“They’re panicking,” she said.
“Good,” he said.
Guards were streaming out of the docking bay now. Apparently they were needed at their regular duty stations.
But there were still multiple squads remaining. Conrad rested his finger on the trigger of his lasgun and nodded to Argus.
“We’ve come full circle, Arg,” he said.
The Kazhad lifted his head hazily.
“We’re back at Alpha Aurigae,” he said. “And I’m calling in my favor now. Stay awake. Fight. You hear me?”
Argus rumbled deep in his chest as he forced himself into a standing position. “Might be the last favor you get from me,” he mumbled.
“Not a chance in hell,” Conrad snapped.
Suddenly, the lights blinked out and blinked back on. Gravity was gone.
Finally.
Conrad kicked the cache door open and swam toward the doors of the docking bay, grateful for once that Garrity had required all cadets to do zero-g training. He pressed his finger firmly against the panel next to the door.
“Acknowledge bloodprint authority,” he said. “Transfer control of all ship systems to me.”
Acknowledged, the ship AI replied. Gravity suddenly returned, now that the ship had a master. Their feet hit the floors with a thump.
“Shut down all of the ship’s weapons systems,” he ordered. “Keep them on lockdown.” That should keep Heik busy.
Conrad turned to the doors, Argus following close behind.
They entered the bay in a blaze of light and fire.
It was hard to see through the smoke, and the smell of ozone was suffocating.
He could see the shapes of the men moving toward the back of the bay, and he advanced quickly on them.
“Get on the ship,” he shouted, hoping Jira could hear him. There would be no better time than when the guards were concerned with shooting him and Argus.
Almost there.
His heart was racing as they charged forward. Suddenly, the ship lurched and shook.
“The Secace is under attack,” Jira reported. “An unidentified ship. Silver and black. I’ve never seen a ship like this before—”
The Nu! Conrad felt a moment of relief and elation before reality set in once more. The Nu had no idea he and Argus were aboard. They could destroy the Secace completely while the frigate’s weapons system was disabled.
Why are they attacking? They hadn’t attacked Argus or Conrad. They had to know by bioscans that there were human males aboard.
The Secace rocked again. Distracted, Conrad lowered the lasgun in his left hand.
A blast from a lasgun sliced through the flesh of his shoulder.
The burn of the laser beam cauterized the wound almost immediately, but pain stabbed into his damaged muscles. He groaned as he nearly dropped the lasgun.
Argus came up behind him and shielded him with his shaggy body.
“Ah, hell,” he bit out. “Argus, leave—”
Argus roared. He seemed to summon up the last remnants of his strength as he dove ahead, charging into the fight.
Conrad turned and shot behind them as they bolted toward the Oro Yurei. In the smoke and alarm lights, it was impossible to know if he was hitting his targets.
Argus bellowed. He’d been hit. Conrad could see him staggering.
They’d shot his leg.
Conrad pushed himself harder, running up next to Argus, slinging the Kazhad’s arm over his shoulder. Conrad ignored the jolt of pain from his own wound, grinding his teeth as they pressed forward, brothers in arms.
With his free hand Conrad aimed at the Imperials standing between them and their ship.
There was no time for doubt. Only the pure fury of combat.
A guard rushed at them, and Conrad let go of Argus for a split second to kick the man in the throat.
Conrad felt the strength suddenly leave Argus’s body. He crouched down with him.
Goddammit, we’re almost there…
“Argus,” he gasped. “Get up.”
Smoke surrounded them. Coughing, Conrad grabbed the scruff of Argus’s neck and crawled forward, pulling them both along.
There.
Cold, hard metal. His fingertips were touching the edge of the Oro Yurei’s gangplank.
A flurry of fire ricocheted off the ship. He dodged it, collapsing back onto the floor to avoid being hit.
They were centimeters away from safety.
He searched for the Kazhad’s pulse with the hand that was on Argus’s throat. It was there—fragile and irregular, but he was still alive.
He began to rise, slowly, knowing this was their only chance.
Gotta get up—but not too far or they’ll shoot me.
Abruptly, the Secace rocked. The Nu attack continued. Conrad grabbed onto a ridge on the gangplank, pulling Argus along.
The fire behind them died down for a moment and Conrad lunged forward. A burst of laser blasts shot over his head, grazing his scalp.
Is it over?
He heard the sound of boots on metal. He looked up and saw two figures in Imperial gray, holding high-powered blast rifles. Their faces were masked.
They lifted their rifles—aimed—and fired past Conrad and Argus.
“Get inside!” he heard Jira shout. “Go!”
Conrad gathered the last of his strength, lifted Argus up, and climbed up the gangplank, pain radiating from his wounds. He was operating on pure adrenaline.
He hauled Argus into the Oro Yurei. The Kazhad was in bad shape—far worse than when they’d escaped from the palace.
“Balt!” he shouted. “Get over here.”
Jira and Baltasar ran, following them inside as the gangplank lifted. Baltasar reached for a medpack and crouched down beside Argus.
Baltasar was muttering curses to himself as he checked Argus over.
Jira placed a hand on Conrad’s shoulder.
“Stay alive, Argus,” he muttered. “You still owe me that favor.”
“It’s not over yet,” she said. “Conrad, we’ve got to get off this ship or we’re all dead.”
Chapter 34
Conrad shook off her hand as he stood up, his expression hardening. They had to get off the Secace before Heik had them all shot—or the Nu blew up both the frigate and all aboard.
He dropped his depleted lasgun and raced toward the cockpit, Jira following close behind.
“Am I still in control of the Secace?”
“I’ll link the Oro’s AI to the Secace. We’ll find out.”
The minute Conrad placed his hands on the control panel the alarm lights in the hangar bay blinked out, and the artificial gravity disappeared.
“Guess not,” he said grimly, gripping the console. The gravity came back and they dropped down hard.
“Guns, I need guns,” he said, bringing up the holographic nav display.
Jira’s hands moved quickly over the controls. The ship’s engine was beginning to hum beneath them. Conrad decided it was the most welcoming sound he’d ever heard.
The Secace shuddered harder than before. “Weapons are back online,” said Jira.
“On our ship or theirs?” Conrad demanded.
“Both.”
If the Secace could fight back against the Nu ship now, they would be flying out into a firestorm—assuming they could get out of the hangar bay first.
“Good enough. Aim for the hangar doors and I’ll fly us out.”
She calibrated the weapons targeting system and wrapped her hands around the triggers as Conrad angled the Oro Yurei’s nose at the hangar doors.
“Ready?”
Jira didn’t flinch. She tightened her hands, narrowing her eyes. Conrad focused on the door.
“Go.”
Every gun on the Oro fired as Conrad accelerated toward the doors. If the guns couldn’t get them out, then they’d break out by sheer force. Imperial guards and crew scattering toward the exits.
The Oro Yurei was about to breach the airlock,
one way or another.
Conrad leaned forward as they burst through the doors, which were weakened by gunfire. Even an Imperial ship’s shields couldn’t contain an object as massive as the Oro.
The ship broke through, fire and debris exploding out into the vacuum—right into the thick of battle.
“Lords of the Dark,” Jira swore softly at the sight of the Nu ship. “What is that?”
Conrad didn’t know whether to feel fear or relief. He struggled to maintain control of the Oro Yurei, still reeling from their escape. The hull was damaged where it had impacted the hangar doors, but there were no lethal breaches. Yet.
He flew straight for the Nu ship. It began to fire at them, and Conrad swiftly maneuvered between the blasts of fire, his eyes on his target.
“What are you doing?” Jira exclaimed. “They’ll kill us—”
Conrad ignored her. He opened an all-channels comm connection and broadcast the most basic, simplest code he knew.
The recognition code of the Protectorate Corps.
It didn’t stop the Nu.
“Hell,” he swore.
The small ship was jolted by a shot from the Secace.
They were caught in the fire between the two larger ships.
Conrad’s head swam. What the hell do I do now?
He was forced to twist the Oro toward the Secace to escape the fire from the Nu ship.
“They think we’re part of the Secace,” said Jira.
The Secace was aiming for the Nu ship, but they were still being nicked by Imperial fire. Conrad brought the Oro underneath the Secace, struggling to get out of the fight.
As long as they were under the Secace and the ship was occupied by the Nu, they would have a few heartbeats to breathe.
He flew as close to the Secace as he could while staying out of range of its guns.
The Nu were relentless, their ship seeming to absorb the fire from the Secace as it closed the gap between them. Only kilometers away now, the Nu ship unleashed the full force of its guns on the Secace.
The frigate reeled. Its guns went dark and silent.
They waited, tense, still hovering beneath the crippled Secace.
A blast from the Nu ship sent the Oro spinning. Conrad and Jira clutched the ship console. The small ship’s inertial dampers were on the verge of being overloaded.
Tasting blood in his mouth, Conrad forced the ship to come under control.
“They’re going to destroy us,” Jira gasped.
One last chance.
Conrad opened the comm connection, broadcasting on all channels.
He spoke.
“This is Conrad Redeker,” he said. “Conrad Redeker, of the Protectorate Corps of Sanctuary. You knew my father.”
The Nu gunports closed. It glided gracefully toward the Oro, silent and deadly.
“Conrad,” Jira said, her voice raspy. She grabbed at his arm. “They’re coming toward us.”
“We don’t need to be worried about them,” he said, his pulse beginning to slow down. “They—”
The Secace shifted, its nacelles suddenly flaring to life.
Conrad tensed, seizing the nav controls as Jira swiftly engaged the Oro’s guns.
The Secace powered back on. It immediately picked up speed, propelling itself away from the Nu.
“They’re headed back toward the portal,” Jira said.
If they go through that portal, they’ll enter the Sol system!
Conrad narrowed his eyes. He engaged the nav controls again, every muscle in his body tight and controlled.
“What are you doing?” she said.
“They’re not going through that portal,” he said. “I can’t let them.”
Speechless, she could only look on as Conrad swung the Oro around to pursue the Secace.
“Enough running away,” he said. “Enough.”
“We can’t bring down a ship of that size!”
Conrad fired the engines, bridging the space between them and the Secace. The Imperial frigate was minutes away from reaching the portal.
He was pushing the Oro Yurei to its limits. He could feel the ship beginning to vibrate.
Not so different from our old fighter, he thought fleetingly.
“When we get close enough,” he said, “fire everything we’ve got at the left nacelle.”
Jira adjusted her hands on the weapons controls. “We haven’t got much,” she muttered.
Conrad pushed the ship harder, dropping the shields completely. There was nothing between them and the Secace now but empty space.
He remembered the mantra he had recited in his mind when he was being tortured by Heik. Argus. Jira. Baltasar. Rose. Now he added one last name to the recitation.
“For Sanctuary,” he said, and brought the ship within firing range.
The Oro Yurei fired on the Secace.
It was blinding for a moment as the Oro’s guns cut into the frigate’s nacelles.
Rivers of fire appeared at the edge of the nacelle.
Sweat trickled down Conrad’s temple.
Was it enough?
The seams of fire exploded into deadly blooms, altering the Secace’s trajectory. The Imperial ship faltered, then forced itself back toward the portal.
Conrad propelled the Oro forward, inching ever closer. Jira fired again.
The explosions expanded across the hulls of the Secace.
The ship hit the edge of the portal as its nacelle disintegrated. Explosions overtook the ship, its body falling to pieces as it impacted the portal.
Conrad didn’t breathe until the Secace was nothing but a field of debris.
His knees buckled slightly. He hadn’t realized he’d locked them until a wave of dizziness overcame him.
It was done. Heik and the Secace were destroyed, and Sanctuary was safe.
Jira touched his arm.
“Conrad,” she whispered, as if she was afraid of breaking a spell. “It’s over.”
Chapter 35
The Oro Yurei was safe, and Argus was alive. Whatever the Nu were, they were able to repair the damage done to Argus’s nervous system as well as his superficial wounds. They had spent the last few days aboard the Nu ship, traveling through normal space and portals into Sol space. After forty-eight hours of sleep, Conrad was restless again.
He wandered through the ship, feeling rather than seeing the eyes of the Nu upon him everywhere he went. He found what seemed to be a hidden viewport and stayed there, thinking.
Conrad was watching Mars come into view, the familiar dusty red planet a welcome sight. He thought about its famous cities. Billions of people there, living their lives, totally unaware of what’s waiting on the other side of the universe.
The last time he’d been here, he and Argus were on board the La Paz, setting off for Centaura. He remembered how full of swagger he had been, how confident and sure he was of his place in the universe.
I had no idea.
He leaned his back against the frame of the viewport and crossed his arms. Everything was in question now—who he was, where he had come from. Nothing seemed sure.
“What do you see?” The voice was soft and feminine, but by now Conrad knew better than to underestimate the speaker.
He didn’t turn around. “I see… the last stop on the way home,” he said.
“Home,” the Nu said, thoughtfully. “An interesting concept.”
“What do you see?” he said. Her answer’s bound to better than mine.
“The last stop on the way to your home,” she said.
He grinned. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had reason to smile. “You ladies are a barrel of laughs,” he said. “They’re gonna love you back on Sanctuary.”
She approached him. As far as he could tell, it was the same Nu he had first encountered during his first trip to Alpha Aurigae—or one of her identical sisters.
“We are not coming with you to Earth,” she said. “From here, you will go alone. Your ship is repaired for departure.”
Conrad wondered how the Nu knew how to repair Imperial technology.
“Why did you attack the Secace?” he asked.
She lifted her chin. “An old enemy,” she said.
Conrad was unsurprised by this. “You’ve come across the Empire before.”
She gave a single nod, her eyes still fixed on him.
Conrad shifted, mildly annoyed by her penetrating stare. “See something you like?” he said, dryly.
“Yes,” she said.
“Well, get in line,” he said.
She cocked her head, birdlike. “You resemble your father,” she said.
His smile vanished. “Do I?”
“You do.” Her face showed no emotion. “You look much as he did when he first came to us. We have missed him,” she added.
Conrad’s curiosity warred with old resentment. “Don’t suppose you know what happened to him.”
“We did not recognize you at first,” she said. “We find human appearances to be… difficult. But now we see him in you. You look as he did when he took you from us.”
Conrad’s head jerked up. “What?”
The Nu was nonplussed. “You are our child,” she said calmly, as if it were obvious. “He was your father and we are your mother.”
Conrad stared at her. Her expression didn’t change. “My mother,” he said, dumbly.
She didn’t blink. “We could not let you come to harm,” she said. “Your father fell in love with us. We gave birth to a single son instead of daughters. You were our son, and your father took you from us so you could be raised among his people. Since then we have watched, and waited.”
“Where is my father?” he asked.
She paused. “I cannot explain it to you,” she finally said. “He is beyond words now.”
He’s dead, Conrad thought. The Nu spoke in riddles but that much was clear.
“What happened to him?” he asked, despite himself.
“He tried to prevent what has happened,” she said, cryptically.
“And?”
“He failed,” she said. “And so you are here. He is the cause.”
Conrad pinched the bridge of his nose.
“He made that same gesture when he spoke to us,” said the Nu. There was a glimmer of emotion on her face for the first time.
Sanctuary's Soldier: The Darkspace Saga Book 1 Page 22
