Chapter Twenty-Nine
“I guess this area really was abandoned,” Thomas commented as he flicked on the lights for the city’s tactical defense hub. If they’d been planetside, the whole area would have been crawling with vermin and cobwebs, but thankfully on an otherwise lifeless asteroid that wasn’t much of a concern. The air was still musty, however, and most of the consoles still had a thin layer of dust covering them.
Selaris let out a long sigh as she ran her finger across one of the terminals. “Father sealed it off early last year when Tavore brought in a few hundred other Neyris fugitives. I remember him practicing the speech he’d prepared for the Council. He believed it would be a watershed event highlighting our limited resources. First we’d have to shut down the turrets, and then we’d move on to the extraneous shielding on the outer ring. The final step would be power rationing across the whole city.” Her face scrunched at the memory. “He hoped that with Markus’s help, we’d eventually be able to recruit enough Flies to make up the difference. I guess now it won’t matter.”
“All but one of the turrets is responding to my commands,” Thomas said as he sat down at the central console.
“That’s good, isn’t it?” she asked.
“Yeah, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll fire, and I don’t think we have time to bother with diagnostics. The first wave of fighters has to be getting close.”
Selaris pulled out her holopad and keyed for Thexyl. “We’ve reached the defense hub. Thomas thinks that some of the turrets will be able to fire.”
“Good,” the Kali replied. “Several bombers have broken through our blockade and will be in weapons range shortly. They seem to be escorting a pair of heavy assault transports.”
“So they are planning to board,” she whispered. Vale had mentioned that the Widow would probably try to capture the Flies here first, but Selaris hadn’t wanted to believe it. The thought of being dragged off to the Nidus and being reprogrammed…
“The Mire soldiers guarding the docks won’t be able to stop any Spiders,” Thexyl said gravely. “Focus your efforts on targeting those transports if you can.”
Selaris nodded. “We will. What about the Golem and the Phoenix?”
“They have engaged the enemy battleship, but so far they haven’t inflicted any significant damage. Most of our defensive fighters have already been destroyed, and several of the support ships have been disabled.”
“They’re getting torn apart,” Thomas murmured, his face even paler than normal. “We can’t have much time.”
“Then we better get started,” Selaris told him, taking a deep breath and ordering her nerves to settle. “You should be able to link with that generator.”
He didn’t look where she was pointing. He didn’t move at all. He just stood there in place, visibly trembling…
“Hey,” she said, stepping forward and putting her arm on his. “We’ll be all right. We just need to focus on doing our part, okay?”
Thomas licked nervously at his lips, and Selaris could feel his arms trembling in fear. But he did seem to settle a bit once she touched him, and she did her best to flash him her warmest smile.
“Right,” he managed. “I guess we should plug in.”
He turned and stepped over to the psionic linkage interface. Her father had always called it the “hotseat,” and just like the others down in the city’s central power core, the device was eerily reminiscent of a high-voltage electrocution device that primitive Keledonians had used to execute criminals. The chair was designed to hold its human batteries in place, clasping around their arms, legs, and even head. The setup looked outright draconian compared to the holos she’d seen of true Sarafan devices, but it got the job done.
Thomas stuttered awkwardly as the seat flipped on and began to drain power from him. “It’s working,” he rasped. “They’re coming online.”
Selaris nodded and began to fasten her restraints. Unlike the other psionic adepts here, she’d never actually had to plug herself in to any of the generators. Markus had been worried it might trigger a relapse, and so he’d only allowed her to recharge psionic capacitors every now and then. For a long time she’d wondered if that had made the other adepts bitter. Probably, but that was all the more reason for her to succeed here.
A low rumble echoed from somewhere above them. “What was that?” she asked.
“Their fighters are firing on the city,” Thomas said, his eyes flicking madly beneath his eyelids as he continued to dump energy into the generator. “The shields are holding so far, but those transports are getting close.”
Then it’s now or never, she thought to herself. Mentally crossing her fingers, she reached down and flicked on the hotseat. The effects were immediate and exactly as Markus had always described: it started as a faint tingle across her skin, and soon a warm current was coursing through her entire body, almost like she’d jumped into a steaming bathtub. But for once no strange images assaulted her mind, and she didn’t feel like she was on the verge of losing control.
On the contrary, for perhaps the first time in her life, Selaris knew this was exactly where she needed to be.
“Thexyl, can you hear me?” she asked.
“Yes, Your Highness,” he confirmed. “Five of the six turrets are online, and power readings are steady.”
“Then it’s time to show them we aren’t as defenseless as we look,” she told him. “Fire when ready.”
The Spider and the Fly Page 62