by J. P. Yager
"Yeah," Nathan answered. He shook off the remnants of the dream.
He must have blinked his eyes for a moment and gone under. He checked and made sure the ship was still fine. When he saw the timer, he noticed hours had passed. Maybe it had been longer than a blink.
Trevor found his seat, still shaking off his own dream. They were close to the exit point.
"Want to get everyone up?"
"Yeah. That's fine." Unconsciously, Nathan felt for his wedding band around his neck. He slid it back under his collared shirt.
Trevor saw the movement but didn't ask. Instead, he walked back the way he'd just come, turning on the lights and making sure everyone was strapped in. Boost turned himself back on when he heard Trev get the others up. They both returned to the cockpit.
"Ready?" Nathan called as the timer counted to zero.
Trevor buckled himself down and made sure his copilot systems were at least on, even if they were on the fritz. "Yup."
With that, Nathan grabbed the steering yoke and they exited the safety of the clouds, emerging back into the lightning storm.
Chapter 5
The Razerus XIII stood anchored in space, thousands of light years away from Nathan and the others aboard the Wrath. It was a testament to Ruveran technology and ingenuity. The Razerus was so vast, it had to remain outside of the solar system it was built from to make sure it didn't affect the orbits of the planets. They could potentially be drawn to orbit it because of its huge gravitational pull. Too large to be called a space station or even a space realm or world, it was just Razerus, the one-of-a-kind impenetrable domain and home of the Ruveran Empire.
Dacian Velkas stood and looked out over his achievement. He was surrounded by the bustling members of his command and control center. He was enjoying it, even with all the frenetic activity around him. Currently, there were eighteen Breakers docked, seven of which were being loaded for an attack on the outer world of Cenari. That fledgling world had no idea what was on the way.
He smiled. It was always exciting right before a world got taught their lesson.
In the reflective glass before him, he could see his long beige robe. This day. he had gone with the red-and-black sash to symbolize the impending attack on Cenari. His long white hair, thick for a man in his early sixties, hung down his back. His eyes, like those of all full-blooded Ruverans, were a sparkling orange. His smile was crooked and still on display for the moment. Apart from his heart, he was strong and prepared to continue his reign for many years to come. This was his universe. He was the master.
He thought about going to his private office to watch the attack force depart. He could pour himself something strong, perhaps a gin, and relax. He really needed something to keep his spirits up after Render's terrible failure.
Speaking of which…
A familiar ship cleared Razerus space. The dark-red craft started its entry course into docking. His light spirits turned dark when he realized what he had to do. His work was never complete—especially when dealing with incompetence.
Dacian turned from the glass of the window, and one of his men was immediately there, bowing. "Sir?"
"Ready my ship."
The faceless soldier scampered off.
Just as he made to follow, a radio operator stopped him and bowed respectfully. "Master Velkas, I have a troubling report." The operator tried his best to keep his composure near his leader, but it was difficult when his master smelled so strongly of overused cologne and dust.
Dacian motioned for him to continue.
The operator proceeded without pause. "Breaker IX just called in with a status report."
"Out with it…" Dacian said patiently. Since Render had lost his latest endeavor, the Void Star, to the Eckelions, he'd been sending everything he had to find out where it had gone. They tortured an Eckelion to death to get the name Cleph'thera, and then they had to find out where the Nymarian was and go after him.
"They say the Nymarian's ship crashed into a planet, Aquaria."
Aquaria? One of the worlds they had identified as having a secret Elysian base? Hadn't he sent a Breaker to destroy that world?
The operator continued as he processed. "Well, Breaker VI rifted the planet as directed, though it seems the Nymarian was on board a new craft that got away in time. The two Breakers have conflicting reports of what occurred after, but they both say that the rogue ship escaped into an energy ribbon that they are both combing through."
That made enough sense, Dacian mused. "Who rescued the alien? Was it the Elysians?"
The operator paled. "We don't think so. There is one aboard that has been linked to the Elysians, but it doesn't seem that it is an Elysian craft. Its manufacture has been tracked to Earth. And if the vitals-check they performed are correct, the captain of the ship is Nathan Sutherland."
Dacian coughed unintentionally. He grabbed the report from the operator's hands. Sure enough, it had a list of the names and aliases, and Sutherland's was there. It was a small universe indeed.
"Ready three more Breakers and have them prepared to launch in the next twenty-four hours!" he barked.
"Aye, sir." The operator took off and soon disappeared.
He stood motionless for a moment and let the information find its proper place for use. It kept going back to Sutherland.
He was still alive.
Dacian flicked his hand, and a retinue of guards appeared to accompany him. They left the command center behind and walked down the secret, heavily guarded halls toward his private docking station.
Black as deepest space, sleek and sharp, his ship stood at the ready. It just looked dangerous as was its intent. The side of the ship boasted a placard, on which was engraved the number of worlds that had been destroyed, enslaved, beaten, or otherwise broken underneath the heel of Ruvera. He would have them add another "I" to the "XXXVII" for the world of Aquaria.
He scaled the steps and took his seat in his private quarters. His mind flashed back to the last battle with Earth before he ordered its destruction.
The war with that world had been a humbling experience. They had crushed so many others, it seemed that Earth would be a walk in the park, so to speak. But they fought hard, they never quit, and they were stronger than Ruvera.
The last battle had him commanding the remaining ship in their fleet. It was nothing like the Breakers were now, but it was a decent ship—and it was breaking apart in the attack.
And then the thing that changed everything happened.
"Sir, the rift cannon is online."
Dacian Velkas ordered its first target.
The cannon exploded with a single blast. Earth took the hit and, for a moment, seemed to absorb the shock. But seconds later, it burst and disintegrated into dust. Then, with the force of the outward explosion, it pulled into itself and was gone forever.
The Royal Air Force of Earth drew back, most likely in shock, allowing Velkas to escape. They had no idea how close they had come to defeating the most powerful empire the universe had ever known.
Now with the lessons he had learned eight years ago, Ruvera would never be vulnerable again. Dacian had used the rift cannon to usurp his father and rule Ruvera. He brought countless worlds under his thumb and used them to build his unstoppable armada.
So it was interesting to him that the leader of the attack that almost killed him was still alive and somehow involved. Maybe he should have ordered the attack of those worlds known to harbor Earth’s survivors. Too late now. He wondered if the old captain had any idea what he was getting himself into.
-o-
Render disembarked the sharp blood-red ship. The flight crew followed after, sullenly. There was worried talk among them. Letting an Eckelion strike force overwhelm them and losing the valuable object their leader, Master Velkas, wanted was embarrassing to them and the empire—especially after all the work it took to recover it from that primitive Salarian world, Vale.
Render watched Dacian's ship enter the docking bay and land
next to them.
His guards came out first, and then the pale, wrinkled face of their leader appeared. Judging by the look on that face, he wasn't too pleased.
Dacian saw Render go down on one knee as he approached. No amount of bowing would soften his punishment. Dacian ignored the assassin and walked past.
He stood before everyone else, Render's crew.
"Ruvera hasn't been successful because of failure. It is successful because we crush the weakest links out of our organization." Dacian continued to eye the worried faces unable to make eye contact with his disapproving glare. "So that can only mean one thing, I'm afraid. We are at an impasse. A parting of the ways."
The crew looked from one to the other, scared and confused.
"But there is one thing we'll all learn from this." He motioned for his armed guards. "We'll see which one of you can hold his breath the longest."
There was a short scuffle as the crew was apprehended and led away. The airlock wasn't far, and soon, their bodies were floating outside the ship.
"Render." He looked to his assassin.
Render rose back up.
"You are lucky you still are still of some use to me. Let this be a reminder to you should you decide to fail again."
Render didn't answer; just nodded once.
"Well, do you still have the Salarian you captured?"
"Yes, sir," came the robotic reply.
"Good. Something came out of this absolute failure. Anyway, we have things to discuss. An old friend of yours has become involved with our situation. Someone you know well. I'm sure you remember the son of Scott Andrews?"
Render passed a hand along the scar that ran underneath the dark helmet from the wound that had mangled and transformed it into the disfigured living robot that remained.
"Yeah. I thought you'd like to see him again."
Dacian led the way back to his private ship. There was much to discuss.
Chapter 6
The Endari Energy Ribbon ripped and roared across them once more. Violent bolts of lightning struck randomly, and one outer panel exploded. Nathan ducked and dived as best as he could through the unpredictable storm, calm as could be. Then, in moments, he pulled the Wrath out of it. They surfed the calm space beyond the ribbon.
Thankfully, there weren't any Ruveran Breakers waiting for them. That meant they had a little bit of a head start for the moment, which was good, since they were nearly completely out of fuel and needed supplies.
Nathan brought the ship down into the atmosphere of the world of Flora.
Centuries ago, Flora had been another dead planet, devoid of life. But an ancient, unknown people seeded the world with Loira'lei trees. Loira'lei could grow in the harshest of circumstances and created their own ecosystem by producing a type of oxygen through nexra-synthesis; other plants and life were soon able to thrive. With the introduction of water, strange new life found a way, and soon Flora was a fertile planet upon which plants and animals of all kinds flourished; one of the busiest spaceports was housed there due to the lack of tax rates. Flora's name derived from the colorful and rare flowers that grew so abundantly there.
Flying through flocks of Cumera, a type of flying squid, Nathan zeroed toward the ground. The landing pad was packed, like it usually was, when they came through. The cityscape rose to meet them with spires and tall business headquarters. Nathan had to take vectors around as other ships took off. As soon as their landing gear touched ground, a ground crew rushed over to refuel them. Flora was all about getting you in and out—for a price.
After powering the ship down, Nathan gathered everyone in the passenger compartment. Before he spoke, he went through the list in his head again to be sure he didn't forget anything. They had a dead alien in the cargo hold; he had an encrypted data pad in his pocket; there were two Ruveran battleships after them; and he still needed to get his passengers to Mara VII, a two day journey.
Trevor passed out hot cups of coffee as they waited. The hairs on the back of his neck were upright, like when he was about to have an attack. He focused on his breathing and remained calm.
"All right," Nathan began. "I know you weren't up front when everything unfolded, so I'll just say that Ruvera was out to capture the alien. For what, I'm still not entirely sure. But the fact of the matter is, by helping him, we have endangered you."
Trevor knew his uncle was lying about not knowing why Ruvera was after the alien. His uncle never lied.
It looked like Ruvera’s pursuit wasn't news to anybody except for Daphkalian, whose face lost a little color. "Wait. You mean they're still going to come after us?"
Nathan nodded. "Yes. They will hunt us down for as long as we live."
Daphkalian's expression grew dark. "I had no idea I was getting myself involved in stuff like this."
"I told you there would be risk when I hired you," Kaida spoke up.
"Not like this," Daphkalian huffed. "My brother was right about you when—"
Trevor had had enough. He knocked the coffee out of Daphkalian's hand. "Clearly, you're not paying attention. You would have died in that rift if not for us. If that ship hadn't crashed and we hadn't rescued that alien, we would've been on the surface of Aquaria and been sucked into oblivion."
Daphkalian's much larger form towered over Trevor's. There was a considerable size difference, but Trev was scrappy, and for a moment, things were tense enough for a fist to fly, but the moment passed when Kaida put a hand on Daph's.
"I'm sorry. This is my fault," she pleaded.
Daphkalian stared them all down. His tail whipped about furiously. "I'm over this." He turned and stormed out through the back.
Nathan's eyes searched the ground for a moment, and then they came back up to Kaida. "The Ruverans were looking for someone else besides the alien. They were out to kill that person. I don't think it was Daphkalian."
Kaida was quiet for a long moment. She searched his eyes for a way out, and when she didn't find one, she looked away. "I can't say."
Nathan breathed out through his nose. "That's what I figured." He pulled out the data pad the Nymarian had given him. "Do you recognize these?"
Kaida's head came back around. For a moment, she thought he meant the data pad, but on closer inspection, she saw he was talking about the figures on it.
"It's Tharitian mathematics. Yes. I know it," she answered.
"Well, neither I nor Trevor can make sense of it. We need to figure out what's on here, and seeing as we are in this together, we could use your help to unlock its secrets."
Kaida hesitated for a moment and then nodded. "Of course I'll help." She took the data pad in her hands, and then she added, "Please don't tell Daphkalian. I don't want him any more involved than he already is."
"Agreed," Nathan replied. He turned to Trev. "I need you and Boost to take care of the Nymarian."
Trevor was ready to object, but he decided it was more important to appear united as a crew. "C'mon, Booster."
Trev left with Boost in tow. They respectfully carted Cleph’s encased body across the landing area toward the trade city and disappeared.
"How much you need?" a voice yelled from outside the ship. It was one of the refuelers.
"Full!" Nathan barked back.
In the passenger compartment, Nathan realized he had just gotten himself alone with the enticing redhead. His fingers lightly touched the ring around his neck. She was eyeing him too; whatever weight she had been carrying with her was suddenly gone. The feeling of familiarity returned.
"Can I ask you something?"
Nathan knew he had to stop this now, before she got ideas. She would just keep coming if he didn't keep her in her place, business only. But for first time in eight years, he couldn't.
"Since we'll be together a little longer, I was wondering something. What is the deal with you and your copilot? Are you family?"
Nathan allowed himself to breathe again. Crisis averted. He was getting too old for these games.
"He's my sister
's kid."
"And you look after him?"
"Since the end of Earth, yes." He sat down at the table in the middle of the compartment and sipped what was left of his coffee. "He's the only one in my family who survived."
"I lost a lot of family too." Kaida didn't want to bring up Gastoff. She needed never to think of him again and to move on with her life, so she shifted the conversation. "I was wondering one more thing."
"Shoot."
"Why does he carry that sword? He doesn't look like he knows how to use it."
Nathan released a long sigh before answering. "His father was killed with it. Trevor said he found his father with that sword through him as the murder was happening. When he stumbled upon the scene, he fired on the killer. According to Trev, the intruder was hit in the face, and the impact flung him out the window. The fall was too great for any man to survive, let alone the shot. He didn't see anyone on the rocks below. Then he says he saw a rogue Ruveran ship take off before it cloaked."
Kaida tried to hide her surprise. "Does he know who did it?"
"After all these years of digging, Trevor can only find rumors and whispers. Whoever the killer is doesn't leave too much of a trace…only appearances of his ship."
"That sounds terrible. I wonder why his father was assassinated. Was he military?"
Nathan shook his head. "That's the mystery. He was an engineer. I think they went after the wrong target. Scott was harmless."
Kaida thought about everyone she had lost. Ruvera murdered at will and without cause. Sometimes, there was no reason to the madness. "So he carries that sword in hopes of using it?"
Nathan nodded. "If I know my nephew, he's looking for the assassin's ship right now."
-o-
"Anyone coming, Booster?" Trevor was just finishing up going through the police data. He had jacked into an access terminal. He had his head and sword hidden beneath a dark cloak as he worked.
"Forty-seven meters and closing," Boost announced.
Trevor completed the search and found that the killer's ship had actually passed through recently but had left thirteen days ago. Another missed opportunity. He slammed the computer access shut and left as inconspicuously as he could.
