At first, Zee gripped her hand like he was afraid she would disappear if he let go. She couldn’t deny she understood the sentiment all too well. Being in the custody of the security forces had left her feeling vulnerable in a way she hadn’t felt in a long time. And she didn’t like it.
But the feeling had long passed. Boredom had left her sitting in a wooden chair, leaning back precariously. She sighed as the back support tapped against the desk behind her. Her gaze roamed around the room, stopping on displays and people, but drawing little understanding from them. Most of the time, she focused on the large wall displays currently showing a diagrammatic view of space with Balaena on one side and dots representing the enemy on the other.
It wasn’t exactly encouraging.
Then all hell broke loose. A young man who looked almost cute jumped up, yelling in his native tongue. Ellie jerked in her seat, grabbing onto the desk at her back when the chair screeched and threatened to send her to the floor.
She jumped up to her feet, rushing over to Zee, who had sprung into action at the younger man’s words. “What’s going on? What is it?”
Zee spoke some more, his voice firm and authoritative, turning her on a little.
Quit it. It’s not the time.
The already hectic environment whipped into a frenzy. People rushed around, scrambling to act. She touched his arm, clinging to him as he turned to her. “What’s going on?”
“The enemy is mobilizing.”
Shit.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Zee stood beside Ellie as the people around them panicked. The Planetary Security Forces’ headquarters had become utter anarchy in the last few minutes as it became clear the military would not arrive in time.
For moments, he stood there in shock, unable to process an organized force that acted this way in a crisis. In the military, there would be a superior barking orders while their underlings swiftly followed them. The air would be charged with activity, and it might seem chaotic at first, but underneath it all would be a strong sense of purpose and the order of a well-choreographed dance.
He saw none of that here.
“Attention!” he barked in his native tongue. His voice echoed off the walls, but it did the trick. Everyone froze and looked at him. “Where are those in charge?”
Several people stood taller in answer, and he moved toward them. Around him, the room shifted back to an uneasy patience. Not as loud or agitated as before, but not peaceful either. No one knew what to do, and it showed.
He reached the officers he’d identified and spoke. “What’s the plan?”
They looked at each other, and he read their answer in their expressions. They had no plan.
One cleared her throat and spoke up. “I’ve looked at all the data you gave us. And I thank you for your assistance.” She tapped the map table before her. “Unfortunately, without the military, we don’t have a chance.”
“Can we hold them off until the military arrives?”
“Can we speak in Usan, please?” Ellie said from beside him.
All eyes focused on her.
Sensing a protest, he stood up for her. “She may be a civilian, but she’s had some unconventional ideas. Considering the circumstances, she might be of assistance.”
The spokeswoman nodded, but some of the others around the table frowned, not happy with the alien joining the conversation.
Zee tried to ignore it.
“In response,” she said, continuing in Usan as she glanced at Ellie, “I don’t know. Our forces aren’t intended for this type of purpose. We have fighters. That’s sufficient for fighting off pirates or capturing criminals. But not a full scale invasion.”
Zee nodded. That was what he’d expected. And, unfortunately, he didn’t have the tactical background to be of much assistance in that regard.
Then again, even without his experience in planning, he had more experience in enacting such plans. Maybe he could try to extrapolate an idea from his past missions.
“How much time do we have until the military arrives?”
“One horus, eighteen diceros.”
“That’s not long. A little over two hours,” Ellie said under her breath. “How long will it take to mobilize your fighters?”
“Minimum fifteen diceros.”
“And ETA on the enemy?” Her voice got even quieter.
“Maybe an horus.” She frowned. “We’ll know more once they’ve moved closer. They haven’t traveled far enough for us to accurately calculate their speed, and some ships take time to reach full speed. It could be more, it could be less.”
Zee frowned as well while he stared at the map. He was a ground soldier, so the mechanics of battles in space were not as familiar to him. Delaying tactics were easy on land. There were often ways to hide, ways to put up obstacles and traps. You could use the terrain against your enemy.
But in space, there was literally nothing. No hiding. Nothing.
But maybe they could set up traps. “What type of munitions do you have? Can we set touch or impact weapons out for the enemy to encounter? Your fighters will be faster than their fleet.”
She frowned. “We have some, but not enough to do significant damage.” Her expression changed, turning thoughtful. “But that’s better than nothing. Good idea.” Turning around, she started barking out orders, and Zee saw the first inklings of the military efficiency he was used to. She turned back to them. “That’s not going to be enough, though,” she said in a quiet voice so others wouldn’t overhear. “We’ll likely have eighteen diceros to hold off the enemy before the military arrives. I don’t have to tell you guys that’s a long time.”
Ellie snorted. “Yeah, two minutes was a long time while under fire. Thought I was gone for.” She paled, her skin almost looking pink. “I hate to say it but… we could use my pulse weapon again.”
“Pulse weapon?” one of the other officers asked.
Ellie nodded. “Yes. My ship is just a cargo ship, but I do have a pulse weapon on it for defensive purposes. We were able to use it before to take out the fleet temporarily. I’m not really sure exactly how long it lasted, though.”
“Still,” the female officer chimed in, “anything could help. How long will it take to prepare?”
“Just the time it takes to get into position, really. Though, I should warn you. My ship is already damaged. It’s space-worthy, but we can’t approach the way we did last time. We barely managed. I’m not sure how many more hits we can take.”
“Then our ships will have to escort you.”
Ellie nodded. “And they’ll have to beat a hasty retreat once I’m ready to fire or they’ll be hit too. They’ll be sitting ducks.”
Zee smiled as everyone around them frowned. He had no idea what sitting ducks were either, but it didn’t seem the time to ask.
His smile faded, though, as the officers all agreed to Ellie’s plan. He looked down at her, and her complexion hadn’t improved. She looked ill, and he didn’t like it.
But what else could they do?
Oh, fuck. I’m gonna die.
The same refrain kept running through her head as she ran with Zee toward her ship.
She’d gotten caught up in the moment. That was all she could think. It was the only thing that made sense. Otherwise, why would she agree to put her life on the line for people she didn’t even know? Hell, they’d locked her up, for crying out loud! That did not exactly foster good will.
But she realized it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter if they treated her like shit. It didn’t matter that they’d excluded her by speaking a language she didn’t know in front of her. They needed her help. So many people wouldn’t survive if she didn’t help. She didn’t like it, but she didn’t have to. She couldn’t just sit back and watch people die when she could protect them.
Ellie saw nothing but the greens and browns of the buildings as they flew past. She’d never run so fast in her life, and she strongly suspected she wouldn’t be doing it this time if it w
eren’t for Zee’s iron grip on her hand.
As they cleared the buildings, she let out a sigh of relief as she spotted her ship again. It was a relief. She felt more secure with it nearby, ready and waiting. Ellie had felt vulnerable from the moment she’d stepped off the ramp onto this stupid planet, and she couldn’t wait to board.
Their feet cracked against the metal as they took the ramp without stopping. “Angus, prepare for takeoff,” Zee yelled.
Ellie continued running, the impacts of her feet on the floor plates jarring straight up to her teeth as neither of them slowed.
Behind them, the door clunked closed, and Zee skidded to a halt when they reached the cockpit, releasing Ellie’s hand so they could drop into their respective seats and buckle up. “Ready,” he said.
I’m so totally gonna die.
The words slipped into her head again, and yet, she couldn’t bring herself to do the safe thing. She touched the controls. She could tell Angus to get their asses out of here, to fly to safety. It wasn’t too late.
She took in a deep breath and looked over at Zee. “Ready,” she said with a certain degree of finality, her hand reaching for him.
She might die, but she was doing the right thing.
And he’ll be right by my side.
He latched on, holding tight for a moment before relaxing his grip. “Angus, requesting an encore.”
“Pulse weapon?”
Zee nodded. “Pulse weapon.”
“Aye, sir,” Angus said with a little too much glee.
It felt right holding Zee’s hand. She didn’t want to let go. Thank God she didn’t have to.
Not yet, at least.
The thought soured her already fragile mood. She gripped his hand tighter, and he looked at her, smiling. She smiled back, but it too felt fragile.
The engines hummed to life, the ship launching smoothly under Angus’s careful attendance. Then she gasped as he took off, the wind howling around them, her body pressing into the seat.
She counted in her head to calm herself.
1
2
3
They hit the cloud cover, and she closed her eyes, not wanting to see their visibility drop to zero again.
4
5
“It’s safe now,” Zee said.
She opened her eyes and looked at him. In her periphery, the blue sky darkened until only space remained, but it wasn’t over. The force pressing her into her seat dropped away, but now she saw that the ships were much closer to Balaena than they’d been before.
“Shit.”
“Don’t worry, we’ve got this,” Zee said, quickly squeezing her sweaty palm.
She smiled at him, but couldn’t bring herself to believe it. Before, they’d had to enter firing range just to use the pulse without affecting the planet, but the fleet was closer now and, as she checked the console before her, spread out farther apart. “I’m not sure this can work.”
Zee jerked her arm to get her attention. “This can work. It will work.”
She waved at the display. “But look.” She shook her head. “We can’t do what we did before. It won’t work.”
“Ellie, anything we can do will make a difference. We’re not alone.”
She nodded, the thought bringing her some peace. He was right. They weren’t alone.
Even as he said it, she spotted the blips of fighters on the screen, ships from the security forces here to have their back.
“It won’t be long now,” Zee said as her gaze tipped up to the viewscreen and locked there. The enemy ships were bigger now, closer.
Her heart sped up, and her breathing became ragged. She needed to calm down.
Damn, where did she leave off with her counting?
Fuck it.
1
2
3
The fighters zoomed ahead, visible on video now. They looked tiny as they started firing, like people throwing rocks at a building.
4
5
6
“Approaching optimal range for pulse weapon,” Angus said over the speakers.
“Oh God,” Ellie said, wanting to curl up into a ball. She flinched as the enemy ships started firing, waiting for the first hit on their shields.
7
8
9
The ships loomed on screen, menacing and terrifying. She closed her eyes again, not wanting to see her own demise.
“Firing,” Angus said.
She braced herself, but nothing happened. Peeking an eye open, she let out a sigh of relief. They weren’t dead yet.
“Hacht,” Zee cursed beside her.
Her hackles rose. What? What did she miss? She looked at the viewscreen, and then she saw it. Most of the ships around them had frozen in place, but the main ship, the biggest ship, directly in front of them had not. Nor had any of the ships at the farthest edges. “Shit.”
We’re gonna die.
“Angus, turn our asses around now!” Zee barked, leaning forward in his seat.
“On it,” Angus replied. The gravity in the ship shifted as it tried to turn on a dime.
Her eyes rounded as the purple flare of a plasma round erupted from the main ship. “Incoming!”
Angus tried to evade, but with them turning, he couldn’t pull it off. They just had too much inertia working against them. The round hit, jarring them in their seats, and the shield flared in the viewscreen, taking the brunt of the hit.
“Get us out of here, Angus!” she yelled, panic getting the best of her.
“Incoming,” Angus said.
“What?!” Ellie said, wondering distractedly when her composure had completely left her.
“Sweet Atala, it’s Planetary Security. It’s fine.” He looked over at her. “We’re going to be fine.”
They’d fully turned around now, the planet taking up the viewscreen. “Pull up picture in picture. I want rear view.”
A window popped up on the viewscreen showing the big enemy ship impossibly large. Another purple light flared. “Incoming!” she yelled again. They careened to the side, artificial gravity not able to compensate, and the round missed.
On the front view, the reinforcements from Balaena flew past them, then showed up on rear view as well. They joined with the fighters that had pulled back when Angus warned them he was firing the pulse. Together, they engaged the enemy, distracting some of the firepower.
But not all. Another round sailed past the fighters. “Shit.” She closed her eyes again, wondering why she’d agreed to this. They didn’t have any weapons except that pulse, which they couldn’t use now that their allies were in the mix. They were sitting ducks.
How long until they reached the planet?
She opened her eyes once more, but it wasn’t encouraging. As the moments dragged on, Angus continued to zig zag across the battlefield, narrowly avoiding each strike. They fared better this time, though. The fighters gave the enemy more targets, taking some of the heat off them.
As she watched, the enemy ship fired two plasma rounds almost back to back. Angus swerved to avoid the first, but mouth gaping in shock, she realized that put them right in the line of the second.
“Brace for impact,” Zee said.
The ship shuddered. It felt worse than last time. Then an alarm started blaring, and she covered her ears. “What is that?”
“One moment, please. Analyzing,” Angus said, sounding more like a machine than he ever had before.
She bit her lip, waiting for his prognosis while the alarm continued to assault her ears. Her gut churned as she looked up at the ceiling, waiting.
“Damage to primary engine power supply.”
The power supply?
“I’ve lost navigational control,” Angus said, sounding dejected.
“But we’re still moving.” On the front view, she could see the planet getting closer.
“Aye, but we cannot avoid another impact.”
“Can we stop?” Please say we can stop.
>
“Aye.”
“Do it.”
The reverse thrusters kicked in. Time ticked by, but eventually they stopped. By some miracle, they hadn’t been hit again. She glanced at the rear view, her brow furrowing. “What?” The enemy ship wasn’t firing. Before, she’d seen a flare of purple every few moments, sometimes more. Now? Nothing. “Angus, what’s going on?”
“One moment.”
Ellie chewed on her lip, glancing at Zee who seemed absorbed in something before him.
“The military fleet has arrived. They’re drawing fire from us.”
Ellie sighed in relief. “Thank God.” It was over. No more battles. No more being shot at. She sagged in her seat. “It’s over.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Time passed quickly once the military arrived. The enemy fleet was quickly subdued, and Angus managed to reroute power to make up for the damaged engine capacitors, allowing them to move again. By the time they landed, the battle was over.
Ellie was greeted with a smile by the officers they’d met earlier in the day, and they’d returned to their headquarters, where Zee wandered off to confer with his superiors. She watched him leave, feeling like this was the final goodbye. There was no more reason for them to see each other. The military was here, so he could get a ride with them. The fight was over, so they had no further need of her pulse weapon. It was time for her to return to her normal life.
Except, she couldn’t seem to do it. Her feet remained glued to the floor as she watched people in uniform go about their business. People talked on comms with the military or with their fighters as they coordinated the aftermath. It was a happy chaos. People smiled and occasionally cheered. It was outright celebratory.
Shifting Cargo (A Shift in Space Book 1) Page 19