by T. M. Catron
“All right, crew,” Rance called over the comm, “spend the next six hours sleeping. We’ve got to be fresh when we arrive. Abel, Henry was heading down to the cargo bay. Make sure he’s safe in that box. We all need some sleep.”
Despite what Rance told her crew about sleeping, when she finally laid down she stayed awake a long time, staring at the dark ceiling of her cabin. Everything Solaris and Tally had told her was true. They were headed straight for an unknown, possibly dangerous situation. But she didn’t feel she had any other options.
She rolled over on her side, staring at the blank wall. The ring in Solaris’ room was another puzzle. After thinking about it a while longer, she decided it wasn’t her business. Solaris hadn’t tried to hide it. Maybe some day he’d tell her why he hadn’t wanted her to know about it.
The gentle hum of the Star Streaker pulled Rance into an uneasy sleep. She dreamed of random things, mostly of her father searching for her, and not being able to find Moira when they landed on Prometheus. She woke when the cabin lights came on, signaling the exit from hyperspace. Rance pulled on her magnetic boots—mercifully free of Henry—braided her hair, and walked out the door.
In the cockpit, James was already strapped into his seat, hunched over the control stick.
“Five minutes, Captain.”
Solaris came in right behind Rance. His hair still stuck up in the back—he must have just woken as well. Abel and Tally were in the hold, strapping into seats that folded out from the walls. Harper was in the control room.
Rance shook the last bits of sleep from her brain and commed the crew. “Remember, we’re going to find Moira, bring her back to the ship, and take off again. No wandering. No one has permission to leave the Streaker unless their names are Solaris, Abel, and Captain.”
“Yes, Captain,” the others chimed in.
Solaris glanced at Rance just as the blue haze of hyperspace washed over the ship and disappeared. She looked out the window, expecting the sparkling cities of Prometheus to reflect the light of the green star it orbited.
Instead, she saw enormous, dark Renegade ships blocking their view of everything.
Everything except more ships behind them.
Gigantic black ships, repurposed Renegades and Destroyers, blocked the view of the planet. They were armed from every side—rotating guns, hull-piercing blasters, and cannons that could blow the Streaker into another galaxy.
None of them were Unity ships, either. Each one had a different symbol painted on it, but all carried an additional symbol next to it—a black sail with a slash going through it. Just like the ring in Solaris’ room.
“That’s Pirate Kaur’s standard,” Solaris said calmly. He spoke as if he hadn’t just revealed that the deadliest pirate in the galaxy had surrounded one of the most powerful planets in the empire.
Rance fought the urge to panic. Now they knew what was happening on Prometheus. Despite the shiver of fear that ran through Rance, she couldn’t help but be impressed at the display of power surrounding the planet. And angry. Kaur had grown bold indeed if he thought he could swoop in and take over the second-most influential planet in the empire.
James altered course and ducked beneath the first Renegade. Through glimpses between ships, they saw numerous tiny ships had launched from Prometheus. None of the smaller spacecraft were getting through. Kaur’s ships surrounded the planet like predators at a watering hole, waiting for prey.
Rance almost ordered James to turn and run. But what if Moira was stuck on the planet below, with no way to escape?
As if he was thinking the same thing, James asked, “Still want to go in, Captain?”
“Yes,” she said a little too loudly. No one commented on it.
A small X-Class fighter with the slashed flag symbol dove through the herd, and the prey scattered.
Solaris looked at one of the dark ships blocking their view of Prometheus. “I didn’t realize Kaur had so many ships,” he said. “He’s been busy.”
“Where’s Unity?” Rance asked. She never thought she’d wish to see the military might of Triton. But the pirates were more frightening than any Unity fighters she’d ever faced. How different she’d felt from a few days ago when she’d wished to see pirates instead of that Unity ship, the Malta. After seeing Kaur’s standard on so many ships, though, Rance knew which one she preferred.
James turned the ship away from the planet and then glanced over his shoulder at Rance.
“What is going on?” she repeated.
“I don’t know,” James said. “Looks like all those little ships are trying to get out.”
“Looks like it,” Solaris answered. “That’s why we haven’t been able to get through to your friend, Captain. They’re jamming all communications off the planet.”
“Are the pirates attacking the entire planet?”
“Looks like it,” Solaris repeated grimly.
James concentrated on flying through and around the old Renegades and Destroyers. Once, these ships had been the prize of Unity. But as newer models and technology replaced them, they had been stripped down and sold to the highest bidders. Rance wondered if Unity knew it had sold its own ships to pirates.
As they entered the main mass of ships near Prometheus, they saw many of them had symbols of Noble houses.
“If they aren’t letting them through,” Rance said, “what will happen when we try to get out?”
James hunched over the controls, his nose inches from his flight controls. “Too late now,” he said. “We’ve passed the last barricade.”
“Solaris, I think it’s about time you did some of your magic work.”
Solaris frowned. “Except I don’t think it will matter,” he said. “No one is paying attention to us. I’d rather save my energy for now, if it’s alright, Captain.”
“Just be ready, then.”
The order was unnecessary. Solaris had been sitting with is staff across his legs since they saw the first ships. His relaxed hands contrasted sharply with the worried look on his face. With all joking put aside, Rance thought she was glimpsing a look at the real Solaris, the somber, dangerous, Galaxy Wizard one.
“Did Unity abandon Prometheus completely?” Rance asked, thinking aloud. “It doesn’t make sense. Prometheus is a Core world. Triton would never leave it defenseless.”
“Unity must have been overwhelmed early on,” Solaris said. “But they’ll be back. And with more firepower. This place is about to get a whole lot more interesting.”
“Captain?” James said. “What do you want to do?”
“If Unity is on the way,” Solaris added. “We don’t want to be caught here when they arrive. It’ll be a bloodbath.”
“Captain?”
“I’m thinking, James!”
If they landed on the planet, they had no guarantee of leaving again. Rance’s flight suit was starting to feel hot. She tugged on her collar, hoping to allow some airflow to her skin. But the sweat began to bead on her forehead too.
She didn’t want to abandon Moira. What if she were still stuck down there, alone and scared? What if Rance and the Star Streaker were her only way out?
“Right now, everything looks peaceful,” she said, ignoring the fear rising in her throat. She’d made her decision. “We don’t need much time.”
At that moment, one of the tiny ships in the center of the field exploded in a blinding flash of white light. All the other tiny ships scattered like leaves in the wind.
The Renegades had begun firing.
“Get out!” Rance said.
James swooped beneath another space cruiser, rolling to the side to avoid hitting its short stubby wing. As they passed, another blinding flash of light told them a nearby ship had exploded—a large civilian transport. Then, one by one, ship after ship transformed into bursts of light. Smaller fighters dodged around the bigger ships, taking out the cruisers that tried to run. It looked like a fireworks display, set against the backdrop of sparkling Prometheus. It was as if the p
irates had thrown a horrific, planet-wide party.
The display sickened Rance, but she couldn’t stop watching in horror as ship after ship exploded into millions of pieces.
“Sons of Triton!” James said. “They’re going to kill them all!”
“Us too.” Rance leaned forward, watching the screens for signs of anyone locking onto the Streaker.
Solaris stood, extending his staff until it was almost as tall as he. Then he raised it over his head, knocking the ceiling as he did so.
He brought it down on the floor with a crack.
Bright white light filled the cockpit. At first, Rance thought one of the Renegades had finally hit the Star Streaker. Then she realized Solaris was doing something to the ship. It quivered and shuddered, and James sprang back from his controls.
“What are you doing? He’s taken over the ship!”
Rance didn’t even know he could do that.
Warning, Deliverance said. I’ve lost control of all systems, Captain.
How was Deliverance still working?
Rance didn’t have time to contemplate the seriousness of that before the gravity control went crazy, pulling her away from her chair one minute, tossing her to the side the next. She gripped her armrests as hard as she could and prayed this was all part of Solaris’ plan. Amazingly, Solaris remained standing as if his feet were glued to the floor.
Rance couldn’t believe it, but she didn’t have time to watch him as the ship pitched forward. She pitched with it, thanking the Founders she was strapped in. Then the gravity shifted to the ceiling, and all the blood rushed to her head.
Warning. Warning. The red words flashed across her vision. She didn’t need that added reminder of their danger, so she closed her eyes. But the ZOD played anyway, and the red Warning signal against the back of her eyelid only made her more fearful. She opened her eyes again.
Outside, the surrounding ships exploded in more fiery bursts of light. One of them was so close that stars ghosted across Rance’s vision.
Bile rose in her throat. The extreme motion felt like she’d been thrown into a box and was being shaken around. Her harness jangled at every turn but held.
Rance kept her mouth shut to prevent herself from biting her tongue, and to keep from vomiting all over James.
Don’t puke, don’t puke, don’t puke.
Whatever Solaris did was working. Although ships around them exploded, the Star Streaker remained safe. Rance wanted to ask him what he was doing, but she didn’t dare interrupt his concentration now. Or open her mouth—in case something unexpected flew out.
After a few more heart-stopping moments, the Streaker charged for Prometheus. Now, Rance finally saw the beautiful green parks and bright seas that covered the planet.
As soon as the ship entered Prometheus’ atmosphere, Solaris collapsed onto the floor. The Star Streaker righted itself. Deliverance took over the ship’s equilibrium, and the red warning stopped. Rance breathed a sigh of relief.
Suddenly, the comm chatter that had been suppressed exploded into the cockpit at once. The yelling crew, the last words of the people on the exploding ships, and distress calls from the planet itself. Somehow, whatever Solaris had done had allowed the Star Streaker to filter in all these communications.
The sound was overwhelming. Rance put her hands to her ears, trying to keep the pain at bay.
Now that James had the controls, the ship was flying on a direct course for the capital city. No one chased them. The pirates were too busy killing off the other ships behind.
Since the Streaker was no longer trying to kill her, Rance unbuckled her harness and jumped out of her seat. She kneeled over Solaris. His face was white and slick with sweat.
“Solaris!” she yelled over all the noise. “Solaris!”
She slapped his face, but he was out cold. Rance returned to her chair and tried to find a way to shut off the radio chatter. She flipped switches, but when none of that worked, she shouted the request to Deliverance to shut off their communication. That finally did the trick. Every bit of noise was suddenly cut off, plunging the ship into sudden silence.
Chapter Five
Prometheus was a city of tall buildings and wide thoroughfares. The lush green vegetation of parks broke up glass and metal buildings that jutted up into the sky. James set the Star Streaker down at the edge of a park, near a tall, dark building. When Rance looked up, she expected to see the fireworks display. But all she saw was bright sunlight filtering through the atmosphere.
People were running everywhere—through the park, in the streets. Ships of all sizes flew overhead, ferrying people away from the mass panic, unaware of the massacre going on above. They narrowly avoided colliding with each other in their haste to get out of the city.
There was a riot going on in the park. Rance noted its location so they could avoid it when they left the Star Streaker.
“Captain,” James said, turning to look directly at her. “I don’t want you to go out there. I know you want to find your friend, but what if she already got out on one of those other cruisers?”
“She was afraid, remember?”
“Yes, but a lot could have changed in the six days it took us to get here. It’s too dangerous out there, Rance.” James rarely used her name—all joking had been put aside. He was serious.
“We’re here, James. We can’t turn back now.” Rance stood from her chair, went back to Solaris, and shook him again. His face was still ashen, his breathing shallow. Whatever he’d done up there to save their lives must have cost him dearly.
“Solaris! Solaris!”
Then Harper’s dark, spiky hair appeared out of the hatch in the floor. She climbed into the cockpit and knelt over Solaris.
“He used up all his power, didn’t he?” she asked.
“Yes!”
Harper pulled a syringe out of her pocket and jabbed the needle into his upper arm. She injected the entire contents—a clear, sparkling liquid Rance recognized as an adrenaline cocktail.
She held her breath, waiting to see if it had any effect on the CO. The next moment, Solaris sat bolt upright with a gasp, almost knocking Harper back down the ladder. She scrambled away, backing against a control panel. Solaris looked around with wild eyes, his hair sticking up more than usual. When he saw Rance peering at him, he relaxed.
“What happened?” he asked.
“I don’t know. You did something up there, saved our lives. And then you passed out.”
Solaris touched the back of his head where it had hit the floor. Then he winced. His hand came away with blood. “Have we landed?”
“Yes.” Rance was glad he didn’t look permanently damaged. She put an arm under his shoulders and pulled. Solaris helped, and when he got his legs under him, he could stand. His face looked pale and blotchy.
“We landed,” Rance said, “but we don’t have much time. It looks like they’re planning an invasion.”
Solaris looked out the window at the ships zooming overhead. “I remember now—they were killing everybody,” he whispered.
“Do you have any idea why Unity isn’t here?”
“No,” he said, shaking his head. He winced. “It doesn’t make sense that they would abandon an entire planet and leave it for invasion.”
James shrugged out of his harness and joined them. “They must have overwhelmed the forces here before they could call for help. And then they jammed all outside communications.”
“But this is a busy star center,” Harper said. “When other ships arrived, they would have reported it.”
“Not if the pirates surprised them with overwhelming force.” Solaris shook his head and then winced again.
“Are you going to be okay?” Rance asked.
“I think so,” he said.
Harper grabbed his sleeve and pulled him toward the ladder. “Let’s look at your head and make sure you don’t need me to close that wound,” she said. “Captain, I’ll have him ready in a few minutes.”
Solaris
allowed himself to be led downstairs to the med bay.
Rance turned to James.
He scowled at her. “Captain, we joke around a lot. And because of that, maybe you’re not taking me seriously. I’m going to be the practical one here, but is this worth it?”
“I don’t know, James. But I hope that if I were in the same situation, someone would try to get me out.”
“You know we would. But Moira isn’t one of us, and you don’t know where she is. At least let me try to get us into the right neighborhood. I don’t think we’re even in the vicinity.”
“Not a good idea. With all the ships flying around, the pirates will target those soon. From here all the way to the river, the only good landing places are on the tops of buildings. The Streaker will be an easy target. And it’ll be hard to set it down in the middle of a street without drawing unnecessary attention to ourselves.”
“It’s a risk I’m willing to take if it means our total time here is reduced.”
“No, James, we’re not far. I promise to radio you and tell you when to come get us.”
With that, she left the cockpit, sliding down the ladder and hurrying to her quarters. There, she grabbed a small backpack, one that would hold water and a little food if they found some. On the way out, she grabbed the guns she had prepared—a blaster and a rifle—and her helmet.
Rance couldn’t explain why she felt so strongly about going to find Moira. Maybe it was because if Rance had chosen a different path in life, she could be the one stuck without help. Or it could be her mother, stranded in a panicked city. Her mother no longer returned to Prometheus, so Rance wasn’t worried about her just now. But now that she had seen what was happening on the planet, she couldn't abandon their mission.
In the back of her mind, Rance knew she was being reckless. But they were already here, and Solaris had almost killed himself to land them. If they didn't try to find Moira, Rance would always regret it.
Down in the cargo bay, Solaris was already waiting on her, looking tired but better. He leaned on his staff and had his satchel slung over his shoulder. The staff looked out of place with his flight suit.