Cosmic Diamonds (Whitney Powers Paranormal Adventures Book 4)

by Jason Paul Rice

  Harrins entered the room and took a spot at the table. “What are we talking about?

  Trent answered, “You just missed a nice session trashing Glint. If there’s anything you want to pile on, now might be the time.”

  Harrins smirked, and purred, “I never trusted him. We all talked about it on the flight over here. We were all scared he was going to double-cross us. Not surprising behavior from a sponsor. He’d probably be trying to boss us around right now if Roxy didn’t plug his ass. Hopefully we can find a sleazy old male to hit on us on Soro Exxo.” She laughed and the beings at the table joined in.

  Mimick shrugged his shoulders. “Now it’s funny. I see. Bunch of hypocrites around here.”

  Whitney was starting to develop an emotional attachment to some members of the crew. Under different circumstances, she could have imagined being friends with Harrins, Mimick and Boggle. For some reason, she felt a connection with aliens that were born galaxies away from her. Going through a life-or-death diamond heist had only strengthened those personal bonds.

  The crew went over the plan a few more times, but it seemed relatively simple. They were going to study the shield and try to find a compromised spot with the on-flight Microscopic Viewer. Once they located the correct target, Roxelle would scream to Whitney, who in turn would press the button to take over Soro Exxo.

  The meeting ended and Whitney and Trent went back to their room. The drinks had taken her exhaustion level to an all-time high as she lay down on the bed with her husband. The small twin bed made it difficult for Whitney to get comfortable. She kept trying to figure out a way to stop the operation, but kept coming up empty.

  “Are you still awake?” she whispered, and nudged him lightly.

  Trent inhaled deeply and exhaled. “Am now.”

  “Sorry, but they want me to set the laser in motion and I don’t think I can do it.”

  “Then don’t do it.” He closed his eyes.

  “But if I don’t, then they will put someone else on the duty that will surely press the button.”

  He opened his eyes. “Then do it.”

  She rolled over in bed. “Lot of help you are. I know you said you didn’t see anything in the cabin that we could use to our advantage, but I need you to think harder. We have to figure this out. It’s our duty.”

  Trent rubbed her tense shoulder. “I know about duty. I killed several innocent beings during the diamond heist and escape. It’s going to be with me for the rest of my days. They were just trying to stop a bunch of criminals. They were performing their duty here on this planet just as we would on earth.”

  She spoke in a more relaxed tone from the massage. “I never really thought about that. But the problem and prospect of many more people dying on Soro Exxo still hangs in the balance.”

  “Can those ghosts really die? I still don’t understand their meta-physical makeup. Couldn’t they just put a spell on the incoming horde to stop them?”

  Whitney took a deep breath and exhaled, enjoying the moment. “Unfortunately, not. They can move from world to world and drop clues like they did for me in the Benno Dante case. They don’t really have a grasp of magic to use in violence against an attacker. They are only protected by that clear shield around the planet that we are destined to destroy.”

  Trent stopped with the massage. “We still have almost a full day to figure out a way to derail the laser.”

  Whitney knew Trent wanted to go back to sleep so she let him. His light snoring wasn’t as cute as usual and Whitney pulled the blanket over her chest.

  Her heart hammered against her ribcage and Whitney wondered if there had been adrenaline in those shots from earlier. She felt the extreme pressure to save her friends. She understood that this ruthless squad couldn’t care less about the well-being of the inhabitants of Soro Exxo.

  Could she talk Roxelle into trying to conquer another planet? The idea swirled around her overloaded head for a while until she finally passed out.

  19

  The next day, Roxelle showed Whitney around the navigation room. The leader of the mission had taken a sudden shine to Whitney after her daring exploits during the heist and getaway.

  Roxelle pointed to a small black chair. “That’s your spot.”

  Whitney instantly noticed the big red button on the control unit in front of the chair. They moved closer to the area.

  Roxelle said, “All you have to do is press that button when I say it’s time. Simple. Even for a human.” She half-smiled at Whitney, seemingly testing the reaction.

  Whitney’s lips curled up enough to prompt Roxelle to commit fully to her look of happiness. The leader had never cracked a joke with her before and Whitney tried to think of how she could use this new friendship to her advantage.

  Roxelle gestured for Whitney to sit down. She slid onto the chair, buttock by buttock, before enjoying the comfort of the supple leather. She checked out the control unit. Under the red button was a digital keyboard with a built-in mouse for the small, rectangular computer screen.

  The screen was divided into four equal parts with blocks of text in each quadrant.

  Upper left: Firing Mechanism Equipped—Ready For Launch

  Upper right: Relaxia Software Installed—Protected

  Lower left: Touch for Homescreen

  Lower right: Last Scan—Obertus 16.7 at 46.72 StarGuide

  Roxelle asked, “Ready?”

  Whitney nodded in silence.

  Roxelle said, “Touch this corner right here.” She pointed to the upper left and touched the screen. The entire screen disappeared momentarily and refreshed with text covering the entire monitor.

  READY TO FIRE—PRESS FIRING MECHANISM AT WILL

  “Then you press this red button here. The split screen is like a safety for the laser so you have to be quick so we can hit the point that is most compromised and gives us the best shot at busting through that shield.”

  It was so easy, Whitney couldn’t even fathom screwing it up on purpose. She had shown too much ability for the crew to believe that she could honestly mess this up. They would see right through the act.

  Also, the more she thought about it, the idea of Roxelle finding another planet to invade seemed ridiculous. She looked at the leader’s face and she seemed to be holding back a smile. Roxelle’s years of planning weren’t going to change at the last moment and Whitney knew it.

  The options were running slim as Roxelle showed her the rest of the navigation room. The tour gave Whitney a few ideas on derailing the flight pattern, but that would involve her taking out all the members of the navigation crew. She wondered if she could shift into a dragon, not wreck the ship and overtake the rest of the crew. It didn’t seem likely, but wouldn’t go away.

  The crew would definitely listen to her if she shifted into dragon form. Right? She remembered busting out the windows of the building in Dreamland and didn’t want to risk breaking something on the ship and being thrust into deep space. Time was running out and Whitney still hadn’t developed a viable plan.

  Roxelle and Whitney went back to the cabin and sat down at the meeting table. Whitney glanced around the table and noticed tense expressions on most of the faces. Mimick was the only one who looked relatively calm. Trent even had a flushed face and wide-open eyes. Whitney wondered why.

  He hadn’t been assigned a real duty for the infiltration. Sitting around a table in the cabin sounded much better than being in the control room. Her nerves tightened at the notion of pushing the button. The fantasy trip had just shifted toward harsh reality.

  Three technicians in white suits walked into the cabin and approached the table.

  Roxelle said, “Artrip, tell me you have good news for us.”

  The pale yellow being took a seat at the table, in between Boggle and Oswell. He seemed to be withholding his answer for dramatic effect. He scanned the beings at the table and focused on Roxelle. “We have good and bad news. The ship absorbed the onslaught, but there are a few worries.”

&n
bsp; Mimick took his feet off the table and sat up straight. “Such as?”

  Artrip paused again, apparently relishing being the center of attention. “Compromised areas. They are holding strong at the moment, but they won’t be able to withstand a direct hit from a plasma launcher. The other issue is the laser.”

  Roxelle said, “Well that’s a pretty fucking big issue.”

  Artrip’s eyelids fluttered, and he continued, “Agreed. The problem wouldn’t be involving the firing mechanism. It would be what happens after it’s launched. One of the BlastBolts hit an area near the separation unit. I’m worried that after the launch, the ship will be locked in place due to the increased pressure during the launch. This would of course, make it all but impossible to get the diamonds into Soro Exxo.” He smirked, appearing very proud of his assessment.

  Mimick immediately challenged him. “What about the hoverHauler? Couldn’t we launch it out of the storage unit and use a tractor beam to guide it into the shield of Soro Exxo?”

  Artrip responded, “We could try. In theory, if everything were optimized, we should be able to guide it in there. However, the chances of some space pirate being in the area and hungry for a bounty are pretty high. The time spent during that process will greatly compromise our chances of survival.”

  Boggle spoke in a bitchy tone, “So what does that mean? Where are we at here?”

  Artrip waited again and it was getting on Whitney’s nerves. “We are in a slightly more precarious situation, but I don’t see any reason this won’t end in success. It’s my job to point out possible issues, and that’s just what I have done.”

  Roxelle asked, “Bottom line, would you proceed as scheduled?”

  Artrip took a deep breath and tapped his index fingers together in front of his cracking yellow face. “I would, yes. However, if any crafts show up on our scanners, I would probably get out of there. This is a big ship, but an experienced star fighter will see the damage and use it against us. Make this operation quick.”

  Mimick said, “That’s much easier said than done. We need to study the shell until we find an area that we can exploit. We could search for days and not find any spot to work with. It’s almost like a random crap shoot.”

  Artrip knocked on the table and waited until all eyes focused on him. “If I am permitted to make a suggestion. If it’s not already planned, start with the areas around the four openings on the poles of the planet. If there is a compromised area, it should be right around those rectangular openings. That will also make unloading the diamonds a much easier venture too.”

  Boggle checked, “So this laser is going to cut an opening in the shield and replace it perfectly after we enter. What if it doesn’t?”

  Mimick shook his head. “There are many variables that need to work for success. That of course is one of them. If anything were to go wrong along the way, it will result in failure.”

  If Whitney was carrying any confidence it just spilled all over the floor and ebbed away. She and Trent sat quietly and absorbed the information. Each statement made her realize how precarious this job had become. The scheme needed hundreds of things to go right and if one, just one, little thing went wrong, her son would grow up without parents.

  To top it all off, Whitney still hadn’t hatched a plan to save her friends’ planet. She waited nervously and couldn’t tell how much time had passed as the space scene outside the viewport always looked like night.

  Whitney mindlessly raised her hand to speak. “So, if it were to go the wrong way, is there a plan B?” She looked around the table and a frightening hush ensued. She scanned from right to left again and stopped on Roxelle.

  The leader said, “We don’t plan for failure.”

  “No, I realize that. But is there a getaway plan if we can’t bust through the shield?”

  Roxelle answered immediately, “Of course, we will have enough faculties to get to another destination.”

  “Where?” Whitney asked.

  “Girl, I was just starting to like you and now you are pissing me off with all these questions. We’ll be just fine. You concentrate on pushing that button. It’s already programmed and ready to go.”

  “I hate to ask one more question.” She didn’t hate to do it. “Who programmed it?”

  “Jazemore didn’t program this one if you were wondering. As I said, all you have to do is press that red button and stop pissing me off.”

  Oswell said, “In all fairness of complete disclosure, do we have an exit plan if this goes haywire too?”

  Roxelle slammed her tightened fist onto the table. “I know you are all getting scared as the time approaches. I’m feeling the nerves a little too, but we have to hold it together. Things got crazy back at the diamond warehouse, but we stuck together and made it out. This will be the same.”

  Boggle mumbled, “That means she doesn’t have a backup plan.”

  Roxelle jerked her head toward Boggle, “What did you just say?” The imposing leader stood up and walked around the table, standing over the much smaller Boggle Rigby.

  “What are you going to do?” Boggle sprang up from her seat and headbutted Roxelle in the belly and once again in the left breast. She jolted Roxelle back a few steps. “Don’t try to stand over me and intimidate me.”

  Mimick, Oswell and Trent stepped between the two females. Whitney grabbed Boggle’s shoulder and the small green alien swatted her hand away and continued to try to get at Roxelle. The pressure and stress of the mission had boiled over.

  The crew separated the two women and Boggle limped out of the cabin and headed for her room. Time dragged on and the members of the team would occasionally get up from the table and go to their respective rooms for various lengths of time. Whitney could tell that the crew was nervous and she didn’t have any words to loosen those nerves.

  Whitney missed her son, her family and her friends. She hadn’t had a chance to really process how far away from earth this planet was. She closed her eyes and could feel Lancelot’s smooth skin against her cheeks. She could see his bright blue eyes and pudgy, cherub-like cheeks. She could feel his little fingers wrapped around her thumb.

  “Everyone get to your stations. We’re approaching Soro Exxo,” a voice called out over the intercom.

  20

  Whitney snapped out of her deep thought and looked around the room for Roxelle. The far door to the cabin popped open and the leader emerged, sliding the sling to her holster over her shoulder. Whitney wondered why she felt the necessity for the gun.

  Roxelle’s heavy hand slapped Whitney on the back and almost knocked the wind out of her. The automatic door to the navigation room slid open and the two women walked gracefully through the entrance. Whitney and Roxelle took their designated seats.

  Mimick entered the front of the ship and slid into his seat. The navigator and controller were already seated with big headphones concealing their profiles, their long, green fingers punching away at the keyboards in front of them.

  Roxelle stared at the computer screen in front of her and Mimick concentrated on his duties. Whitney turned her attention to the screen in front of her. She nonchalantly hit the lower left quadrant. The home screen popped up with all the options she had expected.

  She tried to watch everyone in the room even as she typed on the digital keyboard. The nice piece of technology helped her to type silently. Almost that is, as her fingernails made light scraping sounds.

  Her fingers flew up and down as she craned her neck to make sure nobody was looking. She focused on the screen for a few moments and found the software coding.

  A harsh voice broke her concentration, “What the fuck you doing over there?”

  Whitney turned to Roxelle. “What?” She needed to buy time.

  “I said, what are you doing?”

  Whitney paused and waited for an idea to pop into her head and save her. Nothing. “What do you mean?” She knew it sounded stupid but she just needed a few more seconds to come up with something.

&nbs
p; Roxelle put her hand on the blaster, and said, “If I have to repeat myself one more time, it’s not going to be pretty.”

  “Oh, what am I doing here. Considering I almost lost my life back there at the warehouse, I’m not trusting whoever programmed this laser. I was going to check it out to make sure that it will work. Is that all right?”

  Roxelle seemed to be waffling internally and said hesitantly, “I guess. Don’t mess anything up or it’s your ass.”

  “Just trying to perform my job to its fullest capabilities. I will not be in dereliction of duty.” Whitney stopped. She didn’t want to sound overly righteous.

  A smirk from Roxelle confirmed that it had been just the right amount and she went back to pounding away on the keyboard. She checked everything and returned to the homepage. She exited out of there and the four quadrants of options returned.

  Whitney looked through the front viewshield at Soro Exxo and its opaque shield. Her stomach twisted into knots and she could barely breathe.

  The controller said, “We aren’t detecting any spacecraft in the vicinity at the moment. Permission to proceed?”

  Roxelle said, “Granted.”

  Mimick turned to Whitney, his face gaunt and sweaty. “We’re about to start the probing.”

  The scopic viewer lowered from the bottom of the ship.

  The small, square object had a cylindrical lens sprout out of the main body.

  A bright blue beam flowed from the open end of the viewer and bounced off the shield, sending valuable information back to the spacecraft. Whitney’s palms and underarms started to leak. She knew every moment was valuable and they could be attacked if they took too long.

  Mimick asked, “Anything yet?”

  The navigator said, “We should move to the opening near the southern pole. That takes the most star heat.”

  The craft zipped around the planet and quickly made it to the second destination. The blue beam of light bounced around and Whitney could barely swallow. Her mouth had run completely dry and a stubborn ball of phlegm just sat in her esophagus, refusing to go down or come up.