“They?” Addix peered over the edge, seeing a rough path leading to a ledge partway down the jagged rockface. “What is that, a cave?”
Izanami lifted her hands. “It appears we did not read the situation correctly. Demon is inside the cave with the male cat.”
Addix’s mandibles rippled in surprise as Izanami’s meaning became clear. “Ah.” She sat down on the grass and tucked her legs under her body. “That changes things.”
Izanami tilted her head. “Are we supposed to wait for them to come out?”
Addix shook her head. “Demon, come up here, please.”
I don’t think I will, Demon replied. Why are you here?
“We are here because you switched your neural chip off,” Izanami chastised. “Believe me, it would have been our first choice to call, had it been an option.”
Well, you found me. You can go now.
Izanami let out a snort of disbelief. “I don’t think so.” She swept down the path and was at the cave entrance in a matter of moments. “Get your hide out here, you impossible creature! This was not part of our deal.”
A low, rumbling growl echoed from the cave.
I wouldn’t annoy my companion, Demon drawled. He’s rather protective of me.
Addix scrambled after Izanami, half her attention on the enormous, long-fanged cat that appeared at the mouth of the cave and the rest on not missing her step and dying horribly in the lake of lava at the bottom of the chasm.
Izanami’s aura darkened to match her growing temper. She dissolved into golden sparkles and moved to flow around the cat, unperturbed by his posturing. “I’ve called for a transport Pod. We’re taking you back to the Baba Ya—”
Addix screeched when the male cat lashed out with one enormous paw and batted Izanami’s hard light projector into the rock.
Demon dashed to the mouth of the cave just in time to see the HLP drive hit the rock and fall. She turned her amber gaze on the male. That was not a smart decision.
Addix picked up the drive, unable to miss the flicker in Izanami’s avatar as she did. “How severe is the damage?”
Izanami’s avatar continued to flicker erratically. “Bad enough. The drive itself is intact. As you can see, I’m still here. However, the cat damaged a part of the shell, and one of the thruster bearings. I’m immobile, unless what I want is to go in endless circles. I’m withdrawing to the Baba Yaga. Wait here for pickup.” Her avatar winked out without any of the usual grace.
Addix secured the damaged HLP drive in an empty pouch on her belt and fixed Demon with a hard expression. “No more arguments. You will get on the Pod when it arrives, and you will pay for repairs to the damage your companion caused Izanami.”
The male snarled again and dropped into a low crouch, announcing his intention to pounce if Addix came any closer to Demon.
Demon hissed at him. Addix is a friend. Still your instincts. You have already jeopardized your chances of being permitted to leave with me.
Addix’s mandibles rippled in surprise when the male cat settled his hindquarters on the ground. “He can understand you?”
Demon left the cave mouth and padded over to Addix. Yes. He’s not from around here. I’ve been able to work that much out.
The male yawned, rolling his head to ensure Addix got a good look at his exposed fangs.
Addix suddenly understood why humans rolled their eyes. “You are as vain as she is,” she told the male cat, pointing at Demon.
She glanced up when the transport Pod came into sight. “You can’t stay here.”
Demon looked at her mate. I know, but I am reluctant to leave without him.
Addix sighed. “Trust you to complicate things. You know what you have to do. It’s not my decision to make.”
Demon wrinkled her nose. How angry is Michael?
Addix lifted her hands as she turned carefully to head up the path. “He wasn’t impressed, but I’m guessing you don’t need me to tell you that.”
Demon flashed her fangs at Addix’s back, then went over to sit by her mate. I have to speak to my humans.
He tilted his head, understanding in his eyes.
You are familiar with their ways? Demon was intrigued. This would be much easier if you could talk.
He chuffed in agreement, then lifted his head to look pointedly at the Pod.
Demon bumped him with her face. Very well. I will ask.
She concentrated and reactivated her neural chip. There was a brief wait while her connection was restored, then the option to speak to her humans became available. Michael?
Her nerves crackled in the endless seconds before he replied.
Demon. Why do you sound like a cat who is about to ask a favor, not a cat who is filled with remorse for the trouble her thoughtless actions have caused?
Demon pinned her hopes on Michael being amused. Because I am? Filled with remorse, of course. It was wrong to come here without permission.
But? Michael inquired. I hear one of those in your apology.
Demon sniffed. I am still apologizing. I did not understand until a few days ago that it was not something I have been searching for, but someone.
Michael’s tone softened slightly. I take it you found this “someone?”
Demon had no higher power to plead with. I did—another cat. I wish to take him back to Devon. He wishes to come with me.
There was a pause, then Michael’s deep laughter rang out. Why do you think he would not be welcome?
Demon hesitated. He took exception to Izanami’s attitude toward me and broke her hard light drive. I’m going to get it fixed for her, she assured him quickly, wincing internally.
Addix’s voice came from the top of the chasm. “Demon, I’m not going to keep this Pod waiting all day.”
Get aboard the Pod, Michael instructed. I will decide when you arrive at the Citadel.
Citadel, Middle Ring, Bor’Dane’s House
Gabrielle cursed at the acrid odor clinging to her damp hair. “We are not walking through the jungle again. It’s baked in! I smell like death took a shit in my hair!”
Eric grinned as he settled back on the bed. “That’s okay. It’ll wash out eventually, right? Besides, I think the skunk-thing was more frightened by us than we were by him.”
Gabrielle strode out of the bathroom, diverting to punch Eric in the arm. “Not funny. I noticed you got out of the way fast enough when the damned creature fired its stink at us. I’m going to take another shower.”
Eric rubbed his bicep, laughing to cover the pain. “I could help you wash it again.”
“You could.” Gabrielle tied the offending locks out of her way and rummaged through her belongings for a change of clothing. “But you’re not. I will be glad to get home to the Guardian.”
Eric chuckled softly at her reference to the station as home. “Do you think we’ll ever get to go home home?”
“To Earth?” Gabrielle’s reply was interrupted by a ground-shaking explosion. She stared at Eric for a split second, then dropped everything on the bed. “Attack!”
Eric was on his feet before the tremor had finished rattling the house. “Outside.”
Gabrielle manifested an energy ball and sent it at the picture window she’d admired upon arriving in the room. “No time for the stairs.”
They grabbed their weapons and jumped.
Michael and John ran past as Eric and Gabrielle landed in the shrubbery below.
Michael pointed at the open area by the gatehouse. “Bethany Anne sent a Pod. ETA, one minute.”
He didn’t stop to make any further conversation. Neither did John until they were all aboard the transport Pod and on their way to the Baba Yaga.
“What’s going on?” Gabrielle gripped her seat as the Pod darted through falling chunks of rock.
“There’s an attack coming from the surface,” Michael replied, his attention on the impossibly small hole in the roof in the world that the Pod was aiming to exit through. “Hold on tight, we don’t have time to waste.”
The hole grew in their vision as the Pod hurtled closer. They breathed a sigh of relief when the Pod scraped through and the rain of rock was replaced by driving snow.
Bethany Anne appeared on the screen as they broke the surface, fury riding her face in bright red lines that bled out from her eyes and lit her skin. “Fucking Ooken. They found us.”
John snarled, “Yeah, well, they’re gonna regret it when we find them and blow them to kingdom come.”
“Michael, I need you on the bridge. John, Gabrielle, Eric, you know what to do.” Bethany Anne vanished from the viewscreen, replaced by the open door of Transport Bay Two.
Michael left for the primary bridge immediately on arriving after wishing them luck.
Gabrielle took the lead when they split up to board their ships. She connected with the Cambridge’s systems on entering the bridge. She slid into her captain’s chair and activated the HLP drive in the headrest.
The wraparound display burst into existence around Gabrielle’s headrest. It was usual for her to retain control of the primary systems when she was aboard. However, in a battle situation, she trusted her AI to take care of things like cloaking and navigation while she focused on pounding ten tons of crap out of the enemy.
Gabrielle’s eyes flickered as she configured her weapons setup. The HLP manifested twin controllers in her chair arms, which she grabbed as her ship left the Baba Yaga and shot out into space.
“Are you getting this?” She bared her teeth at the explosion of red triangles that marked enemy Gate signatures in her HUD.
“Damned party crashers,” Eric complained as he peeled off.
Gabrielle frowned. “I know, right? How rude.” Her eyes flickered again, and the weapons locked on her first target. “Let’s see what we can do about that.”
John grunted in satisfaction at his aim. His EMP-puck struck the nose of the ship, leaving it stranded halfway through the Gate. “There’s only one thing to do with unwanted guests,” he deadpanned.
Gabrielle grinned. “Yeah. Kick them out and slam the door behind them.” She fired two Etheric-enabled missiles, and a few seconds later, the Gate collapsed in on itself, leaving a portion of the Ooken ship free-floating in the nothing.
Eric whooped as his target went down. “We could keep this up all day. There doesn’t look to be any shortage of intruder ass to eject.”
There was a tug at the back of Gabrielle’s awareness, no more than a slight sense of something being out of place. She reached out to Bethany Anne in the mindspace. Did you feel that?
Bethany Anne's reply was a moment in coming. There’s some weird shit going on in the Etheric. I need to take care of it. You guys just make sure no Ooken get down to the Citadel.
You can count on us, Gabrielle assured the already empty mindspace.
20
QSD Baba Yaga, Primary Bridge
Bethany Anne felt the Etheric tear in the split second she dropped the connection to Gabrielle.
Michael spoke into her mind, forestalling the state of shock before it had a chance to set in. I’m on my way. What are you seeing?
Bethany Anne couldn’t tear her gaze from the viewscreen. An Etheric storm. It’s huge. Beyond anything we’ve encountered outside of the storm wall.
Blinding light accompanied the inconceivably large energy expenditure that exploded outward from the jagged rent in the velvet backdrop of space.
For a moment, Bethany Anne could only stare openmouthed at the darkly shining energy that spewed from the rift.
Gravity would not be disobeyed, evidenced by what happened next. The storm energy met the physics of their plane, and everything in the path of the all-consuming gravitational wave was thrown outward—including the Baba Yaga.
The only indication the Baba Yaga was spinning ass over axis was the backdrop of space hurtling by on the viewscreen and the blaring of alarms as the ship was flung to the far edge of the system.
“IZANAMI! DO SOMETHING!” Bethany Anne screamed.
“I’m doing everything I can!” Izanami yelled from the speaker.
They were saved from a collision with the outermost planet’s debris field only by Izanami’s fast action.
The thundering in Bethany Anne’s chest abated when the image on the viewscreen jerked, then stabilized.
The whole thing had taken less than fifteen seconds.
A shudder ran down Bethany Anne’s spine at the nearness of their escape as Izanami made the maneuver to put the ship back on a trajectory for Qu’Baka.
Michael arrived in the elevator. “The car lost power. I was stuck for a moment,” he told Bethany Anne as he came to stand beside her. “That is…”
Bethany Anne slipped her hand into Michael’s. “Huge.” He sounded as shaken as she felt. “We just learned what it’s like to have someone walk an Etheric storm into our backyard.”
Michael squeezed Bethany Anne’s hand lightly. “You think the Seven have something to do with this?”
Bethany Anne looked up at him. “You don’t? I can hardly accept it as coincidence. No, this smacks too much of payback for my liking. It has to be the work of whoever hijacked the Judkah’s body after I killed him.”
Michael growled in consternation. “We were too busy diverting the outbreak of war to follow it up right away.”
Bethany Anne narrowed her eyes. “I’m just glad I got that chest safe. We have to close that rift before anything else.”
Izanami appeared by the HLP projector. “That isn’t our immediate concern, I’m afraid. Qu’Baka is destabilizing. The rift is tearing the core apart.”
“Won’t that be solved when we seal the rift?” Michael asked.
Izanami shook her head. “The reaction has already begun. It is too late to do anything except save as many lives as we can.”
Bethany Anne knew indecision would put her in the same situation as the planet. She closed her eyes briefly, focusing on what she could do in the moment. “Michael, get Gabrielle back here. Izanami, inform Captain Jameson he is to coordinate an evacuation of the Citadel, and put Mahi’ onscreen.”
Mahi’ appeared on a shaky feed that bobbed up and down to keep her in the frame as she ran. “I’m glad to see you, but this is not the best time.”
“That’s why I’m calling.” Bethany Anne had to shout to be heard over the chaos in the background of the feed. “The Seven have attacked the planet and you need to get ready to leave. All of you.”
Mahi’ stopped dead. “I know we’re under attack. There are Ooken here. There’s been a quake in the outer ring, and we’re heading out to rescue the people trapped out there.”
“Mahi’, no. It’s more than a ground attack.” Bethany Anne filled Mahi’ in on the situation with the planet’s core.
Mahi’ listened in shocked silence, her anger beyond expression. “This Kurtherian thinks to take our home as revenge?”
Bethany Anne shook her head. “More than that. They intended to take your lives as well. There’s nothing we can do but evacuate to Devon for now. I’m sending the Baba Yaga to defend the Citadel while you get everyone aboard. Make sure Captain Jameson is able to enter by the front gate.”
Mahi’ started running again. “I’ll make sure. Bor’Dane will be there. I have people to save.”
Qu’Baka, Jungle, Transport Pod
The cats became agitated just before the Pod’s EI issued another quake warning.
Demon snarled, It’s a big one.
Addix could only hope the Citadel was still in one piece when they made it there. She had been tracking the tremors since the roof above them had begun dropping parts of itself unexpectedly, and they looked to be localized to this part of the planet.
She made an attempt to soothe the cats. “The Pod’s shielding will protect us. I’m more concerned about what we’ll find when we get to the Citadel.”
Demon’s eyes darted to the viewscreen. What was that? I saw something that shouldn’t be in the jungle.
Addix zoomed in on the viewscreen and saw th
e unmistakable flash of blue in the canopy below. She jumped to her feet, unable to believe her eyes. “How are there Ooken here?”
Demon tilted her head, her liquid gaze remaining on the screen. I have yet to encounter the Ooken. Are they so fierce?
“Take a look for yourself. I need to tell Bethany Anne about this.” Addix opened an audio channel to inform Bethany Anne but got Michael instead. “There are Ooken approaching the Citadel,” she told him without preamble.
Michael’s reply was tense. “We are under attack by one of the Seven. Bethany Anne and I are somewhat tied up right now. How far are you from the Citadel? They’re evacuating, but someone can come for you if you’re in a tight spot.”
“Evacuation?” Addix glanced at the cats, pondering the wisdom of taking them into an emergency situation. “The quakes are getting worse.”
“Yes,” Michael confirmed. “The attack is causing them. The planet will break apart, and there is nothing we can do about it.”
Addix’s mandibles fell open in horror. “All those people! What can I do?” she asked. “We’re not that far out from the Citadel now.”
“Go to these coordinates. Assist Mahi’ however you can,” Michael instructed. “I’ll inform her about the Ooken, and that you will be with her shortly. Good luck.”
Addix gave the received coordinates to the EI. “The same to you and Bethany Anne,” she replied before signing off.
The Pod altered its trajectory slightly when the Baba Yaga came into sight above the Citadel.
What should I do? Demon asked.
“Go straight to the Baba Yaga.” Addix included the new cat in her orders. “Both of you. It’s too dangerous for you on the ground. One of you could easily be killed.”
Demon didn’t much want to go into the Citadel anyway. That is fine by me.
Mahi’ and the male Bakas she was with met the Pod as it touched down in one of the outer courtyards of the royal complex.
Addix saw the cats into the care of a passing Guardian before anything else. “Straight to the Baba Yaga,” she repeated as they sauntered away from the Pod.
Mahi’ left her companions and hurried over. “Addix! A Pod is just what we need! Inside, quickly.”
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