Thunder Moon: Book 2 of the Chatterre Trilogy (Chatterre Triology)

by Jeanne Foguth

  Nambaba plunged toward Ishdoo’s craggy surface. As the CRU ship filled her view screen, Raine slammed the nav-stick backward. It caught for an agonizing second, then held. She breathed a sigh of relief, then counted 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. She hit the magnetizer for the tentacles. There was a massive jolt. Shay screamed and all but Brock, who was clutching the back of her chair fell. With agonizing slowness, Nambaba began to pick up speed and tow the ship toward Vilecom. “Reed, I need both hands. Can you input the coordinates into the autopilot?”

  He staggered upright and hobbled to the console.

  “Sorry about that. I should have warned you.”

  He made a dismissive motion with his hand, then quickly typed in the code. “Now what?”

  Before she could respond, Brock punched on the autopilot. The controls in her hands went slack and the ship veered toward Vilecom. Spirit, please let the autopilot release when needed.

  Chapter 25

  Obviously there was more than one way to be bait. Thunder looked around the strange room and tried to gauge how the rest of them felt about their fate. Preston’s complexion looked green as his hair and Shay chewed her lower lip, but the rest were focused on the peculiar glossy area with its moving dots. The green dot, which was joined to the blue cylinder had to be them. That meant the white dots were dragons. There were at least a hundred white dots to each green one. Worse, all the white dots seemed to be clustered around them.

  Thunder peered at the cool, dismal gray walls. What was Raine’s plan? Would she take the ship into the magma? He shivered with the knowledge that the hull of her ship would never survive the heat. As he watched, she rammed a T-shaped handle toward the odd screen and he sensed that their speed had picked up.

  They barreled forward toward the vivid red orb. Raine’s mouth was set in flat determination and her attention didn’t waver from the approaching moon. Her tension was palpable. He moved behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. Shay joined him, then Brock, Reed and Coral, each supporting Raine, in the only way they had available.

  Shay’s jaw trembled. “So you’re going to just throw the Reclamation ship into the moon.” She swallowed. “What if there were survivors?”

  “You saw the damage,” Raine said. “The harness side was completely ripped out. They never had a chance.”

  “Think of this as a different form of recycling,” Brock said.

  Shay’s eyes watered. “I guess it’s wonderful, in a way. At least in death they have a chance to save others.”

  The molten moon now filled half the window. How soon would Raine release the derelict ship? How close could they safely get? It seemed like they were far too close already. A glance at the wall assured him it was still safe. He closed his eyes and imagined the Tribe gathered around a funeral fire. The chill of a moonless night crept across his back, while the heat of the flames sucked moisture from his face. He heard the deep rumble of the hummed tone that allowed the essence to go to the next realm. He turned his attention to the corpse and saw himself lying next to Raine.

  Cold clutched his chest and he opened his eyes.

  The evil moon took up three quarters of the window. Had the vision been an omen? Would this moon become his funeral fire?

  Raine smacked his hand. He jerked away, belatedly realizing that his nails had been digging into her shoulder. “Sorry.”

  “Does the song you were humming have words?”

  “No,” he said. Her attention returned to the window.

  “It was very calming.”

  Surely she didn’t want him to intone the burial tone. He shivered.

  Preston shoved him aside and grabbed Raine’s arm. “You’ve got enough speed. Release it and get us out of here.” His skin now looked greener than his hair.

  Raine smacked his hand. “If you’re that afraid, speak to The Spirit.”

  “What should I say?” Preston demanded. “Is there a request I can make to get Her to alter your mind?”

  “Try this: Spirit, if this doesn’t work, may our end be painless and swift.”

  Preston’s eyes glazed with panic. “Drop it now.” He appeared ready to strike Raine.

  Thunder grabbed him and pulled him away from her. “If this is our destiny, so be it. It isn’t my preference, either, but how often do we get a choice?”

  She nodded and picked up the thing she talked into. “All shepherd fleet, fall back. I’m taking this in alone. Make certain no strays turn.”

  ooo

  “Raine, don’t listen to him,” Preston begged.

  “Do what you feel is the right thing to do,” Thunder said.

  She glanced at Brock. “If you can save the planet, do it.” He hugged Shay close. Amazed that Brock’s main concern was for their world Kalamar, instead of saving his own life, she looked at her sister. Eyes wet, Shay cuddled close to Brock and nodded. Reed and Coral added their support.

  Preston’s complexion reddened with anger and he lunged at her. Thunder appeared to clap his hand on her brother’s neck and he collapsed like a sack of rice. Thunder turned toward her and gave her an encouraging nod. Raine swallowed. Until today, she’d thought defying convention by bonding with Gornt and saving Dalf had been terrifying.

  She took a deep breath and turned toward the gauges. The heat index was rising rapidly. The monitor confirmed that a solar flare was building. A chill rippled down her back. Until Thunder had taught her essence-travel, she’d never been so close to the surface. Spirit, please let this work. She increased the power and dove toward the building plume. How close could she get before Nambaba began to soften?

  The heat sensors passed redline and continued to climb.

  Shay whimpered.

  Raine glanced back to see her sister gaping wide-eyed at an orange area on the bulkhead. As they bother stared, the spot expanded and seemed to begin rippling.

  She released the tether and yanked the nav-stick back.

  Nothing happened.

  Cold sweat bathed her. Raine rammed it forward. It wedged. She yanked back. Her gloved hands slipped and her spine slammed against her chair. Coral shrieked.

  “Sorry about that.”

  A comforting hand closed over her shoulder. Thunder’s touch seemed to say, that he supported her. Raine punched the release switch with her fist. It clicked free and the CRU bounced forward beneath Nambaba’s slowing belly. The hot spot was ten times the size it had been a second ago and the plastoid was starting to melt. It was good that Preston wasn't awake to see this.

  She tried to swallow the lump of fear in her throat.

  Suddenly, a wing slashed down in front of the monitor. It was so close that she could see that what looked gossamer from a distance was merely heat radiating from a thickly scaled surface.

  Something thumped hard against Nambaba’s belly. She went down so quickly that she didn’t have time to break her fall. The air gushed out of her lungs. She lay doubled up on the floor trying to inhale, fearing that the rippling gray plastoid covering the bulkhead would be the last things she saw.

  Then, something else snagged a tentacle. For a moment, the ship quivered. When the anchor held, Nambaba’s trajectory arched upward in a backward summersault. Raine struggled onto her knees and lunged for the nav-stick. Shay tumbled, screaming, against the console. Lack of oxygen seemed to darken her vision as Raine’s second attempt connected with the nav-stick. The dark monitor showed Thunder grabbing Annya as he stumbled past. Raine pushed the nav-stick forward, but whatever was pivoting them backward, had the controls jammed. Unable to do anything else, she forced air into her aching lungs.

  Dragons surged past the monitor like a tsunami. She held her breath, afraid that the next hit could reverse their spin and send them into the magma.

  When the final read-out showed the last mooncalf’s signature hesitated instead of blending with Vilecom’s vapors, she keyed on her com-unit. “All CRU units, if you are at the coordinates I gave you, turn on the call, now.” She winced, hoping that her voice didn’t sound as te
rrified to others as it did to her.

  The cooling hull looked like solidified water ripples, and though the reddish tones of burn-through had faded to gray, the structure had been compromised.

  At least they were alive.

  For now.

  Raine checked her monitor. Nambaba's backward roll was catapulting them toward Ishdoo. A collision with its rocky surface would be just as fatal as melting in Vilecom. She kicked the console then gripped Nambaba’s nav-stick and rotated it until she felt a slight movement. Carefully, she steered into the roll, then bit her lip and began stabilizing her course.

  The hull shuddered like a massive quake. The clamor of ripping metal made her mouth dry. Shay shrieked.

  Coral screamed for the Creator’s help.

  The floor heaved.

  LED’s popped.

  A warning tone sounded.

  “Fuel low,” Nambaba intoned. The gauge for the aft tank read empty and the forward tank was dropping fast. There must be a rupture, but which one? She cut off the transfer from the forward tank.

  The fuel level stabilized, but there wasn’t enough to land.

  Awkwardly, the ship returned to its normal flight configuration, she swallowed, wondering what would happen next.

  Raine bit her lower lip and glanced at the others. Their attention was on the monitor, and Ishdoo’s imposing crags. She nudged the nose to the left and entered a low orbit around the rugged moon.

  “I’m alive!” Shay let out a howl of glee and launched herself toward Brock.

  “Did it work?” Reed’s whisper could barely be heard over Shay.

  Raine keyed in analytic codes, but they only showed fifty-two centimeters of difference. “Yes, I think it might have.”

  Shay and Brock whooped with relief.

  “Thank The Spirit,” Coral breathed. Raine nodded in agreement, but her attention stayed on Ishdoo.

  Chapter 26

  The familiar sound of frying bacon joined the din of wailing whistles and straining metal. Thunder sniffed the air, but only smelled stagnant air and sweat. He looked around the odd, oval chamber. Reed and Coral clung together, as did Shay and Brock. Preston had rolled under the bulky table that was covered with lumps and buttons. He was going to be stiff and angry when he woke. If he woke. If Raine didn’t do something about their direction, their ship would hit the cold moon ahead of them. Why wasn’t she touching buttons? Why was she looking at the strange scrolling numbers, as if nothing was wrong? Fate. She’d decided that it was her time to die.

  But it wasn’t his time. He still had to close the portal and protect his home world. No matter what happened to Vilecom, that was still his priority. He took a step toward Raine and positioned himself between her and the rolling information. “The moon is moving. It is time for you to fulfill your part of our bargain.”

  Raine raised her head and looked at him with unseeing eyes.

  “I helped you move the beasts, now you must take me home.” He touched the cool window, which showed a tiny arc of the molten moon. “It has begun to move. Unless the dragons reposition the balance, it will continue to do so.” Raine nodded and gave him a faltering smile. Thunder tilted his head and studied her. “Why have you given up?”

  “There is nothing more that I can do.”

  He shook his head. “There is always a-”

  The harsh sizzling sound intensified. He clutched his ears. “…Dasya Voltain requests permis…. unauthorized for secure frequency….. Kalamaran Dragon shepherd …. Verifying author…..” The searing sound ebbed. “… ship is carrying ID emitter for Colonel Larwin Atano and believe.” Larwin!

  Thunder swiveled to look for the spokesperson. “Where are you? How did Larwin send you?” he demanded.

  “… my brother may still be alive, but captive.” The voice seemed to be coming from the wall.

  Raine shook herself as if wakened from a deep sleep and stared at him. “You lied to me. You really are a Guerreterran.” Thunder shook his head. She glared at him, then shoved him aside and punched a button with her fist. “This is the Kalamaran vessel which has your brother hostage,” she yelled. “If you ever want to see him alive again, put a tractor beam on these coordinates.” She hit another button.

  A moment later, the ship’s headlong plunge toward the moon stopped. Thunder was knocked off his feet. As he plunged toward the floor, his temple hit the wall and everything went black.

  When he came to, everyone was lined up against the wall staring at something behind him. Painfully he turned his head. A tall woman had a light-beam-cutter, like Larwin’s, aimed at Brock. Thunder narrowed his eyes, and studied her high cheekbones and hair that looked like every shade of harvest’s golden hues. She was a female version of his friend and could only be one person. “Tem-aki.”

  She visibly jolted and shot him a startled look. “Who are you? Why were you wearing my brother’s uniform? Did you murder him?”

  “Larwin is fine. I am Thunder. He and my sister are awaiting the birth of their first child.”

  “You lie.” Now the pointed end of cutter was aimed at him. He flinched.

  “How long have you been following my ship?” Raine asked.

  “Since you kid-napped my brother,” Tem-aki said.

  Thunder finally understood. “I am not the brother you seek, but I am your brother.” He smiled at Tem-aki. “You have the same nose.” Tem-aki looked at him as if he’d lost his mind.

  “Are you or are you not a Guerreterran?” Raine demanded.

  “He is not,” Tem-aki said. “He is a –“Her voice trailed off in uncertainty. “Why are you looking at me as if I amuse you?”

  “You act like Larwin. Think like him.”

  “You sound as if you think of him as a friend.” The thing Larwin called a las-cutter wavered. She grabbed the black thing with both hands and steadied the pale red dot on his chest. “What have you done with my brother? Where is he right now?”

  Thunder shrugged. “He loaned me his air-suit and GEA-4 several days ago. He wanted to climb up to the portal with us, but it was more important for him to stay with Nimri.”

  Tem-aki blinked in confusion. “Explain.”

  Thunder sat up. The red dot now centered on his belly. “Please move the death-light before it cuts me.”

  “Fine, I’ll kill your lady-friend if you try anything.” The spot moved to Raine’s forehead.

  “This is beyond bizarre,” Raine said. “I am not his lady friend. He’s a Guerreterran. He has to be. He was wearing the envirosuit when I found him.”

  Tem-aki’s attention centered on Raine. “Tell me everything you know.”

  “I’d been pursuing a juvenile dragon since the beginning of my shift, when-”

  “Chases don’t interest me. Tell me about him.” Tem-aki tilted her head toward Thunder, but never moved her attention from Raine.

  Raine held up her hands beseechingly. “When I realized I’d entered Guerreterran space, I was desperate to turn the dragon, so I fired a hydroblast at it.” Brock arched a sculpted brow.

  Shay gasped in shock and gripped Raine’s arm. “It’s forbidden to fire on the creatures that sustain us.”

  Thunder frowned. How could the dragons sustain them, when they were essence-eaters and clearly diminished spirits?

  “I fired in front of it, not at it. Then, when the mooncalf still continued toward the same point, I fired a second round.”

  “Do you customarily deploy your shielding like that?” Brock demanded. “Did you earn your rank by endangering the dragons?”

  Raine shook her head. “It was a first. Mooncalves don’t usually behave like that one.” She looked the amethyst-haired man in the eye. “What choice did I have? I had to get out of Guerreterran space before a shadow warrior annihilated me. I had to get the mooncalf home safe. If I’d returned without the calf, The Zar would have had my minerals recycled.”

  Brock’s chin came up and his mouth flattened in silent acknowledgement of the distasteful truth he found in her statem
ent.

  Shay blinked rapidly, but a tear still crept from the corner of her eye. “Brock?” Her tone held both question and plea.

  “One dragon supports thousands,” he snarled, “you know that.”

  “But she’s my sister.” He snorted. Shay swallowed and stared at Brock as if she’d never truly seen him before. Raine put her arms around Shay and hugged her. The death-light wavered.

  Thunder looked at Tem-aki. Her confusion mirrored what he was feeling. Slowly, she moved her thumb across the top of the las-cutter. The light disappeared. Thunder cleared his throat. “On Chatterre, dragons are loathed because they take life, how can this world value them?” He massaged his temples and glanced at Reed and Coral for an answer. They had backed up against the wall so tightly that they appeared to have forced their spines to it, mute terror in their unblinking eyes.

  He swiveled to see what held them spellbound.

  The window framed fire, which grew steadily larger. Closer. “You need to move this ship.” He pointed at the flame.

  Raine leapt to the matte-black rod and slammed it to the right, as she thumped a yellow button. Tem-aki dropped the light-cutter and bounded to Raine’s side. As she added her weight to the rod, the floor skewed sideways. Slowly, the framed scenery began edging from roiling gold toward the midnight tones of emptiness. Just when he realized that they might have escaped a fiery death, an invisible force hit the ship.

  Shrieks came from all directions and half the tiny lights turned red. As the ship catapulted forward, Tem-aki grabbed for her light-cutter.

  Chapter 27

  Raine glanced at the monitor. Its wildly scrolling crimson message indicated a hull breach. She and Tem-aki fought the unresponsive nav-stick, slowly regaining control. “Nambaba, close all emergency hatches.”

  “Complying.”

  She gritted her teeth and whispered, “Focus.” Sweat stung her eyes. “Navigate. Secure. Repair.”

  “You need to find out what ruptured.” Tem-aki gripped the stick as if it was a matter of life or death, which it was. “I think I can hold it,” she said through clenched teeth.