NeverSea: Echoes of the Lost (Book One)

by Jenetta Penner

  “Who’s going to ride it from our crew, Una?” I ask, knowing the answer and dreading the confirmation.

  “Derya’s the best. And she’s confirmed she wants to do it.”

  I hate putting Derya in the direct line of fire. She’s a gentle soul, and wouldn’t be a fighter if she hadn’t been forced to be, but I know Una’s right.

  “You alright with this, Der?” I ask.

  The comm crackles. “I got your back, Arya.”

  “Fine,” I say. “That makes six of us. When Peter signals the ships, that means we have them in position, and the fleet needs to give it all they got.”

  We finish the plan and I click off. Peter snatches his plasma rifle from beside him and throws me another from the back of the cockpit. “There are more of these below,” Peter tells James.

  James nods and glances to me. We lock eyes for a beat, knowing this could be the last time we see each other, and Peter and I dash to the deck, weapons readied.

  “The scooter’s at the back. Release it into the water and swing around.” Peter launches into the sky toward the attackers and I race to attach my weapon onto the vehicle.

  With a click, I activate the release. The PWC lowers to the water and splashes down. I dive beside it, the warm water enveloping my body. I climb on the seat and grab my rifle as the vehicle bobs slightly in the water. Hitting the activation, I shoot to meet Peter and the other five. Their PWC’s zip for my location, and I click with my sonar toward the approaching army to provide me with a better idea what we’re headed into. Sure enough, the visual of twenty-two bodies closing in on us comes back to my brain.

  I swing my head to see who joined us. There’s Derya, from my crew, Riley and Cyrus from the Atlas, and two guys I don’t know from Smeid’s ship. Peter signals for us to assume position, then spins in the air and jets off into battle.

  I give my PWC some power and blast after him, as do the others. The wind whips my hair and as we spread out in a U formation, widening slightly as we get closer. Peter’s quite a bit ahead, and already shooting at our attackers, avoiding their return fire. He turns and signals for Derya, Cyrus, and myself to go right and the rest left. We'll loop behind them to drive them together.

  As we pass them, the soldiers emerge, bursting from the water and raising their weapons in our direction. Plasma blazes past us in streaks of light. Their black armored suits appear heavy, but it’s not slowing them. I return fire and hit one, throwing him back into the waves. But he surfaces again and continues toward the fleet, the fire simply absorbed into his armor. The other’s fire into the school of soldiers. They're still coming.

  We surround them from the back and continue shooting to prevent them from spreading out. I keep looking up at Peter for his signal to the fleet for them to fire on the soldiers.

  They’re in range, Peter, come on. We can’t wait until they get too close.

  Finally, he does it, and I spin the PWC to book it out of there. A few shots whiz over my shoulder, but I don’t glance back. The crack of bombs from the ship sounds in back of me, and I twist to watch the barrage as it heads right where the soldiers should be located. Hope that we can do this fills me until I see it.

  Derya’s PWC has stalled out. She’s still in the danger zone.

  The bombs collide with the water and panic racks my body as the explosion form a gigantic wave, overtaking the soldiers and Derya.

  “Derya!” I scream, shooting forward, giving me a better view of the eight Syndicate ships closing in behind our fleet.

  Chapter 22

  Peter

  Even this high up, the spray of water from the bombardment of the NeverSea soaks me, leaving me shaking my head and wiping my face. Looking down to the others in the water, I see Arya’s stopped just outside of the blast radius. The rest of the PWCs are flying back to our fleet.

  One. Two. Three. Four. Five…

  One of the PWCs is missing….

  A lump forms in my throat as I lower to Arya. I reconnect just before hitting the water, hovering at the side of Arya’s craft.

  “What happened?”

  Arya’s expression is tense, her eyes wide. “Derya’s not back yet. She stalled out.”

  I scan the horizon. The water is settling from the blasts, and with my enhanced vision, I scan for her vehicle.

  Nothing.

  However, bursting through the hazy backdrop are three Syndicate boats, charging us.

  “Arya, let's go,” I plead.

  “I’m not leaving,” she insists. “She’ll make it.” Her focus remains locked ahead, avoiding mine. If she doesn't budge, we’ll be stuck in the middle of Nerissa’s armada.

  “Listen to me,” I say, reaching out and resting my hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry, but we need to move. Your sisters need you. Derya’s gone. There’s not a thing we can do about it now. We have a battle to finish.”

  “Just go. I’m staying right here until she comes back.”

  “You sure are stubborn, aren’t you?” I sigh. “Alright, if that’s what we’re going to do, let’s do it then.” I let my hand slide from her and steady my rifle.

  She turns to me. “Peter, don’t be stupid, just go.”

  “Nope.”

  The enemy vessels roar upward, nearing firing range. Arya’s lock on her position falters just a fraction. Her eyes well up with emotion as she fidgets with the throttle of the PWC.

  “Fine,” she relents, “but I’m coming back for her the minute this is over.”

  “I’ll be with you.”

  She charges the engines and cuts into the ocean, ripping the PWC around. Yanking the throttle, the craft flies, skimming on the surface back toward our fleet. I lean forward and trail behind her. As we tail our ships, blue-charged plasma streaks overhead at the Syndicate boats. Looking back, I watch their bright, yellow, anti-plasma rounds dot the sky, cutting off our fire. Sparks of orange from the colliding gunfire trickle down to the ocean, sizzling before turning into steam.

  Arya pulls her craft to the back of the Tiger Lily and I land on its deck. I race to the bridge to find an intense James trying to handle multiple stations.

  “I’ve got the helm,” I call out to him. “Watch the radar and program the cannons with a heading to fire at.”

  “Alright,” he says, sliding over to the radar console. “Is Arya OK?”

  “She’s docking the PWC, but one of her sisters didn’t make it back.”

  “Who?”

  “Derya.”

  “Oh no,” James sighs.

  “Yeah, she stalled out and—”

  The Tiger Lily shudders violently, cutting me off. That one was close. Time to focus.

  Looking out the aft window of the bridge, Smeid’s large vessel charges, blasting plasma relentlessly. Out of the corner of my eye, an explosion brightens the NeverSea’s smoke-filled surface on the port side of the Tiger Lily. In the distance, the Atlas takes a direct strike on its bow. Fire dances on its deck, but the damage has not stopped Mateo from fighting back as their cannon relentlessly blasts away. Off in the distance, a Syndicate warship buckles from the onslaught of our cannons, cracking in two before it begins to sink.

  “One down, a crap-ton more to go,” I mutter.

  Arya runs across the bridge’s main window and opens the side hatch. She scurries in, drying her crimson hair with a towel then chucks it aside.

  “What’s the Scylla’s location?” she asks James.

  James smiles in relief at the sight of her. “Since their cannons have limited range, they’ve been hanging back for a chance at close combat.”

  “That’s not going to happen,” I say, looking out onto the battle. “There are too many warships out there.”

  Our vessel rattles as water surges over the Tiger Lily’s deck, a blast just barely missing us.

  “I don’t think we can win this,” James breathes anxiously. “They have the numbers and the firepower.”

  Another explosion flashes near us. Arya races to the far end of the bridge
and plants her palms on the window as she looks out. “Jukes’s boat was hit. I think they’re sinking!”

  “Radio them and see what we can do,” James insists.

  “No, we can’t,” I command. “The Syndicate is monitoring all comms. We radio anyone, and they narrow their sights on us.”

  Arya stares at me in disbelief. “I won't just let them sink!”

  “I know, I know.” I run my fingers through my hair. “I’ll go get them off the ship.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Arya insists.

  “No, stay here. James needs help on the bridge. Besides,” I wink at her and rotate to the hatch, “you’ll just slow me down.”

  I don’t wait for her eye roll, launching up as soon as the briny air hits me outside the bridge. Above the Tiger Lily, the visibility is poor. Steam from the constant plasma charges smashing onto the ocean surface has created a dense, rolling fog around our fleet. Only the pops of the intense explosions brighten my way.

  Plumes of smoke ripple into the air in front of me, the fire on Jukes’s vessel catching my attention. The blaze on its deck is white hot. Lowering, I see a couple of the crew on the deck. They look unsure what to do, running from railing to railing, peering over. I didn’t get any of their names, but I recognize the scruffy kid with long black hair and the older lady Smeid would sometimes confide in. Their eyes are wide, backing from the fire and huddling together.

  I swoop in and corral them both up in my arms. The heat of the growing fire warms my skin as I pull them away. The guy all but elbows me in the head before recognizing who I am.

  “Pan!” the kid cries out. “Thank goodness.”

  The woman digs her nails into my forearm. I don’t think she enjoys heights.

  “Jukes is in the water,” the lady screeches. “He went in after some of our crew.”

  I reach the Tiger Lily's deck and place them down, signaling them to take cover. “I’ll find the others,” I say, springing up once again.

  Just as I lift high enough to scan the water, a hot streak of plasma whirls past me so close that the heat burns through my shirt, nearly cutting my torso. The blast finishes off Juke’s boat, tearing it apart. It buckles and sinks into the NeverSea, the raging fire swallowed by the ocean. Several yards from the bubbling waters above the sinking ship, I spot Jukes struggling not to go under from the drag of the sinking vessel’s undertow. I drop closer to him and see two bodies face down just out of his grasp, and dead.

  Jukes glances up at me, his brow furrowed. “Let’s do this already, Pan,” he snarls.

  I tuck my forearms under his massive arms and struggle to yank him out, the draw from the sinking vessel creating a suction that envelops his body. It requires all my strength, but I’m able to free him, his body dangling below me as I tug him to the Tiger Lily. This guy is built like a tanker.

  “Is there more of your crew out there besides those two?” I ask, pulling him to the ship.

  “Just Vedda and Billy,” he shouts over the cracks of battle. “We need to find them.”

  I adjust my hold on his massive frame. “I've got them. They’re onboard.”

  We reach the deck of the ship and Jukes slips from my grasp. He stumbles, falling to his knees but catches himself, and looks up at me with a scowl.

  I shrug. “Sorry, man.”

  Returning to his feet, Jukes catches up to me as we race into the Tiger Lily’s bridge. He gets to the hatch before me and gestures me in. “Ladies first.”

  “Funny, very funny,” I say with a smirk. “Next time I will leave you out there.”

  I enter and beeline for the helm. James slides back to the radar. I review our heading. We’re reversing. Arya's at the comm, staring out the port window, locked across her chest.

  “This is not working,” she says. “The Atlas is falling back. The Syndicate fleet is too strong.”

  “What are our options?” James asks Arya.

  “Kill Nerissa.”

  “And how do you suppose we do that right now?” I ask.

  Arya turns to me and places her hands on her hips. “We take the Scylla’s transport sub and infiltrate Neverland.”

  I’m all for the crazy battle strategies, but she’s talking about taking a heavily fortified settlement head-on with a ten-by-ten sub with no weapons. But she needs my support now, and what choice do we have? Our crippled fleet can’t retreat from their armada forever.

  “Let’s do this,” I sigh. “James, man the helm. Arya and I will go after we gather some weapons.”

  “Hell no, you won’t,” James snarls. “That’s a suicide mission, Arya.”

  “James,” Arya says, resting a hand on his forearm, “there’s no other choice. This has to end now, or we’ve lost everything.”

  The room goes quiet, except for the muffled explosions outside breaking the silence. James shakes his head. “Then I’m going, too.”

  “No,” Arya argues. “You’ll be safer here. Peter and I were designed for this.”

  “I don’t need superpowers to protect you. I’m going, and no one’s stopping me.”

  “He’s right, Arya,” I reluctantly agree. “He knows more about the inner workings of Nerissa’s regime than any of us. We need him.”

  She shoots me a scorching glare and returns to James. I’ll hear about this for a long time.

  “Fine,” she says, staring directly at James. “But I do not need protecting.”

  “Smeid will be attending your excursion too,” Jukes interjects. “Unless you’re planning to knock on the front door, he’s the only one who knows how to get in. He doesn’t trust you, Pan. He’ll want to look out for his own interests. You will take him.”

  I grin. “Then I guess our merry little team is set.”

  Arya’s staring at me, and there’s the eye roll I was waiting for.

  The plan is decided. I order Ethan and Wendi to man the helm and comm. Vedda and Billy from Jukes’s ship replace them at the cannons. Arya has jumped ship, heading to the Scylla to prep the sub. I lug Jukes back to Smeid’s vessel to swap them out. Smeid is not a fan of me having his life in my hands as we fly to the Scylla.

  “You know this will never work,” Smeid shouts over the constant plasma bursts in the distance. “If it wasn’t for James, I would take my crew and go.”

  “Oh, and the part about you having exclusive trading access with Neverland once we reclaim it has nothing to do with you staying, right?”

  “Maybe a little,” he croaks. “Just don’t drop me.”

  The Scylla is far enough behind the rest of our fleet to be out of the Syndicate’s range. We must get underwater before they intercept us.

  I place Smeid beside the open hatch that leads into the sub. He nearly falls into the water. His generous extra pounds force the sub to dip a few inches then he finally crouches to enter. Arya’s already ferried James over. He’s made his home in the copilots seat. Whatever. He can have it.

  I coast in and sit across from Smeid, our knees touching. Arya closes the translucent hatch door. As soon as it clicks, the door phases to a solid black, blocking the rear view. That’s a fun trick. Arya delicately steps through our cramped legs and occupies the pilot seat next to James.

  I scan the small sub. There’s not much to it. There’s a cramped cockpit and two short benches lining the sides. Our rifles fill the back corner.

  My skin crawls. I hate tight spaces like this, and the lack of windows is not helping. I just want to be up in the air, away from this tiny tomb. Luckily, Smeid says the access point isn’t far.

  “Are you sure there’s a way in, Smeid?” Arya asks.

  “I have several backdoors into Neverland,” Smeid replies. “Don’t worry, I’ll get you in.”

  A low hum vibrates the sub then we slowly descend. The faint gurgling I hear flashes me back to when I almost drowned. Arya saved me that day, but I suppose it left me with a slight discomfort for being underwater. My gifts don’t work so well underwater. A soft beep pulses before Arya raises a thumb to signal
we’re good.

  “We’ll find Derya,” James says to Arya. “Keep up hope, OK?”

  She says nothing, only nods while looking forward out the digitally-simulated window up front. Thermal readings flash across the sonar projected panel, offering us a far better view of what’s around us then a simple window would. Her dad sure did hook Arya and her sisters up with some advanced tech.

  “Take us below the H2O intake ring,” Smeid says, squinting at the display. “There are at least five outdated hydraulic stabilizers on the east side of the settlement. Some of them are disconnected from the main power systems, and they have access hatches that are not monitored. Hopefully they’re still shut down.”

  Arya carefully navigates the murky water by the settlement. Corrosion and sea life have taken its toll on the lower half of Neverland. Barnacles and rust coat the outer hull a dull brownish-green. The water is filled with cloudy bio-particles.

  “Stop. There.” Smeid leans in. “Junction T512. I’ve used this one.” He pulls out a small grey tablet from his pocket and taps it three times then returns his gaze to the display.

  “What’s that?” I ask.

  Smeid pauses for a second. “It’s my secret weapon. It’s all the intel I have on Neverland and the Syndicate.”

  “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

  Lily’s sweet, brown eyes and bright smile flashes. I’m so close to seeing her. My breathing quickens, but I rapidly tame it. I don’t need the others doubting my intentions for this mission.

  We coast up to the large rusted hatch connected to this offline module. Arya activates the sub’s service arm and latches onto the support clamp outside the door, pulling the sub in. Luckily, the hatch’s manual handle isn’t too rusted out. It jolts a bit before cranking open. It only takes a minute, and then the sub is resting inside the dark pressurization chamber.

  Smeid bumps my leg as he moves to the front. “Hit that discharge lever and the analog depressurization process should start. All of these chambers have emergency generators to protect from failure. Lucky for us, right?”

  It doesn’t take long until the water’s been vented from the chamber, allowing us to exit the sub. Smeid is the first out. The faint light from the interior of the sub casts his shadow against the wall as he stretches his arms. It seems his old, creaky body can’t handle cramped spaces for long.