I shook my head in denial. “We defeated them. Surely they’d fear sending more ships.”
Asteran tilted his head. “No. They’ve already sent information concerning your weapons capacity, along with your colony’s numbers, to their leader. They know exactly how many ships it will take to defeat you.”
Gavin growled in disbelief. “We beat them before, and we’ll do it again. Lyra, we don’t have to stand here and listen to this nonsense.” He moved to the door. “I’m getting Crophaven.”
“Wait.” I yanked Gavin back and turned to Asteran. “How do you know this?”
Asteran’s hands dropped to his sides. His face fell into the deepest, darkest sorrow I’d ever seen, a regret so profound I wasn’t sure I could save him from it. “It happened to me.”
Chapter Nine
No Return
Heavy boots clomped on the chrome floor as a team of guards ushered Asteran and me to one of the private meeting rooms spanning from the commander’s control module. I’d never been escorted by men with lasers, or forced to explain myself in the secret, far corners of the New Dawn, but I wasn’t about to leave Asteran’s side, no matter how deeply I’d fallen in over my head.
When the senior scientists burst in and Asteran was speaking English with a complete knowledge of our history, I took the blame, allowing Gavin to go free. I was the one who’d handed him Gavin’s lapscreen, and I wasn’t afraid to face the consequences.
If what Asteran said was true, and the world I’d seen flash by in our first meeting was his home, I couldn’t fathom the arachnids pillaging such a beautiful planet to ruin. It reminded me so much of Old Earth, my chest ached.
Images of an entire fleet of arachnid ships hovering over our partially built buildings and our sorry excuse for a ship kept flashing through my mind. Worse yet, I envisioned our entire colony imprisoned in their cocoons, our faces blank and unknowing.
I had to do something. I did not want to end up like Asteran. Here I was worrying over my pairing with Tauren, and what Asteran thought of me. Silly worries in a trivial, strawberry-perfumed life. Boy, had reality come crashing in.
We walked past the part of the control deck I’d only visited on school tours. The lead guard flashed his locator, and we crossed through the portal leading to the offices with the highest clearance needed for entry.
The chrome shone like new because only a few had passed through these corridors over the hundreds of years the New Dawn had flown through deep space. Screens flashed diagnostics in red and blue, and fluorescent alphalight panels illuminated our way at even intervals. These lights didn’t flicker or black out as in other parts of the dying ship.
The previous commander had grown so old, he’d used a hoverchair to get around. He didn’t allow many visitors, for fear of contagion. Now, a new commander had taken his seat at the helm. But even if Crophaven had opened this private commanding module to us, he was as unyielding as Tauren, if not more so.
And I have to convince him Asteran is right.
We reached the portal to the meeting room, and one of the older guards with white hair flashed his locator. I glanced at Asteran, summoning a look of reassurance.
“Thank you for your kindness, Lyra. You have been my bright star in an otherwise dark end.” He spoke as though we headed to execution.
“I’m going to get you out of this.” I held his gaze, even as the particles dematerialized and the guards guided us forward to the room where the school tours had never ventured.
A long, black table filled the room, making it difficult for all of the guards to enter. Crophaven sat at the head in his white commander’s uniform with the New Dawn’s badge on his left breast pocket. On either side sat his two newly appointed lieutenants, Andromeda Barliss and Nova Williams. The sight of Nova eased a small amount of my anxiety.
Would she believe me?
Crophaven stood and gestured to the empty chairs. “Lyra Bryan, Asteran, please take a seat.”
So, the scientists have already told Crophaven his name. I wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. What else had they told him?
Asteran and I sat at the other side of the table with Asteran at the head, across from our opponents as if we played a game of chess.
The commander waved the guards away. “Leave us.”
Both guards bowed without question and disappeared, re-materializing the portal behind them.
I placed my fingers on the cool onyx table. The original engineers of the New Dawn had constructed everything in my family unit of plastic. This table must have been cut from Old Earth. If I hadn’t been so nervous, I would have snapped a picture with my wrist locator.
Crophaven wasted no time. His beady gaze honed in on me. “Ms. Bryan, the scientists from the med lab have told me you gave this...alien...access to the mainframe computer, including highly classified information about the capacities and weaponry of this colony.”
I swallowed a rock that had wedged in my throat. “Yes, that’s true.”
Crophaven leaned forward, his face a sheer cliff of impassive consequence. “Tell me one reason why I shouldn’t terminate him on the spot.”
Kill him? I stopped breathing and clutched my stomach. What had I done? I’d put Asteran in danger. I’d also learned vital information that would save this colony. Determination toughened my resolve. “Because he’s going to help us.”
The commander drummed his fat fingertips on the onyx. “Is that so?”
“She speaks the truth, sir, if I may interrupt.” Asteran nodded in my direction.
Andromeda gasped and Nova covered her mouth with her hand.
Even the commander shifted, as though Asteran’s perfect English crawled under his skin. Crophaven jutted out his jaw, the massive angular ridge tightening until the muscles in his neck protruded as well. “I have an entire colony to protect, the future of mankind to preserve. Widespread panic would be detrimental to our efforts. Why should I trust you?”
The commander’s dead glare failed to chip Asteran’s peaceful composure. He folded his hands in front of him, as if he had the winning card. His eyes sparkled deep amber with golden flecks. “Because I can help you save your colony.”
Crophaven glanced at Andromeda and Nova. Both of the new lieutenants seemed interested in his offer. I glued my eyes to Nova, pleading. She didn’t owe me anything. I still owed her twice over.
Nova caught my begging gaze and nodded. “Let him speak.”
“Very well, then.” The commander gestured toward Asteran. “You have five minutes to explain yourself.”
Asteran sighed. “I am not explaining anything to preserve my life. I should have died long ago in the final battle between the arachnids and my people. In fact, I wish nothing more than to join my fallen brothers on the wasteland that is now Priavenus. My entire species is gone and my planet stripped of all its nutrients. I failed them, and I’d hate to see the same happen to you.”
No one moved. Asteran’s words tore me apart. I didn’t think I could put the pieces of my heart back together. I wanted to reach out and comfort him, but such a show would only fuel Crophaven’s rage against him.
“Go on.” The commander spoke in a hushed tone. Even his rigid face had softened at the wrinkles around his eyes.
“It started with a scout ship, much like the one that visited you. Chunks of our earth disappeared, and members of our outer circle went missing. We are a peaceful people, Commander, but we did have the means to protect ourselves if necessary by turning our technologies into weapons, if the need arose.”
Crophaven’s face twitched at the word “weapons”.
I readied to fight for Asteran’s life.
The commander merely nodded for him to continue.
He pulled his hair back from his face, exposing his beautifully angular cheekbones. “We fought the arachnids with the same technology that created our energy. Using what we called particle demolishers, we tore apart the atoms of their ship’s composition until their hull broke into dust, blowing away with the win
d. We thought we’d defeated them. For a time, we lived in peace.”
Crophaven leveled with him. “How long?”
“A full fleet of arachnid ships returned to Priavenus six moons later, with new shields designed to diffuse our technology. They ripped apart our homeland as they ate our people alive. I joined the final front against them in a desperate suicide mission. The last of my people had secured one of their ships, and I’d studied how to fly it. I was to travel back to Cavernia and destroy the mother brain controlling the drones to end the battle once and for all.”
Asteran placed a hand on his forehead. “Esoteria plagen droll. I failed them all.”
I forgot about Crophaven, the meeting room and the looming threat, and I took Asteran’s free hand. “It’s not your fault. You did the best you could.”
He gazed at me with eyes full of remorse. “I should have been dead by now. My very existence is proof Priavenus is gone.”
I shook my head, refusing to let go of his gaze. “You don’t know that for certain.”
The commander cleared his throat. “How many days in a moon cycle on Priavenus?”
Asteran didn’t answer. Despair seemed to overwhelm him.
Crophaven pounded his fist on the table. “Dammit. How many days?”
He spoke under his breath. “Twenty-two twelve-hour days. Six moons would mean sixty-six days in your calendar cycle.”
Andromeda clamped her hands into fists. “That’s not a lot of time.”
Sweat beaded on Nova’s forehead. Her hands fidgeted with the medal around her neck. She stood and gazed at the alien. “What do you propose we do, Asteran of Priavenus?”
His face brightened. “During the battle, we seized one of their ships and located their home planet. I know where they are coming from. It’s a large, rocky planet revolving around a dense, dark star. My people named it, and the closest translation to your language is Cavernia, based on the cavernous nature of the surface. I can lead a team to the mother brain, and we can exterminate them before they send the fleet to Paradise 21.”
Holy crapola. That was quite a plan. I shook just thinking about traveling to the arachnids’ home world, where thousands, maybe billions of them scurried around on dagger legs. Never in a million years would I have guessed saving Asteran meant saving the colony, which meant going back out there in bone-chilling deep space.
Crophaven narrowed his eyes. “Why would you help us?”
Asteran’s face shone noble and proud, glimmering in the fluorescent light. “I crave justice for my people.”
Crophaven stood and started pacing, with his arms crossed against his broad chest. “If all of this is true, and this alien isn’t pulling our legs with a horror story meant as a scare tactic to save his own hide, then we don’t have much time. Andromeda, reassign the construction teams to work on projectile missiles. Nova, see what you can do about reinforcing our hull. We’ll hunker down and secure our position.”
Asteran stood to face him. “You will not travel to their planet and defeat them?”
The commander shook his head. “We don’t have the means. We’re stuck on this planet as much as you are.”
Asteran gazed down at the chrome floor, as though he felt the ship bobbing with the tide. “You mean to tell me this ship cannot fly?”
“It was meant to land here. We had no need to take off again.” Andromeda spoke as though referencing the Guide text. Back in school, she’d never have been able to reference any passage from the Guide. I guess Lieutenant-hood had taught her to take her studies more seriously.
Crophaven pointed to Asteran. “Get this straight. Even if we had a ship that could fly, I’m not going to send my best men and women on a wild comet-hunt through deep space to gain justice for your people, without any evidence besides your sad ranting. We stay here, hunker down, and defend our new home.”
The commander walked to the control panel and spoke into the intercom. “Guards, take this alien back to the med bay and lock him up. No one, I repeat, not one soul, is allowed access.” He looked to the rest of us. “Speak of this to no one. I don’t want widespread panic based on one alien’s story.”
My body shook with frustration. Was Crophaven even listening to Asteran? Particle demolishers? Old Earth to the commander. Asteran’s people seemed way more advanced, with better weapons, and they still lost. Since nuclear missiles destroyed Old Earth, our colony had stayed away from weapons of mass destruction. We only had the basic laser guns. What was the commander hoping to accomplish?
As much as I feared the arachnids, I wanted to believe Asteran’s plan was the only way to make sure they didn’t come back. I wasn’t sure how to help him, but I had to try.
In a last-ditch effort, I flicked my hand to get Nova’s attention, but she stared at the onyx table as if in a trance. Andromeda typed on her wrist locator, already carrying out her orders. The commander’s decision was the final word, and neither of them seemed to dispute it.
The portal dematerialized and guards flooded the room. Their large bodies wedged between Asteran and me.
His arms fell to either side of his body in resignation. He wouldn’t put up a fight.
Maybe he won’t, but I will.
“Asteran!” I pushed myself in between the guards to grab his hand one last time. They pulled me away, but not before I got in a reassuring squeeze.
Asteran looked at me as if we were the only two people in the room and nothing else mattered. “I am sorry I could not help you more, Lyra.”
The guards ushered him away. Crophaven’s stare burned into my retinas as he passed me. Could he see my feelings for the alien, or was he still angry I’d given Asteran the lapscreen?
I stared right back at him. “You’re making a big mistake. He’s the only resource we have to fight them.”
“Ms. Bryan.” He pointed a finger at my chest. Anger hardened his face, and he drew it back. I was still his daughter-in-law to be, and it behooved him to remain civil. “You stick to your job, and I’ll stick to mine. The computer has you in the science labs, nowhere near the med bay.”
I sucked in my lips.
He had me there. He could report me for disregarding orders, abandoning my post, or any other manner of sins dictated by the Guide.
Crophaven’s face softened into a puddle of wrinkles. “Report back to your assigned mission before Dr. Catcher finds you missing. I’m taking you and Gavin off all linguistic duties.”
“Yes, sir.” At least he didn’t throw me to the pod plants.
The commander gave me one more warning stare then shuffled after them.
Andromeda saluted me as she passed. “Thank you for bringing this to our attention, Lyra.” She’d always been kind, even if she was a little spoiled growing up as the commander’s great-granddaughter.
Hope rose. My voice dropped to a whisper. “Have your alien ghosts warned you of this?”
Her face fell. “I haven’t seen them since that day I saved the colony from the pods.”
“Really?” No one had believed her until the goopy poison hit the sight panel. She’d risked everything to save the colony. Some people still thought she got lucky and made up the story with the alien ghosts to redeem her spoiled, bratty behavior. I’d seen a change in her over the past few months, a determination and resolve that hadn’t been there before. I believed her.
Andromeda nodded. “I think they fulfilled their purpose and moved on.”
How could they abandon us now? I needed more people on my side. “We still have threats to the colony.”
Andromeda’s face turned melancholy and peaceful. “Maybe they thought we could succeed on our own. I wish there was more I could do.” She touched my shoulder gently and left, following Crophaven’s footsteps.
I slumped into my seat. We were in worse shape than I thought. Arachnids prepared an attack on our colony, and Crophaven had locked up the only one able to help, with no hope of me seeing him again.
“We should go after them.”
&nb
sp; I jerked upright, forgetting Nova still sat in her seat. “What?”
A solemn, stoic veil fell over her face. “You and Asteran are right.”
Hallelujah. Finally someone who saw the light. “How do you know?”
“While we were on that ship, I looked into their network, and I saw the mother brain. She trapped me with her mind, searching my thoughts for information about the colony.” Nova’s whole body convulsed. “It was horrible. I managed to block her, but before I did, she told me this was only the beginning.”
“Why didn’t you tell Crophaven?”
Nova hugged her arms around her shoulders as if even now the memory sent shivers through her spine. “He wouldn’t have believed me. Besides, the New Dawn is beyond repair. We’re not flying this ancient hunk of junk through deep space.”
My experiments with Alcor tugged on my memory. What were we doing before I left? Something about electrical conductivity driving the arachnid ship...a ship that may be still capable of space flight.
I locked eyes with her, willing her to believe me. “If I had another ship, would you come with me to defeat them?”
“What? I don’t see how—”
I walked toward her. “I need to know if you’re on board. If I had another ship, would you be with me or not?”
Nova blinked then nodded. “Of course.”
“Good.” I started pacing, like Crophaven. “I’ll need you to find a way to break Asteran out of his cell. I’m going back to the lab to speak with Alcor, then I’ll need to go back to my family’s cell to pack.”
“I don’t understand. Pack for what?”
I checked my wrist locator. No calls from Mom. Leo hadn’t spazzed out again. “For our journey. We’re going to that arachnid planet, and we’re going to end this once and for all.”
Nova stood. “How, Lyra? We have no ship.”
I stopped in front of Nova and pointed to the east. “What about the arachnids’ ginormous metal craft sitting in the pod plant field?”
Nova smiled as if I joked around. “That’s a great idea, but we can’t fly the arachnid’s ship.”
I rolled my eyes. Honestly, couldn’t people think outside the box? “I know we can’t, but I’ll bet my last soybean wafer Asteran can.”
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