Sage’s heart sank as he recognized the unconscious form on it, Orion. Tala was on the other side of the bed, along with one of the medical robots. An articulating surgical arm unfolded from the ceiling was also working on…
Sage swallowed. It looked like Orion’s intestines had been completely torn out. Tala’s face was tense with concentration as she and the robots sterilized and repaired. An oxygen aid stuck out of Orion’s nostrils, and IVs ran to his veins.
The other beds were filled, and another robot was inserting nanobots into the patient next to Orion—Ensign Nox. Injured women occupied the remaining beds and the exam table. The other women sat against the walls and in Tala’s office.
As Sage walked toward his brother, he spotted a dead Zi’i in the corner. One of the svenkars, the female Miss Angela favored, he assumed, lay nearby licking her wounds.
Judging by the shredded bed sheets, blood on the deck, and battered cabinet doors, a great deal of fighting had gone on in here. Later, Sage would have words with his men for allowing that to happen, but now, all he could do was go stand beside Juanita to look down at his brother.
Tala was so focused that she didn’t seem to see him. Sage didn’t speak, not wanting to distract her, but he was relieved she appeared uninjured. Later, he would find out more about the gas and thank her for helping his people once again. He owed her a thank you and an apology.
He removed his gauntlet and rested his hand on Orion’s leg. A lump formed in his throat as he once again imagined having to tell Mom that he’d lost his baby brother.
“He saved us,” Juanita said. Her hand rested on Orion’s shoulder, but she looked at Sage, tears brimming in her eyes. “More than once. When they came in, he fought them off. And then he protected the robot that went out to gas the Zi’i. He risked his life to make sure the gas got distributed.” Juanita blinked, and some of the tears in her eyes trickled down her cheeks, but she didn’t look away from Sage. She held his eyes with a determined expression. “He’s a hero.”
She said it like a challenge, almost defying him to disagree.
Once, perhaps he would have, but he hadn’t understood Orion’s choice to become a bounty hunter back then. He’d assumed it was about making money and snubbing the law. It hadn’t occurred to him that the young man who’d been repeatedly disciplined while in the fleet and then kicked out of it might actually care about helping people.
“Yes,” he said in simple agreement.
Seeming satisfied, Juanita turned back to Orion.
Orion’s head turned to the side at the sound of Sage’s voice.
Sage grimaced. He hadn’t expected his brother to be awake, not with wounds like that. He looked at Tala.
“He wouldn’t let us anesthetize him while enemies remained on the ship,” Tala said, somehow guessing his question without looking up.
Sage hadn’t realized she knew he was there.
“Last time,” Orion whispered weakly, looking at Sage.
“What?” Sage leaned forward.
“Last time I leave my ship… without my armor.”
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear you say that since only soldiers and law enforcers are legally allowed to have armor.”
“I’m a rebel, Sage.”
“Clearly.” Sage patted his leg lightly, not wanting to do anything that might discomfort him. “If you’re going to stay on my ship and keep mooching meals, we’ll have to find you a temporary set of armor. Or a permanent one.” He thought of the job offer Orion had been sent right before they left Dethocoles, an invitation to join the Star Guardians and train under Sage.
That had been before Sage disobeyed orders and took the Falcon 8 on this private mission. He wasn’t sure if Orion would survive this surgery, but Sage vowed to try to make sure his brother still had the opportunity to become a Star Guardian, even if he himself was kicked out of the service.
“Someone cut up your head,” Orion observed, then smiled, as if seeing Sage injured was delightful.
Maybe he wanted someone he could commiserate with. Or maybe he liked seeing signs that Sage had screwed up. Sage knew his success had sometimes made his little brother bitter, perhaps because such success had eluded him. Sage didn’t blame him for feeling that way. There had been times in his life when he’d felt like the gods were watching out for him, and he was never sure what he’d done to deserve that.
He liked to think he was brilliant, but these last few days certainly seemed a testament to the contrary. He was probably just lucky. But he wouldn’t reject luck. One of his old commanders had often said being lucky was just as valid a way to win as being good.
Sage hoped his luck would last a little longer, so they could escape this system. And so Orion would pull through.
“I thought fighting Zi’i without a helmet would be a good idea,” Sage said, realizing Orion seemed to expect an answer.
“Sounds dumb.”
“It was.”
“I didn’t think you could do anything dumb,” Orion said.
For the first time, Tala looked up, quirking a single eyebrow at Sage. Or perhaps at the comment. She, no doubt, disagreed with it.
“My superiors discourage it, but sometimes dumbness outs itself.”
“Very poetical.”
“I strive to be quotable. The journalists appreciate it.”
Orion winced, whether at the comment or at having his innards probed, Sage didn’t know. But he looked at Tala and said, “Why don’t you knock him out, Doctor? The Zi’i all seem to be unconscious.”
Tala looked toward Orion.
“Hells, go ahead,” he murmured, closing his eyes. “It’s not like my brother is a good enough conversationalist that I’d be distressed to miss him talking.”
“The love you two are expressing for each other is the warm fuzzy stuff of greeting cards and Hallmark movies,” Tala said, shifting a step so she could slip something anesthetizing into Orion’s IV.
“Not sure what she’s talking about,” Orion said, “but I think she’s insulting us, Sage.”
“We probably deserve it.”
“I know you do.”
Juanita and Tala looked at each other and rolled their eyes in unison.
“I’m glad you didn’t die over there, Sage,” Orion said, his eyelids starting to droop. “There was… something I meant to tell you.”
“What?”
“If things work out… somehow… I’d like to train with you. Become a Star Guardian.”
Juanita’s eyebrows drifted upward, but she didn’t say anything.
Sage squeezed his brother’s leg again. “Believe it or not, I’d like to have you train with us—with me. And I’d like to see you become a Star Guardian.”
“Huh. I should probably live then.”
“It does seem advisable.”
Sage’s comm beeped.
“Sir?” Hierax asked. “The other Zi’i ships are getting uppity and comming here a lot. Coric made it over here, and she’s trying to imply that we’re having a communications problem and can’t respond, except in text, which she’s supplying, but I’m not sure they’re buying it.”
“Have all the Zi’i been contained in a shuttle?” Sage asked.
“Three shuttles, and we’re working on it.”
“Good. Lay in a course for the gate home. We’ll take both ships and hope we can fool them a little longer into believing the Falcon 8 was taken prisoner by—what was the name of that ship? The Star Stalker?”
“Something grunty.”
“I think it’s a very good thing that you called Lieutenant Coric over,” Sage observed.
“Got no doubt about that. I know my limitations.”
“Just make sure Asan gets that ship flying. I’ll be on the bridge in a minute to ensure Zakota does the same.”
“Yes, sir,” Hierax said. “You might want to make it fast, sir.”
“I’ll make sure Zakota keeps his talisman rubbing to a minimum.”
“Did that sound dirty to a
nyone else?” Orion mumbled, the words slurred, his eyes closed now.
“No,” Sage said, as Juanita said, “Yes.”
Sage looked at her, glad to see the tears had dried. Maybe Orion’s banter had convinced her that he would pull through. Sage certainly hoped he would. For more reasons than not wanting to disappoint Mom.
“I need to get to the bridge,” Sage told the women. “But I’m glad you all seem to have survived the Zi’i.” He paused at the doorway. He hadn’t wanted to interrupt Tala, but he also felt he should say something specific to her, to let her know that he cared, that he’d worried about her, and that he was tickled that she’d helped with the Zi’i.
She turned her head and caught him looking at her. “If my patient cooperates and lives, I’ll be coming for my apology later.”
Juanita looked curiously at her.
“It’s yours whenever you want it,” Sage said softly, though she looked weary, like she needed a nap more than sexual adventures. He probably did too. He vowed to take it, as soon as his people were safe.
His comm beeped.
“Coming, Zakota,” he said and left.
21
“We have a problem, Captain,” Zakota said as soon as Sage stepped onto the bridge, joining him and Korta there.
Korta stood at his usual spot, the science station, and was likely monitoring ship movements in the rest of the system.
“Novel for us,” Sage murmured. “Give it to me.”
“Two of the Zi’i warships are on the move. It looks like they’re heading through the 205 gate.”
“We’re not moving yet, are we?”
“No, but Hierax and Asan report ready. They’re also ready to jettison the Zi’i shuttles.”
Sage headed for his command chair, though he didn’t sit down, merely stopped and gripped the back of it. “Hierax?” he said, opening a channel to the Zi’i ship again. “Have Coric send a text message to the other Zi’i, letting them know that—”
“They’re not buying that their own people are at the comm station here, sir,” Coric interrupted. “I just got a long stream of threats and demands for identification codes.”
“In that case, let’s just get moving. The Zi’i ship will lead, and we’ll pretend we’re imprisoned in their tow beam.”
“Sir,” Zakota said, “those two ships are parking themselves right in front of the gate. And I mean right in front of it. There’s no way we’ll be able to fly around them and get through unless we blast them out of the way first.”
Sage grimaced. Technically, they had a Zi’i warship of their own under their control and could add its fire power to the Falcon 8’s in a battle, but his pilot didn’t have any experience with Zi’i technology, and unless Hierax could man the weapons station over there, Sage wouldn’t have anyone who could fire weapons at all. Even if Hierax could handle it, it wouldn’t be second nature for him.
Even if his people over there knew the warship forward and backward, it would still be the fire falcon and one warship against two other warships and five more that were close enough to join the battle within minutes. There was no way they could fight their way through that gate. Which left… what?
“The nebula gate is still blocked?” Sage asked, studying the sensor display.
“By the mines and the Zi’i cruiser there, yes, sir,” Korta said.
“And our original destination…” Sage brought up gate maps in his head, imagining the journey through to Gaia and then the way he’d gone back to Dethocoles the first time he’d had the women on board. It would take twelve days to get home that way, twelve days to warn his people of the trouble here, since a few of those systems along the way were rarely to never visited by courier ships. But what choice did he have? They weren’t heading toward Zi’i space, and he didn’t know where the other two gates in the system led. “Is that open?”
“It’s not,” Korta said.
“What?”
“Since we originally entered the system, the Scyllans have brought ships over to block it. They’re also blocking the Zi’i gate and one of the two remaining ones.”
“How many ships?” Sage asked.
One way or another, it looked like they were going to have to fight their way out. He started running battle tactics in his mind, thinking of ways to either use the warship in a fight or sacrifice it in a fiery, spectacular, and devastating explosion to buy enough time to get away. Could he get all his people off and send it toward the warships guarding Gate 205 with a self-destruct countdown running? The problem with that idea was that, with the two Zi’i ships so close to the gate, it was possible that an explosion would damage the gate itself. A few gates had been destroyed during the Territory War, and neither his people nor the Zi’i, nor any other alien race that Sage was aware of, knew how to fix them. Destroying the gate would put home even farther away.
“Two large Scyllan ships are blocking Gate 372, the equivalent of the Zi’i warships,” Korta said. “We wouldn’t get past them without a heroic battle. There are no repair facilities in the next system in that direction.”
“I know.”
“Need to make a decision soon, Captain,” Zakota said. “Two more warships just left the station. Their shields are up, and they’re heading toward us.”
“You hear that Hierax?” Sage asked.
“Yes, sir. What’s your plan?”
Sage almost scoffed, but the way Hierax asked the question, as if he was absolutely positive Sage had one, made him keep the noise to himself. He didn’t want his people to feel disheartened.
“Fly us toward the unguarded gate,” Sage said.
“I don’t know anything about that wormhole or its destination, sir,” Asan said.
“None of us do.”
“Oh. Well, I guess it’s all right, then.”
“Captain,” Korta said as Asan got the warship moving, with the Falcon in tow. “It seems highly likely that there’s a reason that gate isn’t guarded. The Scyllans have enough ships out in the system now that they could have moved them there if they wished.”
“Trust me, that’s crossed my mind,” Sage said. “In fact, I deem it highly likely that there’s something extremely dangerous in that system. Or there are more Zi’i waiting, and we’re being funneled into a trap. But, with luck, it’s less of a trap than the one we’re in now. The Scyllans won’t be there, so there shouldn’t be anywhere near as many ships to deal with.”
The Zi’i ships could follow them right through the gate. But if the aliens were preparing for an invasion of the Dethocoles System, it was unlikely they would send a significant number of their forces to chase a single ship.
“Heading that way, Captain,” Hierax said. “With the Falcon in tow.”
“Good.”
Sage watched the sensor display, tracking the ships throughout the system—and those close enough to intercept. None of the Scyllan spacecraft veered to cut them off. But the Zi’i ships that had launched from the station were another matter. Two vessels gave chase.
Zakota’s fingers twitched over his control console, but they were still being towed by the Zi’i warship.
Sage shook his head. There was little point in continuing that ruse now.
“Hierax,” he started to say at the same time as Hierax spoke. “They’re gaining on us, sir.”
“I see that. Withdraw the airlock tube, and release us from tow. We’ll fly on our own power.”
“Yes, sir.”
Since Ku was part of the boarding party on the Zi’i ship, Sage took the weapons station. Zakota looked over at him, and Sage thought he might make a comment about his captain being rusty, but he only nodded.
“Distance to gate?” Sage asked.
“Eight minutes,” Zakota said.
“That gate look normal, Korta?”
“Yes, sir. The same as the five others in the system.”
“Take us to it, Zakota. Max speed.”
“Working on it, sir.”
Their captured Zi’i sh
ip flew at a maximum speed similar to the fire falcon’s, so they arrowed toward the gate side by side. The pursuing warships fired, but the range was great enough that their en-bolts half dissipated before reaching the Falcon 8 and the Star Stalker. Zakota tapped at the controls and mumbled to himself, partially integrated with navigation through the chip in his mind. The fire falcon swooped and spun as it continued toward the gate, and most of the enemy fire streaked past without touching them. The few bolts that made it struck the shields weakly and were deflected away.
“This is too easy,” Sage murmured, tossing a few half-hearted en-bolts back at the warships, even though he knew they wouldn’t be any more effective for him. He didn’t say it, but he was positive they were flying into a trap.
Sage considered altering course at the last minute and trying to surprise the aliens guarding the other gates. But they had shored up their defenses even more since Korta’s last report.
Sage thought about comming them and trying to make a deal, but the Scyllans had never responded to humans, not at any time in the two centuries the Confederation had known of their existence. Further, what was going on now made it clear they had an alliance of sorts with the Zi’i.
Still, as the minutes ticked down, Sage jogged over to the comm station and sent a hail to one of their ships and also the most populous planet.
“Three minutes to the gate,” Zakota reported.
Commander Korta looked over at Sage. “No answer?”
“No,” Sage said, eyeing the comm station.
“It seems we have no choice. We cannot stay here, and we cannot go through any of the other gates.”
“I wonder how far the Zi’i would follow us if we flew out past the heliosphere and into interstellar space.”
“To what end? We would have to return to the system eventually, and, as you’ve said, we dare not dally if we wish to warn your people about the Zi’i.”
“Yes, I know.” Sage sighed, not caring for any of the options.
“One minute, sir,” Zakota said. “We’re still going in?”
A shudder went through the ship as enemy fire caught the shields. The warships were close enough now to pack more of a punch.
Sagitta: Star Guardians, Book 3 Page 19