When you swam like a rock, close to the surface might as well be the seabed. Seb couldn’t reply to him.
More water rained on Seb from the leak. It now ran a cold trickle down the side of his face. He swept his hair away from his forehead, which redirected the frigid saline rivulet down the back of his shirt. Red blasts shot past them on either side, strobing through the dark water, threatening to tear another hole in their vessel.
A second shot then crashed into the Piscents in a shower of red sparks. Seb screamed as it shook through them, and they swayed from side to side while they continued to travel upwards.
A stronger surge of water than before rushed in, soaking the top of Seb’s head. The echo in the small vessel threw his barking gasps back at him as if mocking his panic. Flashing lights in his vision, his world spun as he started to black out.
When Sparks turned around to look at him, he saw the twist of her small face. Because of his fading sight, he didn’t see the slap until it connected. A loud crack crashed through his head, and his right cheek lit up with the contact. His world returned to normal. He held where she’d hit him, the cold salt water continuing to rain down on him. “What was that for?”
Sparks spoke slowly and through clenched teeth. “Get. A. Grip.”
Before Seb could respond, she returned to her small computer, her fingers flying over the screen.
The anxiety attack subsided. However, the situation hadn’t improved. Sure, he could see light above them—way above them—but they wouldn’t make it to the rock.
Suddenly, the chaos inside Seb stopped. He let it go. Panic wouldn’t get them out of there. If they were destined to sink and drown, then so be it; he didn’t need to help it along. His world slipped into slow motion.
It took for that moment for Seb to realise how strong his grip was on the chair’s armrests. He held on so tightly his knuckles ached. When he loosened it a little, he caught a flap of the leather upholstery. A small patch had come loose along the bottom of the left armrest.
When Seb ripped a strip of it free, he saw Owsk look in the direction of the sound. “What are you doing?” the rock troll said.
But Seb didn’t answer him. Instead, he turned around and forced the patch of leather into the hole that let the water in. It didn’t stop the flow completely, but it slowed it down. He let his breath go for what felt like the first time since the Piscents had sprung its leak. “I’ve plugged the hole!”
Neither Sparks nor Owsk responded, both of them engaged in their getaway. When Seb looked up at the lighter water above, he saw the shadow of what must have been the ship they flew in on. He looked at Sparks to see her piloting it remotely, bringing it closer to them.
Seb spun around and looked behind them. Their pursuer had gotten close. So close, he could see Buster again.
When they sent another shot their way, Seb called out, “Left!” and Owsk threw the Piscents to the left.
Another shot, Seb yelled, “Right!”
Again, Owsk followed his directions.
Just as Seb inhaled to call out again, light flooded into the submarine. The sound of rushing water surrounded them as they broke through the surface, dragging some of the sea with them. He spun around in time to see them leap towards the ship they’d flown in on. The cargo bay doors were open, but it looked like they might miss their intended target. Then the ship shifted at the last moment to catch them. Sparks worked furiously on her mini-computer.
A clumsy landing, metal rubbed against metal as they came to a screeching halt inside the ship. But they’d made it.
Before Seb could say anything, Owsk opened the top of the sub, jumped out, and headed for the ship’s cockpit.
Sparks hopped out next.
When Seb climbed free from the vessel, he retrieved an automatic blaster from the rack on the wall and ran to the edge of the cargo bay. As he looked out at the water, the sub that had followed them became clearer and clearer with its rapid acceleration. The semi-automatic blaster pressed into his shoulder, he looked down the barrel of it, put pressure on the trigger, and held his breath to keep his aim steady.
Then Owsk shifted the ship, and Seb lost sight of the sub as it vanished beneath them. “Hey,” he called, “I had a good shot then.”
But Owsk didn’t respond, and when Seb looked back, he saw Sparks run over to a large button on the wall. She slapped her open palm against it.
A deep whoom vibrated through the ship, and before Seb knew it, he got ripped from his spot. Led by his metal hands, he dropped his gun as he flew across the cargo bay, connecting with the centre of the floor.
Before Seb could say anything, a loud bang slammed against the bottom of their ship. He shook his head. “What is it with magnets!”
Not quite a smile, Sparks’ purple eyes glowed as she took him in.
“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”
Instead of replying, Sparks ran to the edge of the cargo bay’s open doors and looked out while Owsk piloted the ship. As much as Seb craned his neck, his limited movement meant he couldn’t see where they were going.
Sparks ran back to the button she’d pressed and slammed her hand against it again.
The pull on Seb’s fists eased, and the sub they’d dragged from the sea crashed down onto the rock below.
Seb didn’t need to be told what to do. As he got to his feet, Sparks threw him the blaster he’d dropped. He caught it in midair before jumping from the cargo bay onto the rock below. Sparks joined him, both of them with their weapons trained on the sub.
The pilot was armed when it opened the vessel, so Seb shot it through the forehead before it had a chance to do anything. His world returned to normal speed. He looked at the slack-jawed Sparks. “I just want to get away from this planet. The last thing we need is a gunfight on this poxy rock. I ain’t going back in that water.” He then walked over to Buster and held a hand out to him. “It’s nice to see you, friend.”
For a second it looked like Buster would refuse the tag of friend. Instead, he said nothing and took Seb’s hand, allowing him to help him. While stepping out onto the rock, he nodded his appreciation. “Seb Zodo, what a pleasure it is to see you.”
Once they’d all climbed aboard the ship, Sparks said, “Seb, you might want to get into the middle for a moment.”
“Why?”
Sparks walked over to the button on the wall.
This time, Seb ran to the point he’d been dragged to earlier and pressed his fists against the floor.
When Sparks hit the button, the magnetic pull dragged Seb about a metre to the right. Far from pleasant, but a much better experience than previously.
Owsk lifted their ship and shifted it so it hovered over the choppy sea. “Okay, Sparks.”
Another slap of the button disconnected Seb. A moment later, he heard the sub with the dead pilot hit the water with a splash.
Seb followed Sparks to the ship’s cockpit. Buster was already there in the seat beside Owsk.
“Sparks, can you see any other life on this planet?” the rock troll asked.
After several taps against her screen, Sparks shook her head. “No, it doesn’t look like it.”
A genuine smile lit up Owsk’s face. At least, Seb took it to be a smile. Hard to tell when it looked like it caused him physical pain. “So we’ve wiped them all out?” the troll said.
Sparks nodded. “Yep.”
A glance at Seb, he winked. “With a sub that had no blaster?”
“Yep,” Sparks said again.
“All right,” Seb said, “you were right. I’ll trust you next time.”
“I hope there isn’t a next time like that. The main thing is, we’ve not left any being to tell the tale. We could do with getting far away from here. If they have friends, I don’t want them following us.”
The exhaustion of the past few days caught up with Seb, and his legs shook with his fatigue. He patted Buster on the shoulder. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
If Buster replied, Seb d
idn’t hear it, his attention suddenly shifting to the voice in his head. Seb, can you hear me?
The best sound he’d heard all day. SA! Am I glad to hear you.
Chapter 34
I’ve just spoken to Seb.
Despite the cold grip of the weather locking her tight, the relief helped Reyes relax, even if only for a moment. How are they?
Alive and out of the water. They have Buster with them.
Amazing! So he wasn’t in the Quartz. That’s good. As happy as she felt about Buster, Reyes couldn’t ignore their own very real needs. How long before they get to us?
He said soon.
Helpful.
I know, right? But they’re on their way.
A snort of a laugh, the sound of it echoed in the small cave. You think I’d be used to being in these kinds of situations. I’ve been trapped in a crashed ship on a scorching planet with creatures hell-bent on our destruction. I’ve been to strange worlds to fight questionable battles for morally corrupt governments and been left to find my own way out. I’ve been on a ghost ship and seen … Reyes left it hanging. Not yet, she couldn’t talk about that yet. You’d think those experiences would have taught me to have a little more faith. To know that I can get out of almost any situation.
They haven’t?
No.
Although Reyes had her torch on, most of the small cave sat in impenetrable darkness. Yet somehow SA’s eyes glowed as if they were backlit. She smiled at Reyes. But sometimes, all we have is faith.
My faith ran out a long time ago.
How so?
Maybe she could tell her about it. It felt easier to say it in her mind rather than speak the words aloud. Have you heard of the Faradis?
SA shook her head.
You’re about the only being in the galaxy who hasn’t. It was a ship. A ship that appeared on our radar without a crew. We were sent to investigate. And … well … The thought of what had happened on that ship lifted in Reyes, her cheeks on fire, her throat sore with the grief that threatened to choke her. But she could do this. SA and the others had let her in; she had to return the favour. It didn’t go well. When we got on, we found out—
A spluttering cough snapped through Bruke. Reyes looked over to see him on his front, choking on something.
As one, Reyes and SA ran to the large lizard and rolled him into the recovery position. SA then hooked his tongue free with her fingers, moving quickly enough so he didn’t bite them off.
It cleared Bruke’s airways and he gasped for breath. Although, when Reyes looked into his eyes, she saw they were rolled back, only the whites of them visible. He shook and twitched as he tossed his head from side to side.
For what good it did, Reyes stroked his hair and spoke to him in a soft tone. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. Seb and the others are on their way.” Then to SA, We need to get him off this planet as soon as possible. This weather isn’t doing him any good at all.
SA frowned and looked down at him, but she didn’t respond. After all, what could she say? At that moment, they had no control. They had to have faith the others would get to them in time.
Chapter 35
Seb stood behind Sparks with Buster beside him, who stood behind Owsk. An apparent gentleman, Buster gave Sparks his seat the second she’d entered the cockpit. It also worked out to be a much better place for her to sit in her role as their navigator.
From what Seb had seen of the rock troll so far, it took a lot for him to panic. Even now, his tense body positively rigid, his frown deeper than ever, he hadn’t quite lost it. “You need to help me here, Sparks,” he said as he leaned close to the windscreen. “I can only see snow. I don’t know where the ground starts and the sky ends.”
Seb squinted and leaned close to the windscreen too, but he couldn’t see either. A wall of white, his stomach flipped every few seconds in anticipation of a collision with some unseen object. Like in the sub, he looked over Sparks’ shoulder at the three-dimensional map she’d pulled up of the landscape in front of them. It showed three pulsing green dots close by. Beyond that, it showed a cluster of red dots a little farther along.
While pointing at the green dots, Sparks said, “They’re really close.” A double tap against her screen helped her zoom in on the image. It showed what looked to be the cave they were trapped in. On the way over, Seb had spoken to SA, and she’d told him everything she knew from her perspective. They’d been trapped by an avalanche and couldn’t get out.
The ship lurched, tossed by the fierce weather. Seb watched Owsk make slight adjustments to hold them as steady as he could.
“Here we go,” Sparks then said, holding up her computer for them all to see. “Everything in green is solid rock.”
Green dominated the image save for a small section that had cracks of red on it. While pointing at that part, Sparks explained, “This must be where all the rocks fell with the snow. The red veins show the weaknesses we can exploit.”
When another sharp lurch from a particularly strong gust of wind threw them to the right, Seb grabbed the back of Sparks’ seat to remain upright. He saw Buster do the same on Owsk’s. In the reptile’s narrow yellow eyes, he saw his own battle with the panic that threatened to overwhelm him. It wouldn’t be long before one of those gusts clipped their wings.
Owsk’s voice rose in pitch. It was the first time Seb had heard him so flustered. “Sparks, I can’t take my eyes off the front to study that map. Just tell me what I need to do.”
Instead of replying to him, Sparks quickly tapped at her computer. On the final tap, she set the device down, angling it so it projected an image on the front windscreen. A much larger version of what she’d just shown Seb and Buster appeared in front of them. “This is exactly what’s out there. It’s to scale.” While pointing at the blocked entrance to the cave, she looked at Owsk. “You need to switch the ship’s blasters to a beam. I reckon we can burn our way through to them. Seb, can you tell them to move as far away as they can?”
Now they were close, Seb could speak easily to SA. Can you get as far away from the entrance as possible? We need to burn our way through to you with a laser. You need to make sure you’re not in its path. Although Sparks could have communicated with her too, she let Seb do it. A true friend, she knew he needed it.
Okay. Give us thirty seconds before you do anything.
“They need thirty seconds,” Seb said.
Owsk grunted. Both hands on the flight stick, he continued to make slight adjustments to keep them hovering in roughly the same spot. At least the projection on the screen gave him something to aim at.
“That’s thirty seconds,” Sparks said, who’d watched her computer to time it. “Right, Owsk, we need to get them out of there.”
The beam on the front of their ship glowed green when Owsk pressed the fire buttons on the flight stick. A thick and continuous bar, it drew a line from them to the entrance of the cave.
The snow melted away instantly, exposing the rocks beneath. Silence in the cockpit, they all watched Owsk do his thing.
The first rock then broke apart, and the green beam connected with the one directly behind it. Seb’s eyes stung from watching without blinking.
The next rock proved more stubborn than the first, the centre of it glowing red from the beam’s focused attention. A few seconds later it shattered into thousands of pieces, the small shards exploding in every direction. A shower of them tapped against the thick windscreen in front of them, forcing Seb to flinch.
After several more explosions and crumbling rocks, Sparks said what they could all see on the projection. “I think we’re on the last one.”
When Seb saw Owsk’s finger cover the trigger on the flight stick, he said, “Stop!”
The other three turned to look at him.
“We can’t shoot it.”
“Why not?” Owsk said. “You’ve told them to get out of the way of the beam.”
“Have you seen how some of the others shattered? What if this one explodes in
to the cave and hurts them?”
Although he clearly didn’t have an argument for that, Owsk said, “So you’re going to go down there, are you?”
“Yes. Buster and Sparks are coming with me too.”
Buster opened his mouth to respond, but Seb cut him off. “Were it not for us, you wouldn’t even be here. We nearly drowned saving you.”
The argument clearly died within Buster, who released a deep sigh and shook his head. “Fine.” While scowling, he looked at the image on the windscreen and spoke through gritted teeth. “If we’re going to do this, let’s do it now before I change my mind.”
Chapter 36
Despite their ship only being a few metres away when they’d cleared most of the rocks and snow from the cave’s entrance, by the time Seb arrived at it on foot with Buster and Sparks, the heavy snowfall had already covered the final rock.
When Sparks held up her computer to show their task more clearly, Seb looked at the red lines outlining the last obstruction. “Right,” he said. “We need to be quick. Too long and Owsk will have to burn the snow away again.”
The sound of the ship’s engines continued to roar behind them, and although Owsk hovered nearby, when Seb looked over his shoulder, he struggled to see the large vessel.
Seb cleared some of the freshly fallen snow with his hands and pulled on the rock. Of course it didn’t move. He shoved it. Nothing. Can you push from the inside? he asked SA.
After a few seconds, SA came back to him. It won’t budge.
When Seb turned to the other two, he met Buster’s cold yellow glare. The same stare he’d regarded him with since he’d said they needed to move the rock by hand. “You think you’re the only one who doesn’t want to be here?” Seb said.
Buster didn’t reply other than to flick his tail in a display of aggression.
Seb ignored the gesture. “We all need to pull on this rock.”
The Shadow Order - Books 1 - 8 + 120 Seconds (The complete series): A Space Opera Page 109
