Eclipse: Book Two of the Dark Tide Trilogy

by Dayne Edmondson

  “I don’t know, but I suggest we get our asses out of here now, John,” Ashley said. “Before we’re next.”

  John turned the Dauntless and punched the throttle, streaking back toward the Independence as fast as possible.

  ***

  Three more pilots gone, one EV being towed behind the Dauntless, Selene evaluated. I’m back down to five working starfighters. The other pilots will think Raptor Squad is a death sentence.

  Her HUD announced a gravitational disturbance and moments later showed the icons representing the Krai’kesh fleet disappearing. They’re running. Why? She put the thought out of her head as she approached the Independence. She would have enough problems explaining how she lost six pilots and seven starfighters today to puzzle out the strategy of her enemy.

  ***

  “One pilot was hit by friendly fire, sir. It was an accident.”

  Martin bowed his head. “All right. Are all the fighters aboard?”

  “The last fighter is being towed in by the Dauntless now.”

  Martin drew his eyebrows together as anger filled him. “Bring Captain Edgerton to me, whether he is willing or not. I want to talk to him before we shift.”

  Zigana looked up from his display terminal, mouth open to speak, but saw the look on Martin’s face and closed his mouth. He looked down at the terminal again. “Of course, sir.”

  ***

  Derek and his Marines followed John and Ashley off the Dauntless. Behind them, the door of the pod blew off and the pilot emerged. She passed right by the crew of the Dauntless and did not spare them a glance.

  “Well that’s rude,” John said after she was out of sight. “We saved her ass and that’s how she thanks us.”

  “John…,” Ashley began. “We were the ones who put her in that danger in the first place, remember?”

  John’s shoulders slumped. “How were we supposed to know this would happen?”

  “Tell that to the Admiral,” Ashley said as a squad of Marines entered the docking bay. “I have a feeling that’s where we’re headed next.”

  The squad leader came up and saluted. “With respect, Captain Edgerton, the Admiral has requested your presence. We are here to escort you to him.”

  “And if I refuse?” John asked.

  “The Admiral was insistent, sir.” The Marine’s hand drifted to his sidearm.

  Derek raised his eyebrow. “You would shoot an Eternal?”

  “Compliance with the Admiral’s request is not optional.”

  Derek stepped forward, preparing to dress the Marine down.

  John held up a hand, forestalling Derek's rant. "No. I was just asking out of curiosity, not with intent to decline the Admiral's generous invitation. Please, lead the way," he gestured back the way the Marines had come.

  “Get the men settled, Sergeant,” Derek told Sergeant Reiken.

  John, Derek and Ashley marched through the corridors and took the lift to the bridge of the Independence where Admiral Rigsby awaited.

  He turned at the sound of the door whooshing open. “Ah, so the maverick captain returns. Were you satisfied at the blood shed today, Captain? Blood on your hands?”

  John faced Admiral Rigsby with his back straight. “I did what I felt was right, Admiral. While I regret the lives lost, I do not regret my decision to take the course of action. Many more Krai’kesh fighters were destroyed, which is less Krai’kesh fighters to face in the future.”

  Admiral Rigsby came face-to-face with John. He spoke through gritted teeth. “I don’t care if you killed a thousand Krai’kesh. Human lives are not expendable. Maybe you’ve forgotten that fact after living two thousand years, but I still value human life. If it were within my power I would strip you of your ship and your authority. But seeing as it is not, I will give you this warning. Pull a stunt like that again and I will throw you in the mage-prison where you can rot until the end of time. Do I make myself clear?”

  “Crystal,” John said, his voice emotionless.

  “Good, now…”

  “Sir, I apologize for interrupting, but we are receiving two urgent messages,” Zigana said.

  ***

  Martin turned to face Zigana. “Two? From where? Eligar II?”

  “No, sir. Velmar V and Frelar II.”

  Martin frowned. “Opposite ends of the sector. Are they both under attack from the Krai’kesh?”

  “Based upon their descriptions of the enemy I would say yes, it is the Krai’kesh.”

  “Damn. All right, we’re closer to Velmar V, yes?”

  “Yes sir, thirty percent closer.”

  Martin thought for a moment. To go to Velmar V and not Frelar II could doom Frelar II to the fate of Serpentis III. But to split the fleet…his eyes fell upon John. “You.”

  “Are you going to blame this on me, Admiral?” John asked in a neutral tone.

  Martin felt his face heating but held back his remark. “I need you to lead a task force to Velmar V.”

  “Me? But Velmar V is closer.”

  “Yes, and your ship is slower than my fleet. You can reach the Velmar system in decent time but it would take longer to reach Frelar II. I’ll give you a few ships as escort. I will lead the rest of the fleet to Frelar II.”

  “Do you trust me not to get half your fleet destroyed?”

  “I’m giving you a second chance.” Martin stepped toward John again and lowered his voice. “You’re the only one I can entrust this to. Can I count on you?”

  John stared at him for a moment. At last he nodded. “You can count on me, chief.”

  Martin sighed in relief. “Excellent. I’ll give you our cruiser, two destroyers, one frigate and two corvettes. Godspeed.”

  Chapter 6 - The Stakeout

  “Is that the warehouse?” Kimberly asked, staring at a huge set of doors at the far end of a hangar. The hangar bustled with forklifts and workers ferrying freight. Armed guards stood at the entrance to the warehouse and as Kimberly watched opened the large doors only after a thorough scan of both the cargo and the person ferrying the cargo.

  “Aye, that it is,” Sloane said.

  “So how do we get in there?”

  “We don’t. You do.”

  “Okay. How?”

  “Here,” Sloane reached into his backpack and pulled out a set of overalls which matched those of the workers below. “Put this on.”

  Kimberly looked down at her own attire. She wore a synth-fab shirt and pants in line with her college student persona.

  Sloane offered the overalls again. “They will not let the college bimbo into the warehouse. But they might just let the sexy warehouse worker in.”

  “Hey, that’s sexist!”

  Sloane shrugged. “It’s you or Corbin. Do you think he can charm the guards?”

  Kimberly looked at Agent Higgins. He gave her a toothy grin as if on cue. She shook her head. “Fine. But I’m just slipping it over my clothing.”

  “Whatever you want, darlin’.”

  Kimberly walked into the shadow of a doorway and put on the warehouse uniform. She looked at the name tag as she came out. It read Gerta. “Gerta? Really?”

  Sloane shrugged again. “It was the first uniform we found that would fit you. Go get em’, Gerta.”

  “What are you guys going to be doing?”

  “Watching you. Baillidh will tap into your implant to see what you see while you’re in there. With your permission, of course.”

  Kimberly hesitated. That was a lot of access. What if she needed to go to the bathroom or something? She blushed. “Is that necessary?”

  “It’s the only way,” Baillidh said. “Those doors are EM shielded and those detectors would detect a bug a mile away. Implants, however, are shielded by your skull and operate on a different frequency which can’t be easily shielded against. Don’t worry, it’s only permission to see what you see and you retain full control of the access - you can revoke it as soon as you’re out of there.”

  “Fine. How do we set it up?”


  “I will send you a ping.” He tapped his datapad. “Did you get it?”

  A notification popped up in her visual cortex, which was how implants communicated with their host, asking her to confirm the access request. She mentally acknowledged the request.

  Baillidh’s datapad beeped. “I take that as a yes,” he said with a smile. He turned the datapad toward her. It showed an image of the datapad showing her.

  That’s an odd experience.

  “Trippy, right?”

  “Yes, definitely.”

  “Look down your shirt while you’re in there,” Corbin said. “Could use a good show.”

  “Oh shut up,” Kimberly said, blushing and vowing to look nowhere near her breasts during her mission. Even in the short time since her arrival and meeting the team she felt more comfortable. “What about communication?”

  “Same thing. You’ll direct your thoughts toward us and we’ll hear your voice through the application on my datapad.” Another prompt appeared in Kimberly’s mind through her implant. She acknowledged it. “Okay, here I go.”

  “Not so fast,” Baillidh said. “We need to go over where you’re going once you’re inside.” He tapped and swiped a few more times on his datapad, then held it up for her to see. “There are four sections arrayed in a grid, with a fifth section in the center of the four other sections. We believe the fifth section in the center would contain any damning evidence of a connection.”

  “Great, so how do I get in there?”

  “We don’t know.”

  “Some intelligence agents you are,” she grumbled.

  “Your mission is to infiltrate that central warehouse,” Sloane said. “Once you infiltrate, if you’re unable to exfiltrate or you need support we will be above you.”

  “Above me?”

  “There is a section of old irrigation pipe which runs above that section. We will infiltrate the pipe and, if you need us, Corbin blows the pipe and we come crashing down.”

  “Boom,” Corbin offered, making exploding motions with his hands.

  “Thank you for that illustration,” Kimberly said dryly. “So, if you come crashing in, how do we escape without getting caught?”

  “Grappling hooks.” Sloane withdrew a grapple from his pack. “Got one for you too. We drop in, save you and grapple out before anyone knows we’re there. If we’re seen, the Federation disavows all knowledge of us.’

  “And if we’re killed?”

  “The Federation disavows all knowledge of us.”

  “How comforting.”

  “Go get ‘em,” Corbin said.

  Kimberly took a deep breath, turned, and walked down the stairs toward the hangar.

  “Stop,” Sloane said.

  Kimberly stopped again and turned. “What now?”

  Sloane held out his hand. “Your sidearm. Warehouse grunts don’t pack heat.”

  Kimberly reached behind her back and withdrew her laser pistol from its position at her waistline. She offered it to Sloane. What if he just wants to set me up to get scorched with no chance to defend myself? she thought to herself, being careful not to broadcast the thought to the squad.

  None of the workers paid her any mind. Most operated heavy machinery, one was sweeping the floor, others carried smaller packages. Oh crap, she thought of the team as she stopped in her tracks. I have nothing to carry as part of my disguise.

  Pick up a broom, Corbin suggested.

  Grab a box, Maskini suggested.

  Just say you’re there to grab a package from…, there was a pause as Sloane looked up the data, Sector 1C row A.

  What’s in that spot?

  Don’t ask.

  What if the guards ask?

  They won't trust me.

  Kimberly frowned. Fine. Some other workers were staring at her, so she moved again.

  She approached the warehouse doors and the two hulking guards there.

  “ID,” the first guard demanded.

  Kimberly froze. Uh, guys…

  Just hold out your name badge. It pulls out and has a chip inside of it,” Baillidh said.

  Kimberly did as he suggested, withdrawing the badge and holding it out.

  The guard scanned it. A single beep sounded. “What’s your business in the warehouse, Gerta?” he asked.

  I’m a warehouse worker, dummy, Kimberly thought, but bit down a verbal retort for fear of their large guns and trying not to wince at the name Gerta. “I’m picking up a package,” she said as she replaced her name badge.

  “From where?”

  “Sector 1C row A.”

  The guards shared a glance before returning their gaze to her. "Fine, go in," the first guard said. He tapped on his datapad, and the large doors to the warehouse slid open just enough for Kimberly to walk inside.

  Inside the warehouse, huge rows of metal racks rose to the ceiling high above. Wide rows allowed for hover-lifts to ferry the heavy cargo from one location to another. She located sector one and moved to that location. She was curious what was located at sector 1C row A.

  Did you get inside? Sloane asked.

  Yes, I’m inside.

  Okay, head to sector five right away.

  Shouldn’t I head to sector 1C row A like I told the guards? To maintain my cover?

  No, because there’s a large cargo ship arriving in the docking bay in two minutes and they have cargo from sector five on their manifest to pick up.

  Oh. Okay, moving to sector five, Kimberly replied and deviated her course toward the center of the massive warehouse. A sign showed sector five, and a pair of doors with a security panel blocked access. No guards were in sight. There’s a security panel here. How do I breach it? She asked through the link.

  On it, Baillidh said. He performed whatever technological magic he needed to on his end and the secure door slid open with a hiss.

  Kimberly looked around one final time but saw no observers. She entered the sector five warehouse. Inside, she found tall metal boxes piled up. All I see are a bunch of boxes. Taller than normal though. I’m opening one.

  Be careful, Corbin said.

  Awe, do you care about me?

  Nah, just don’t want you to mess up the cargo, that’s all.

  Gee, thanks.

  Kimberly approached one container not in a stack and pressed an icon on the control panel for the box. The side of the box nearest her slid open. She gasped and resisted the urge to scream.

  The container held four pods. Stasis pods by the look of them. The glass was frosted from the cry-stasis process. She rubbed her hand on the cold glass, clearing the frost. She stepped back in shock.

  A Krai’kesh face in the thrall of sleep appeared in front of her. It’s a Krai’kesh! She exclaimed through the link.

  There, in the warehouse? Corbin asked.

  Yes! I’m sending you a copy of the feed now. It’s a Krai’kesh skitterer.

  Are they awake? Sloane asked.

  How had he known there was more than one? Kimberly filed that tid-bit away in her implant and responded. No, they’re in deep freeze stasis.

  Okay. Get out of there, now.

  No. We must destroy them.

  What? Are you crazy? Did you not hear me say a cargo ship was inbound? It will be crawling with crew members or guards. You’re just asking to get us or yourself killed.

  Fine, if you won’t help me, I’ll do it myself. She muted her end of the link and tried to find any explosive material she could use. She saw a fire suppression system but nothing hazardous. Could she vent the oxygen? No, they were in cryo-sealed containers, and the warehouse wasn’t sealed. Besides, if every container held four Krai’kesh in pods, that meant there were several hundred Krai’kesh in the warehouse. Kimberly felt light-headed. They were preparing invasion on a grand scale, using merchant vessels to hide away until what? Until a secret moment? One coordinated attack?

  Hang in there, princess, Corbin said over the link. And take cover.

  Kimberly rushed to a shelf and hid beneath a contain
er. Moments later the roof of the warehouse exploded and debris fell. Five grappling lines shot out and clanked as they adhered to the floor of the warehouse with magnets. The five FIA operatives in her team slid down their individual grapple lines using motorized winches to slow their descent. Corbin was the first one on the floor. He gave her a toothy grin. “You didn’t think we’d leave you all alone, did you, princess?”

  The thought had crossed my mind. Out loud she said, “No, of course not,” and smiled.

  Corbin whistled. “Whee, would you look at that. Think they all have Krai’kesh in them?”

  “I would guess so,” Kimberly replied. “Better to be safe than sorry later.”

  “Let me see what I can do.” Corbin set his backpack on the ground and rummaged through it. “These thermal detonators should do the trick.” He pulled several silver orbs from his bag. “Set them at the base of each set of racks and with one press,” he imitated pressing the button on a detonator, “kaboom!”

  “We know how explosives work,” Sloane grumbled, snatching a detonator from Corbin’s hand. “Let’s get this over with. Everyone take one.”

  The other FIA agents, including Kimberly, each grabbed a handful of detonators and split up.

  Kimberly placed four detonators around the base of the first set of racks.

  Hurry, Sloane said through the link. That cargo ship will be here any minute.

  Maybe Sloane isn’t a traitor. He wouldn’t willingly destroy the Krai’kesh if he worshiped them or their dark god, would he?

  The large bay doors at one end of the warehouse beeped and opened. Shit! She said through the link. We’ve got company!

  Back to the grapples. Get out of here, Sloane ordered.

  But we haven’t set all the detonators, Kimberly protested.

  We won’t be alive to detonate them if we don’t get out of here. Evac, now! The six agents rushed toward the center of the warehouse where their grapples waited.

  At first Kimberly heard nothing from beyond the now-open doors, but moments later she heard shouts of alarm and the discharge of laser weapons.

  Gang members, Maskini reported before laying down covering fire. Torrance summoned a shield of what looked like air to block most of the energy bolts. Baillidh’s fingers flew across his datapad. Corbin came running up, detonator in his hand. “Once we’re up I’ll blow this…ugh,” he said as he dropped the detonator. Sloane stepped on the detonator, causing it to crumple. Corbin fell to his knees. “No! We can’t detonate the explosives now!” He grabbed pieces of the detonator and trying to piece them back together. “Maybe if I can reconnect these wires…”