Cygnus Rising: Humanity Returns to Space (Cygnus Space Opera Book 1)

by Craig Martelle

  The captain jumped to the hatch and leaned an arm around it, aiming his blaster inside. The intruder fired first, hitting the captain’s arm and horribly burning it. The captain screamed and fell, dropping his second blaster and rolling into the corridor. The intruder fired at the barricade of the defenders and moved to the side of the hatch, expecting a second attacker, assuming they traveled in pairs as the Concordians did.

  “I’m the captain,” Rand gasped as he held his arm, writhing in agony. The two bodies not far from him smoked, clouding the corridor and warranting a flashing red light. Briz was barely visible beyond, working on the device that the intruders had been attaching. “I’m the captain,” he said one last time, barely audible, before he passed out.

  The Concordians Are Gaining on You

  The ten flying machines circled Cygnus-12’s shuttle before landing in a wide semi-circle around it and the other machine parked nearby. Men poured out of the machines and arrayed themselves, weapons pointed menacingly toward the woods.

  Master Daksha and the others were nowhere near. Chirit circled far to the side and high above the woods as he watched the Concordians, looking for whether they’d follow and how.

  Their former prisoner stopped once he saw the inbound flying machines. He turned and waved to his comrades as he started walking back toward the shuttle.

  The crew members from the Cygnus-12 quickly reached the small opening that Chirit had directed them to, some breathing more heavily than others. The ‘cats were in the trees, legs dangling, looking relaxed as they watched and reached into the woods with their other senses.

  “Distance. The more distance we put between us, the better off we’ll be. There’s one minor drawback, though. I fear that we might have to make Concordia our home. We haven’t heard from Jolly since before we landed, about the time that the shuttles would have attacked the ship. We have to think like help’s not coming,” Cain suggested.

  The Tortoid bobbed his head slowly as he thought about their options. He was having no luck as he fixated on the possible loss of the ship, trapped on a distant planet with no way to tell the SES where they were or what happened. And it was all his fault. His thoughts were dark with guilt.

  “The hills. We have to put distance between us. Those flying machines of theirs had to weave as they entered the valley. The easiest way would have been for them to fly over the hills, but they didn’t. I think they might be limited in how high they can go. So we climb, away from them, out of their reach,” Pace offered.

  Cain was fresh out of ideas. His ancestors had never had to run from an army while on a strange planet, with no friends to help them and no sanctuary to hide within. For the first time, he felt real fear reaching for him, the type of fear that could cripple a person. He gripped Ellie’s hand tightly, happy to have her by his side. He was committed to protecting her, to give him a reason to keep going when all he wanted was to be back on the ship.

  “We survive,” he said out loud, talking as much to himself as the others. “I want to believe that the ship is still there. I don’t know why our neural implants aren’t allowing us to talk with them, but we’d know if something happened to the ship. We survive so the other shuttle can come get us. Then we leave this forsaken hell hole.”

  “I’ll second that,” Pace said, looking at the faces of those around him.

  ‘Half of them are entering the woods, following your tracks,’ Chirit reported over the mindlink. ‘The others are spreading out, some back to their machines and others to the shuttle.’

  ‘Thanks, Chirit. Are there any birds here? I haven’t heard a sound since we landed, not birds, not animals besides the livestock in the valley. Make sure they don’t see you,’ Pace commented. The Hawkoid flew higher and looked toward the sea, where there should have been birds. Maybe that was why the Concordians never looked up. There was nothing there.

  The ‘cats confirmed that there was wildlife, small creatures like squirrels and larger game like deer. They had yet to see any, but they sensed it was there and with that, could hunt it and kill it. They wouldn’t want for something to eat. The longer the Hillcats went without food, the more deadly they’d become to anything that moved.

  Master Daksha apologized for having to be pushed, until they found a vine that they could use as a rope. They tied this around Pace’s waist and the Tortoid held the other end firmly in his beak-like mouth. Leaper and Carnesto raced ahead of the group, running fast on all fours. They scouted a route that took them away from the valley, away from Fairsky and toward the highest peak of the mountain range beyond.

  Chirit circled, watching the progress of the men, but as the tree cover became heavier, he had to get closer to see. Blaster beams reached through the leaves, tracing lines of ozone all around him. He swerved and dove away, then flew past at high speed, heading in a direction ninety degrees to the route taken by his crewmates. He continued climbing slowly as he hoped to lead the Concordians astray. More beams licked out through the leaves, but they weren’t a threat to him as put greater and greater distance between him and the attackers. He suddenly dove and skimmed the treetops as he flew toward his friends. Now that the others knew, he wouldn’t be able to fly at all where he could be seen. The Concordians would be on the lookout for the alien in the sky.

  ‘Sorry, but they’re on to me,’ Chirit apologized to the others.

  ‘It’s okay, my friend. Why aren’t there any birds here? Maybe we’ll find that out someday, should the Concordians choose peace, although I hope we don’t have to wait long. Our crewmates will come for us. Believe that. They will come, and then maybe we can talk with the Concordians like adults,’ Master Daksha said firmly in his thought voice.

  They continued to hike through the woods, trying not to upset the undergrowth and leave a trace of their passing. Cain and Pickles both had knowledge of woodcraft, but the undergrowth wasn’t like anything they were used to on Vii. As Cain looked back, he saw that a child could follow their trail.

  “Pickles, let’s clean this up and then leave some false trails,” Cain suggested. The Lizard Man nodded, happier aboard a spaceship than traipsing around the woods in his skin suit, but he backtracked with Cain, brushing the grasses upright and sweeping their tracks from bare ground.

  Cain, Pickles, and Lutheann raced off together, leaving tracks and broken branches to mark their passing. With a combination of Lizard Man boot prints and his own human boots, they left a trail deep into the woods that angled away from the original path. Once they found a stream, they waded through it, drinking and filling their flasks, before continuing.

  Cain hadn’t realized how thirsty he was or how dry Pickles had become. The Lizard Man submerged himself completely to rehydrate his suit. He floated in the water, but Cain could only guess that Pickles was happy. No human could read a Lizard Man’s expression.

  “We’ll need to go soon,” Cain urged, seeing that Lutheann stayed on the edge of the stream. She had no intention of jumping in.

  ‘You’re coming back to this side, right?’ she said nonchalantly in her thought voice.

  “Yes. We’ll head out this way, leave some tracks, double back, head upstream as far as we can go, then cut back toward the others. Do you sense anything?”

  ‘You should hurry,’ she told them. Pickles immediately got out of the water, knowing that he’d be able to get back into it shortly for their trip upstream.

  They ran from the water, tearing out plants as they climbed a small bank and dove into the woods. They had covered a short distance when Lutheann spoke to them over the mindlink. ‘Change of plans. Turn right and pick up the pace. The first Concordians are in the stream and running after you.’

  ‘We can’t speed up without leaving a trail. How many are there?’ Cain asked.

  ‘Four. The others are farther back. Much farther, but they follow these men on your trail. I will join you shortly.’

  ‘Means they aren’t following the others. What do you think, Pickles, a little ambush to show them th
at following us isn’t a healthy way to live?’ Cain said confidently in his thought voice. He wondered briefly how Lutheann was going to cross the stream, then cast it from his mind. Some things he simply needed to accept.

  ‘I am not a good shot, my friend. I fear that I will be no help to you,’ Pickles replied.

  ‘Can you do the Lizard Man trick where you blend into a tree, make yourself invisible?’

  ‘Yes, but only if I’m not wearing my skin suit. All Lizard Men can do this. It’s in our genetic makeup.’

  ‘Then we can use that. We’ll find a big tree. They’ll run past. You shoot them from behind, just spray the blaster fire in their direction and I’ll be at their flank to finish them off. Can you do that?’ Cain had no other plan and he was breathing heavily. They were running faster, but leaving a trail that was easier to follow. They weren’t going to get away by making a false trail, because this was their real trail. They’d led the men away from the others, but directly to themselves.

  ‘I’ve never shot anyone before,’ the Lizard Man sadly stated.

  ‘I’m new to it myself,’ Cain tried to counter, but he’d fought the Android on the Traveler and had demonstrated that he was cool under fire, almost reveling in battle.

  ‘I will count on you to clean up whatever mess I make of this, and you, too, Lutheann.’

  “All we can do is the best we can do, my friend,” Cain panted out loud. “Up here. Use this tree and I’ll be over there, behind those rocks. We leave tracks just far enough beyond that area to draw them through.” They ran twenty paces beyond a large tree that looked like an oak from back home. Pickles undressed and stuffed his suit under a bush. He held his blaster behind him as he leaned up against the tree and blended in with its bark.

  The Hillcat disappeared into the brush. She was all white and wasn’t as easy to conceal as the all black Carnesto, so she made herself scarce and if needed, she’d appear. She knew to stay clear of the blaster fire. She was still fired up from her previous kill and was more than willing to do it again, so she waited, maybe closer than she should have, but she had confidence that her abilities far exceeded those of the Concordians.

  Cain picked his way around the small hill, taking care not to disturb any of the undergrowth. He crawled the last few feet into position as he heard the heavy pounding of men approaching at a dead run. Pickles was talking to him over the mindlink, encouraging him to hurry.

  The men ran past, quicker than Pickles expected. When he stepped from the tree, the Concordians were already fifteen paces past. He fired into the ground behind the men, then waved the blaster, sending a thin flame through two of them and into the trees above. The other two dove away from the attack. Cain took aim and three narrow-beam blasts later, had taken the third man down. The fourth man had found cover and was firing back. Pickles dodged behind the tree and stopped firing. The man concentrated his blasts at Cain’s position.

  A white streak appeared on the trail and Cain fired quickly in the man’s direction to keep him from seeing. The man lifted his blaster to return fire when Lutheann jumped from a full sprint, landing on his chest and knocking him backward. Cain scrambled from his position and ran after her. Pickles peeked out from behind his tree.

  The Hillcat ripped and shredded, then jumped away. The man turned, blaster still in hand. She jumped on his arm and tore the weapon from his hand, then dashed way, returning from a different direction moments later.

  Cain stayed back as Lutheann worked the man over. When he fell, she had him, slashing his neck and ending his life.

  ‘Thanks, Pickles. You did what you had to do, and you saved us,’ Cain said over the mindlink, knowing that his crewmate was distraught. Cain pointed to the bush where the skin suit was hidden. ‘We need to go. This time, we leave no trail. Back to the stream and then we follow it as far as we can, before angling back toward the others. No trail,’ Cain cautioned.

  While Pickles got dressed, Cain collected the gear from the men, flasks, rations, blasters, but no other technology that he could see. Maybe they had neural implants like the crew from Cygnus-12, but he wasn’t sure. These men looked hard, like they lived lives outside working with their hands. They didn’t seem the type who used high technology, or something like a fabricator to deliver their food and server bots to clean their rooms.

  “They’re behind us, technologically. They are where we were one hundred, thirty-some years ago. But they don’t have a Free Trader Braden with a vision and a Hillcat to help them see a better future. Maybe we could be that for them?” Cain said as Pickles finished and joined him, looking at the bodies of the Concordians.

  “Are you delusional?” Pickles asked in shock. “They have an army of people trying to kill us. The population is afraid of them and they look on me and the others as freaks! No. We won’t be the ones to enlighten them. We need to survive just until we can get out of here.”

  “I’m sorry, Pickles. You are right, of course, but who doesn’t want to be the next Braden, the one who brought peace and a new era to Vii?” Cain slapped the Lizard Man’s back and nodded. They headed into the woods, moving much slower as they used branches to brush their tracks and leave no trace of their passing. Lutheann padded into the brush and disappeared from sight as she moved ahead, making sure their way was clear.

  They’re in the Engine Room!

  The intruder looked through the hatch at the body of the ship’s captain. He looked back at the barricade and sensed that he’d broken their will to fight.

  With a heavy accent, he instructed the crew as to what would come next. “Come out and no one else gets hurt. We want the ship. You want to live. You teach us what we need to know, then we all win. You might even be able to remain and crew the ship for us,” he said as he stood, letting the blaster hang from his hand at his side.

  The crew stood from behind the barricade, heads bowed in shame as they surrendered.

  The man turned and stepped into the corridor, looking down at the captain.

  He never saw the blaster beam that tore into his chest. Tandry stood there, holding the trigger down, frozen as she fired. The man launched backwards into the hatch frame, locked into position by the continuous fire.

  A long-haired calico Hillcat bumped her hard, shaking her focus. She let off the trigger and watched the man collapse in a heap. The crew rushed from the mess deck, one took the dead man’s blaster and two others came to the captain’s aid. They wrapped an undershirt around his arm as they lifted him between them. The med lab was down the corridor, past billeting. They carried him around the two burnt bodies, tried not to disturb Briz as he worked to disarm the explosive device, and then into the med lab. The bots immediately took over.

  Briz joined the group after he removed the device and those inside opened the hatch. Twenty crew and one Hillcat stood outside the med lab as the bots worked on the captain.

  “How many are left on board our ship, Briz?” Tandry asked coldly as she fingered the blaster she still carried. Once she crossed the line of killing her second human being, she hardened. She was no longer tormented by the look of the first man she killed. She didn’t think she could do it a second time until she saw the Captain Rand and blamed herself for not being there to keep him from getting hurt. She wouldn’t make that mistake again.

  Briz accessed the systems and found the last two. “They’re in the ISE, checking out the engine. I need to get back to engineering!” Briz ran off before he told anyone why.

  Tandry and Mixial followed Briz. Allard and Beauchene headed toward the stairs to the garden deck. The others milled about uncertainly. Sensor operators, mechanics, logisticians, a pilot. All were trained and cross-trained by the SES to be the best spacers they could be. None of that included military operations. They looked at each other and shifted uncomfortably. The only ones who remained in the corridor were human.

  The oldest crew member, a lieutenant commander who specialized in life support, held up his hand to get everyone’s attention.

  �
�I think we’re all afraid. I, for one, can only guess at what to do next. We have intruders on board our ship. There’s only two of them left thanks to the heroic efforts of our captain and our crewmates. We know some of our crew have been killed. Others are on the planet, fighting for their lives, running for their lives, or already dead. We don’t know because Jolly is nowhere to be found. We are in trouble, but there’s nothing we can do if we don’t help ourselves, if we don’t retake our ship. Then we can figure out how to get our people back from the planet. We have blasters and we have the numbers. Let’s go to the ISE and root them out of there!” Some of the others cheered, but the group was sedate.

  “I don’t think we should use blasters near the ISE. Dark matter is funneled through there,” a maintenance crew member said, her voice small as she knew she was dampening their spirit. They all felt like they needed to do something.

  “Good point, Cass,” he nodded at his crewmate. “How about this… We put people at every exit from the ISE and then shoot them when they come out. They’ll have to leave sometime.” The others agreed and all of them jogged toward the stairway down, past engineering and power generation to the inner most ring of the spinning core, where the ISE and the dark matter banking system occupied the entire deck.

  The group split up to camp outside the four separate hatches, three to the ISE, which was a complex space with numerous nooks and crannies, and one to the dark matter banking control room, which was a small place with limited systems and nowhere to hide.

  Garinst, the lieutenant commander, accessed his neural implant and tried to raise Briz, but couldn’t get him, so he sent one of his group to engineering to check on the young Rabbit. The rest waited, watching and nervously fingering blasters. Garinst wasn’t military, but he understood that the safety of the ship came first. He cautioned those with blasters to be ready, but not to fire into the ISE space and not to accidentally pull the trigger. He put two people to the side of each hatch to grab the intruders should they choose to leave the engine room. Maybe they wouldn’t have to kill them and that would make them feel better. As it was, they couldn’t account for too many of the crew. They assumed they were dead, as many as eleven of their crewmates.