The Calypsis Project

by Brittany M. Willows

  In one swift move, he whipped around, grasped the stave in the hands of the guard behind him, and wrenched the weapon out of the alien’s grip before he had a chance to react.

  Spinning on his heel, he brought the sharp tip to the monarch’s throat, pressing it against her skin just hard enough to make a small indentation.

  “Impressive,” the Queen hissed.

  “Mess with Alpha and you’re going to get hurt.” Lieutenant Knoble looked to Sevadi. “On your feet, Private.”

  Private Sevadi gathered himself, standing as straight as he could. Knoble hadn’t noticed before, but his face was cut up pretty bad. The injury at the side of his mouth had reopened and was swollen, and splotches of red and purple circled his left eye.

  “You,” Knoble addressed the infuriated guard closest to him. “Get him out of those cuffs or this bitch loses her head. We both know you don’t want that to happen, now don’t we?”

  The guard looked reluctant, but knowing what was at stake, he complied. Once Sevadi was free, he gave his hands a shake and massaged sore, reddened wrists.

  “One more thing before we bolt . . .” Knoble gestured to the Queen. “Sevadi, pat down. See what she’s got in the way of personal defense arms. We’re not going to make it very far if all we’ve got are fancy sticks.”

  “Dude, what? No!” Sevadi shook his head in disgust.

  “Come on, you called her sexy a couple minutes ago.”

  “It was a joke—you do it!”

  “I gave you an order, Private.”

  “You serious about this, sir?”

  “Do it!”

  “Alright, alright. Don’t get your panties in a twist. Jeez.”

  I swear I make way too many exceptions for this kid.

  Sevadi sighed and turned around to face the alien monarch. He stood there for a moment staring at her, and then he held out his hands awkwardly, like he wasn’t sure how to go about the task. Finally, he started to search her, having to stand on his tiptoes to reach the many folds of translucent cloth that hung loosely over her chest. At last, he pulled a pistol from her robes.

  The firearm, made for the hands of a Drocain warrior, looked massive in the young man’s grasp.

  At the Queen’s command, one guard hurried to the control panel whilst the other four stood alert, weapons at the ready. They looked like they were waiting for an opportunity to attack the two soldiers, but that was one chance they weren’t going to get.

  Bringing the confiscated pistol to aim at the Queen’s chest, Sevadi slowly backed out through the open doors with Knoble at his side, and as soon as they closed again, the Lieutenant drove the stave into the control panel outside.

  The panel sparked and flickered, then died. Though the Queen and her handful of warriors were locked inside and unable to harm them, it was safe to assume that somebody had raised the alarm.

  The soldiers darted off down the corridor. It was only a matter of minutes before heavy footsteps came thundering along behind them.

  Sevadi turned briefly to blow off a few rounds from the alien pistol, though it didn’t do much more than slow their pursuers. The Private swore and gave the firearm a whack with his hand. “I think this piece of shit is just making them angry!”

  “They’re already angry,” Knoble pointed out. “I don’t care what you do, just keep them off our tails!”

  Sevadi yanked the top off the pistol, exposing the crytal capsules inside, then pulled a scrap of cloth from his side pouch and stuffed it into the chamber. Resealing the firearm, he shoved more cloth into the barrel and squeezed the trigger, causing it to jam. When he couldn’t bear the heat any longer, he tossed the gun over his head.

  The pistol exploded, knocking the royal guards off their feet. That was the immediate problem out of the way. Now they had to find someplace safe to hunker down and figure out a way to get off this ship.

  “Hey, uh, El Tee, where are we going?” Sevadi asked.

  Knoble dragged Sevadi into a dark corridor on the left, out of sight of any guards who might pass by. It seemed to be a decent hiding spot . . . for now.

  “Where’d you learn that?” Knoble asked.

  “What? The trick with the gun? One of Echo Team’s guys. I think his name was Carter.”

  “Huh. Well, nice work, Private,” the Lieutenant panted, trying to gather his thoughts. He was still feeling confused—another side effect of the sedatives he’d been given. “Okay, first we need to find out where the others are being held. Do you have any idea where we are? Do you know which way the guards led you?”

  “Yes, sir, I think I do. These corridors all kind of look the same though, so that might cause a bit of a problem,” Sevadi said, leaning against the wall. He laughed quietly and added, “Jesus, you look terrible.”

  “Oh, hah-hah,” Knoble said sarcastically. “You’ve had your fun, now focus, ‘cause we’ve got a job to do. How ‘bout you take point and lead me in whatever the hell direction you think you came from?”

  Sevadi nodded slowly. “Understood, sir.” He headed back down the corridor and peeked around the corner, head turning from left to right as he scanned the area for activity. He slipped out from the darkness, hugging the wall, then broke into a sprint.

  Knoble stuck close to Sevadi’s side, throwing glances over his shoulder from time to time. After a while, he started to wonder where all the warriors had gone. He would have expected more guards to be running around the ship, considering the ruler of the Drocain Royal Empire was onboard.

  Slowing their pace to a brisk jog as they rounded the next corner, they were met by a strong breeze and blinding light.

  The Lieutenant could hear the hiss of Drocain firearms, the sporadic pop of UNPD rifles, and another sound he didn’t recognize—a sort of high-pitched whine and crackle.

  Knoble squinted, raising a hand to his forehead to shield his eyes from the glare, and halted on the jagged edge of a massive hole in the alien vessel’s hull. Pieces of framework and metal splinters jutted outward, twisted and bent out of shape. Some glowed deep red, still warm from the strike.

  Leaning out over the edge, he saw that all the decks below this one had been cut clean through as well. And beyond the damage, a couple hundred feet beneath the ship, he saw an expanse of desert sands—now a war zone.

  Nepheran troops and Drocain loyalists amassed to one side of the battlefield, separatists and human forces to the other. Knoble was surprised by the amount of heavy armor down there; he counted six UNPD battle tanks in total.

  The Admiral was generous.

  “Oh, hell yes! The cavalry has arrived!” Sevadi pumped his fist in the air and yelled at the top of his lungs. “Suck on that, you alien sons o’ bitches!”

  At the sound of clattering armor and heavy footfalls, Lieutenant Knoble turned and saw eight hulking warriors slide around the corner with crytal cannons mounted on their shoulders.

  Oh, shit!

  “Sparky, activate your wings!”

  Private Sevadi turned, confused, and then noticed the royal guards rushing down the hall toward them. The color drained from the young soldier’s face and he quickly turned the dial on his wristband, hands shaking. Knowing Sevadi had a terrible fear of heights, Knoble gave him a hard push and knocked him out of the ship before he had a chance to think about the fall.

  Knoble jumped after him and spun the dial on his own wristband, outstretching his limbs as a white-gold film spread between them. Once the wings had formed fully they caught the wind, slowing his fall considerably.

  Twisting his body, the Lieutenant changed course and headed toward the vibrant forest of gargantuan alien trees on the edge of the desert.

  What he hadn’t noticed from further away were the spikes.

  Skinny branches covered in massive six-inch thorns spiraled skyward, threatening to ensnare him if he got too close. Struggling to avoid them, he looked around for a safe place to land and caught sight of a clearing.

  Not too far off, a ring of grass and black pebbles sur
rounded a deep lake of crystal clear waters—a perfect place to drop without risking fatal injury.

  Once he was over the lake, he deactivated his suit’s wings and pulled his arms in against the rushing wind; crossing them over his combat harness and bringing his knees up to his chest. He drew in a deep breath just as he plunged into the water.

  Knoble kicked out and flailed his arms wildly—not sure which way was up. Weeds wrapped around his legs as if they were deliberately trying to pull him under, and the pressure in his chest was increasing.

  Just as panic was starting to set in, he broke through the surface and gasped for air. He never had been any good in the water.

  Knoble made for the shore a few meters away and pulled himself up onto the bed of dark stones. Lying on his back and trying to catch his breath, he stared at the sky. Streamers of red and purple stretched overhead, and the stars were beginning to show.

  The Lieutenant patted his hip in search of his weapon, then remembered it had been confiscated many hours ago—along with his helmet and any other equipment he’d had on him at the time. He didn’t like the thought of being unarmed when there was a firefight less than a mile away.

  Propping himself up on his elbows at the sound of splashing in the lake, Knoble spotted his teammate trudging through the shallows a little ways off.

  The young soldier, looking completely drained of energy, flopped on the ground upon reaching the shore, arms and legs splayed across the pebbles. He started laughing hysterically.

  “I cannot believe we survived that!” Sevadi ran his hands down his face, wiping salty water from his lips. “We are so doing that again sometime—that was awesome!”

  The Lieutenant acknowledged him with a small smile and then stood up to get a better look at their surroundings. Beyond the tree line he could see the sandy battleground, which had appeared far less hectic from the ship.

  Every gun blast and muzzle flash made Knoble flinch. The constant banging reverberated in his ears many times louder than it should have from this distance, and each burst of fiery light caused his eyes to ache and burn—evidence that the alien drugs hadn’t yet left his system.

  Walking over to Sevadi, he said, “We have to move.”

  “Yeah, but where to, sir?” Sevadi got up. “We don’t have our helmets anymore; so no comms, no radar . . .”

  “The UNPD have set up defenses on the edge of that city.” Knoble pointed in the general direction of the alien metropolis he’d spotted from the ship. “Saw it before we jumped. If we’re quick about it, we can get in there, grab some weapons, and get an update on the situation.”

  “And we’re gonna have to go charging through the crossfire to get there, right?”

  “That’s right.” Knoble gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “Come on, let’s go.”

  Bursting out into the open field, the two soldiers made a mad dash for the city’s crumbling walls. UNPD forces had already set up barricades on the other side of the wall and were waving their hands frantically, urging Knoble and Sevadi to pick up the pace.

  Knoble ducked his head as bullets zipped by, some narrowly missing his unprotected skull while others battered his shields, weakening them.

  Sevadi’s shields broke when a barrage of crytal hammered his harness. The Private took a shot to the back of the leg, almost fell face-first into the dirt, then quickly recovered and limped along as fast as he could.

  As he reached the ruined walls, Knoble whipped around, grabbed his teammate by the arm, and practically threw the younger man over the stone barricade before jumping behind it himself.

  They pressed themselves against the sandstone slab, raising their arms over their heads when a nearby explosion shook the ground and sent plumes of dust flying over the walls.

  “Is it bad?” he asked with a glance at the Private’s injured leg. He could see the blood trickling down the back of the young man’s boot, but it didn’t look too serious.

  “It’s just a graze. I’ll live,” Sevadi said.

  “Where the hell did you two come from?” asked an Australian soldier sitting opposite them, who was replacing his assault rifle’s empty magazine. He held out his hand when Knoble turned to him and said, “Major Lennox of the Forty-Fifth Infantry Division. You and your friend there, where’d the two of you come from?”

  Lieutenant Knoble shook the man’s hand, then looked up to the sky where the massive Nepheran vessel sat, and motioned toward it with a wave of his arm. From here, the hole he and Sevadi had jumped out of was just barely visible.

  “Up there? You’re kidding!” Major Lennox exclaimed, skeptical.

  “Believe me, if I had time to explain, I would, but . . .” Knoble trailed off as his eyes came to rest on two figures emerging from a cloud of smoke a little ways off. One of them was a Drocain warrior, the other a human soldier—a girl wearing a black suit with green lights.

  There’s only one person out here who could be dressed like that.

  “Alright.” Lennox rested his rifle on top of the wall and looked through the scope. “Well, we’ve got a temporary base set up near the eastern border. Go grab some equipment and join the fight—we need all the help we can get.”

  “Right, thanks,” Knoble said, though he’d stopped listening after spotting his stepdaughter and the young Drahkori. Giving his teammate a nudge as he stood, they ran towards the shambling pair, shouting their names over the deafening sounds of gunfire.

  Hearing his call, Alana looked up from her feet, and Knoble felt a twinge of worry in his chest when he noticed the mess of dirt and blood smeared across her face—but, for the most part, she seemed to be all right.

  Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the warrior next to her. Kenon had suffered a more serious injury and was hardly able to walk on his own.

  “Lance? Sevadi?” Alana exclaimed, breathless. “What the . . . How the hell did you guys get here? I thought—”

  “I’ll explain later. Right now we need to get to safety,” the Lieutenant told her, casting a wary glance over his shoulder like he was expecting the enemy to jump him at any moment.

  “Then follow us! Kenon knows where he’s going.”

  Chapter

  —TWENTY-FOUR—

  2029 Hours, December 03, 2438 (Earth Calendar) / Ceida State, planet Dyre

  The sharp pains shooting through Kenon’s leg were becoming almost unbearable, worsening with every step he took. He was afraid he was about to collapse, but he had to keep pushing ahead.

  Both he and the human female were in need of medical attention and there was a small crate in the understructure of his home full of supplies. Though in the back of his mind he knew that the real reason he sought cover in his home was because he felt the need to know if his parents had survived this onslaught from the Nephera.

  Kenon let out a long sigh of relief as the high-rising tree-structure came into sight, not yet touched by the flames of war. He felt like he’d been away from home for years, yet only a few weeks had passed. He was almost glad to be back, but remembering why he had left in the first place pushed those happier feelings away again. He was nervous about entering, not sure what he would find inside.

  “That is one huge-ass tree,” the Lieutenant remarked, staring up the wide, mossy trunk to the tangle of branches above.

  Kenon limped ahead of his three teammates and pulled aside the curtain hanging over the doorway, then waved his hand quickly, urging them to hurry inside. He paused a moment before following them in and looked back to the city, now engulfed in fire and ever-thickening clouds of smoke.

  The Council Building was gone, and with it the High Council of Ceida. There was no doubt they had all been killed when the Leh’kin frigate came crashing down on top them.

  He and Alana had barely made it out alive themselves.

  Without any further delay, he headed inside. It was quiet, and no movement was detected on his motion sensor. He wondered if anyone was here, or if his parents had perhaps abandoned their home when
the battle began.

  “Wait here,” he said to the humans, deciding to have a look around.

  So many things were missing; objects that’d belonged to him when he was little were nowhere to be seen, and small items like glass ornaments and the hundred-year-old antique daggers were gone as well. All Kenon could find was his old hunting bow and a set of leather armor in a large chest in the back room.

  There was no sign of his parents.

  It was like his parents had packed up and left after he’d set out for war . . . had they been forced to leave Ceida because of the shame he’d brought upon them?

  This was not the time to fuss over past issues, his wound was still bleeding heavily and he was beginning to feel weak. Kenon went back to the hall and led his teammates into the understructure.

  This had been the one place in the house where he could just go and be with his thoughts. He used to spend hours down here studying the star maps—gazing at the images of distant worlds he thought he would only ever visit in his dreams.

  The scent of rusty tools and mold lingered in the cool air, and the room was unnervingly quiet except for the clatter of armored boots in the stairwell—and then there was a gasp, a squeak of a voice. Kenon stopped, his teammates did the same.

  Someone was hiding in the back corner of the room, peering out from the shadows. The figure rose and stepped into the faint light filtering in through the open door at the top of the stairs.

  It was Khae.

  “Kenon?” she whispered, unable to believe what she was seeing. She, too, must have been informed of a death that never took place. She would have grieved for him, the loss of her one and only child. “But the councilors—they told me you were dead!”

  “Merely a rumor—they believed it, too,” the young warrior told her. “I’m sorry for the pain it must have caused you.”

  Khae blinked. “Why have you come back?”

  “War has led me home.”

  “Why here?”

  Kenon lifted his hand from his leg, just enough to give his mother a glimpse of the wound so that she knew what he needed.