Storm of Arranon

by R. E. Sheahan

  Erynn sensed a surge of energy blast through the area. Her cheeks warmed. “Thanks,” she said, glancing around the room at the smiling faces turned toward her. “I’ll do my best and fight beside you.” The thought of an actual battle against a very real enemy with injuries and fatalities brushed across her mind, making her stomach clench.

  Hands clapped her on the back.

  Tam pushed forward, grasped Erynn’s jacket sleeve, and pulled her down the hall. Inside her room, Tam shut the door. “What happened?”

  “Cale said I out-flew the simulator’s computer—fried it,” Erynn said, sitting down in the desk chair.

  Tam dropped onto her bed. “How come that never happened before, at flight classes?”

  Leaning back, Erynn stared at the wall behind Tam. “I’ve always held back. Today I didn’t.” Shaking her head, Erynn looked at Tam. “That would have brought up some difficult questions, propelling my freak status to new heights.”

  “Freak status? Erynn, you’re not a freak. You’re incredible.”

  Erynn mumbled, “Not everyone sees me the way you do.”

  “You don’t know what people thought. You never gave them a chance.”

  Erynn glanced around the room and frowned. “Should’ve been around when I was growing up.” Erynn’s hands fisted. “Not a pleasant time in my life. I learned some hard lessons.” She glared at Tam. “My life was all about the secrets—the hiding. I could never be me.”

  “Well, unlearn those beliefs. Everyone’s talking about you now.”

  Erynn winced.

  “Sorry.” Tam stared. “What about the stories of mixed-blood children dying at birth, the horrible deformities?”

  “Lies,” Erynn snapped.

  This time Tam cringed. “Why?”

  “It doesn’t matter. Those times are over.” There was no use telling Tam of the slaughter their governments had perpetuated. This atrocity would serve no purpose other than upsetting her. Erynn’s musing turned to her dad and how diligently he’d kept her secret.

  Did my dad know the truth about the murdered children?

  Tam spoke, her head tipped, a slight smile turning her lips.

  “What? I’m sorry.” Erynn tried to control the shuddering of her breath.

  “Jaer,” Tam called in a flat tone.

  “I haven’t seen him today.” Erynn frowned. She hadn’t seen him since he left her room last night.

  “Is there something between the two of you?” Tam’s grin spread, her golden-brown eyes dancing.

  “We’re friends.” Erynn remembered the way he’d kissed her.

  Friends?

  Her face burned. “I don’t know, Tam. I don’t understand.”

  “What’s to understand? Do you like him?”

  “Of course I like him. He keeps saving my life.”

  And then there’s the way I feel every time he touches me.

  Erynn laughed. “I’m like a princess in a Leannan tale.”

  Tam groaned and threw a pillow at Erynn’s head. “You’re resisting.”

  Erynn slumped in the chair and sighed. She wrapped her arms around the pillow. “Really, Tam. I don’t understand. Why me?” She rubbed her hands over her face. “He’s seen what I can do—knows about my heritage. And he doesn’t pull away.”

  “Why would he?”

  “Why wouldn’t he?”

  “You need to get over this image of yourself. Like you said, those times are over. Accept that Jaer loves you.”

  A chime sounded in Tam’s quarters. She rose and stepped to the door.

  Sean stood in the dim hall. “Good, Erynn, you’re here. We need to meet with Cale. The village below the base is under attack. Cale and Tiar are flying.

  ***

  Spotlights flooded over the shining surfaces of the two Interceptors that stood ready on the pad. The ground crews checked them, moving the length of each fighter and disconnecting cables and hoses. Erynn walked out the first bay door. There were no moons lighting the expanse of forest below. Stars shone against the velvet backdrop of night. The world beyond the lights of the scramble pad didn’t exist.

  Cale, Tiar, and Roni stood huddled against the frigid wind in the stark black shadows of the fighters.

  Roni turned from Cale to face Erynn. “Let’s get you back inside. Cale and Tiar are leaving.”

  “You’re taking more than just the two of you,” Erynn said. Her gaze darted from Cale to Tiar and back.

  “The two of us can handle this, Erynn.” Cale pulled his helmet on and tightened the chinstrap. “Let’s go, Tiar.”

  Tiar glanced at Roni and smiled. His gaze drifted to Erynn. “There are ground transports on their way. We’ll clear the area—make it safe for them to go in.”

  Understanding surged over Erynn. “Where is Jaer?”

  “He’s leading the ground assault,” Tiar said and climbed the ladder next to his Interceptor.

  Erynn stared into the dark. She allowed Roni to pull her back through the open bay door and into the hangar.

  The Interceptors rose, hovered, and shot away, disappearing into the night.

  Erynn watched until she no longer saw the red glow of the engines. “Did you know?” Erynn faced Roni. “Why didn’t he tell me, or come to say goodbye?”

  “There wasn’t time. He had to go,” Sean said. He put his hands in his pockets and hunched his shoulders. “People are dying.”

  Erynn grimaced. “Because they think I’m hidden in the village or that the people there know where I am. Everywhere I go…” Her hands fisted and her teeth ground together.

  “Similar incidents are happening all over Arranon and Korin, Erynn.” Sean turned from the dark night to face her. “We need to focus our attention on fighting the enemy.”

  “You’re right, Sean. I’m sorry. I get so angry—”

  “Good.” Sean interrupted. “But control your anger. Funnel all that energy into a productive channel.”

  Erynn sighed and nodded. “I’ll try.”

  “Don’t just try. You can do this, Erynn.” Sean stared back into the dark. “We all can. We have to.”

  “I’m worried, scared for…”

  “Jaer will be fine,” Roni whispered. She didn’t look at Erynn. Instead she also stared out at the inky black.

  Roni’s apprehension collided against and mingled with Erynn’s own concern.

  Chapter 41

  EXPLOSIONS FLAMED INTO THE NIGHT sky and cast an orange glow over what remained of the village. Ships swooped low, hovering over the scene. Melted snow ran in muddy rivulets down the deserted main street. Faylen stepped into the one remaining structure. His gaze drifted over the occupants.

  An old man, stooped and gray haired, shuffled forward. “We can’t tell you what we don’t know.”

  “Well, there’s where the confusion lies, old man. I believe you do know where Erynn Yager is.” Faylen motioned one of his men forward. “You give me no choice.” Faylen nodded.

  The soldier pulled his weapon free from the holster and fired. The blast hit the old man squarely in the chest.

  The ten people at the back of the room made no attempt to go to him as he crumpled to the floor. No one screamed. They only stood there, staring at Faylen.

  “You have five timnents to tell me what I want to know. If not, every timnent you fail to give me the location of Erynn Yager, another of you will die.” Faylen glared down at the dead man’s still form. “Remove the body,” he said and turned, hurrying from the building. He went outside into the cold and leaned against the wall. The act of ordering the old man’s execution disturbed him. Sucking in icy air, Faylen tried to steady his pounding heart. Thick smoke from the burning buildings choked him. Gagging, he vomited into the slushy snow at the edge of the road.

  Faylen wiped the back of his hand across his mouth.

  What’s happening to me? I’m a trained officer. These people mean nothing to me.

  He straightened and stared into flames that wavered and jumped against the dark, comp
osing his wildly beating heart. The door behind him opened.

  “Captain Faylen, there are aircraft approaching, along with several ground transports. We’re about to have company.”

  “Where are our skip-ships, Sergeant?” Faylen asked, controlling the tremor in his voice.

  “Regrouping. What are your orders, sir?”

  “Tell our men to hold their position.” Faylen stared up at the sky. He could hear the roar of engines in the distance. “Let them come to us.” He pushed through the door. His men stood, weapons drawn, around the captives. “Kill them.”

  The soldiers fired until no one stood. The room went silent.

  “Burn it,” Faylen growled and stormed outside again.

  Inside the armored transport, Faylen gave orders to the skip-ships. “When they’re on your scopes, engage. Blast them out of the sky.”

  Chapter 42

  JAER HEARD A LOW RUMBLE the sky—Cale and Tiar, the Interceptors. They approached from behind the three transports and flew low over them. The ground shook. The fighters raced into the night. Four symmetrical glowing engines disappeared behind the thick stand of trees.

  Erynn would know he was gone.

  Distant flares of orange-yellow light filtered through limbs when he crested a hill. An explosion lit up the dark, reflected by the snow-covered ground, briefly turning night into a garish crimson day. The village burned. Sparks whirled high on a backdrop of tree silhouettes. Laser fire seared above the fiery blaze.

  Jaer glanced up at movement in the sky. The gleaming underbelly of an Interceptor flew low above him and turned in a tight arc. The fighter’s throbbing roar shook him to the bone. Weapons fired. Another explosion lit the dark, overhead this time. Chunks of flaming debris rained down on the forest ahead.

  “There’s one down,” a deep male voice seethed behind Jaer in the transport.

  Jaer frowned. There were still four enemy ships flying against Cale’s and Tiar’s two.

  Blue-white laser fire flashed in the air, and for a moment, illuminated by arcing blasts of energy, small, agile craft darted at the larger Interceptors with fierce intention. The macabre scene reminded Jaer of the red-wing aleun protecting his nest against the black croal over four times his size. While the red wing and his mate swoop and dive at the larger croal in the sky, the croal’s mate plunders the eggs in the red wing’s nest.

  Jaer grinned, but there was no humor behind the act.

  Tonight he was the croal.

  Engines cut off with a sudden decisiveness. Transports slid to a stop in the mix of mud and melting snow. What remained of the village burned on either side of the ticking, cooling vehicles. Jaer opened the hatch and jumped out, followed by six men, their weapons drawn. Acrid smoke filled his nostrils. Heat from the fires raked his exposed cheeks. He glanced behind. The other two transports emptied seven men and women each. They moved forward to group around Jaer and surveyed their surroundings, but no enemy soldiers rushed to attack from the shadows.

  An Interceptor’s engines screamed in the night. Laser fire flashed. An explosion burst into an orange-red ball of flame. The detonation echoed in the expanse of forest.

  They all gazed up and watched the blast expand, reach out, suck back in, and collapse.

  Hunks of white-hot metal showered the forest to the left. The sky above Jaer rumbled with battle. Shockwaves cascaded over him, and the ground trembled through his boots.

  “Two down,” the same male voice whispered.

  “Make a sweep of the area,” Jaer mouthed, his voice muffled by yet another explosion.

  The man held up three fingers and grinned. His blond hair was orange in the fires from above and below.

  “Watch for ground troops.” Jaer motioned, sending half of the party to each side. They vanished beyond the smoke and flames and into the night.

  Jaer slipped through swirling smoke and melted into shadows, alert to every movement, every sound. One more blast rocked the night, followed so closely by a second that the two explosions merged into one long deafening roar.

  Jaer nodded. “Four and five.” Low static hummed into his earpiece.

  “We’ve cleared the small ships from the air. The area below is clean.” More static crackled over Cale’s voice. “…recovery and rescue. Tiar and I will land to assist.”

  Recovery and rescue.

  With any luck, there would be someone alive to rescue. Jaer moved out of concealment and into the street. The others from the transports joined him.

  Cale and Tiar walked between the dying flames. Their white flight suits reflected orange. Reduced to low burning piles, the remains of the village snapped and popped.

  “Why would they attack? For what purpose?” a woman behind Jaer asked. “This doesn’t make sense.”

  “It does if it is a trap,” Jaer said, surveying the damage.

  The same woman responded. “We weren’t attacked. How can it be a trap? There are no enemy soldiers here.”

  “They’re here,” Cale said, “watching and waiting.” He tapped the side of his head above his ear. “Send in the HrCs [Hover Crafts, ‘Herks’] to evacuate survivors.” He tapped again and stared at the woman. “They hope we’ll lead them to our hiding place, and Erynn.”

  Jaer stiffened.

  “Are there survivors?” another man asked in a low voice.

  “Yes,” Tiar said, pointing to the woods.

  Thirty people—men, women, and children—emerged from the trees.

  Cale motioned for Tiar and Jaer to follow him. “The HrCs will take these people to Briste. Newell won’t concern himself or his men with them.”

  “You are sure?” Jaer asked.

  Cale faced Jaer. “Newell wants Erynn. He knows she’s here, somewhere. This Captain Faylen pursuing her won’t leave.” Cale gazed up to the sky. “Faylen sacrificed five ships and their crews to set this trap. His intent is to find us.”

  The whop, whop, whop of rotors sounded through the dark.

  “Two transports can return through the tunnel on the far side of the mountain. Tiar, you, and I will fly back toward Tamaagra, swing around, and approach the base under their scanners.” Cale smiled. “They never learn. This is our world.”

  Five HrCs set down, displacing the air and causing the low flames devouring what was left of the village to leap with renewed vigor. Smoke swirled, stinging Jaer’s eyes. The pungent scent burned his nose.

  When all the passengers, including the six men that came with Jaer, were on board the HrCs, a whine rose in five droning engines. Wind from the rotors whipped Jaer’s hair around his face and cleared the smoke from the area. The relief from stinging, choking air was temporary. The ships rose, higher and faster. They banked away from the ruin of the village, but not toward Tamaagra or the hidden base.

  Cale stared at Jaer. “You’re leaving? Returning to Glaskra?”

  Jaer glanced at the one transport left. The flaring embers, once homes and businesses, glowed around him. “Yes. With twenty Anbas, I can set a secure perimeter around the base.” He glanced at Cale. “Faylen will continue to search. If he is allowed to get close, he will find us. If he finds us, he will find Erynn. I will stop him.”

  “It’s a good plan. I appreciate your help. It’s unfortunate that you have to contact your people in person. But all other methods are too risky.” Cale sighed. “Did you tell Erynn what you’re doing?”

  “No. It is better this way.”

  “For who? You or her?”

  Jaer turned on Cale and frowned. “I am not good at this. The concept of a relationship is new to me. I am doing the best I can.” Jaer’s eyes locked on Cale. “My reputation with women to this point never involved love.”

  Chapter 43

  GROUNDED, DUE TO THE CONCENTRATED efforts of Faylen to find the base, Erynn didn’t get her chance to fly an Interceptor. Once again, her dream had been temporarily postponed.

  Cale spent the next few days in strategy meetings, going over the intelligence they gathered as new information
came to them. Planning war took time.

  While Cale worked out a counterstrike, Erynn divided her day into several activities. She spent long sessions on the computer learning about Arranon. She wandered around the interior of the base, which was massive. In the training room, she tried to dampen her worry with a good workout. Exercise was a temporary fix.

  Jaer could have told me of his plan to return to Glaskra, to bring additional Anbas to help here at the base. Maybe his intentions weren’t what I believed they were. Has he found a way to leave?

  His long absence added irritation to her concern over if he would make it back and caused doubt to grow in her heart.

  ***

  Tonight, five days after the attack on the village, men and women lined the long wall of weights in the training room. Sweating and groaning, they lifted and lowered with a slow attention to detail. Toward the center of the room, thick mats covered the floor. A group stood in a circle while a man taught them self-defense moves.

  Erynn and Tam went over to watch. The instructor seemed familiar. There was something about him. Erynn was sure she’d seen him before.

  Or someone like him.

  A woman with long blonde hair and dark-blue eyes glanced at Erynn and moved to stand next to her. “Hi, I’m Kira. I work in the medical unit.” She smiled, causing her cheeks to dimple. “Where do you two work?”

  “Nowhere, right now,” Erynn mumbled and frowned. “I’m Erynn.” She gave the woman a weak smile.

  “I’m Tam.” Tam nodded in the blonde’s direction.

  “Nice to meet you. You haven’t been here long, have you?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “Don’t worry. They’ll find you something to do.” Her grin widened. “Maybe in the kitchens.”

  The door whooshed open and then closed. The instructor stopped his explanation of breaking a chokehold and turned.

  Jaer walked to the edge of the circle, opposite Erynn.

  Erynn smiled, her first response at seeing Jaer, and then frowned. Annoyance pushed aside her rush of relief.