Four red-robed attendants wearing gold masks moved about the throne room. Two cleaned the floor with buckets and red-stained cloths, while the others loaded what looked like Shanti remains onto a cart.
Blood dripped from jagged crystals and fed into channels that led to a suit of black armor sitting on the throne. The suit never moved, and it always sat in the same position, but it acted as the Primelord’s temporary vessel on the rare occasions when he visited from the Void.
At least, that was as much as Artax surmised from his few visits.
"Thank you for the sacrifice…” the Primelord said, his words weaker than Artax remembered, but no less jarring.
"You're most welcome, my Lord. We have an ample supply of Shanti should you want more."
"That is enough for now."
The words felt like wind in Artax's ears.
"It is good to see you have awakened, my Lord," General Ovious said with a bow. "Chimera is nothing without you to guide us."
"I have mustered my strength. I am almost ready to descend.”
“And may your descension come swiftly, my Lord."
Experience taught Artax that it was best to speak only when spoken to in the Primelord’s presence. Only General Ovious got away with speaking with impunity. Deep down Artax hoped that he wouldn't need to speak at all, that Ovious had brought him just in case. Not that he was afraid. He simply wanted to get back to work. They had so much to learn about Kragak anatomy...so much potential. Or so he told himself.
He stood aside as the Red Attendants passed by with their cart.
"Artax!"
The hissing voice made him jump.
"Yes, my Lord?"
"I prepare to make a return to the material universe. We are so close I can taste it. However, preparations to leave this prison have left me weak. I would like you to remain by my throne until the time has come.
"Of course, my Lord."
"First I must speak alone with Ovious. Wait outside, Artax. He will inform you when I am ready."
Artax bowed his head. "Of course, my Lord."
He turned and walked out of the throne room, the giant doors producing a resounding boom as they closed.
He looked around the antechamber and searched for somewhere to sit, doing his best to ignore the Black Guard.
Does the Primelord mean for me to keep guard?
He didn't know whether to be frightened or honored.
What kind of trouble was the Primelord expecting that he needed more than the Black Guard? Did he expect some kind of altercation with Grimshaw?
Why choose me of all people?
He stood in the antechamber mulling matters, all the while telling himself that the twelve Black Guard were not watching him and that it was all in his head.
39
Tough Decisions
Oryon mumbled farewell, then left Clio, O'Donovan, and Booster at the hangar doors. The Kragak ambled back down the tunnel without a sense of urgency, which Clio considered unusual given the situation.
"I can't wait to get off this rock," O'Donovan muttered. "These Kragak are fucking weird."
"That we can agree on," Clio said.
"Fucking weird," Booster chirped.
"Let's see how Commander Eline is doing," Clio added. "Hopefully she won't lose her shit too much when she finds out we don’t have Grimshaw.”
The hangar doors scraped open, admitting them. The cavernous hangar was just as empty as it had been when they arrived. The North Star was a welcome sight.
"What are you going to tell the Commander?" O'Donovan said.
"I'll tell her the only thing I can," Clio said. “That we have to wait."
Clio ascended onto the North Star's loading dock. She was glad to see the ship's cargo bay ramp was still lowered. Crew members buzzed around the North Star's underbelly like bees; working on repairs, loading, and running checks.
Eline had her back to them as they approached, one arm waving as she barked orders at a crew member carrying a stack of crates.
Clio approached tentatively. "Evans, O’Donovan, and Booster reporting back, Commander."
The Shanti spun around, her tail whipping behind her.
"We're waiting for Doctor Roshi and Lamnon's team to bring the antivirus. Then we're out of here." Her eyes flicked over the three of them. "Where's Grimshaw?"
Clio sighed. "O'Donovan, Booster, help the others load while I speak with the Commander."
Clio gave them a look, and they moved off with hesitant obedience, Booster spitting curses.
Eline narrowed her eyes. "What's going on Ensign?"
"Like I said on the vox, Shaman Ishmarg put Grimshaw in one of their recovery chambers. He took a blade straight through the gut and had lost too much blood. It was his only hope, and even then there's no guarantee it'll work. I know the situation is precarious, but we have to wait."
"We can't wait," Eline said without missing a beat.
She had clearly already accounted for the scenario and had made her decision.
"Of course we can wait," Clio countered, trying not to raise her voice at a senior officer within earshot of the crew. "Grimshaw's the captain."
"We have to do what's best for the mission. That means leaving as soon as the anti-virus arrives, whether Grimshaw is here or not."
"You can't be serious," Clio seethed, the aches and pains of the day taking their toll. "He risked his life for those supplies. The least we can do is wait a little longer.”
"Not if it means risking the ship. I can't reconcile one person's life with an entire crew...even if it is the Captain."
"What ever happened to the Aegi protecting the weak and vulnerable?"
"The Aegi Order is gone, Evans." Eline clenched her fists at her sides. "We must adapt to changes if we do not wish to be left behind."
"The Aegi Order wasn't just an organization. It was a—"
"The Order and everything it stood for are gone, Ensign. How can that be so difficult to understand?"
Clio struggled to keep control of her temper. "Jesus, Commander. What made you so cold?"
Eline's face twisted in anger.
The vox speakers on her collar crackled.
"Commander, we're on our way with the anti-virus," Doctor Roshi said. "The crate is pretty big. It'll need a bay of its own in the hold."
"How long?"
"We're fifteen minutes out."
"We'll get the truck ready and make room in the hold."
"Copy. Roshi out."
The speaker crackled off.
Not wanting to get herself thrown in the brig, Clio bit her tongue.
Eline could tell.
She softened her voice a little but planted her feet firmly on the ground. "Listen, Evans. As much as I don't want to leave Captain Grimshaw behind, we have to leave before that enemy fleet shows up. If we tarry, we'll miss a narrow window of opportunity. We'll return for Grimshaw later when things have settled down. If his injuries were as bad as you said, this regeneration chamber is probably the best place for him anyway. Now, go get the ship ready for departure."
"But—"
"Ask yourself, what would Grimshaw do?”
"I would—”
"Not you, Evans. What would he do?"
Clio sighed, unable to think of a decent retort. "He'd make us leave."
"Then we leave. Dismissed."
Clio brushed past Eline and stormed up the ramp without another word.
Clio ran the pre-flight check one more time to be sure. Captain Grimshaw hadn't made an appearance. All of Ascari's readings came back negative.
"Shit," she muttered under her breath.
"Quit stalling, Evans," Eline said from the command hub. "Get us out of here before we get caught in the crossfire."
She knew better than to challenge Commander Eline's authority on the bridge, especially after having already walked a fine edge on the dock.
"Yes, sir," she said reluctantly, plugging in the commands to lift-off.
She activat
ed her helmet's flight mode, closing herself off from the rest of the bridge, but the darkness offered little comfort. She felt responsible for Grimshaw getting left behind.
Perhaps if I'd pushed about being admitted to the arena earlier...
"Flight path confirmed and approved," Ascari said quietly in her ear. "Ready for lift-off.”
"I'm taking us out, Ascari. Prime all stern thrusters and gravitational stabilizers for maximum acceleration."
"Consider it done," Ascari said in her usual matter-of-fact manner.
"And prep the evasive maneuver jets...just to be safe," Clio added.
"Initiating requested systems," Ascari confirmed.
Clio brought up the North Star's external flight feeds on her visor and fought down a yawn. If not for the stimulant shot the medical officer had given her, she would have fallen asleep there and then.
"Here we go."
She pulled at the controls, her fingers dancing about the panel, guided by muscle memory and touch. Her hands and feet worked in unison, smoothly lifting the ship.
"Commander," a Zaqaran operator said. “I believe that a Kragak on the landing platform is trying to get our attention.”
“Show me,” Eline said.
The display expanded to reveal a Kragak waving the ship down.
"That's Oryon," Clio said. "He was our guide."
A smaller figure appeared from behind him, one hand raised to his brow as he looked to the North Star.
"It's the Captain!" Clio shouted.
"Good," Eline said with no small measure of relief. "Take us down and lower the ramp. O’Donovan, see that the Captain boards safely and bring him to the bridge if he is able."
"Right away, sir," O'Donovan said, climbing out of the weapons hub and exiting the bridge.
Booster waved at Clio before leaping from his systems module and following O'Donovan with a spring in his step.
Clio switched her flight visor back to flight mode and falling data streamed by. She double-checked all systems were fine as she brought the North Star back to the loading bay.
She lowered the ramp and positioned the ship within three feet of the ground, ignoring Ascari's proximity warnings.
She switched to the undercarriage feed and watched O'Donovan and Booster pull Grimshaw onto the ramp. They waved Oryon off again and ascended into the cargo hold, the ramp lifting behind them.
An amber light on her visor flashed several times before turning green, indicating that the ramp had finished closing. A yellow light activated, showing that internal pressure had equalized.
"The Captain is aboard, sir," Clio said.
"Excellent," Eline said. "Marilda, do we still have clearance from the Foundry to depart?”
"As far as I can tell, sir," the Shanti navigator said.
"Evans, take us out," the Commander said.
"Yes, sir," Clio said. "Clearing the landing area again."
Clio lifted the North Star a hundred feet into the air and angled her towards the vast tunnel they had entered earlier in the day.
The bridge suddenly shook violently.
Alarms rang out and red lights flashed from above.
Countless proximity warnings ran across Clio's terminal.
"What the hell was that?" Eline demanded.
"Getting proximity warnings," Clio answered. "But we've cleared the landing area and we're nowhere near the cavern walls.”
"The cavern walls are coming to us," a Zaqaran operator announced. "Debris falling from above."
The VD changed to the North Star's top feed. Boulders rained down from the darkness above.
"The attack must have started," O'Donovan said. "Can't read what weapons are being used from in here."
The bridge shook as another giant rock struck the hull.
"Operations, damage report. Evans, get us the hell out of here!"
Clio was already on it, pulling the North Star from under a descending mass that would have crushed her.
The undercarriage scraped along the hangar floor before Clio lifted her back into the air.
Celebrating Grimshaw's return would have to wait.
40
Ushtaran Sky
Taza lay on his back, watching the dark-gray Ushtaran sky drift by through the gaping hole in Priodome One's ceiling.
So much for getting off Ushtar that way.
He groaned as he climbed out of the wreckage, his head pounding, the room beginning to ripple. He felt his temple and found a deep gash caked with blood. The cut wasn't bleeding at least. He sat up and fought down a wave of vomit as the world spun above like a carrousel going way too fast.
Smoke drifted into his helmet, and he coughed. He climbed to his feet and winced as a sharp pain ran through his side.
Prodding with his hand, he found a shard of debris jutting from his lower ribs. He gritted his teeth and pulled it free. Searing heat shot up his ribs as it scraped free of his TEK. He checked the wound and was relieved to find it wasn’t serious. He checked his SIG. Life signs were within tolerances.
Doesn’t damn feel that way.
Distant gunfire made him focus. Leeroy and his demolition team must have arrived already. That didn't leave much time.
Having discovered he was alive and in semi-working order, Taza took stock.
Allora's debris lay scattered among fields of long-dead machines, her burning husk bellowing black smoke. He vaguely remembered fleeing Priodome One and crash-landing in Priodome Five. It was a bit of a blur. Allora’s reactor had taken a hit on the way down.
He eyed the smoking mass then his SIG.
By some miracle, he’d re-shielded her core as she spiraled out of control. Otherwise, everything within a mile would have turned to ash. The core was still live, but for now, it was safe from the flames.
Rusted shells of time-worn machines littered the dome floor as far as he could see. Several stout buildings, most also in ruins, dotted the grounds. Priodome Five was nothing more than a glorified junkyard.
There were no signs of life nearby. He wondered what had become of his passengers.
He opened a direct channel on the vox. "Ria, are you okay?"
No answer.
"Ria, are you there?"
Still no answer.
He ran a thermal imaging scan on his SIG but the scanner module was busted.
He walked around Allora's burning corpse, searching for signs of life. He turned over bits of debris as he went, hoping to find someone alive, all the while keeping his eyes open for enemies. The enemy gunship also crashed somewhere inside the dome, and there was no telling if any Ushtarans survived.
A croaking voice caught his attention.
He looked around, unable to make out where it was coming from.
"Hey," the voice called again, barely more than a whisper.
Taza followed the sound and found it coming from a small mound of debris stacked against a toppled forklift.
He pulled away a sheet-metal panel and found Qurpall. Three of the vehicle's forks pierced his thigh, gut, and sternum, pinning him to another machine.
He breathed in shallow, ragged bursts. His eyes were glazed over, but he appeared to be conscious.
"Nice landing...mister..." he said with a rasping chuckle.
Blood bubbled from his mouth, and he choked.
"Jesus, kid." Taza wanted to help but didn't know where to start. He grabbed at the fork and pulled, but it didn't budge. Judging by the vehicle’s size, it weighed at least three tonnes. Too much even if his TEK wasn’t running on auxiliary power.
"Old...man." Qurpall tried to laugh again but cried out in pain.
Something in the way he said old man reminded Taza of Cho. He briefly wondered what had become to the young Shanti in the Sentinel Underways.
"Ria…I heard her...she's over there..." His eyes looked to a crane-like structure thirty feet away.
A chunk of Allora’s fuselage rested against the heavy machine.
"And the others?"
"Don't...know."
"I need to go check on Ria. I'll be back in a second, though, okay?"
Qurpall moaned in pain. "Just...finish it."
Taza regarded the forklift. "If I can find a few others..."
Qurpall shook his head weakly. "I can't feel anything beneath my neck..." He sobbed. "Please."
Taza crouched, pressing his blaster into the kid’s forehead.
"Tell Ria, I'm sorry...I couldn't get her...all the way." He scrunched his eyes shut. "Thank you."
Taza was about to pull the trigger, but Qurpall released a rattling breath and became still.
"Rest in peace, kid," Taza said, setting a piece of sheet metal across him.
He hurried to Ria.
She was unconscious. The section of fuselage pinned her to the ground.
He pushed his back against the debris and jammed his fingers under the serrated metal. He heaved with everything he had, his TEK creaking and whining.
He gritted his teeth and growled as he shifted the weight a few feet.
It dropped with a resounding bang.
He kneeled next to Ria, gently removing her helmet and her busted TEK chest panels. Her ribs, sternum, and neck appeared fine, but she wasn't breathing. He felt her neck. Either his TEK’s touch sensors no longer worked properly or she had no pulse.
He confirmed she had no neck or head injuries and leaned in to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation. He pinched her button nose shut and locked lips with her. He gave two rescue breaths and performed thirty chest compressions.
"Come on, Ria."
He repeated the process.
Still nothing.
The distant sound of fighting grew louder. Either it had intensified or was getting closer.
He wondered whether Leeroy’s team had set the charges. Were they going to blow the place soon? Surely they would wait for Ria to make it through the gate. Perhaps that was why they were still fighting.
He tried one last set of breaths and compressions.
As he pressed his lips to Ria's something whacked him up the side of the ear.
He recoiled, falling from the Chan.
Ria looked up at him, wheezing. "What the hell are you doing?"
"CPR."
The Galactic Sentinel: Ultimate Edition: 4 Books with 2000+ Pages of Highly Entertaining Sci-Fi Space Adventure Page 110