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

by Michael Robertson

  The others came to Seb’s side, tilting the boat so hard it dropped the lip of it just inches from the water. But it didn’t go under.

  The gunmetal grey of the large boat’s twisted frame vanished into the depths beneath them. The unconscious crew sank with it. Those on all the surrounding ships dived into the water to rescue their colleagues. SA, Sparks, and Bruke all jumped in with the rookies, who’d only just recovered from their own wreck.

  Seb kept a tight grip on the edge of his vessel and watched on. A larger and more populated boat than any other in their fleet, the sea had filled with the Shadow Order members rescuing the unconscious crew.

  As Bruke and SA swam back to the boat, Seb saw Sparks treading water and looking down. Too small to help, she looked to be serving as a marker for a sinking soldier.

  When Sparks made eye contact with Seb, he looked around for a spare being. Owsk drove their ship, and everyone else had gone in. He drew a breath to call to a neighbouring boat. All of the crew were already in the water.

  The gunmetal grey of the large ship might have vanished from sight, but as he narrowed his eyes to focus, Seb saw the crew member beneath Sparks. He saw bright red skin that was dulling as she sank, the dark water closing around her—the ship’s captain.

  When Seb made eye contact with Bruke, he inhaled to call out to him. But he stopped. Bruke couldn’t do anything; he had his own struggle with an unconscious crew member in one of his strong arms. No one else could help the poor pilot without putting their own survivor in danger.

  Locked in a battle with his own trembling body, Seb undid his life vest. It took several attempts to free the catch because of his shaking hands. When he got it off, he threw it down on the deck of the boat and picked up a nearby rope. Slow motion gave him time to think. He tried to shut it out. Too much consideration and he’d change his mind.

  Once he’d tied the rope around his waist, he then attached it to one of the metal struts beneath the bench next to him. Not allowing himself any more time, he stepped up onto the lip of the boat and dived in.

  When he made eye contact with Sparks and saw her wide panic at what he’d done, he changed his focus and looked at the fading red captain below instead. He didn’t need to be reminded of the insanity of his decision.

  The water damn near freezing when he hit it, Seb’s entire body tensed as he sank. He angled himself so he aimed at the red-skinned pilot. Just one chance, he reached out for her.

  Although slightly slowed down because of the resistance in the water, Seb hit the captain with a rugby tackle and wrapped his arms around her, dragging her down with him.

  They fell fast. A test for Seb’s knot and the rope’s strength. It snapped taut, pulling the wind from his body in an explosion of bubbles.

  Fighting the urge to inhale, Seb looked up. The surface seemed impossibly far away.

  It took extra effort to use his hands in the water, but they weren’t so heavy he couldn’t lift them. With the creature he’d rescued in one arm, he reached up the rope, gripped it, and turned his hand, wrapping it around the outside of it. As he repeated the process, the rope shortened, pulling them back up again. But they weren’t making fast enough progress.

  The sound of Seb’s pulse ran through his skull. The dead weight of the creature from the ship in his arms, his heavy hands fought against his pull to freedom. He gritted his teeth and continued to wind the rope around his grip.

  A few metres from the surface, Seb looked up at the bottom of the boat he’d jumped from. He saw Sparks’ small legs above him. At least he had an advocate on the surface. Hopefully she’d find someone to help them.

  Every pull drained Seb a little more. A metre of water between him and fresh air. Fire ran through his muscles, and his lungs felt like they’d pop, but he had to do this. He had to keep going.

  Half a metre to go, Seb’s view faded. Then he heard the splash of Bruke’s two strong arms plunging into the water. They reached in and grabbed the red-skinned captain.

  When he felt sure they had her, Seb let go. He let go of the ship’s captain. He let go of his grip on the rope. He let go of hope. He’d saved her. He couldn’t save them both.

  Dizzy with his need for oxygen, Seb watched Bruke’s wavering reflection. It grew dim as he plummeted back into the darker water.

  Chapter 6

  The heavy pressure on Seb’s chest registered milliseconds before the hard rush of salty water exited his lungs. He tried to inhale too soon, pulling most of the warm brine back in again. As he flipped over onto his front—taken over by a coughing fit—something drove a hard whack against his back. It felt like he’d been hit with a club, the pain of the contact demanding most of his attention.

  Another hot saline rush. The taste of the liquid itself made him retch harder. It burned on the way out and pooled in the metal bottom of the boat.

  After clearing out his stomach again, Seb sat up before dragging himself onto the boat’s bench. This time, he hung out over the side of the vessel to be sick.

  When the vomiting abated, Seb leaned forwards, rested his elbows on his knees, and stared at his feet. The rise and fall of the boat did nothing to help his nausea, so he looked up to keep his bearings. They were much closer to Aloo.

  Both his head and stomach settling down, Seb turned to those around him. He met the stares of many anxious beings, more than had been on the boat before. Bruke, SA, Sparks, and Buster were the closest of the lot. Just next to them, he saw the red-skinned captain he’d saved. She pressed her hands together as if to pray to him. The creature with the tiny red eyes and shock-white skin stood next to her. The judgement the creature had previously looked at him with had now gone. It stepped forward before anyone else could speak, dropped down onto one knee, bowed its head, and held up the bright orange life jacket as an offering.

  No need for words, Seb simply took the garment and slipped it on, his arms shaking as he tried to get some of his strength back. A brief shared look with SA, he smiled at her, and she returned the warm gesture. I’m glad you’re okay, she said.

  Seb nodded before he stood up to get a better look at where they were heading. He was already exhausted, and they hadn’t even started yet. Much closer to land, pyrotechnics still lit the air above the spaceport—more for show than anything because he couldn’t see any ships in the sky. Or maybe not show; maybe more a display of the chaos and wanton destruction they were about to walk into. Maybe the enraged beings had no concept of showing off. Maybe they hadn’t jeopardised the comms between Aloo and the Shadow Order’s base on purpose. Maybe they had nothing else driving them but the need to obliterate everything in their path.

  Because they were now a lot closer, Seb saw the smoke came from burning ships. It looked like every one docked in the port now sat ablaze. He saw beings fighting in the walkways. Blasters were fired, punches and kicks thrown. “How the hell are we going to wrestle this place back under control?”

  None of the beings replied.

  As much to distract himself from what lay ahead than anything, Seb looked at the fleet riding with them. They seemed in good health. “I’m guessing there were no more missiles?”

  Sparks shook her head. “No. Thankfully.”

  The silence from every other being on the boat with them spoke of what they were about to face. They’d had longer to watch Aloo as they closed in on the port. Seb’s lungs ached from nearly drowning, a pain in his wrist from where he’d wrapped the rope around it, and his throat burned with the taste of salt. He focused on his breathing as the boat bobbed up and down with the waves, the cold spray still hitting his face. If he didn’t take this time to be still, he couldn’t guess when the next opportunity would come. This was his moment of meditation before they stepped into insanity.

  Chapter 7

  A loud crunch shuddered through the ship when they rode the boat up onto the concrete ground where Aloo’s spaceport met the water. Several of the rescued beings fell over because of the abrupt halt. As the lead boat, they hit l
and first. A second later, the others grounded on either side of them. The scraping sounds ran away from them in both directions. The easy part out of the way, they were now about to run head first into hell.

  No matter how many times Seb had tried to settle himself with breathing techniques, nothing calmed his ragged pulse. It didn’t help to see the white-skinned creature with the small red eyes pull itself to its feet before vomiting several times. The splash-back kicked up against Seb’s legs, and the acrid stench hit him a second later. Not even the strong wind could banish the smell. A flare of rage streaked through Seb, but he couldn’t be cross with the wretched thing.

  Just before they’d landed, Seb had thrown his life jacket down. He now rested on the edge of the metal ship and led the way by vaulting off the boat to dry land. It took a few wobbly steps before he trusted the ground beneath him wouldn’t lurch and sway.

  As Seb watched his friends follow his lead, he directed them to where he wanted them to go. Before they’d left the base, Buster had identified this spot as the best place to defend—a cluster of warehouses owned by Moses. After Sparks confirmed the buildings to be empty of any rioting creatures, it seemed like the best spot. Four large structures of identical shape and size, they had an alley about three metres wide between each one. On the left side of the first warehouse and the right side of the last one stood strong fences about five metres tall. They shut off any chance their attackers would have of flanking them. It left just three walkways to defend. They could use them to funnel the insanity towards them.

  They’d numbered the warehouses as they approached them. Number one on the left, running all the way across to number four. SA, you and I are going to go to number two and watch a side of it each. Bruke, number one. Sparks and Buster, number three, and Owsk, number four. None of them acknowledged his orders. They didn’t need to; they’d already discussed tactics.

  As Seb ran across the stretch of concrete between where they’d landed and the warehouses in front of them, he unslung his machine gun. Loaded with rubber bullets, they’d gone with the intention to overwhelm them without killing them. These creatures were victims; they didn’t deserve to die. Just to be sure his weapon still worked after the soaking, he shot the ground as he ran. A burst of three bullets kicked from the gun, bounced off the ground, and rebounded in three different directions, running close to several soldiers. Seb felt some of the soldiers looking at him as if they wanted an explanation. He didn’t give it to them. Even if he had clipped one of them, they were rubber bullets, and they’d had all their force taken from them by being shot against the concrete first.

  When he got to warehouse number two, Seb leaned his back against the brick wall framing the building’s large entrance. He then poked his head out for a clear view down the alley. Flimsy chain-link fences covered the end of each one. Beyond that, he saw the burning ships in the spaceport. There were no crazed beings … yet.

  Bruke held a similar position to Seb on the other side of the alley. He leaned out and also looked for attackers.

  Seb hadn’t given them explicit instructions, but he saw the Shadow Order soldiers divide equally and spread out. Each team picked a warehouse to hide behind. The hammer of their feet, although muted with their caution, still called out to any listening ears.

  A tight grip on his weapon, Seb looked in the opposite direction to Bruke at his other friends. They all seemed ready and in control. Before they’d landed, he couldn’t have guessed how long they’d have before they were attacked. Now, as he heard the stampede heading their way, he suddenly realised he thought they’d have had longer.

  Chapter 8

  They might have had strong fences on either side of them, preventing an attack from their flanks, but the weak chain-link netting over the end of each alley didn’t seem up to much. After hearing their approach, Seb saw the front-runners of the chaotic mob heading their way. Despite them doing what he’d hoped they would, dread sank through him to watch them close down on the weak fence. Too late to back out now.

  A second later, the loud splash of it yielding rang out as the crazed stampede rushed through it without breaking stride. Similar splashes ran down the other two alleys, almost impossible to discern amongst the screaming insanity.

  A wall of maybe fifty of them in his alley, Seb looked at their attackers. Mandulus, grints, snirks, the porcupine things they’d seen running the Countess’ slavery business … and a whole host more. Remember, Seb said to his friends, as intimidating as they look, they’re victims. They haven’t chosen this fight.

  None of them replied.

  Zero organisation in the attacking mob, they filled the alley as they charged down it. The creatures were dressed poorly on account of being slaves. No doubt they’d been treated terribly, toughened up by sadistic masters; they had every right to be furious.

  The collective screams and roars swelled in the tight space, amplified by the high walls.

  Seb knew the others were watching him, waiting for him to make a move. A deep breath; they had to get this over with. He stepped from cover and opened fire, spraying rubber bullets up the alley.

  The gun kicked more than a blaster would, the vibration of it rattling Seb’s vision as he unloaded into the beasts. Many of the soldiers from the boats were still getting into position, so they couldn’t provide backup yet.

  The first assault slowed their attackers, the creatures flinching and covering their faces from the stinging onslaught. But they still came forward. Because he’d had a few seconds of exposure to them and the advantage of viewing it in slow motion, it allowed Seb to assess their enemy. Some of the beasts had weapons of their own. The ones without blasters carried clubs or swords.

  “Take cover!” Seb yelled as a barrage of laser fire flooded forward. As he pulled back, he watched the green, red, blue, and yellow blasts shoot across the open space between them and the sea.

  When Seb peered around the wall again, he saw the creatures continued to stream into the alley. What had been about fifty looked to have doubled already. Another line of blasts rushed at him, so he pulled back and watched the lasers fly towards the sea again.

  More Shadow Order soldiers got into position. Seb looked to his right and saw a laser smash into the face of one of the rookies who’d exposed themselves too early. An explosion of red mist burst out of the back of its head, turning it instantly flaccid. One of the other Shadow Order creatures yelled, “We have to use lasers.”

  “No,” Seb called, his order lost in the chaos of the battle. The Shadow Order soldiers returned fire with lasers rather than rubber bullets. SA, he said, I need your help here. Can you put me through to everyone?

  Sure.

  This is Seb, he said and watched the confusion on many faces. Don’t worry about how I’m in your head, just take cover and listen. These creatures are victims. It’s Enigma who’s made them this way. We need to keep using rubber bullets. We need to take them down and put them somewhere secure. I’m hoping we can find a way to help them.

  Although many of the creatures stared at Seb like he’d lost his mind, none of them argued. They’d all been briefed. They knew the drill.

  A scream erupted just metres from Seb, dragging his focus back to the alley. He had just enough time to raise his weapon before the beast emerged. A foot taller and wider than him, it fixed him with its Cyclops eye. The thing looked like a corpse, its skin a wrinkly mummified mess, its blue eye sunken in its face, its mouth toothless. When it shrieked, its voice ran so shrill it sent searing needles through Seb’s ears and unsettled his balance. It wielded a large scimitar, gripping the handle with both hands as it cut through the air as if to decapitate him.

  Seb ducked at the last moment, his aggressor’s weapon sailing over his head and smashing against the metal corner of the warehouse. A shower of sparks rained down on him. Although he watched the creature in slow motion, he saw no weak spot. Then he looked at its feet. Its vulnerability rested there.

  While the creature wound back for
another swing, slow because of its size, Seb drove his metal fist against the top of its left foot. His blow went straight through it, clearly turning every bone to dust. The beast shrieked again.

  Seb punched the other foot. It dropped its weapon and fell to the ground, holding onto its feet while yelling with all it had.

  A second later, a dart flew into the beast, turning it instantly limp. When Seb looked behind at SA, he nodded his thanks and returned his attention to the alley and the bulk of their attackers. What had seemed like an overwhelming number of creatures looked to have doubled again. More blaster fire rushed at them, more screams of aggression, more fury.

  To look down the alley for too long would be to lose his head to a blast, so Seb pulled back, poked his gun around the corner, and sent another barrage of rubber bullets at the creatures. Unless he aimed at the sky, chances were he’d hit something.

  Screams all around him, Seb heard some coming from the mouths of the Shadow Order soldiers. They were mostly rookies. If the rest were to survive, they needed more guidance than he’d given them so far.

  Take cover, Seb said through SA. We can take these down if we stay organised. Get your machine guns ready, and on my count, we’ll lay down fire. Three … two … now.

  As Seb moved out into the alley with a group of soldiers around him, he sent another stream of rubber bullets into their aggressors. More fire came from those on Bruke’s side. Enough of an onslaught, it knocked the front line of their attackers down and drove the entire pack back.

  Now take cover, Seb yelled. A quick check along the line, he looked at his friends: SA, Sparks, Bruke, and Owsk. They all nodded at him.