The second package of code went ballistic to release multiple viruses into the Telorans’ data banks and communication system. As soon as they had hacked through the defenses on both, the programs used the aliens’ own system to broadband the details of the fleet to the universe—and anyone who cared to listen.
Outside the battlecruiser, the remaining Meligornian scout ships picked up the information and released message torps. The first wave jumped immediately and some reached the safety of interdimensional space to head to Meligorn.
The second wave delayed their departure in their attempt to pick up as much information as they could. Very few of that batch made it out of the system in one piece. The Meligornians set their systems to release the drones at timed intervals but with all remaining drones to be released at once if the ship was destroyed.
Each successive wave of mechanicals took more information with it, although fewer torps survived from each new batch than the last. As they gathered more data on the incoming Teloran fleet, the Meligornians fought it, but they were scout ships and not designed for war.
On the lead battleship, one team of aliens scrambled to reverse the tractor beam. Another worked frantically to shut down the cry of “Meligorn will bleed for her Freedom” that echoed through the ship’s corridors and was transmitted to the rest of the fleet.
A third team scrambled to stop the data bleed and called in a fourth to help them.
While they worked, the Teloran captain suddenly realized what the release of MU inside his ship meant. He pounded the evacuation signal and ran to his escape pod in the same moment that the edge of the MU cloud from the exploding scout ship found the nMU batteries that fueled his drives.
Around his warship, the other alien vessels increased power in an effort to move out of harm’s way. Those who’d sought to emulate his example and capture a Meligornian scout ship of their own released their prey with a swift reversal of their tractor beams.
With their thrusters in full reverse, the sudden freedom ricocheted the tiny craft in different directions while their pilots struggled to regain control. As soon as they did so, they each chose their targets and attacked.
The explosions as each one died and the broadcast of Meligorn’s defiance masked the small fleet of torps that leapt into interdimensional space and raced toward home. The tiny machines had captured as much of the Teloran battleship’s data broadcast as they could and some had recorded the final moments of the scouts.
Now, they fled and dodged laser beams and space debris to vanish from the enemies’ screens. The aliens cursed and many revised their opinions of the Meligornians’ willingness to fight to the death.
The element of surprise was lost and the escaping message torps would alert their prey of their impending arrival. In a fit of temper, the fleet commander ordered every survival pod from the ruined battleship to be blasted from the sky.
Chapter Forty-Four
There was no room for the Dreth ship to land at One R&D Headquarters and the Navy insisted the prisoners be off-loaded first. The press was in a feeding frenzy and the Navy’s defense drone operators had a field day blowing trespassing news drones out of the restricted airspace above the Naval base.
The Marines who held the perimeter were kept busy as several reporters tried for exclusives by gaining unauthorized entry. None of them had succeeded by the time Stephanie and her team had been transferred to a smaller shuttle on a different part of the ship. While they left the landing field, the Navy was negotiating prisoner transfer and the Dreth were being difficult.
“This is Dreth soil,” the commander told the MPs firmly. “You may not come aboard.”
“They are human. You cannot take them off-world.”
“They sought refuge among us. They are already off-world.”
“You will return our citizens to us.”
“You may request their return through the usual diplomatic channels, but I must warn you, they have committed crimes against the Federation and against Dreth. The sentence for that is severe. We will want compensation.”
The wrangling had continued until Stephanie and her team were out of earshot. As soon as they were inside the shuttle, Elizabeth collapsed. Vishlog scooped her up and tucked her into a flight couch.
“Hang in there,” Lars told her. “We’re almost home.”
“I need a medic.”
“We’ll get you into a pod as soon as we’re back.”
“The nurse will kill me.”
“The nurse won’t get anywhere near you until I’m done,” Stephanie reassured her.
Lars pulled an autoinjector from the first-aid kit in the shuttle’s passenger compartment. With a small frown, he looked at it and waved it at Elizabeth. “Can you hold on, or do you need this now?”
She looked at the Witch and shook her head. “It’ll interfere with the pod doc. I can wait.”
Her face white with pain, she closed her eyes and pressed her lips together. The other woman settled beside her and took her hand.
“I’m hurtin’, not dying,” she muttered, but Stephanie wasn’t quite sure she believed her.
The rest of the team lapsed into silence and let the Navy fly them home.
“Do you need any help?” one of the pilots offered when Vishlog scooped Elizabeth from the couch and headed to the door.
“No,” she muttered, “but your bill’s gonna be delayed.”
The man chuckled. “I don’t think they’re gonna complain about that.”
“They’d better not,” Stephanie declared as he retreated into the cockpit.
They descended the stairs and turned directly toward the pod room.
“Hang in there, Elizabeth.”
“Yup.”
She groaned as the nurse helped them strip her body armor and combat gear away. Vishlog held her carefully throughout the procedure.
The nurse tutted reprovingly, and Elizabeth cracked an eyelid to look at her. “Not one word,” she warned, “or I’ll fire your ass.”
While the woman said nothing, her pursed lips sent a clear message. Looking at her, though, it was easy to see that the silence wouldn’t last forever and Ms E was in for another scolding as soon as she was well enough to take it.
The patient groaned again as she was lowered into the pod and the lid closed over her.
Stephanie looked at the nurse. “Give me a couple of minutes before you adjust it, okay?”
She nodded, her face tense with worry. She’d seen what she had done at the hospital and didn’t argue. If Stephanie had to guess, she’d have said Ms E was in more trouble than she knew—but not because the nurse was mad.
The look on the woman’s face said Elizabeth’s injuries were worse than any of them had guessed. She thought about asking her for details and decided against it. In spite of the healing she’d done at the hospital and after the wake, she would have to do a little more and hope it wasn’t too much.
Her eyes closed, she sat and rested her forehead against the outside of the pod and eased her energy through its shell to extend tendrils of magic into her friend’s body.
Ms E groaned and a jolt of pain filtered back through the stream. Stephanie gasped and gently pushed a little more magic toward the source of the pain. It was hard as it seemed to come from all directions and she had no answers.
All she could do was try to soothe it and maybe start the healing process. She didn’t dare do any more. While magic could heal, too much magical healing too rapidly could cause complications the body had no way to handle.
The woman moaned and another wave of pain washed through the link.
“I’m sorry,” Stephanie mumbled. “I failed to take Healing by Magic Class 401—it’s an elective.”
There was no reply and she pushed a little more magic into the pod. Another moan heralded another spike of pain. She bit back a gasp.
“But if it’s any consolation,” she added, “I get a fair amount practice.”
This time, there was no reply, and she rai
sed her head to look at the nurse who stood at the console. “How’s she doing?”
The woman scowled at her. “As well as can be expected after stressing her injuries like that. Are you done?”
“I don’t think I should do anymore. You can take it from here.”
From the way her mouth twisted wryly, she no doubt held back a harsh reply. Apparently, getting the pod settings right was more important than speaking her mind, though. Stephanie hoped Ms E didn’t fire her.
It took until late the next day before the nurse said it was safe to let the patient out of the pod.
Elizabeth emerged pale but refreshed. She even smiled at the nurse but held her hand up when the woman went to speak. “I need to get to the office right after I’ve freshened up.”
She turned to Stephanie. “See you there in about ten minutes?”
It was closer to fifteen, but the boys had ordered out and were still setting the food up when she arrived. She looked at the array and smiled. “What’s the occasion?”
Lars tilted his head and grinned. “Well, E, if you need to have the energy to terrorize us, you need to eat. Besides”—he gestured at the Witch—“she says she has to work with you and you’re not nice if you haven’t eaten.”
Stephanie stared at him and let her jaw drop in mock shock. “I never did,” she protested but the way she said it told them she very much had.
Elizabeth gave her a friendly push and headed over to her desk. “I should make you sit there and watch me.” She grinned. “But I’m not the only one who’s an asshole if they don’t get fed.”
The nurse cleared her throat.
“Yes?”
“You will need to rest in an hour.” She caught her patient’s glare. “An hour and a half, tops. You’re not a superhero, you know.”
She sighed but she didn’t argue. “Come and get me when it’s time.”
When she nodded and left, Elizabeth carried her meal to her desk while the guys took theirs and wandered off to leave the women to talk. Stephanie followed suit and settled beside her. They’d barely taken their first mouthfuls when the phone rang.
Ms E rolled her eyes, chewed faster, and swallowed before she picked the call up.
“Excuse me for disturbing your meal.” Their boss’ voice spoke clearly over the line and both women glanced around the office.
BURT didn’t bother to enlighten them about the exact type of devices he’d had installed. He merely got directly down to business.
“The Dreth shared their intelligence,” he began, and Stephanie guessed who had won the battle for custody of the prisoners.
She was almost right.
“The Navy were able to cross-reference it with what their share of the prisoners told them, and they ascertained that the aliens will most likely attack from the Meligorn end of the known universe.”
“We have to warn them—” Stephanie began, and BURT cleared his throat, a little smug that he seemed to have mastered sentient actions so quickly.
“The Dreth deemed it appropriate that the mages who protected them during the battle have full access to the same intelligence. The Meligornians then assisted in the questioning by providing a Truth Bringer.”
Her eyes widened. “I didn’t know they had any on Earth.”
“Neither did the Naval Liaison for the Dreth,” he replied drily. “On hearing about it, the Federation requested that Meligorn report the locations of any other Truth Bringers off-world.”
“And did they?”
There was a smile in his voice as he replied. “They asked that the request be passed through official channels.”
Stephanie snickered. “Serves them right.”
“I’ve contacted V’ritan,” he told her. “He will know what to do.”
“I only hope we’re in time,” she replied. “It would be bad if we knew and the attack came before we could warn them.”
“If the attack had come, we’d already know,” he reassured her. “They will have time to prepare.”
She nodded, but her eyes were dark and she chewed at her bottom lip. The thought of a war-torn Meligorn haunted her. What would it look like?
Pictures she’d seen of war zones came to mind and she recalled the crater they’d left at Sanmar’s Reach. She couldn’t imagine that for Meligorn and didn’t want to ever see the fields of purple grass cratered and burned by aerial bombardment.
The small towns that had featured in her testing…there’d be nothing left of them. The lake would be cracked and dried, nothing more than a memory. She shuddered and imagined bones protruding from the mud and the skies burning.
Ms E snapped her fingers in her face and Stephanie jumped, then focused on the room around her. The woman touched her on the shoulder and she jumped again.
“Hey, Steph. Where’d you go? Your eyes were starting to go black on me.”
She thought that her eyes weren’t the only things going black, but she didn’t say it.
“Meligorn,” she admitted instead. “I was thinking of the planet under attack…the destruction…the ruin of all the places I’ve been—”
“Easy, Steph.”
BURT cut in and worked hard to make his tone upbeat. “It hasn’t happened.”
“It may never happen,” Elizabeth snapped. She turned and looked into the girl’s eyes. Her voice softened. “Do you hear me? It might never happen.”
“But it might—”
“Yes.”
“Now, it’s personal.”
“I kinda thought it was already personal,” she replied.
Stephanie turned to the screen. “You’re sure they’ve been warned?”
“I called the King’s Warrior myself,” he reassured her, “and the mages were quick to call home once they knew. Meligorn is preparing.”
She noticed he did not say “prepared” but was glad he hadn’t lied. Her friends were getting ready for war and they would not be caught unawares. It was enough.
“I need to get out there,” she told him. “If the aliens are coming from that side, I need to be there to meet them. The Witch of the Federation will fight beside them.”
“And she will not fight alone,” he told her. “The Dreth and the Federation Navy have already pledged ships to assist them.”
“But won’t they need them in case the aliens attack us from another direction?”
“That was raised,” he admitted. “Each world has agreed a standing force will be kept at home, but they also acknowledge the need to try to stop this foe as soon as it appears. That means aiding whichever world is attacked first.”
Stephanie breathed a sigh of relief, and he continued. “That involves committing a substantial force whenever the attack occurs. It was not an amicable discussion.”
She could only imagine that it wasn’t and sighed. “I’d better tell the team to get their gear ready. It looks like we’re going on another trip.”
“You also need to finish those courses you were writing,” Elizabeth reminded her. “Harborview Tech is waiting for them.” She paused. “And I really like the sound of… What did you call it? Healing 401?”
Despite the heavy weight that had settled over her, she laughed.
Ms E continued. “You need to write that one, as well.”
There was a knock at the door and she sighed. “And I need my downtime.”
The nurse opened it, her face full of concern. “I’m sorry Ms E…”
She waved her apology away and eased herself out of her seat. “Don’t be. I’m coming.”
Stephanie stood and the other woman touched her wrist. “Don’t forget you need your own downtime, too,” she told the girl. “It’ll be a long, hard fight and you need to be rested if you intend to beat them.”
“Well, I have a good example to follow.”
The nurse snorted.
For once, Stephanie did what was good for her and went to bed. She stopped in to update the guys first and was greeted by a chorus of groans, followed by a whoop.
�
�We are going to kick some alien butt.”
Lars glared at Frog. “Yeah, but first, we’re going to fix our gear and get some sleep.” He pointed at her. “Starting with you. You will not write anything that makes any sense if you don’t get some sleep first.” He wrinkled his nose. “And a shower. Make sure you do that too.”
“Hey!” She assumed he was joking because she’d showered and changed after seeing Ms E into the pod.
He frowned. “I’m not joking. Go and take a long hot soak or something. You need it.”
Oh, well. She decided he might have a point there and headed to her room and had Sarah draw her a hot bath.
“I have taken the liberty of adding bath salts,” the AI informed her when the water was run. “Lavender enhances the ability to relax and sleep.”
“And who says I need sleep?” She tried to stifle a jaw-cracking yawn.
“Everyone,” Sarah replied. “You need it.”
She’d proven right, and Stephanie had fallen into bed and a long and dreamless slumber as soon as she was done. When she woke, it was to a heavy weight that pinned her chest and foul breath in her face. She gasped and tried to push it off her.
Her efforts were greeted by a lazy yawn and Bumblebee raised his head from her shoulder. He yawned and she gagged. She wormed her hand out from under the blankets and pushed his face away.
“Get off, cat. You’re too hot.”
The yellow-and-black cat propped himself up and his elbows dug into her ribs.
“God, cat. Get your ass off me. You’re like a six-legged, walking blanket with claws and bad breath.”
He shook his head and regarded her with unblinking lavender eyes. She shoved him again.
“Get. Off.”
Bumblebee uttered a grumbling growl and stood. She flopped back against her pillow. “Lights, Sarah.”
The AI complied and then spoke. “Sensors indicate that your temperature is slightly elevated.”
Witch Of The Federation III (Federal Histories Book 3) Page 48