The Argent Star

by Emerson Fray

  Chapter 27

  Ren sat in the control chair and listened to the door clang shut behind her. Sheridan let out a heavy breath, still not convinced that what they’d found was key to saving Novae.

  “Are you sure about this?” Sheridan questioned again. It was only her second time asking, but it was enough to let Ren know that she was really worried.

  “Are you afraid of flying or something?” Ren questioned.

  “I’ve never been fond of it.” Sheridan stepped up beside her, placing her hand on the back of the chair. “I’m also not fond of things that haven’t worked for hundreds of years.”

  “It’ll work,” Ren replied. She understood why Naomi had sent them there. With plenty of power left even after hundreds of years hidden beneath the ground, this was their ticket to bargaining with the Monarchy. Ren only hoped it would be enough to get the Monarchy off Novae without any bloodshed. “This is an emergency escape vehicle—or EM Scow—it’ll have plenty of power to get us out of the ground and into space.” Although much of the ship was still buried, Ren didn’t voice her worries to Sheridan.

  “Space?” Sheridan repeated, her voice a little higher than normal. It made Ren turn towards her Sotarian.

  “First we’ll go get Elian and Enn,” she said.

  Sheridan nodded, but her grip on the chair had become so tight her fingertips were white. Ren only glanced at them for a moment before turning back to the controls.

  How the Monarchy had left this behind was beyond her understanding. They must have thought the locals would never understand how to use it; otherwise they wouldn’t have left it here. Ren only had a bit of knowledge on how to use a scow, and it was only modern scows she understood—using one this old would be a bumpy ride. If she could get it to Elian though, he would know what to do with it.

  “What are we going to do with the ship?” Sheridan steadied her feet as Ren pressed a few buttons. The ship creaked and moaned as gears slowly clicked into place, the dirt just outside the window began to slide as the scow shifted into position. “And how is it going to get out of the earth?”

  “These things were built to withstand a crash, and to move in all directions,” Ren answered, “it’ll be able to push out and then up.” I think, she silently added. “As for what happens after, I have a general idea of what to do.”

  Sheridan let out a small growl.

  “I’ll explain later,” Ren said, pressing another button and making the scow jerk forward as it broke off from the Absolution. The door behind them made a whirring noise as it sealed again. Ren and Sheridan both glanced at it just as the ship did another jerk backwards. “I need to focus.”

  Ren took one last deep breath before resting her finger on the final button. If this didn’t work she wasn’t sure what their next move would be, and honestly she wasn’t sure what their next move would be if it did work. She had an idea, but what if it didn’t go as planned? The Monarchy wasn’t known for its kind and gentle negotiations.

  She pressed the button anyway. She wasn’t going to sit around and hope the situation solved itself, because it wouldn’t. Another lurch and the ship was digging further down. Beside Ren, Sheridan braced herself against the chair, waiting for another surge to send her flying forward. Instead the ship made a loud CRACK and began moving up.

  “It’s doing it!” cried Ren. She almost jumped from her chair when the scow shuddered, reminding her to stay in her seat. As the ship grooved and shook Ren started to question if it really did have enough power to break the surface, or if there was a chance something was damaged and she and Sheridan were about to die in an explosion. She would have waged the Monarchy would have loved that.

  “I don’t think we’re moving forward,” Sheridan stated. She had her other hand braced on the console, pulling herself forward to get a better look at where they might be headed. Ren wondered too, because no matter how much the scow shook she couldn’t tell anymore if they were moving forward or simply back and forth. She went to stand and just as she did a great force struck her and the ship flew forward, the nose turning up.

  Kneeling beside her, Sheridan muttered something to herself.

  “Careful,” Ren said.

  Sheridan opened her mouth to reply but the scow screeched and jumped forward again, plummeting her backwards. Ren sunk into the chair and her skull cracked against the metal. Stars blotted her vision momentarily when she noticed something to her left. She realized it was Sheridan’s kama cutting into the metal just beside her eye, only an inch away from killing her. Sheridan pulled herself forward as the scow broke free of the earth and soared into the air. Soon Ren grabbed the control stick and evened it out, letting them both catch their breath. Sheridan holstered her kama.

  “Sorry.” Sheridan put her hand back on the chair, still nervous on the scow. Ren’s own hands were shaking as she held the stick. The kama had come so close to her eye she wasn’t sure how to form words right away. So she just nodded and tried to suck as much air into her lungs as possible.

  Now that they were flying Ren thought of the obvious problem. Other scows. In the distance she could see two of them floating above Mahendra, keeping a watchful eye on the citizens and most likely their radar. The pod she now piloted was small enough to stay hidden in the clouds, but it would be an obvious dot on the Monarchy’s radar since it was the only other object in the sky.

  “Can we cloak?” Sheridan asked. She was looking past the dirt on the window, clearly thinking the same thing as Ren.

  “Maybe?” Ren answered. Her eyes perused the control panel when she realized that emergency scows back then couldn’t cloak. But then again Dr. Husher, the inventor of cloaking technology, had been on this ship. Panic setting in, Ren couldn’t find anything that looked like a cloaking mechanism. “Or not.” She began to lower the ship towards the trees until the bottom was skimming the leaves. “But if we fly low enough they might not notice us—there’s a chance the ship doesn’t give off enough energy to be noticed. These things were built for stealth and travel—if it still works like I think it does, we’ll just look like a bird on their radar.”

  Sheridan grunted her reply, showing about as much faith in the scow as Ren had.

  “Stopstopstopstopstop,” Ren squealed, pulling on the control stick as hard as she could. Her eyes had squeezed shut, her entire body shaking as the scow slid along the rocks until it stopped. Peeking with one eye she saw she’d almost crashed it into the side of the Undercurrent’s entrance. She let out a breath in unison with Sheridan.

  Without a word Sheridan spun on her heel and shoved the door open, hopping onto the ground with ease. It took a moment for Ren to gather her own strength and do the same. She listened for any signs of nearby soldiers or scows. “I don’t think they saw us.”

  Sheridan looked into the sky before scanning between the trees. “For now.”

  The ground seemed to wobble beneath Ren’s feet as she moved behind Sheridan and into the Undercurrent. It wasn’t until they made it to the crystal cavern did she feel like her feet were firmly planted on the ground. “Elian?” she called, finding the space empty.

  After a moment Elian poked his head from the hidden chamber at the back of the room, his hair rustled in all directions. “What?”

  “We found something.”

  His eyes narrowed. He went to say something when he jerked forward and fell out of the chamber, catching himself in a shaky landing on the floor. Enn jumped out behind him. “We’re done with the Husher device—that thing only has enough power to cloak though, it’ll never shield the planet. We can’t figure out how those rings work.”

  Ren bit her bottom lip. “Maybe we don’t have to shield the planet.”

  Elian arched his eyebrows, matching Enn’s expression. She asked, “Excuse me? What in hell have I been working on this for then?”

  “You don’t want to shield the planet now?” Elian asked as he crossed the crystal cavern and sto
od in front of his sister. His back was straight, his eyes focused. It seemed his short time in the office had made him stronger, if not more intimidating. Ren had never found her brother intimidating, but as he stared down at her now she caught a glimpse of Maks in him.

  “I think it’s a good option that we keep to ourselves,” Ren said, trying not to shrink back. “But Sheridan and I found something. Come on.”

  Enn and Elian shared a glance as if they were old friends knowing exactly what the other was thinking. When they didn’t move right away Ren huffed and started walking without them, Sheridan on her heels.

  Outside Ren waited for the others to catch up. Ren waited to hear Elian’s excited chirp or a snarky comment from Enn, but instead she heard silence. When their footsteps stopped behind her she turned to see both their gaping faces in awe of the scow. “This is our other option.”

  Elian nodded wordlessly.

  Enn took a few steps forward. “I can see why you wouldn’t want to cloak anything.”

  “Could showing them this really make them leave?” Sheridan questioned.

  “We’ll have to get creative,” Elian suggested. He rubbed at the stubble on his chin, moving around the scow to get a better look at it. “I mean, they’ll just blow us out of the sky if they think we’re a threat.”

  “Could you give it a shield?” Ren followed Elian as he circled the scow, taking it in at every angle.

  When he’d finished two small walks around he stopped beside Enn, matching her thoughtful expression. After a moment he declared, “No; it’s too old, they weren’t meant to have enough power for a shield.”

  Ren’s heart sank into her stomach. That was it? No hope? Naomi had seemed so sure that this would do something…maybe there was something they were missing.

  “But I could make it look like it has a shield.”

  An hour later the scow was glowing with a thinly veiled yellow light. It flickered and broke in some areas, but it was enough to at least look like it was capable of protecting anyone inside from an enemy attack. Hopefully, it’ll be enough, Ren thought.

  Enn wiped the sweat from her brow and brushed the grease from her hands onto the grass. Elian simply wiped it onto his pants and they both look proudly at the ship. “Not too bad,” Elian declared.

  Ren and Sheridan peered up at the fake flashing shield. “I guess we should get going then, huh?” Ren suggested.

  “I don’t like threatening an enemy a hundred times my size,” Sheridan mentioned.

  Elian chuckled. “The Monarchy is more like a million times our size.”

  Sheridan let out a low huff, her point proven. This was a terrible idea, and it would most likely never get the Monarchy away from Novae. But maybe it would be enough to make them back off, if only for a little while.

  Ren gave an assertive nod, more to herself than the others. She climbed through the open door and sat herself in the control chair trying to think two steps ahead of everyone else. It was hard though, and she wasn’t the soldier Maks was; he could have predicted ten moves ahead.

  The door clanged shut behind her and when she looked over her shoulder expecting to see Sheridan she found Elian and Enn there as well. She stated, “You can’t come.”

  Elian gaped. “Pardon me?”

  “It’s dangerous,” Ren said, “I should go alone.” Her eyes met Sheridan’s. “Chances are—”

  “Chances are you’ll die alone,” Elian shouted. “If we’re both there, along with two Novaeans they’ll at least think before blowing us up.”

  Ren pursed her lips and hated to admit he was right. Still, she didn’t want her little brother going off to face the Monarchy with her. If this went poorly it would mean making an enemy…she didn’t want Elian in that sort of danger. She stood and faced them, shaking her head. “No, I’m not letting you go.” Her eyes slid to Sheridan. “Can you throw him off this ship for me?”

  Sheridan cocked one eyebrow and didn’t move.

  “I’m not going anywhere,” Elian said, taking a step forward. “Besides, you can’t pilot this thing—I saw how you parked it.”

  “Enn can pilot it,” Ren countered.

  Enn scoffed. “Oh sure, you’ll take me to die but not him. Thanks.”

  “That isn’t what I—I just meant—” Ren groaned and covered her eyes. When she peeked through her fingers in hopes that the others magically decided she was right she found Elian in the pilot’s chair.

  “You know there is something you didn’t think about,” Elian said.

  “What’s that?”

  “What these emergency ships were capable of.” Elian flicked a couple of switches that Ren hadn’t touched before, and slammed his fingers down on every button he could find. As always, Ren was in awe of her brother’s technological knowledge, his movements mystifying her and Sheridan alike. Elian explained, “These things were for emergencies and all, so they had extra capabilities, even back then. Transporting technology was still fairly new, but they kept it on the scows anyway.”

  “We can Transport?” Ren asked herself. How could that be used against the Monarchy? Anyone with a communicator on their wrist could sync to the scow and come onboard—that seemed like more of a hindrance to her. The Monarchy could easily hijack them.

  “We can Transport anyone with a communicator anywhere we want without them first needing to be on the ship,” Elian revealed. He pressed one last button and the ship came to life, much less shaky than Ren’s turn at the controls. Maybe the ship wasn’t in as bad shape as she first thought, and it was just her flying skills that needed a tune up.

  Her heart hammered against her chest, her hands already beginning to tremble at the thought of what she was about to do. It was against everything she believed in, everything she was taught and everything she knew for that past twenty years of her life. With her hand on the back of the chair, she understood why Sheridan had gripped it so hard before; this was it, a possible end. Ren had never thought much about the end of her life before coming to Novae.

  Elian looked up at her, waiting for her to tell him to go. She knew he wouldn’t set a course until she told him to, but the words wouldn’t come out of her mouth. They were there, right on the tip of her tongue and ready to be said but still her lips wouldn’t move.

  Her finger dug into the chair when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She didn’t turn to see who it was, she knew it was Sheridan. Silent support from her ever-loyal Sotarian—from her friend. Even in her thoughts that word was foreign.

  Ren nodded at Elian. “Get us in the air.”

  Sheridan gave Ren’s shoulder a squeeze before letting go. Ren let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding, and before Elian could send them off towards Mahendra Enn stopped them.

  “I think I should stay on the planet.”

  “I understand,” Ren said.

  “No, you don’t.” Enn rolled her eyes. “I think I should go ahead of you guys and get Abetha—she knows how to negotiate.”

  “Does she have her communicator on?” Ren asked.

  “If she’s in the city she will,” Enn sneered. “It’s the law now.”

  “I believe I just said how that works to our benefit,” Elian argued. Still, despite how he’d unintentionally helped, Ren saw the guilt cross over his face. She knew how far he had been willing to go to get revenge for Maks’s death. And she knew he was going to live with that knowledge for the rest of his life. “Look, I’ll bring her here right now.”

  “Wait you don’t know—” Ren began but it was too late. Elian had already slid his fingers across the controls and in the blink of an eye Abetha was materializing in front of them. She stood behind the console, blinking wide eyes at Ren. Ren knew that feeling very well. She hurried over to Abetha and instructed her to lean over. Abetha did, and soon she was gasping for air.

  “What in the name of—”

  “We’ll explain on the way,” Ren said. “Were you tal
king to anyone?” She sent a glare to Elian as he haughtily looked away. “Did the soldiers see you?”

  “I was in my room, thankfully,” she choked out. Her eyes drifted over the scow. “Enn?”

  Enn waved as she opened the door. She hopped onto the ground, the scow floating so high off the planet that all Ren could see was her head now. She said, “I’m going to warn the others about what’s about to go down. If this goes badly they’ll need to prepare.”

  As she went to slam the door shut she hesitated. Her eyes met for a brief moment with Abetha before looking to Ren. “Good luck.”

  Ren nodded as she helped Abetha to a chair.

  Luck had nothing to do with what they were about to try.