In the distance, the Sparian ship was visible as a glowing orange oval, and as Valodar steadied his vessel, he stared through the darkness at the shimmering light. It looked innocuous, just a blob, but it carried the greatest threat the station had ever faced, and it was up to him to thwart the Sparians’ evil intentions.
He’d lied to his team. That was a first, but he couldn’t have them worried about him. His safe return to the station was not a calculation he and Tavlon had been able to make. There were too many variables. If the Sparian ship was too close, the subsonic flow field from the blast could catch him before he made it safely back, and that could happen if he had to maneuver out of position to accurately direct his signal. It could add fatal time to his return.
The plan was bold and dangerous, made possible only by Ellie’s brilliant idea. Had she not thought of it, there would have been no hope. The Sparians would have to scan the station, and when they did, it would bring them close and make them pause long enough for Valodar do his own scanning. If what he believed was true, he would be able to destroy the Sparian ship.
Still curled into a ball under the black dress, Ellie was recovering from the slingshot departure. Though she had brought her knees to her chest and buried her head, she had felt the pressure in every part of her body. The suit had clung to her like a second skin, but it had worked its magic, and though she was still slightly breathless, she had survived. Cautiously she risked extending her legs, the need to stretch almost overwhelming, then turning her head, she saw Valodar reach out his hand and touch the dashboard in front of him; it came to life, glowing with a ghostly purple light. Looking past Valodar through the window and out into space, she saw infinite blackness. Where were the stars? Another question for him, assuming they walked away unscathed from whatever danger they were in.
What was the explosion he’d been talking about? Wouldn’t the second fleet of fighter pods be enough to send the Sparians away? But her thoughts were interrupted when she saw him glance down at the seat beside him and pick something up. It twinkled, and she knew immediately what he’d found: a bead. She cringed. It must have fallen off the neckline of the dress as she’d hastily clambered into the pod. Would he recognize it? Curling back up and pulling the black fabric over her head, she prayed that he had far more important things to think about than a stupid bead.
“It’s on the move, Monitor.”
The sound of the voice brought her eyes back out from under the dress, and she saw his fingers touch the window. To her amazement, it became filled with lines and shapes, and looked like a transparent map with pulsing lights.
“I see it,” he replied. “Slow, but definitely on the move. Remain steady.”
Dropping his eyes from the window, Valodar looked down at the bead in the palm of his hand. He knew exactly what it was, and exactly from where it had come. Ellie. She had been in his pod, and that could only have happened at one juncture: when everyone had been in the hall listening to the speeches by Commander Tavlon and the chairman of the Consortium board of elders.
How had she infiltrated the Terminus? It was the most secure area in the entire station. How had she passed through all the doors and alarms undetected? He welcomed the mystery. It was a distraction. Facing imminent danger, in command of so many, wasn’t just unnerving, it took tremendous mental discipline. If one of his team did the wrong thing at the wrong time, or if a Sparian suddenly became overly aggressive, the entire scenario could be over in an explosive flash. Such fears could easily germinate, and thinking about his wonderful, willful Ellie, and pondering her mischief, was giving him something else to contemplate.
She had been in his pod, that was a given, but had she been hiding when they’d returned from the speeches, or had she already left? No. She couldn’t have left. The Terminus had been locked down for the meeting, but there was nowhere she could have hidden. If she’d taken refuge in any of the other rooms, she would have been discovered and handed over to Tavlon, and Tavlon would have told him. So where was she? Staring down at the bead in his hand, it suddenly hit him. Had she concealed herself in his pod? Panic tried to seize him. If she had, and was still in there, and had no suit, she’d be dead.
“The Sparian ship is picking up speed.”
The voice of one of his team snapped him back, and mentally shaking himself, he stared at the window.
“I see it,” he replied, trying to sound authoritative and calm. “Fleet, advance to second position. Commander Tavlon, when will the scanning screen be lifted?”
“Any moment now.”
He accelerated forward, moving with the others, and reaching the new post, he slowed it to a stop. Almost holding his breath, he touched his window; it briefly rippled, then he saw the outline of his pod.
There she was, glowing red on his screen, still very much alive.
He sighed as relief flooded his body, and as he changed the window back to his surveillance grid, he grimaced. What a foolish, reckless, shockingly brave female she was. At least she was safe. When he was back in the Terminus he’d figure out how to deal with the situation, then how to deal with her! For now he had but one goal, and it required all his focus.
“Scanning screen lifted.”
“Thank you, Commander,” Valodar replied. “Team, arm your weapons, engage sonic power. Let them think we’re preparing for battle.”
This was the bluff. The Sparians had heard through the transmitter that there was a second fleet, and now their ship’s defenses would be alerting them that the fighter pods had just activated their weapons. The Sparians were faced with a choice: move close enough to scan the station and verify what they’d heard, risking fire from the Consortium’s fighter pods, or leave the quadrant and head home.
Valodar and Tavlon knew it wasn’t in the Sparians’ nature to run. The barbarians had plotted and planned, and they wouldn’t turn away because of a single transmission. This was their chance to occupy a station of the Consortium, to unleash their might upon the Earth, and to take over an entire quadrant of the galaxy. No. They wouldn’t be going anywhere, not until they believed victory was unattainable.
As expected, the Sparian ship picked up speed and began its approach, but they would have to pass through the line of fighter pods to draw close enough to the station to activate their scanners. It was a cat-and-mouse game, and Valodar and Tavlon had every move planned, except for Valodar’s safe return. That would be down to luck.
“Fighters three, four, ten, twelve, are you ready?” Valodar called.
“Ready, Monitor.”
The Sparian ship was now visible, resembling a giant creature of prey, and as the menacing spacecraft loomed in front of them, Valodar knew its very presence was sending chills through his team. For the Sparians to scan the station, the fighter pods would have to separate and allow it to pass. The Sparian ship came to a stop. Valodar needed the precious moments the stalemate created, and as he touched his dashboard, a fresh image rippled onto his window alongside the map; it was his own scanner, and it had locked onto the ship. Now he could initiate his search.
“Fighters three, four, ten, twelve, separate,” he ordered, his firm voice belying the fierce thumping of his heart.
As the four fighters glided slowly sideways, the enemy ship moved toward the station. The situation was fraught with danger. The tension was electrifying. A misinterpreted signal, or an unintended action by either side, could prove catastrophic for them all.
Watching both the images on the window in front of him, and the action itself, Valodar forced himself to breathe. If the Sparians detected the fighter pods were fake, and chose to attack while next to the station, he wouldn’t be able blow them up, and the Sparians would overwhelm him and his team, take control of the station, and… he couldn’t bring himself to think past that point. Perhaps it was just as well Ellie was with him. It was almost better to be gone than to live under Sparian rule, especially as an Earth female. The suspenseful, frightening moments trickled painfully by, but while the Spa
rians were operating their scanners, it was leaving them vulnerable to Valodar’s scrutiny.
“Come on, come on,” Valodar muttered, willing his search to come to fruition.
His invisible scope was hitting what should have been impenetrable walls, but with a newly developed ray he could pierce through them; it was just a matter of making adjustments at certain points.
“Yes!”
He had shouted from relief and with victory. Deep in the belly of the Sparian ship, covered by layers of cloaking materials and shields, he had found the missing fighter pods. The technology that allowed them to be operated by remote control had also allowed them to be hijacked.
“Tavlon and team,” Valodar announced, barely able to contain his excitement, “the packages have been revealed.”
“Good work,” Tavlon declared, “and with good luck, Valodar. I’ll see you soon.”
Valodar’s victorious exclamation had caught Ellie’s attention as she lay tucked under the black dress, and pulling down her cover, she looked across at him. The window was now a series of squares, each one showing different colors and blinking lights. How was he able to read them all?
“All right, Ellie,” he said sternly without turning around, “prepare yourself.”
She gasped, absolutely mortified that she’d been found out, and she felt herself turn a deep shade of red.
“There’s going to be a powerful explosion, and I’ll be accelerating even faster than the take-off. That suit you’re wearing has a hood tucked behind the neck that will cover your head completely. Put it on, and hurry.”
“Valodar, I—”
“Just do as I say.”
She had never heard his voice so stern, and sitting up, her pulse racing, she reached behind her head and felt a seam in the neckline. She gave it a tug, and as it popped open, she felt the hood unraveling. Pulling it on, she discovered it did cover her face, but the fabric was surprisingly transparent.
“It’s up,” she called.
“Good, now curl into a ball.”
Completely chagrined and scared to death, she wished she could crawl into his lap, then wondered if she’d ever have that joyous pleasure again. If they survived, would he be so angry he would send her back to Earth? Trying not to think about it, she resumed her fetal position, but she didn’t pull the dress over her. She wanted to gaze at him, she wanted to study the window with all its lines and shapes and blinking lights, but then she saw a sinister-looking craft. It had to be the Sparians, and with a shudder she dropped her eyes, deciding she’d rather not look after all.
His window told him the Sparians’ scanners had shut down. Had the fake fighter pods fooled them? He released the hood from his suit and pulled it over his head. Taking long, deep breaths, he watched the sinister ship pivot away from the station, then slowly accelerate forward. Were they moving out to turn back around and begin their attack, or were they leaving?
As they passed the fighter pods, Valodar held his breath. They continued on, and for a moment he believed they had been fooled, but then they stopped… and slowly turned. His heart leapt to his throat. Though he was in an excellent position for his escape, they were alarmingly close, but they were about to unleash their weapons. He had no choice! He had to risk it.
“Return to your docks, return to your docks.”
The Consortium’s fighter pods in the bowels of the Sparian ship had a self-destruct code, and Valodar had regained use of their remote control. When he beamed the code, the pods would blow themselves up, utterly decimating the Sparian ship, but it would be an immense explosion, from both the hidden fighter pods and their weapons, and the Sparians’ munitions, but the ray would carry the code in photon time, so the moment it was sent, it would be received.
His window flashed red. The Sparians had armed. They were about to attack.
Valodar’s finger flew to the window and sparked against a white flashing dot, but his other hand simultaneously activated his thruster. His pod blasted back toward the Terminus. Could he outrun the subsonic energy wave created by the eruption?
* * *
Valodar’s body was pinned. Tavlon was flying his pod.
The massive explosion had lit up the blackness, illuminating the station in a flow of bright light, but Valodar’s only focus was the open door of the Terminus directly in front of him. It was closing. Was Tavlon’s skill up to the task?
Valodar knew the wave was racing up behind him. Would it catch him? Would he reach the door before it closed? If he did, would there be enough room for his pod to skate through underneath it?
The Terminus was approaching with lightning speed. He could sense the wave behind him. Squeezing his eyes shut, he saw Ellie’s beautiful face. He braced himself. They were going to die.
Suddenly he hit the energy field used to stop his pod, and the door clanged shut. He’d made it! But he was violently rocking. In a flash he realized the explosion’s energy flow was enveloping the station. Then everything went black.
* * *
Valodar could hear Tavlon’s voice, and he could feel the hood of his suit being pulled over his face. He felt as if he’d been crushed. His entire body was aching, with streaks of blindingly sharp pain. As he slowly opened his eyes and tried to speak, he discovered his jaw was locked.
“Easy, we’re going to get you out, easy.”
It was difficult to lift his gaze, but he managed it, and staring at Tavlon, he tried to tell him that Ellie was in the back of the pod.
“Something’s wrong,” he heard a voice say. “He looks agitated.”
“Of course he looks agitated,” Tavlon barked. “He’s just been through—”
“Commander,” another voice exclaimed, interrupting Tavlon mid-sentence, “there’s someone in the back of the pod.”
“What? That’s impossible.”
They’d found her! Filled with relief, Valodar let his eyes drop back down. She’d feel like he did, but she’d be all right. He believed it, he had to believe it.
“It looks like an Earth female.”
“Not it,” Valodar mumbled, shocked that his jaw was suddenly working. “She. Ellie.”
“Don’t try to talk,” Tavlon said firmly. “We’re taking you to the med unit.”
“Ellie?”
“She’s fine, seems as if she’s in better shape than you.”
“I want her near me,” Valodar managed, “she must be near me.”
He was being lifted onto a padded stretcher. He would be back to normal very quickly. He needed to be. He needed to be with Ellie, alone, together. They had so much to talk about. He could feel a pinch against his arm, someone told him he’d be sleeping for a while, then he felt himself drifting away.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Because of the confrontation with the Sparians, the station’s scheduled departure from the quadrant had been postponed, as of course had the banquet. The alarming and unexpected encounter had exposed not just the weakness in the fighter pods’ remote control defenses, but the lack of security at the Terminus, and the station itself. The pods should have been tracked when they’d left for the maintenance dock, and though Tavlon had checked on their safe arrival, he’d been completely unaware that he’d been speaking to a Sparian. It was alarming. How had the Sparians been able to take over their communications channels?
That transmission devices had found their way into the station undetected was also cause for grave concern. They needed to uncover Quillian’s connection to them, and find whoever was responsible for the delivery of the envelopes and packages containing the burrow bug.
Ellie’s infiltration into the Terminus had been easily explained. The dress she’d been wearing was not a dress at all, but one of Valodar’s unique tunics designed for important occasions. The power of his necklace had been recreated with the many sparkling beads around the collar. The beads had transmitted the approval for her admittance. Another vulnerability had been exposed.
As all four stations underwent their rigorous over
haul, word quickly spread that the station’s rescue and the Sparian defeat was thanks to Monitor Valodar’s tremendous courage, and a brilliant idea from the Earth female he had brought to the station. When the banquet was rescheduled, it was unanimous it would be in their honor.
* * *
Initially it had appeared that Ellie had come through the ordeal relatively unscathed, but while Valodar bounced back, her recovery took time. She lapsed in and out of consciousness, but Valodar stayed at her bedside as she slowly healed. When she woke, he was there, holding her hand, and when she slept, she was aware of his comforting powerful arms. When she was back on her feet, though she didn’t know what a life with him would entail, leaving him was unthinkable.
Valodar was overjoyed to see her finally well. The extraordinary episode had brought his deep feelings for her into sharp focus, and when she was back in his quarters, he was loath to leave her for even a moment. He had wanted to pair with her, but now it was more than a desire, it was a need. There were times, watching her as she slept, that he felt she was literally a part of him. Never had he experienced such intense emotion. He knew they needed to discuss her future… their future. It was inevitable, and he fervently hoped he’d find the words that would convince her to stay.
With no understanding of time, it was when she and Valodar were ambling back to their chambers after a meal at Ganjin’s eatery that Ellie wondered how long she’d been away from her life on Earth, and when they walked into the living room, she touched his arm and stared up at his beautiful face.
Valodar immediately felt an energy from her fingers. There was something on her mind. Had the moment for their talk arrived? It had been on his mind, and he was nearing that point, but perhaps Ellie was already there.
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