“We’re aware of the Emperor’s use of enslavement,” El’iadryov said, widening the optical to encompass the whole of the ship. “Forgive me, Commander. I did not mean to deceive, only to use prudence while assessing who was hailing us.”
Commander Vonsse’s eyes nearly fell out of his head as he again made the strange gesture. “Eidyn Master! It is I who must beg forgiveness. I’m afraid I thought you dead and the Kyroibi lost.”
“You were well informed. I am dead, however it is my daughter, El’iadrylline, who is the Eidyn Master now,” El’iadryov corrected. “Also with us is Isaverlline’s living husband, Sir Richard Whitmore of Earth.”
Richard gave an embarrassed smile and nod to the commander and Ellie bit back a smile. That he’d been knighted was something of a joke in the Whitmore household and out here in space, among those who took titles far too seriously, it was extra amusing to her.
“Our intentions were only to rescue,” El’iadryov went on. “Bringing down Svoryk and the Huptsovian Empire is our next priority. We have absolutely no intention of doing so in a way that would endanger the crew.”
“Thank you,” Commander Vonsse said with a nod. “While my current vessel lacks the stealth required to get close, I was able to complete a scan. I’ll be happy to send it over, but from what I can see, there is no way you’re going to get close enough with a ship your size.”
“I’ll be scouting ahead myself,” El’iadryov explained. “I’m familiar with the layout of this particular class of starship, but I’ll happily take a look at what you found rather than take my chances on the Emperor’s modifications.”
“Very well.”
The ship again made a soft noise and El’iadryov scanned the incoming transmission before allowing it through. A 3D hologram that looked exactly like something out of one of Richard’s films flickered to life in the center console. Vito let out a low whistle.
“Now that’s the sort of hunk of junk ship I’m used to seeing out here in the wilds.”
“I don’t understand,” Richard said, getting up to see the projection from all sides. “This looks almost identical to the schematics of Isa’s ship, but what is all of this extra over here?”
“Svoryk is a technophobe,” Ellie explained. “He doesn’t have the same kind of implants Mom does, so he had to modify the Eidyssic tech to be used manually.”
“Are you kidding me?” Vito shook his head. “You gotta wonder how a guy like that took over the Federation.”
“He didn’t. He is merely a puppet.”
Everyone turned a questioning gaze toward the commander except El’iadryov, who instead cast his eyes downward for a brief moment.
“I’m sorry,” Commander Vonsse said hastily. “I did not mean to bring up things which are in the past.”
“You have no reason to apologize, Commander,” El’iadryov said before turning to the others. “My grandparents defied the natural order, splitting my mother’s pattern into two,” he explained. “Grandfather then took both of his daughters to the Kyri temple, thinking that the Kyroibi would simply choose which would be the heir, however, this proved to be a mistake. My mother was bestowed the Kyroibi, but not before her sister was given a glimpse at its absolute power. She was the one who removed Julian from the temple and gave Svoryk the taste for power. She is the one in control of the Empire.”
This was news to Ellie. Even though she’d had access to her father’s memories, he had kept some things secret. The strange confrontation between Julian and the woman in her apartment suddenly made sense.
“Right before the Kyroibi awakened, a woman claiming to be my grandmother showed up in New York,” Ellie said. “She um… claimed… Well, I’m not sure, but I think she implied that Andressa was dead. She’s likely aboard the ship as well.”
“My mother is dead,” El’iadryov said softly, but with conviction. “I found the bodies of both my parents not long before my own capture and death.”
Ellie shivered, remembering the way the woman was compelling her to come closer. As if she’d known when the Kyroibi was going to manifest and had timed her visit to overtake her before that happened. Ironically, she had Svoryk and her mother to thank for her narrow escape.
“That at least explains why Isa yanked me out of bed and pulsed me to your apartment the other day,” Richard said with a shudder at the memory. To El’iadryov he added. “I don’t think anyone would pass judgement on you for what was out of your control.”
“Least of all me,” Vito added before turning back to Commander Vonsse. “Which reminds me. You never did say what it was you were doing out here.”
“The SiFa planets fell quickly to the Empire,” Vonsse explained. “Most of the royal family are being held prisoner on Fhasmyr, but some were not in the system when they fell. It was at the suggestion of one such member of the royal family that we seek the assistance of the Paisreatta, claiming they too have a vested interest in seeing the end of the Empire. It has been…” His expression changed to bemusement. “…an interesting experience, but I’m not sure how productive it has been. In fact, if I may make a request.”
“Go ahead.”
“Should your rescue be successful, is there a possibility that you would have room for a couple of passengers? I and my officers have some information that would be beneficial to the Alliance leaders, but our only interstellar ship is a slower class.”
El’iadryov was about to reply, but Vito spoke up first.
“I may need a little more convincing than just some ship schematics.”
Vonsse gave a wary sigh, as if he expected the resistance.
“If the SiFa council still has any sway, I will draft a full pardon.”
Vito gave a shrug. “That was easier than the teeth pulling I expected.”
“We have the room,” El’iadryov said with a nod. “I will be more than happy to bring on your crew. However, it is nearing the time that we must act. I’ll ask you to stay near enough for communications, but out of the line of fire. El’iadrylline,” he added, turning to his daughter. “It is time to get into position.”
“No need to tell me twice,” Ellie said as she turned back to the schematics. “So um, here’s the loading dock,” she said, pointing to an area on the bottom of the ship. “I guess we’ll aim for that.”
“Eventually, but I’ll need Richard to hail the vessel long before we’re in docking range.”
He stood up and stepped aside as his seat was absorbed back into the floor. The console itself began to rearrange and Ellie had to laugh as some archaic levers and nobs appeared on the console. It looked less like a real space ship and more like a prop from one of Richard’s early movies, which, she realized, was entirely intentional.
“But I thought the whole idea was that Richard would distract Svoryk while you gained access to the ship?”
“It is,” El’iadryov said with a nod. “But there are still proximity alarms to deactivate. Once I’ve done that I will try to locate Julian. With his help, we can gain control of the ship’s information matrix before you make your move.”
Ellie stared at him as she tried to understand exactly what her father was intending.
“You’re not trying to pulse over there are you?”
“It is impossible to pulse from a vessel utilizing pulse propulsion. That’s simple physics. Regardless, it is unnecessary. I am simply going to use my own inertia to make the hop.”
“Okay, wait…” Ellie looked at her father, who still wore the simple scaled armor of the Eidyn automaton army. “You’re just going to put on a space suit or something and what, moon walk over? That’s absurd! What if you miss and go hurtling out into space?”
At that he chuckled. “Worst case scenario, I’ll use my internal targeting, but I’d prefer to keep that off as an added measure of stealth. But, El’iadrylline, you’re forgetting that this shell is not your father.” He emphasized his point by shutting down the illusory programming, revealing again the sterile, bluish-silver humanoid ro
bot form. “I will suffer no ill effects from the short time in exposed space, but if it makes you feel better, take this.”
Ellie watched in semi-horrified fascination as her father’s hand seemed to melt into his chest. A moment later he withdrew a small, glowing sphere of iridescent bluish black.
“What is it?” Ellie asked, hesitant, despite the Kyroibi’s draw to the familiarity of the object.
“Me.”
El’iadryov tipped the stone into his stunned daughter’s hand and left the bridge before Ellie could react. She watched through the transparent blockade as her father, no, the robotic shell that housed a replication of her father’s mind, stepped out into open space. For a seemingly eternal moment, Ellie dared not move, dared not breathe, for fear that the slightest motion would send him hurtling into the empty void of space. But before she could react, El’iadryov shimmered out of existence.
Chapter 20
The wall before her flashed to life, forming two viewing monitors and snapping Ellie out of her trance.
“Why, hello there, Svoryk,” Richard said from the left side of the screen with a wide, toothy smile. He stood with his hands behind his back and head held high, channeling his inner Captain Kirk.
“You! Impossible!” Svoryk sputtered from the screen on the right. The interior of his ship looked even more like the set of a low budget sci-fi film than Richard’s. Buttons, levers, dials, and knobs occupied the clunky command console. Behind him, a wall of translucent glass pulsed with different colored light, but she could make out no discernible pattern of communication. “You’re dead. I watched you die.”
“Funny, I thought so as well, but as you can see, your assassination attempt did not work. How fortunate for you.”
“Fortunate?”
“Indeed,” Richard said with a wink and an elaborate flourish as he made a show of typing commands into the console. The view widened and panned to Richard’s left, bringing the stasis column into view. He turned back to the screen with an evil glint in his eye. “As you can see, I have something you want. Oddly enough, you have something I want as well. I believe a fair trade may be in order.”
Prior to becoming one of the world’s most famous directors, Richard Whitmore was an actor. A good one, in Ellie’s estimation. Watching him negotiate her life for her mother’s with a cold detachment was nearly as unnerving as seeing the projection of herself imprisoned within the stasis column. A light flared on the console before her and Ellie turned her attention away from the floor show.
“Dad?” she whispered.
“I’m inside, but something’s wrong with this ship,” El’iadryov replied, startling Ellie as his voice seemed to be in her ear rather than through the ship’s audio communication channel.
“What kind of wrong?” Ellie asked with a glance at her controls. She’d steered the ship as close as she could get without confirmation that her father had turned off the proximity alarms.
“The information matrix is extremely unresponsive. I expected some resistance due to the retrofit, but not this much.”
“How bad is it?”
There was no immediate answer. Ellie held her breath, willing herself to stay calm as the dead air stretched on second by second. Just as she was about to lose her mind entirely, her father’s voice returned.
“Proximity alarms are disabled.”
“Acknowledged,” she managed to spit out in a shaky whisper as she brought them into position underneath the Emperor’s ship. “Preparing to dock.”
“Hang on,” her father said, causing a sudden dread to come over her. “Ellie, it’s worse than I thought. You should be close enough now to override control. Do it and get over here as soon as you can.”
“Why? Dad, what’s happening?” Ellie shuddered as she felt the other ship’s diode matrix come under her power. This was not the seamless exchange of information that she had with her own vessel. An uncomfortable feeling washed over her, as if she were trying to run a marathon through a pool of thick, heavy, syrup. The corrupted shell of an Eidyssic vessel was bogged down to near uselessness beneath the myriad of limitations that supposedly allowed the Emperor control.
“I have to get to the environmental regulator. Get the ship docked and ready to take on passengers.”
“Got it,” she said and glanced at the confrontation happening on the bridge. Richard had demanded proof that Isa was alive and unharmed and Svoryk, untrusting as ever, had gone with his guard to retrieve her.
“Keep him talking when he gets back,” Ellie whispered over their link. “I’m in control of his ship, but it’s damaged. I’m not sure what’s happening.”
Richard gave only the slightest nod of acknowledgement as he awaited Svoryk’s return.
Ellie smiled as she felt a tug. The ships had made physical contact. But just as quickly, the connection severed and her ship fell back of its own accord.
“What the…?” she muttered and sent the command again. This time, her ship outright ignored the command and instead sent a diagnostic.
Unsafe coupling requested. Safety protocol initiated. Docking aborted.
“Dammit!” Ellie swore and tried yet again to override the security protocol, but her ship was stubborn. A sudden movement in her peripheral drew Ellie’s attention back to the monitors and she let out a gasp. Svoryk had returned to the bridge of his ship, followed by a pack of guards who held her mother in restraints. She looked to be well, but what shook Ellie up was the woman who walked in last. The face was the same one Ellie had seen in her apartment in New York, but the hard, cruel expression was unfamiliar.
Dryova, not Svoryk, returned to the position in front of the console, eyeing Richard silently for a long minute.
“Well, I’ll give you credit for your effort,” She said in a haughty tone. “You may have fooled a simpleton like Svoryk, but I’m not as easily taken by parlor tricks.”
Richard regarded the woman coolly. If her sudden appearance flustered him, it didn’t show.
“Care to elaborate?” he asked in an almost bored tone.
“Pretending for a moment that I believe you were able to overpower El’iadrylline, am I to also believe that you would use the most powerful relic in the known galaxy as a bargaining tool for something as insignificant as a woman?”
“I think you and I have a different opinion of what insignificant means.”
“What are you playing at, Earthling? Surely you and my misinformed granddaughter weren’t as naïve as to think you could take down the Huptsovian Empire yourselves?”
So what if we did? Ellie grumbled under her breath. Time was definitely up. She had to get onto Svoryk’s ship, but her vessel still refused to comply. If she had access to a smaller craft, she could easily pilot into Svoryk’s ship.
“Of course I had help! You think rather highly of me if you’d believed for a minute I had the skill to do this myself,” Richard said with an airy chuckle. A moment later, the optical widened again and Vito appeared on screen, smiling and waving like he was greeting an old friend
“So this is Ellie’s grandma, eh? Nice to meet you. You got a good kid there.”
Ellie stifled a chuckle. Leave it to Vito to use sarcasm in a life or death situation.
Oh! That’s it!
Ellie brightened with sudden optimism. There was a way to get into the ship. Maybe. She sent a communication request. A few seconds later, Commander Vonsse’s bushy mustache filled the screen.
“Eidyn Master?”
“I need your help,” Ellie said, ignoring the formal title. “Svoryk’s ship is badly damaged. Even under my control, it’s not allowing me to dock. Rather, my ship is refusing the command. I need to get over there. Can you fly me to the port?”
“My ship is capable, but we run the risk of detection.”
“No, the proximity alarms have been disabled and I guarantee no one is paying attention to anything except what’s happening on the bridge. Please,” she added. “It may be our only hope for saving those aboard.”
>
Commander Vonsse averted his eyes to the side for a moment before nodding. “Very well. I’m sending the coupling request now.”
“Thank you, Commander,” Ellie said with a sigh of relief as she accepted the request and waited for the small craft to make its return.
Ellie had to hand it to Vito. Whether the ability to argue was a talent he always had or one he picked up living in New York, he was doing a fantastic job of keeping Dryova and Svoryk distracted. Perhaps too good of a job. The exchange was growing increasingly heated and retorts were becoming more and more unhinged with every taunt. But she didn’t have time to watch the drama. She sent a silent communication to the command console for Richard and Vito and stepped into the waiting pod.
It only took a few minutes for the smaller vessel to land on the awaiting platform, but after getting used to the near instantaneous nature of the flagship, Ellie had little patience. At last the hangar closed, activating the pod door. She ran for the open hatch on the small vessel and threw herself inside.
“Thank you,” she wheezed, grabbing a nearby hand rail as the ship lifted from the ground. Hydro-propulsion was more like what she expected from space travel. As the hangar opened and they burst out into space, Ellie’s stomach dropped.
“It’s rough, but at least it will be a short ride,” the Commander apologized.
Ellie nodded, not daring to open her mouth until they were again on solid ground.
“Commander, the port is unresponsive.”
Ellie turned her attention to the person in the copilot’s seat. She hadn’t noticed them when she boarded the ship, but now she froze. Whether they were male or female or even human-like in appearance was undeterminable. Their face was covered by what looked like a respirator, which gave their voice a hollow, mechanical sound that made Ellie think of Star Wars. But it was the emblem on the figure’s armband that gave her pause. The same emblem that Vito identified as that of the Paisreatta.
A Space Girl from Earth (The Kyroibi Trilogy Book 1) Page 20
