The Calypsis Project Boxed Set (Books 1-2 - The Echo-Alpha Duology)

by Brittany M. Willows

The maintenance shafts on the ceiling burst open. Hordes of ravagers spilled into the chamber tittering with glee, for they had found their prey. They scurried down the concave walls in droves, heading straight for the young warrior.

  Alana and Jenkinson quickly ushered him into one of the observation rooms and sealed the doors. Gleaming thorns pelted the walkway where they had been standing moments ago.

  “Everyone regroup on the upper level,” Jenkinson’s order hissed over the team’s headsets. “There’s a tram outside that’ll take us across the first cavern.”

  “Roger that,” Carter replied. He, Jhiral, and Parker were still on the opposite side of the chamber. There was a lot of open space between them and the rest of the team. They sprinted from one room to the next, blindly firing at the enemy as they dashed across the unprotected catwalks.

  A group of ravagers broke formation in pursuit.

  Levian brought his rifle to aim at the pack. A stream of scalding liquid exploded from the barrel and sprayed the silver plating along one machine’s neck. The beast lost its grip and fell to the chamber floor.

  Their armor was no match for Alkastoran’s Fire. With another few bursts, he picked off six more. The crytal burned straight through their armor. Orange fluid gushed from their wounds, and they collapsed in a heap of molten metal on the walkway.

  Then one tripped over a fallen comrade, and its bone-chilling shriek brought the Fleet Commander’s killing spree to an end. A hundred pairs of glowing eyes turned on him, alight with rabid fury, and like a river bursting from a dam, the pack surged toward the landing.

  The leader, a hulking machine with six limbs and ion cannons mounted on its shoulders, sprang from the upper level. Levian leapt out of its way, but the landing could not withstand its weight. The floor collapsed, sending both of them tumbling to a smaller platform below.

  Before Levian could gather himself, one of the beast’s cable arms sprang forth, caught him by the leg, and flung him across the chamber.

  The world turned to a blur. Wind rushed past him, whistling through the gaps in his armor as he plunged into the depths of the generator. He flailed about in a hopeless attempt to grab onto something, but found only empty space.

  Then, with a thud, all movement ceased.

  Levian’s head continued to spin even after he landed. He rolled over, gasping for air. Only when he drew himself onto his knees and allowed his body to relax did he manage to suck in a ragged breath.

  Gunfire rang out above, no claws skittered nearby. Even the yips and howls sounded distant now. The blasted machines must have assumed he would die in the fall and gone after Echo Team instead.

  “Levian, can you hear me?” Alana’s voice crackled in his ear. “We’re in a maintenance shaft outside the tram station. I think we lost the ravagers. Where are you?”

  With a groan, the Fleet Commander got to his feet and straightened up as best he could on his weak ankle. “The platform collapsed,” he rasped. “If the machines have lost your scent, stay where you are. I will have to find another way to you.”

  “You’re not going anywhere,” someone said.

  Startled, Levian spun around to see who had spoken. To his surprise, it was a lone legionnaire armed with nothing more than a double-bladed spear.

  No, he realized with a twinge of fear. Not a legionnaire.

  A seeker.

  The armor she wore was far more elaborate than that of any Nepheran troops he had encountered before. It was sleek, unscarred. Strips of dyed cloth hung from the clasps on her harness and belt, and a few more were draped over her helmet like a tattered hood.

  The communications channel was still open. Levian had to warn the others. “Carmen, listen to me,” he whispered into the microphone. “There has been a change of plan. You must take Kenon far from this place.”

  “Wait, what? I thought you said—”

  “Disregard my previous statement. A seeker has arrived.”

  “Levian, I can’t just leave you behind.”

  “I will take care of this. Now make haste, Corporal.” He disconnected from the channel and reached for his weapon, only to discover it was no longer there. He must have dropped it during the fall.

  The seeker’s helmet retracted, revealing the war paint streaked across her cheekbones. “Levian ‘Nher,” she sneered. “Queen Slayer, Son of Amalan, heir to the throne of Oe’Nhervon . . . You are the bearer of many titles.”

  “And you are?”

  “The Seeker of Redemption, Huntress of Rul. But my name, dear prince, is E’ly Korva.” She darted forward and swung wide with her spear in an attempt to knock the Fleet Commander’s legs out from under him. He leapt back, narrowly evading her attack, and she swung again—aiming for his head.

  Levian ducked low to the ground and kicked out as the blade skimmed over his helmet. His claws caught E’ly in the side, slicing open her suit. Another swift kick to the hip sent her staggering, but she did not fall. It would take more than that to incapacitate her.

  Both combatants withdrew and started circling each other.

  E’ly clutched her shredded suit, blood oozing between her fingers. She looked her opponent up and down, scanning his body for a weak point. When her gaze fell upon the contraption on his left leg, her lips curled. She had found it. And having been twisted in the fall just moment’s ago, the only thing keeping his ankle from giving out was the brace.

  As E’ly rushed forward, Levian sidestepped and brought his elbow down in the middle of her back. She crashed to the ground, tucked into a roll, and sprang to her feet several meters away.

  The distance gave Levian a chance to activate his energy blades. They flared at his sides, sputtering unsteadily. Power status bars winked on his heads-up display: Fifteen percent in his left gauntlet, twelve percent in his right. Only enough charge for a handful of strikes.

  E’ly lunged at him again, swinging madly at his legs. The tip of her spear nicked his shin guard, bounced upward, and grazed his inner thigh.

  Ignoring the sting, Levian tried to close the gap between them. E’ly’s weapon depended greatly on momentum. If she didn’t have adequate room, the force behind her attacks would be reduced significantly and she would be unable to defend herself.

  Weaving between her thrusts, he worked his way towards her. Blood roared in his ears. Adrenaline pulsed through his veins.

  Energy and glass clashed in a flurry of sparks, the blades hardly more than a blur in their chaotic frenzy. Just when it seemed the battle would never end, E’ly tripped.

  Levian saw the opening. He grabbed her by the arm and flung her into the shield pylon. Victory was nigh; he could almost taste it. But as he went to slash her skull open, she slipped out of the way and his blade bit into the pylon instead.

  His left gauntlet fizzled out.

  Only one more strike remained in the other.

  Make it count.

  Levian drew back his right arm, spun to confront the huntress. Energy met flesh. E’ly grunted as the blade pierced her shoulder, and their harrowing dance came to a close.

  For a moment, all they did was stare at each other—panting.

  Then a new sound permeated the stillness.

  Drip, drip, drip.

  Levian looked to the huntress’ gloved hands, which were wrapped firmly around her spear’s handgrip. Azure droplets snaked along its length. He followed the shaft upwards, closer and closer to his body, until it disappeared under the edge of his harness.

  The spear was lodged in his ribcage.

  Ignoring the energy blade still buried in her shoulder, E’ly pushed further into Levian’s chest—so deep he was sure he could feel his hearts thumping against the glass—and that sly smirk returned as she whispered in his ear.

  “I win.” She wrenched the spear from his body.

  Levian fell to his knees, clutching his abdomen. A metallic tang laced his tongue. Blood filled his mouth, his suit—seeping through his fingers and teeth and spilling over the floor beneath him.

 
; The huntress shoved him against the pylon. “Look at me, fabled knight,” she commanded, kneeling in front of him. When he did not comply, she seized his jaw and forced him to face her. “My machines cannot find your friends. I know you contacted them. Where did they run to?”

  “You have taken my wife from me, slaughtered my people . . . What makes you think I would tell you where they have gone?”

  “Cooperation has its rewards. Reveal their location and I can guarantee your family a quick and painless death. Refuse, and they will burn with all the rest.”

  Levian wheezed past the fluid in his lungs. “Risk the galaxy so that my children may be spared the fire? I may be dying, huntress, but the battle is not yet lost. If Echo Team is victorious, there will be no flames to run from.”

  “Your faith is misplaced. Even you could not defeat me. However, you have proven yourself a worthy opponent, and I admire your valor. So I will give you one more chance . . .” E’ly’s hand hovered threateningly over his wound.

  Still, he refused to answer.

  Veins popped in the huntress’ forehead. She drove her fingers into his abdomen and shouted, “Tell me where he is!”

  Levian squirmed, digging his heels into the ground as the ache seared through his body. A pitiful moan escaped his jaws, despite his efforts to contain it.

  E’ly tore her hand out. Shaking the gore from her glove, she straightened and brandished her spear. “I should have left you to the machines.” With that, she took off the way she came.

  Once he was sure she was out of earshot, Levian tapped the side of his helmet to open a communications channel. “Echo Team, are you aboard the tram?”

  “Affirmative,” Kenon replied. “Ready to leave as soon as you arrive. How close are you?”

  “Do not wait for me. The seeker is searching for you.”

  There was a pause on the other end of the line. “If the seeker is alive, where you?” Kenon asked, his words laden with worry.

  “I am not coming with you.”

  “We will not abandon you. Give me your location.”

  Levian glanced at the gaping hole in his flesh, at the pool of blood swelling beneath him. Even if they came for him, it would only be to say goodbye. No amount of foam could seal these wounds. Besides, at this rate, he would be long dead before anyone could reach him.

  “This is not abandonment. I am ordering you to leave.” A change in the generator’s hum drew Levian’s attention. He looked to the pylon, where his energy blade had struck earlier. The tiny puncture mark had expanded into a glowing red hole. Heat waves radiated from inside.

  It was already highly unstable. Even a small explosion in close proximity could trigger a meltdown. Not only would that take down a portion of the planet’s shields, it would wipe out any ravagers in the area and buy Echo Team some much needed time.

  “Go now, warrior . . . Finish what we started.”

  “Levian, wait—”

  Levian deactivated his comm unit. Without a signal to follow, there would be no way for his teammates to track him. His fate was sealed. He grabbed the last two crytal grenades from his thigh guard and rolled them in his palm, his vision throbbing to the beat of a weakening pulse.

  It would not be long now.

  He primed the explosives. The air settled heavily in his lungs. And as the world fell into shadows around him, Vahn’s final farewell resonated in the depths of his mind.

  “Come back to me,” she’d said.

  Always.

  Chapter

  —TWENTY-EIGHT—

  September 14, 2442 (Earth Calendar) / Internal Network, planet Calypsis, Sol System

  Arctic winds howled past Alana’s ears and nipped at her cheeks, chilling her to the bone with every inhalation.

  Why is it so cold? she wondered.

  Fighting the desire to sleep, she forced her eyes open and found herself staring at a vast ceiling of ice. A few thin wisps of cloud swirled overhead, leaving snow in their wake. The tiny flakes landed on her skin, melted, and trickled down her face.

  Alana propped herself up on her elbows, shivering as loose strands of ice-coated hair slithered over her shoulder. She lifted her head and spotted her helmet several feet away. No wonder she was freezing. She crawled over on all fours, limbs trembling, and grasped her helmet’s rim. As she dragged it back through the snow, she surveyed the area.

  The tram car lay on its end nearby, sparks flying from the connector strip running along its canopy. Its doors and windows were busted open, bent out of shape. Glass shards glinted everywhere, almost invisible against the snow. And past the battered car, Alana could just make out a line of evergreens. Their triangular forms bowed in submission to the relentless squalls rolling over them.

  Never thought I’d be glad to see this place again.

  The rest of the team began to stir around her. Jhiral took Carter’s hand and helped him up, while Jenkinson scrambled over to Parker and shook the younger soldier back to consciousness. Their suits were blistered where vicious flames had lapped, but none of them appeared to have suffered any burns.

  As Alana stood, she caught sight of Kenon’s motionless body a little ways off. His back was to her, and the ice beneath him was streaked blue with blood. Jhiral had spotted him, too. Her brittle claws scraped against the cavern floor as she jumped to her feet and rushed to her companion’s side.

  “Kenon? Kenon, wake up!” she pleaded, hands hovering over him as if she were afraid to touch him. When he didn’t respond, she gave his shoulder a tentative shake.

  The young warrior eased awake, drawing his tail over his legs. He dragged himself into a sitting position, twisting and turning in a daze. When Jhiral tried to calm him, he pushed her away and clutched his head. The rough ice he’d landed on had torn open the burns on the side of his face.

  “Goddamn,” Carter groaned. “What happened?”

  Kenon stopped his pained snarling and looked to the sheer cliff walls behind him. Thick clouds of smoke billowed from a tunnel opening forty meters above, where a broken tram rail dangled from its cord. “Levian . . .” he murmured, regarding the black plumes with sorrow.

  Echo Team stared at the opening in silence.

  That explosion . . . That’s why he didn’t want us to go back for him, Alana thought. He sacrificed himself to ensure our escape.

  Kenon balled his hands into fists and doubled over, jaws parted in a voiceless cry. It took all of Alana’s willpower not to do the same. She could feel the lump in her throat, the sting of tears in her eyes, but she fought them into submission.

  She had to stay strong—now more than ever.

  A noise drifted in on the wind—a distant howl, the dreaded call of a gargantuan creature. Within a few minutes, more than a dozen distinct voices had called out in response to the first.

  “That doesn’t sound good,” Carter remarked.

  “Trust me, it’s not,” Alana said. If these were indeed the cries of the horned beasts they ran into before, they could not chance an encounter with even one of them, let alone an entire pack. It had been a challenge just to bring down two.

  Parker squinted at the clouds. “How close are we?”

  Coordinates scrolled across the inside of Jenkinson’s visor as he opened the map. “There’s a four-hour trek between us and the next tram system.”

  Jhiral pulled Kenon to his feet and brushed the snow from his armor. “It’s getting dark,” she observed. “Those beasts will likely be on the hunt, and we cannot fight them blind. Perhaps we should find a place to rest until the false sun returns?”

  Jenkinson folded his arms reluctantly.

  “The night cycles here are short,” Alana put in. “Five hours, Kurt. That’s all we need. There are plenty of caves scattered throughout the cliffs. We might even be able to contact Anderson now that one of the generators is offline.”

  He huffed. “Alright. Echo, let’s move.”

  The last shred of artificial daylight had just faded when the team came upon a rocky alcov
e in the cliffs. The entrance was concealed behind a dense forest of trees. If not for the crimson bulbs leading to the opening, they probably would have passed right by.

  Jhiral paused outside to gather firewood while everyone else settled in at the far end of the cave. She joined them a minute later with an armful of sap-encrusted branches and dumped them in the middle of the floor. After stacking them in a neat pile, she scattered pine needles atop the branches and cracked a crytal capsule over the pit.

  A single drop ignited the kindling.

  Echo Team huddled close to the flame, opening their visors to let the warmth fill their suits. Alana couldn’t even imagine how cold Kenon must be feeling. It was -52°C, and he was the only one without a heated undersuit to maintain his body temperature.

  “Parker, got anything on comms?” Jenkinson turned to his teammate, who already had the radio in his lap and a finger pressed to his headset.

  He shook his head. “Still too much interference.”

  “Probably because we’re balls-deep in machinery,” Carter muttered, rummaging through his bag. He took out a bundle of ration bars and passed them around.

  The sweet and spicy aromas of dehydrated meats and vegetables filled the air as they ripped into their packets. Once everyone had eaten their share, they tossed their empty wrappers into the fire pit.

  Jenkinson fiddled with the dial on his wrist band. “Five hours,” he said, motioning to the timer he’d set on his heads-up display. “I recommend you all try to get some sleep before the clock hits zero. That said, we shouldn’t leave the entrance unguarded. Can I get any volunteers for the first shift?”

  Both Alana and Kenon raised their hands simultaneously.

  Jenkinson recoiled in surprise. Obviously he’d been expecting a more reluctant response. “Okay then,” he said, flattening the bulges in his bag to make a crude pillow. “First shift starts now. Jhiral and I will take the next. Wake me when you’re ready for us to take over.”

  ————

  Despite the numbness in his extremities, Kenon couldn’t help but feel grateful for this bitter weather. Pain still seared down his neck whenever he looked to the left, but the crisp winter breeze had soothed his burns and taken away the worst of the sting.