“Huh?” replied Eden, somewhat confused. Her eyebrows furrowed and she held the dragon crystal near her eyes. “So, you're telling me that a person's DNA is in this rock?” She almost laughed. “That's a myth, right?”
“You grew up believing that the Knights Templar were a myth, did you not? And, now you are one.”
“So, those who found this crystal were humans in my bloodline?”
“Yes. Those of your bloodline knew of its importance and one of them infused her energy—her DNA—into it. You are an initiate of that bloodline and only an initiate can activate the dragon crystal. In any case, your line’s DNA has allowed this dragon crystal to be used for one purpose only. That purpose was for Swift and the bloodline to cohesively work together. Your bloodline created Swift using biological matter, and consequently, Swift is as alive as you and me. There are only a few crafts like Swift in the Universe. That is why you must keep the dragon crystal safe at all times and hidden from even your most cherished friends. It is the key to Swift.”
“So, I'm the only one who can fly this?”
“Many in your bloodline can fly Swift.”
“Who is in my bloodline?” asked Eden.
“I'm one. Admiral Byrd is another. The McCoy's—”
“Diana and Crystal?”
“Yes.”
Eden looked at her hands folded over the dragon stone. “So, does that make you related to me?”
“Yes, in the way that all life is related, from the smallest atom to the biggest planet. We are all connected as one whole being playing many roles in life.”
“Yes, you've said things like that before. Your calmness and honesty almost make me actually believe such things, but if you and I are the same bloodline, does that make us cousins or...?” Eden bit her lip, not wanting Thomas to see her disappointment. All she wanted to do was take him in her arms.
“Cousins or not, it makes no difference. Although, I am not your cousin in the sense you're thinking. I'm many bloodlines separated from you, just as you are many lines separated from Diana and Admiral Byrd.”
Eden exhaled. “That's a relief.”
“What's a relief?”
“Oh, nothing,” she said lightly, dismissing her comment with a hand gesture. So, Nyx can't be leader of Swift's crew because of that, but if you're of the bloodline, then why can't you be the leader?”
“I've been leader for quite some time now. I must move on.”
Eden crossed her arms. “You're going somewhere?”
Thomas nodded. “Yes. Not right at the moment, though.” He touched her hand with a soft caress, pausing for several seconds but avoiding her gaze. He looked up and suddenly Eden felt a pull from her heart to his.
He pulled back. “I should go.”
Eden's eyes softened. “Why?”
“For personal reasons.” He stood, then walked toward the door.
Eden jumped up and grabbed him by the coat, tugging him for a moment. He turned, giving her a look that almost made her melt. He put his hand on her cheek and moved forward, then paused, slowly whispering, “Open.”
The door slid open and he backed away, seeing her eyes closed and her hand reaching for him, waiting for a kiss. When she opened her eyes, she watched as the door shut. She heard his footsteps down the hall.
Falling back on her bed, she put her hands over her eyes and shook her head. “Leave him alone, Eden,” she told herself. “Stop making things complicated.”
∞
Almost out of breath, Louise panted, “Are the Knights Templar Guard going to help us?”
“They have their hands full back there!” shouted Manning.
Looking behind her, Louise saw explosions several blocks away. “Oh my Guild, Payson's good.”
“Where is Brigger?” asked Manning. “He disappeared when we went on this Payson hunt.”
A blast punctured a building next to them. “Take cover,” ordered Manning, falling back in an alley behind another building. He glanced around the corner to see where the shot came from. To his surprise, a large woman, standing behind a bulky tree was firing at him and his team. “Is that Shanraing? It looks just like her!”
“That's not Shanraing, but she’s as big as her,” muttered Louise, making her way toward him.
The large woman shot a few more times, clearly missing her targets, either on purpose, or she had never fired a phaser before.
“She's running!” screamed Louise.
“On it,” responded Manning, as he leapt out from behind the building. He pointed his phaser at the woman and shot a few times, but she was already too far away for a clear shot. To his surprise, a few of Payson's men were now running with her.
Manning growled into his com link at Louise. “Where'd they come from?”
“They slipped past us,” replied Louise.
The ITS agent piped up, “They slipped in on your nine. I didn't want to interrupt you while you were in that firefight a couple of minutes back. Just in case —”
“Guild! Are you serious? I need to know when the enemy is near us, regardless of whether it distracts me or not. The idea is to distract me, so we can make a quick plan of action to detour them.”
“Yes sir.”
“Son,” responded Manning. “Is this your first go at this?”
“Sir, this is the first go for all of us. And I apologize for that. We never had to deal with such...things...before. It was always war games, but nothing real.”
“Understood. Out.” He waved for everyone to follow him. “Let's go. Full pursuit. Keep your eyes peeled for more jokers trying to get a good shot at us, but keep moving. It’s more difficult to hit a moving target.”
They moved forward, losing sight of Payson's men and the giant woman around another building. Louise's voice cracked over the com link. “I don't remember seeing a woman with them in the infirmary.”
“I know there wasn't a woman with them. We wouldn't miss someone her size,” replied Manning.
As they ran, Manning grabbed his water canteen from his belt and took a big swig. “I'm getting too old for this, Louise. I used to be able to run for hours on end.” He clicked the canteen back on his belt, then quickened his pace.
“Oh, whine to someone else,” Louise chided as she passed him.
“Do you think we are actually chasing Payson?” asked Manning.
“No idea, Manning. Just keep moving.”
Rounding a building, Manning's squad slowed and took aim straight ahead, seeing their targets climbing over an ebb cement barrier. Before they could get any shots off, the elite soldiers had already made it over the barrier.
Manning shook his head, sweat dripping off his brow and nose. “Damn. Let's keep going. To the barrier!”
Louise started after them, pumping her legs as fast as they could move. “They are almost to the airlock.”
Making it to the barrier and climbing over the smooth ebb, Manning, Louise, and the squad continued forward, seeing the landing bay up ahead. Manning stopped in his tracks as he spotted the Guard he had sent to the airlocks earlier lying on the ground next to a Starhawk transport, most likely dead.
“They killed the guys we sent forward,” said Manning.
“Most likely,” replied Louise.
A shot whipped by Manning’s head, causing him to twirl and fall.
Louise was immediately by his side, patting his leg. “You okay, Sergeant?”
“Yeah. Get down.” He pulled her to the ground, then crawled forward behind a parked hovercar. “Where did that come from?”
“Twelve o'clock.” Louise pointed, saying, “And she got two more.”
“That woman? I didn't think she could shoot!”
“She is a better shot than I thought, too.” Louise poked her head over the hood of the hovercar. “They are playing us better than we are playing them. They sucked us into this spot and—”
They heard a grunt behind them, seeing a Guard fall to the ebb street, clearly dead. Manning realized in that moment th
at they were in a bowl, surrounded by small hills, small buildings, and inclining streets on all sides. He glanced in all directions, but only saw the woman firing, no one else.
“They are using her to keep us at bay,” said Manning. “It is only one against forty of us.” Manning tapped his earpiece. “All units, fire at will. Now!”
He stood with Louise and fired. But, they fired at nothing. The woman was gone.
Manning dropped his arms by his side and hung his head. “Jeez!”
“That's all you got? Jeez?” laughed Louise. “You’ve got quite the vocabulary there.”
Manning touched his earpiece. “ITS, you with me?”
“Yes, Sergeant.”
He shook his head. “Feel free to chime in at any time. I mean it. You got nothing but free, open air with me. I'm not going to charge you.”
“Okay, Sergeant. The best we’ve got is that the Knights Templar Guard are coming your way now. They've finished off the rest of Payson's guys. The only ones left are the woman and the four you're pursuing.”
“Good. Out...oh, wait. When I say out do you think I mean that I don't want you to speak until I speak with you?”
“Yes, sir.”
“It doesn't mean that.”
“Yes, sir.”
Manning clenched his fist by his side. “Out!” He gestured for his paltry troop to push forward. “Go, go!” he ordered, practically leaping over the hood of the car, heading up an inclined street, passing a peculiar object on the ground. Without stopping to see exactly what it was, he spoke into his com link. “What did I just pass, Louise?”
“Hold on...almost there.” There was a pause, then Louise continued, “It's a phaser. Looks like she threw it on the ground. I don't know if it was out of charge or what.” Louise picked it up. “It wasn't hit by us. And...yeah, it's almost fully charged.”
“Okay, keep it.” He pressed forward, suddenly seeing the woman heading toward a Starhawk. “She is trying to hide in a transport,” said Manning. “Go after Manning's assholes and I’ll pin her down in the transport.”
“Awww,” responded Louise on the com link. “Going after the unarmed woman. Tough job, Ace!”
“She's twice my size. I don't think it's going to be that easy.”
“Alright, you better take her out,” said Louise. “I got everything covered from here. We're heading to the airlocks. Cover us after you're done.”
“Roger that,” said Manning.
Jumping over a bush, Manning changed direction toward a side street, hoping for a better shot at the woman, who was now trying to open the Starhawk's co-pilot cockpit door. She was clearly having trouble with it.
He slowed, then stood next to another building, leaning against it for a good shot. “Aim true, Manning,” he said, wiping the sweat from his eyes. He took aim with her dead center in his sights. He pulled the trigger.
The laser hit the ebb floor next to the woman, causing a small chunk of ground to explode.
“Shit, wide right.” What's wrong with me? he thought.
The woman turned in surprise and Manning saw fear—something he hadn't seen from a warrior before. She mouthed, “Sorry,” and burst the Starhawk's door open and fumbled inside, then slammed the door shut.
Manning lowered his weapon and touched his ear com link. “She's not a soldier.”
“Did you get her?” asked Louise. “You're already at the Starhawk?”
“Negative on both accounts, Captain. I missed wide.”
“Well, go get her!” she yelled.
“Yes Ma’am,” said Manning, as he hurried toward the Starhawk. I hope she can't fly one of those things.
∞
The co-pilot's door opened and Devon unconsciously moved over and snuggled against Chase, hoping that somehow this uninvited guest wouldn't see them sitting in the cargo hold.
This guest was a giant, tall and as robust as Prime Director Zim Nocki. She fell over the co-pilot seat, landing hard on her shoulder, then somersaulted onto her back. She sprang to her feet and flung herself at the door, shutting it quickly.
Chase tightened his lips and shook his head, telling Devon not to say a word— just in case. Chase could tell that this woman was on the run.
Devon nodded. He wasn't going to move, though he had to pee like never before.
“Oh my, oh my, oh my!” the woman cried, plopping herself into the pilot seat. She flicked a few levers and pressed several buttons on the cockpit ceiling. The HDC glowed many colors, changing the inside of the ship from darkness to a brilliant light show of greens, whites, and reds. She punched holographic buttons on the HDC next to the control stick and the engines roared, then the Starhawk shook.
“Control HQ Lumus II, this is Kalista! I'm under heavy fire. I need launch bay doors open...please...” she looked to her right and her eyes widened. “They are coming closer. I need—”
Her voice cut off just as the launch bay doors opened, showing dozens of launch tubes.
“I'm leaving Starbase Matrona, soon to land on Lumus II. Thank you, Lien-L, if you're listening.”
Something slammed against the door and Kalista yelped. She fumbled with the controls on the HDC, staring over at the co-pilot window, whispering, “I'm sorry. I'm really not a killer. I'm so sorry.”
Sergeant Manning leaned into the window, trying to see anything inside. He, of course, couldn't. The windows were too darkly tinted. He had his phaser in hand and pointed it at the window.
The Starhawk rose violently and Manning fell onto his back, popping off a bad shot as he hit the ground.
Devon shook his head like a puppy dog, wanting to speak, wanting this woman to lower the ship to let them out, but silence seemed to be the only safe option at the moment.
“Let's get out of here, Starhawk,” she said, pressing something on the HDC and moving the control stick. The Starhawk pitched forward at remarkable speed.
Slipping perfectly into a launch tube, Kalista pressed another button on the HDC and jostled her stick to steady the Starhawk, making it slow down, then stop on a dime. Devon and Chase's feet slammed into the floor and if it weren't for everything else jostling at the sudden stop, Kalista would have easily heard them. They were no more than fifteen feet behind her.
“Close rear launch tube door,” said Kalista. She waited for moment, then spoke again, “Rear door closed. Open forward launch tube door.”
The next door opened.
“Thank you,” she said.
The Starhawk blasted out of the launch tube and Devon and Chase felt the rush of take-off, the high blood pressure, and instant weight increase grab their bodies as g-forces set in. Going from zero to four hundred miles per hour within a few seconds sucked them like a vacuum into back wall of the cargo hold. A few seconds later, the rush was over and they could breathe properly again. If it wasn't for the g-force anticipators built into the cargo and cockpit of the Starhawk, they would have passed out.
Devon glanced out of the cargo window, seeing Tanza blazing in all of its green beauty. He whispered in Chase's ear, “Things changed. I didn't paint anything like this.”
Chase gave him a pissed-off look, admonishing him to keep quiet, not even a whisper.
“Setting course now,” spoke Kalista. “Things have gone awfully wrong. Is it safe to land on Lumus II?”
“It is safe,” a voice replied. “However, we are re-routing you.”
Kalista gave a curt nod. “Coordinates?”
“Zero-zero-one,” responded the voice.
“Zero-zero-one?” She thought for a moment. “Iburun?”
“Yes and—we see two heat signatures on your craft. Two humans. All indications show that they carry no weapons. I repeat, two humans are on your craft. Eliminate them. They pose an immediate threat to classified operations.”
Kalista froze and held her breath. So did Devon and Chase.
She pressed on the HDC to activate autopilot, then sighed. She stood.
Devon squeezed up against Chase, both not knowing
what to do.
She turned around and glared at them.
“Please,” said Chase. “Our hands are handcuffed and we can't do anything...at all.”
She grabbed her phaser but her holster was empty. She had thrown the evil weapon away while she was inside Sphere 1, telling herself she wasn't a violent woman. She was just taking orders.
She walked to them, then stopped halfway, bending down and reaching under the ebb bench seat, unclasping something. A moment later, she pulled out a large toolbox and opened it. She reached in and lifted out a giant snip cutter, similar to something Devon and Chase had seen in the biosphere used to cut large branches.
Kalista eyed the tool, then eyed them. She frowned and walked toward Chase and Devon.
“I'm sorry,” she said.
∞
Naveya twiddled her thumbs as she waited in the Chemistry Lab of the infirmary, watching the frequency monitoring system test the frequency of the plant she had found—the antidote for batrachotoxin. The cure.
The monitor was a small gray box with two wires coming out of the sides and small clamps attached to the ends of the wires. She had placed one clamp at the base of a plant and the other clamp at the very top of it. She had pressed “run” on the monitor's small holographic display console and it had been running ever since.
She looked at the clock. Almost 5 AM. She wondered how long she'd been awake. She took out a small vial of oil and sniffed it.
“Peppermint,” she said, smiling. She bent down and had MiMi take a whiff. “It'll keep you awake. You know I need you tonight more than ever.”
MiMi smelled the oil, then wagged her tail and barked a couple of times.
Star Guild Episodes 10 - 18 (Star Guild Saga) Page 15