After all, the plan was recommended by the good old Galactic Guard. Will hoped he could prove them wrong.
“We’re approaching the danger zone,” he said. “Sure this thing will hold up?”
“The shell lining of this ship is made of lead, with a vacuum gap,” Delfino said, focusing on flying. “It's enough to prevent the radiation from reaching us, for a while. Don't worry. I've made my living doing this. I've made this journey many, many times.”
Somehow, Will didn't feel better.
He glanced at the naval engineers. “You guys sure you have everything you need?”
“Positive,” the female engineer said. “We've retrofitted dozens of garbage cubes with nuclear warheads. We've got mini hyper cores attached to them. Once the transfer station flings them, they'll self-activate once they hit top speed, blast into hyperspace. The cores have just enough juice in them to arrive at Regina VII. And then—”
“Boom,” Will said. “My favorite part.”
Delfino exited hyperspace. The disk-shaped transfer station floated sullenly in space. Delfino steered toward it.
The ship’s computer chimed for the tenth time. “
“Massive radiation levels detected. Please turn back.”
Will checked the radiation levels. Several yellow bars rose toward the top of a computer screen on his panel. He gulped.
“Please say ‘accept’ to restore autopilot and set course for the most recent location,” the computer said.
“I decline,” Delfino said.
Will gulped again.
Delfino lined the ship up with the transfer station, and large bay doors in the front of the structure opened. He eased the ship into the airlock quickly and landed the ship rockily.
“Let’s go,” Delfino said.
The garbage disk hummed as the garbage cubes with the nuclear warheads moved into position. The disk rotated and faced Regina VII, a bright speck in the distance.
From the upper observation deck in the station, Will watched as the station hummed and buzzed.
“We've only got one shot,” Will said.
“Everything’s loaded and ready,” the engineers said. “Shoot at any time.”
“Hold on a sec,” Will said.
Something bright appeared in far off from the star, a scraggly line of flashing light. “What the hell is that?”
Will looked into a telescope that faced the outward edges of the star. He stayed away from the brunt of Regina VII’s light to avoid going to blind.
And then he saw it—a gash in the heavens, and three giant bulges pushing their way through—an Earthlike planet, a moon, and a fierce, raging star.
“I don't know what that is, but I'm thinking you need to fire, Delfino,” Will said.
Delfino took the telescope. Seeing the event, he cursed.
“Ever seen that before?” Will asked.
“Never,” Delfino said. “And I know these stars well.”
The engineers looked through the telescope.
“It's almost like what I'd imagine the event horizon to look like,” the female said. “It's…strikingly beautiful.”
“Hit that button, will ya?” Will asked impatiently.
Delfino slammed a detonation button.
POOF!
POOF!
POOF!
POOF!
The station spat the garbage cubes into space at high speed. The cubes flew quickly through space. Then the hyper cores fired and the cubes disappeared in a purple explosion.
Will leaned against a railing, sighing.
“How long until detonation?” he asked.
“Minutes,” the engineers said at the same time.
Will looked through the telescope again and clucked his tongue.
“Let’s hope we’re not screwed,” he said.
50
Grayson and Smoke readied their fists as Huxley stomped toward them.
“Tag team,” Grayson said to Smoke.
Smoke cracked his neck.
A gray Planet Eater hovered over Huxley. Grayson eyed it.
“Thoughts on taking that thing down?” Grayson asked.
“Punch first, think later,” Smoke said.
Smoke lunged. Huxley threw a punch. Smoke ducked, uppercut him in the abs, headbutted him, grabbed the big man by the legs and swung him into a table.
The Planet Eater swooped at Smoke, but Grayson fired a handcoil at it, distracting it. The Planet Eater then zoomed for Grayson.
Keltie tackled him, knocking him out of danger’s way. She landed on top of him and they rolled into a glass wall, hitting a metal beam.
“Now we’re even,” she said.
Grayson noticed a metal pipe in her hand.
Florian ran at them, grinning madly. He had a knife.
Grayson rolled to his knees.
Now or never.
Florian jumped into the air, with his knife poised to strike.
Grayson fired his handcoil, but the Planet Eater surrounding Florian absorbed the bullets.
CLANG!
CLANG!
CLANG!
A metallic, gong-like sound resounded through the area, making the entire greenhouse fill with the sound of ringing.
Florian fell out of the air, and the Planet Eater inside him roared with pain.
Keltie stood next to the metal beam with the metal pipe.
“They don’t like sound,” she said. “That’s the weak link.”
Smoke, nearby, ripped a metal leg off a table.
Tatiana, who was near the white hole, put her hands to her ears as the Planet Eater inside her roared. Devika drop-kicked her, knocking her into the white hole. Tatiana screamed as the light enveloped her.
Huxley fell to his knees. Miller smacked him with a pot, knocking him to the ground. Miller took a shard and bludgeoned Huxley’s face with it. Hux grabbed him and tossed him aside, but he clutched his face, bleeding.
POW!
Another pot hit him.
Michiko stood from afar, with another pot ready to throw.
POW!
Another pot hit Hux.
Eddie stood on the opposite side of the greenhouse, giving Michiko a thumbs up.
WHAM!
Smoke kicked Hux into the white hole and he screamed.
Meanwhile, Florian writhed on the ground as Keltie kept clanging the metal beam.
Everyone joined in, smacking the metal beams around the greenhouse.
“You bastards!” Florian screamed.
The Planet Eaters in the greenhouse roared so loudly, it shook the metal supports.
The ground shook so violently now that Grayson could barely keep his balance. But he kept striking the metal beam. Hard.
Florian screamed and the Planet Eater inside him wouldn’t stop squirming. His arms and legs flailed about, and he looked like a toddler throwing a tantrum. Then he fought the spasms and crawled to his knees, roaring at the sky.
The roar shook Grayson’s bones.
All of the glass in the greenhouse shattered, and everyone took cover.
Grayson put his hands up as the glass shards fell.
They were exposed to the elements now. In the sky, a fierce cloud of black Planet Eaters descended.
“Incoming!” Grayson cried.
The Planet Eaters swarmed the metal supports and began eating it.
“Damn it!” Devika cried.
Florian charged her, but she flipped out of the way.
Smoke came out of nowhere, struck Florian with a metal pipe, but Florian turned, grabbed the pipe and flung Smoke across the area. He landed near the white hole.
The Planet Eaters started at the roof and worked their way down, gnawing at the metal.
Keltie, Eddie and Michiko kept banging the metal.
“Keep hitting!” Keltie said. “Until the end!”
Florian stumbled back, falling to his knees. He put his hands on his head, his eyes blazing.
Grayson spotted Planet Eaters descending toward Keltie.
But Keltie kept banging resolutely. She wasn’t going to stop, and Grayson knew he couldn’t stop her.
The Planet Eaters surrounded her in a black cloud, and all he could see was her arm, continuously banging at the metal beam.
Then, the Planet Eaters buzzed away, leaving Keltie standing with the pipe. The metal beam was gone.
The metal supports were gone.
Florian stood.
“That was an inconvenience,” he said. The gray Planet Eater surged inside of him, and his hands glowed with black energy.
He laughed.
“Some ingenuity,” he said. “That was clever, I’ll give you that.”
The team regathered, facing Florian.
Grayson looked around for Michiko. She was missing. He spotted her crouching behind some rubble, looking at her phone.
He wanted to yell. This wasn’t the time to be looking at your phone!
“Who wants to die first?” Florian said. “Eenie meenie…”
Smoke ran at him, but the Planet Eater inside Florian roared, stopping the cyborg.
“Your henchmen are gone,” Devika said. “There’s still time to stop all of this.”
Florian brandished another knife. Then he charged, throwing himself in the middle of the team.
Devika punched. Florian kicked Grayson in the chest.
Smoke swung at Florian, but he rolled out of the way, slashing Keltie, grazing her blazer. Keltie screamed. Grayson punched Florian in the shoulder. Then he ducked, missing Florian’s knife. Florian jumped into the air, dodging Smoke, landing on the cyborg’s back, kicking him to the ground. Florian landed a kick to Miller’s face, making the cop yell in pain. Florian jumped on top of Miller, raised his knife to strike, and then—
Florian screamed and fell to the ground, writhing.
“God! Aaaaaaagh!”
Everyone looked at each other.
Michiko ran to them, her phone screen shining in her pocket.
“What’d I miss?” she asked, grinning.
“You little bitch!” Florian cried.
Michiko shrugged.
Florian tore at his hair. The Planet Eater inside of him separated from his body and formed a gray cloud in front of him. The cloud’s dark eye blinked spasmodically, then exploded. The alien cloud melted into a puddle at Florian’s feet, crackling away. Florian clutched his chest, his eyes crazed and bloodshot, and he fell backward at the edge of the white hole. With a final groan and sigh, he lie, spread-eagled and looking up at the sky.
“What the hell did you just do?” Grayson asked.
Michiko pulled out her phone. “It’s just a dog whistle app. I turned the frequency way up.”
Everyone stared at Florian, who was incapacitated and not moving. Grayson stood over him.
“You made a big mess, man,” Grayson said.
Florian attempted to speak. He reached up.
“Tell…”
“Can’t hear you,” Grayson said.
“Tell…auntie…I’m sorry…”
“Auntie?” Grayson asked.
And then Florian gave up, dropped his hand, closed his eyes, and took his final breath.
The sky shook, and the Planet Eaters all over the netherscape roared as the black, shining star grew brighter. The gash in the sky extended, revealing more of the Rah Galaxy.
“We need to get out of here, fast,” Devika said.
And then the sky erupted into fire and explosions appeared in the sky.
51
“What's happening?” Eddie asked as they ran.
High above, thick clouds appeared on Refugio.
“Are those mushroom clouds?” Keltie asked, her voice frantic.
The clouds spread across the face of the moon. Seeing them sent a chill through his veins.
“God, they are mushroom clouds!” Eddie shouted.
They ran from the rubble of the greenhouse toward the corsair in the distance.
“We’ll use the ship to jump into the white hole,” Devika said.
“There won't be anyone left on Refugio at the rate those bombs are exploding,” Grayson said. “Possessed or not!”
They reached the corsair, ran into the airlock.
They stopped.
Spaceship parts were strewn all over the floor.
Eddie ran to the engine room and stopped.
The engine was destroyed.
“Crap,” Eddie said.
“We’re screwed,” Keltie said. “Oh my god, we’re screwed.”
Grayson opened a safety compartment wall in the airlock wall using the ship’s master key. Spacesuits hung in the closet.
“Everyone grab a suit,”Grayson said, tossing suits. “Let’s get back to the hole.”
They ran back to the hole, lugging their suits.
They surrounded the hole, climbing into their suits. Meanwhile, bombs kept exploding, filling the sky with smoke and fire.
Eddie latched his helmet and took a breath of fresh oxygen. Everyone else got into their suits and looked at each other.
“See you all on the other side,” Grayson said.
He and Keltie held hands and leaped into the hole. It swallowed them.
Devika jumped.
Then Smoke.
Then Michiko and Miller.
Eddie was last. He looked up at Refugio, which was on fire. The moon was crumbling.
He jumped, and the vortex swallowed him as his vision filled with blinding white light.
52
POP!
Eddie exploded into space and his oxygen funneled fresh air into his helmet.
The white light dissipated and the team floated in space.
“Everyone here?” Eddie asked.
“Here,” Michiko said.
Everyone spoke.
Eddie sighed with relief.
“Emergency beacons in our suits are activated,” Grayson said.
“At least we’re all okay,” Keltie said.
“Florian’s dead,” Devika said.
“He’s gone,” Smoke said. “And I'm glad to see the bastard go.”
They floated in silence for a while.
“He touched each of our lives in a not-so-special way,” Michiko said, “but he was still human. He made a really big mistake.”
“Try several hundred,” Smoke said.
“The point is that he was no different than any of us,” Michiko said. “He kind of tried to redeem himself at the end. That bit about his auntie—so sad.”
Grayson rolled his eyes. “I gotcha. But hey, don’t hate me for throwing back a few beers in light of our accomplishment, all right?”
“Beer?” Michiko asked. “That’s all you’re going to drink? Shame.”
Grayson laughed.
“This floating is therapeutic and all, guys,” Keltie said, “but I’m claustrophobic, so this is going to get old.”
They drifted, waiting.
Delfino and Will hugged each other as they watched the bombs enter the netherscape.
“Perfect aim!” Will said.
The engineers studied the blasts skeptically.
“We hit our mark,” the female engineer said. “And the gash isn’t expanding. Things have more or less stayed the same.”
“So we delayed whatever the hell that is,” Will said. “That’s an accomplishment.”
“But the star isn’t safe yet,” the female engineer said.
Will didn’t want to hear negativity right now.
“Best we can do is travel back,” he said. “I say we try to take advantage of the pause.”
He stared at the telescope.
“If anything, let’s take solace in the fact that we spared humanity a little bit of time.”
Will and Delfino returned to the GGC Horizon to an applause from the Puentes and Beauregard.
“Nice work, gentlemen,” Beauregard said. “Will, I hate to make you stay on duty, but we’re picking up a distress signal near Reader IV.
”
Will groaned.
Beauregard smiled. “I think you’re going to be happy about this rescue.”
Will processed the thought, then perked up. Then he tore off his suit and raced toward the bridge.
“Anyone want to hear jokes?” Michiko asked.
They had been floating for several hours.
The oxygen levels in their suits dipped below fifteen percent.
“The joke is that we’re going to die out here,” Miller said.
“No way,” Michiko said. “We’re not going to die. Trust me. Anyway, why did the chicken float into space?”
“I don’t know,” Miller said routinely.
“First, you might want to ask why there’s a chicken in space to begin with!” Michiko said, giggling.
“Are you sure there’s oxygen in that suit and not laughing gas?” Grayson asked.
Michiko kept laughing.
“Guys, look,” Eddie said, pointing.
In the distance, a wave of shimmering golden light appeared.
“What is that?” Devika asked.
As the wave neared, everyone gasped.
It was a fleet of Crystalith. Hundreds of them, tearing through the stars. The obelisks pointed forward, and their ink blots moved gently. They did not stop to converse.
“They’re so beautiful,” Michiko said. “I’ve never seen a fleet this large. I wish I had a camera.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say they’re headed for Regina VII,” Smoke said.
At that moment, a purple flash filled the area, and a large spaceship blasted out of hyperspace.
Grayson laughed and then pumped his fist.
Everyone held hands as the GGC Horizon extended its metal arms and pulled them into the airlock.
“Good to be back,” Grayson said, taking off his helmet in the airlock of the GGC Horizon.
Will gave him a high-five.
“Boy, have I got a story for you,” Will said.
“Likewise,” Grayson said. “Florian Macalestern’s dead.”
“Whoa,” Will said. “Well, we just sent a bunch of nuclear warheads into another dimension, apparently.”
“That was you?” Grayson asked. “Right on, man!”
“Now, we just have to figure out how to close the door on whatever the hell is in there,” Will said.
Horizon Down (Galaxy Mavericks Book 9) Page 18