Ruins of the Galaxy Box Set: Books 1-6

by Chaney, J. N.

  Piper suddenly wondered if the rest of the waterfall was heavy like this. She glanced past her toes and into the endless blackness beneath her. The waterfall’s sound grew louder, and she could no longer hear her heartbeat in her ears.

  The waterfall slapped her hand, soaking it in a heavy spray. Piper’s chest felt like it might explode. All she could imagine was the waterfall grabbing onto her hand and pulling her down. But she had to try. She had to help the Jujari get to safety. And she had to get a ship to return to Awen and Willowood.

  In a panic, Piper leaned forward and pushed her hand into the cascade. For a split second, she thought she was through and figured she’d passed the test. But the force of the heavy water latched onto her fingers and jerked her torso over.

  Piper screamed, feeling herself teeter on the edge of forever. She thrust her hands to the sides and willed herself to keep from falling over. But the water droplets on her hand were still too heavy, forcing her to lose her balance. She thought of taking flight, but somehow she knew the moisture would not let her. There would be no avoiding the fall into the abyss unless she left the Unity. Now.

  Piper sat up on her grandfather’s floor and gasped. The fear of falling, the fear of losing control—they gripped her chest as if they were real things that could physically hurt her. She began batting at her chest, trying to get the emotions off her. Then she reached out and touched the floor to make sure she wasn’t falling.

  And she wasn’t. She was safe now, sitting beneath her grandfather’s strange black eyes.

  “Were you successful?” he asked.

  “No,” she replied, feeling the pain of disappointment flood her heart. “I’m sorry.”

  “What happened?” He sounded frustrated.

  “It was too strong for me.”

  “Maybe you weren’t trying hard enough.”

  His words stung, and tears started to well up in her eyes. “I suppose I could try harder, yes. But…”

  “But what?” Her grandfather repeated himself. Only this time, he changed his tone to something softer and less scratchy. “What’s the matter, child?” He knelt beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. The fear and disappointment didn’t leave, but at least Piper didn’t feel so alone.

  “The waterfall was flowing too quickly. It was going to suck me down.”

  “Waterfall?”

  She nodded. “It’s what the marriage between the two universes looks like. The Foundation’s funny like that.”

  “The Foundation, yes.” Her grandfather’s scratchy voice was back, and he repeated the word like he’d heard it sometime in the past but forgotten about it. “The Foundation is funny like that.” He squatted beside her. “Can you try again?”

  Piper shook her head. “Oh, please, no. Not right now. It’s too strong. I’ll need to…”

  To what?

  Piper didn’t know if she had the power to overcome this wall. It should have bent at her will, the waters parting over her as easily as they might split over a stick. But somehow they hadn’t, and she didn’t know why. Everything else in the Foundation had bowed to her, had done whatever she’d asked. But this waterfall was different, ordered around by a different set of rules.

  “Maybe if I can talk to Awen about it I could—”

  “Not Awen,” her grandfather spat. His voice was harsh again. Just as quickly, he relaxed. “I mean, it would be complicated for us to get in touch with Awen, and I need this now. The Jujari need this now.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Piper said. Hot tears formed in her eyes again, and she felt like sobbing into her grandfather’s arm. But he didn’t seem like he would want that. So she let her tears run across her cheeks instead. “Is there anything else we can do to help the Jujari?”

  Piper searched her grandfather’s face, but not for long. The man stood up and walked toward the wide window, leaving Piper on the ground. She decided to follow him, so she pushed herself up. Her head got fuzzy for a second, but she blinked some and then went to stand beside her grandfather.

  “Are you thinking about another way to help the Jujari escape?”

  “Yes,” her grandfather replied. “But I’m afraid there is no way out of this for them.”

  Hearing that broke Piper’s heart. She watched the remaining Jujari ships fire at the Republic ships, but they were outnumbered. She didn’t think it would be long before this battle was over, and the Jujari were forced to re—retake. No, she thought. Retreat.

  “But maybe there is something we could do to stop the Republic.”

  Piper looked up at her grandfather. He returned her gaze with a dark look that sent a shiver down her spine. “Like what?”

  “I’m not sure if you know this, Piper, but the Republic isn’t what it used to be.”

  “What did it used to be?”

  He looked back out the window and placed his hands behind his back. “It used to be good. It used to protect people and uphold peace.”

  “It doesn’t do that anymore?”

  “You tell me.”

  Piper scratched her nose. “Tell you what?”

  “How it feels to have them kill your family.”

  Piper stepped away from the window and felt her face get warm. “What are you talking about? They didn’t kill my family.”

  “And who do you think did?”

  “I know who did. But I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”

  “Just because something is hard to talk about doesn’t mean it should be avoided.”

  “Yes it does.”

  “Who killed your parents, Piper?”

  “No!”

  “Was it a friend?”

  “No, stop.”

  “Someone you trusted?”

  Piper turned into her grandfather’s hip and threw a fist at his side. “I told you to stop it. Stop it! Stop talking.”

  “Maybe you think it was an accident, or that you had something to do with it, or that—”

  “I killed my father, and Magnus killed my mother,” she screamed. “Why do you even care?” She continued to throw her fists at her grandfather’s side, but the pain in her chest made her blows fumble. “And now they’re gone. They’re gone forever.” She sank to her knees, mad at herself and furious with her grandfather for bringing this up. And for what?

  “You didn’t kill your father, child,” he said when her small shrieks died away. “And Magnus didn’t kill your mother.”

  “That’s not true.” Piper’s fists hit the floor. “That’s not true at all.”

  “Tell me, child. If someone kills an antelope with a blaster, is it the blaster that did the killing or the person who fired it?”

  “I don’t want to answer your questions.” Piper coughed, watching her spit hit the glossy black floor. She refused to say anything more.

  “But do you know the answer?”

  Piper resisted the urge to reply. She knew the answer, but she was done playing his games. At least a minute passed while she composed herself, wiping her mouth and brushing her tears away, when at last her grandfather answered his own question—incorrectly too.

  “It’s the blaster, isn’t it,” he said.

  “No,” Piper replied. “The blaster isn’t alive. It can’t make decisions.”

  “So, it was the person?” Her grandfather looked down at her, voice sounding like he was shocked by her answer. Piper didn’t want to say anything more, so she just nodded and then looked back at the floor. When she’d calmed down after another minute, her grandfather spoke again, but this time very softly. “Magnus was a blaster. You were a blaster. Neither is guilty of the crime. But the person?—the person who squeezed the trigger? They must pay.”

  Piper wasn’t sure she understood what he was trying to say, but the image of someone else using Magnus to kill—even using her to kill—well, that made her think hard. She didn’t feel like anyone had used her to kill her father, or the soldier in Itheliana, or anyone else for that matter. Those were things she’d done, whether on purpose o
r by accident—weren’t they? Plus, when it came to Magnus, he was too strong to let anyone use him.

  “Who squeezed me?” Piper asked, knowing the question sounded funny. But she hurt too much to care. “And Magnus? Who made him…”

  “Kill your mother?” The old man took a deep breath. “The same people who are making us do this.” He gestured toward the space battle. “The Galactic Republic.”

  Piper looked out the window and watched as bright flashes of blaster fire crashed against force fields and blew holes in the sides of unprotected ships, both Jujari and Republic. The navy might be on the winning team, but the Jujari weren’t going down without a fight. Somehow, the whole scene mirrored what Piper was feeling on the inside. She felt beaten, frustrated, and alone. But she wasn’t going to fall apart and throw a fit. Her mother wouldn’t approve. No, she had to fight back—at least, she had to try.

  “The Galactic Republic is doing this?” Piper asked.

  Her grandfather nodded without saying a word.

  “But what does this have to do with my father and mother?”

  “None of that would have happened if it weren’t for this. Your father’s death was an unfortunate matter of circumstance related to the events on Oorajee.”

  “But I was there,” Piper protested. “I know what happened… what I did to him. I—” But she couldn’t bring herself to repeat the words. It hurt too much, and she was tired of thinking about what her powers did to her father.

  “It doesn’t matter what blaster bolt killed your father, Piper. It only matters who was behind the weapon in the first place—who made your father be where he was when he was killed. Same with your mother. Do you understand what I’m saying, child?”

  “I think so.” She squinted at him, trying to figure out what he meant, but she was pretty sure she knew.

  “Do you know that they even tried to kill me just today?” He pulled back his cloak and revealed a blaster wound in his side. Piper winced at the blood and charred flesh. It must have felt painful. She couldn’t imagine what it was like to get shot.

  “There are bigger things at work than you can imagine,” he continued. “I don’t want the blasters or their bolts—I want the people who pulled the triggers, who ordered the targets around. I want them stopped.”

  “Do you know who they are?”

  Her grandfather nodded. “I do. I’ve pledged to stop them, or die trying.”

  “And who—who are they?”

  He turned and looked down at her, then offered his hand to help her stand. “Does this mean you want in?”

  “Want in to what?”

  “To help me stop them. That is, until I can get you a ship so you can be on your way. We had an agreement after all.”

  Piper considered his offer. She supposed she hadn’t fulfilled her end of their bargain yet. She’d tried to help him by opening a quantum tunnel for the Jujari, but that turned out to be impossible. So maybe if she could try something else—something she was better at—perhaps then he’d let her go. But even then, did she still want to go now that she could be with her grandfather? He seemed like he needed her help. Not just with ships or with the people trying to assassinate him, but with the dark thing inside him. Piper shivered. She felt so alone and didn't know what to do. But she did know that her mother would want her to be strong.

  “What do you want to do?” Piper took his hand and let him pull her up. “And who are these bad people?”

  “They’re called the Circle of Nine,” her grandfather said. “And I need you to help me convince everyone out there”—he gestured to the Republic ships—“that we must do anything we can to stop them back on Capriana.”

  “Capriana?” Piper bit her lip. “Are we going back home?”

  “Is that where you’d like to go, child?”

  “Well, if it means we can stop the bad guys, then… yes.”

  “Then to Capriana we will go. But first, let’s discuss what I need you to do.”

  “Okay, grandfather.” She squeezed his hand and noticed how many scars were on it. “I’m ready.”

  20

  “Are you sure you understand the plan?” Magnus asked.

  “Ezo is not as stupid as you seem to think he is,” Ezo said as two former Marines went over his borrowed set of Repub Mark V armor. They yanked on plates and double-checked closures, making sure he was squared away. “But Ezo is trying to figure out how any of you bucketheads moved in this stuff.”

  “You get used to it,” Magnus said.

  “Somehow, Ezo highly doubts that.” Ezo stood in his old ship’s shadow while Cyril and TO-96 worked with some of the crew to load Geronimo with the last of the gear. Cyril remained in his Novian armor, and the bot kept his telecolos finish—it was only Ezo who’d be impersonating a Republic trooper.

  Just then, Sootriman and Abimbola walked through the hangar bay doors. His wife waved, and Ezo felt his heart swell. That woman would be his undoing.

  “You’re just in time,” Colonel Caldwell said from beside Magnus. “We were about to send them off.”

  “Without a goodbye kiss?” Sootriman said, putting her hands on her hips.

  “Trust me, wife, that was not my intent.”

  “The hell it wasn’t.” She reached forward and grabbed him by his suit’s collar, then she pulled him close and kissed him on the mouth. Ezo knew he talked a big game, but public displays of affection like this always made him a little embarrassed. Then again, she was a fabulous kisser.

  “Okay, you two,” Magnus said.

  Sootriman put a hand to the Lieutenant’s face and didn’t let up on Ezo. A few people laughed, and Ezo smiled.

  “If you don’t stop now, we’re going to have to finish this somewhere else,” Ezo said with his lips still pressed against hers.

  Finally, Sootriman pulled away. “I just didn’t want you getting any ideas about running off with some Repub deck wenches.”

  “None of the deck wenches I’ve met kiss like you,” Ezo said.

  “And how many, pray tell, have you kissed?”

  “You probably shouldn’t answer that, son,” Caldwell said.

  “Before you get going, I have something for you,” Abimbola said. The Miblimbian pulled a small leather pouch off his belt, and then reached in and withdrew a handful of poker chips. He flipped one to Ezo and then handed one to the other company commanders. “For luck.”

  Ezo turned the chip over in his hand. It had the Gladio Umbra’s icon on one side—a circle with an open bottom and the shape of a spearhead within—and a 50-credit symbol on the other. “Where in the name of all mystics did you get these?”

  “I’ve got a source,” the giant replied as he turned and winked at Azelon. “If we are going to gamble with our lives, we might as well start a few credits ahead. We need all the juju we can get right now. Plus, if you pull short on an Antaran backdraw table, it never hurts to have an extra chip up your sleeve.”

  “Yeah, ’cause that’s what Ezo’s going to be playing when he lands on Moldark’s creepy-ass ship.”

  “I like ’em,” Magnus said, flipping it once and then stuffing it inside his Novian chest plate pocket. “Nice touch, Bimby.”

  “Thank you, buckethead. We made one for every member of the battalion. I will be handing them out soon, along with something a little more old fashioned, you might say.”

  “And what’s that?” Caldwell asked. “Speaking as the resident authority on all things old fashioned.”

  “A battalion patch, Colonel,” Abimbola said. He handed Caldwell a small piece of embroidered fabric with the battalion’s logo on it, as well as some more writing Ezo couldn’t make out.

  “Now this I like.” Caldwell hit the patch on his palm a few times and then looked up at Abimbola. “You’ve got class, Abimbola. I like your style.”

  “Thank you, sir. And I like your cigar.”

  “I’ve got plenty more.” The colonel hesitated. “I had plenty more.” Caldwell threw an irritated hand in the air and th
en handed Abimbola his patch back. “Are we ready yet, Brass Balls?”

  TO-96 poked his head back down Geronimo’s ramp. “Yes, Colonel Caldwell. We are ready to shove off, as you say.”

  “Good work, son.”

  “However, I would not recommend attempting to shove Geronimo Nine. I was simply using an expression common among navy—”

  “I got it, Balls. Just get yourself squared away.”

  “Now baby, listen,” Sootriman said to Ezo. “You can’t go around saying your name to everyone you meet over there.”

  “Yeah, yeah, I got it.”

  “You’re a Repub buckethead from here on out, and you’ve gotta act dumb as a rock.”

  “Hey now,” Forbes said, stepping forward.

  “Present company excluded.” Sootriman smiled at the captain. “You and your men are the smart ones for joining us.”

  “I can live with that,” Forbes replied.

  Back to Ezo, Sootriman said, “Get in, do your thing, and get back here in one piece, you copy, love?”

  He nodded. “You’re really going to miss me that bad, huh?”

  She smiled. “I just know Ricio’s gonna want Tee-Oh back to command Fang Company.”

  “And the truth comes out.”

  “And I’ll miss you, husband.”

  “No you won’t. You’ll be too busy back doing whatever it is you need to do on Ki Nar Four.”

  Sootriman tapped a finger to her plump lips. “This is true. And there’s much work to be done.”

  “Leaving so soon?” Caldwell asked. “I wasn’t aware.”

  “I am, Colonel. And I’d get used to not knowing everything, if I were you. Plus, my expertise is best utilized elsewhere. You have plenty of help for this mission, and my husband has a squadron to lead.”

  “Don’t I know it,” Ezo said, rubbing the back of his neck. “That ace has been bustin’ my balls since we got back.”

  “Ah, so you have balls too.” TO-96 leaned down from the ramp. “But are they brass?”