Rem stared off at nothing, his lips parted as he thought. She hadn’t seen this look on his face in a long time, but she knew the distant look he got when he was trying to figure something out.
“A blind spot.” Rem whipped his phone out of his pocket and began typing furiously with his thumbs. Then he flicked his wrist, sliding the device into the center of the table as a three-dimensional rendering of what she assumed was Targen popped up above it.
The ship was long, the front nose pointed, layers descending away from the head to indicate more floors until it all became one solid piece along the bottom. The deck of the ship was huge, and from it curved what she assumed was the most important part—the control room. It was surrounded by rounded windows, making the room seem circular before the rest of the top decks arched back into a slightly less pointed bit. There had to be at least five or six decks above the main one with a dozen or so below. Damn, she’d never seen a ship this big before.
Rem stood, leaning over the table to point at the control room. “This is what we have to worry about. The control room.” He swiped his fingers across the windows, highlighting them in red. “The windows view about one hundred and eighty degrees around upper decks. They’ll see anything we throw at them from the front or sides, but not the back or below.” He spun the image so they could all see it from each side. “There are more viewing ports on the sides.” He highlighted a few. “And some on the back.” Again, they flashed red with his touch. “But the base of the ship is just one slick piece of metal.”
He flipped the ship upside down. He was right. Instead of being broken up by docking ports, viewports, hidden weaponry, cannons, etcetera, the metal was smooth, almost seamless.
Selene clamped her teeth shut on a gasp and she stood, realizing exactly what he was trying to say. “We can come up from below.”
“But below the ship is just water,” Sav said, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
“Exactly,” Selene and Rem said in unison.
It all seemed to dawn on them at the exact same time, the same looks of understanding lighting each of their faces.
“We can go through the ocean, at least part way,” Rem continued. He flipped the ship face up, and manipulated the image to zoom out, making the ship the size of his fist. He drew a red line a foot below it—the ocean.
“Your ships can do that?” Ivy asked, seeming awed by both the display and their words.
“Our cruiser is completely airtight,” Selene explained. Her heart raced with her mind as a grin spread on her face. “They’re built to survive not just our atmosphere on Earth, but space too. If the cruiser can survive the pressure of space, it can definitely handle beneath the sea.”
Rem nodded vigorously. “Yes! We can dive underwater before we come up on the ship, that way they won’t see us coming. We can switch from propellers to propulsion, and fly right beneath them, completely unnoticed. Then all we have to do is fly straight up, attach ourselves to the maintenance port, and hack our way in.”
“Damn.” Darius sat back hard, shaking his head. “That’s good, even for you.”
Selene laughed. “It really is. You’ve outdone yourself this time Rem.”
Rem’s cheeks blazed red with embarrassment. They didn’t generally compliment him so much, even if they did always appreciate his skillset. “Th-thanks,” he mumbled, avoiding their eyes as he took back his phone and shut the image down.
The blue glow of the image disappeared, leaving the room much dimmer than it had been before.
The chatter of the dining hall was gone, and with the excitement of their revelation slowly fading, Selene looked around. All the pirates and Icarus watched, eyes wide, both amazed and curious.
A single person slow clapping filled the quiet until Selene turned to look at Captain Erock, who stood in the doorway of the dining hall, a smirk on his face. “It seems you have a plan,” he said.
Selene smiled. “I think we do.”
Erock crossed the room, the stunned pirates watching him as he went. He stopped beside her, placing a hand on his hip. “When do we leave?”
Selene looked back at the others, and then at him. “Tomorrow.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Tomorrow?”
She nodded.
“Then tomorrow it is.”
Selene smiled and looked back at the others. Tomorrow they’d fight. Tomorrow they’d take on the Dominion once more, but not just for the smugglers this time. Tomorrow they’d take on the Dominion for the world.
Selene’s heartbeat hammered against her ribs as they rushed through the ocean; bubbles, fish, and bits of seaweed floating past the cruiser on all sides.
She’d never seen the ocean like this before. After both the solar flares and humans decimated Earth three centuries ago, large portions of the oceans had dried up. It was said they once bordered New Manhattan, but now there was no water in sight of the city, even from the highest tower.
She couldn’t help thinking how much Kong would love the sight of all the bubbles, but it was too dangerous to bring the gorilla along. He’d recovered under Doc’s care less than twenty-four hours ago, and become fast friends with Lieutenant Michelle, who’d spent a lot of her spare time watching over the gorilla and learning how to communicate with him. While the smugglers took off on their dangerous journeys, Selene had entrusted Kong to Michelle, who was more than happy to take care of their gorilla friend.
Selene sighed as she watched the sea overhead. Instead of just a sheet of black like it appeared to be from above, the ocean held a beautiful blue brilliance she’d never seen before. Fish, whales, sharks, and more all held their place down there, free of the world above. Free of most humans, of the trash humans once plagued the seas with—free of everything she’d ever felt mattered in the world. There was freedom in the sea. Freedom she never thought existed.
“The ship should come into sight any minute,” Rem said.
Selene jerked from her reverie, looking around the cockpit at her team. Rem piloted, while Rikkard reluctantly sat in her co-pilot chair. Selene smiled as Rikkard shot Rem a glare. He didn’t like giving up control.
She sat behind Rikkard, and on her left was Darius, while the two former Alliance members sat against the back wall, admiring the beauty beyond the curved glass of the cruiser with wide eyes.
“Keep us low,” Rikkard said. “We don’t want to get too close to the surface and risk being seen.”
“Aye, aye, captain!” Rem gave a sloppy salute, and Rikkard glared.
“Are we within range of their sensors?” Flik asked.
Rem shook his head. “Not yet, but we’re about to be.” His smile faded and focus returned to his face. He brought up a screen and holokeys, which hovered over the dashboard of the cruiser. He flicked the controls to Rikkard, who sighed. Selene had a feeling he was just happy to have something to do.
While Rikkard took over piloting, Rem went to work, his fingers flying across the holokeys. Each one glowed at his touch before returning to black, only to be struck once more. Selene could hardly follow as all kinds of text flew across the screen.
“Damn. I’ve never been so glad to just be the muscle,” Darius grunted.
Selene laughed. “I know what you mean.”
As they shot through the water, the surface bright and glittering fifty-feet above, a dark shadow emerged in the distance.
Selene’s smile dropped, and her fingers clenched around the armrests of her chair. Her heartbeat quickened and her hands went clammy.
Targen.
They were nearly there.
“Are we blocked from their sensors?” Rikkard looked at Rem.
Rem narrowed his eyes at the screen, the speed of his typing increasing. Then suddenly he stopped and smiled. “Yep.”
They all breathed a collective sigh of relief.
“Good.” Rikkard faced forward. “How long until we arrive?”
“At our present speed, maybe ten minutes?” Rem said it like a question.
&nbs
p; “Pick up the pace.” Rikkard flicked the controls across the dashboard back to Rem, who barely caught them before they slid past his chair.
“You got it.” He gripped the handlebars and nudged them forward with one hand, while the other continued to work on the holokeys.
Selene shook her head. She hadn’t realized how much she agreed with Darius until now. She’d much rather engage in a firefight, or shoot the front cannons than try and hack alien security. It was a special job meant for Rem, and Rem alone, though Rikkard was definitely improving.
“Everyone ready?” Rikkard turned in his chair, his blue eyes meeting Selene’s. She nodded. “Good.” Rikkard unfastened his seatbelts and stood. Selene and the others were quick to follow. “Darius, you’re with Rem.”
Darius didn’t even blink. “Sounds good, captain.” He slid into Rikkard’s seat, and Rem shot him a grin.
“The rest of you are with me.”
“You know we’ve already been over this.” Selene gave him a teasing smile. “No need to go all ‘Mr Serious’ on us now.”
Rikkard shot her a look, which Selene ignored as she turned to the hallway, slipping out of the control room and back to the cargo hold.
Flik chuckled as he followed, and she thought she might have heard Sav as well. At the back of the group Rikkard grumbled, only making Selene’s grin widen.
Selene’s heart raced, adrenaline ready to sing through her veins as the severity of the mission hit her. They took up their guns, each of them toting a laser rifle, at least one pistol, and a knife. Selene had her twin pistols along with her rifle, a set of knives around her forearm, and a long serrated dagger strapped to her thigh. She might be acting overly cautious, but after they’d been so ill prepared when it came to rescuing Ivy and the Icarus, she wanted to be ready for anything.
“Two minutes until we emerge from hiding,” Rem buzzed in her ear.
“Roger,” Rikkard said, fingers held to his comset.
Selene took a deep breath, double-checking her power cells, and extra cartridges in her utility belt. She had four black masks just in case someone threw smoke grenades their way, and the others forgot their masks, along with some gauze, a phone, and two drives Rem had specially prepared to hack the alien datahives and extract the information they’d need.
Rikkard paced the floor, his brow set and his jaw hardened. He was nervous, and not wearing the look well. Flik and Sav stood next to the cargo door, watching Rikkard pace. Selene’s gaze darted between them and her boss, her fingers drumming the ridged grip of her rifle.
We can do this, she assured herself. She took a deep breath, exhaling slowly.
“Ascending,” Rem said, his voice high with excitement.
Selene turned to the wall of the cargo hold, the left side without the netting, and quickly sped over to it. She pushed the heel of her palm against a silver panel beside a large rectangular sheet of metal, and it folded away to reveal a viewport to the sky.
Water dripped off the cruiser, sliding across the window as they shot through the air. A shadow descended on their ship, and she nearly pressed her face to the glass to see the seamless bottom of Targen. Her eyes widened. It blocked out the entire sky.
Flik and Sav joined her, their lips parting in surprise as they watched. Rikkard stopped his pacing long enough to look out. He only paused for a moment before walking away.
“Damn,” Sav said on a breath.
“That’s bigger than I thought,” Flik agreed.
“I hope you guys remember the layout.” Darius chuckled in her ear.
Selene rolled her eyes and held her fingers to her ear. “Ha, ha. Very funny.” Sarcasm dripped off her tongue.
Darius’ laugh was his only response before the line cut short.
“Docking in thirty seconds,” Rem said.
“Get ready.” Rikkard stopped in front of the door, waiting beside the silver panel next to the red ‘open’ button on the wall.
Selene, Flik, and Sav stepped away from the viewport, exchanging nervous looks before they joined their captain by the cargo door.
She looked back out the window from across the hold as the cruiser spun around. As it did, a distant blur of the pirates’ huge salvage ship came into view, and from the burn of red before it disappeared, she had to assume they were already firing their cannons.
Suddenly they stopped, facing the ocean, drifting back slowly towards Targen. Her heart beat wildly until a loud click drowned out the sound. She took a deep breath. The pirates were in position. Depending on the intensity of Targen’s cannons, they had twenty to thirty minutes to get in and out before the pirates had to back off.
The cargo door folded in instead of out, revealing the silvery-white door of the maintenance shaft. Red alien symbols scrawled something across the door below a circular window cut from the top.
She glanced at Flik and motioned at it. “What does it say?”
Flik smiled. “Maintenance port, that’s all.”
Selene shrugged. Simple enough.
A panel beside the door lit up, a green light travelling outside the square piece of metal. Rem was at work. So far, so good.
They waited in silence for what felt like hours, until she couldn’t help tapping her foot, and pursing her lips. Nervous sweat beaded on her forehead. She wasn’t good at waiting, especially when death might be lurking.
Selene shook her head. No. Death wasn’t an option today. They had to survive. They had to get this information, return to the pirates, find the Saegon, and send a message to the Zahkx. It was the only way to save Earth.
Her fists clenched with determination. She steeled herself and readied for the coming mission.
The hatch shifted, a puff of air brushing her hair back over her shoulders. A sound like an airtight lock being broken filled the quiet, and then the door lurched open to reveal a long metal hallway with green lines zipping through it.
“Got it,” Rem buzzed happily.
Selene smiled. “We know.”
Rikkard looked at them all. There was no backing out now. He stepped out of the cargo hold into enemy territory, moving slowly, like he wasn’t sure if he really wanted to go. Once he was over the threshold, he brought his rifle to his shoulder, and stepped in further, sweeping back and forth as he scanned the area.
Selene followed, the butt of her rifle pressed tight to her shoulder, the barrel pointed down the hall. “Let’s go.”
Flik and Sav joined the smugglers, silent as the dead as they crept into the ship that might seal their fates.
Though their plan was decent, it was far from foolproof. They had a ship full of enemies between them and the server room located four floors above, nestled between a floor of soldier barracks and shipping docks. They had no idea how much security they would pass to and from the server room. They had only memorized a few paths, one of which led directly through the docks. In her mind, they weren’t really an option at all. The docks would be full of engineers and other Targen personnel. Heading through the hangar was Plan C, and Selene desperately hoped they wouldn’t need to follow it.
“Best of luck,” Rem said, his voice tight even over coms.
Selene nearly jumped. She was getting skittish with so much quiet. “Thanks.”
Rikkard led the way down the hall and around a corner. Plan A led them through the engine room, up to the next floor, and through a maze of halls to a back stairwell that led to a security gate directly outside the server room. Between Rikkard and Rem, they could hack it. Or so they hoped.
Selene chewed her lip as she followed. The thrum of the engines grew louder as they approached, until the rhythm beat in time with her heart.
Rikkard looked over his shoulder, pausing outside a door. He pressed his ear against it. Selene went to ask what the hell he was doing before she remembered his enhanced hearing. Still, was it even possible to hear through such a thick sheet of metal?
Several long moments passed, making her restless. She shifted from foot to foot, glancing up and d
own the hall, her pulse racing. Flik and Sav looked ready to jump out of their skin, and she couldn’t blame them.
“It’s hard to hear over the engines, but there might be someone inside,” Rikkard said at last.
Her heart leapt, adrenaline spilling through her at all the possibilities. “We should avoid them if possible.” They didn’t want security to overhear a firefight being—not this early in the mission.
Rikkard nodded his agreement, and swiped his hand over the panel beside the door. It slid into the wall, revealing a large room half the length of the entire deck with twisting metal all around, levers, bars, stairs up to a catwalk circling the room, large control panels on pieces of large equipment at the center of the space, and a dozen other things Selene had never seen before in her life.
“Whoa,” she whispered, her eyes wide as she took it all in.
“Damn,” Flik muttered. “This has to be twice the size of Saegon’s.”
Selene looked between the orange-skinned alien and the wide room. Dozens of cruisers could fit in this room alone, and it wasn’t even a hangar. She swallowed hard, cold sweat dripping down her spine. Most skyscrapers were smaller than this ship, and somehow they were supposed to get to the server room unnoticed.
How are we supposed to manage that again? she thought wryly.
Rikkard followed a path along the side of the chamber, and Flik nudged her to keep after him. Selene took a deep breath, bringing her rifle back up as she went after Rikkard, scanning the engine room as she went.
The hum of the engines drowned out their steps, their breathing, and just about everything else. She wasn’t sure how they would hear if anyone else was inside. All the noise had to be killing Rikkard’s ears, but his face was a mask of calm determination as he led them around giant metal machines.
Something blue glowed up ahead, and Selene’s eyebrows furrowed as she craned her neck in an effort to discover the source of the glow. They ascended grated stairs to a small platform attached to a circular, glass room. Inside, an enormous twisting ball of light swirled in every shade of blue imaginable, looking almost like two snakes writhing in a ball.
The Darri Commission: A Sci-Fi Dystopian Adventure (Dominion Rising Book 3) Page 9