The Zahkx Alliance: A Sci-Fi Dystopian Adventure (Dominion Rising Book 2)

by Katherine Bogle

Her jaw stiffened. “All right… now comes the hard part.”

  Selene, Rem and Flik made their way to the cargo hold, guns and gear in hand. They set their backpacks against the back wall, and leaned their rifles beside them. Once their gear was set, Selene slammed a hand against the open button of the cargo door. It creaked from its closed position before slowly lowering as they positioned themselves beside the crates.

  Standing tall, each of them put their hands behind their heads. They had no visible weapons, and there was no reason to outright shoot them upon entry. But just in case, they stayed halfway between the cargo door and the hall, keeping within close distance of cover and their weapons.

  “Ready?” she asked, glancing back at her team.

  “Ready,” they said.

  They waited in the same positions as the large scrap ship descended from the sky and landed in the sand. It wasn’t quite as big as the one Erock had captained last time, but it was still a sizeable ship, stretching the length of two airport hangars, and one hangar in height. Though the metal looked cheap, cannons were mounted on the bottom, top and sides, brutal weapons she was sure would have torn through their hull in seconds if they hadn’t had the laser power lowered.

  A cargo door descended from the back of the ship, and two dozen men and women, all as ragged as she remembered, swarmed out onto the sand. They hooted and hollered like a pack of wild hyenas, waving their guns in the air, doing their best to appear intimidating.

  Selene narrowed her eyes as the last figure emerged from the hold, dreadlocks hung over his shoulders, and a v-neck shirt so low it might as well not be a shirt at all.

  “There he is.” She nodded at Captain Erock as the swarm of pirates raced across the sand.

  “The one in the back?” Rem asked.

  Selene nodded. “Let me do the talking. When the rest of them arrive, stay back and ready to duck for cover in case they start shooting. They didn’t last time, but just to be safe…”

  “Got it,” Flik said. His face was all business as he narrowed his eyes at the captain approaching leisurely.

  Waiting for the swarm to arrive, Selene took deep breaths to calm her racing heart. This was her plan, and it was a good one, but one misstep and they’d all be shot in the head. She gulped around the lump in her throat. She had to hold onto hope that Erock remembered her fondly.

  The pirates leapt from the sand, onto the cargo door, making her wince as the metal clanged loudly. They rushed up, waving their guns, and sneering at the three comrades.

  “How kind of you to prepare yourselves for us!” a short man with dark hair and face tattoos leered at her torso before his gaze slid to her hips.

  Selene ground her teeth, telling herself to hold on a few more minutes and not drive her knee into his ugly mug.

  The man leaned forward; his face inches from hers, and sniffed her hair. “You smell just as pretty as you look.” He growled a laugh and stepped back. Selene took a deep breath as the rotten smell of body odor and garbage dissipated. Nasty.

  While a few of the pirates stopped to assess Selene and the others, the rest headed directly for the crates. She shot a glance at them, her heart lurching. She hoped they wouldn’t open them. Not yet, at least.

  The tattooed man grabbed her jacket and pulled her closer. Flik lurched forward, his boots scraping against the metal floor, but Selene held up a hand.

  “Stay back, Flik,” she said. Selene narrowed her eyes at the man holding her jacket. His stench filled her nose, and made her eyes water.

  “Oh, a boss lady, are you?” The man grinned. “I like ‘em bossy.”

  “Andreas!” the boom of the captain’s voice echoed in the cargo hold. The pirates scurried away to let Erock through, and even the tattooed man let her go and quickly stepped aside.

  “Captain!” he said. “Apologies.”

  Captain Erock paused a few feet from Selene, a wide grin spreading across his handsome face. “Selene,” he purred. “How nice to see you again.” His eyes trailed her body from head to toe. “We’ve got to keep running into each other like this.”

  Selene rolled her eyes, and lowered her hands. Now that Erock had her in his sights, she was sure no one would be randomly shot. “It’s no coincidence.”

  The grin disappeared from the captain’s face, and something dark flashed through his eyes. Suspicion. He looked her up and down a second time, but this time, it was obvious he only looked for weapons. After he finished assessing her, he did the same to her comrades.

  “Search them,” he commanded.

  The tattooed man, and two others quickly stepped forward. Of course, the man with the stench of a thousand locker rooms patted her down, much too thoroughly.

  “They’re clear,” another said.

  The pirates stepped aside, and Captain Erock stepped closer. “Explain, pretty.” Though his voice had been flirty before, now it was dark, and dangerous, much more befitting a pirate captain.

  “I need your help.” Selene placed her hands on her hips. “And this is the only way I could think of to drag you out of hiding.”

  Erock looked between both of her eyes, over her face, and waited a few seconds for a longer explanation. Selene had none. When it was clear she had nothing more to say, the captain tilted his head back and let out a roar of a laugh.

  “You didn’t have to work so hard to find me, pretty. Did you decide to take me up on my offer?” His smirk returned.

  Selene rolled her eyes at the memory of his offer to sleep with her. “No.”

  “Well then, we really should exchange contact information, because this has really gotten my hopes up.” Erock’s gaze drifted from her to the crates. “Now what have you brought me in exchange for my help?”

  Selene stepped behind the closest crate, and kicked it over. The top popped off, and out spilled an assortment of scrap parts they’d salvaged from a junkyard near the New Manhattan Outskirts.

  “Nothing,” she said. “You already owe me for taking millions worth of cloning pods.”

  Erock’s gaze flashed with anger. He’d been ready to take whatever they had, but her coming to him with nothing was like a slap in the face. “I gave you your lives if you don’t recall?”

  “Not good enough.”

  The captain worked his jaw, staring her down for a few long moments before he turned to his pirates. He waved a hand, and the pirates slowly dispersed back the way they’d come, grumbling like a pack of sulking teenagers. Each flashed her a look of disdain as they passed.

  “So, tell me.” Erock faced her again. “What do you want?” He crossed his arms over his well-built chest.

  Selene smiled. “I have a favor to ask.”

  The pirate ship was much nicer on the inside, than out. Selene had a feeling that was on purpose, as it discouraged an attack from raiders thinking they were poor, but was still fairly nice on the inside for the crew. The thick dark metal walls and grated floors reminded her of the smugglers cargo ship. She missed all the adventures they’d had on that ship, and wondered if she’d ever see it again.

  “So, let me get this straight… you want me to clone you with all those mods—enough that your body might last five days might I add—for what? What are you up to, pretty?” Erock narrowed his eyes.

  Inside the captain’s private office, the smugglers had all reunited and stood around the captain and two of his crewmembers. Erock leaned over a glass desk with metal legs, and a holoscreen atop it. His hands were splayed on the glass, fogging it slightly from the warmth of his fingers.

  Selene quirked an irritated eyebrow. “I need to get my real body back, but to do so, I need Rikkard, and this is the only way to get him out of that damn work camp.”

  She’d already explained this several times, and still the captain was having issues with it.

  Something dark shadowed Erock’s bright eyes and he looked down at his desk. His fingers tightened into fists and his shoulders tensed. Even his backup, the tattooed and ugly Andreas, and a stern faced redheaded wom
an with a scar over her eyes, exchanged a confused look at the captain’s sudden change in temperament.

  “Fine,” Erock growled. “I’ll do it… so long as you help me out with something first.”

  Selene started, taking a step back, her heart pounding. “What? We don’t have time for this. Rikkard is basically being tortured at that camp, and probably getting weaker by the day.” The images Flik had shown them flashed before her eyes. “If we don’t get him out soon, they might kill him.” Her eyes widened and her mind raced.

  Erock slammed a fist against his desk. The clang of metal on glass reverberated through the mostly hollow metal room. “My sister doesn’t have long either if that’s what she’s walking into!”

  Selene snapped her lips shut as the captain began pacing behind his desk, hands held behind his back. His eyebrows furrowed, and his gaze flashed with anger. Though he didn’t look at her, she was sure she’d pissed him off something fierce.

  Andreas and the redhead watched the captain, identical looks of barely concealed fear on their faces.

  Selene froze as his words finally caught up to her. Erock’s sister was being sent to this work camp too?

  No one spoke as the captain paced, and even Selene held her unruly tongue. So they were both in the same boat, and that’s why he wanted a favor in return. But if Erock’s sister wasn’t actually at the work camp yet, Rikkard was still the priority.

  When Erock finally stopped behind his desk again, he met her gaze without an inch of that flirty attitude he normally showed her. Selene clenched her firsts to keep from flinching. There’s no way he would help her before he got his sister back.

  Damn it.

  “My sister was captured by the Dominion a couple weeks ago. My spies have kept tabs on her, and told me yesterday that she’ll be transported tomorrow to the work camp west of New Manhattan,” Erock explained. “She has nothing to do with any of this.” Erock motioned at his ship. “But they took her because of her association with me.” Guilt clouded his eyes. “If you ever want to see Rikkard again, you’ll help me free my sister before she ever steps foot in that hellhole.”

  Fire flared through Selene’s chest, fury wrapping around her heart, and desperation squeezing the breath from her lungs. The worst part of this was that she understood where Erock was coming from. She’d do the same thing in his position, but she couldn’t think about that now; she had to concentrate on getting Rikkard to safety.

  Selene parted her lips to speak, and Erock narrowed his eyes. He knew she was about to argue with him just as well as she knew he’d never help her without her saving his sister first.

  She closed her mouth and worked her jaw. She didn’t like to admit defeat, but Erock was giving her no real options.

  “Fine,” Selene snapped. Her fists balled. “But I have one condition.”

  Erock’s tensed shoulders relaxed, though he still appeared wary. “What is it?”

  “You let my team help.” Selene crossed her arms. “This’ll never work without them as backup, and I won’t go on this suicide mission without them.”

  Erock smiled. “Bring your crew, if they’ll come.”

  Selene glanced back at the others. They all wore equal looks of determination and irritation at this little errand they were being forced into. She imagined it was exactly how she looked. “They’ll come.”

  The captain shook his head as he came around the table, and stopped directly in front of her. He held out his hand, a smirk on his face. “It’s a deal, then.”

  Selene bit back a sigh and shook his hand. “Deal.”

  Rem placed a small silver orb on a long table in the middle of Captain Erock’s office. He pushed a small button, and a glowing blue, three-dimensional map popped up, hovering a foot over the table and extending at least a couple feet on each side.

  Selene waved her hand through the edge of it. The light danced along her fingers, and she lowered her hand to assess the map.

  “So this is the facility she’s being kept in?” Selene asked.

  Erock nodded. “It’s a Dominion building on the edge of the city.”

  “How did you get a map for this so quickly?” Selene raised an eyebrow at Rem.

  “I have most building layouts on file.” Rem looked at her as if she were crazy to think otherwise.

  “All right.” Selene held up her hands in mock surrender. “So this is the main complex.” Selene pointed at a five-story L-shaped building. On one side of the L, an extra floor was added; it appeared to be some sort of parking garage on the bottom with a long covered tunnel along the edge of the lot that joined the street at the end of the block. “And if this is the garage, this must be where they’ll leave from.” She pointed at the tunnel.

  Rem nodded, and held up his hands, his fingers quickly manipulating the screen until the image expanded. The rest of the building disappeared and the picture refocused on the edge of the garage and the tunnel. “The main tunnel is for cars, but there’s a service tunnel for pedestrians as well.” Rem motioned at the edge of the tunnel entrance, where she could clearly see a door beside the main exit. “The pedestrian tunnel splits off, and goes underground too.” Again, Rem pulled the image further, and only the inside of the tunnel was visible, now appearing more like a schematic with four floors below ground, and a stairwell from the tunnel leading into the earth.

  “This is where we’ll hit.” Selene pointed at the tunnel. Rem drew the image back out to show the entire building, but left the schematic effect on.

  “The tunnel?” Erock asked. “Wouldn’t it be better to go in the back of the building and extract her from the roof?”

  Selene looked at Flik and Lanny, a smile on her face. “As these boys have learned, taking the most obvious escape route isn’t always the best idea.”

  Flik’s cheeks went an even deeper shade of orange, and Lanny looked at her with wide-eyed embarrassment.

  Selene chuckled and flipped the image around so the tunnel faced her and Erock, who stood next to her. “They won’t expect an assault like this. It’d make more sense for them to expect retaliation once they’re outside the tunnel, or even outside the city altogether.” Selene looked at the captain, and he met her gaze. “If we blow up part of the tunnel, we can block their escape, grab your sister, and get her into a waiting extraction vehicle.”

  Andreas chuckled and shook his head. He stood near the wall, a smirk on his face. “Right. Like blowing up that tunnel isn’t going to get every Dominion soldier in the city on our asses.”

  Selene glared at the man. He was way too smug for his own good.

  Erock raised an eyebrow. “He has a point.”

  Selene looked at him. “Rem?”

  Rem shrugged. “I’ll scramble all Dominion frequencies, and point them in another direction. We’ll only have to deal with building security.”

  Erock nodded and rubbed his facial hair while he thought. “That could work.”

  Selene smiled as Andreas’ smug look dropped. She tried not to look too triumphant as she turned to face Darius. “Darius, you’ll set the explosives. I know it’s always your favorite job.”

  Darius grinned “Damn right, it is!”

  “Rem, you’ll be our eye in the sky, and wait in the extraction vehicle. We’ll wear coms while you hack into their security.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Rem saluted.

  Selene rolled her eyes. “I’ll need you to keep tabs on security in the tunnel and garage. We’ll want to set two charges, one to block the end of the tunnel.” Selene motioned at it. “And one to block garage security from intervening.” She pointed toward the exit where the garage met the tunnel. It was a long tunnel, at least fifty feet long. They’d have plenty of space to safely block in Erock’s sister’s extraction vehicle.

  Darius nodded. “Got it.”

  “Once we have a sizeable hole to jump through, you, Flik and I will enter.” Selene nodded at Erock.

  “Okay,” the captain said. “Then what?”

  “We’
ll grab your sister—probably while taking fire—so we’ll have to be careful. Darius, I want you to guard our exit, and Erock, you should station a couple of your crewmembers with him, and another couple with Rem and Lanny in the extraction ship.”

  Erock glanced back at Andreas and the redheaded lieutenant. “You heard the lady.” Andreas’s lips curved into a frown, and he glared at Selene, while the redheaded pirate nodded.

  “I’ll gather a team,” the woman said before disappearing from the room.

  “We should set up a second ship back here too, just in case.” Selene motioned at the street behind the complex. It was a narrow, one-way street with no shop fronts facing it. It’d be perfect for a secondary escape vehicle.

  “An expensive plan you’ve got here.” Erock crossed his arms over his chest.

  “Hardly.” Selene scoffed. “We’ll need some rifles, and two non-descript ships. One should be larger—a cruiser maybe—for Rem and Lanny. The backup could be a speeder for all I care, but we should have something.”

  Erock smiled. “I’m just messing with you, pretty.”

  Selene narrowed her eyes. “Ha, ha.”

  Erock chuckled and stepped away from the table. “I like your plan.”

  “When are they moving your sister tomorrow?” Selene asked.

  “Early morning,” he said.

  “Then we leave here before dawn,” she said. “Everyone should be ready at least an hour before sunrise.”

  Erock nodded. “Tell Andreas what you need, and he’ll get it ready for you.” The captain hooked a thumb at the pirate standing a few feet behind Erock’s shoulder. The permanent scowl on the man’s face only increased.

  “Aye, aye, Captain.”

  Erock tilted his head back and laughed as he headed for the door. “You’re one of a kind, pretty.” He shook his head. “Come with me, and I’ll get you set up for the night.”

  The others followed the captain out the door, including the incredibly salty Andreas, while Rem gathered his silver orb from the table. The three-dimensional image cut out, leaving the room filled with warm light, instead of cold. Selene rubbed her eyes to re-adjust to the dimmer lighting as she made a move for the door. Rem’s hand closed around her bicep before she could join the others in the hall. Once everyone emptied out, she faced Rem.