The Darri Commission: A Sci-Fi Dystopian Adventure (Dominion Rising Book 3)

by Katherine Bogle

  “Sorry?” Flik tried and failed to hide his amused grin as Rem glared at him.

  “That settles it,” Rikkard said. “One team will go to gather more supplies, and one will get the ship. I have one more mission for you two though.” He raised an eyebrow at Rem and Flik, and they exchanged a look that said ‘what me?’ “You’re going to get Saegon’s warp core. We might not be able to install it right away, and we might not have shields up yet, but I know you were working on them before we lost the ship, Rem.”

  Rem’s eyes lit and he nodded vigorously. “I could probably have them up and running in a few weeks,” he agreed.

  “But installing a warp core isn’t easy,” Flik interjected. “The ship is usually built around the core.”

  “I’m sure you’ll manage,” Rikkard said.

  Flik looked doubtful, but he agreed anyway. It’d probably be better to have the core and try to install it than to leave Earth without one.

  “All right. Jared, can you assemble a team to get supplies from town?” Rikkard looked at the Icarus man.

  Jared nodded. “Sure.”

  “Focus on food and weapons,” Rikkard continued, then turned to Darius and Sav who sat side by side. “You two go with Rem and Flik to get the warp core. There are a few speeders in the cargo hold. You can take those and use one of the ships left at the bunker to carry the core.”

  They nodded in agreement. “The rest of us… we have a ship to acquire.”

  Selene grinned and clapped her hands together. Not only were they going to make it out of there alive, they’d make it out with their old ship, and her old gear. She couldn’t wait to have her temperature regulated suits back. Never again would she be too hot or too cold.

  “We’ll stop at the Outskirts to break up the teams,” Rikkard added. “For now, let’s take stock of what we have left on this ship.”

  They all nodded and scurried off in pairs to search the ship. Selene was left with the distinct feeling they might just make it off Earth without any more problems—if they were really lucky.

  Their ship drifted in stealth mode fifty feet above the military hangars set up side by side against a hill. Lights blazed from inside, and filtered out from the doors left open. Soldiers raced across the yard, piling into cruisers and speeders before flying away. While some left in a hurry, others flew onto the property just as quickly. Whatever was happening in the city, the Dominion hadn’t given up their hold on the base just yet.

  “Which hangar is the ship inside?” Ivy asked. She stood by Selene’s shoulder, with Steven on her other side. They both hovered near the dashboard she sat in front of; having no idea what to do with the tech. Selene made a mental note to teach them how to maneuver a control room when she got the chance.

  “That one.” Selene pointed to one near the middle with its door closed. There were twelve hangars, six on one side of the yard, and six on the other. They were large enough to fit their massive cargo freighter two times over. She couldn’t help wondering what other goodies were inside.

  “We should get in and out as quickly as we can,” Rikkard said. “We’ll try to keep this cruiser, but if we have to, we’ll abandon it for the cargo ship.”

  Selene nodded. Though the pirate’s cruiser was cool as hell, and had a lot of interesting features like stealth mode, it wasn’t worth risking their lives to keep it.

  “We should try and keep it if we can,” Ivy said. “It could come in handy.”

  “We’ll try,” Rikkard said.

  She knew how much Rikkard and Rem loved this kind of tech. It’d be hard to part with it, even for their old ship. She had a feeling Rikkard would go to great lengths to keep it, as long as it didn’t risk any of their lives.

  “So how do we get in?” Steven asked.

  Selene assessed the base. The door to their chosen hangar was closed, which meant it would be easier to sneak in the back door, get their ship, open the gates and get out, but was there time for a stealthy mission like that?

  Her heart raced as she tried to calculate their remaining time. They’d already wasted so much time on the Saegon, dealing with the pirates, and even more time to travel to and from everything. If she had to guess, she would say there were only a few hours left on the clock before things started to get dangerous. Dusk was approaching fast, and once night arrived, they might very well be screwed.

  “We shoot through the roof,” Rikkard said, surprising her.

  “What?” Selene balked.

  “We do a repeat of the bunker. There shouldn’t be much security inside, and if we try to go in stealthy and get caught, alarms will be raised and we’ll be caught outside with only our guns. If we bust in, we catch them all by surprise.”

  Selene raised her eyebrows. “That doesn’t sound like a good idea at all.”

  “Men.” Ivy rolled her eyes. “He just wants to blow shit up.”

  Selene inspected Rikkard’s face and received a sheepish smile. “Seriously?”

  “That’s beside the point.” Rikkard cleared his throat. “With a big gate like that it’ll take a few minutes to open. We can block the other entrances with debris and then they’ll have no way in.”

  “But they’ll be able to reach us while the doors are opening. All they need to do is slip through the crack,” Selene argued.

  “Not if I keep firing at them.” Rikkard motioned to the weapons systems menu. He had a point.

  Even if it was crazy reckless, even for Selene, they had to do something. They couldn’t just sit around talking about it. With barely any time left to get their shit together and get off Earth, every second was precious, and they were wasting time.

  “All right, fine,” Selene huffed. “We’ll do your insane plan.”

  Ivy made a sound of disbelief. “Seriously?”

  “Seriously.” Selene sighed. “We just have to be quick, get on the ship and get the hell out of there. If Rem is right, there might be one or two guards inside, if that. We can handle them in our damn sleep.”

  Steven chuckled and Ivy flashed a smile.

  “You’re not wrong,” Ivy said, her grin widening.

  “It’s settled then,” Rikkard said. “Head back to the cargo hold and be ready to duck out when I say so.”

  “So bossy.” Ivy chuckled.

  “Like you wouldn’t believe.” Selene smiled.

  Rikkard rolled his eyes and turned back to the control panel, tapping away at the keys in front of him while Selene shrugged on her rifle strap and led the way out of the control room.

  Selene paused at the door, letting Ivy and Steven go ahead. She looked back over her shoulder. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

  Rikkard looked up. “You do a lot of things I wouldn’t.”

  Selene laughed. “Fair enough.” She turned, letting the doors close behind her as she followed Ivy and Steven down a few twisting halls to the cargo hold at the back of the cruiser. She wasn’t used to having so many hallways between the control room and the cargo bay. It made sense considering how large the cruiser was, but still.

  The door to the hold opened, and the three of them stepped inside, heading for the viewport imbedded in the wall. The cruiser banked sideways, but they’d never be able to feel it with the artificial gravity on. The ship dove out of the sky towards the hangar, red lasers lighting up the dark, curved metal roof.

  Selene’s heart raced as smoke ascended from the hole Rikkard had created. Then the ship whipped back around and lowered through, the space just barely big enough to fit through.

  “Landing in ten seconds,” Rikkard buzzed in her ear. “Be ready.”

  “Yes, sir,” Selene mocked into her earpiece. Selene didn’t need to be able to see him to know he was rolling his eyes at her. She laughed as they passed the lip of the roof and into the darkness of the hangar.

  Turning from the viewport, Selene crossed the cargo hold to a sliding side door—another feature she wasn’t used to in most cruisers. She swiped her hand across the panel beside it and took th
e handle to yank the door open. Through a small window in the top of the door she could just barely make out the shadows of large ships passing on every side. Even her night vision was having a hard time keeping up. She was surprised there weren’t any lights on inside. Maybe that meant security was long gone. She could only hope.

  The ship trembled slightly and Selene yanked the door open without waiting for Rikkard’s go ahead. She leapt the few feet from the door to the concrete floor, and dropped into a roll to spare her ankles the impact.

  Selene jumped back to her feet, and pressed her back against the side of the ship they’d landed beside. Her heart raced as she investigating the immediate area, but only shadows lurked.

  “Clear,” Selene said softly into her comset.

  Before they’d parted with the others, Rem had given Ivy and Steven their own comsets, kind of his own way of officially welcoming them.

  “Did I give you the go ahead yet?” Rikkard asked.

  Selene flashed her teeth. “Nope.”

  Rikkard’s sigh was her only answer before Ivy and Steven joined her on the floor. The comlink went dead to keep from distracting them as they moved a ways away from the cruiser. The hum of the cruiser’s engines whined louder as Rikkard lifted up off the ground, and bright headlights flared from the cockpit of the cruiser.

  “Fuck!” Steven snapped as the three of them covered their eyes.

  “We can see in the dark, you idiot,” Ivy growled into her comset.

  Rikkard didn’t answer, and he didn’t turn the lights off either, keeping them trained on the hangar doors.

  “Come on,” Selene said. “Let’s block the back exits and find our home.”

  Ivy’s eyebrows scrunched as she gave Selene a weird look, but she nodded and followed along when Selene led them to the back of the giant building. On the way, they gathered a few speeders, each pushing along one until they reached the first door.

  Selene left hers in front of it, though she knew it wouldn’t stop anyone from coming in. At least it’d slow them down, and maybe give the smugglers some warning. Then she brandished her rifle and shot out the control panel next to the door. At least that should give them some time.

  They did the same to two more doors before returning to the main part of the room that wasn’t beneath scaffolding.

  The three of them moved on silent feet like one unit. It felt strange moving together like she trusted them implicitly to watch her back—especially when they’d been enemies not long ago. She wondered absently if this is how all Icarus felt—a kinship that made her lower her guard as they swept through the shadows back to a row of speeders and cruisers lined up in perfect order.

  To the right side of the rows of speeders, a giant dark behemoth occupied the far side of the hangar. A grin spread on her face and her pulse quickened along with her pace. Selene raced across the hangar, even as shouts rose outside, and a loud crack nearly made her freeze. Instead of stopping, she continued, certain the noise was just the hangar doors opening. They were so close to the cargo ship now, there was no stopping them.

  Selene slid to a stop beneath the ledge she’d once occupied with Rikkard to watch the sunset, and she shook her head to rid the image. She waited for the Icarus to catch up to her before turning to face them.

  “I need a boost,” Selene said, practically giddy with excitement as she paced below the ledge.

  Steven looked up, assessing the height, then nodded and cupped his hands.

  Selene paused. “Don’t throw me too high.” She knew how strong the Icarus were, and Selene wasn’t heavy. If Steven had a mind to, he could probably throw her all the way to the torn up ceiling.

  Steven growled a laugh. “Understood.”

  She narrowed her eyes as he continued to chuckle. He sounded exactly like someone who was considering pranking her at this most unfortunate time.

  Having no other choice but to trust him, Selene took a few steps back before breaking into a run towards him. Steven’s smile dropped and his eyes darkened like he’d gone serious mode. Selene leapt onto his hand and Steven thrust her up with a dizzying amount of strength.

  Selene shot through the air, her heart pounding in her ears as she sailed right over her target. Damn. She gritted her teeth, but her speed slowed, and she quickly dropped back down, landing easily on the metal ledge.

  She sucked in a relieved breath; thankful she hadn’t just broken an ankle by falling a few stories. Once she got her bearings, Selene twisted the port door beside the ledge and slipped inside. It was one of the few doors that didn’t require DNA authentication, and she was sure the Dominion had used it at some point.

  The small port door squeaked open and clanged against the side of the ship when she let it fall free. Selene winced at the noise and quickly stepped into the dark recesses of the cargo ship, closing the door tightly behind her.

  “I’m in,” she said into her comset. “Head to the back of the ship. I’m opening the cargo doors in two.” Two minutes should be long enough for her to weave through the ship—after all, this had been the smugglers base for years.

  Her heart swelled, even if it wasn’t the time. Still, it felt like she was finally home—surrounded by familiar dark metal corridors and a grated floor.

  She shook her head. She could reminisce later. Now, they had to get out of there before they were caught.

  Selene ran down the hall, racing past the entrance to the dining hall, Rikkard’s old room, and even Sarah’s office until she reached the cargo bay. Only a few of their speeders remained inside, as well as a couple crates, but it was all the same, they’d need the space for the cruiser anyway.

  Crossing the wide room, she reached the back door and slammed her palm against the red open button.

  The door lurched and squealed like the hinges hadn’t been oiled for some time, then began to lower to the floor. After almost thirty seconds, they finally tapped down on the floor beyond, and Ivy and Steven raced up the door.

  “Welcome to our home.” Selene flashed a cheeky smile before she spun to lead the way to the control room. It had been a long while since she’d been inside it, even when they had had their ship previously. Rem and Rikkard were the only two that spent much time up there, along with Kayl on occasion.

  Her heart did a weird flip-flop of confusion as she remembered the alien man. He’d been her best friend’s husband and yet he hated her so much that he’d betray them all to the Dominion. To Pate even.

  By the time they reached the control room, her blood boiled. She took deep breaths as she darted through the door into the familiar space.

  Similar to the cruiser they’d borrowed from the pirates, the control room was two levels with control boards lining the square room on every side. Two doors occupied the back wall, including the one they’d come through, and a captain’s chair sat in the middle of the second level. Instead of the level just being at the back of the room, it curved around to occupy a good portion of the large space, with another curved control panel in the center back of the lower floor. That’s where Rem typically sat to deal with navigation.

  Her breath whooshed from her lungs as she pushed back memories of Rikkard lounging in his captain’s chair, Rem typing like a speed demon on his keyboard, Sarah laughing with her on the far side of the room where they always sat together when they did have occasion to be in there.

  “Selene?” Ivy said, breaking Selene from her reverie.

  She shook her head and went inside, crossing quickly to Rem’s little nook. She booted up the ship’s power. Though it would have remained on standby after being idle more than a few days without Rem’s command, she needed to get this ship back up and running so they could fly out of there at full speed.

  The overhead lights flashed on, sending white lights flying across her vision. She blinked rapidly to remove them while she booted up weapons’ systems, the engines, propellers, and any other system she thought they might need, including artificial gravity and the carbon dioxide scrubbers.

&
nbsp; “Take a seat,” Selene commanded. “There.” She motioned at the side Selene and Sarah used to occupy. “I’m going to fly this thing until Rikkard gets here, so I need someone to be ready on guns.”

  Ivy paled. “We’ve never used weapons systems on a ship before.”

  Selene smiled. “It’s okay. We probably won’t need them.” She flicked a few colored switches as her control panel began to light up. All around the control room buttons, switches, holokeys, and everything else began to illuminate, including the front facing window, which took up nearly the entire wall across from her. Though it’d still appear metal on the outside, the dark material faded like the clone pods had when they went from black to clear. Suddenly she could see the hangar in front of them, and the rapidly opening doors, as well as the lasers shooting from Rikkard’s cruiser.

  Her heart leapt as scorch marks burned across the metal gates. They were opened enough she could see the desert beyond, as well as a dozen speeders racing across the dunes toward the line of hangars.

  “Shit,” Selene hissed before snapping her fingers up to her ear. “Booting up all systems.”

  “About time,” Rikkard snapped.

  Selene rolled her eyes. “No need to sass.”

  The hum of the engines told her they were almost ready to go. Once Ivy and Steven finally took a seat and strapped themselves in, Selene typed in a few commands to illuminate the screens in front of them.

  Ivy gasped in surprise as the three dimensional holoscreen popped up in front of her, followed by a pair of handle bars folding out from the bottom of the dashboard. The same happened on Steven’s side. They’d both be commanding the turrets on top of the ship. That should be all they needed, if even that.

  “How much longer on those gates?” Selene barked into her comset.

  “One minute and you should be able to squeeze out,” Rikkard said. His voice sounded strained, making Selene’s stomach twist with nerves.