She nodded, biting her cheek. Memories of Admiral Shae Lutz chiding her for making a rookie mistake came to mind. She hitched her breath, remembering Shae pressing his finger into her chest. “You do that again, and you’re off the ship. Hell, you’re out of Star Guild. I had hopes for you, Lieutenant.” She’d pulled a maneuver in flight training, going against a direct order from a superior. Topping it off, she talked back, claiming she’d been right. She didn’t make that mistake twice.
Until today.
She eyed Skye, her stomach in her throat. “Understood.” Her style was off the cuff, quick and reactive, flying her into combat and into torpedoes. It worked, but her tendencies tied themselves around her emotions, her heart reaching out to those who couldn’t protect themselves. Right now, she knew more than ever that her style didn’t match captain material. Admirals and captains wore higher ranking devices for a specific reason; their minds were trained to keep war as orderly as possible, to keep themselves alive in order to keep humanity alive and to understand a situation before it arose.
“This reminds me.” Skye placed his hand on her shoulder. A warmth came from his palm, calming her. “I still believe in you. I think in time you will be a great leader. But I’ve forgotten one major aspect, something you felt for a while, and no doubt been wanting.”
Eden cocked her head to the side. “What’s that?”
“Training, not only to be an incredible captain but advanced in the Sight.” He turned and walked down the corridor and rounded a corner. “I’ll be back soon.”
She let out an exasperated breath and leaned against the door, dropping her chin to her chest. “Son of a Guild.” She’d screwed up royally. She shook her head and turned, opening the door into her room. “Home sweet home, I guess.”
It didn’t feel like Starship Brigantia, her real home, but close enough, almost mirroring the sleeping quarters she slept in on her old ship. One full-sized bed, a locker and a closet. Nothing more. Bathrooms and showers were probably someplace down the corridor like her old ship.
She touched the bed’s cover, feeling the rough, ebb fabric. “Cheap ebb-spun fiber. Yep, back to military life.” She sat on her bed and touched her pendant, a silver Space Templar symbol of two knights on one horse wrapped in a crystal overlay.
Her mind churned over the events in Diana’s quarters. Why had she reacted like that and not kept her cool? Never having encountered a traitor before, she didn’t realize how much it would anger her. Just the thought of Diana burned her gut.
She turned the pendant, twisting it, then letting it dangle from her neck and twist back around on its own. She grabbed a pillow, fluffed it up, and laid her head on it, staring at the ceiling, the crystal warming her chest.
There was a knock on her door, and Eden sat up. She crossed her legs. “Who is it?”
“It’s Captain Diana Johnson. Can I have a quick word?”
Eden quietly moved to the control panel next to the door and punched in a lock code. She pressed several more buttons, bringing up a holodisplay connected to a holocam outside her door. There stood the captain, her hands behind her back, looking as if she hid a gun.
“Captain, I apologize for my blow up. I’ve been stressed. I’ll find you after I take a nap and calm down.”
Diana squared her shoulders to the door, her back straight, her chest out. “Major Eden Gaines, this is an order. Open your door and let me in. We have important information to discuss.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t. It’s—”
Diana’s voice boomed through the panel’s com. “You are still under Star Guild law, and by Guild, you will obey that law or find yourself in the brig.”
Eden put her hands over her face. She couldn’t use her captain card anymore. Diana wouldn’t buy it, anyway.
“Ma’am, I’m under a different law now. I’m in the Space Templar ranks, and I take orders from the Grand Master, Skye Vortek.”
“Look, I won’t harm you. I want to know more about the weapon you saw.”
“I didn’t see the weapon. That was Skye Vortek. Talk to him.”
“When he’s around, I’ll question him. In the meantime, I still have some other questions for you.”
“I can answer them from behind this door.”
Diana flared her nostrils, keeping her hands behind her back. “Sleuth, come here, now.”
Sleuth came into view, his head in his holopad. “Yes, Captain?”
Diana stared at the door, not moving a millimeter. “Sleuth, use my captain codes on your holopad and override this door. Eden has it locked, and I want it unlocked.”
“Just a moment.” Sleuth tapped away on his holopad, then pointed it at the control panel next to Eden’s door.
Eden looked around for cover.
The bed. She didn’t have another option in these tight quarters. She unholstered her gun and walked backward, pointing her weapon at the door. Several footsteps pounded from down the corridor, coming closer.
The door beeped and opened. Eden went to a knee, her gun extended. She narrowed her eyes. Diana was not there. In her place stood several Sirona Guard, leveling their rifles at her.
“Eden,” came Diana’s voice from around the doorway, “surrender your weapon. You’re being moved to the brig.”
Eden clenched her jaw, crouching lower, her gun’s muzzle pointed at a Sirona Guard’s forehead. “I already told you, Captain. I’m under a different law now. So, my answer is hell no.”
20
Ali
Dirn Garum, Eos
Starship Tranquil flew toward a white, wispy cloud, the sun’s rays glistening through the cloud’s openings. “Pull up rear cams,” ordered Ali. The vidscreen split and a view of Mount Gabriel appeared on the display. The sliver in the mountain they had flown through had closed.
Ali massaged her temples and blew out a gush of air. The Bawns had probably thrown a conniption fit when they saw her fly out of the mountain. “Oh, well.” They’d live, but she might not, as Tranquil zipped toward the Anunnaki’s stronghold.
Great.
She wanted to save her friends on Starship Sirona, not come face to face with the very Beings that wanted to kill her. Her stomach fluttered, recalling Enlil’s face glaring at her the many times she’d run into the piece of Guild. Their last run in involved her shooting the bastard several times, and him escaping, a trail of blood behind him.
Tranquil punched through the cloud cover. Ali studied the controls at the captain’s chair. It held a commlink console, a holographic display icon, and several more buttons to help her navigate through a holographic screen, though she didn’t know why as the ship navigated itself.
I’m not like any starship you’ve ever encountered.
Ali set her hand on the armrests. “That’s for damn sure. I’ve never been in a talking ship, let alone one that can launch itself.”
I can also land myself. That’s not something you need to worry about. You also need not worry about navigation, steering this craft, or weapons. All is in my hands.
Ali eyed several stations lining the wall, and a large desk with a holographic schematic of the ship lifted above of it. “Then what are the stations for?”
In case I lose consciousness, the mission operation console steers and accelerates me wherever you wish to go. My stations can act as my eyes, my heart, and my organs, or in your terms, my biological scanners and my biological engines. If I lose consciousness, you have a way to operate every aspect of me.
“If you lose consciousness?”
In the past, I’ve experienced direct impacts that have impaired my systems, which in your terms would indicate that I blacked out.
“I see. And does that happen often?”
Thrice. Slipping through a cloud, Tranquil veered left in a long, wide turn.
Ali pointed off in the distance. “Is that the canyon where Sirona is located?”
Yes. Shall we inspect?
“And pick them up? Yes.” She pushed down a grin, not wanting
to show her excitement, let alone her relief. Maybe they could evacuate Sirona…somehow.
Tranquil picked up speed, descending.
Ali flattened her lips. “Do you even need me? Or any crew?”
Yes. I’m not all-seeing, even though I see a lot. We’ll help each other. Your aptitudes with piloting and observation are beneficial to our partnership.
Ali’s eyebrows rose. “How do you possibly know my aptitudes?”
I scanned you upon entering my bridge and was pleased. You make quick decisions and stand by them. Most of your decisions are correct, though many are bone-headed and brash. Something inside you wants to help others, and something else inside of you wants to put on the appearance that you don’t care that much about humans. This is beneficial because it counteracts arrogance. This makes you believable, even if people don’t agree with you. This also makes you trustworthy, a quality all captains and admirals must have.
Tranquil went into a steeper dive and Ali sank into the seat, her body feeling three-hundred pounds heavier. Tranquil slowed and went into a hover.
Sirona is three-hundred and ninety-six point two meters below.
“Holocams, please.”
The vidscreen split again and Starship Sirona came into view, though like Tranquil said, hundreds of meters below.
Sirona was massive. Large boosters were attached to each side, its rectangular body coming to a point at the ship’s bow, and cannons jut out from every nook and cranny of its exterior.
“Zoom in.”
Tranquil complied.
Sirona ’s armor looked torched, full of black scorch marks from enemy fire, accompanied with blown-out chunks and pockmarks scattered across the exterior.
“They were working on the engines before I left. Is there a way to check the progress?”
Tranquil zeroed in on the mid-section, where the main power generators, core, and engines were located. A blue glow highlighted the area with red intermixed.
“What does the blue mean?”
That the engines are fully operational and deactivated. From my sensors, they don't appear damaged, and there are no recent repairs to report.
Ali grimaced. “No, re-scan. That can’t be. It has damage. That’s why they haven’t rocketed out of here yet.”
Nothing is wrong with the Starship Sirona 's flying abilities, and the last severe damage report indicates nothing major for the last two years.
Ali shook her head, leaning forward. “That makes no sense. They could have lifted off this planet the moment I walked onto the starship?”
Tranquil leveled out and hovered several dozen meters above Sirona. Correct, said Tranquil.
Ali tipped her head to the side. “Correct?”
They could have flown off this planet, yes.
Ali bounced her knee up and down, doing her best not to kick something. This didn’t surprise her, but fueled her belly, nonetheless. She figured her mother—no, not her mother—Captain Diana Johnson played for the other team. She shifted in her seat. “Please check if there’s damage that’s not allowing this ship to move.”
A brief pause. Fuel cells are online, full. There aren't any issues with recharge sockets, the coolant pumps, the energy core lines, the compressors, the sensory arrays—
Ali jerked her hand through her red hair, squeezing her hand into a fist. “Okay, stop.”
Diana was a traitor, and that bitch deserved to die a horrendous death. Almost ten thousand souls crewed Starship Sirona, and here sat Diana, gambling with their lives. They could leave planetside any minute and have been able to for weeks. It made little sense unless Diana had a death wish herself.
Ali shook her head. Her ex-mom didn’t have a death wish, more like an agenda, but what exactly was it? Ali stood and slowly walked toward the screen, her brow wrinkled.
I detect seven Anunnaki starfighters lifting off three kilometers southeast of us. They are fast approaching our locale.
“How fast?”
Strap in now. Twenty-four Missiles launched.
“Ours?”
Theirs.
“Crap.”
Ali turned to jump in her seat, but her legs went into the air and she landed hard on her back. Grunting, she slid across the floor, bumping into the base of the captain’s chair.
The ship trembled, and Ali pulled herself onto the chair. She sat, blowing her hair out of her face. “How many hit us?” Restraining straps automatically wrapped around Ali and sucked into the back of the chair, belting her in.
Tranquil flew forward, twisting the ship on its side. I shot down all but two missiles. I’m taking evasive actions. Be my eyes. I’ll draw them far away from Starship Sirona. Tranquil pitched to the right.
“Show me.”
The vidscreen went to rear cams, and tracer fire zipped by in thin, red lines. Seven Anunnaki starfighters flew in pursuit, closing the distance.
Tranquil lurched to the left and shuddered. Ali gripped the armrests tighter. For a starship, Tranquil flew incredibly well, almost nimbly. “Did Sirona monitor our presence?”
No.
“How could they have possibly missed us and the starfighters?”
They turned their security systems and HDC monitors off. A loop feed is present. Tranquil banked left then dipped. Permission to fire?
“Per—” Ali threw her hands in the air. “Yes, permission to fire. Fire, fire.”
The vidscreen expanded and a string of bluish-purple bolts expelled from rear cannons. Several bolts impacted a starfighter, slicing through its wing, and sending it into a downward spiral. A fireball rose from the ground and debris flew across the ebb-desert.
“What kind of weapon was that?”
Plasma bolts.
“Plasma bolts? What exactly are—”
Tranquil arched high, blasting more plasma bolts through its rear cannons. A fiery explosion lit up the sky, and burning entrails dropped toward the ground, black smoke trailing from them.
Ali wanted to get back to something else Tranquil mentioned. “A loop feed? You mean to tell me that Diana hijacked the system?”
Yes.
“But why would Diana sabotage Starship Sirona?”
You're not doing well being my eyes.
“You don't need my eyes. You're doing better without—”
The ship shook. What were you saying?
“Are we hit?”
Yes, and to answer your next question, we’re not damaged. I’ve already repaired myself.
A loud beep and two dozen dots filled the screen, slowly getting bigger at every passing second. “Twenty-four starfighters incoming? Evade, evade.”
I’m much bigger than them. Put them all together, and they're still a fraction of my size. So, no, I won’t need to evade. Plus, I’m taking their attention away from the real danger.
Ali scanned the sky, her lips pursed. “Danger?”
A starfighter erupted, then another, the flying enemy formation scattering erratically.
Swift has entered the fray.
“Who?”
Swift is the same starship class as me. We’re family. We’re twice as dangerous together.
“Show me.”
A small box formed on the upper left of the screen and an orbed ship exactly like Tranquil filled the box. That’s Swift. Less talk. Be my eyes.
“On it.” She scanned the heavens, pointing at a cluster of lights coming their way. “On your ten.”
Aye. Bolts lit the sky, slicing through the starfighter’s exteriors like a knife through butter. A handful of starfighters plummeted to the red and black rock below, rocks and dust poofing into the air on impact.
Ali, for future reference, you need not point to danger. Your thoughts are connected to mine. Focus on an incoming starfighter and I’ll get to it as soon as possible. Do you understand?
She nodded, her eyes widening. “Are the starfighters retreating?”
Yes, that was Swift’s goal and mine. We’re two sisters communicating with each other, and we d
on’t wish to take lives if we don’t have to. No one has the right to invade the space and life of another, especially if it is to end that Being's life. Yet, you always have the right to defend yourself. That is Universal Law. We were defending ourselves.
Ali slowly leaned forward, glaring at towering skyscrapers with needle-like roofs in the distance. She eyed the mountain range around it. Small trees and green foliage dotted the mountain like a painting. Eos wasn’t supposed to have ample vegetation.
“Am I seeing that correctly?”
She peered longer, making out palaces, dome structures, and tall landing platforms. An entire civilization lived there. She swallowed hard when she saw large lakes. “Water above ground?”
This is Eos Two, named by the Anunnaki of Nibiru, who created this city. Your people have been persuaded to keep away from this part of Eos.
Ali threw her hands to her face. “I should have known.” She leaned back and sighed. “There really isn’t a radiation zone, is there?”
You’ve been lied to and more so than you realize.
“Yes, that seems to be the theme lately.”
It's time to return to Dirn Garum, Ali. Are you prepared for your welcome when they see you?
“They’ll think I stole you.”
You’ll be fine. Just tell the truth when you return and say that I was the one who took you out on your first spin.
“Can't you tell them that?”
They won't be able to hear my words. None are Space Templar-trained or of the bloodline.
“Of course.”
Tranquil spun around and sped for Dirn Garum, keeping low and hugging the red terrain, the trees becoming sparser the farther they flew away from Eos Two.
“They better not kill me.”
They’ll do no such thing. You are of the bloodline. Plus, some of them will be your permanent crew.
Ali sat forward in a start. “Excuse me?”
Mount Gabriel came into view, its tip touching the white clouds.
Ali, pay attention. This is important. You’re my captain now, and the captain for every future crew member of this ship. You’re here with me to explore the galaxy and right its wrongs.
Backlash Rising Page 13
