Celestial Ascension (Splintered Galaxy Book 1)

by Eddie R. Hicks

  The corpses of dead airmen and Hashmedai lay outside the main entrance to the hospital. Looks like they tried to hold the Hashmedai off before ultimately getting wiped out. Looting the dead didn’t sit right with him, but without any weapons or equipment he was a dead man. Boots, pants, top, Kevlar jacket, helmet, M4 carbine—much better.

  Another helpful item appeared at the corner of his eye—a dead Hashmedai knight had a still-functional shield generator. His thoughts flashed back to the brief battle with SOI members and the shield he had swiped from them—damn thing saved him from getting sawed in half. I’ll take that. He reached down to slide the device off the fallen knight’s arm.

  Out in the distance was a view of Las Vegas—well, what remained of it. The area just outside the hospital, further northwest, had been set ablaze by Hashmedai ground forces, beyond that was a smoldering glass crater. If there were any civvies in the city, may they rest in peace.

  His looked toward the landing strip at Nellis. A few small fires had erupted in the area, but otherwise it was still intact. Here’s hoping there are survivors there.

  … … …

  “I think I’m going to be sick,” Alisha said, covering her face with the palms of her hands.

  “That’s why I’m here,” Jake said, his arms crossed. “Radiance can’t be trusted. This is probably one big plan to get people to board that ship.”

  “But at the same time, you’re asking as to go with you to the Hashmedai home world. How can we be sure that won’t be just as bad?” she asked.

  “’Cause I’m here, and as crazy as it sounds, Hannah knows it’s the right thing to do.”

  “Hannah has been acting strange since these visitors showed up, much more so than before,” Alisha said.

  “Alisha, both you and I know Hannah’s condition is odd. Yet I keep having these visions of her leading me places, and the last one led me right to this hotel. LA is a big place, so how the hell would I know to have Chidorli teleport me to this exact hotel, this exact room?”

  Fair point—even if he were to travel normally it would have taken him days or weeks of questioning people about her location.

  “I know it sounds nuts,” he added.

  “Hannah did say something about you coming,” Alisha said. Suddenly everything Jake had said was making more sense in some spooky way.

  “Well, there you go. There’s more to her condition than doctors can find. Perhaps she knows someone out there among the Hashmedai who can help here,” Jazz said.

  Alisha became lost in thought. Not long ago she was ecstatic about traveling with Radiance. Now she was being told to travel with members of the race that was slowly glassing the planet. “I don’t know…”she whispered.

  “Take your time to think about it. We’re not ready to head out yet anyway,” Jake said.

  Hannah exited the washroom and ran directly to Jake with a smile on her face. “Hey, Jazz, how’s Phylarlie doing?” Hannah asked.

  Phylarlie—that’s a name Hannah had mentioned a few times, another of Jake’s Hashmedai friends? Alisha thought.

  “Uh, she’s fine,” Jazz muttered.

  Hannah fearlessly stepped toward the Hashmedai female Chidorli, who had stood silent this whole time. The two spoke in the Hashmedai language. How the fuck did she learn how to speak with them? Alisha wondered.

  As the two continued to chat and laugh, Jake said to Alisha, “You know I’m right, Alisha. All these years we’ve known each other, when have I ever been wrong? Like I said, think about it. I’ll be back in a few.”

  Hannah waved good-bye to Chidorli and then pulled her small body onto the bed to lie down. Jake gave a nod to Chidorli. Small mechanical devices on the woman’s body glowed as she shut her eyes. A blinding flash of blue light filled the room and then vanished with Jake and the alien woman.

  There was an eerie silence for several minutes. Jason and Alisha remained still before she finally asked, “What do you think, Jay?”

  He paused and closed his eyes. “Don’t—he’s all talk and no hard evidence.”

  Alisha glanced at her resting daughter. “Other than Hannah.”

  “Let’s be realistic. If this was all a big plan by Radiance, wouldn’t it be easier for them to attack instead and just kidnap whoever they wanted?” Jason walked toward the window at the far end of the room, gazing at the morning sky. “And even if he’s right, how do we know if that splinter group he talked about isn’t waiting for him and his friends on the other side?”

  She hadn’t considered that theory, and clearly neither had Jake. “Yeah, sounds like a lose-lose situation.”

  “If that’s the case, let’s lose with Radiance. At least there’s a chance their word is true,” Jason concluded.

  ………

  The highway leading into LA had become a massive parking lot filled with cars, trucks, vans, and buses—all were people, such as Rina, fleeing the wrath of the Hashmedai. She caved in and turned on the radio to learn that Vegas had been wiped out overnight. Her instincts once again had led her away from danger and into gridlocked traffic.

  A Radiance transport zipped up into the sky in the blink of an eye—more refugees being taken from Earth. She thought about seeing what it would take for her to get evacuated from the planet as well, but her instincts kicked in. Just stay in LA. She reached to the backseat for a pack of cigarettes. Might as well take a smoke. This traffic isn’t going anywhere for awhile.

  ………

  Onatiasha read over the notification that popped up on the transport ship’s communication terminal. It was good news. Two-thirds of the fleet had been recalled back to the command ship to resupply and to reinforce ships with missing or dead soldiers. Those ships would be docked there for some time, expecting transports like this to link up. The time to act was quickly approaching.

  “Are you familiar with the operation of a corvette?” she asked Zhinbryo.

  “I haven’t flown one, but it shouldn’t be much different than a scout ship. It uses a similar cockpit setup.”

  Onatiasha activated a holographic window, which showed a listing of all the existing Hashmedaian corvettes. Her hand waved from left to right, flipping through the pages until a particular ship caught her attention. “This one—the Voidwrath. It has a skeleton crew assigned to it and no soldiers present.” She paused, reading more info about the selected ship. “And it’s not assigned to any frigate.”

  Zhinbryo leaned over to look at the hologram. “Odd setup for a ship like that.”

  “And we’re going to take it with ease—two psionics, me, you, an assassin, plus Jazz.”

  Zhinbryo burst out with laughter. “Tell the human not to bleed too quickly.”

  Onatiasha shot a cold stare at Zhinbryo. “Kroshka and Jazz’s friends will need to remain aboard the transport until we’ve cleared everyone out. From there, it’s about powering the engines and flying out before the rest of the fleet realizes what’s going on.”

  “You are assuming his friends will come.” Zhinbryo stared at the back end of the transport ship, and there was only one human there—Jazz. “He came back alone.”

  Onatiasha floated over to Jazz. Zhinbryo had made a good point. Are they with us or not? “What’s the status of you and your friends?” she asked in English.

  Jazz replied, “They’re still thinking about it, but it’s been awhile. I should check on them.”

  “Do it. Our window of opportunity is opening, so this operation needs to happen soon.”

  ………

  Jazz and Chidorli emerged from the blue light of her teleport back into Alisha’s hotel room. But the family wasn’t there. Three Aryile soldiers were, however. At the shock of seeing them, Jazz removed his hidden Glock from his pants and fired three rounds into the chest of one. The Aryile flew backward into the wall, since his shield wasn’t up.

  Chidorli extended her hands forward, knocking the remaining two backward with a telekinetic push followed by quick conjured white fireball into the chest of one, cau
sing him to burst into flames. Jazz charged forward, putting three bullets through the head of the last one, splattering blood all over the walls.

  Jazz searched about for Alisha and her family—no signs of them. He ran to the window and saw Alisha entering a car with armed Aryile soldiers. This is a goddamn kidnapping. They must have found out I came here to talk with them. “Ah, shit!” he screamed as the car sped off.

  There was no need to chase after it at least. Cedars-Sinai was where they were heading, no doubt. Radiance was shipping people off the planet from there. He gripped the handle of the Glock harder than necessary. Jazz was furious…or was it PTSD? No matter—it was time to spill some Radiance blood.

  ………

  The Voidwrath’s shipboard psionic Covin materialized from blue light along with Lettielia and Nodevar. Nodevar clenched the side of his abdomen, sharp pain radiating from it, as he floated in the weightless compartment. Lucky shot from a human soldier.

  Even so, his and Lettielia’s work here was complete. All that remained now was for Jerut to finish the final phases of his plan, board this ship, and head back to Hashmedai space. How Jerut planned to come up with a reason to leave the fleet during this invasion was another story. If Himton were still alive, it would have been easy—leave Himton in command while Jerut headed back to attend to his next mission with his associates.

  “Are we done?” Covin the psionic asked Nodevar.

  “Yes, the human race has seen a drastic drop in leadership, within government and military alike,” said Nodevar. “Inform Jerut that fewer atomic weapons will be launched by the humans.” Nodevar floated down the corridor and yelped sharply, holding his abs. He hadn’t felt this kind of pain in years.

  “Want me to lick it better?” Lettielia asked smugly.

  Nodevar’s eyes rolled while the psionic examined the wound. “Let me see it,” Covin requested.

  Nodevar asked, “You’re a doctor as well?”

  “Indeed.”

  “Well, isn’t that lovely,” Nodevar said, the low-battery beep emitting from his suit. “Show me to the infirmary. I have a few other wounds my medical systems aren’t dealing with correctly.”

  ………

  The doors of the Radiance transport ship swung open as it landed on the helipad atop of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Chloe, Sarah, Gengei, Odelea, and Sanders stepped off and walked to the nearby entrance. Chloe wondered if what they were doing was the right thing—after all she, Sarah, and Sanders were still marines, and there might be other battles across the country that could use assistance.

  Whatever was left of the country, the glowing red patches across the Eastern seaboard didn’t look promising when she had looked out the transport’s window earlier. Are there people still fighting? Are they even organized at this point? None of the three had been able to reach anyone by radio. Perhaps helping Radiance get people to safety is indeed the better option.

  ………

  “I’m sorry for the delay, Mrs. Chambers,” said Dr. Jakins.

  “It’s OK.”Anna looked outside the examination room into the hallway, taking in the sight of refugees filling up the hallways. “You guys clearly have your hands full.”

  The doctor jotted a few notes on his clipboard. “Everything looks good. I’ll contact you when I have the results from the blood sample.”

  The two were alerted to the sounds of far-off screaming, and a large group of people ran past the door.

  “What was that about?” she asked.

  “I don’t know.” He proceeded to the door with clipboard and blood samples in hand. “Wait here. I’ll be back.”

  ………

  Jazz, Zhinbryo, Onatiasha, and Chidorli materialized into the waiting room of Cedars-Sinai. The sight of four people appearing out of nowhere caused everyone standing to roar into an uncontrolled panic. When they realized three out of the four were armed Hashmedai, that panic turned into extreme hysteria, and everyone fled in a clustered manner.

  No sign of her; they must be heading to the top now. Jazz with his rifle in hand took point, leading the other three to the nearby elevator and pushing people who got in his way.“Get out of the fucking way!” he yelled, knocking over another person.

  Word of their dramatic entrance had spread fast, so the elevator stopped at every floor, only to send people outside its doors screaming and running at the sight of the four. Slowly it made its climb—same results at each floor.

  “To hell with this.” Jazz exited into a hallway, along with his three Hashmedai comrades, with a new plan. Take the stairs, wherever the hell they’re located.

  More panicking people ran past, screaming as they charged through the white halls. Onatiasha grabbed Jazz by the shoulder, pulling him backward and putting herself on point. The blue glow of her forward handled shield extended forth, blocking a hail of bullets. Jazz caught a glimpse of a Radiance Union soldier, a Javnis, and three US marines. Good call, Onatiasha, he thought. One soldier looked familiar. Jazz had seen her before…somewhere. Vaughan is her name, Chloe Vaughan.

  The two made eye contact, and Chloe briefly stopped firing. She resumed shooting as Onatiasha walked toward them with her sword drawn. Zhinbryo followed behind with his sword powered up and glowing green. A sudden psionic push from Chidorli sent the three marines flying backward and crashing to the floor. Gengei, however, remained on his feet, protected by his shield.

  Chidorli raised her hands in the air, causing the ceiling to shake. A large section of ceiling crashed down onto Gengei, tossing him to the floor and shattering his shield. A second psionic telekinetic push sent the three marines flying backward again after they rose to their feet.

  Jazz, Onatiasha, and Zhinbryo floated as if there were no gravity. Chidorli was levitating them…but to where? Their bodies telekinetically moved up to the next floor quickly due to the massive hole in the ceiling. They vanished, leaving behind a trail of blue light.

  Chloe, Sarah, and Sanders slowly got up from the ground. Getting knocked back twice had put them down on the ground for a minute or so. All the while, Chloe wondered about her dreams. She had seen that man in almost every single one and even remembered his name—Jake "Jazz" Johnson. A warning? Someone not to trust? Probably since he’s clearly aiding Hashmedai.

  Chloe moved over to check on Gengei, who was still breathing. “Are you OK?” She helped him up.

  “That psionic used her power to increase the speed that the debris fell on us.” The surrounding dust made him cough. “That was a…dirty trick.”

  “They must be heading to the helipad,” said Sarah.

  “Probably trying to disrupt us from taking people aboard.” Gengei got to his feet. “We must hurry.”

  Another body off to the side caught Chloe’s attention. She knelt over to examine the woman, who looked pregnant. She must have been standing directly above when the floor was brought down. A massive gash on her forehead oozed blood.

  The woman opened her eyes, confused. “Military?” she asked.

  “Yes, US Marines.” Chloe tried to provide aid. The woman’s wounds were much worse than she had first thought, given the amount of blood pouring out into the floor.

  The woman's blood-soaked hands clenched an object, which she placed in Chloe’s hand. “My husband is in the air force. Give this to him.”

  “Anna?” Sarah ran over to assist. “Holy fuck! Hold on, Anna. You’re going to be OK.”

  Anna, with what little strength she had, grinned and said to Sarah, “I remember you.” She coughed blood up and continued. “Make sure Gavin gets this,” she said, pointing to the gem in Chloe’s hand. Anna then became lifeless and limp.

  Chloe screamed, “Oh, shit! I need a doctor now!”

  … … …

  Alisha turned her gaze away from the Radiance transport ship and back toward the entrance of the rooftop of Cedars-Sinai. Hannah was gone.

  “Jason, have you seen Hannah?”Alisha panicked. “Have you seen my little girl?” She pleaded with the Aryile escort. H
e didn’t respond, since he did not understand English. “I can’t find my child. Someone, please help me!”

  “Relax. I’ll find her!” Jason assured her.

  “What happened?” Tears rained down Alisha’s frightened face.

  “It must have been the commotion,” Jason said. “She probably got turned around. Get on board that ship. I’ll be back with her—I promise!” Jason bolted, and suddenly Jazz’s suggestion seemed like a better idea to Alisha.

  … … …

  The sight of panicking humans was overwhelming for Odelea—so much so that she became lost. Gengei and the three humans ran off somewhere in a hurry. Might be best to backtrack, head back up to the rooftop. Maybe they’ll be there, and if not, a trip back to the Abyssal Explorer will be. Just as she turned to head back, she saw a familiar face running down the hallway—Xyniea. When did she get here? Odelea thought.

  Odelea called out to her but to no avail. Xyniea ran right passed her without taking notice. Perhaps she didn’t hear me. Odelea turned to pursue her, chasing her to the entrance of an elevator. As she caught up, she yelled Xyniea’s name loud enough to make her throat sore. Xyniea’s attention was caught at last as her head jerked towards Odelea. The elevator doors slid open, and High Scholar Ure Telinei stepped out. He was dressed like a human doctor, and next to him stood a human woman holding the hand of a human child.

  “High Scholar, what are you doing here?” Odelea asked.

  “Odelea…” In a panic he looked left to right and said, “As much as I’m delighted to see you again, now is not the time.”

  “Is this the girl?” Xyniea asked.

  “Yes,” replied Telinei.

  “Hey, Hannah, come this way. Your mom is just down here,” said the woman who was guiding the child by the hand.

  Odelea asked Telinei, “What are you doing?”

  “Want me to take care of her?” Xyniea said, irritated.

  Telinei replied, “No.” The elevator doors slid open, and Telinei firmly grabbed Odelea, whipping her small body into the elevator with him. “I’ll handle this.”

  … … …

  Jazz and company were treated to the sight of the Los Angeles skyline as they made it to the helipad. Onatiasha took point, her shield activated, though it proved to be unnecessary, as the empty and unguarded transport ship lay dormant. Not exactly a bad sign—it just meant they hadn’t yet loaded the passengers. The four walked a quick lap around, ensuring they didn’t miss anything. Nope, area is clear. Now what?