by Cheree Alsop
Liora leaned her head against the back of the ship and closed her eyes.
“You ran into them?” Tariq repeated.
Liora kept her eyes closed. “I was looking for you,” she said, forcing her tone to remain steady.
Silence filled the air between them. The images of Tariq’s memory flashed through Liora’s mind. No wonder he hated Damaclans with such intensity. His hatred had fueled her rage against the worms as much as her own anger. Her stomach twisted at the thought that he would distrust her even further if he knew the whole story.
Chapter 12
“If what you’re saying is true, the Revolutionaries aren’t responsible for the Coalition surveyors’ beacon.”
Liora focused on Devren’s voice in an effort to push her thoughts away.
Devren’s words were a quiet counterbalance to the Shathryn’s near-hysterical voice. An officer named Clell moaned with pain while Tariq patched his stomach. Liora felt claustrophobic in the small ship surrounded by so many people. She closed her eyes and listened to Devren in an effort to stay calm.
“Perhaps if we can find the reason for their distress signal, we can get to the bottom of what the Coalition wants us to do here.”
“You’ll have to meet with Stone about that,” the gray-haired rebel replied.
“Will he be at the ship?”
“I’m not sure. We lost track of our men when the worms attacked.” His voice lowered. “We’ve been here three days and haven’t seen them before. I don’t know what brought them out.”
“All I know is that huge worms make for even bigger predators.” Officer Straham leaned his head back and gave a weary sigh. “If I never seen one of those bird dragon things again, it’ll be too soon.”
“I second that,” Hyrin agreed.
He settled the ship onto the sunlit sand a click away from the Revolutionary spacecraft.
“Give us a few minutes to talk to them,” the rebel told Devren. “We’ll smooth things over so they don’t come out shooting.”
“I appreciate that,” Devren replied.
As soon as the rebels were off the ship, Officer Straham put his palm to a reader near the back. A panel opened to reveal a hidden cache of weapons.
“It pays to be cautious,” Devren told his crew while Straham handed them out. “Don’t have itchy trigger fingers, but stay on guard. We’re enemies, but something’s not right here. Until we get to the bottom of it, I don’t want anyone making any rash decisions.” He looked at Shathryn. “Understood?”
A wave of surprise filled Liora at the Humanoid’s embarrassed look. “I understand.”
“Did you shoot someone?” Liora asked her.
Shathryn lifted her shoulders in a little shrug. She looked so fragile with strings of worm entrails in her hair and her gun held in the crook of her bandaged arm, it was hard to imagine her hurting anyone.
“I may have shot the commander of a rebel force we were supposed to question a few years back,” she admitted.
“You also shot the heir to the Belanite secondary line,” Hyrin said from the front seat.
“He was a jerk,” Shathryn told the pilot.
“We’re lucky they still let us land on any of the Gaulded,” Hyrin reminded her.
“How about the Salamandon princess. What was her name? Cry…cray…Cratonista?” O’Tule asked.
“She not only had a stick where the stars don’t shine, she was hitting on Devren,” Shathryn said with a spark of protectiveness in her gaze.
“I told you I could handle myself.” Devren shook his head. “It’s not like I would have done anything.”
“I’d hope not,” Shathryn replied. “She was up to no good.”
“You’ve really got to stop shooting people,” Tariq told her. “One of these days it may have consequences.”
“Don’t worry. Everyone I shot had it coming.” Shathryn winked at him. “Want to give me a reason?”
Tariq cracked a smile. “I thought you had a book full of them by now.”
She laughed. “I have a bad memory. Remind me.”
“No thanks,” Tariq replied.
“Here they come.”
Everyone fell silent at Hyrin’s warning. Two of the Revolutionaries they had rescued from the worms approached the loading ramp.
“Stone is willing to meet with you,” the gray-haired one said. “No weapons. Out in the open. Man to man.”
“Captain, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Straham began.
Devren removed his pistol and submachine gun. He handed both of them to the disapproving officer.
“You can bring two unarmed crew members,” the man continued. “Stone will have his advisors with him.”
Tariq handed his guns to Straham without waiting for Devren to say his name.
“Officer Day, you too,” Devren said.
It took Liora a moment to realize he was talking to her.
“Me?” she asked.
Tariq nodded.
Liora wordlessly handed the gun back to Straham. The officer looked a bit flustered at the amount of weapons he held.
“The knife, too,” Devren said.
Liora had forgotten she still wore it. It felt as though the weapon was something she had always had. She couldn’t have fought the worms without it.
She hid her reluctance when she unbuckled the blade. Shathryn held out a hand for it.
“Don’t worry,” the purple-haired officer said. “I’ll make sure it gets right back to you.” She lowered her voice and continued, “You’ve got to be ready if someone needs a little jab. There’s a lot of deserving people out there.”
She winked at Liora.
Liora fought back a smile and followed Tariq and Devren down the ramp. Leaving their crew members and weapons gave Liora a feeling of vulnerability she had never experienced before. She had never depended on anyone else for comfort, companionship, or security. The fact that the steps she took away from the ship were so hard bothered her. She glanced back, trying to puzzle it out.
“Given some luck, we’ll get the information we need and return to the Gull within the hour,” Devren told her. “We don’t want to be out here when that hits.”
Liora followed his gaze to red storm clouds massing in the distance.
“Maybe that’s why the worms were so restless,” she said quietly.
Devren’s eyebrows pulled together and he nodded with a thoughtful expression. “You might be right.”
A man with a white streak in his black hair stepped down the ramp from the Copper Crow. Liora vaguely remembered him from the circus. Two other Revolutionaries, a Salamandon woman and a male Gaul with huge horns followed. Faces peered from the doorway after them.
“Captain Metis, I presume,” the rebel leader said. He held out a hand. “My name is Stone; I own the Star Chaser.”
Devren shook his hand. “I appreciate you meeting with me.”
“And I appreciate you rescuing my men,” Stone replied. “It takes a certain kind of man to save an enemy.”
“‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend’,” Devren quoted. “The worms and flying beast were the greater danger.”
Stone gave an appreciative nod. “A proverb from Earth, if I’m not mistaken.”
“You’re correct,” Devren told him. “My dad used to study Earthling international policy. He always said we must learn our history or be bound to repeat it.”
“A wise man,” Stone conceded. “I’d like to meet him someday.”
Devren’s lips tightened for the briefest moment before he said, “He was slain in a skirmish a few days ago.”
“With Revolutionaries.” Stone guessed the words the captain left unspoken. At Devren’s nod, Stone’s voice lowered. “We have all lost loved ones in this war. The sooner we can live in peace, the better for all.”
“Peace as Revolutionaries?” Devren asked, his tone level.
“Peace as mortalkind,” Stone replied.
Aware that they had reached an impasse, De
vren glanced at Tariq. The medical officer stepped forward.
“Stone, we were sent here by the Coalition to investigate the beacon from a survey crew a few clicks away. I don’t think your presence so close by is a coincidence.”
Stone crossed his arms. The torn elbows of his coat showed signs of the battle with the worms and the Coalition officers.
“I suppose we’ll both get out of here faster if we work together.” Stone glanced at the growing storm in the distance. “If those worms and the winged creatures are any sign, this planet is about to get a lot less hospitable.” He nodded at the Gaul behind him. “Jedredge, tell him what we know.”
The Gaul took up the report. His deep voice rumbled when he said, “You came here following a beacon from your survey team. Apparently, they weren’t alone. We were sent here on orders to locate one of our ships that had crashed on route to uncover a discovered object.”
“Do you have the coordinates of the crash?” Tariq asked.
The Gaul shook his shaggy head. “The orders were encrypted. Unfortunately, Warlum and Tates disappeared during the worm attack. They hold the encryption keys.”
“We’re in the process of attempting to locate them,” the Salamandon explained. “But their location beacons disappeared below ground.”
“How long would it take for someone to hack the orders?” Devren asked.
Stone lifted his shoulders. “We don’t have anyone left with those skills.”
“Hyrin could do it.”
Everyone looked at Liora. For the first time, Stone met her eyes. She felt his gaze on the tattoos running down her neck.
“You have a Damaclan on your crew?” he asked with a hint of surprise.
“Officer Day has proven herself,” Devren replied simply.
Stone’s gaze didn’t leave Liora. “I was under the impression that the Damaclan had fallen out of favor with the Coalition, if they were ever in favor in the first place.”
“My father was human,” Liora told him. She hoped to appease his suspicions and move on. The need to clean the carnage from her body and have a moment to rest after the battle shortened her patience. “I feel like there are far more important items to address than my lineage.”
Stone gave a noncommittal sound at her abruptness and had the tact to change subjects. “Who’s Hyrin?”
“Our pilot,” she replied. “From what I’ve seen, he has the skills to hack your system.”
“Is this true?” Stone asked Devren.
The captain of the Kratos nodded. “He might be our best bet.”
Liora could see the wariness Stone felt at the thought of allowing a Coalition officer access to his ship’s computers.
“Captain?”
Devren glanced back at the Gull. Hyrin ran down the ramp and hurried across the dirt toward them. Puffs of red dust rose from each step.
“Captain,” Hyrin gasped when he reached them. “There’s been a development.”
Devren glanced at Stone. “This is the man of whom we speak.”
“Good to know,” Stone said. “I’ve never met a Talastan I didn’t get along with.”
Hyrin straightened up when he realized he had interrupted their meeting. The fact that he didn’t leave said multitudes about his concerns. He waited breathlessly for permission to continue.
“Report,” Devren said.
Hyrin’s words were rushed when he said, “Captain, Officer Duncan just radioed from the Kratos. There are ships, sir.”
“What ships?”
“Ships coming in,” Hyrin replied. “They’ve been using the Arizona transporter nonstop. Duncan thought at first they were just passing through, but since we’re at such a distant location and there’s such a variety of ships…”
“It’s too great to be a coincidence,” Devren finished.
Both leaders’ attention was on Hyrin completely.
“What kind of ships have you seen?” Stone asked.
“All kinds; Crows, Eagles, Sparrows, junkers. Duncan’s identified Revolutionaries, mercs, and salvagers.” Hyrin looked at Devren. “Captain, whatever we’ve stumbled into, it’s a lot bigger than we thought.”
Devren glanced at Stone.
Stone nodded. “Let’s get to the bottom of this. Officer Hyrin, you have permission to board my ship with two officers and attempt to hack the encrypted orders that sent us here.”
“Encrypted?” Hyrin replied, caught off guard. “You don’t have the key?”
“We’re attempting to locate it,” Tariq told him, “But for now, you’re our best bet.”
“That could take hours,” Hyrin said.
A crackle sounded in the distance. Everyone’s attention was caught by the sight of lightning flashing across the red storm front. Jagged green and yellow lines hit the ground at least thirty times.
A moment later, thunder unlike anything Liora had ever heard before hit them with the force of a wave. The wind knocked everyone back. Liora staggered and covered her eyes against the onslaught of sand that followed. For a moment, she couldn’t see anything. Her crew members and the Revolutionaries were lost from view. Thoughts of the man-eating worms and multi-beaked birds toyed in her mind.
The percussive echoes died away. Liora wiped her eyes and glanced around. The other members of the group looked as shocked as she was.
“Let’s go find those encryption codes,” Stone said. “Jedredge, Faye, take Hyrin and his officers inside so he can get to work on the orders.” The Gaul didn’t look thrilled at the command. Stone gave him a stern look. “Officer Hyrin and the crew members of the SS Kratos are under our protection as long as we are working toward the same goal. The incoming ships may prove to be a far bigger threat than our little skirmish, no matter who we’ve lost.” He glanced at Devren. “‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend’, right?”
Devren nodded. “Exactly.”
“Captain?” Liora waited until Devren motioned for her to speak. “I know where the worms come from.”
“You’ve been there?”
The thought of going back into the tunnels made Liora’s muscles tighten, but she nodded. “I can show you.”
Both commanders brought weapons out. Stone and four other Revolutionaries joined them on the Gull while Shathryn and O’Tule followed Hyrin to the Star Chaser.
Liora directed Devren to the place she had slain the worm to rescue Shathryn and the others. The body of the worm was gone; deep claw marks and shredded flesh showed evidence of the creature that had eaten it.
Liora peered into the tunnel.
“You sure this is a good idea?” Straham asked.
“If we want to find whatever is drawing the other ships, we need the encryption codes. We don’t have the hours Hyrin says it’ll take to break the orders. We need those keys.” Devren motioned toward the tunnel. “Let’s go.”
Liora stepped into the darkness. Behind her, Stone’s rebels and the Coalition officers turned on the lights mounted to their guns. Even though she held the submachine gun in her hands, the presence of the blade fastened around her thigh gave her more comfort. Liora slung the gun over her shoulder and drew the blade. No matter what happened on planet F One Zero Four, she made a vow to thank Branson for the weapon.
The footsteps behind Liora slowed when she reached the huge chamber. Her stomach turned at the odors wafting from the bodies of the worms and their victims. Now that the rage had faded, seeing the devastation she had caused felt like stepping into another reality. She could barely believe it had been her hands that had torn the creatures apart, leaving the mass-scaled massacre beneath the planet’s surface.
“You did this?”
Liora looked at Tariq. The officer leaned against the side of the cavern. Fresh blood showed through the shoulder of his atmosphere suit, reminding her of their moments in the cave. “I was searching for you,” she said.
Stone shook his head, his eyes on the quantity of slain bodies. “Nothing can match the rage of a Damaclan. Beware he who wrongs the worshipers o
f the Tessari Dragon.”
Liora turned away from the rebel leader’s searching gaze. She followed Straham down to the floor of the cavern to look through the bodies of the red planet’s victims.
Chapter 13
“I found Tates,” one of the rebels yelled. She paused, then said, “Or what’s left of him.”
Everyone made their way between the slain worms. Stone rummaged through the man’s shredded atmosphere suit.
“Sorry, Tates,” he said, his words quiet. A relieved look spread across his face and he pulled out a laminated card.
“This is what we’re looking for.”
As soon as they reached the rebels’ ship, both the Coalition officers and Revolutionaries waited with anxiously for Hyrin’s report. He typed quickly, entering the information from the card and letting it run the decryption. The anxious faces of the mixed group crowded behind him on the Star Chaser’s small bridge would have been laughable if it wasn’t for the extreme situation.
“Oh no,” Hyrin breathed.
“What is it?” Devren asked.
Hyrin looked up at his captain. “It’s worse than we could’ve imagined. No wonder so many ships are here.”
Stone set a hand on Hyrin’s shoulder. “What did you find, son?”
Hyrin glanced back at the screen. “It appears the crew of the SS Cerus accidentally stumbled upon an Omne Occasus, a galaxy imploder.”
“How would that work?” Devren asked.
Hyrin studied the screen. “This imploder magnifies energy by a quadrillion, simulating the collapse of a star on such a magnitude that anything within the event horizon, or the boundary of the black hole, would be absorbed, destroying all forms of energy.” He looked up at Devren. “Captain, anyone with that kind of power would control the Macrocosm.”
“Who has that kind of technology?” Stone asked, his face intent.
“I’m not sure,” Hyrin replied. “It doesn’t say. Experiments of that magnitude were outlawed ages ago.”
The screen in front of him beeped.
“Captain, we have a transmission from Officer Duncan.”
Devren looked at Stone. “Duncan is aboard the Kratos. I’d like to take the transmission if you don’t mind.”