A Blue Star Rising

by Cecilia Randell

  MO’ATA

  He cursed, reading over the message from Jason a second time. He was equal parts relieved and perturbed. He now had confirmation of just where Blue had gone, but she was once again running directly into the danger.

  “Foolish,” Niall said, reading over his shoulder.

  Patrick, who’d been near the head of the procession when Mo’ata called a halt, tilted his head, listening for something none of the others could hear. “Foolish, maybe, but not rash.” The man didn’t say more, but Emila huffed next to him, and the sound held a tone of agreement. The dean wouldn’t give away the bond he held with the animal, not in front of this many people, but Mo’ata got the message.

  His shopa was running into a dangerous situation and putting herself at risk. But it was not completely unwarranted, because Emila sensed something of what was happening to Vivi and Forrest—and by extension Levi—and it needed to be stopped sooner rather than in five hours.

  Never had five hours seemed so long.

  He took a moment to read over the message a third time, concentrating on the little intelligence the others had managed to gather. A rough estimate of the number of guards, and a brief description of the entrance. Or, the one they’d found. Not much, and not nearly enough to plan a strategy without seeing it himself.

  He signaled for everyone to move out. Five more hours in this cursed jungle that was so different from the clans’ cool forests. He kept his gaze up, watching for any more of the serpent-insects the dean had called sladu. Already one of the team had been bitten and had to be taken back to Tremmir. Add that to the torrent they’d transported into last night which had necessitated finding a place to shelter until it had let up near dawn, and the feline beast—smaller than Emila thank goodness—that had stalked them mid-morning before finally being taken down by the piquet, and they were hours behind.

  They should have already been at Miyari’s compound.

  He eyed a tree only yards away, the gray of its trunk solid. It would make a satisfying thunk.

  “Don’t.” Zeynar’s low warning gave him pause. “Don’t. You’ll injure your hand, and Blue—we—can’t afford any more disadvantages.”

  “Should have transported in closer.”

  “Yes. But we didn’t.”

  Mo’ata turned to the Family head, needing something, anything, to fight. He paused.

  Cold anger burned in Zeynar’s gaze. There was a stillness to the man that warned of danger to anything that got in his way and a ruthlessness—a willingness to hurt—that had been used to remove anyone deemed an enemy. Mo’ata was finally seeing the true depth of the man’s capacity to rage.

  And in this instance it worked in his favor. Mo’ata nodded and spun away.

  He would wait until they reached Miyari. And he hoped Zeynar left something for him to kill.

  BLUE

  I hope this works.

  Felix marched her down the hill and toward the creek. Jason was beside him, holding a restrained piquet cub in loose bonds.

  Originally, Felix had simply wanted to get themselves captured to create a distraction. Blue argued that this wouldn’t actually stop whatever was happening to Forrest and Levi. Felix had paused, sent her that savage grin, and agreed.

  If that was the case, then they would need to do much, much more.

  After Jason sent off the message and they had a basic plan in place, Felix had disappeared yet again, only to return twenty minutes later with two sets of the dark green uniforms worn by the facility’s guards. Blue didn’t ask where he got them, or how, and he didn’t say.

  She could guess. And, she was mildly surprised to note, she didn’t care.

  Felix had also adapted portions of his own original armor to Blue as best he could—including wrapping a portion of an arm-guard around her neck, because poison darts, yay—then made her put what remained of her sweater on over it. Her blades were hidden under the bulk as well.

  Now, they headed for the building, Jason and Felix disguised as two of the enemy, faces smeared with green and brown as though they’d been in a fight and were now bringing in two captives. It was an incredibly simple plan. Felix said in instances like this, where they didn’t have enough information, simple was better. Because everything would change once they got to the building, and they would need to adjust moment to moment to keep up with those changes.

  Her job. Get to Vivi. With the second cub freed, they had an additional advantage. Once she had her, they were to find Forrest, then Levi. Felix’s job, take out as many of the guards as he could as fast as he could, thereby keeping them from Blue. Jason’s assignment? Find and secure the control room. This would be where they retreated to, to wait out the time until the others reached them. He’d protested, insisting he should stay with Blue, but had eventually conceded. Garfield and Blue both snarling at him for the delay of the argument may have had something to do with it.

  Once they were in the building, they’d turn their comms back on, since the advantage of having them to coordinate would outweigh the disadvantage of being tracked. They were going to make enough noise to definitely be tracked.

  As they crossed the creek, there was a low beep, and then muffled words from an earpiece Felix had also… acquired. It wasn’t Common, but Felix must have known the language, because he answered, words clipped. Secured as she was, Blue couldn’t look back at him, but they continued on, and she had to assume that whatever answer Felix had given was accepted.

  They reached the base of the building and paused beside one of the piers where a scanner was attached. Felix shuffled her to the side, blocking the view of anyone who may have been watching from the trees, and pulled out a hand. A fucking hand.

  Blue stared at it. Of course, they needed an approved print to call the lift. Her stomach twisted and she looked away, but her disgust was more at the glimpse of tendon and bone that she’d caught than at the fact Felix had chopped off a hand. She was pretty sure it was.

  Think about that later. Rescue her family now.

  Garfield squeaked in agreement. He didn’t mind the hand, it was a good size for a toy, but play was later, not now.

  Were the clarity of the thoughts due to raised excitement and adrenaline? The stronger emotions? Again, something to examine later.

  A line of green light passed over the hand, now pressed to the scanner. Once, twice. The lift rumbled above and started its descent.

  Step one done.

  The process was repeated once more at the door to the building. Felix and Jason kept their heads down and scanned the hand. Blue braced herself for what they may find on the other side of the door.

  The lock clicked and the door slid open. Two steps later they were inside.

  Chapter 35

  BLUE

  The hall was empty. She couldn’t believe it.

  Felix’s earpiece squawked again and he barked out a word. Then he removed her makeshift restraints and leaned in. “We’ve been told to take you to the holding cells and return to our posts. We only have a minute or two before they realize we haven’t done that. Use it well, find Vivi, check in. Remember, we’re not trying to take out the operation, just get the guys and get secure.”

  Then he was down the hall, Jason—after shooting her a nervous smile of encouragement—right behind him.

  She looked down at Garfield. “Lead the way, baby.”

  And they were off. With half her attention on the cub, and the rest on the halls around her, Blue pulled her Prizzoli blade. Bare gray concrete and artificial light surrounded her. They turned left, then right, then right. Garfield froze, one paw raised, and Blue halted a beat behind him. The piquet twisted his head left, then right, then left again.

  Here.

  “There’s nothing here. No door.”

  Here. He looked at the wall immediately to her left.

  Crap. Wrong side of the room. They needed another hall. One with a door.

  “Door,” she said again, forming an image in her mind.

  Ga
rfield spun back the way they’d come and turned right.

  Blue’s hand tightened on the blade. Their minute was long up. Soon someone would come looking for the girl and cub that were supposed to be in a holding cell somewhere, if they weren’t already. Where ever Felix and Jason had gone was far enough away she couldn’t hear anything from them, no hint of fists crashing into flesh, or bodies being knocked into walls. Though, from the way Felix moved, she wasn’t sure there would be time for the guards to fight back, unless they rushed him en masse. And that wasn’t an image she wanted to think about.

  The lights flickered. Had Jason found the control room? Or was something else going on?

  Concrete and silence closed in around her as they turned right yet again. Ahead of her stretched a corridor, doors lining the right-hand side, before it ended in blank concrete. Each door had a handscanner next to it.

  Crappity, I need that hand. And, oh, God, she’d just wished she had a severed hand with her.

  Garfield led her to a door near the far end of the hall and stood there. Then he looked back at her, then at the door, as if to say, “I brought you to the door. What more do you want?” All she sensed was impatience.

  She stared at the hand scanned, then the door. There wasn’t even a lever to try.

  Then the Plan Gods, which had favored her up to this point, decided she really was too-stupid-to-live. The door to her right slid open, and a green armored man stepped out. They both froze.

  Luckily, Garfield didn’t. He leapt for the man’s groin just as the other man reached for the stunner at his side. Blue was a second behind, transferring the curved blade to her right hand and slashing up.

  The man abandoned his stunner and backhanded Garfield, sending the cub tumbling against the wall. Then he aimed a kick at Blue, which she dodged—barely. Garfield was up again in a moment, and once again he went for the lower body. He must have found an opening in the armor this time because the man screamed. Blue darted in, going for the eyes. Her blade cut into the man’s cheek, slicing open the flesh there before moving up and through his left eye and forehead.

  Blood washed down. The man was no longer screaming, and he wasn’t reaching for his stunner. He fell to his knees, more blood pooling on the ground beneath him.

  Garfield had found the artery he was going for.

  Blue remained just out of range, ready to move if he did. She didn’t like that he was still armed, but… it was like he didn’t even see her anymore. Shock? Why was he still on his knees?

  Then he fell over. His chest still moved, he wasn’t dead, but he was getting there. His hand had fallen close to the weapon at his belt. Garfield dived in and latched his teeth into the man’s wrist. The man pulled back, gasping in a shallow breath, and Garfield’s growl picked up in volume. Blue crept to him, scenes of fallen villains who rouse just enough to stab the good guy sidekick playing through her mind. Her hand shot out and grabbed the stunner, throwing it behind her.

  The man did no more than flinch. She watched him for a few seconds more.

  They couldn’t stay here like this in the hall. Someone was bound to check on him soon enough, or just come this way. Garfield tugged on the man’s wrist again, and her attention shifted to the man’s hand.

  Hand.

  Maybe the Plan Gods did still like her.

  She grabbed the wrist just above Garfield’s fangs, and tugged. The man was substantial, about Forrest’s size, and heavy with muscle. If she’d had to face him alone…

  But she hadn’t. She had Garfield, and would soon have Vivi.

  It took some maneuvering, and she had to half prop the man against the wall, but she finally got his hand in place. The door was open a moment later.

  The room was shadowed, a low, general light diffused throughout. Cages lined the back walls, some holding furred creatures and some empty, but with dishes and bottles of water ready and waiting for new occupants. Garfield led her to a row of cages in the far-right corner.

  Vivi was inside. As Blue watched, she swiped at the bars of the cage, which sparked. The piquet cub hissed, retreated, then swiped again. Shallow grooves had been carved into the bars, she was making progress. But they were here now, and she didn’t need to hurt herself anymore.

  Blue located a small switch on the wall near the cage and flipped it. Vivi swiped again, and there were no sparks.

  “Vivi?”

  The cub continued to swipe, as though she didn’t see them.

  “Vivi!” Blue raised her voice as loud as she dared. Garfield chirped, the sound strained.

  Wrong. Out.

  Blue reached for the cage, wary of the flashing claws. She tripped the latch and jumped back. Vivi just stared at the opening. Then Garfield leapt up and through the door of the cage, crowding Vivi against the rear bars. There was growling, hissing, and a thump or two, then Garfield poked his head out.

  Better.

  He jumped down, followed by Vivi, who darted for the door.

  “Wait!” Blue hissed out.

  The cub ignored her and slipped out into the hall.

  Pack.

  They were supposed to have a plan.

  JASON

  Jason ducked back around the corner. Another guard had come from the control room. From his earlier glimpse, that left two more in there.

  He double checked the stunner’s settings, then set it to two. With the armor they were wearing, he’d have to go with a head shot, and anything higher would fry them permanently.

  Would that be such a bad thing? What they’d been pumping into the worlds was doing exactly that to the people who took the drug. But the Ministry had drilled into him the fact that dead men didn’t talk. And they would need people who could talk. Assuming the mercenary left any alive.

  A scuff of a rubber soled boot came from just around the corner.

  Decision time.

  Fuck it. The more people they took out now, the less there were for Blue to face. He flipped the stunner to four, raised it, and shot the guard in the temple, before he’d even half turned his head. Catching the man before he hit the ground, he half dragged, half carried the body to the door. He drew in a breath, and thought over the layout of the control room and the three places he’d seen people. Only two were in there. But there was also a camera pointed right at him. Which meant those two would be ready, and that they had already called other guards.

  Mercenaries. Jason had recognized the language they used, Cularnian. Which meant he had to not hesitate, for even a moment.

  He drew in a breath, hauled the guard up in front of him, placed his hand on the scanner and lifted the stunner.

  One, two, three shots fired. A shot hit his left arm where it held up the body of the guard in front of him. The limb went numb, and he lost his grip.

  He found the guard and fired a fourth shot.

  The last man crumpled.

  Only half of his shots had hit their mark, but he’d taken them out. He half dragged the body that had shielded him into the room, dumping him near his fellows. The door slid closed behind him, and he needed to get that locked and programed against anyone else who was coming.

  It was a Cularnian system. Dammit, they should have had Felix handle this part. Jason had a passing familiarity, but nothing in depth. It would take him too long to figure it out.

  He opened his comm. Answer, answer.

  A grunt.

  “I have the control room, but it’s a Cularna design.”

  Another grunt. Then a short scream. Then a grunt. “Key panel on inside. Disconnect the green wire but make sure it can be reconnected.”

  Jason spun to the door. There was a silvery-gray access panel, and beside it a scanner. He dragged the guard over once more as Felix continued to grunt and kill on the other end of the comm. At least, Jason assumed that was what he was doing. A hand print later, the access panel was open, and Jason found the green wire. It was twisted with three others, red, and two white.

  He pulled out his knife. There was no obvious disc
onnect. “I’m going to have to cut it.” This was going to be tricky with only one working hand.

  “Just make sure you can reconnect it. Or you’re not getting out and we’re not getting in.”

  “I’ll strip the ends and splice it when you have Blue and the others.”

  Another grunt.

  He took that as a yes.

  A monitor showed movement at the end of the corridor. He was out of time.

  He cut the wire.

  “Done. Where are you now.”

  “Finishing up in the mess hall.”

  The active cameras showed no mess hall. He fumbled a bit until he found the control he needed. Flipping through the channels, there was no mess hall. Then he saw him, stepping from a non-scan-locked door. The man was barely breathing hard. If these other men were mercenaries, which they more than likely were, what did that make Felix?

  “I’ve got you.” He flipped through the channels again. “They’ve only got the main corridors and entrances monitored. I don’t see any in-room camera feeds.”

  “Sloppy.”

  “Complacent,” Jason agreed.

  “Do you see Blue?”

  Jason flipped through them again. “No. We do have incoming from outside. The control room guards must have called them in. I’ll see if I can disable the lift.”

  “Alert me when they are closer, or if you see Blue.”

  Movement on another monitor. He checked the number, then realized he didn’t know what areas they corresponded to. “I’ve got her on camera four. But I have no idea where that is. But it’s got to be one of the main corridors.”

  “I only took out six here. That means there are at least three more inside the building, and they now know we’re here.”

  “And I got four in the control room.”

  There was a pause. “If we assume that is the standard number on duty per rotation, that means we definitely need also assume there are more guards.”

  “Understood.” Jason kept his gaze steady on the monitors, using one to scroll through, and the other three to show him the main passages, and ignored the bodies behind him.