Backlash Rising

by Brandon Ellis

  He pressed on the holographic display, his fingers turning several colors as the pixels beamed on his finger. The engines purred, and the lights in the cockpit and cabin dimmed. He looked over his shoulder at Devon. “Hold on. We're getting out of here, with or without her.” Shae jerked back when the wall in front of him disappeared like a hologram, revealing expansive space lit by a million stars.

  “How did…?” Devon pointed at the now-vanished wall.

  “No idea, but we can question that later.”

  A hazy gravity field stretched from the top and bottom of the opening, a technology similar to some Star Guild’s vessels. It kept the vacuum of space out yet allowed ships to freely leave and return without issue. The co-pilot door lurched open, and a hand appeared out of the corner of Shae's periphery. He ducked out of the way, though a moment too late. Strong fingers gripped his arm and pulled him out of the pilot’s chair, tossing him like a stuffed doll into the cabin. He slid on his back, stopping near Devon’s feet.

  “Get out of my seat,” yelled Kalista. She slammed the co-pilot door and jumped into the pilot seat. “You boys trying to leave without me?”

  Shae rubbed his lower back, gasping for breath. Devon pulled Shae to the bench seat and strapped him in just as the Starhawk shuddered and lifted. The ship jerked back as boosters activated, then pushed forward, rocketing past the gravity field and into space. “This is how you guys treat me? Just leave me?” She eyed the radar and slapped her hand down. “Nibiru’s blasphemy. We have bandits.” She banked hard right as a beam of some sort zoomed by the Starhawk.

  Shae rubbed the back of his neck, trying to ease an ache taking hold. “We didn't leave you. You were leaving us.”

  “I was what?” she said. “You idiots. I had to—” She pulled the Starhawk up and to the left, again avoiding another weapon's fire. “I had to open the docking bay doors through—” She pressed her control stick forward, avoiding another potential hit. “Through one of Y'taul's ships. This Starhawk isn't linked into Y'tauls pirating vessel and—” Kalista maneuvered away from more enemy fire.

  “Can't you just hyperjump to the next system?” asked Shae.

  Devon nodded. “Isn’t this ship equipped with NMJ drives?”

  Kalista made a fist and shook it. “I can't put the coordinates in. I'm too busy trying to keep us alive.”

  Not too busy to shake your damn fist, thought Shae. Shae unbuckled and stood, then toppled to the side, bracing his hand against the top of Devon’s shoulder to steady himself. He took a step forward and lost his balance as Kalista dodged another strange beam. The weapons the Plearians had were unique, to say the least. “I’m coming to help.”

  “Sit down,” ordered Kalista.

  A blast hit the ship’s stern, tossing Shae to the floor. His eyes widened as a rush of adrenaline took over, and in a flash, he found himself back on his feet, leaping for the co-pilot chair. He grasped the chair's arm and pulled himself into the seat.

  “Y’taul's ship is equipped with long-range phase wave cannons, and he seems happy to use them. We're pulling away from him, but—” The ship shook as another beam hit its mark. The flight console brought up a display with a red flashing light under the belly of their Starhawk, indicating damage.

  “Give me a break,” groaned Kalista. She swiped her hand across the display, turning it off. “It's just one of our landing sleds.” She pulled back on her control stick, then immediately pushed forward.

  The flight console brought up another display and beeped several times, showing their current location, along with Y'taul's, and several other smaller crafts in pursuit. Kalista pressed a holographic button and turned off the beeping sound. “Shut up.” She hammered her fist into the pilot seat’s armrest. “How did I get myself into this mess?”

  Shae extended his hand toward the nav dial. “We have to get out of here. We’re ill-equipped for a fight. I’m typing in Matrona’s coordinates.”

  Kalista pushed his hand away. “Don’t. Get your hand away from the course module drive.”

  Shae attempted to reach again, and she batted his hand away a second time. She quickly pressed several numbers on the course module and activated NMJ drivers.

  A loud pop and a sensation took over, catapulting Shae and the rest of them a thousand times faster in a blink of an eye. Space before him filled with stars streaking like lines across the window, changing from white, to yellow, to purple, and back to white again. Silence filled the cockpit as if he floated on black clouds full of stars.

  As quickly as it began, it stopped. Shae inhaled a deep breath, sensation coming back to him. He rubbed his eyes, stunned at what he saw in front of him. “Starbase Matrona?” Hope grabbed at Shae as the beautiful starbase stared back at him.

  Kalista pointed ahead. “Does that planet look like the same green planet Matrona was orbiting?”

  Shae titled his head. The starbase orbited a gorgeous blue planet, with patches of green here and there, its aura stretching outward.

  She sighed. “That’s Starbase Ceres, you bonehead. How am I going to explain this to my boss? In my damn hurry, I put in the wrong coordinates.”

  Shae eyed the starbase in front of him. “What the hell is Starbase Ceres?”

  Kalista groaned. “How am I going to explain this? I can’t just jump out of here. NMJ drives need to recharge.”

  “That planet is gorgeous,” Devon whispered loudly. “It's as blue as any blue I have ever seen.”

  For a moment, Shae thought of Earth, and as the thought came, another memory jumped to the surface. He held Helen’s hand, watching Ali read the first lines of a book. She couldn’t have been more than five years old. Ali glanced up and grinned. “I did it.” She threw her hands in the air. “I read. I really can read.”

  Helen squeezed Shae’s hand and kissed Shae’s cheek. “She’s smart as a whip.”

  Shae rubbed his nose against Helen’s. “She gets her smarts from you, and her looks.”

  Kalista palmed her forehead, the slapping sound taking Shae out of his thoughts.

  “We’re in Cygnus Alpha quadrant of the Milky Way Galaxy,” said Kalista. “It's a water planet named Opus. I don’t want to be here.”

  “Starbase Matrona isn’t the only starbase in the galaxy?” asked Shae.

  “Nope,” said Kalista. “I’m afraid not.”

  Shae sunk in his chair. “Are there humans on that starbase?”

  Kalista nodded. “Yep. You’re not the only human slaves Enlil has in the galaxy.”

  “Mining gold?” Devon chimed in.

  “Yes,” replied Kalista. “You’re catching on, aren’t you?”

  “Starhawk,” came a voice over the commlink. “Please identify yourself. Your Starhawk signature is not on our flight plan today. I have you as Starhawk signature one-three-five, is that correct?” A short pause, then, “Kalista?”

  “Hey, Al, and yes, this is Kalista. I was en route to assist mining operations on Otto's moon. My NMJ drives aren't working correctly and I found myself in a small asteroid belt. An asteroid broke one of my landing gears.”

  “Kalista,” replied Al chuckling. “First off, you Starhawk pilots don't assist in the mining operations. You all sit in your ships on your butt while we load the rocks in your cargo bay. Second, we still haven't met a single Starhawk pilot. Any chance we can finally meet you?”

  “We can't show ourselves because of classified reasons, Al. Plus, you couldn't handle me.” She grinned as if she enjoyed playing this game with Al.

  “Yeah, yeah. Head to Opus, Underpost Nine. I'll tell them about your landing gear. We can have you patched up in no time.”

  “Thank you, Al.”

  “You're welcome, Kalista. Maybe we can meet someday.”

  “Out.” Kalista clicked off her commlink.

  Devon pointed to the blue planet. “We’re heading planetside?”

  Shae knew the answer before Kalista responded. He shook his head, trying to figure out how he could get back to Ali or Matro
na, and eventually home to Earth. For the first time that he could remember, he missed Helen more than anything and wanted nothing more than to be with her. He somehow felt her strong, sweet presence all around him.

  “Yep, we’re heading planetside.” Kalista pushed the throttle forward. “Hang on, boys. This planet and this landing will be a bit…different.”

  35

  Enlil

  Eos Two

  Enlil sat at his desk, listening intently to the audio and video playing on his holocomp display. He paused it, growling under his breath.

  He glanced at his assistant and rose from his seat, all eleven feet of him. “I’ve got to get some sleep,” he said, rubbing his eyes. He pointed at his holodisplay, raising his brow at his assistant. “What do you think?”

  “Captain Diana Johnson was a traitor and deserved to die. That's what I think.” His assistant, about the same height and girth as Enlil, looked up with trepidation, hoping he’d said nothing wrong.

  “Correct,” replied Enlil. “We can thank Sleuth for the vids and information. Too bad he’ll die soon and never receive our gratitude.”

  The assistant lifted a brow. “So, the weapon is almost there?”

  Enlil grinned. “I think my sister had a hand in destabilizing the core reactors, nearly turning that thing into a firework’s display before it ever reached Starship Sirona, but we have it fully under our control now.”

  “When does it reach Sirona?”

  Enlil sat down, his elbows on his desk. He leaned forward and scratched his chin. “It’s about there now.”

  “Yes, sir.” The assistant looked at his chronometer on his wrist. “I’m worried about the weapon’s instability. The problem—”

  Enlil put his hand up. “The only problem is that we have not tested it. I’ve heard it a million times. This will be the test. Get it as close to the starship as possible. Sleuth will keep all holocams offline with a loop feed in place. The crew on the ship won’t know what hit them.”

  The assistant bowed and turned to walk out of the room.

  Enlil wrung his hands together. “Along with killing Sirona and the humans who live onboard, we’re also hitting another group of humans where they least expect it. We’ll take a mass horde of them.”

  The assistant stopped at the doorway. “Excuse me, sir?”

  “Earth. We’re attacking Earth, sending them back to their caveman-like ways to create a massive breeding and slave program there…again.” He gave a wry grin, looking off. “I have several races helping us.”

  The assistant raised his brows. “Yes, yes.”

  “And,” added Enlil, “prepare the explosives. The Bawns are on their way.”

  Enlil waved his hand over a glowing red orb on his desk as his assistant walked out. “Produce paper. Address message to King Bilrak in Bawn writing.”

  He cleared his throat. “Write message now.” He shifted in his seat, getting comfortable. “Dearest Bilrak,” he said with a smirk. “I have this message linked via a control chip to a detonation device. I connected the detonation device to explosives strategically placed in this palace, from floor to ceiling. If you lift this paper, which I suspect you will since you’re a curious lot, you’ll have ten seconds to leave the palace. The problem is it takes longer than ten seconds to leave. Enjoy your death.”

  Enlil liked to play games, and this would be a good game if the Bawn took the bait, and they would. He liked the Bawn. An ambitious lot, courageous and bullheaded. They never bothered him and his people, so he’d left them alone inside the mountain, not wanting to deal with another issue on his already long list. Now they scurried in a tunnel like rats to his palace, and he knew exactly where their tunnel ended.

  At the palace study.

  The upper right portion of his desk opened, and a paper with Anunnaki writing, other than King Bilrak’s name, emerged. “Dammit.” He frowned, forgetting to translate the entire message into Bawn. He knew Chan-Ru had escaped to the city inside the mountain, so maybe he’d by chance join them on their warring escapade and read the note.

  His grin grew wider. An even more fun game. The Bawn’s survival now depended on Chan. The idiot would see the Anunnaki writing and read it. Maybe. “Nah, definitely. Bawn are a damn curious breed. They’ll pick it up if Chan doesn’t.” He stood, paper in hand, and headed to his palace study. He’d leave the paper on a desk and link up the detonator chip.

  The game would go well…for Enlil.

  36

  Shae

  Starhawk Transport, Planet Opus

  Kalista steered the Starhawk on approach to the blue planet. “Entering upper atmosphere.”

  Shae craned his neck, taking a glance at Devon in the cabin. “You okay, kid?”

  Devon gave Shae a thumbs up. “I think so.”

  Shae didn’t believe him. “Yeah, I’m not either.”

  Kalista rubbed her stomach. “Are you guys hungry?”

  “Starving,” said Devon.

  Kalista tapped the commlink. “Al, this is Kalista.”

  “Yes?”

  “I’m starving. Can I have three plates of your finest meal when I get down to Underpost Nine?”

  “Wow. How many people you got on that transport, Kalista?”

  “Just me. Why?”

  “I'm just flicking you Crustacean spray. I don’t know how you can fit all that in one stomach, but I'll have it delivered to you in the holding bay.”

  “Thank you.” She flipped the commlink off. “Are you all strapped in?”

  Shae tugged on his restraints. “I’m all good.”

  “I’m buckled in,” came Devon.

  “Good, we're going down into Opus waters.”

  She tilted the craft, bringing the grand blue planet into view. Unlike Eos or Tanza, this planet shimmered turquoise. She pushed the throttle forward. “Entry shield.” An instant later, she shot Shae a look. “I said, entry shield.”

  Shae straightened. “Right.” He leaned forward, pressing a holographic button in the middle console between them. Unlike the rest of the craft, activating entry shields on a Starhawk mirrored other Star Guild ships. “Got it. Entry shield activated.”

  “OMS activated,” she said, tilting the craft at a forty-degree angle. “Aft thrusters stable.” The craft entered planet Opus’s upper atmosphere, the entry friction illuminating the shield and yellow-red flames grabbed at the ship’s nose.

  Shae squeezed his armrests, pressing his feet hard against the floorboard. Gravity intensified, and his body felt heavy. He flexed his muscles as the Starhawk vibrated back and forth, a growling sound booming into the cockpit. A moment later the fire died down, extinguishing in the lower atmosphere, and the sound vanished to nothing.

  Kalista glided the craft and leveled out. “Boys, take a good look. It's a beautiful thing.” Thousands of meters below sparkled water, elegantly dazzling from the rays of a sun.

  Shae mouthed a wow, and deep down wished Helen could see this. “You seeing that, Devon?”

  “Oh, yes.” Devon peered out the window. “Breathtaking.” Blue water went on for as far as the eye could see. Devon unbuckled himself. “I have to get a better look.”

  Kalista put her hand up. “Stay seated. We're heading to Underpost Nine. Strap back in.”

  “All right.”

  The Starhawk dipped forward, nosing straight toward the water. Shae held on, his boots digging into the floor as the rush of weight slammed into him. “Pull up, pull up.”

  Kalista kept the ship on its trajectory, ignoring Shae. About to hit the water, Kalista pulled back on the control stick and hovered the Starhawk in place about five feet above the water's surface.

  “What the Guild are you doing?” Shae flexed his fingers, making a fist. “Trying to impress us with your flying skills or something?” If so, she did a terrible job.

  “Going down,” she said.

  The craft lowered into the water, then sank below the surface. When the bubbles cleared, Shae instinctively jerked away from the
side window. A creature bobbed up and down with its snout pressed against the glass. It looked into Shae’s eyes, its mouth slightly upturned as if smiling. “A dolphin?” If memory served him right, he’d seen plenty of dolphins as an admiral in the United States Navy. He paused, his eyes widening. The United States? He shook his head. Perhaps it had to do with Earth. The creature knocked its nose on the co-pilot’s door a few times, then swam away.

  “What are those?” said Devon, as another dolphin swam to take a peek.

  “It’s a Crustacean species known as dolphins,” said Kalista. “They like playing with our crafts when we submerge. They chase us. It’s a game to them.”

  Devon unstrapped and made his way to Shae, leaning against the co-pilot seat. “They seem intelligent. Look how they watch us. They’re curious.”

  “They have larger brains than you and use more of their brain than humans. So, in essence, they're smarter than your species.” Kalista flicked a lever and Shae whipped forward, the restraining belt pulling him back into his seat. Devon tumbled backward, slamming against the bulkhead.

  “I told you to sit down and stay strapped, bumblehead,” said Kalista. The ship sped under the water, bubbles cascading off the windows. The dolphins kept up, swimming beside the craft. “If they could speak our language, I don’t think they’d allow us on their planet. At least, I wouldn’t.” Colorful fish came into view, parting as the ship sped forward.

  “You don't agree with your race being here?” asked Shae.

  Kalista shifted in her seat. “I’m in conflict, yes. I don’t think they should enslave anyone.”