked with asteroid craters and zigzagged with fissures and mountain ranges.

  The last time she was here, Nyx had almost floated. Falak had saved her life. Now she was rendezvousing with the Medusa to pick him up and finally reward him.

  Nyx stretched her legs. The kitten looked up at her indignantly and spread her toes. Nyx scratched her grey head. “Sorry Lily-cat. I’ve got duties.” She scooped the grey fluff-ball up and stood. She settled the cat back in the chair and scanned the command deck.

  The white surface of the moon sailed by on the view-screen. Deep canyons receded in shadow, and bright white mountains reached jagged in the light, interrupted by splashes of smooth, expansive circles where asteroids left their dusty mark.

  Kai would rendezvous with them soon. He wouldn’t be happy about her taking Malcam and Red. He would be less happy about the news that he and Malcam were, in fact, immortal now, and that Dr. Lenus was requesting to do research on them. Nyx wanted to find a way to reverse the effect she had on the men, on the cat, on anyone she infected. She had to find a way, other than outright slaughter, to end the immortal virus. She needed to understand her powers and their origin better. She needed to know more than that Erebus reprogrammed some nano-medics to jumpstart some kind of code in her blood that could control the other six Stars, and more than that her maman had been a Star and now she was a Star.

  This was all going to be a process. She had to be patient. She had faith in her crew. She had faith in her family.

  Kai would have to keep her father’s legacy afloat. She would have to trust him to take care of the Medusa and her crew. Better than Malcam did, anyway. Malcam was too heavy-handed. She tilted her head. And too generous. The man was a conundrum. He wanted the best for his crew, so he over-promised bounty at the expense of the ship itself, but he had armed guards everywhere on board. Might makes right, but make sure it’s rewarded? Malcam made no sense. Maybe having him on board the Thanatos as her second would give her a chance to get to know him better. In any case, she needed him where she could see him, and where Kai couldn’t try to kill him.

  She smoothed her thumb across her ring finger. She missed the warm gold ring Kai had proposed to her with. A small lump rose in her throat as she gripped the back of the captain’s chair, Lily purred softly in a small, grey ball of fluff at the center of the seat. Kai would be here any minute. She swallowed, burning sensation sinking through her chest.

  No use losing her composure now. It was too dangerous for him to be with her anyway. She could easily snuff out his white flame in a snit of anger, or even in vengeance for her maman. She couldn’t easily forget. Not anymore. He had lied to her for so many years.

  Nyx relaxed her shoulders, and looked around the command deck at the emerald code swirling in the tech. Erebus was still here… but she wasn’t talking much lately. It’s like she missed her Sia-unit avatar, missed interacting on a more human level. Nyx stretched her wisps to stroke Erebus’ energy. “We’ll find you. I promise, sister. Whatever it takes. We’ll find both of you,” she whispered.

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  ALSO IN SERIES:

  EREBUS DAWNING

  A STAR REBORN

  QUEEN OF THE BLACK

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  ABOUT AJ Super

  Angela Super earned two Bachelors' degrees from the University of Idaho in the Creative Writin
g and Theater programs. She has been an author since she was old enough to write (and illustrate) a stapled-together ABC book, which she still has packed away in a box of childhood memorabilia. Currently, she lives in Kansas with her husband who is a High School Graphic Arts Teacher and fuzz-brained kittiots. She loves to make costumes, cosplay, and occasionally she plays D&D or MTG with teacher-friends during summer vacation.

  Angela is inspired by Ursula K. LeGuin's The Dispossessed and her two feisty grandmas, and she devours sci-fi and fantasy in every medium. She is an active member of the Twitter writing community, and also works with several amazing writing groups, frequently getting to read and critique wonderful unpublished work.

  French Glossary

  (in order of use)

  C’est bon: That’s good

  Connard: Shithead (with connotations of being stupid)

  Putain: Fuck

  Mon petit papillon: My little butterfly

  La reine: The queen

  S’il vous plaît: Please

  Putain de merde: Fucking shit

  Quel branleur: What a wanker

  Maman: Mommy or momma

  T’as pas de couilles, enculé: You don’t have the balls, asshole

  Fais-le: Do it.

  Les couilles; The balls

  Que Les Étoiles soient avec toi: May the Stars be with you

  Tais-toi: Shut up

  Fils de pute: Son of a bitch

  Ton cul: Your ass

  Emmerdeur: Shit stirrer

  Salope: Bitch.

  Arrêtez! Attention! Système verouillé!: Halt! Attention! System failure!