Star Angel: Dawn of War (Star Angel Book 3)

by David G. McDaniel

  She eased the force of her delivery. “It’s quite possible that, in giving Zac the Icon, we only transferred the problem from one world to another. I didn’t think this all the way through. We had to get rid of Kang. Maybe Zac did get away and make it to Earth. But I’m having serious doubts.

  “This is bigger than him. This is bigger than us. We have to follow through and fix the problem. All the way. Giving Zac the Icon was just the first step. We have to finish it. And the only way to do that is by using the one thing that can actually end this nightmare. The one thing that may be able to destroy Kang in the first place. If Kang did make it to Earth, that ship hidden in the mountain down there,” and she pointed out the window, “the Reaver, may be able to stop him. And it can get us to him. It can go there. It can go both places. It has the coordinates from both Icons.”

  Willet nodded, almost unconsciously. Jess thought more of how they could probably, eventually, have used the Reaver right there on Anitra to peg Kang, possibly, once the bureaucracy of that was overcome, but she did what she did when she did it because they had to get rid of Kang and there was no time for other options. Any other way this might’ve gone was a waste of time to even think about, because that was the past and this was the present and they had to figure out …

  She took a deep breath.

  Satori said nothing. Which, on the face of it, was an improvement. At least she’d stopped arguing.

  For the moment.

  “When I gave Zac the Icon,” Jess added, too worried to let the momentary silence be, “I knew that wasn’t the end. I knew I would have to go after him. At first I thought I could do it myself. I knew there would be more to do but I thought I could handle it. Alone. My plan was to take the other Icon. Another suit of armor like last time. Go for him myself and bring him back. No one but me. Icon back, Zac back, Kang gone. Problem solved. I didn’t know how I would do that, it seemed impossible, but it was the only idea I had. All I knew was that to save Zac, to save any of us, we had to get rid of Kang. Before anything else, we had to get rid of Kang.

  “Now we’ve done that. And now I realize all the ways it could’ve failed.” She tried to make them understand. “This is why I need you. Both of you. The only way I can do this is with your help.

  “Look,” she was trying so hard to reason with them, to get through. Any moment Satori was going to tell her to shut up; she could feel it building, but she couldn’t stop making her case. “I know the insanity of what I’m suggesting. You think I don’t? Look at everything I’ve done so far. I’m not just, ‘Oh, let’s go steal an ancient alien starship.’ It’s crazy. I know. Steal it? But starships, Icons—none of that matters when lives are at stake. You, your people—anyone who wants can place all the significance they want on that starship but you know what? It’s just sitting there. That’s all it’s doing. If it can be used to save a planet, to save a man, then that’s a hundred times more important.” Then, with perhaps a bit too much obstinacy but at that point she didn’t really care: “It can save a man, and maybe even a world, and I’m going to use it. Even if you guys won’t help, I’m going to figure out a way.”

  Satori continued shaking her head, subtly, and Jess wondered if she’d gone too far. Would Satori just turn her in?

  But … Satori’s mind was moving in other directions. “We’d need a team to operate it,” she said, and Jess felt a surge of hope. Though there was no agreement there, not even in Satori’s tone, it was a different sort of resistance. One that had actual consideration behind it. Jess caught her breath as Satori went on: “There’s no way. It’s never even been taken out of its berth. In a thousand years! How do we even …” She kept shaking her head, seeing all the impossibilities, all the reasons this would never work. Then: “You can’t even be sure Kang made it to Earth.”

  Levelly Jess said: “Exactly,” and let the word hang. Then: “That’s exactly right. We have to make sure. This is far too important to assume anything. We can’t sit here wondering if he did. We have to be absolutely certain. If there’s any chance Kang made it … we have to go.

  “We can’t not do this just because Kang might be floating dead in space. Just because Zac might’ve made it.” Still the idea of the alternative, Zac floating dead, even as they argued back and forth, nearly caved her all the way in. The one thing keeping her from those depths of despair was the intensity of the argument and the notion—nothing more than a sixth sense, really, but it was all she had and she clung to it—that Zac yet lived.

  The radio blurped and they all jumped. Willet turned to the console.

  “Unit Five Seven,” he acknowledged after an awkward delay, during which he simply stared at the radio like it was a foreign object.

  The operator on the other end didn’t seem to notice the pause. “Proceed to Pad Three.”

  Willet glanced between Jess and Satori. “Sounds like they’re expecting us.”

  Satori looked grim. “Lindin,” she surmised. “We’re not just going to walk in there,” she said. “No matter how many lives we just saved. We took an Icon. They’re going to detain us. We’re not just going to land, get out, run down to the lab and steal the next item on our list.”

  The radio blurped again, impatient.

  “Acknowledge,” the voice demanded, now noticing the hesitation.

  Willet spoke to it. “Acknowledged,” he said, debated saying something else but didn’t. Jess could see this whole situation was going to be far more difficult even than imagined. For all of them. She couldn’t get the agreement she wanted. Satori was balking hard. Willet … Willet just seemed to be wondering what he’d ended up in the middle of.

  Lindin was probably standing by to throw them in the brig.

  They crested the last ridge between them and the complex, dropping out over the shallow valley as the chalet came fully into view.

  And as it did Jess found herself momentarily transfixed by the beautiful structure, an instant of bitter sadness, recalling her last conversation with Zac on the tiny balcony far below, no more than a strip of wood from that altitude, before he leapt away to fight Kang. Leaping without further thought or consideration into the fray, no regard for what doing so meant to his own life, determined to do whatever he could to stop the rampage of a beast that could not, in fact, be stopped.

  This was the end of the line. Satori was right. Stealing the starship was fantasy. Now or ever. Even if she and Willet were in full agreement. And even if they did manage to try again “in a few days”, after the questions were done and the scrutiny had been removed, even if they did manage to sneak down there, take it and go, it would be too late. Far too late. Already Jess feared the worst. Those feelings of dread would no longer be balanced by any hope. Even if Zac lived, he would not float in space forever. Days were far too long.

  “Here we go,” Satori swooped them around the mountain edge, steeply, banking across the far ridge and down toward the giant hangar door that stood open against its side. The g-forces of the heavy, crushing turn, thankfully, swept away Jessica’s welling feelings of grief.

  How could she give up?

  As Satori executed yet another gut-wrenching maneuver and hooked them toward descent Jess took deep, shuddering breaths. Any rescue attempt would now become subject to the formalities of the Venatres establishment. Assuming they weren’t sent straight to jail. The idea of convincing Lindin and the rest of those in charge, especially after everything else that had happened, made her ache. The sheer mechanics of doing so were suddenly overwhelming. She felt herself sink into the jumpseat with the weight of it—that oppressive feeling aided none too gently by Satori’s continued, aggressive deceleration as she brought them in hot. Satori was the angry type, no doubt, and right then she was angry—at everything, it seemed—but even in light of that Jess wondered why the urgency.

  Maybe they could get Lindin and the Venatres to take the starship to Earth. Maybe. To make sure Kang hadn’t ended up there, to save it if needed. That was a worthy argument. Maybe she c
ould find some other motivation to inspire them. Maybe. But the crazy adrenaline high of her effort to convince Satori was gone. Crushed beneath the despair of reality: If anything was going to happen it would happen only through proper “channels”. And if Jess had learned anything at her young age it was that things—real, game-changing things—only happened when you took matters into your own hands.

  Channels rarely got anywhere.

  Satori dipped low then up, across the hangar threshold, pulled back on the controls and heaved the ‘thopter over the lip to a hover, directly above Pad Three. In one vertigo-inducing moment the machine hung in mid-air then, with a gentle roll forward, dropped to the deck in what felt more like a plunge than a landing. Satori stuck it dead center with a last-second flare of the wings.

  As soon as it was down she flipped a series of switches, yanked a lever, killed the turbine, unhooked her flight harness in the same motion and was standing.

  “Follow my lead,” she said tersely and headed for the rear door. The wings outside were still cycling down. Willet turned to Jess and they shared a questioning look, unbuckled with some hesitation and rose to follow. Quicker, as Satori was already firing open the cargo door and jumping to the ground, fully in action. Out on the pad two waiting guards came toward her, short-barreled machine-pistols in hand. Overhead the large wings were sliding to a stop.

  “Lindin wants to see you,” the guards placed themselves before her but she kept moving. Jess and Willet jumped out awkwardly behind.

  Satori scoffed at the guards. “Where do you think we’re going?” She was brusque, impatient—striding at them with no hesitation. None whatsoever and at the last second Jess thought she would walk right into them. Their machine-pistols were leveled and Satori just ignored them, a purposeful look on her face as if they were the least of her concerns. “He just called.” She sounded hugely annoyed, not breaking her pace. The guards stepped aside and she was past them, heading toward the far side of the hangar.

  The guards weren’t sure what to do.

  Willet and Jess kicked themselves into action. Jess wiped the look of confusion from her face. Willet wasn’t so quick but followed suit, keeping pace as they trailed Satori, past the guards and on across the hanger. The guards remained where they were, the situation clearly not fitting entirely with their orders—probably what Satori gambled on—but if the commander said she was off to see Lindin, and apparently give him a piece of her mind, then, so be it. Maybe their job was done.

  When the soldiers were out of earshot Willet looked across at Jessica. She, too, wondered what Satori was up to. But Satori didn’t slow. Marching angrily ahead, leading the way. Jess took a few longer strides to keep up. The hangar was mostly empty but a few ‘thopters remained, and it wasn’t long until they’d passed far enough away that the guards were safely out of sight.

  “What are we doing?” Willet asked when they were clear, voice low.

  Satori didn’t look back. “Going to find Zac.”

  And on the confirmation of what Jess had begun to suspect her heart beat faster.

  This was happening.

  And she felt, suddenly, the rush of camaraderie. Somewhere, though obviously she missed the exact moment, Satori had come over to the dark side. Whether from frustration, a desire to do it so Jess would just shut up—a terrible reason, to be sure—or some real shift of attitude … somewhere in there Satori changed her mind.

  They were doing this.

  We’re doing this.

  Jess steadied her breathing. Set her mind for what was to come.

  Willet’s participation was implicit. Until that moment he’d been jerked along like a balloon in the wind. Part of that, Jess knew, was due to his shock over the whole starship/Icon/Earth/Zac/Kang thing, of which he’d only just learned the epic details, but the bigger part was that he loved Satori and, in the end, would probably do just about anything she said. In fact, as her junior, it was kind of his job.

  They continued on, not slowing, Satori hurrying with feigned, angry purpose—though not breaking into a run that would attract the wrong sort of attention. It was a fine line, rushing toward an objective yet acting indignant, but they pulled it off. Jess followed Satori’s lead; even found herself more and more acting the part, stomping along with righteous ire, itching to give someone a piece of her mind. They passed along mostly empty corridors down to the lab levels below, people moving aside for their impatient passage, keeping up the ruse. Willet didn’t put on much of a face, and where Satori and Jess hurried without apology he stepped aside here and there, making polite excuses and jogging to keep up.

  A few passersby looked as if they wanted to say something more, as if brightening when they realized who the trio was, and from the looks on their faces Jess wondered if they knew what they’d done with the Icon and Kang. It looked like some of the people wanted to thank them, and a few almost got out those words before realizing the three were in too much of a hurry and stopping for nothing.

  Soon they were in the wide corridor leading to the lab, heading for the far door. A different pair of guards were there this time, armed with machine pistols like the ones in the hangar. Security had been beefed up.

  Guns came up immediately.

  “Is Lindin here?” Satori demanded, again not slowing and again not paying the weapons any heed. She marched right up to them. Jess followed, outwardly just as impatient, inwardly going to ice. She did not want to get shot. Willet stopped a few steps behind, cautious.

  “He’s upstairs,” one of them said. “In Command. You need to wait here.” The guard’s tone was firm as he raised the gun higher. His partner lifted a radio and spoke into it.

  But Satori was resolute, pressing uncomfortably close. The guards’ backs were against the door, Satori nearly in their faces. Jess inched closer too, though she wasn’t sure why, eyes flitting between Satori and the guns.

  “He told us to meet him here,” Satori said, voice filled with agitation.

  “We’ll see,” the one talking insisted, looking to his partner.

  And Satori had his gun. Just like that. Snatched away, twisted from his grip and into hers before he could react.

  And, much to her own surprise, Jess was lunging at the same time and … grabbing the other’s. What am I doing?! As if a signal had been sent, though Satori said nothing—and in fact looked on Jess with equal surprise. In a blur Jess was yanking the gun away, causing the man to drop his radio in the process. Her snatch wasn’t near as graceful but the result was the same and, all at once, she and Satori were taking several steps back, holding machine-pistols pointed at the two guards. Both men froze before them.

  Stunned.

  Jess seemed to start breathing all at once. Reality came flooding back as she worked hard to appear in control. What did I just do?! She tried desperately not to let the gun shake.

  I’m holding a gun!

  And she was pointing it at another person.

  Now the whole situation was suddenly very, very real.

  Satori glanced at her, Jess still coming to grips with how fast she’d followed her lead. On the floor a voice from the radio called out, asking for a response.

  Satori got things moving. She instructed the guards to open the door. They did. She indicated they should go through.

  They did.

  Jess could not believe how quickly—and effectively—she’d reacted, nor could she believe she was now holding a gun on a soldier who, at the heart of it, was an ally.

  Nobody said this would be easy.

  She steeled her resolve for everything yet to come.

  The group proceeded into the yawning cavern, into the presence, once more, of the giant black starship. Willet followed. Across the threshold Satori stepped wide; Jess kept her gun trained.

  “Lock it,” Satori ordered. “Seal it up.”

  Reluctantly one of the guards did so, closing the lab entrance and shutting off the sound of the radio still squawking on the floor outside. Willet stood near, little m
ore than a spectator at that point and, as the guards looked accusingly at him, Jess thought she saw him shrug in response to their hard stares. Almost apologetically.

  As if to say: Hey, this wasn’t my idea.

  Or even:

  Bitches be crazy, right?

  CHAPTER 5: DOING THE IMPOSSIBLE

  “Deck Twelve,” came the measured report from Eldron’s chief security officer. This was turning into a nightmare.

  “Clear this area,” Eldron highlighted a section of the warship’s schematic, just beyond the blip marking the progress of the creature. He stood near his command chair on the bridge, watching the security screen intently. The rest of his crew were at their stations, furiously engaging a defensive strategy to combat a threat for which, they were slowly coming to realize, there was no defense.

  “Can we direct it?”

  “Where?”

  “Deck Eleven. Here and here.” Graphics on the display were highlighted. “Take it to an airlock. Sacrifice a response team and shoot it into space.” So many had been lost already, a dozen more Kel soldiers for the cause would be a small price to pay. Otherwise the creature would soon overrun them and the entire cruiser would be lost.

  Eldron exhaled. “Try it.”

  “Executing.”

  Orders were issued, the drama unfolding from their perspective in a deceptively organized fashion. The command center was a green-lit hive of technology and orchestration, the crew at their consoles looking for ways to resolve the chaos in the bowels of the vessel; a calm mirror of the raging fury below.

  It was as if a cancer had taken it.

  Eldron paced to the side.

  The ship was big, but the beast would eventually find its way here, to the bridge. That seemed to be its objective. It was intelligent, there was no doubt of that now, and after its initial attack and subsequent testing of the strength of their systems its entire focus had been a methodical sweep inward and upward from the point of its entry. Searching, it seemed, for the heart of the ship. Command and control. The bridge, where Eldron and his crew worked furiously to find a solution.