The Last Narkoy_OSLO

by Elizabeth Price

  “I thought I’d find you here,” he began. When she didn’t answer right away, he stood beside her. For a long moment, both stared out the viewport, watching the stars and everything beyond.

  “Breathtaking, isn’t it?” Sedom asked.

  Zion nodded. “And a little unnerving,” he said with a shuttering sigh. “Chadon, I know I failed you, but—“

  “How did you fail me?” she returned, glancing at him. The starlight illuminated her pale blue skin, causing the tiny freckles on her cheeks to twinkle.

  “I… I allowed you to fall into enemy hands and for that I—“

  “Allowed? Do you mean you have the power to control gravity and didn’t bother to tell me?” she questioned seriously as if it was a real ability.

  Zion grinned, rubbing his forehead. “Of course not, Chadon,” he said humbly, lowering his head to bow.

  Sedom turned to him, her eyes glaring. “Who are you and what did you do to my friend? My Zion never called me Chadon and he certainly would never, never bow to me. He knows better!”

  Feeling her burning temper, Zion took a step back. “Perhaps I’ve been overstepping my position and our friendship,” he mentioned.

  Sedom returned to looking out the viewport. “I don’t blame you for not saving me. I blame myself for not saving you and the rest of our team and allowing this to happen. Because of my decisions, Tremble is dead and my friends are badly injured.” She turned back to Zion, looking into his pain-filled, dark eyes.

  “I’m fine,” he lied.

  “No, you’re not. You still don’t have your telepathy back, I can tell. The headaches, the lack of knowing what people are thinking… Zion, you flinched three times since I returned. You never flinch. I know Danstu would never allow you to return if he knew. That means you must have lied to him,” she accused.

  Zion turned away from her gaze, looking towards the stars. “I had unfinished business,” he admitted.

  She pressed her fingers to his temple, scanning his mind. At first he flinched, but he was quickly caught in her gaze. She removed her fingers, wearily shaking her head.

  “I’m sorry. After this mission, you’re grounded. I can’t risk you on another mission,” she spoke concerned.

  “Sortec, I’m fine!” he argued.

  “If your arm had been cut off I’d be more apt to believe you. You’re an excellent warrior, but only with all of your senses. You rely on your telepathy when you’re in battle. Remove that and—“

  “The doctor told me it would return, just give it time,” he insisted.

  “The doctor lied,” she yelled back. Zion’s eyes widened with panic. “I’m sorry,” she took hold of his shoulder, “I’m so sorry.”

  He held onto the console, steadying his wobbly legs. Slowly, he inched his body to the floor, his eyes focused on the stars.

  Sedom knelt to him, unsure what to say. “Think of this as a new chapter, a new beginning. You have Jeina now. That must account for something,” she pointed out as she took his hands in a firm embrace.

  He inched his hands away from hers, continuing to stare blankly at the stars. That was her queue to leave. There was very little she could do or say to make the situation better for him.

  Sedom slipped out into the cold corridor. The heat had yet to fully warm all of the floors yet. Several footsteps away, she paused, resting her hand on the wall. The ship’s engines vibrated against the wall and into her flesh, causing her to giggle. It was an odd feeling, one she somehow longed for. Wanting to feel more, she pressed her cheek to the wall.

  Someone cleared her throat behind Sedom, causing her to jump away from the wall. Her hand flew to her beating heart. “Jeina?” she gasped.

  “I’m so sorry, Chadon. I didn’t mean to startle you,” she squealed.

  Sedom waved her back. “I’m just a little jumpy,” she admitted, taking Jeina’s forearm. She forced the woman to walk with her down the hallway. “I hear you’re Zion’s prisoner. I see the interrogation is going well,” she joked.

  A tinge of color washed across Jeina’s pale green cheeks. “Yes, well, Chadon, any information I have I’m more than willing to divulge to the Tasgool. I never wanted to be a member of the Marisheio and the Cassaus disgusts me.”

  “Of course, I can understand that. Tausi taught you Celibec?” she surmised.

  Once again Jeina blushed. “We studied at the same university. It was unheard of for a Clove to befriend a Matrad, let alone a Narkoy, but from the moment I saw him I was infatuated. A mutual friend told me what classes he was taking. Celibec happened to be one of them, so I signed up. I had such a hard time learning it, but he was a natural. I managed to convince him to tutor me and well…”

  “Your relationship?” Sedom questioned.

  Jeina shrugged. “We graduated and promised to keep in touch. Then the war came and well…” she drifted.

  “I can say he was grateful for your friendship. I’m glad to hear he’s doing well with the Novaac. What did you need to speak with me about?” she asked, releasing her arm.

  “Uh, right. The night of the media event, when I introduced myself to you, were you really going to choke me to death?” she asked sheepishly.

  Sedom paused, turning to Jeina. “I don’t kill my friends.” She rested her hand on Jeina’s shoulder. “Welcome to the Tasgool, my friend. Now, if you could do me a favor? I left Zion in the observation room. He’s in quite a state. He could really use a friend right now and not his commander.”

  Jeina pursed her lips, nodding as she thought. “His telepathy isn’t returning is it?” she asked. Sedom shook her head. “I thought so. Yes, I’ll see what I can do to help him.”

  “Chadon to the bridge,” Rosanheer’s voice echoed throughout the ceiling.

  “Duty calls,” she joked.

  Both women hurried off in opposite directions. Sedom wasn’t certain how to reach the bridge, but she was sure she had to find a lift to take her up. Nearly every vessel she ever flew in the bridge was on the top level.

  The lift doors opened to the bridge, basked in an array of red light. Only Ryn and Rosanheer were present. Both had an expression of panic written across their faces.

  “What’s going on?” Sedom asked as she took a seat at the command station.

  “The Chisarel sent a message. Our ships are under attack at the border by Marisheio forces,” Ryn called out.

  “You know how to use our weapons?” she called.

  “Yes, Chadon. I believe I can handle it,” Ryn returned.

  “Rosanheer, are you good to fly this ship?” she asked, turning to speak to Rosanheer who was seated at to her right at navigations.

  Sweat beaded off his dark brow. “I’d prefer if Zion could do it. I’m a little rusty,” he admitted.

  “Zion’s been relieved of duty for now. You’ll do fine. If you have any issues, I’ll take over,” she offered. He agreed. “Okay, a crew of three in a ship with enough weapons to destroy a planet. Let’s have some fun.”

  ___

  On the border of Cha’laan space, Captain Cembre attempted to peer through the smoke clouding her bridge.

  “Do you have a visual on the Dormins?” she called out just as another volley of torpedoes echoed across the hall of the Assan. She held tight to the weapon’s console to keep from being knocked to the floor.

  Commander Miserin waved the smoke from his face as he attempted to reach her. “Main engines are offline. The Merial is dangerously close to losing life support. Three of the Dormins’ ships are not responding.”

  Suddenly, over the speakers they could hear: “This is the Marisheio Empire. Cease your attack and prepare to—“

  “Thank you, but I think it’s time for you to leave,” Sedom’s voice called out over the Marisheio’s voice.

  The smoke cleared enough to see the Oslo uncloak off their starboard side.

  “What the?” gasped the navigation’s officer.

  The Oslo opened fire, destroying three of the six Marisheio ships instantly.
The other three sped away, not about to try their luck against the Oslo or the Dormins.

  “Open a channel to the Oslo,” Captain Cembre called.

  “Open,” called the com’s officer.

  “Chadon Sortec, this is Captain Cembre of the Assan. Boy, are we glad to hear you, Chadon,” she called out.

  “Good we managed to get here in time. Are you alright?” Sedom called back.

  “We’ll manage now that the Marisheio are off of us. The Merial is losing life support though and we can’t hail the Herrian or three of the Dormin vessels.”

  “Commander?” Sedom called, not realizing she was still on speaker.

  “We’re sending repair orbs over to all of the ships now. It should repair them enough until we can get them back to Gathow,” Ryn called back.

  Cembre exhaled deeply. “Thank you, Oslo. Assan out.” She turned to Miserin, shaking her head. “So who’s going to command the Azeran if the Chadon is in command of the Oslo?” she joked.

  “The Chisarel, I suppose,” Miserin joked back.

  TWENTY-TWO

  One eye gradually opened, followed by the other. To her surprise, Danstu was sitting in the chair beside her bed, reading a computer pad.

  “You’ve been asleep for two days,” he mentioned, not bothering to look up at her.

  “Oh,” she felt to her arm. To her surprise it was still in a plastic cast. “They couldn’t fix it?”

  “The doctor is keeping it on for a few more days. They had to replace your bone with a genetic copy and they want to make certain it heals correctly,” Danstu mentioned.

  She nodded slowly. “Status report,” she gulped, smacking her lips from the foul taste of morning.

  “Gathow still stands. We’ve increased our military by twenty thousand. We’ve also reopened levels ten through eighteen,” he replied as he was typing something on his computer.

  Sedom gasped. “I told you not-”

  Danstu raised his hand to make her pause. “All twenty-one hundred and seventy-two were given proper burials, according to the rites of Nom-kel. We’re still working on the others,” he added. “The Untella is currently in route home to Juvin-que, but we are on alert in case the Marnet has issues with his government.”

  “He left without saying good buy?” she questioned, her expression falling.

  “He couldn’t wait. There’s great concern that his government would notice his absence. He asked me to give you this.” Danstu reached to the counter next to him, retrieving a small brown box. He handed it to Sedom.

  She couldn’t help but smile when she saw the small white flower within. “An apology,” she explained, showing Danstu the flower. “Something he started when we were children.”

  “Sweet. Furthermore, our Chadon is finally secure and now we have two massive weapons parked on our doorstep. We have a crew now copying and transferring the computer core from the Oslo to the Azeran. They estimate the Azeran’s computer will be operational in six days.”

  “And where is the Assan?” she questioned.

  “She’s in orbit around the planet, along with the Esirra, the Herrain, and the Merial. All are waiting for news about our Chadon,” he returned.

  “Four ships, hum? You have been busy. Tell Captain Cembre good work for me. Schedule a meeting with the Captains and Commanders of all four ships as soon as I’m released from here. I hate to do this, but I need Commander Miserin to take command of the Assan. Captain Ooganal will take the Oslo,” Sedom sat up, but continued to rest her head on the back of the bed.

  “What about Captain Cembre?” he questioned.

  Sedom nodded. “She’s stealthier and knows how to keep a low profile. I want her to take the Azeran. The Azeran will keep a silent watch over the territory. I don’t want to alert anyone that we have two of the same ship right away. We’ll split up the crew and…” she felt to the back of her neck where two scabs had formed. “The code?”

  “Was changed when we learned of your capture. By the way, changing the code wasn’t easy. I request that all members of the designated team remain in Gathow for further events. I’ll return Gathow to your command when you are ready,” he offered.

  She reached over, taking his hand. He set his computer aside, wrapping his free hand around hers.

  “No need. You have proven yourself trustworthy and a true friend. The code will remain in both of our names. We will decide on a hierarchy of command and protocols later. Thank you, Brother,” she said with tears in her eyes.

  Danstu nodded several times, finally grinning. “You’re welcome… Sister.” He switched seats, sitting next to her on the bed. He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close. ”Just promise me I never have to see you go through that again. It damn near killed me.”

  “Me too.” Sedom rested her head against his chest. “How much did you see?” she whispered.

  “Rosanheer relayed several if your games accept your first six. No wonder the Marisheio are afraid of you,” he joked, making her chuckle. “From now on, you remain here or under guard if we have to leave Matrador. I can simply place a pistol to my head and end my life, but we need you alive if we are to rebuild the Narkoy,” he explained.

  Sedom pulled away, a thought lingering but not fully developed swimming in her mind. “I overheard conversations about the Narkoy…” she paused, fighting back a nasty headache. “There are others who survived.”

  “Are you certain?” Danstu questioned.

  Sedom nodded. “I need to organize a small task force to take over where the AO project left off,” she decided.

  “I’ll assign Jeina to gather a team,” he offered.

  Sedom shook her head. “No. I have another task for her. I want her to head up our media department. And about that… I want to know just how many photos have you released of me?”