“Jade! What the hell are you doing?” Ryze shouted.
The shots barely scratched the transport’s surface, but it had worried the pilot enough to back up slightly. Ryze knew what she was doing. Smart kid, he thought. As long as the pilot is thinking about the shields and the thrusters, they’re not firing their cannons into the hangar, at us or my ship.
“Try to keep up, Starlo!” Jade said.
Ryze could only shake his head. “She’s as crazy as her old man,” he muttered as he rushed toward the fight.
Three
Chaos and destruction seemed to always find the God-King, and now was no different. He stepped from the shuttle as blasts shook the vessel’s frame and fractured the viewscreen. When the guards—both human and cybertronic—on the ship trembled, the King stayed still. It would take more than a few measly bolts to make him quiver. Despite this, he wore light armor beneath his robes, nothing too bulky, but enough to protect him if he somehow got hit.
The Essence will protect me, he had told the men and women aboard the Behemoth. The Essence is all I need.
The inside of the hangar bay was littered with dead bugs, like discarded trash—and more than a few of his own bots. This, however, didn’t bother him. He knew victory was imminent. With the Hunil tucking their tails between their legs and hiding, thanks to his explosive warning, there was no chance that a handful of bugs armed with weak weapons and a few wrenches could best the Dominion.
The God-King gripped his staff tightly and charged forward into the battlefield.
Charred flesh mixed with the smell of grease. He could not see through the smoke, flames, and carnage. The God-King stepped over corpses, closed his eyes, and let the Essence guide him.
A whirlwind of colors pinwheeled through his mind and his soul as he allowed it to leave his body. When he opened his eyes, the ones he wanted brightened, as if painted with a luminescent glow. Three bodies: human and moving. Enemies of the Dominion. Enemies of him. They were in the back, fighting their way up a loading platform. The bounty hunter’s ship, about midway down the hangar, hovered, slowly rising toward the opening roof.
That was where his defeat may lie.
He quickly brought his communicator to his mouth and shouted, “Guard the roof, you idiots!”
“Aye, sir,” the pilot said, some man who didn’t give a damn whether the Xovian queen and her accomplices got away. As long as he got paid, not much mattered. The God-King could feel these thoughts drifting from him even through the communicator.
He pushed them away. Focus, Zaidre. Focus. They’ve escaped too many times before. They won’t escape again.
The whoosh of the thrusters brought a burst of heat to his back as the transport rose. It climbed to a height overlooking the roof window.
He moved quicker now, his eyes focused on the glowing beings.
“Queen Jade!” his voice boomed, projected with the help of his power.
The queen stopped and turned around. He had never seen such a look of disgust writ upon one’s face.
He savored every bit of it.
“Perhaps we can work things out!”
“Go to hell!” said the young queen, barely audible over the dying fight. She leveled her weapon, aimed, and fired. The God-King fully expected it. With a downward thrust of his staff, the beamblast deflected back toward her. She dodged it more lithely than he thought she would, but it had slowed her down.
“Jade! C’mon!” the one called Starlo shouted. He and the dark-skinned woman were perched on the end of the ship’s ramp. He stuck out his hand. She reached for it, stretching as far as she could.
Another smirk and the God-King drew on the power of the planet’s core as well as the fractured rock atop his staff. He slammed it down with enough force to crack the concrete. A jagged line rippled just below where the ship hovered. From within the planet, a blast of scorching air and chunks of rock flew toward his targets. They bounced off the ship’s hull. The ship wobbled, but the queen jumped from the platform she stood on, and it was almost as if she floated through the air. The help of the Essence, no doubt. She snatched the bounty hunter’s hand.
This won’t do, the God-King thought, somehow remaining calm and collected. Another benefit of his growing power. He prepared for another attack.
But—
One of the bugs flew toward the ship as its ramp retracted and it canted toward the left.
The bug was tenacious. It grabbed one of them around the ankle, screeching as it yanked with all its might.
The God-King retracted his staff, letting the power simmer. Is this putrid creature is doing my work for me? It couldn’t be.
Lasers burst from inside the ship and hit the ramp and the platform.
There was a scream, and someone shouted, “No!”
None of it mattered, because the bug had won. Its four-armed strength was too much for the humans.
The God-King focused with his power again. The bug was holding a female by her ankles, arms flailing in the air.
Except…her skin was dark, her hair black. This was not the Xovian queen.
A shadow lurked above everything. The Behemoth blotted out the stars. The ship had entered the planet’s atmosphere, positioned itself over the hangar like a brooding cloud.
“Thought you might need some help, my liege,” said the bridge commander from the God-King’s communicator.
“Fool!” he shouted in reply. “You stupid fool!” He couldn’t control himself.
A barrage of invaders flew from the Behemoth’s hold, and they headed for the Starblazer.
The power the God-King had been holding was slipping away. Soon he would lose control, and soon there would be more death, more destruction. And with a downward thrust of his staff, Cryton IV would be added to the long list of planets the man once known as Zaidre had ravaged in his quest for galactic dominance.
Four
“Spex, we have to go back!” Ryze focused on Jade, who was on her stomach, reaching out for Wylow, her loyal queensguard and friend, now in the clutches of a flying bug.
Sixeg.
Ryze remembered the bastard’s name. He was Ty’s confidant and supposed trustworthy friend.
How could we be so stupid? How could I believe the bugs would keep their mouths shut when there were three million frags on the line?
“I am sorry, sir, I am afraid I can’t do that,” the AI replied. “Lowering the ship now—”
“But Wylow! They got her!” Ryze’s heart hammered in his chest. Beneath his armor and helmet, sweat poured off him, yet he had never felt colder.
“Sir, I am programmed to be logical. This is the most logical path we can take, unless you would like control of the ship?”
Ryze was inching forward on the ramp, toward Jade, as wind and rocks and grit from the battle below clinked off his armor. Control the ship. They were foreign words to him then, and he didn’t answer Spex. Couldn’t answer.
“Very well, sir, I am closing the entryway now.”
Damn. He’s right. You know he’s right. But Wylow—
Ryze turned on the magnetism in his boots, allowing him to stick to the ramp’s surface. “Jade, c’mon,” he said, but she wasn’t listening. He heard her sobbing over the roars of the rising Starblazer. The poor girl.
Stay strong. You have to stay strong, he thought.
Jade struggled in his arms. That and the force of the ship’s movement almost caused him to lose his grip on her. In the end, he won out and dragged her back inside. They both fell over, limbs tangled in the corridor. The ramp closed with a hiss and suctioned as it sealed. The air pressure regulated, causing Ryze’s ears to pop.
“I’m sorry, Jade. I’m sorry,” he told her.
She cried silently, face buried in her hands. Then she did something as surprising as when she entered his quarters at Ty’s only an hour ago. She hugged him tightly, and cried on his shoulder. First his body stiffened, unsure of how to handle this, and then he relaxed as he embraced her.
&nb
sp; “We’ve gotta go back,” Jade said. “We can fight them off!”
“We can’t. We’re hurt and low on ammunition. Down there, we have no friends. The God-King will take you and that thing around your neck. I’m sorry, Jade.”
“Let me go. I’ll fight. I’ll kill them all!”
“You saw what he’s capable of. We’re lucky to even be in this ship and still breathing. Wylow’s strong. She can handle herself for now.”
“I know,” was all she said in reply. “I know.”
“Sir, I could use a little help in the cockpit. The transport is readying its cannons. Your dexterity and reaction time would go a long way toward outmaneuvering them,” Spex said from the ship’s speakers.
“Coming, Spex, just keep us steady.” Ryze extended a hand to Jade. She wiped her eyes with her palms then took the help. “Strap in, I think it’s gonna be real bumpy from here on out.” He pointed toward the main hold.
She shook her head. “I can help. Put me on the gun.”
“Jade—”
“Put me on the gun,” she growled. In that moment of anger, Ryze thought her eyes flashed a different color, a bright green.
“Okay, you’re on it, but take a deep breath first. It’ll be okay.”
She didn’t listen to him. She rushed down the corridor, using the handrail to keep her balance. Ryze rushed in the opposite direction toward the cockpit.
“Sir? We have over a dozen invaders on our flank. They’re shooting at us. The shields are taking quite the hit.”
“I know! I’m coming!”
He was used to running through the corridors in the middle of a battle, even without the magnetic boots, which were a recent upgrade to his armor he often forgot to use. He couldn’t count how many times he’d been eating or napping when an enemy ship engaged him in battle. Never when he was sitting in the cockpit and ready. No, it was always when he wanted to get something done or relax. Usually pirates, though, but the pirates didn’t have ships with such advanced tech and weapons like the Dominion.
You killed a bunch of invaders before, you can do it now, he thought. And this time you’ve got the help of Jade, a pissed-off Jade.
He reached the cockpit, slid into his seat, and took control of the flight sticks. “Ready the turrets and prime the big gun for Jade!”
“Yes, sir. Shall I also ready the escape pod?”
Ryze took his eye off the viewscreen and looked daggers at the terminal on the wall. This was where he mentally pictured the AI, tucked away and safe behind the metal.
“Forgive me, sir. I forgot your mantra.”
“We go down with the ship. We never surrender, and we never abandon it.”
But you abandoned Wylow, didn’t you? Ships are a no-go, but when it comes to living beings, what the hell, abandon them all you want? a voice whispered in his head.
We didn’t abandon her. There’s still a chance we can get her back. As long as we focus, there’s a chance. Ryze pushed the sticks forward and said aloud, “All I need’s a chance.”
The thought brought on a change in plans. They were going to save Wylow, his own death be damned.
“What’s that, sir—whoa…if I had a stomach, I might be sick,” Spex moaned.
The Starblazer climbed into the sky and, with a downward pull, looped in an elliptical arc. Ryze ignored the way his own real stomach jumped into his throat, and kept his eyes on the viewscreen. Another flick of the sticks, and the Starblazer was behind the battalion of invaders.
Ryze squeezed the triggers and an array of beamblasts exploded from the turrets—as fast as a chain-gun lighter, but a lot more deadly. He took out nearly all the invaders except for those at the front of the pack. They had dropped altitude too fast, and at the speed Ryze was keeping the ship, he couldn’t adjust his aim. The invaders spun around and their guns locked on him. He mashed the buttons on the control console, sending out two missiles toward the rotating enemy craft.
They dodged the missiles easily.
“Damn—”
Suddenly, the base of the Starblazer thrummed. A continuous beam of light swept through the air. It cut the remaining invaders in half, and the robot-operated ships fell from the sky to the scorched land below.
“Jade!” Ryze broadcasted through the Starblazer’s communicator. “That was awesome! Nice shot!”
Her only reply was a hateful growl.
“Now, let’s go save Wylow,” he said, rolling the ship to the starboard side, heading for the war zone below.
“Sir…”
“Yeah, Spex?”
“You may want to check the radar.”
Ryze did, but as he righted the Starblazer he didn’t need the radar to tell him what encroached above, and it didn’t take a computer, either, to tell him the Behemoth was currently locking its own cannons on his ship.
“Shit.”
“You seem to curse a lot when you pilot, sir, especially as of late.”
The radar flashed red again. Another blip appeared on the screen, smaller than the Behemoth, its weapons trained on the Starblazer.
“The transport,” Ryze said quietly. The transport was heading for the mothership. Not only was Wylow on it, but so was the God-King, the supreme asshole of the galaxy. If he could just—
“Spex, target that transport!”
“Yes, sir.”
Footsteps thundered behind as Jade entered the cockpit. Sweaty clumps of hair clung to her forehead, her skin was mottled red.
“You can’t shoot that ship!” she yelled. “Wylow’s on it!”
“I know that. Trust me for a second.”
On the viewscreen, a targeting box appeared. Ryze spun a ball embedded in the console on his left-hand side, projecting the box onto the transport’s main thruster. He switched the turrets to single-shot.
The transport was still about halfway to the mothership, burning sky and hauling ass. No doubt its radar would be squawking at the pilot, the sensors picking up Ryze’s current targeting system. There was no time to mask it anyway. He had to do this, it was now or never.
One chance.
He fired again. Two beams, one from each turret, flashed through the dark sky, and—
“Hit!” Ryze yelled.
Spex said, “Nice shot, sir!”
Ryze couldn’t celebrate yet. The transport remained in the air for now, drastically slower than before. It dropped its altitude.
“Get ‘em sweating a bit,” Ryze mumbled, putting the targeting box on the transport’s opposite thruster. He didn’t intend to fire. He only wanted them scared and thinking about taking a new course.
Jade didn’t protest this time; she must’ve understood Ryze’s plan. That was good. Not many people understood the workings of his mind. He’d been called crazy more times than he could count.
The transport banked left, away from the Battler, and dropped lower still. Ryze followed it. Soon after, the Starblazer’s own sensors picked up the Behemoth’s weapons as it targeted them. He wasn’t fazed. They wouldn’t fire while he was on the transport’s tail. There was too great a chance that the missiles or beamblasts would miss and take out their precious God-King.
Ryze pushed on the flight stick. “Hold on!”
He shot once more, this beam clipping the transport’s wing. A stream of black smoke trailed behind it, and the ship fell farther.
“We got ‘em now,” Ryze said.
Emergency landing lights flashed on the other wing. He knew the software in the nav would make a landing whether the God-King wanted it to or not. Overriding the system would take a while, even for a tech genius.
Ryze mapped the ship’s descent, determined where it would land, and followed. It was heading for a small lake at the base of a mountain. Flames sparked from the damaged wing and lit up the night sky. Spiraling, the transport made its landing on the shore, its wheels swallowed by the sand.
“Bringing her down,” Ryze said. He did so about twenty yards out from the transport and didn’t kill the engine. “Keep
her running, Spex. I think we’re gonna need an even quicker escape than before. Only a matter of time before the Behemoth sends more soldiers our way. I’m talking a matter of seconds.” He put his helmet on and left the cockpit. On his way out of the ship, he grabbed his flayzer and smacked in a new n-pack.
“Wait!” Jade yelled.
“No, you stay here. You've got too much precious cargo. Can’t risk it.”
She laughed. “Good luck keeping me in here. I’m gonna make that bastard pay for what he did to my home planet.”
Ryze frowned. She did have a point. What was he going to do, tie her up? Nodding, he slammed the exit button on the wall, and the boarding ramp shot out. Ryze led the way, Jade behind him, both of them clutching their weapons. He peeked around the corner, saw no one coming out of the transport, and waved Jade on. With two fingers pointed to his visor and then a double-tap on his wrist, he tried letting Jade in on his plans.
She didn’t understand.
“What?” she asked. “They already know we’re here, and your ship’s engines aren’t particularly quiet, either, Starlo. No need for stealth, let’s just shoot their faces in.”
Again, she had a point.
He and Jade moved toward the shuttle transport. There was only one entrance you could escape from. Such small ships didn’t come with pods. If you wanted out, you’d have to shoot the viewscreen and hope your blaster fire was enough to break it. It probably wouldn’t be.
Both Ryze and Jade approached the entrance, their weapons up. Ryze shouted, “Come out now, and we’ll make sure your death is swift and painless!” To Jade, he shook his head. “Mostly painless.”
There was no reply from within.
“Screw it,” she said. She blasted the door with three quick squeezes of the trigger. This close, the metal was pulverized and glowed as bright as a volcanic sun. Jade kicked it in with strength no human being should’ve possessed. The crystal pulsed with color, and Ryze shook his head in amazement at the powers he didn’t fully understand. He brought his flayzer closer to his sight line, aiming down and preparing for a bombardment, but—
A Galaxy Divided Page 2
