NeverSea: Echoes of the Lost (Book One)

by Jenetta Penner

  We sail for what feels like hours, but the clock shows it’s only been forty-five minutes. The anticipation is killing me. We’re on radio silence now to keep our arrival secret for as long as possible. I let everyone know I would fly over to each vessel if communication was required before we get there.

  I’m glued to the radar as the screen cuts out, blinking multiple times before the steady green haze returns. I tap the display to ensure it is properly functioning.

  “What the—” James mutters.

  Out the window, I see the bright azure horizon being rapidly replaced by a dark, ominous wall of storm clouds, stretching as far as I can see. Flickering light dances in the space between the clouds and the ocean.

  “How did that storm just appear out there?” I ask, scratching the back of my head.

  “That’s not a storm,” James insists. “That’s smoke.”

  I plant my hands on the console and lean closer to the window, trying to get a better look. He’s right. It’s billowing chaotically, not holding its form like a storm cloud would.

  “This isn’t good,” I murmur, turning to James. “Full stop, reverse the engines. I need to tell the others.”

  “Go, I got this.”

  Tink follows behind me as I race out onto the deck. Wendi and Ethan nearly run into me. They must’ve been coming to us on the bridge.

  “Get back to your cannons,” I order. “Keep your targeting locked on the horizon.”

  They nod and rush to the weapon cockpits. Over the bow of the ship, I notice Smeid’s vessels have stopped as well. The wakes trailing their boats have died off as they coast just in front of us.

  A rolling buzz comes from Tink. She’s anxious. Her eye optics flutter multiple colors.

  “Stick by my side,” I say to her. “I need to get to Arya. We can’t risk breaking radio silence until we know what’s going on out there.”

  Turning back over my shoulder, I spot the smooth white Scylla closing in on us. I sprint to the deck rail and lunge off it, jetting into the air.

  Chapter 19

  Arya

  “You nervous?” Marin asks from the copilot’s seat.

  I pull my shaking hands from the console and tuck them into my lap. “No, why would you ask that?”

  She offers me a weak smile and turns her focus back to the heads up display. “Oh, I don’t know. I’m a bit jumpy myself, so I thought you might be, too.”

  I stretch out my fingers and draw in a long breath through my nose, then exhale. “I just can’t believe this all will be over soon. I’m not saying the NeverSea is going to be perfect by getting rid of Nerissa, but it’ll be the start of a better future.” I run my fingers over the display again and watch as it indicates all the other ships are slowing. “Why are they doing that? You see anything?”

  Marin taps the scanner controls. “Nothing out of the ordinary is showing up, but the boys’ ships are a little more upgraded. I boarded and snuck around last night.”

  “By yourself?”

  She chuckles. “Seriously, you give some of those Lost Boys an ounce of attention, and they’ll basically fall at your feet. I didn’t even need Talise’s influence, it was so easy.”

  Out the main window, I watch the ships slow. Beyond them is a darkened sky.

  “Looks like we have a storm coming in,” I say. “Maybe that’s why they’re stopping.”

  A blip shows on the screen.

  “Oh wait.” Marin points at the data. “We’ve got something headed toward us. But it’s pretty small … not an aircraft.”

  “It’s Peter,” I say.

  “You sure?”

  “Yeah, pretty sure. Slow the ship to a stop and open the top hatch.”

  “I’m picking up a weak signal in the clouds,” Marin adds as I rise from the captain’s chair. “Electrical impulses. Maybe lightning. Should I call the Sisters?”

  “Let me talk to Peter.”

  I walk the interior of the Scylla to get to the opening. The mechanical whir of the door sliding back sounds, revealing the blue sky. Salt air pours into my lungs as a thunk comes from the hull above. Two legs swing over the edge. In an instant, Peter flings his body through and lands in front of me.

  “Miss me?” he asks.

  I cross my arms over my chest. “What’s going on? Talise mentioned electrical impulses.”

  The smile disappears from his lips. “I don’t know yet. We thought it was a storm at first, but it’s not moving like clouds. More like smoke.”

  “Could be a ship in trouble,” I suggest.

  “There’s way too much smoke on the horizon for that. Something strange is happening.”

  Options snake in my mind; none of them sound that great. “How about you and I check it out?”

  “Leave the ships here?” Peter asks.

  I nod. “We need to know what’s going on, but I’d rather not risk the Sisters. It’s not that far, so it shouldn’t take us long. If it’s nothing, we can turn around and come back, but if it’s not, we have to know what we’re heading into.”

  Peter’s lips quirk up into a mischievous grin, always up for an adventure. “Let’s go then.”

  I grab his arm to prevent him from shooting back through the hatch without me. “I need to let the girls know.”

  ‘Sure. I’ll be up top,” he says, doing exactly what I’d suspected and shooting out the open hatch the moment I release him.

  I have Marin call the others and give them the plan.

  “You sure, Arya?” Una asks. “I’m looking at the electrical impulse readings on the display, and I’m pretty certain this isn’t nothing. It’s unsafe for you to be in the water without any buffer.”

  Una’s mothering instinct sours my stomach. “I told you, Peter and I will stay out of range. We’re getting a look and coming back, that’s it.”

  She releases a long sigh. “Be back in twenty minutes or we’re coming after you.”

  “Fine, mom.” I turn away toward the hatch. The way she talks, you’d think she was the one in charge.

  Talise grips my arm. “Be safe, sis. That’s what we all want.”

  “Always,” I say, giving her a half smile.

  She releases me, and I make my way to the hatch. I lower the ladder and climb into the opening. Peter sits on the hull, legs crossed, with Tink, his little droid, floating over his shoulder. She sees me and her eyes glitch and go red. I swear she lets out an electronic growl.

  Shaking my head, I turn my attention from her to Peter. “Sorry it took so long.”

  Tink emits a high-pitched sighing sound and hovers as Peter stands.

  “We’re only snooping and then reporting back?” I ask, hoping I didn’t just lie to the girls.

  “That’s the idea.”

  I nod and gesture.

  “Let’s move,” he says, hovering from the pearly outer hull of the Scylla.

  I dive from the ship into the water and jet toward the disturbance. The pressure envelops me and my gills take over for my lungs. Despite not wanting them, they do come in handy sometimes. Using my sonar to keep me moving in the right direction, I push through the water. After a few minutes, I surface to search for Peter. He’s still a ways back. Slowpoke. I chuckle and wait for him. I guess he’ll have the advantage with the bird’s-eye view once we get there instead of my fish-eyed version.

  “You see anything yet?” I yell to him as I bob in the water.

  He catches up and hovers over me. “It’s a couple of ships.” He looks ahead, raising his hand to his brow. “New ships. Probably Syndicate.”

  I struggle to see from the water, but it’s no use. It’s too choppy, making for a bad view. Buzzing and crackling sounds come from one of the ships, and then a blinding light emits, illuminating the sky under the inky clouds of smoke with a resounding crack.

  “That was amazing,” Peter calls as Tink buzzes excitedly around him.

  “I can’t see much from here,” I yell back, frustrated I don’t have the same view as them. “And if you
fly in there they might see you. I’m going to get in closer.”

  “Arya—”

  I dive under the surface and zoom for the ships. I release my sonar to get a feel for the distance and form the path in my mind. When I’m closer in, I surface. In front of me are two gigantic ships, sleek and new, just as Peter said. There’s a smaller, nearly destroyed wreck of a ship to my right.

  Pulses vibrate the nearest ship and the water surrounding it, pushing me around in the water a little more than I’d like. A high-pitched whine comes from the ship and another white bolt emits forth, blasting the target craft. My mouth falls open as spidering bolts of electricity crawl over the surface of the destroyed ship. The thing erupts, and flames and smoke kick up into the sky. A second bolt emits from the warship, but collides with the water near me instead of aligning with the target.

  That's not good.

  I dip under, but it’s too late. An angry fire courses through my body, locking every muscle into rigidity.

  I sink.

  Then, nothing.

  Chapter 20

  Peter

  “Arya!” I shout as the sea sparkles with dancing electricity. Tink flies a few yards behind me as I skim along the surface. The discharge calms and smoke filters into the air as I slow.

  Arya’s nowhere to be seen.

  “Tink, keep your sensors open for any Syndicate activity. If anything moves closer, go back and warn our boats.”

  She twists back and nods her little head before returning to keep an eye out for whatever might attack.

  I hover just above the water, almost laying on top of it as I wipe across the surface like I’m scrubbing a rag over the Tiger Lily’s deck. Back and forth, I frantically search for my friend.

  A soft gurgle just behind me breaks me from my intense lock on the water. Turning, I see her emerge, face down and not moving.

  “Oh no… Arya!”

  I’m at her side in a flash, yanking her from the water. Her limp body slumps in my arms. Tink zips to me and buzzes near her, scanning Arya for signs of life. Tink’s eyes emit a soft green glow and she lets out two excited beeps. Arya’s alive.

  I fly faster than ever. Water sprays my face as the force of my pull creates a wake. I don’t even know if Tink is still behind us.

  We reach the line of vessels of our fleet. James is leaning on the railing at the bow of the ship, binoculars in hand. I pull up from the water’s surface and fly over him, gently laying Arya on the deck. James drops the binoculars to the deck and falls to her side. Tink zips in from the open ocean and circles us.

  “What's going on?” James asks frantically, feeling her neck for signs of life.

  “She’s alive. Tink scanned her.” Tink beeps again, agreeing with me. “There’s Syndicate boats or something out there. They’re testing new weapons. I’ve never seen anything like it. Arya was in the water, and—”

  “Her pulse is slow,” he interrupts.

  “What do we do?” I ask, pacing beside them.

  “Calm down,” he says, trying to take his own advice as he drags in a shaky breath. “What happened to her?”

  “I … I’m not really sure. Those boats emit some sort of electrical discharge. The jolt jumps along the surface before hitting whatever they target. She probably got too close. Her heart sounds off to me. It’s as if it’s not in rhythm.”

  His eyes narrow. “What do you mean probably got too close? You didn’t see it happen? Where were you?” He gathers Arya into his arms and races toward the Tiger Lily’s deck cabin. “Why was she alone?”

  I tuck my hands into my pockets and match his pace. “Arya insisted we should check it out. She thought I’d be seen if I flew too near from the air.”

  “If her heart sounds out of rhythm, then the shock affected it,” he says, looking over his shoulder at me. “We need to regulate it. This boat has a med bay?”

  “Yeah, the lower deck, near the back by the crew quarters.”

  Wendi and Ethan rush up to meet us outside the bridge. “What happened?” Wendi asks.

  “Get back to your cannons,” I snarl. “There are Syndicate vessels out there.”

  Their eyes grow wide and they race back to the cannons’ cockpits. James makes his way to the hatch just off the bridge that leads below deck.

  “Warn the others,” James insists. “I served in the medical unit for almost a year—I’ll see to her.”

  He doesn’t wait for me to respond, heading down the dimly-lit stairs, leaving me at the top as the hatch door swings closed behind him with a solid clank.

  I turn and scan the horizon. Tink flutters next to the bow, watching the growing smoke as it creeps closer to our fleet’s position. No way am I gonna order our boats in there. It’s suicide. Our cannons have no targets to aim for, the radar didn’t pick up a signal, and anything connected to the water has no chance.

  I know what I have to do.

  After sucking in a huge breath at the thought of it, I run to Ethan at his post and signal him to remove his comm headset.

  “I need you to pilot the Tiger Lily. Move it back and break radio silence. Get the fleet to safety.”

  “What are you doing?” he asks. “Why can’t you man the helm?”

  “I need to take those boats out.”

  He pauses for a moment, but nods and returns to the bridge.

  I lift from the deck and hover over to the weapons cache near the center of the Tiger Lily. I grab a plasma rifle and strap it over my shoulder. There’s no need to signal Tink. I’m already several yards from the ship when she flanks my side, her forward weapons extended from her arms. It looks like she still has the modifications Elijah made to her weapons systems. Those powerful upgrades always came in handy during battles.

  We soar up, hoping we can get a better vantage point to see through the smoke. I don’t have much time until the Syndicate intercepts our radio signal. Entering the blackened skies, unable to fully avoid the billowing tendrils, smoke fills my lungs. I strain to hold back a cough, but it’s no use. It’s not as dense this high up, but it’s making finding whatever’s out there harder.

  As I squint, a boat filters into the dark haze, exposing itself to me. It’s a tad smaller than my ship, a heck of a lot meaner. Sharp edges and slate outer walls cover most of the ship’s surface. A narrow deck stretches from the bow to the stern, black railings lining both sides. Whatever that weapon is, it juts out from the front like an antenna. The other boat has to be nearby, but first things first.

  “Tink,” My attention stays locked on the vessel, “Hit the starboard. Do as much damage as you can, but keep moving. I’m going to destroy that weapon.”

  Her optics shift to indigo as she moans a complaint.

  “Don’t worry about me. We’ve destroyed bigger.”

  I grin, and she jets off. It only takes a few beats and the blue haze from her plasma attack brightens the smoke clouds. A faint, high-pitched alarm sounds. It’s my turn.

  I connect to the force of the Earth and drop from the sky. Disconnecting before the water frees me from gravity, stopping me so I hover just ahead of the weapon. Dark coils wrap a protruding silver spear with angry spikes attached at the end. I raise my rifle and fire away. Metal from the vessel’s weapon burns hot from my blasts, melting into the sea. The coils snap and start unwinding, popping with wild bolts of energy. An electrical burst comes from above and spins me, my shoulder burns.

  Looking up, I find a Syndicate goon with a pistol aimed at me. He fires again, just missing my head. I zig back and forth, avoiding his constant barrage. My arm stings and pulsates from the hit I took and I fumble with the large rifle with my good arm. My shots are aimless as I fire back, skimming the bow. Another blast whizzes past me, the heat from the weapon’s discharge singeing my leg. I struggle to point my weapon at him as I shift to avoid getting shot. The man readies his aim, locking on to me with intensity.

  My existence, up until now, ending in my impending demise, rolls through my brain in about a second as his f
inger depresses s the trigger. There are a few things I regret. I squint, somehow accepting my fate, when he’s struck with dual streaks of cobalt plasma. He’s thrown from the deck, skimming the surface of the water for a few yards like a skipped stone, before plunging facedown. Tink soars in, weapons trained on the deck. Never in my life have I been so happy to see the little AI. She darts from one end of the enemy boat to the other. Returning to me, she whines as she scans me over, her eyes turning grey.

  I wince. “Thanks, girl. It’s just a scratch.”

  Smoke rises from the aft of the vessel. Tink’s handiwork, I’m sure.

  “Nice job out there. Let’s sink this thing.”

  Her optics brighten with an orange-yellow hue as she purrs at me. She’s up for some fun.

  A whirling buzz emanates from the ship’s weapon in front of us. Grey smoke seeps from the busted coils. They're prepping to fire on us.

  “Up, Tink! Move now!”

  She’s the first to soar as I follow her straight up. It's not seconds until we’re well above the vessel. The weapon is charging, but they can’t reach us from here.

  Wait, they’re not aiming for us.

  They must be targeting our fleet...

  I crane my neck back toward our vessels when an explosion rips out below me, washing warm air over my feet. The Syndicate boat is destroyed, all but severed in two. Fire rips from its belly as its crew jumps ship, aimlessly treading water. A strong chemical smell hits my nose, and it takes me a beat to recognize it as coolant from the engines. I did enough damage on that weapon to force it to malfunction.

  Tink starts for the ocean surface, where the crew floats.

  “Stop, Tink!” I yell. “Focus on that other vessel.”

  The red in her eyes dims a bit, shifting to black. Apparently, she wants vengeance.

  “Where’s that other boat?” I mutter to myself, looking out on the murky-covered NeverSea.

  My nanos are healing the gash from the gunshot. It’s healing over fast—already forming a scab. There’s still a burning, throbbing sensation in my shoulder, but at least I’m able to handle the rifle with both arms now.