“Hold on a minute.” A broad smile spread across my smug face. “I’ve got an idea.”
It was an awesome idea.
Eve tilted her head. “What?”
Skylar looked at me, and her face fell. “Why are you grinning like an idiot?”
“Because you two are gonna love my plan.”
Five minutes later, after double-checking he still didn’t have any obvious wounds, we carried Kelvin’s limp alien body between us—me at the head, Skylar and Eve holding his legs—and waddled along the corridor. I had suggested slinging the kid over my shoulder in a fireman’s lift, but Eve thought this was the safer option, given we still didn’t know what was wrong with him.
The moment we’d lifted Kelvin from the table, the Bluestone contraption on the back of his hand had gone out. I hoped we hadn’t cut off some vital life-support system.
“This is the most stupid, ridiculous, crazy, nonsense plan anyone has come up with in the history of plan-making. Ever,” Skylar grumbled as we set Kelvin down by the door. “You do know that?”
I gave her a wry smile. “So you’re saying you like the idea?”
Her jaw clenched.
“Hey,” I said, never being one to take criticism well, “quit with the negativity, will you? This way we get Kelvin out.” I waved at the jungle. “Plus all your murderous friends can fight another day. Everyone’s a winner.” I grinned. “Besides, if you really thought it was such a bad idea, you’d say you couldn’t do it.”
Skylar folded her arms. “I can’t.”
I waggled a finger at her. “Too late now. You just told us you haven’t got an alternative plan, so it’s this or nothing.” I gestured at the computer room. “Go do it before you change your mind. We’ll stay here with Kelvin.” I winked at Skylar for good measure, but this didn’t go down too well either.
“You know your charm doesn’t work on me, right?” she snapped. “I’m not Eve.”
“Hey.” Eve scowled at her.
I raised my eyebrows. “Wait, you’re saying I’ve got charm?”
Skylar stared at me for a few seconds, as though she couldn’t decide whether to argue, punch me, or both. She shook her head, clucked her tongue, and marched off, swearing under her breath.
“Stop moaning,” I called after her. “You will absolutely thank me in a few minutes. You’ll see. This will be the best thing you’ve ever done in your entire life.”
“The worst,” Skylar shouted back.
“Best.” I turned to the window and whispered to Eve, “Definitely the best.”
She chuckled.
Like an excited puppy at chow time, I bounced on the balls of my feet, watching all the alien animals racing through the jungle, chasing, pouncing, fighting, tearing . . . I couldn’t wait for it to happen.
“Ready?” Skylar called.
“Oh, I am one hundred percent ready,” I shouted back.
“You’re sure about this?”
“Positive.” I knelt and grabbed hold of Kelvin, gripping the window frame with my other hand, excitement coursing through my veins like jet fuel.
Eve did the same, although she seemed less enthusiastic.
“Don’t blame me when we all die,” Skylar said.
That made zero sense.
“Get on with it.”
“Three,” she shouted.
Butterflies ravaged my stomach.
“Two.”
I prayed the CCTV would capture this incredible moment to play back later.
“One . . .”
Then it happened.
Twenty-Nine
By the time Skylar made it back to Eve and me in the corridor overlooking the monster dome, I was having trouble breathing, let alone holding onto Kelvin, from laughing so damn hard.
Seriously, I thought I was about to pass out.
My plan was far better than I could ever have hoped or imagined. So amazing, in fact, that it brought a tear of joy to my eye.
Eve smirked too.
“Told you,” I wheezed, pointing through the window. “Told you it would work.”
If the dome had been utter mayhem before, that was nothing compared to the total pandemonium it had become.
Skylar—after gentle persuasion, arguing, and outright blackmail—had switched off the artificial gravity throughout the Discovery spaceship.
The animals floated through the jungle, thrashing their limbs as if trying to swim in air. Some gripped branches, holding on for their lives, while others flailed helplessly.
Sure, the odd creature latched onto another, but for the most part, the violence had all but ceased, and not one of the murderous little bastards was having a good time.
They looked so pissed off.
It was glorious.
As my feet drifted behind me, the pressure now mercifully off my damaged leg, I pressed my face against the glass, wanting the moment to last forever.
The purple vole git spun past the window, and I grinned. “That’ll teach ya.”
Skylar huffed, glided over, and grabbed hold of Kelvin.
I flashed back to our first encounter. “Great idea,” I said. “You’re way better at the acrobatic stuff.” I hovered my hand over the lock mechanism. “Shall we, ladies?” I opened the door and helped them out with Kelvin.
On the other side we held back, gripping the frame to stop ourselves floating away.
“We’re heading there.” Skylar pointed through the jungle chaos to a door in the opposite corner of the lower deck.
I swatted a fanged beetle from my face. It spiralled through the air, ricocheted off a girder, and flew across the dome with an expression I could swear was irritation.
I snickered.
“Don’t hurt any of the animals.” Skylar coiled her legs.
The girls focused on the target door, then sprang off the wall, holding Kelvin as they flew down through the jungle.
I followed a second later, flying between the treetops, narrowly missing floating alien creatures on the way, and down to the hangar door.
Once there, Eve and Skylar grabbed hold of the door frame, while I released the lock and helped them through with Kelvin. To my surprise, Star Chaser drifted near the hangar ceiling.
“Damn,” Skylar muttered. “I forgot to engage the maglocks.” She shifted her weight and swapped places with me, leaving us to hold Kelvin. Skylar shot up, spinning in the air, planting her feet on a beam and springing off again, landing deftly on Star Chaser’s roof. She scrambled to the door and pulled herself inside. I had to admit her skills in a zero-g environment were very impr—
Something screeched, making me start.
Working as a team, two of the chimp-like aliens had latched onto Kelvin’s legs and were attempting to drag him through the door.
Little sods.
“Hey.” Eve screwed up her face as she tried to hold on.
I gripped the doorframe and struggled alongside her, doing whatever I could to pull Kelvin free, but the orange vampire monkey gits had a good hold of him. No matter how hard we fought, they were far too strong, bracing their grubby little feet on the other side of the door and pulling for all they were worth. Despite our efforts, Kelvin began to slip from our grasp.
With nothing else for it, mindful of what any animal-loving zoologist would do in my current predicament, I lifted a leg to kick the first alien monkey in its stupid face.
“Don’t you dare,” said a voice from between my ears that wasn’t mine.
Star Chaser swung into view with a determined-looking Skylar behind the controls.
Before we had a chance to discuss Skylar’s plan—weighing up the dangers and pitfalls, debating the outcomes, risks, and implications, and deciding on the best course of action following a peer-reviewed health and safety assessment report—a blast of air shot from one of Star Chaser’s thrusters and blew straight past us. It missed Kelvin by a fraction of an inch and hit the two alien monkeys, sending them flying back into the jungle dome.
However, the
power of the blast rebounded off the nearest wall, throwing the three of us in the opposite direction. We tumbled end over end and hit the far side of the hangar, dropping my health bar to twenty-five percent.
I checked Kelvin, but he seemed unscathed. At least, I hoped so.
“Sorry. Sorry.” Skylar swung Star Chaser around and glided over. She gestured with her phase-band, and the door to the biodome closed, keeping out any more creatures with murderous intent. Which was what we should’ve done in the first place.
Skylar helped us get Kelvin into one of Star Chaser’s back seats and we fastened him in. As Eve and I strapped ourselves into chairs, the side door closed and Skylar flew us back across the hangar.
“You two okay?” She glanced over her shoulder.
I gave her an awkward thumbs up, glad I still had thumbs, while Eve kept her attention on Kelvin.
We soared through the debris field, Kelvin’s head lolling as we weaved in and out of space junk, and I imagined Grandpa John going through all this nonsense, over and over, for forty years. Suddenly I had a whole new level of respect for the guy.
He was my hero.
Thirty
We glided into Horizon Eighteen’s hangar bay and touched down. No sooner had the main door closed and the room pressurised, than Mason hurried over to us.
“What happened?” he asked as Star Chaser’s side swung open. “You were gone ages.”
I indicated Kelvin’s slumped, lifeless form in the next seat, and the colour drained from Mason’s face. “Is he—?”
“No.” Eve unfastened Kelvin’s harness. “He’s in a coma or something. Let’s get him checked.”
Together, the four of us lifted Kelvin out and carried him into the gallery area.
“There’s a medical bay on this level.” Eve pointed at a door. “I think it’s through here.”
Sure enough, we stepped into a glass-walled room of the same design as the previous medical bay.
As soon as we had Kelvin on the floating examination table, Eve used her phase-band to interact with the nearest screen. The ring swooped down and over Kelvin’s body.
Eve frowned as she consulted the readout. “Still not seeing any signs of physical trauma.” She made a few gestures, sending pulses of energy to the display, changing settings and menus. “I’ll scan again to be sure.”
The ring glided up and down Kelvin’s body, and the tension in the room increased. Without him, we had no chance of figuring out what to do next.
I pointed at the Bluestone device on the back of his hand. “Could it have something to do with this?”
Mason opened his mouth to answer, but Kelvin groaned, and we gathered around him.
He squinted up at us. “Where am I?”
“Horizon Eighteen,” Eve said.
“We have to contact the Leviathan and warn them.” Kelvin went to sit up, but Mason grabbed hold of him.
“Slow down, bud. Not so fast. Relax for a bit.”
“There’s no time.” Kelvin pushed him away. “We have to talk to Admiral Floyd.”
“They’re not responding,” Eve said. “We’ve tried.”
Kelvin stared at her, blinking as though trying to clear his thoughts. “What about the emergency channels?”
Eve shook her head.
Kelvin’s gaze moved to me. “Who are you?”
“Leonardo Cooper.” I offered my hand. “Leo.”
Kelvin’s eyes widened as he shook.
“He’s the guy you insisted we risk our necks for,” Mason said. “Remember?”
Skylar glared at Kelvin. “That stupid idea risked a lot more than your neck. It almost got us all killed.”
“Hey.” I frowned at her. “Stupid idea? Really? After everything we just went through?”
“Yeah.” Skylar looked away. “Really.”
Charming.
Kelvin gazed at me, a weird expression on his face. I couldn’t tell if it was confusion, admiration, or something else. Probably disappointment. I had that effect on most people.
“Kelvin?” Eve rested a hand on his shoulder. “What’s going on?”
Kelvin’s attention settled on each of us in turn, but he barely seemed to see us at all.
“Best you explain from the beginning,” Mason said.
Kelvin swung his legs over the side of the examination table, got to his feet, and wobbled.
Mason grabbed him under the arms.
“I’m okay.” Kelvin pushed him away again. “I’m fine. Thanks.”
“Can I ask you an important question?” Mason leaned in. “Was there any food over there?”
Eve rolled her eyes. “Seriously?”
“What?” Mason shrugged. “I’m still hungry.”
“There was a whole jungle of meat,” I muttered. “But you’ve got to catch it first.”
“Not funny, Leo,” Skylar said.
Mason grinned. “She’s vegan.”
Kelvin surveyed the room. “Which med bay is this? What level?”
“Top deck,” Skylar said. “Bridge.”
“Right.” Kelvin went to leave, but Eve stepped in front of him.
“Hold on a minute.” She took my arm and walked me to the examination table. “Let’s check your wounds.”
Eve ignored my protests as I lay down. Mason removed my boot and rolled up the leg of my spacesuit as she consulted the scanner display.
“It’s deep,” Eve said. “I’ll start the healing.” She gestured, the ring swooped down, and the medical pencils set to work, gliding over my leg and sealing up the lacerations. Once they’d scabbed over, I felt an instant wave of relief.
The ring returned to the ceiling.
“We’ll leave it a few weeks,” Eve said. “Let your body do the work, then we can remove any scars.”
“Thank you.” I sat up and pulled my boot back on.
We followed Kelvin across the gallery and into a room containing a long oval dark-wood table with a foot-wide glass loop embedded in its surface. Placed around the table were six high-backed chairs.
A glowing sign on the far wall declared it to be the officers’ ready room. Below the sign was a display case filled with model spacecraft like my grandfather’s, except these were metal, solid, and a third of the size.
The five of us sat down.
Kelvin took a breath. “First, I want to apologise. When I brought you all out of stasis, this wasn’t what I intended. I had to think fast.”
“What did you intend?” Skylar asked in a low voice.
Kelvin removed one of the Bluestone crystals from his phase-band and set it on the table’s glass ring. He placed his hands either side of it, palms down.
Skylar huffed and put her hands on it too, and so did Eve and Mason.
I hesitated.
“It’s safe,” Eve assured me.
“What is it?”
“Stop being a wuss,” Skylar said. “We haven’t got time to mess about.”
I scowled at her and rested my hands on the glass.
Kelvin closed his eyes, and the room melted away.
Eve, Mason, Skylar, and I stood on a platform overlooking a vast area filled with stacks of rectangular wooden caskets—stasis beds—hanging from thick columns like ships’ masts. I shivered as I remembered my fun airlock experience.
“Each Bluestone crystal has memories stretching back to the beginning of time,” Mason said. “This is Kelvin’s artifact’s memory from earlier today.”
A control panel flashed green. A gigantic robot arm swooped down, plucked a casket from its mount, and lowered it to the gantry in front of us. The casket opened, and a previous version of Kelvin climbed out.
Skylar glared at him. “You were supposed to be in stasis for the next six months like the rest of us.”
“I set a timer to wake early,” Kelvin’s disembodied voice said. He could narrate his Bluestone’s memory, which felt like someone forcing you to watch their holiday videos while they sat behind you and did a running commentary.
“Why did you want to wake early?” Eve asked.
“I’ll show you,” Kelvin said.
The world sped up, following Kelvin from the stasis bay to a lower deck. There, he stepped into a room filled with benches, displays, and racks of futuristic-looking tools.
He opened a locker and pulled out a device that looked like a cross between a radio-controlled boat and a rocket, with a tube strapped to the top.
“You modified a drone?” Mason said, his voice rising. “What for? And why didn’t you tell me? We weren’t scheduled to stop in this solar system.”
A holographic display at the end of the room flickered to life, showing a split-screen view. One was from the drone, the other outside Horizon Eighteen, with the fleet of intact ships and the ice planet as a backdrop.
“Where are we?” I murmured to Eve.
“The Ancampi system.”
I blinked. “The what?”
“No way.” Mason stared. “Seriously? We’re in the Ancampi system?”
Eve nodded. “The ice planet outside used to be the Ancampi’s home world. Hundreds of years ago, the Kraythons’ war with the Azurean monks spilled over here. Destroyed the planet.”
“The Battle of Puissance,” Skylar said.
“The Azurean monks were hiding several powerful artifacts nearby,” Eve said. “They’d chosen the Ancampi’s world for one of them, but the Kraythons discovered their plan and attacked.”
The ice planet used to be a world with a living civilization? I thought. And it got caught in the crossfire?
In the Bluestone memory Kelvin took the drone to the nearest cargo bay and set it down.
“Why did we stop here, though? Why a dead world?” Skylar said. “It wasn’t on the fleet’s flight plan.”
“No idea,” Kelvin’s voice said. “It’s classified. Admiral Floyd’s orders.”
Eve, Skylar, and Mason exchanged puzzled looks.
“I wanted to send a drone to search for any remaining Ancampi structures on the planet and, if there were any, catalogue them for the archives,” Kelvin said. “I’d spent weeks working on the probe’s design, making it fast enough to do a few orbits and return to Horizon Eighteen before anyone noticed.”
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