The Topaz Operation

by Jared Sizemore

  “Yes, sir. I’m sorry for my clandestine status, but we’re on the verge of something big here.”

  “Go ahead. And who’s ‘we’?”

  “I’m here with Aphiemi, and, uh,” Ryle cleared his throat and looked Rez in the eye. “Well, anyway, I’m about to infiltrate an Archon ship bound for Topaz. We’ve tracked Jez and believe he is aboard.”

  “Okay then, but you should get support.”

  “It’s best if we stay secret, sir, for now. When we know more, I’ll contact you on a different frequency.”

  “All right. Good work, Colonel. By the way, if you somehow survive this mission, Turj is going to kill you.”

  Ryle rolled his eyes. “I don’t doubt it. Not sure if he’ll get the chance.”

  “Tell Aph to be careful,” said Prevwahn.

  “Yes, sir. Oh, one more thing...is my mother still in jail?”

  “Yes. She was an accomplice to treason, Ryle. But she’s very comfortable, even though she’s complaining a lot.”

  Aphiemi smiled.

  “I have a request. Could you please move her to house arrest? I can explain things more later,” said Ryle.

  After a pause, Prevwahn said, “All right, done.”

  “Thank you, Mr. President! Arrow IV out,” said Ryle, waiting a second in case Prevwahn wanted to say more. Fortunately, he did not. Ryle shut off the comm.

  “Thank you, I suppose,” said Rez.

  “Don’t thank me yet,” said Ryle.

  Ryle and Rez hustled to gear up. Ryle strapped on every weapon that could fit on his person. Rez kept it simple—just a pistol and short sword. They suited up in leg booster/anti-grav-equipped elite forces space suits, tighter fitting and less clunky than ordinary space suits. Ryle strapped on the latest chest armor model, lightweight yet as strong as could be. The latest space helmet design was clicked onto its special belt holder. When not being worn, the helmet could be folded up and easily stored on the soldier’s belt. The Arrow had a spare helmet that fit Rez.

  Aphiemi took the main pilot seat and tried to fight being overwhelmed—the buttons, levers, instruments, displays, etc. seemed to have multiplied since she took over. Her eyes darted back and forth, searching for the right place to start.

  Ryle stood over her. “Most of the time you can run this baby on autopilot if you just punch in the right coordinates.”

  “Okay.” She decided tying her hair up in a ponytail would help. She did it masterfully and fast.

  “I’ll take us in all the way to the Chironex. Then you’ll drop us off and get to a safe distance. No assaulting the entourage. That’ll just get us all killed.”

  “Gotcha,” she said. “What if they open fire? Or try to chase me?”

  “You should be able to outrun anything.” Ryle showed her the instruments to use in order to kick up the speed and how to enhance the Arrow’s stealth abilities which were the best of any ship in existence. “Any other questions?”

  “So, am I going to come back and pick you up? What’s the end game here?”

  Ryle thought about it, concluding there was no easy answer. “Welcome to the world of special forces.”

  Aphiemi’s comm vibrated. Ryle glared. She held it up. “It’s Tevin! I have to take this.”

  Rez stepped into the cockpit. “It’s too risky.”

  The comm kept vibrating while yellow and green lights flashed around its edges.

  “Please,” she said.

  “Turn on the speaker,” said Ryle.

  Aphiemi flicked it on. “Yes, Tevin! Ryle’s listening too.”

  “That’s fine, Aph. You need to come, now! The factions are on the brink of civil war. Elissa and I have done everything we can. The mountain light is inspiring and some amazing things have happened, but it’s not helping them get along at the moment. The missing children are causing a panic, and we hear there’s chaos all over Topaz now?”

  “Okay, I can’t talk long. Um...” She looked at Ryle.

  “Please come!” urged Tevin, his voice cracking. “Also, your cousin attempted an escape but got shot down.”

  “What?” gasped Aphiemi.

  “She and Edward are okay, but they got themselves locked up.”

  “I’ll be there,” said Aphiemi.

  “Huh?” said Ryle.

  “Tell everyone to hold tight until I get there, Tev. Aphiemi out.”

  “What did you just do?” said Ryle.

  Rez came to her defense. “This makes the most sense, Ryle. Aphiemi will drop us and then make for Onyx, well out of harm’s way—from here at least. Once we’re aboard, we’ll surely be discovered at some point. We would not want Aphiemi blazing back in for a rescue. She would be destroyed. No offense, my lady.”

  “None taken.”

  Ryle looked from Rez back to Aphiemi. “Guess we have a plan then. Let’s cozy up to the Chironex.”

  With Ryle at the controls, the Arrow moved in above Jez’s wolfpack which was traveling at an incredible speed. He checked the Arrow’s fuel—it would be just enough for this plus the trip to Onyx. Good thing he had everything shut off for a while. The Arrow’s specialized fuel-conserving design was about to reach its limit. Ryle activated all stealth modes: sensor confusion, space camouflage, booster masking, heat signature reduction. Rez kneeled by the spacelock door, meditating.

  Ryle put on his helmet and sealed it shut except for the face visor. “Goin’ down.” The Arrow did a steep drop, slipped past the Archon light cruiser, and aligned successfully with the Chironex—apparently without being noticed. The long launch bay dominated the top of the exotic Archon ship. Ryle moved them forward closer to the command center. He turned sideways and glided down the Chironex’s starboard side. “Ready?” he said to Aphiemi.

  She nodded and took a deep breath. Ryle kissed her forehead, closed his visor, and ran to the rear space lock. Aphiemi took the controls and held the ship steady.

  Ryle opened the initial space lock door and he and Rez passed through to the depressurization chamber. The first door closed behind them with a whoosh sound and a clank. With his left hand, Ryle prepared to open the final release door. He put his right hand over his anti-grav boot suction reversal button. Rez did the same. The final door opened.

  They jumped out of the Arrow and landed on the Chironex’s hull. Their boots reversed to suction mode, latching them onto the ship. Ryle kneeled as he watched the outline of the space-camouflaged Arrow speed away into space.

  Chapter 46

  Sienna’s escape ship, the Gazelle, soared over Ochuroma City past the Royal Palace, headed for the mountains and glided into Qusam’s cave. The Gazelle missed the normal landing spot and set down on the edge of the living area, the ship’s landing gear shoving the floor rug over a few feet. Qusam, carrying Sienna, stepped out of the side door and gently laid her down on his couch. Izil and Neyla were already there waiting with glasses of water and brewing tea.

  “Q, what happened to her?” said Izil as they approached Sienna and kneeled next to her. Neyla set water on the table next to Sienna and took her hand and gently stroked it.

  “We were attacked on Carnelian. Not only the usual Qesem, but this time there was a wicked new creation of Aqtal. I don’t yet know who or what it was.”

  “Very peculiar. Do you have any working theories?” said Izil.

  “Perhaps it is tied with his recent diamond obsession. But it had the form of a human.” Qusam shook his head in resignation. “For now, Izil, I would appreciate helping Sienna back to health.”

  “Of course,” said Izil. He and Neyla hummed a calm, soothing tune which filled the room, echoing throughout the rocky corners and cubbyholes of Qusam’s cave.

  Qusam, not usually anxious about things, was deeply worried about Sienna. She had been struck by an extraordinary power he could not explain. And the flute was now gone too. He sighed deeply. She would not be happy about the flute when she woke up. If she woke up—he had to fight against thoughts like that. Of course she would wake up. Where are the
other wizards?

  Almost on cue, Rajaan and Seilah’s ship arrived, crowding the cramped landing bay even more. They rushed out and over to them. “Qusam, we came as fast as we could,” said Rajaan.

  “Thank you, my friends. Is Indeen out?”

  “Yes, she’s rounding up other wizards as you suggested.”

  “Right, that’s good,” said Qusam, his eye twitching.

  “Are you okay, Qusam?” asked Seilah. “I don’t think I’ve seen you like this in a long time.”

  “I’ll be fine. But I’ve seen better days.” He sat on a chair and took a deep breath.

  “What happened?” asked Rajaan.

  “Please help Sienna and I’ll feel better,” said Qusam.

  “Certainly. But give me the short version of what’s wrong. I won’t be able to focus if you’re in bad shape too,” said Rajaan.

  “Looks like the tea’s ready. I’ll get it,” said Seilah. She went over to the kitchen area.

  “Raj, I feel as though all this is my fault. I brought a diamond to Sienna’s house. I foolishly brought the flute, and now it’s gone.”

  “Gone? The Flute of Fienna?”

  “It was captured by Aqtal’s creature.”

  “Oh dear.”

  Izil stopped his singing and spun around. “Did I just hear what I thought I heard?”

  Qusam nodded solemnly. “Our visit definitely drew the Archon’s attention.”

  Rajaan leaned in close and looked Qusam in the eyes. “Q, I don’t usually have reason to rebuke you, but I do now. This is not your fault. Aqtal is the one to blame. We all know that. Besides, they’ve been harassing Sienna for years. Why she stayed on Carnelian for so long I’ll never know.”

  “You see, Raj, I am selfishly letting this bother me when I could be helping her,” said Qusam as he kneeled beside Sienna and joined in the singing with Neyla. He attuned his voice with hers so they achieved a balanced harmony. Izil re-joined the song. Seilah returned and sat two cups of tea on the end table. She and Rajaan tapped their staffs on the floor and joined in with their voices.

  * * *

  After some time, perhaps an hour, Sienna opened her eyes. Qusam stroked her forehead. “Si, how are you?”

  “Where am I?” said Sienna slowly.

  “In my cave on Chrysolite.”

  “Chrysolite? Ugh, that must mean we fled.”

  “Indeed we did, but you’re safe now…for the moment. How do you feel?”

  “Other than a splitting headache, not too terrible. Weak.”

  “Your strength will return.”

  Sienna remained quiet, and Qusam didn’t force her to speak. After a moment, she licked her lips and said, “Didn’t you tell me about the time when this happened to you…my ancestor’s flute helped you?”

  Qusam hesitated, clearing his throat. “I’m very sorry, Sienna, but...the flute fell into the hands of the enemy.”

  “What?”

  “I was trying to save your life. We were surrounded. I am beyond sorry. Perhaps it was a mistake to use it, though without it we might not have escaped.”

  She sighed and put her hand on Qusam’s cheek. “It’s all right, Q. The flute tends to make its own plans. It’ll turn up again.”

  Qusam touched her hand. “You are usually right about things.”

  “You’re just now figuring that out?” she said, smiling.

  “My friends, I believe she will make a full recovery,” said Qusam to the others.

  “Wonderful,” said Neyla as she kneeled back down over Sienna.

  Sienna raised her head slightly. “Ah, Neyla, Izil! What a delight. Hello, Rajaan. And Seilah—my sister in wizardry.”

  “Hello, dear,” said Seilah.

  “The truth enchantments you taught me worked. Yes—I’m starting to remember what happened. I used the enchantments to conceal my library. Let’s pray those monsters don’t find it,” said Sienna.

  Qusam rose and gave Sienna space to get reacquainted with her old friends.

  Izil elbowed him in the side. “Our project is coming along well, but we’re not quite ready yet.”

  “Yes, you can put that on hold for now. We must gather as many wizards as we can. It’s time to come out of the shadows. My humble home is too small, however. We’ll need to find a larger meeting place.”

  “There’s the field behind our house,” said Rajaan. “Indeen is already directing them there.”

  “That should work.”

  “What exactly is happening, Qusam?” said Rajaan.

  “Something big is about to happen on Topaz, big enough for the Archon to evacuate all its forces. Based on everything I’ve heard, our kind cannot stay out of the melee. I need more information, but we need to be ready.”

  Rajaan’s comm beeped. “This is an odd signal…Yes?”

  “Raj? It’s me, Lygalia.”

  “Seilah, it’s your sister! Your other sister.”

  Seilah jumped up and over to the comm. “Lygalia, is it really you?”

  “It is, but I can’t talk long.”

  “Where are you?”

  “Laylon, Topaz. Our immediate objective is accomplished. We located Commander Mitchett and also found Aphiemi’s little cousins, but they tell us there’s more children here. Many more. Thousands were taken from Onyx and brought here, and the Archon is now just leaving them behind.”

  “Behind for what?” said Rajaan.

  “Nobody knows for sure,” said Lygalia. “Transports have been taking off all around us, so finding an escape ship is proving difficult. Plus, I’ve been separate from my team for a while. Long story. I’ll be rendezvousing with Jyssa and the others soon.”

  Qusam spoke into the comm. “Lygalia, it’s Qusam. We’re working up a plan now on how to best intervene. Hang in there, Lieutenant.”

  “Thank you, Qusam. I have to go. Lygalia out.”

  “Thousands of Onyx children? We should make their rescue a top priority,” said Seilah.

  “Sounds like Jyssa and Lygalia’s team needs help too,” said Rajaan.

  Qusam stroked his beard. “Hmm, you are all correct. I fear all of the children—of both Onyx and Topaz—are in danger. I must go to the president at once.”

  Chapter 47

  Ryle and Rez kneeled in an obscure corner of the Chironex’s starboard cargo hold. Ryle removed his space helmet and clicked it onto its holder. To penetrate the ship, Ryle was able to open a waste disposal spacelock and disarm the intruder alert before entering. They could have just broken in, but secrecy was paramount. Ryle pulled out of his backpack two pieces of a rifle, clicked them together, and powered it up. With his wrist scanner, he ran a sweep to check for security devices, cameras, motion sensors, etc. There were a few devices scattered around the ship but not many. He noted this to Rez.

  Rez removed his helmet and whispered. “Arrogance is Aqtal’s hallmark. He doesn’t believe anyone would dare oppose him. Even if he loses a battle, he believes he has won.”

  As they crept through the cargo hold, Rez stopped abruptly. “I just remembered something. Ah, you fool.” Rez shook his head. “Me, not you.”

  “What is it?”

  “Your ILT is still off, correct?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Keep it off. This ship is equipped to detect those. Alarms will pierce our ears and this mission will be over.”

  “Gotcha,” said Ryle. Leave it to Aqtal to exploit the limitations of the Interplanetary Location Trackers. “Comm’s okay?”

  “Keep it to a minimum, but eventually we’ll be forced to use them no matter what.”

  The far door to the room opened and an unhelmeted Archon junior officer strode inside up to a supply canister, muttering something about wizards. From the shadows Rez whipped out his short sword and ran the officer through the chest. The officer gasped and slumped into Rez’s arms. They dragged him to the corner and Ryle made a copy of the man’s handprints. They went to the doorway and Ryle peeked into the corridor. All clear.

  As they ex
ited the cargo hold, Rez said, “I sense Qesem here. Several.”

  “Wanna take the lead?”

  “Probably wise.” Rez moved ahead of Ryle and they crept down the corridor, extremely cautious not to cause any unnecessary sound or interruption of normal ship functions. Rez grabbed his artificial ear. He closed his eyes, wincing in pain, and slumped to the floor.

  Ryle knelt next to him and glanced around, rifle ready. This isn’t good. He bumped Rez’s shoulder. “We can’t stay here.”

  Rez nodded, still shaken by whatever he felt. Ryle moved down the corridor to a crossway, confident Rez would get up. Ryle peeked around the corner and froze as two brown-garbed wizards ascended stairs to the level above. Taking a gamble, Ryle moved in closer and caught a glimpse of their robes sweeping into a large room with lots of other brown inside.

  Rez arose and shook off his latest daze.

  Ryle waved him over to a cubbyhole underneath a control station where they hid themselves. “There’s a bunch of wizards up there. I saw two of them go into a big room.”

  “Several of them together, chanting right above us, must have hit me hard,” said Rez.

  “I say our strategy is to keep avoiding them.”

  “Agreed.”

  A pair of black boots appeared in front of them—a trooper operating the control station. The trooper heard a noise, knelt down, and a received a sword through his throat. Rez retracted the sword and they hauled him under the station, shoving his body against the wall out of sight.

  They made a right at the corner, hustled down the corridor, and reached a dead end blocked by double doors. With no place to hide, Ryle started to use his wrist scan over the hand console when Rez stopped him.

  “Wait, what’s on the other side?” said Rez.

  “I’m not sure but we can’t stay this out in the open.” Ryle waved his wrist scan over the door, and the dead officer’s handprints worked. The doors parted revealing another corridor—shorter and with numerous control modules lining the walls on both sides. Detailed images of the diamond drill figured prominently on display screens.

  “What is that? It’s huge!” said Ryle.