Equilibrium of Terror: Part 1 (Splintered Galaxy Book 3)

by Eddie R. Hicks

  ► Barnard's Star system

  Hannah’s body leapt out of her bed fast enough to startle all the monks around her. “No, no, no this is wrong!” she screamed. “Not enough biomaterial, not remotely close. Jazz and Chloe, you’ve ruined everything! Odelea you’ve betrayed us!”

  “I don’t understand,” said a concerned monk.

  “Prepare the wraiths for the accession,” said Hannah. “We’ll have to make do with what we have and hope for the best.”

  “The first wave from the Rasi complex is being secured on the Pelican now.”

  Hannah moved away from the bed like a deity in control of the universe. She stopped before the airlock to yell one last order before leaving. “Unleash them on Oyuri.”

  CHAPTER 26

  ►► Dark Star above old Lyonria dig site

  ► Derkurio, Morutrin system

  The Dark Star hovered above a rugged rocky vista. There was a drop in the landscape that formed into a deep crevasse. To the surprise of Trin, Phylarlie, and Ella still in control of Avearan’s body insisted they continue with the mission, venturing into the lost Linl expedition dig site to find any goods that could be salvaged. Besides, being a salvager was dangerous work and operating without a doctor was just plain suicide, Trin could use the credits they earn from this to hire one.

  And with each passing minute, it became quite clear to Phylarlie that she’d probably never see the empire again, unless Torval ended up dead, then all outstanding assassin kill orders would become void as per Hashmedai law. She couldn’t bring herself to complete her task, killing Avearan whose mind wasn’t even in her body. Avearan had become someone else, someone she started to like, a friend, something she didn’t really have in life outside of her sister. The Morutrin system more or less just gained a new resident one that would be staying there forever. Thankfully she already knew her way around having lived here for the last year anyway.

  “Doesn’t look like anyone’s been here recently,” Trin said as his mind guided the Dark Star closer to the crevasse. “Should be lots of salvage down below still.”

  “You sure about this?” Ella asked Phylarlie

  “My other option is to carry out my mission and kill you,” she said. “I’m not sure how that will affect your real body back with the humans.”

  “Which has me worried,” said Ella. “They’ve run into a major situation, the Hashmedai are launching another invasion.”

  Phylarlie winced upon hearing that. “The empress just won’t give up. How are the humans doing?”

  “Avearan has been silent, seems they are getting ready for a major attack on their spot. Lots of planning and talking and keeping her in the dark, I was locked up there after all.”

  “Then it’s your body we need to be more concerned about if they kill you,” Phylarlie said.

  “Let’s focus on this,” Ella said, walking toward the open entrance of the Dark Star.

  “Have you gotten a better idea on how to use her psionics?” Phylarlie asked after staring outside to the wide and deep valley below.

  A small stream of blue psionic light propelled Ella back two meters. She smiled at Phylarlie after her demonstration and said, “I’d say so.”

  “After everything you went through,” Trin said, walking toward them. “You still want to help?”

  “Just promise me you’ll use the credits to hire a doctor after this job,” Phylarlie said to him. “I’ll go my own way afterwards.”

  Trin’s upper cybernetic body started to glow as he began to teleport the three of them toward the surface below.

  … … …

  ►► Old Lyonria dig site, Derkurio

  ► Morutrin system

  Seconds later they materialized at the bottom of the crevice. The heat from the sunlight was intense, enough to kill a Hashmedai after several minutes of direct unprotected exposure. Thankfully heat was a non-issue, a psionic barrier protected all three from the environment, not to mention being inside the caves shielded their light sensitive eyes from the bright sunlight. The caves were tunneled out years ago by a team that tried and failed to make it to the buried Linl ship in the area.

  They ventured further in, clearing away debris and rocks until signs of the old dig site was found. Damaged computers, holo beacons still shining its light, tools, and skeletal remains of the Linl that died here. Trin began the tedious task of teleporting everything that looked valuable back and forth to the Dark Star. Phylarlie and Ella moved further in to locate more loot for him and to finish the task of unburying the ship they were a mere ten meters away from.

  Ella’s ESP guided them toward the airlock of the old Linl ship as her telekinesis powers cleared away the rubble around it. “Seems to be still intact,” Phylarlie said, closely examining it.

  “It’s a shame we can’t bring the whole ship up, that would be worth millions in spare parts alone,” Trin said after taking a long look at the outer hull of the ship.

  “Can’t your psionic powers do it?” Phylarlie asked him.

  “Not with us two, perhaps if everyone else wasn’t injured, maybe.” Trin smiled at the overturned computer console at his feet. He and the computer vanished into blue light.

  … … …

  ►► Dark Star above old Lyonria dig site, Derkurio

  ► Morutrin system

  Trin arrived back on the Dark Star next to a pile of valuables he collected from the dig site below. He added the computer he just swiped to the collection, then frowned on seeing Bira in the cockpit. She looked worried. Given their situation, he had no choice but to quickly teach her the basics of flying the Dark Star and monitoring ship wide systems. Hope everything is okay, he thought and walked toward her.

  “Don’t crash my ship, if that’s what you’re worried about,” he said to her.

  “Not worried about that,” Bira said, keeping her eyes on the screen in front of her. “I’m worried about what that ship is up too.”

  She pointed toward a blip on the screen. There was indeed a ship on an intercept course. Pirates, it has to be them. Trin shut his eyes as his ESP reached out and touched the hull of the incoming ship and its familiar markings and layout.

  “Crimson Arrow class ship,” he said quietly.

  “It’s heading right for us,” said Bira.

  “And it just charged its weapons,” he said, aware because of his ESP scan. “Raise shields!”

  … … …

  ►► Crimson Arrow above old Lyonria dig site, Derkurio

  ► Morutrin system

  The Crimson Arrow descended toward the three-hundred-year-old Dark Star, sending bolts of green plasma hurling at it. Parcisei sat at the helm, flying circles around the ship taking random shots at it whenever he pleased. The Dark Star’s shields dropped five to eight percent with each hit.

  “Quite the learning experience isn’t it Danyal?” Parcisei asked.

  Danyal sat on one of the rear chairs in the cockpit, the tone of his voice had very little enthusiasm in it. “Not really.”

  “Why not? Isn’t this exciting and full of information? You would have never known about this kind of life stuck in prison on Earth.”

  “So, you got me out to sit back and watch this?”

  Parcisei laughed at his comment as he continued to shoot, forcing the Dark Star to move away from the pit. “I’m doing this to keep you alive,” Parcisei said. “The order will recognize that you and I worked together and will trust you. Trust you enough to allow you to take the throne of the empire when the time comes.”

  “Allow?”

  “If all goes well for us, and I’m sure it will. We’ll be calling the shots as to who rules the empire, and union.” Parcisei said, Danyal grunted. His mind needs to be tempered. “After this, I’m going to take you to see Fahia. As I said before, she’s like Dalhakei. She has a way of making people see the true path of our cause. Assuming we are successful here of course, Fahia will be furious if we don’t get that gem back.”

  Parcisei, in command o
f the Crimson Arrow forced it to continue its attack. The Dark Star now out of range of the camp below returned fire. A third party entered the plasma dance, flying down from orbit, a pirate cruiser. They were right on time as per Parcisei’s instructions. Between the aggressive weapons exchange of the two attacking ships, the Dark Star was unable to return to the dig site and block the pirate ship and Crimson Arrow from rapidly moving forward and landing.

  … … …

  ►► Old Lyonria dig site, Derkurio

  ► Morutrin system

  The sound of plasma discharge and small explosions from the outside prompted Ella to communicate with Trin. “Trin what’s going on?” she asked.

  “We’re under attack, stand by.”

  Phylarlie’s body became invisible via her psionic cloaking device after she made several jump ports toward the entrance of the cave and hoped that the barrier Ella bestowed on her didn’t fail due to her being out of range. Up above in the burning sunlight she saw a pirate ship slowly lower itself into the rocky dip below. A small door opened and a team of them wearing armored environment suits rappelled down via ropes, all them armed with rifles.

  Phylarlie jump ported back to Ella to deliver the bad news and request the next logical plan of action. “Get us back to the Dark Star.”

  Ella nodded then began to enter a teleportation trance. A long trance, one where no teleporting happened. She stopped, took a deep breath, and tried again.

  Finally, the cybernetics on her body began to shimmer and glow.

  Then nothing.

  “You don’t know how, do you?” Phylarlie asked.

  “I thought I had this down.”

  Multiple feet crunched on the sand and rocks from the cave behind them. Each step becoming louder than the previous. The pirates were getting closer and they were still standing there as Ella focused once again to attempt the simple task of teleportation.

  “Ella.” Phylarlie said, meaning for her to get a move on.

  “The Dark Star keeps moving, he needs to keep it still,” she said.

  “That will make it a sitting target.”

  A new plan was needed, one that didn’t revolve around directly fighting the pirates given their current position. Phylarlie knew the pirates sent several men down, she didn’t know the exact number, just that they were outnumbered. Phylarlie may have been a psionic assassin and Ella was a human stuck in a psionic body, but that didn’t mean they could walk away from the fight. Ella clearly demonstrated she wasn't fully adept at using Avearan’s skills, the fight would have seen them kill some of the pirates only for the pirates to overwhelm them with their numbers and achieve victory in the end. Then there was the barrier Ella was tasked with keeping up on her and Phylarlie at the same time. She would have to enter full on psionic combat while keeping those both up and strong enough to survive the harsh environment of the planet. Ella was not ready for that level of psionic multitasking.

  The Linl ship, it was their only chance. Phylarlie’s finger pointed toward the smooth hull of the ship in front of them. “This will have to do.”

  Two streaks of blue light swept the two inside, Phylarlie was grateful Ella was at least able to do that. The inside of the ship was dark as expected, not an issue for Phylarlie as her Hashmedai eyes glowed a bright red-orange, allowing her vision to adjust and see the interior of the ship they just came aboard. Best part? There was air and not extremely hot temperatures inside. Life support systems were still active after all these years. The ship still had some power left.

  “Trin we’re taking cover inside the Linl ship,” Phylarlie transmitted to him. “Pirates came down after us.”

  “Just come back up with us,” Trin said.

  “Ella still hasn’t learned that skill yet. We’re going to need you to come down and teleport us.”

  “Got my hands full keeping these two ships off the Dark Star.”

  “I suppose remaining idle long enough for Ella to try and teleport us up is out of the question then?”

  “The best means of keeping this ship together is me at the helm taking evasive action, ideally in orbit.”

  Phylarlie sighed. “Then leave, don’t throw away your lives for us, we’ll have to survive.”

  “As you wish,” Trin transmitted and the communication ended.

  “I want you to know for the record, Avearan disapproves,” Ella said.

  “Then tell her to switch back and fix this problem.”

  “She’s got her own problems on Titan.”

  “And we got ours,” said Phylarlie, motioning her to follow. “Let’s move, maybe we can find something to help us out.”

  … … …

  Heavy weapons fire from both the pirate ship and the Crimson Arrow forced the Dark Star to flee into orbit. Neither ship followed as Trin had thought, instead they came back to land. Both Parcisei and Danyal exited equipped with full Radiance combat armor and Hashmedai space suit respectively. They followed the path into the caves stopping at a gathering of four pirates in front of a buried ship.

  “They sealed themselves inside,” one pirate said to Parcisei as they meddled with the wires of an opened control panel next to the airlock entrance.

  “The psionic stays with me,” Parcisei said to them. “Do what you please with the other one and any loot you find aboard.”

  “Oh, we most certainly will.”

  A flawless hotwire of the doors was completed. The airlock doors struggled to open quickly with what little power they had, giving them access to the old ship, and the desire to remove their helmets and take in the breath of fresh air from within.

  … … …

  ►► Burred Linl ship, Derkurio

  ► Morutrin system

  Phylarlie and Ella’s traverse through the ship led them into small darkened room. Judging by the boxes Phylarlie suspected it to be a storage area. Several Lyonria artifacts were present, some were on the floor, and others were in the process of being loaded inside the boxes.

  “I never realized how well Hashmedai can see in the dark until now,” Ella whispered to her.

  They heard a loud thud, echoing down the hallways. Unwanted company was en-route.

  “They’re here, let’s keep quiet.”

  Phylarlie once again cloaked as she moved toward the entrance of the storage room to see how far away the pirates were. Ella continued to walk slowly through the mess of old Linl scanning devices and Lyonria trinkets until she saw something that seemed out of place at the far end of the room. A drone, a Radiance made one at that. This ship was in operation and lost before the Linl joined the union. How would a Radiance made drone make it inside?

  Most puzzling of all? It was still emitting light, it was active.

  Ella used her psionic mind to join with the drone, in hopes of being able to read its data banks and find out where it came from. Lots of data projected into her mind, most of it just system messages, operation status. It would take a while to find recorded footage and logs. She sat down on a ring-shaped platform next to the drone, while her mind continued to sift through it. Suddenly, the gem Avearan always held onto began to glow red, Ella’s mind started to wander.

  “Your task is almost complete, do not resist,” Nivrui said.

  All control of Ella’s body started to fade at the unwavering urge to do what Nivrui asked of her. She raised her hand, and slid it across the smooth surface of an oval shaped object behind her.

  … … …

  ►► UNE Black Site, Titan

  ► Sol system

  “Your task is almost complete, do not resist.”

  Avearan while in control of Ella’s body rose from her bed. Her joined mind with Ella revealed that she was inside a storage room aboard the Linl ship they had run to. And that Nivrui was telling her to do things, controlling her body, Avearan felt the same, the sudden desire to do what Nivrui wanted. However, unlike Ella, her thoughts and body were wholly in her own control.

  Later Avearan sensed Ella standing up as she received i
nstructions on how to activate the oval shaped device she was sitting in front of. A holographic interface appeared next to Ella, its light emitted from the projection highlighted her presence like a spotlight in a dark room.

  “The Ella and Avearan’s minds have switched again,” Nivrui said. “They do not possess the knowledge of how to prevent it.”

  Avearan saw the oval object gain power from an external force, the central part of the object began to display the blackness of space then later the insides of a box shaped room. A Vorcambreum woman wearing an environment suit appeared from the center of the object. It was a doorway, to another world. A Rabuabin man also in a suit holding a magnetic rifle stood behind her, along with a third person. A young Aryile woman by the looks through her helmets visor.

  “Prepare yourself for the celestial accession,” Nivrui said. “The other ones are close to preventing it.”

  Once again, Avearan felt compelled to go through the oval gateway, simply because the voice of Nivrui said so. However, the feeling was coming from Ella not her, and there was no doubt in her mind had the gem been next to her, she would have lost control of her body and be forced to do whatever Nivrui wished. The gem, the goddess, the Lyonria, and their tech. There was a connection, and she was witnessing it through Ella’s thoughts.

  CHAPTER 27

  ►► Abyssal Pelican, Oyuri orbit

  ► Barnard's Star system

  Flesh and metal burned away as Veloshira removed her twin plasma daggers out from the chest of the final ranger. After days of being lost and stuck on Abyssal Pelican and the exhausting and trial and error of exploring through its many halls and floors, she and Eupiar found the room containing Eupiar’s laptop.

  Eupiar appeared after shutting down her cloak, the sight of her laptop still in one piece made her smile. And it turned out, nobody managed to break her security encryption of her critical files just those that were unencrypted, excellent. Eupiar quickly pulled open a panel on the wall, revealing a marvel of wires and a tiny data port. She placed one of her data leeching devices onto it, then returned to her laptop in hopes that it would work, transferring all information in the ship’s systems to her laptop.