“Don’t worry, though,” Gonzales continued, her face brighter than an LED candle. As terrifying as the situation was, it was good to see her getting closer and closer to her former self. I had a feeling that there would be far-reaching consequences of the horrors she had endured, but it gave me hope to see that she was recovering as well as one could expect. “All I have to do is get to the Saturn Hyperjump and we can shoot to the last colony. All they have there is a rickety old cruiser that’s been hanging in space for an entire generation. They won’t have a single thing that can hit us.”
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, the ship suddenly jerked to the side, moving so quickly and fast that my neck twinged in protest. Suddenly, alarms were going off and the computer was quickly listing on different stats that I could only understand about half.
“We can only maybe take one more direct hit like that,” Ciangi said. “The shields haven’t had enough time to generate to full capacity, so we’re basically just an armored boat out here.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Bahn said, unbuckling his restraints and struggling to the doors. “If I can get to engineering before we’re blown to smithereens.”
“Be careful!” Ciangi cried, sending him a pleading look. “Harunya will kill me if I let anything happen to you.”
“Don’t worry,” he answered with a wink. “I’m an expert, remember.”
With that, he ducked out and once more, I was a spectator in my own flight for my life.
It was almost funny. After so much studying, so much self-improvement, there was still nothing I could do in the situation. I hoped that would change once we arrived on Mimic’s planet.
If we arrived on Mimic’s planet.
“We’re almost there!” Gonzales cried, yanking the gear this way and that while punching different codes into the console with her other hand. “Just gotta keep dodging. Ciangi, I need you to lay a suppressive fire to keep them from crowding in front of us.”
“But what if we hit someone?” the woman countered. “Those are just soldiers doing their job out there. I don’t want to blast any of them into space!”
Gonzales drew an impatient breath, but ended up nodding in agreement, much to my surprise. “Fine. If you wanna be all moralistic about it, I’m sure there are some sort of incapacitating volts instead. Can you figure out how to scroll through the weapons database?”
“Yeah, I got it. But I can’t help but wonder why you, the weapons engineer that helped design this, isn’t on the actual weapons systems in this mad escape for our lives.”
“Ah, well that’s easy,” the dark-haired woman shot back. “I’m the best pilot we have.”
“Oh really?” Ciangi said, selecting something I couldn’t see on her console and then grasping the firing controls once again. “I don’t recall anyone but you ever saying that.”
“It’s not my fault you have terrible memory.”
“There!” I interrupted, pointing to a small grey circle in the front portal. “We’re almost there!”
“See?” Gonzales said, sending a cheeky smile to Ciangi. “I always get us to our goal.”
“Yeah, yeah. Imputing coordinates for Mimic’s planet now.”
The ship continued to roll this way and that, and I watched as smaller fighters tried to intercept us. Ciangi did an insanely good job of shooting them with some sort of purple, crackling ray that made them stop in their stacks and float away, leaving me to wonder if she had been practicing since the last time we had to flee for our lives.
But even with Gonzales’s mad dodging and Ciangi’s uncanny aim, we were still occasionally taking hits. The computer reminded us how close we were to destruction with each blow, and it was the most macabre countdown of my short life.
“I, uh, suppose this is the time to admit I’m not sure we’re going to make it,” Gonzales murmured after we took a particularly egregious missile to the back portion of the ship. “Which seems like a bit of a waste considering all the effort it took us to get to this point.”
Ciangi slammed her fist onto the comm button in response, leaning over to yell into it. “Bahn, you better have something good down in there, or we’re going to die apart and you always promised me we would go together.”
“Do not worry,” his cool voice came over the speaker. “A promise is a promise.”
Before she could ask him to clarify, I heard the mild hum of the ship pick up into a full-on rumble and then we were shooting forward even faster than before.
“Holy halibut!” Gonzales cried, quickly adjusting the gears as she drew out each and every syllable. “How fast are we going?”
“Very,” Bahn’s voice answered over the comms.
“How scientific,” I muttered, my skin pulling back from my face from our sheer velocity.
“Forget scientific, this is downright awesome!” Gonzales whooped.
She leaned into the controls and the small circle in the distance rapidly grew larger and larger until it was practically on top of us.
“Coordinates are in!” Ciangi shouted.
“Perfect. Initiating hyperjump. Everybody say bye-bye Earth.”
“Bye-bye,” Bahn said through the speaker.
I held my breath as the rumbling of our ship turned into a full roar and we passed the horizon of the Hyper-ring. I wasn’t sure how that sort of technology worked beyond the fact that it got someone from point A to point B rapidly, so I could only marvel as the circle crackled with energy around us.
We almost seemed to stand still for a moment, and then suddenly we were snapped forward like someone had put us in an ancient slingshot. Space hurtled by so fast that it almost turned into a rushing, kaleidoscope of colors, swirling in a never-ending rush of a psychedelic rainbow.
But then it was over almost as soon as it had started, and we were spat out just before Earth’s farthest colony.
None of us whispered a single word, and the roar of the engines returned to its too-quiet hum. The last colony did nothing to stop us, the derelict cruiser not even budging. Like something out of a grand flick, we sailed out into the uninhabited parts of space without so much as a single bit of blaster fire.
I wasn’t sure how long we sat there, shocked by our own survival, but Bahn had enough time to leave engineering and return to us, his face showing the same shock I was feeling inside myself.
Surprisingly enough, it was Mimic who spoke first, her low, sweet voice a welcome change. “I suppose this should be less surprising since it’s the third time we’ve done this, but I was certain we were not going to make it this time.”
Gonzales let out a shaky laugh while she programmed the autopilot. “What, do you mean you didn’t trust me?”
“Of course I trust you,” Mimic answered with a brilliant smile. “It was the mechanics who built this vessel that I wasn’t sure of.”
“Well, I can’t blame you for that,” she said, laughing weakly.
I unbuckled myself and stood, hand still wrapped in Mimic’s, who quickly stood with me. I could now see on Ciangi’s console how many days we had left before we reached Mimic’s planet, and for the first time, I wasn’t scared, terrified or uncertain. We were back together again, the eggheads and the alien, and there was nothing we couldn’t do.
“So, who’s ready to defeat an entire army?” I asked, sending my friends the cheekiest grin I could muster.
“I am,” Ciangi said, standing as well and coming over to hug her taller twin.
“As am I,” Bahn answered, nodding resolutely to me.
“Count me in,” Gonzales said, also joining us. Her eyes flicked to me, and I felt that same strange intensity that I had once before in our cells. “I’ve got a whole lot of aggression to work off.”
“I am eternally grateful to all of you,” Mimic whispered. I could hear the sincerity in her voice and it bolstered me even more.
Yes, we had done the impossible and escaped Earth, but I knew the struggle was far from over. In fact, the story of the mimic and the
space engineers was just beginning.
THANK YOU
Thank you so much for reading the Mimic and the Space Engineer Boxed Set which includes the first three books in the Space Shifter Chronicles. These stories cover the beginning of the adventure from discovery of the the shapeshifting alien, Mimic, to her journey home and ultimate reunion with Higgens and the crew. The next set of stories will revolve around the fight to save Mimic’s people.
I really hope you enjoyed the stories. If you could leave a review for me, that would be awesome because it helps me tell others about my books.
At the end of the book, there is a preview of the next book in the Space Shifter Chronicles, Mimic Raises an Army. In this book, Mimic and the gang must build an army to defend her people from a hostile alien invasion. After you read the preview, you can download the book on Amazon.
Get Mimic Raises an Army here: amazon.com/dp/B078G25J4X
I have also included a preview of Recruit, the first book in the Jack Forge, Fleet Marine series which is an action packed space Marines series. This first story tells how Jack was plucked from the University and sent to basic training, essentially against his will. After you read the preview, you can download the book on Amazon
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PREVIEW: MIMIC RAISES AN ARMY
“STOP! I SAID STOP!”
A haunting scream pulled me from my sleep, and I bolted upright so fast that my head spun. Rubbing my temples, I tried to get my bearings on my unusual surroundings.
Oh right, we were on the ship that we had stolen from Earth Gov. I still couldn’t believe that had happened, but the rumbling of the metal around me confirmed it.
I felt a slight movement beside me, and saw that Mimic had been lying next to me, sleek and shiny in her spikey, natural form just like the old times when we had first met. It was funny, I knew she technically didn’t need to rest the same way I did, but I appreciated her company nonetheless.
“STOP!” The scream sounded again, desperate and wretched, echoing through the empty halls like the wail of an ancient banshee. Finally, my brain sprung to life and the entire situation clicked.
“Gonzales!” I cried, stumbling out of bed.
I bolted toward the door, Mimic rousing and following without question. Thankfully, we all had chosen to sleep somewhat near each other, and I only had to go to the next officer’s cabin about halfway down the corridor to get to the weapons engineer’s room.
I burst in just as the coin twins were rounding the corner. Sure enough, Gonzales was tossing and turning on her bed, and I could smell both the sweat and fear in the air.
“What is happening?” Mimic asked, having returned to her human form.
“Night terror,” I answered, rushing to Gonzales’s side.
“Or PTSD,” Ciangi said as she joined me. “Don’t try to wake her. She could have her eyes open and talk to you, but still be in the episode. Also, she might lash out. Just try to make sure she doesn’t hit her head on anything.”
“I know.” Carefully, I pulled back the covers and slid a hand behind her twisting waist. I pulled her up gently, her fist pummeling me as I did, but I held her long enough for Ciangi to slide behind her.
“Boy, she really knows how to land a punch,” I gasped after a blow hit me square in my ribs.
“Oh, I don’t think she ever mentioned it, but Gonzales is super into kickboxing.” The blonde finally finished getting settled, and put a pillow against her stomach before tenderly pulling the other woman back down. Once the two women were flush, Ciangi carefully wrapped her arms around her friend and whispered quiet encouragements.
I followed suit, my hands encircling one of the wildly-flailing fists. At first, Gonzales tried to resist, but I just waited patiently until the arm went somewhat slack. Once I was sure it probably wasn’t going to beat me into a pulp, I released one of my hands and gently stroked at the skin of her arm as comfortingly as I could. Eventually, the fist relaxed and her fingers unclenched, allowing me to gently massage her palm.
“You seem to have experience with this,” Bahn remarked quietly from behind me.
“There was an accident at the colony when I was little. Explosion,” I murmured, never taking my eyes away from Gonzales’s pained face. “People survived, but were trapped with the mangled remains of the dead for several days until we could extract them. There was no water, food, and hardly any oxygen. Almost all of them had some sort of PTSD from it, so all of us learned how to take care of each other.”
“At least you all were there for each other,” Ciangi supplied helpfully.
“Our colony was small, and back then, on the very outskirts of civilization. We only had each other.”
“Like us,” Mimic said, almost too quietly to even hear.
But I did catch it, and I nodded. “Yeah, a lot like us.”
We went quiet for a while, the only sound in the room being the occasional thrash or yell from Gonzales. I liked to think that she could sense us there, trying to comfort her as best we could, and to make sure she was safe.
“I do not remember her doing this before,” Mimic whispered after a considerable time had passed. I appreciated that. Although she had no idea what was really going on, she understood that calm and quiet were required. “Did something happen?”
I let out a harsh breath since a snort might have startled Gonzales. “Yeah. You could say that.”
“I see.” I risked a glance over my shoulder to see my friend studying us quizzically, as if trying to put together an incredibly complex puzzle. “I feel like this is something I should never ask of, unless Gonzales tells me personally. Is that correct?”
I nodded. “Yeah, very good. It seems you haven’t forgotten how us humans work since we left.”
“No, not at all,” Her expression clouded slightly. “But after what has happened on Earth, I am beginning to fear that I understand how your kind operates too well.”
I almost wanted to object, to say that she had just seen the bad that humanity had to offer, but with each tremble of Gonzales’s sweat-drenched form, I couldn’t help but agree with her sentiment.
Maybe it wasn’t a bad thing that I never belonged with my own kind. As of late, they were decidedly awful, and I believed that we could be better than that.
TWO LONG HOURS, Gonzales was stuck in the throes of her nightmares. Except they weren’t really nightmares. The way it had been explained to me when I was younger was that the dreams that happened in one of these fits were hyper-realistic, so much so that it could be dangerous to lie beside someone who was suffering from one. I didn’t even want to imagine what Gonzales was seeing behind her closed lids, but I wished more than anything that I could end it.
When it did finally end, it was like someone had thrown a switch. One moment she was drawn as tight as an ancient Earth bow, whimpering words I couldn’t understand, the next she went as limp as a hot space ration and nearly sank into the bed. Ciangi and I exchanged surprised glances, but waited for her to open her eyes a few minutes later before saying anything.
“Um…hello?” she asked, her normally rich skin now drawn and pale. “What are all of you doing here? Slumber party I didn’t know about?”
She sighed and reached a shaky hand up to wipe her drenched forehead. “Is that what that was?”
“Yeah,” I answered softly before looking to Bahn. “Can you go grab her a drink from the fabricator?”
He nodded and crossed to the living room area of the officer’s quarters. Ciangi wiggled out from behind the woman and sat down next to her.
“You had me worried there for a minute.”
“I worried myself,” she answered honestly. “Hey, so I’m, like, uncomfortably soaked right now. Would you mind grabbing me a spare jumpsuit from the supply area?”
“Sure. Be back in a bit.”
The blonde woman gave me a nod then slid off the bed, disappearing out the still open door. Bahn returned a moment later, handing Gonzales a cup of cold liquid and a piece of bread.
She took them gratefully, but was smart enough not to swallow them down too quickly for her system to handle. It was as she nibbled at the bread that I found her eyes on me.
“You must think I’m weak,” she blurted, seeming to surprise herself as much as me.
My eyes went wide, and I could only stare at her in puzzlement. “Why on Earth would I think that?”
“We’re not on Earth anymore,” she mumbled, her eyes flicking away. “And because I let something as simple as a bad dream get everyone all riled up.”
“It wasn’t a dream,” I countered, feeling strangely defensive. “And you’re not weak. Sometimes the mind copes with trauma in really terrible ways. You’re still in recovery, so don’t feel bad about needing time to heal.”
“I…I’m glad you think so.” She sighed. “I feel like an idiot. You guys managed to not get captured until almost a month after me. If I hadn’t been so careless, I would have been able to get to you in time and warn you, instead of wasting all those weeks in our cells.”
“You were wise to the treachery a month before us. If anything, you were too smart for your own good.”
Mimic and the Space Engineer Boxed Set, Books 1 - 3 Page 24