On the Run (Verity Chronicles Book 3): A Cadicle Space Opera Adventure

by T. S. Valmond

  “Why isn’t she back to her old self like before?”

  “I don’t know. The virus is out of her system and we’ve got power back to the shuttle. She should be fine now.”

  “This is all connected to that bomaxed sphere,” Iza said, her hands balling into fists. “Get us back to the settlement. We need to see if everyone else is okay.”

  “Do you think the reason the planet started transforming again was because of us?” The guilt was already there in Braedon’s eyes, and Iza figured it was also on her own.

  She looked back at Trix, still blank-eyed and unmoving. “I don’t know, but whatever the reason, we should help these people. Do you think there’s a way to jam the sphere’s signal the way you do with the virus?”

  Braedon blinked twice at her. “I don’t know, I’ve never thought of it that way.”

  “I want you to try. Contact Douketis and let him know that Viper should be working on it too, though I can’t guarantee he’ll see reason and allow you to work together. In the meantime, I want Trix protected from this virus. Now!”

  “You got it, Iz.” Braedon turned to the console and typed in the coordinates to get them back to the settlement. “Should I let them know we’re coming?”

  “Yes, connect me with Luxi.”

  Braedon frowned. “I’m not getting a response.”

  “Okay, just get us back.”

  Once the shuttle was airborne, Iza looked out the viewport and down at the new damage to the planet’s surface. New hills had thrust upward in some places, and chasms had opened in others. Even now, foliage was rapidly growing over the newly exposed ground.

  Her amazement turned to horror as the approached the settlement site.

  “Stars! Look at that,” Braedon exclaimed.

  Iza gaped at the new valley that led from the new ocean back to the settlement. The University building was now split in half along two sides of the chasm.

  “Cierra.” Braedon breathed her name as if he’d been holding it in.

  We left her and Karter behind. Were they still in the building when this happened? Iza could only hope not. Though, that is where they’d left the injured.

  “I’m sure she’s okay, but if anyone was in there, we need to get them out.”

  “Hold on, I’m getting a call from Douketis,” Braedon said.

  “Ugh, he always has the worst timing! Can you handle him and then start working on a signal blocker for the sphere? I’ll go and check for survivors.”

  Braedon swallowed, staring down at the console and then back at her. It was clear he didn’t want to be on the sidelines of the rescue, but she imagined he also didn’t want to be the one to find Cierra’s body if she’d been killed.

  “I’ll find her,” Iza said, forcing the confidence she didn’t feel into her voice.

  He nodded faintly as he moved the shuttle into position to let her out.

  Iza looked Trix over one more time. She was clear of the sphere and the virus, so why was she still shut down? Iza didn’t have time to figure it out. There were other people in more immediate danger. Maybe her system needed to reboot itself as it had back on Hubyria when the EMP went off. They’d just have to wait.

  She hopped down from the shuttle. Iza was becoming accustomed to the eerie silence after the climate changes here. The shuttle’s engine quieted enough for her to hear something in the trees to her left.

  Iza waited, unsure of what was making the sound but not ready to turn her back on whatever it was. Then the bushes parted and Atano limped out, his left paw gingerly tucked close to his chest. Iza rushed forward and closed the gap between them, worried he’d do something foolish. When she reached for his paw, he pulled back. He started limping away from her on three paws, heading for the western half of the building.

  “Atano, wait, you’re in no condition to run,” Iza called after him, but he didn’t turn at the sound of her voice nor did he stop moving toward the building. The building had been in shambles when they found it earlier that day; now it was almost completely devastated.

  Oh, no! What about the children and everyone that was in the building? Did they make it out?

  Iza stamped down her worries as she followed Atano to the safest-looking entry at the new ground level, careful to avoid the steep-walled valley; it was deeper than it had looked from above. The damage to the building was more extensive than she imagined from the outside; it could fall on top of her any minute.

  “That’s far enough, boy. Go on, I’ll find them.” Iza pointed back out the door and held her stance until he obeyed. He sat down in front of the gap, holding up his injured paw.

  She stepped further inside and cupped her hands on either side of her mouth and called out. “Hello, anybody in here?”

  Iza’s voice echoed back to her, but there was nothing else.

  She was about to venture deeper when several loose chunks of concrete cascaded down the rubble toward her. She stepped aside to avoid them just in time to hear a cough from inside.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Iza scrambled over the debris covering half of the first floor as she moved toward the coughing. “I hear you. Where are you?”

  “Here.” The voice was distinctly male and familiar, though he couldn’t seem to get another word out due to the coughing.

  She turned into one of the rooms. Dust was floating all around, and a small fire burned in one corner. Karter lie in a heap against the opposite wall, trapped under collapsed segments of the walls and ceiling.

  “Hang on, I’ll get you out,” Iza said shoving away a heavy structural beam that had pinned him to the spot. Smaller chunks of concrete had pummeled his body, but she didn’t see signs of any massive trauma.

  “Did they get out?” he asked, his voice faint and raspy from the dust and smoke.

  “Who?”

  Karter coughed through the smoke. “The others.”

  “I haven’t seen any others. Atano led me the entrance and I came straight here when I heard you coughing. Are there more people inside?”

  “No, we saw it coming. Got everyone out,” Karter tried to fight off another uncontrollable coughing fit. “We were the last.”

  “We?”

  Karter shifted, and that’s when Iza saw the little girl. Her eyes were closed, but she was breathing.

  “Take her and get her out of here,” Karter said, cradling his ribs. He slowly started to stand using the ruined wall for support, but it was obvious he’d need assistance to navigate the treacherous rubble.

  “Take it slow,” Iza said. She lifted the limp girl into her arms, her slender limbs dangling.

  Iza had taken no more than a step when the building shifted again, causing more dust and debris to rain down. She looked back at Karter. She couldn’t get them both out.

  “Go,” Karter said, waving at her to escape with the child.

  If only Trix was here, then we could get them both. Where is everyone else?

  Iza shifted the girl to her shoulder so she could use her other hand to keep them upright over the debris. When she reached the door, she saw Braedon running toward the building, his eyes filled with worry.

  For once, Iza was relieved that Braedon hadn’t followed her orders. “Karter is still inside!” she yelled.

  “Douketis is on his way,” Braedon told her as he ran without hesitation into the building.

  The little girl slung over Iza’s shoulder had become heavy, and now she couldn’t carry her any further. She gently put the girl down on the grassy ground. Her small chest was moving up and down, but her eyes were still closed.

  Iza sat down to catch her breath. She looked up as Braedon emerged from the building with Karter leaning against him. Karter’s leg was bleeding underneath the fine suit pants that now hung in tatters around his calf. He limped along until they reached Iza. Braedon eased Karter down and Iza took a closer look at his leg.

  “You’re going to need that cleaned, and soon,” she said.

  Karter winced and nodded. The effort it
had taken to get outside had left him drenched with sweat.

  The building shifted again and there was a large collapse inside, blowing out more dust and debris. They were far enough not to be injured as the structure started to fall in on itself, but the dust cloud whooshed out to envelop them. Iza covered the girl while Braedon did his best to shelter Karter.

  A cry sounded from the trees. People streamed out of the brush and ran toward the ruined building. A woman with long blonde hair and dirt smeared on her face fell to her knees in anguish and sobbed into her hands. None of the people in the crowd had seemed to notice the four of them sitting down on the grass.

  “Cierra?” Braedon stood up and called into the mass of people.

  Tense moments passed as Braedon continued his search through the grief-stricken crowd. Then, Cierra stepped forward trembling, dirt and blood staining her delicate green shift. He ran to her and lifted her into his arms. Their display of emotion so touching Iza had to look away.

  “My baby!” The woman with the long blonde hair who’d been on her knees came rushing over when she saw her daughter where Iza had set her on the ground. Still sobbing, she lifted the girl into her arms and rocked her unconscious form back and forth.

  The girl coughed and her eyes fluttered open. “Mommy?”

  The mother was so overcome with emotion she couldn’t speak, but she nodded without taking her eyes off of her daughter.

  Braedon released Cierra from his embrace, but he kept his fingers entwined with hers as they approached Iza and Karter.

  “Let me see to your leg.” Cierra knelt down in front of Karter.

  “Iza, your neck,” Karter said. It must have been bruising already. “Did this happen where you were, too?” Karter winced as Cierra began tending to his wound.

  Iza took in a deep breath and nodded. “We think we know what’s causing the climatic shifts on this planet.”

  “Good, because I’d love to get off this planet and back to the ship. We’ve done enough heroism for one day.” Karter looked like he’d been trampled by hooved beasts in a stampede. She couldn’t blame him for wanting to be off this world, but she had to tell them all about the sphere.

  Before Iza could elaborate, she saw Luxi limping toward her, covered in dust. Based on the grim expression on the woman’s face, there must have still been lots of people inside the building when it went down. Iza glanced over the crowd and didn’t see the old man Jax.

  “Did Jaxon…?” Iza asked dreading the answer.

  Luxi shook her head.

  Iza noted the familiar stone in her gut. Why does everyone around me get hurt? She tried to focus, biting down on the inside of her cheek at the disappointment.

  “What happened to your neck?” Luxi asked.

  Iza gestured for Braedon to head back to the shuttle and continue with the coding project he should have been working on already. Then she lifted a hand to her neck; it must look pretty bad if everyone was noticing it.

  She figured Luxi wouldn’t sit unless she did, so she gestured to the grass and sat down where she could watch Cierra tend to Karter’s leg. Atano decided he was ready to be held and scooted in so she could wrap an arm around him, though he still held his paw gingerly out of reach. Luxi joined her and Iza began her story. It took much longer to recount their expedition due to interruptions of hacking and coughing. At some point, someone brought Iza some water and she gulped it down, the coolness easing her aching throat. Luxi listened without saying a word, finally allowing Cierra to tend to her injuries from hours before.

  When Iza finished, Luxi nodded once. “This could happen again, and we aren’t safe here.” She glanced over her shoulder at the others gathered outside the building. “Any of us.”

  “I don’t have the space to evacuate you,” Iza told her. “There may even be more pockets of people that haven’t been found yet. I’m not sure what to do.”

  Luxi looked over to Douketis, who was approaching from the field, which was now two hundred meters from its original location. He was escorting a group of survivors from the shuttle.

  Iza sighed. As much as she didn’t like the man, he did seem to be following through on his promise to assist, at least a little. She waved.

  Douketis sauntered over, not a speck of dust on him.

  Luxi gave him a weak but grateful smile. “We appreciate all you’ve done.” When Iza raised her eyebrow questioningly, Luxi added, “Douketis used his shuttle to get people off of the upper floors of the building before it collapsed. We couldn’t have survived without him.”

  Douketis bobbed his head. “Just doing our part.”

  “I’m sure.” Iza rolled her eyes, still not convinced he had altruistic intentions.

  A roar sounded overhead. She looked up to see three sleek shuttles descending toward the landing sight.

  “Looks like we don’t have to worry about anything else now. The Enforcers have finally arrived,” Karter said.

  “Well, I guess that’s our cue to leave,” Douketis said. He tapped two fingers to his hat and winked at Iza. “See you around.”

  “Douketis,” she replied with a curt nod.

  “Scrap Rat,” Douketis said as he turned on his heel.

  “Scrap Rat?” Luxi asked.

  Iza waved the question away with a hand. “It’s a long story.” Iza stood up, lifting Atano and hugging him to her hip so he wouldn’t attempt to run after her.

  Douketis and the limited crew who’d accompanied him on the Iron Dog’s shuttle jogged back to their craft and lifted off moments before the Enforcers touched down.

  “I better go and see who’s in charge,” Iza said. She walked over to meet the Enforcer who stepped out in front giving orders.

  He removed his helmet while the others stood in formation, awaiting further instruction. Their tailored gray uniforms with black accents seemed out of place against the backdrop of bright, vibrant green.

  Iza held up a hand in the formal greeting. “It’s about time you got here. These people have been waiting for aid for almost a day.”

  His brow furrowed at her sharp tone. “I’m Captain Brontes. And you are?” the man asked.

  “Captain Sundari, of the starship Verity. We were passing through when we got the distress call from these folks requesting help.”

  “We’ll take it from here, Captain.” The man brushed past her.

  “Really, with one Guard ship?” Iza raised an eyebrow. “I’d think you’d want all of the help you could get.”

  “Under most circumstances, yes,” the officer replied. “But we pulled your record, and you have some… history. These people don’t need any more taken from them.”

  “I would never—” Iza started to protest.

  “Thank you for your assistance thus far, Captain. As I said, we’ll take over now,” Brontes said. He turned his attention to the crowd, ignoring Iza’s choked response, “Is there someone who can speak for your people?”

  “I’m Luxi Song. We require evacuation, Captain. I hope you can accommodate us.”

  “Before we discuss evacuation, we’ll need to get up to speed on exactly what happened here,” he said, speaking around her. “Mathers, Saelin, get any information you can from their communications array. Korsek, take your team to see if there’s any equipment that can be salvaged. I want to know exactly what happened here.”

  Iza cleared her throat. “I might be able to help you with that, Captain.”

  He glanced down at her and eyed the dog with disdain. “I thought you were just passing through? Your work here is done.”

  Iza was about to correct him and explain the strange message that had been relayed through Trix, but the man’s attitude grated on her. Saying anything would make it just as likely that she’d end up in a jail cell rather than be thanked for passing on critical information. So, she kept her mouth shut as the Enforcer office began barking out orders to his team.

  “Baelsen, lead the distribution of water and food to the survivors. Alani, I want your team on trans
ports—find any other pockets of survivors on the planet.” Captain Brontes didn’t wait for Iza or the others to even say goodbye. “We need shelter for these people. Trent, see if you can find any buildings still intact, and we’ll begin moving the survivors there.”

  Iza huffed before turning back to Luxi. “I wish you and your people the best. If you ever need me, just reach out.”

  “I will, Captain. Thank you again for all your assistance.” Luxi lifted her hand and Iza did the same.

  Then, with a nod to Cierra, the two of them helped Karter up and headed back to their shuttle. They set Karter down on the bench in the back.

  “Time to go. Any luck?” Iza asked Braedon, who was hunched over the console in thought.

  “I finally got in touch with Viper on the Iron Dog, and she’s working on the virus, too. We’ll try to figure out if we can use the antivirus to disable the sphere so it can’t do any more harm to the planet.”

  Karter looked over from his place on the bench and noticed Trix, still rigid and vacant-eyed. “What’s wrong with her?” he asked.

  Iza sighed placing Atano on the floor next to Karter. “This bomaxed alien virus is dead-set on ruining my day, that’s what,” Iza grumbled, then stepped gingerly around Trix’s lifeless form in the middle of the shuttle, followed by Cierra, who seemed even more unnerved by the android than normal.

  “Once we get to the Verity, we can run a diagnostic,” Braedon said as Iza sat down in the seat beside him.

  “Then what are you waiting for?”

  — — —

  Ian Mandren viewed the latest report on his viewscreen in disbelief. He ran his fingers through his sandy blond hair and pulled out his handheld.

  “CACI, a message for the High Commander: We need to meet, now.”

  “Message sent,” the AI replied.

  Ian shook his head again at the reported death toll. He’d requested an update after one of his Initiate trainees from a small, dusty planet in the outer colonies informed him that her parents were missing. She’d been in his office crying most of the morning, and once he’d seen the report from the local Enforcers, it was clear this was something the High Commander needed to know.