by C. C. Ekeke
“Everything,” V’Korram replied, scowl deepening.
Khal winced. Tattshi.
“Either tell Nwosu yourself or I will,” V’Korram growled. Khal took the former option and addressed his teammates on Phaeton’s bridge.
The Cerc’s reaction was as pleasant as Khal had expected. “Are you greybricking me?” Habraum stated, rubbing the back of his bald head.
“Told ya Surje was a better choice,” Khrome muttered not so quietly. Khal pretended not to hear that.
“If we report his location to any Ttaunz authorities,” Tyris inquired, “he screws us over?”
“So could Uarya, if inclined,” Habraum added, eyeing Khal with distaste.
“All because of Lt. Al Abdullah’s inability to rule his carnal appetites,” Marguliese added. Her cold blue eyes impaled through Khal. He shuddered and looked away, still feeling her stare knifing into his back.
The ship trembled again, shaking everyone for several macroms.
By the Maker! After regaining his footing, Khal took this opportunity to address his angered teammates with some practiced contrition. “I’m sorry about this. Uarya has no reason to screw us after Taorr gave her what she wanted. Given her highborn status, I figured she’d provide intel on Faroor and its culture.”
“She clearly provided more than that,” the other Habraum snarked.
“Shhhhhh,” Habraum hissed, and irately sucked on his teeth to silence the other Cerc. “Did you at least lock onto the wristcom Taorr used?”
“Yeah,” Khal stated, trying to keep his voice neutral. He’d clearly slept with the wrong female—not a first in his case. That didn’t make him an incompetent space for brains.
V’Korram got in his personal space, emphasizing the near foot in height he had on the human. “Your stupidity already endangered us with Maorridius Magnus,” he snarled. “You better hope it doesn’t cost Cortes her life.”
Khal calmly stepped back from the Kintarian’s pungent musk. “Don’t stick your finger in my face.”
Nwosu advanced toward them, already sensing where this confrontation could go. “V’Korram. Ease up.”
The Kintarian instead closed the space between him and Khal. “What’re you going to do?” he growled derisively. “Sex your way out of it…like how you got onto CT-1?”
What the…? He did not just…! The stinging accusation prompted Khal to react, pie-facing V’Korram. Not smart, but the smelly Kintarian’s claim was too dangerous to ignore.
Khal hadn’t retracted his arm before the Kintarian whirled with startling speed, uppercut chopping Khal in the throat.
Khal abruptly found himself on the floor, clutching his throat and feeling like it had been caved in. A cacophony of yelling and motion happened above. Nwosu stood between Khal and V’Korram while Marguliese had stepped in front of the hair-trigger Kintarian. The other Habraum remained on the sidelines, disgusted. Khrome and Tyris looked amused by the showdown. Big surprise, Khal thought bitterly, gullet burning as he drew in breath. V’Korram’s green-flecked eyes never left Khal. He tossed his ginger mane back in disdain, raising his hand and extending five sharp black claws. “Next time,” he warned, “you get these.”
“Nobody gets anything!” Nwosu bellowed, reaching down and jerking Khal upright. “Y’ollrigh?”
The telekinetic bent over, finally breathing properly, and nodded. Trying to talk seemed like a bad idea.
“Walk it off.” Habraum gave Khal a rather hard pat to the back and turned to V’Korram. “Go cool off.” The Kintarian turned and left. Marguliese accompanied him to ensure he did as ordered.
“Captain,” Solrao called over the comms, thankfully. “We’ve arrived at Okka tribal lands.”
The other Habraum approached, none too pleased. “There’s no time to grab Cortes.”
Habraum ignored him. “Any luck transmatting Cortes and Byzlar?” he asked Solrao.
“None.” The Ibrisian’s dozy tone sounded demoralized. “Can’t seem to get a definite lock on Cortes or Byzlar’s specific location. The skyquakes are causing way too much interference.”
“Which means we have to go in,” Captain Nwosu finished for her. “And grab those two ourselves.” Khal saw a distraught look flickering across the field commander’s rugged, mahogany features. That was not a decision he envied. Everyone on the bridge knew that would take time away from reaching the Zenith Point before Ghuj’aega and Aut’ala merged.
The other Habraum still felt the need to speak that concern aloud. “We don’t have time for that.”
“I know,” Captain Nwosu agreed, eyes on the ground.
Tyris, icy physique looking slick and somewhat melted, jerked forward. His dark blue eyes narrowed. “We can’t leave Lily down there.” The bridge shook again.
“I know, Tyris,” Nwosu barked, causing the Tanoeen to back off. The Cerc paced a moment and stopped. He looked to have reached a decision. “Take V’Korram and a Shadowlancer. Contact Sgt. Fiyan so she can supplement her forces. Go.”
After the Tanoeen exited, the other Habraum expressed stark disapproval. “Splitting up your team for two soldiers. That’s lolly-brained.”
“Two valuable soldiers, mind you,” Captain Nwosu countered, striding toward his captain’s seat on the bridge. “I don’t leave anyone behind unless there is no other choice.”
The other Habraum gave a mocking start-stop laugh, scratching his afro. “There is a choice. You’re just making one based on emotion. If we can’t beat Aut’ala, rescuing your valuable soldiers won’t matter.”
Khal exchanged a look with Marguliese and Khrome. This was getting interesting.
Another skyquake shivered through Phaeton, weaker but longer. Captain Nwosu turned to his alternate with frayed patience. The tense faceoff weirded Khal out. Two Habraums.
“Let me explain how I run CT-1, ‘Habraum.’ I don’t sacrifice teammates for convenience. I’m not you.”
The other Habraum’s reaction was stiff and contemptuous. “You’re certainly not,” he stated flatly, and marched off the bridge.
Captain Nwosu shook his bald head and exhaled loudly. Khal figured he should personally apologize, get ahead of his mistakes.
Nwosu raised a silencing hand before he could speak. “The only reason you’re not benched is because we’re shorthanded. I’ll determine your punishment after this mission. Until then, you say ‘Yes, sir’ or ‘No, sir’ unless you have something worthwhile to add. You got me?”
Khal felt a paralyzing chill under Nwosu’s penetrating glare. The disappointment in himself only made the feeling worse. “Yes, sir.”
“Get out of my sight.” Nwosu moved to his seat and opened a line with Tyris to discuss further instructions. He paid no more attention to Khal.
The telekinetic left the bridge, wishing he had the ability to kick himself. On the way, an idea popped into his head. It might not redeem him with CT-1 or Captain Nwosu, but it was the right thing to do.
Khal opened a transmission on his communication console after reaching his quarters.
“Hey,” he said once the receiver appeared on a floating holoscreen. “I found Taorr. Or…he found me. Sending you his last known coordinates…”
Chapter 26
From afar, swarms of Farooqua poured down between the slopes enclosing Qiidr Ol-Chaeda. For the first time in recent memory, the Quud Tribal Nation was going to war.
Soon other tribes would join them. The single largest gathering of tribal armies ever, Mhir’ujiid realized in awe, spear in hand.
And I cannot take part. From her perch atop a distant hill, the Farooqua felt wholly disappointed. The wind ruffled the flowing tail of her neon-green mohawk as she watched tendrils of Quud warriors spill down to flatter terrain. As eldest child of the Quud High Chief, Mhir’ujiid had always imagined being at her father’s right hand should true war break out. Her father, mother, and the elder of her younger siblings were all part of that army.
But her father had given her a mission which she relished, dread
ed, and hated.
On one hand, she would see Taorr sooner than expected. The thought filled her with dizzying excitement, despite the mission’s objective being to contact Star Brigade.
On the other hand, Mhir’ujiid’s mission filled her with terror too colossal to truly comprehend. When she made it back to Quud lands, would there be a family or a tribe to return to?
This wasn’t another tribe the Quud would be battling. They were going to war against the Ttaunz, an enemy with weaponry far beyond the Farooqua’s understanding. Mighty as the Quud Tribal Nation was, even they were no match for the armament Mhir’ujiid had seen a single Ttaunz soldier use.
“If only my communications devices allowed me to contact him.” The Quud glared at the tubular device in her other hand. The girl had strived to speak in Standard even when alone to improve her fluency. For safety purposes, Taorr made it a one-way communication device. That way, no one could triangulate her position or that of the Quud.
Mhir’ujiid looked to the skies. The Zenith Point blazed more furiously than she’d ever seen. “Not good,” she said out loud. White-hot fire was rolling off the moon in rippling waves. Had this conflict between Faroor’s two species angered the Zenith Point? Or was it Ghuj’aega’s actions?
The name filled her with hatred. After reaching Star Brigade, she would give them the keys to destroying him…if she reached them in time.
Behind her stood an ancient Farooqua teleport hub, which helped them get around Quud and other Tribal Nation’s lands with ease. Mhir’ujiid found a shattered stump destroyed by blaster fire.
Meaning Star Brigade had revealed the existence of these hubs to Union Command and TDF. But the reality of their destruction hit Mhir’ujiid harder than expected.
“This isn’t over,” she vowed. There were other secret stubs further away that could get her close enough to Magnasterium. The Farooqua glanced about. “Need to get an Iokki mount.”
A sharp beep startled her. She stared at the device in her hand disbelievingly until another beep sounded. Mhir’ujiid hurriedly answered. “Taorr?”
“Mhir’ujiid!”
Taorr’s voice was a cascade of warm sunlight. “Thank the six elements! How are you?”
“Free.” Taorr’s voice quavered with joy.
The Farooqua frowned, unsure if that was good or bad. “What do you mean?”
“I broke my betrothal to Uarya and escaped Magnasterium.”
“What?” Mhir’ujiid gasped. “Taorr, your father and the TDF will find you—”
“They won’t,” Taorr interrupted. “You’re wearing the bracelet I gave you?”
“Always,” Mhir’ujiid breathed, glancing at the shiny bronze bracelet around her left wrist. Her brain still couldn’t grasp what Taorr had done.
“Luminal!” Taorr exclaimed. “I’ll track its signal and come to you.”
“No!” Mhir’ujiid cried, finally getting over her shock. She felt joy for Taorr, but him leaving Magnasterium was at the worst possible time. “I need to you to go back! I must contact the Star Brigade about Ghuj’aega. There are ways we can strip him of his powers and end this conflict.” The Farooqua tore her gaze away as another fork of red lightning sliced across the roiling heavens. She expected Taorr’s shock and anger.
Instead, silence greeted her passionate plea. Mhir’ujiid straightened up. “Taorr? What happened?”
“Mhir’ujiid…Ghuj’aega is dead.”
The blood drained from her face. “WHAT?!”
Taorr sighed and continued morosely. “He was killed and absorbed into the Zenith Point.”
“Oh no…Taorr.” Mhir’ujiid shook her head feverishly. Suddenly all the nightmarish tales the Quud elders had told her since childhood no longer seemed fictional. Her sides coiled up as fear took over. “If he’s ascended…that means the Dreaming Farooqua is awaking.”
“What does that even mean?” Taorr asked, sounding confused and tired. “Isn’t the Dreamer a myth?”
“That is no myth,” Mhir’ujiid corrected. Suddenly the angry skies made more sense, grew more threatening. “I need to reach my father, tell him what happened.”
“Mhir’ujiid, listen.” A jolt of vigor now filled Taorr’s next words. “There’s nothing we can do now.”
Tha Farooqua gaped at the device in her hand. “Of course there is. We must warn every Tribal Nation.”
“Can they stop Ghuj’aega?” Taorr countered flatly. “Now that he has merged with the Zenith Point?”
Mhir’ujiid had found a rocky outcrop jutting sideways out of the ground. She could find no answer to his question. An abomination like Ghuj’aega was not supposed to happen.
“That’s what I thought.” Taorr didn’t sound proud of being right. “Once I reach you, let us just leave Faroor for good.”
Now Mhir’ujiid was lost. “And go where?”
“Anywhere we want.” His tenor soared with melodious hope. “There is a whole universe to explore, my love. Currency won’t be an issue. I’ve transferred most of my inheritance into a private account.”
Mhir’ujiid fell on her behind hearing this dizzying revelation. “I can’t just leave my tribe, my duties. And the responsibilities you are leaving behind. Working for peace between our species—”
“After my abduction, I doubt there will ever be peace between Ttaunz and Farooqua, Mhir’u. And I do not want to succeed my father as Maorridius Magnus.”
“I understand that, love,” Mhir’ujiid began. “What about—”
Taorr spoke over her. “Even if your father accepts us, the Quud will not. Nor will the other Tribal Nations. You are eldest daughter of the Quud High chief. His heir.”
“But—”
“But nothing!” Taorr’s desperation startled the Farooqua. “We must leave today! You and I can start our new life together.”
“I….” Mhir’ujiid was so overwhelmed. She looked around at Faroor, the savage heavens, the rolling swathes of land she had known since childhood. Faroor was the only home she had lived on. Could another planet replace that? A lone shuttlecraft soared overhead, closer than desirable, evading the lightning strikes. “Taorr, I want to be with you more than life itself. But I can’t leave without a word. That is childish. Selfish.”
The Farooqua cringed. She didn’t regret her words, just how they came out in Standard, her second language. Taorr is anything but childish and selfish. “I do not mean you—”
“We’ll talk more after I arrive,” he snapped, ending the transmission abruptly. Mhir’ujiid slumped to her knees, head in hands. The roaring winds roared over all other sounds. She had dreamed of being with Taorr for so long. But with the Zenith Point ravaging Faroor, the Quud marching to war…
“Lovers’ quarrel?”
The nearby singsongy voice came out of nowhere. Mhir’ujiid popped to her feet.
“By the stars…” She spied a lone Ttaunz several feet away, silhouetted against the sky’s malevolent pink glow. At a glance, her heartbeat stuttered. “You are here? Already?”
Then, a closer look stopped Mhir’ujiid in mid-sprint. The lanky and well-muscled body with the baby blue pelt resembled Taorr. But Taorr no longer styled his hair in the long twists of braids most highborn wore, or the gaudy robes covered in jewels. And this Ttaunz’s face, though similar to Taorr’s, wore a cold malice that she didn’t recognize.
She had never met this Ttaunz, but recognized him immediately. “Gaorr. Why are you here?” The shuttlecraft the Farooqua had spotted earlier hovered just off the ground behind him.
Gaorr’s smile did not reach his eyes, making the Farooqua uneasy. “I am here for you…and my turncoat brother. Who I’m guessing is heading here.” He advanced slowly, observing Mhir’ujiid with a mix of fascination and disgust. “I just had to meet the Farooqua slut who had robbed him of his senses.”
Mhir’ujiid shivered and backpedaled to the outcrop, snatching up her spear. “How did you find me?”
“DNA scan,” Gaorr explained in condescending tones, the wind ru
ffling his gaudy bejeweled robes. “Something you Farooqua savages could not comprehend.” He sauntered closer. “Your ‘DNA’ was all over Magnasterium’s prisons during your brief stay. I just searched the Quud tribal lands for a match.”
Mhir’ujiid gulped, sensing the hostile vibrations in Gaorr’s body language. Not that she was threatened by him. But after her own brother’s death, she had no desire to hurt Taorr’s younger sibling. “For the sake of your brother, I will allow you to leave unharmed. If not, I will defend myself.” She pointed her long spear at his chest.
Gaorr studied the barbed spear tip, then her with an arrogant sneer. He wasn’t afraid. “You honestly think I came alone?”
Shimmers of light appeared around them. Two behind Gaorr and two behind Mhir’ujiid. She leaped away and landed in a crouch. Four colossal Ttaunz bodyguards stood in their midst, similar to the lowborn Ttaunz who protected Taorr. All carried sleek, silvery pulse pistols. Mhir’ujiid’s panic soared.
Gaorr’s sneer widened. “Take her alive. Don’t be gentle.”
Chapter 27
“Jan’Hax. Is the target in place?” Sam stepped off the translifter at her level on Hollus’s Living Quarters.
“Correct,” Jan’Hax answered lackadaisically.
“Are you in place?” she pressed, approaching her quarters.
“Outside her quarters with transmat coordinates locked.” With Surje not verifying 100 percent that Addison was the Children of Earth mole, Sam was handling this matter personally. “Good. You wait for my mark.”
She’d brought Jan’Hax up to speed on her way back to Hollus Maddrone. The plan was to snatch Addison from her quarters and detain her before CT-2 infiltrated CoE’s Zeid training hub. No way could Sam have a possible traitor on her CT who could sabotage this mission. Especially with Addison’s skillset.
Once Bevrolor detected activity at the CoE hub, CT-2 would move in. Ironically, Addison had been blowing up Sam’s wristcom the instant she stepped foot on Hollus. Whatever she had to say could wait until she was safely imprisoned. D’Sake had also contacted her multiple times. Sam winced, feeling guilty. Undoubtedly her UniPol archive search with the Monaskoan analyst’s ID got him in some trouble. That argument can wait until after CT-2’s mission.
