Out of Orbit- The Complete Series Boxset

by Chele Cooke

  “That’s…” Georgianna frowned as she paused, looking for the right words. Maybe there were none. “That’s a little ridiculous, Alec.”

  He shrugged and met her gaze.

  “Perhaps, but even if he didn’t do the right thing for me, he did it for you,” he said.

  Leaning across the gap, Georgianna wrapped her arms around Alec’s body, grasping his arm as she pulled him close. He patted her elbow and rested his temple against the top of her head.

  “You’ll move on, George,” he murmured. “He’ll help you move on.”

  She nodded, but even with these kind words about a man he’d wanted dead not a month before, she felt the guilt more than ever. She’d let Keiran distract her—from her family and from Edtroka. If she loved him the way Alec said Keiran loved her, did that make it better, or worse?

  A cough came from the doorway. Georgianna sat up and stared at Keiran. His gaze moved between the two of them, his body tight. He took a step back as Georgianna pulled away from Alec.

  “Keiran, we were just talking about—”

  “Beck’s back,” he said

  “He is?”

  Keiran didn’t look at either of them. Staring at the floor, he shuffled his feet and took a deep breath.

  “There’s a problem.”

  He turned away and stalked back through the house and out onto the path. Georgianna followed him at a run, Alec on her heels. Keiran didn’t look back, proceeding with his long strides, keeping Georgianna at a jog as they headed further into the camps. People had congregated along the path, muttering to each other. As Keiran came to a sudden stop, Georgianna gasped.

  Three Cahlven soldiers surrounded Beck, each holding onto a thick metal chain. Shackles had been attached around Beck’s ankles and wrists, connected by a thicker chain around his waist. He held his head high as he shuffled along between the soldiers, being led by the Colvohan, Aomel.

  “What’s going on?” Alec whispered.

  Keiran didn’t look back. He folded his arms and adjusted his stance, keeping a murderous glare on the Colvohan.

  “Beck went with Aomel to the meeting with the Volsonnar,” he said over his shoulder.

  “Yeah, we know.”

  “Well, Olless told me he stabbed the Volsonnar.”

  Georgianna gasped. Alec let out a snort, somewhere between surprise and amusement. Keiran turned and glared at the both of them.

  “The Colvohan only just got him out of there. The Adveni would have killed him,” he snarled. “The moment the Colvohan got Beck free, they arrested him.”

  “That makes no sense,” Alec whispered. “Why arrest him for killing their enemy?”

  “Why would Beck take a risk like that?” Georgianna added.

  The look on Keiran’s face said everything he couldn’t put into words. He turned away from them, looking back to Beck.

  Olless hurried past to meet the Colvohan, who ignored her completely, leaving her staring after him. Her face twisted as Beck passed her with his guard. He smirked at her and she trembled with rage.

  Keiran shuffled forwards and Beck used his limited movement in the shackles to twist the chain around his waist. He gave a small nod.

  “Stay here,” Keiran muttered over his shoulder.

  “Keiran, what are you—” Georgianna tried to grab his arm but he was already gone, striding forwards to meet with the soldiers.

  They closed ranks around Beck, but not fast enough. Keiran shoved between them, grasping Beck by the shoulders and enveloping him into a hug. Alec snorted, shaking his head. Georgianna stared.

  One of the soldiers grabbed Keiran by the scruff of the neck, hauling him back and sending him tumbling into the dirt. He got to his feet, shouting curses and threats as they dragged Beck away. Sneering and muttering under his breath, Keiran stalked away into the crowd, carrying a small cloth bag dripping a thick, dark substance.

  “I’m not saying that we should forget about it,” Alec snapped. “But the Cahlven have shown their colours. They’re more interested in cooperating with the Adveni.”

  “You don’t know that,” Keiran said quietly. He’d taken a seat in the corner of the room, the map of Adlai spread over his lap. Everything had now been planned, from the size of the shield to the route to the building that housed the Mykahnol. It was marked and outlined on the map draped across his legs. At Dhiren’s insistence, they’d even planned three routes out of the city to move north; not that any of them believed they’d make it that far if the Cahlven didn’t back them up.

  “Dragging Beck off in chains didn’t tell you as much?” Alec asked.

  Despite admitting that he understood Keiran’s logic in helping Edtroka, and his insistence that the other Belsa had Georgianna’s best interests at heart, Alec’s snide tone didn’t do much to convince Georgianna that he wasn’t taking the rebuttal personally.

  “It tells me they’re angry that they were humiliated in what was supposed to be a peaceful negotiation,” Keiran said. “You think Beck wouldn’t have done the same if it had been one of us in his meeting?”

  “But that’s different. Beck was our leader. We followed his orders. We never agreed to follow Cahlven orders.”

  “Then what’s your point?” Dhiren asked. “You’re bitching about the Cahlven but, from where I’m stood, you’re agreeing that we should back down.”

  A blotchy red blush rose until the scars on Alec’s neck stood out bright white in contrast. A web of Adveni abuse stretched across his skin for all to see. Georgianna averted her gaze to the floor.

  “If we don’t have their support, we shouldn’t be doing this,” he mumbled at last.

  Dhiren shook his head. Glaring at Alec, he stood square in front of him.

  “I disagree,” Dhiren said with no hint of the malice that had been in his voice when he had grabbed Alec in the forest. “Not having their support is all the more reason we should go ahead and prove what we’re willing to do. Beck has already proven how far he’ll go. He stabbed the Volsonnar. We should be celebrating.”

  Georgianna lay her hand on Dhiren’s shoulder, tugging him away from Alec.

  “How would it even work?” she asked. “We need a shield and for that we need a ship.”

  Keiran folded the map with slow, precise movements.

  “Yes, the Cahlven arrested Beck. But they’re still against the Adveni. They might still be on board if we tell them the plan.”

  “Without a ship, the entire plan is pointless,” Dhiren agreed. “We could try getting the technician to steal one but I don’t think it’ll work.”

  Alec closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh.

  “So we’re just accepting what they’ve done to Beck?”

  Picking up the map from Keiran’s lap, Georgianna ran her finger along the edge and turned it over, shaking her head. She held it up in front of Alec.

  “Dhiren’s right. We’re proving what we’re willing to do. They wanted their peaceful negotiations and it hasn’t worked. They need a new plan and we have it. We can use this to negotiate Beck’s freedom.”

  Georgianna wasn’t sure which made her feel proudest: that Dhiren grinned and patted her on the shoulder; that Alec nodded in agreement; or that Keiran got to his feet and took the map from her, smiling. Dhiren had told her back at Nyquonat that she was a balance. He’d said that she evened out the people who would never act and those who would act too fast. She hadn’t felt it; she thought he was ridiculous. But now, standing here with three men who she never thought would be able to stand working together, all agreeing with her—for the first time she felt that he might have been right. She wasn’t a warrior like they were but that didn’t mean she wasn’t useful to the fight.

  “So what, we talk to the Colvohan?” Alec asked.

  “Yes,” Dhiren said.

  “Sounds like a—”

  “No,” Georgianna said. “No, we talk to Olless.”

  “Olless? Even she said she doesn’t have the power for that sort of decision,” Alec said
, sneering.

  She smirked.

  “No, she doesn’t, but there is no way the Colvohan will listen to us. If it came from her, though…”

  “What makes you think she’ll listen to us?” Keiran asked. “She listened to Beck and he ruined their little meeting with the Volsonnar.”

  “Exactly,” she said. “She’s been made to look stupid. I bet she’ll do anything to improve her standing and our plan could be just the way to do it.”

  Dhiren laughed and slung his arm around Georgianna’s shoulders.

  “You know, Med, you’re pretty devious when you put your mind to it.” He chuckled, his lips next to her ear. “Reminds me of him.”

  “It’s insane,” said Olless. She shifted in her seat, pulling her long braid over her shoulder and fingering the ends. “Even if I could get the Colvohan to agree to it, it would take too long to organise. By the time we have the information we need and everything is in place, the Adveni will be in full attack mode and we’d never get a ship over the centre of the city.”

  Alec stepped forwards, bending over the table. He spun the map around to face Olless and placed his finger down in the centre, marking the building that they were now certain housed the Mykahnol.

  “We have the information we need,” he said. “We’ve done the planning. Wrench and I have worked on the pillars before. We know the technology we’ll be dealing with.”

  “Everything is ready to go, Olless,” Keiran agreed, stepping up to join Alec.

  “Don’t even need your troops,” Dhiren interjected. “All we need is a ship.”

  Olless stared at Dhiren for a few moments before leaning back in her seat.

  “And a pilot,” she said. “But the number of lives is not the problem here, gentlemen. You are asking us to give one of our ships to a risky mission that, however it plays out, means we lose the ship.”

  Olless brushed her braid back over her shoulder. She hadn’t stopped moving as they’d explained the plan, always twisting in her seat or pacing back and forth on the other side of the table. Unlike the Olless Georgianna had seen on the Cahlven ship, she was not poised or convincing. Georgianna wondered whether it was the unfamiliar ground that had put her so on edge, or the unfamiliar people. Back on the ship, Olless had been certain that she could mould the Veniche to her wishes. After the way Olless had treated her back at Nyquonat, Georgianna wasn’t upset that the emissary had been brought rather sharply back down to the ground.

  “Yes, you would lose a ship,” Georgianna said, moving to stand at Keiran’s side. “But your negotiations with the Adveni have not worked. After the attack on their Volsonnar they’ll already be organising a response. We need to strike first.”

  Georgianna knew that Olless didn’t like her. She was aware that the emissary had only kept her around because of her connection to Edtroka. But that didn’t make the way Olless looked at her any easier to bear. Her nostrils flared as she sneered, her wide eyes narrowing.

  “We’ve already told you we don’t need troops,” Keiran said, drawing Olless’ attention. “Your losses, compared to the Adveni’s, would be minimal. If we don’t get out in time, you would have fewer than a dozen casualties, where the Adveni would lose hundreds of trained men and women.”

  “Puts you in a pretty good negotiating position,” Dhiren scoffed. Olless seemed to like that even less.

  “I can’t make the decision,” she said, getting to her feet and addressing Keiran. “I’ll need you to come with me to explain.”

  Keiran licked his lips and took a deep breath. Glancing along the line, he reached out and slipped his hand into Georgianna’s. He squeezed her fingers, nodded, and turned back to Olless.

  “I need Cartwright to come with us.”

  “Me?” Alec blurted out.

  Keiran nodded again and kept his gaze on Olless.

  “Cartwright knows the technology better than I do. If your Colvohan has questions, he’ll be the best person to answer them.”

  Olless looked between the two of them and threw her hands out to the side.

  “Fine. You will both explain.”

  Alec looked pale. He gulped and straightened up.

  “Okay then,” he said. “Let’s go.”

  “I don’t know how much will be useful,” Dhiren said, tugging a bag towards him. “E’Troke kept these to survive, not to fight.”

  “It’s worth looking,” Georgianna said.

  She grabbed the end of another bag and loosened the strap. There was no knowing what they would find inside. Edtroka had split most of the clothes and food between them when they’d travelled north from the forest to Nyquonat Lake. He’d given the weapons out for protection. He’d even handed over the medical kit to Georgianna. She couldn’t think of anything else that would be useful for them, but once Jacob had told her that their belongings had been packed away and brought back to Adlai in the Cahlven Densaii ship, she knew that she had to check.

  Alec and Keiran hadn’t returned. It had been hours since they followed Olless from the house. Wrench had managed to get hold of a bag of tools and he sat against the wall, in front of an array of metal devices. Jacob sat next to Wrench, his plants forgotten as he watched and listened.

  One of the small tents had been packed into a lumpy canvas bag. Georgianna set it aside and dug in again, pulling out a blanket, a few shirts, and a small leather pouch. Keeping the pouch in her lap, she also found a bag made of metal links so thin that it bent and hung like fabric. A fine chain held the bag closed, wrapped around many times. She unwound it carefully, glancing over at Dhiren.

  “Do you know what this is?”

  Dhiren looked up and moved to kneel beside her, shaking his head.

  As the chain fell away, Dhiren took it and wrapped it around his hand, admiring the work. The metal links fell open across Georgianna’s lap like a blanket, revealing a pile of items balanced between her thighs. She picked up a disk and turned it over, recognising it immediately.

  “Absorbers,” she whispered, digging them from the pile.

  Dhiren looked at her, nonplussed.

  “They make copaqs useless,” she said. “The Belsa called them absorbers.”

  “Oh. You mean, Qol-tdro,” he said, plucking one from her hand. He balanced it on the crook of his finger and flicked it up into the air, catching it easily.

  Georgianna laughed and shook her head as she gathered the last of the tabs.

  “How do you do that?” she asked.

  “Do what?”

  Dhiren grabbed a few other items from the small pile, inspecting each one. Although she only recognised the copaq gel chambers, Georgianna had the feeling that the metal bag was the most useful thing they would find in Edtroka’s belongings.

  “You pronounce things the way they do. Even the way you say Edtroka is Adtvenis.”

  Cocking his head, Dhiren stared at the absorber tab in his hand. He shrugged, his absent smile exploding into a bark of laughter, but he shook his head.

  “What?”

  “Nothing,” he mumbled, still smiling. “E’Troke taught me the names and I guess they stuck.”

  She wanted to ask Dhiren what was so funny about Edtroka’s teaching him Adtvenis, but as he turned back to dig through the bag for more hidden treasures, his smile faded, and she held her tongue. She dropped the tabs back in the metal bag and placed it at her side.

  Georgianna studied the leather pouch, flicking the clasp. It opened across her thighs and she saw the small pockets fitted to the interior, just like the medical kit he’d given her in the forest. A thick leather cuff lay freely, the only thing not slotted into a compartment. She began to investigate each pocket, tucking her fingers inside. Most were empty but in the largest she found a collection of metal badges, each painted. Every one was different in shape and size, and there were a dozen in total. Laying each in her hand, she stroked a finger over the polished surfaces.

  “They’re from his training,” Dhiren said, looking away from the badges. “That pouch, he�
� He kept important things in there. There’s some from his…”

  He trailed off and Georgianna placed each badge carefully back into a pocket. She recognised them now, though not in this configuration. Some of the other Adveni soldiers wore them, particularly when they had a special one. Edtroka had kept his hidden away instead of displaying them for all to see. There were enough to impress anyone and yet they had been left to gather dust and tarnish.

  Opening the next pocket, she drew out a thin leather cord. It was knotted, with old and fraying ends. Unlike everything else in the pouch, it was not Adveni-made. A coil of wire was wrapped through a hole in a wood and stone pendant.

  “Important stones,” she said with a quiet snort of laughter.

  Dhiren looked at her. His gaze jumped to the cord draped over her fingers and the stone in her palm. The polished gem was deep red, with flecks of black just under the surface and a coil of rich polished wood curled around it, holding it in place. It seemed as if the stone, just the sight of it, had siphoned all the blood from Dhiren’s face. He gulped and returned to the bag in front of him.

  “Do you know what this is?” she asked.

  He didn’t look up. His hands froze inside his bag.

  “Dhiren?”

  “It’s mine,” he said. “I thought I’d lost it.”

  “He was keeping it for you.”

  Georgianna held it out towards him, but Dhiren ignored her and rose to his feet, striding across the room to collect one of the other bags. She wound the cord around her fingers and tucked it back into the pocket she’d found it in. She kept the leather cuff, closed the pouch, and set it aside with the metal bag. The cuff was too big for her, but she kept it just the same.

  It was right that she had something of Edtroka’s with her while they did this.

  “So why can’t I go?”

  Jacob’s voice, usually so quiet and reserved, rang through the room. Georgianna stared down at the supplies in front of her and picked up Dhiren’s knife, feeling for notches and dents.

  “You’re just a kid,” Wrench said. “I don’t want—”