Out of Orbit- The Complete Series Boxset

by Chele Cooke

  The Cahlven had arrived not long after they moved north, away from the city. They had sworn their allegiance to the Veniche and promised to fight for Os-Veruh against the Adveni. Olless, their emissary, had been sent with troops, promising that one of the Colvohans would be dispatched once they had succeeded in wiping out Adveni reserve bases. Until the Colvohan arrived there was nothing to do but wait in the camp they had created and strategise attacks.

  They had camped at Nyquonat Lake in the far north. It was pretty but becoming less habitable by the day as the cold rains preceding the Freeze set in, heralding the end of the Heat. Many had already complained that this location would not be suitable for much longer, and the ex-inmate, Dhiren, whom they had liberated from the Compound during their attack, was the only person whose spirits weren’t dampened by the weather in the small protected camp.

  The Cahlven had given them less than Edtroka had anticipated, and Georgianna wasn’t surprised that he was letting out his frustration. They had taken a long time in making a decision over whether to attack the Adveni, and Edtroka’s ranting in their frequent meetings made clear that he’d expected things to move faster now that they had arrived. Well, some of them. The leader of the Cahlven had still not appeared on Os-Veruh despite frequent promises that things were moving forwards.

  Edtroka slumped into a chair, finally silent, and it seemed only moments before Olless returned. She strode into the room like nothing had been amiss, as if she’d simply left to collect some information or to give an order. Her lavender eyes swept over them with interest and she laid a small orb on the table already laden with maps, lists, and diagrams.

  She lifted her hand away from the orb and the colours that had been shifting through it settled and faded to the dark purple of the pre-dawn sky. Georgianna recognised the sphere immediately. She had been on the receiving end of Edtroka’s anger when he’d discovered her holding the one he owned; a device he’d been unwilling to explain at the time.

  “Do you really think your shields will hold?” Edtroka asked, his frustration barely restrained. “They might be protecting us from the Nyrahby bombs but they won’t stop the Agrah from flooding the camp with troops.”

  “The shields can be made solid enough that no being can pass through,” Olless replied, keeping her cool much better than Edtroka.

  “Great,” Keiran said. “So the Adveni can surround us, watch us make the shields solid, and wait us out while we starve.”

  Edtroka stood, pointing at Keiran and nodding. He glared at Olless but held his tongue.

  “We have been given notice of the progression on the strongholds,” said Olless. “We cannot launch a full attack against the Adveni with the numbers we have.”

  “And you want us to sit and wait while the Agrah move on our position?”

  Beck leaned back in the chair, crossed his arms, and watched as Edtroka and Olless sniped at each other. Keiran returned to his pacing. Sitting in a chair beside Beck, Georgianna picked at her thumbnail and listened.

  She didn’t know why she had been called into this meeting. She wasn’t one of the leaders who had been chosen to speak for the Veniche; those places belonged to Keiran and Beck. She wasn’t some person of great insight into the methods of war. She was a medic. Was she only here because she had been Edtroka’s drysta? Even that was a pointless reason as far as she was concerned. Edtroka ignored her whenever they stepped inside the command room, focussing his attention on those with more useful opinions. Even Keiran and Beck ignored her most of the time. Beck only paid her attention when he was frustrated with the conversation and needed a break. He would come and sit by her and talk of his adopted daughter Lacie, who was training harder than ever to become a medic like Georgianna. Keiran had either forgotten she existed or was hoping he would forget soon. They had not spoken a word to each other since he’d been named leader. Their silence had become a battle of wills, one she had almost lost near on a hundred times.

  “I am the emissary. I implement the orders I am given,” Olless said. “We should bring in the Colvohan if you wish to change that.”

  She waved her hand towards the orb on the table and Edtroka shot it such a fierce glare that Georgianna imagined it might crack under the weight.

  “Why did they even send you if you can’t do anything?”

  Olless gave him a thin-lipped smile.

  “Because they thought I could keep you in your right mind, Adveni.”

  Edtroka swore under his breath but then, at the look Olless gave him, growled and waved his hand dismissively. He sank back into his chair.

  “Fine. Get them.”

  Olless picked up the orb. Georgianna watched, edging forwards on her chair. As soon as the orb connected with skin it began to lighten. Swirls of cloudy colour stretched and slid across the surface. Maroon shifted to burning embers. Onyx waves crashed into a violet spray. It was so beautiful that Georgianna forgot what it was for. She glanced at Beck and Keiran, wondering if they found this as captivating as she did, but they both watched with impatience.

  “Naltahn, First Colvohan,” Olless said, holding the orb up before her.

  The orb shifted further at the sound of her voice. Thick white veins spread across its surface like branches from the trunk of a tree. They wove together and split away again, forming a canopy. The top of the orb glowed pure white before the entire design faded away. Olless set it down on the centre of the table and waited.

  Georgianna tapped her feet, her gaze flickering from the orb to the others in the room. Beck and Keiran showed no discomfort in the waiting, while Edtroka maintained his frustration. Only Olless remained alert and presentable.

  The bells were quiet at first, melting into the silence, then got steadily louder until a short jingle sounded. Beck got to his feet, Keiran rounded the chairs, and Edtroka moved to the edge of his seat. Olless grasped her hands before her and straightened up, her long red braid falling between her shoulders.

  Georgianna was the only one who squeaked in surprise when a man appeared before them. She covered her mouth with both hands but Beck had heard her. He glanced over his shoulder and grinned. She could imagine he’d had the same reaction the first time he saw it happen.

  The man before them was dressed in the same neck-to-ankle suit that Olless wore, but he had covered his in a heavy overcoat. His ash-grey hair was slicked back where it curled behind his ears and at the nape of his neck. He glanced at each of them in turn, his gaze lingering on Georgianna before striding a few steps towards her. The squeak slipped past her lips before she could stop it, a shudder running down her spine as the man walked straight through the table. The only person who didn’t blanch at the sight was Olless, though she smiled at their discomfort.

  “Sir, if you wouldn’t mind taking three more steps. You are currently standing in the middle of the table and the Veniche find it disconcerting.”

  He gave a curt smile as he walked out of the table and his legs connected to his body again.

  “You needed me, Olless?”

  “Yes, Sir. There is some disagreement over the course of action here on Os-Veruh.”

  “Has something happened to change your current situation?”

  “No.”

  “Yes!” Edtroka said, leaning forwards.

  The Colvohan turned to look at Edtroka and clasped his hands before him in the same manner as Olless. His eyes were the palest grey Georgianna had ever seen.

  “Mr. Grystch, what do you believe has changed?”

  “The Adveni have been amassing their troops. They’re sending Agrah here, if they’re not beyond the borders already. Before long we will be surrounded.”

  “And the shields hold?”

  “Yes, Sir,” Olless said before Edtroka or Keiran could argue.

  “Then I do not see an issue that requires contacting me.”

  Edtroka got to his feet. He was at least a head taller than the Colvohan, and Georgianna saw the bristle of annoyance that passed over the projection’s face before it
faded back to a serene stare.

  “If we give the Adveni time to surround us while you attack the bases then you will be looking at a slaughter the moment the shields are down. They will send every strength to wipe us out. You will have won the bases but lost Os-Veruh for good.”

  Edtroka kept his temper better than he had done with Olless but there was an edge to his voice that could not be ignored. Georgianna had never met Edtroka’s father, the Volsonnar, but she wondered if that sharp and undeniable authority in his voice was something they shared. It wouldn’t surprise her if the leader of the Adveni sounded like he could cut you where you stood with just words.

  The Colvohan gave Edtroka’s comment a moment to settle in.

  “We are not giving the Adveni time to surround you. Aomel, Second Colvohan, is on his way to Os-Veruh with more troops and a fleet of Dalsaia as we speak. We expect him to arrive within the week. Once there, he will take command of the movements on Os-Veruh and we will begin the assault on the Adveni strongholds.”

  “When was this decision made?” Edtroka demanded. “We’ve heard nothing of this.”

  “Aomel’s attack on Sollnadt was the closest to Os-Veruh. The moment the assault was complete he began the journey with the troops and ships he had under his command. It was the most convenient option.”

  The orb rocked as Edtroka slammed his hands down onto the table. The projection flickered and trembled.

  “We were not told! We brought you to this fight, not the other way around.”

  “You lacked both the provisions and the strength to bring a fight of this scale to the Adveni.” The Colvohan’s restraint was cracking, just like Olless’ had done. From what Georgianna had seen of the Cahlven, they were models of calm and organisation. Against the fire of an Adveni and the disorganisation of the Veniche, their serenity grated and splintered.

  “I don’t see why you are surprised, Edtroka,” Beck said, stepping forwards. “The Adveni didn’t care for our opinions when they invaded. I don’t see why the Cahlven should be any different now that it’s their turn to conquer.”

  Beck didn’t wait for a response. He gave Georgianna a grim frown as he strode past her, and then opened the door with a thwack of his hand to a plate on the wall. He disappeared around the corner and his footsteps faded along the corridor.

  Georgianna turned back to the others to find that Olless had flushed pink, her eyes cast to the ground. The Colvohan stared at the doorway.

  “Olless, I trust you will make the necessary arrangements for their arrival.”

  “Of course, Sir,” Olless said without looking up. “I’ll have everything ready and will report any changes.”

  “Ensure you do so.”

  The projection flickered as the Colvohan reached for something they could not see and in an instant, vanished without another word. Georgianna stared at the space he had occupied. Olless turned to Edtroka.

  “How dare you speak to the Colvohan like that?” she hissed. “You came to us because you wanted help, help we have given you. Get in line and make sure Casey does the same. I will not be shown up like this again. Do not make me regret vouching for you, Grystch.”

  Edtroka rounded the table, glaring down at her, his lips pulled back in a snarl that showed his teeth. Even Georgianna leaned back in her chair away from him.

  “The whole point in you coming was so that this line would be a joint decision. You named us leaders here and yet we are not informed. So perhaps you should bring the Cahlven in line, Olless, before we decide we do not want your Colvohan’s opinion on our fight.”

  Olless spluttered as Edtroka swept past her. He didn’t look at any of them as he followed Beck through the door and stalked away. The air he left behind was tight and suffocating, dripping with accusation.

  Standing by the table, Olless hissed and murmured, staring at the maps and diagrams they had been poring over. Keiran slunk into one of the chairs and cradled his head in his hands, staring at the floor. Georgianna thought he looked lost. He’d been given the command, and to look at him now she wasn’t sure he wanted it. She didn’t even know how it had happened. Perhaps it was because he was one of the people Olless and the Cahlven had known before their arrival. Beck held the Belsa; he was the obvious choice. So why Keiran?

  Georgianna shifted and rose to her feet. She stepped towards Keiran, but as soon as she came close to him he turned further away without looking up. Gritting her teeth, Georgianna gulped. He’d walked away from her. He’d claimed she had betrayed him, even after she’d stopped Alec and the other Belsa from killing him. He thought she held his actions against him, despite everything she’d done to prove otherwise. It wasn’t up to her to fight for his attention. He needed to get over it.

  Georgianna threw one last look at Olless and hurried out of the room, hoping she would at least be able to catch up with Edtroka.

  Georgianna grasped the doorway of the small transport ship before descending the steps. Though she’d visited the big ship a couple of times over the past weeks she still couldn’t get used to the sensation of her feet being stuck to the floor, as if walking through thick mud. Edtroka had said that the huge Densaii ship was used for travelling between planets. He had told her that once out of the atmosphere, gravity no longer had any control. His explanation didn’t make the sensation any nicer.

  The steps receded behind her and the door slid closed, disappearing into the shell of the ship. She turned away, trying to spot Edtroka. He shouldn’t have been difficult to see, standing at least a head taller than any Veniche. She set off towards the tents they’d set up on the lake shore, bending her head against the cold wind.

  The sky had been slate grey for a week. Clouds swirled overhead, darker with each passing day. While most expressed their relief at the end of the Heat—the long months where Os-Veruh travelled so close to the sun that prolonged exposure could drive a man to insanity—Edtroka had spent the last few days despairing at the impeded visibility. Sure enough, while Georgianna was sure that the Cahlven had technology to locate incoming ships and transports, the low-hanging clouds had given the Adveni an advantage over those on the ground.

  Ripples rolled across the surface of the lake as low waves washed the rocky shore and a tremble ran through air and earth. Georgianna sprinted across the open ground between the tents and clutched the trunk of a tree, holding herself against it. The tremors shuddered beneath her feet, vibrating through the bark. She lifted her head and gazed up through the canopy of reddening leaves as a thousand bolts of lightning flashed across the sky, looking for a space to pierce through the shield. They spread, flickering and cracking like flames licking at a log. Georgianna squeezed her eyes shut and lowered her head, hands over her ears.

  As the bomb exploded against the shield, her eyelids burned white and her ears screamed with the vibrations. The wet earth beneath her feet slid and shifted. Blinking away the red spots in her vision, Georgianna glanced up, watching for more of the artificial lightning. None came. The clouds retained their innocence.

  Water washed high onto the lake shore and a group of Veniche shakily gathered their belongings as the momentary tide threatened to carry them into the lake. Georgianna steadied herself against the tree trunk, waiting for the vibrations to fade.

  Despite knowing that their bombs would not pierce the Cahlven shield, the Adveni kept up a steady pace of daily attacks. Sometimes the Nyrahby sent three or four launches in the space of an hour. Whether they were hoping that a repeated onslaught would let something through, or they simply planned to keep those within the shields scared, Georgianna didn’t dare guess. It wouldn’t be the first time the Adveni had hurt people just to prove that they could.

  Straightening up, Georgianna headed over to the tents, only to pause as she spotted someone further into the trees. She frowned and moved closer, and was almost at the shield border before she realised who it was.

  “Alec, what are you doing out here?”

  Alec jumped and turned around. He grinned, wave
d her forwards, then glanced through the trees again.

  “What are you doing?” repeated Georgianna.

  “Shh, they’ll hear you.”

  She stepped forwards and Alec grabbed her hand, leading her through the trees. He stood so close that Georgianna could feel his warmth against her back and smell the rain in his hair. She gritted her teeth. A thick patch of trees separated them from a pair of voices and Alec had to point through the branches for her to pick out the speakers.

  “I don’t know why you expected anything different. Conquering armies care little for the opinions of the conquered.”

  Dhiren sat on a thick fallen branch turning a knife in his hands while Edtroka paced back and forth. A copaq hung from Edtroka’s fingers so casually that it might have been an extension of his hand. When he gestured, he swung it without care. While Georgianna grimaced, Dhiren didn’t seem the least bit perturbed by having the weapon so close.

  “The Cahlven were not supposed to be a conquering army,” Edtroka said, his voice deflated.

  “What did you expect them to be, E’Troke? Saviours? They came with the intention of staying. Otherwise, why would they care?”

  “I expected to be involved in the decisions that would affect us.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t know anything about that, would I?” Dhiren said. “I was never involved in any decisions that affected me.”

  Georgianna turned away from their discussion, shoving both her hands against Alec’s chest.

  “You shouldn’t be listening to this,” she whispered, glancing over her shoulder.

  “I didn’t want to. There was no other choice.”

  “Yes, and I can see how horrible it was for you.”

  Dhiren smirked up at Edtroka in bitter sarcasm and Georgianna felt another stab of guilt for listening in on them. She shoved Alec again and, glaring at his grin, made her way around a trunk.

  Edtroka crouched, his hand on Dhiren’s knee. The space between the two men shrank as Georgianna looked for an opening into the clearing.