The Shadow Order - Books 1 - 8 + 120 Seconds (The complete series): A Space Opera

by Michael Robertson

  As Gurt spoke, more and more soldiers flooded into the basement. The large Mandulu ground his jaw so his horns pushed up his face and he ripped off several more blasts. He then led the way from the dungeon and the others followed.

  Chapter 52

  Gurt strode towards the guards with a blaster in each hand, his guns bucking every time he shot one. SA followed after him, her polished blades blinking beneath the glare of the now brightly lit room.

  After a deep breath, Seb moved off too. They’d been on the go since they’d landed on Solsans and he felt exhausted. His entire body ached and his sore limbs threatened to stop working, but he gritted his teeth and pushed forward.

  The narrow stairway only allowed Gurt and SA to fight side by side. Useless as he stood behind them, Seb ran over to one of the cages with the boys in it instead.

  Wide eyes stared from the dark. Too scared to speak, the pale creatures pulled away from the door. They huddled together in the shadows at the back. A large padlock clamped their gate shut. So large, Seb had to grab it with both hands and pull. It did little to remove it from the cell door.

  When Seb looked behind, all of his team had vanished, but he could hear them fighting on the stairs.

  Seb noticed a rack of metal spikes to his right. He grabbed one—the shaft tacky with old blood—and pulled. At first, the spear didn’t budge. With his right foot pressed against the rack to stop it moving, he clamped his jaw and pulled again.

  Several yanks later it came free with a loud tearing sound. The pole—although hollow—seemed strong enough. Seb turned the weapon around so the pointy end poked up at the dungeon’s ceiling. He gripped it with both hands, focused on his target, and drove the butt of the weapon against the large padlock. He scored a direct hit, but the pole simply bounced off it. A combination lock, the soldiers who’d know the code now lay dead on the ground by the exit to the dungeon.

  “Come on, Seb,” Sparks called from somewhere up the stairs. “We can’t hang around any longer. We need to get out of here.”

  Exhausted and running out of ideas, Seb screamed through his clenched jaw as he drove another heavy blow against the huge lock. A spark of metal on metal, but the lock remained clamped shut.

  The same alarm Seb had heard when he’d been in the hangar with Sparks rang out. A female voice called through the cavernous palace. The echoes of chaos rushed down into the dungeon and he could just about make out her words. “All units head to the dungeon right now. Escaped prisoners. Neutralise by using all force necessary. All units …”

  “Seb,” Sparks called again and she appeared in the dungeon doorway, “we need to get the hell out of here. This is our window.”

  A look into the cell and the boys continued to stare at Seb. Their saviour, he now had a choice to make. Him or them.

  A lump rose in his throat and regret twisted his spirit.

  One last look at the boys and Seb ran off after Sparks.

  Chapter 53

  The narrow stairs that led up and out from the dungeon only allowed room for Gurt and SA to fight their way through. Nearly at the top now, Seb, Sparks, and the rich idiot followed slowly behind. They moved one step at a time as the dark stairwell lit up with sounds of blaster fire, expletives, and the squelch of knives cutting flesh.

  The corridor at the top of the stairs seemed clear for now. Well, other than the pile of dead foot soldiers. Guilt, fatigue, and his generally poor fitness all dragged Seb down, but he couldn’t stop now. The alarm continued to shriek through the hallways of the palace, and the annoying woman repeated the same order to get to the dungeon.

  “Which way?” Gurt called at Sparks, his blasters raised and ready to use.

  Sparks stared at her mini-computer before she pointed down the corridor. “That way.”

  When the stampede of soldiers’ footsteps came from the direction she pointed in, Sparks quickly pointed the other way. “That way.”

  Faster than the lot of them, Sparks took off at a sprint. SA followed on her heels while Seb ran in the middle, dragging the stupid toff with him. Gurt took up the rear.

  The sound of Gurt’s blasters went off, and when Seb turned around, he saw the bolts fired from them light up the dark corridor. They took out four Crimson soldiers. Gurt released several more shots as more of the soldiers came into view.

  Seb had seen Sparks run and knew she could move faster, but she’d slowed her pace so they could stay together. The backlight on her computer’s screen lit up from the map on the display.

  Every few seconds, Gurt released another volley of blaster fire. George Camoron flinched with every shot. As much as Seb didn’t want to give the privileged idiot the benefit of the doubt, he looked like he’d been through hell. Were Seb in his position, then his nerves would undoubtedly be shot to pieces too.

  “Get in,” Sparks called back.

  Seb dragged the rich idiot into the dark shadow of a wall. As they stood there, George Camoron breathed as if on the edge of a panic attack, and Seb came close to knocking him out to keep him quiet.

  Before he could react, a group of soldiers tore past them. They’d come from the direction the gang were heading in, and in their haste to get to what Seb assumed to be the dungeon, they didn’t notice the five figures in the cover of the shadows. The group set off again before the ones behind caught up.

  Several twists and turns and Sparks led them to the large, open space of another hangar. Unlike the one they’d been in when the Countess gave her rousing speech, this one had some use. It had ships everywhere. The ground continued as the same black rock, but the walls were lined with chrome. The place seemed abandoned.

  Gurt, clumsy with his wobbly gait—his damaged knee obviously making it harder for him—ran in as the last of the group members. Sparks tapped on her computer screen and the large doors whirred to life as they slowly closed.

  It sounded like a hundred guards were chasing them up the hallway, and the large doors couldn’t close quickly enough. None of the foot soldiers had appeared yet, but Gurt shot through the decreasing gap down the hall anyway. The approaching noise of soldiers seemed to slow in response to the warning shot.

  The first few foot soldiers came into view and SA rushed over to be next to Gurt. She threw several of her knives at them. Despite the distance of at least twenty metres, every one of her blades scored a direct hit. They disappeared inside the shadowed hoods of the soldiers and Seb watched them fall a second later. He couldn’t help but smile to himself as he recovered his breath from the run.

  Once the doors had fully closed, Sparks used her watch to blow up the control panel. It lit up and belched bursts of fire and electricity before the life left it. “That should hold them for a short time,” Sparks said.

  The gang, led by Sparks, ran across the hangar to the closest ship, their stamping feet echoing in the large space. When Seb noticed a collection of ships in one corner, he said, “Isn’t that …?”

  Gurt looked over. “The ships they used to bomb the slums.”

  “So they did it to their own people?” Seb asked. “But why?”

  “To give them a common enemy,” Camoron said. “If they see the Countess protecting them, they’ll get behind her cause much more readily.”

  “Wow,” Seb replied. “I thought I’d already seen the worst that woman could do to her citizens.”

  A haunted look stared back at him from Camoron’s withdrawn face. “I don’t know what you’ve seen, but my guess is that you’ve not even scratched the surface.”

  A chill snapped through Seb as they ran up the ramp into the ship. A few seconds later, the engine roared to life and Sparks had them off the ground.

  Seb ran to the cockpit and looked through the windshield. “Why are the doors still closed, Sparks?”

  The small Thrystian shook her head and tapped her small computer. “I don’t know. They should be opening.”

  The ship rocked from side to side as it hovered in the air and the sound of blaster fire crashed against the other
side of the hangar doors from where the soldiers were trying to burst in.

  “It’ll have to be done manually,” Sparks said.

  With SA in the co-pilot’s seat and Gurt’s bad knee, Seb said, “What do I have to do?”

  Sparks looked at Seb for the briefest moment and didn’t reply.

  “Come on, Sparks, we don’t have time to mess around.”

  A nod and Sparks held her screen up. Four numbers appeared on it. “Zero, seven, one, two. You need to put that code into the box by the door. Not only will it open the doors for us, but it will disable all of the Countess’ tracking systems. It’ll make it much harder for them to follow us.” She then pulled an earpiece from her bag and gave it to Seb. “This will help us communicate while you’re out there.”

  As Seb clipped the earpiece to his right ear, he looked at SA and met her wide and compassionate gaze. If he needed motivation to go, she’d just given it to him. “Zero, seven, one, two,” he said.

  Just before Seb left the ship, he grabbed Gurt. Aware of the scrutiny from the others, he leaned in and whispered in the Mandulu’s ear. When he pulled back, Gurt glared at him.

  “And rest that knee up, old man,” Seb said.

  Gurt scowled even harder than before.

  Before Gurt could reply, Seb jumped off the ship into the hangar.

  Chapter 54

  The earpiece clung to Seb’s ear, yet he still pressed against it to make sure it didn’t fall out. He didn’t have time to go back to get it if that happened. The sound of blaster fire battered the doors separating the hangar from the rest of the palace. The large steel barrier seemed to be stronger than the attack levelled at it. For now.

  The ground in the hangar looked like the rest of the palace. Black and uneven, it had been flattened enough that Seb could run across it without fear of tripping. The chrome walls had fuel ports down each side at regular intervals. They also had spaces to hold tools, and cupboards for flight suits. The palace had been set up to run a fleet of ships. A small fleet, but a fleet nonetheless. When the Crimson Countess only ever fought her own ships in the sky, why would she need anything more?

  By the time Seb had crossed the hangar, the sound of blaster fire against the locked door had ceased. Instead, he heard something much worse: the buzz and crackle of a blowtorch. He looked around to see the white-hot glow as the torch ate through the metal. It wouldn’t be long before they cut through the door and the Crimson foot soldiers spilled into the hangar.

  “You’re looking good, Seb,” Sparks said in his ear, and Seb turned around to look at the ship as it hovered and wobbled in mid-air. The small Sparks gave him a large thumbs-up.

  At the control panel to the hangar door they intended to escape through, Seb said, “Zero, seven, one, two, right?”

  “Zero, seven, one, two,” Sparks repeated.

  A hole opened up in the large doors holding the Crimson soldiers back. Molten steel dripped from it like snot. Seb’s hand shook as he tapped the silver buttons on the numeric keypad. He then pressed the green tick and the motors in the large doors whirred and thunked.

  As the door opened, Seb looked behind him. The blowtorch had already burned a shape the size of a doorway. He pressed against his earpiece. “They’ve nearly busted through.”

  The door of steel got kicked forward and it hit the ground with a loud clang. The Crimson foot soldiers spilled into the place. With too far to travel to get back to Sparks and the others in the ship, Seb said, “They’re in. You go; I’ll catch up.”

  The soldiers who’d made it into the hangar sent a volley of blaster fire at the ship, which wobbled and shook from the attack. “We’re not going anywhere without you,” Sparks screamed into the earpiece.

  “You have to,” Seb said. “I’m not running across the hangar to get to you.” And with that, he ran out of the way to hide beneath one of the Crimson fleet’s ships.

  “I said we won’t go without you,” Sparks called again.

  The whoosh of a plasma rocket shot through the hangar and scored a direct hit on the back of Sparks’ ship. Another one rushed through a second later and narrowly missed, exploding into the wall and filling the air with the thick smell of smoke.

  “You’ll all die if you don’t leave now,” Seb said. “I’ll find a way out of here.” As he spoke, he climbed into the ship he’d hidden beneath.

  A third whoosh and Sparks shifted her ship to the side to avoid another rocket. “Damn it,” she called through the earpiece and she flew out of the hangar.

  Once outside, Sparks turned her ship around so she faced back in and shouted, “I’ve trusted you to get out of there, Seb. Don’t let me down.”

  “Don’t let you down?” Seb replied as he sat in the cockpit of the ship he’d climbed into. “I’m more concerned about not letting myself down at the moment.” He flicked the ignition switch and his ship shook as it sprang to life.

  “Are you okay flying that thing?” Sparks said in Seb’s ear.

  “I’m going to have to be.” He grabbed one of the handles and he lurched to the side, knocking over several drawers full of tools and crashing into a stationary ship with a loud bang. The shock of the crash snapped through the vessel and jolted Seb’s frame. When he pulled the lever the other way, he rushed at one of the solid metal walls, but he managed to stop just before he smashed into it. One crash he could get away with, two and he wouldn’t be flying out of there.

  The sound of blaster fire hit the side of Seb’s ship, but the shields dampened them. He glanced behind to see three of the Crimson foot soldiers, all with rocket launchers pointed his way. Just before they could fire, he pushed forward on the flight stick and shot toward the hangar’s exit. Three loud explosions hit the wall just where he’d been only seconds before.

  Totally out of control, Seb closed his eyes as he shot away from the hangar. When he opened them again, he found himself outside and on a collision course with Sparks.

  The small Thrystian screamed as he hurtled toward them and Seb screamed louder in return.

  Chapter 55

  Fortunately Sparks had the presence of mind to pull her ship to the side at the last minute and Seb flew straight past them, yelling as he came dangerously close to a collision. Sweat made his palms damp against the flight stick and his breathing sped up, but when he looked at the open sky now before him, he relaxed a little.

  A look behind at Sparks and although he saw her ship, he also saw seven ships of the Crimson fleet exit the hangar after them. The earpiece Sparks had given him seemed to stop working because he called her name into it several times and received no reply.

  A few seconds later the beautiful face of SA popped up on the console in front of him. Sparks spoke. “How are you doing, Seb?”

  “I’m still in the sky.”

  “That’s good. I have some bad news for you.”

  “Worse than the fact that we’re outnumbered in a dogfight and it’s all I can do to stop myself from crashing?”

  Seb physically deflated when Sparks said, “Yep. It turns out the rocket that hit us disabled our blasters.”

  The reality of their situation seemed slightly beyond Seb’s grasp. “Wait a minute. So that means—”

  “We have no blasters. You’re on your own in this battle.”

  Seb looked over his shoulder again at the seven ships that had followed them out. The action of turning around made him send his ship tearing across the sky to his right. Totally out of control, Seb yanked the flight stick the other way and somehow managed to stop.

  Deep breaths did nothing to slow his world down. Like in the simulators, his gift didn’t work here.

  “The best thing to do is follow us and keep our tail clear,” Sparks said.

  “I can’t even see you, Sparks, let alone fly in a straight enough line to follow you.” A gentle nudge on the flight stick and he turned his ship until he saw them. A nudge of the stick forward and he took off in their direction.

  As Seb hurtled through the air, Sparks s
creamed at him, “Slow down, Seb.”

  Seb pulled back on the stick and the ship shot straight up. A vertical ascent, he only saw stars.

  “Come on, you can do it.”

  “I can’t, I really can’t.”

  “Seb!” Gurt screamed through the radio. “You need to sort it out. We’re going to die if you don’t.”

  Seb closed his eyes for just a couple of seconds and tried to find the place where everything moved slowly for him. Upon opening his eyes again, he still hadn’t reached it. Sweat dampened his brow and his heart raced. A look at the console and he saw SA’s concerned face staring at him. A strange calm settled over him. Unlike Gurt, who spoke to him with contempt, and Sparks, who spoke to him with fear, SA looked at him like she genuinely believed in him.

  For the briefest moment, Seb stared back at her before he swallowed a warm gulp of air and relaxed his vice-like grip on the stick. The ship calmed down a little and he managed to level it out. Life still moved at the same hectic pace, but he’d bought himself some thinking time with his greater control.

  When Seb turned his ship around, he saw Sparks and her getaway. The Crimson fleet closed down on her. A gentle tip of the flight stick and he dove down toward them.

  The flight stick had a red trigger on it. Seb pointed the front of his vessel at the lead ship in the Crimson fleet and squeezed it. Green blaster fire rushed away from him and he felt every shot through the stick as the ship bucked. Every blast went painfully wide.

  “Come on, Seb,” Sparks called at him.

  A slight adjustment in his course and Seb pulled the trigger again. Two of the four shots hit the lead Crimson fleet ship, cutting straight through its shield and turning the shiny silver vessel into a bright ball of flames.