Eri balked, unwilling to get up from the couch or leave their conversation. So many questions lingered.
As if on cue, the portal dematerialized and Litus stood in the doorway in his navy officer’s uniform. Aquaria walked over and gave him a peck on his cheek. “Welcome home, hon.”
He noticed Eri on the couch. “I didn’t know we had company.”
“Eri stopped by to see our new place.” Aquaria disappeared into the kitchen.
Eri stood up, plastic crinkling, hoping the cyber-green didn’t melt onto her white uniform. “I like the daises on the wallscreen.” She didn’t mention the couch.
Litus set his workbag down by the portal. “That was Aquaria’s idea, right, dear?”
Aquaria shouted back a response between gurgles of the food congealizer. “I thought it would brighten up the room.”
“Are you staying for dinner?” Litus turned to Eri, his face somber and unyielding. Eri wondered what thoughts swam behind his unwavering blue gaze. He seemed to size her up, calculating her inner feelings.
“No, I have a lot of work to do.” Not wanting to burn in his gaze any longer, she ducked her head into the kitchen. “Bye, Aquaria.”
“Good luck, Eri. Remember what we talked about.” Aquaria whipped her head around from the countertop preparation to give her a steady stare.
“I’ll remember.”
As Eri passed by Litus, a faint smile brightened his handsome face. “See you tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” Was Litus coming by to learn Spanish?
“The first training session for Delta Slip.”
“Oh, yeah.” Aquaria’s new information had blindsided her so completely, she’d forgotten. “Of course.”
“Looking forward to it, I hope. It’s an honor to be chosen for the team.”
Eri traced the doorframe with her pointer finger, collecting dust on her fingernail.
An honor. Yeah, right.
…
The laser-training arena sat in a bay near the library. Eri had walked down the corridor countless times to research old texts and run her hands over real books from Old Earth. She’d never had a reason to stop for target practice in the arena. She almost passed the portal and waltzed directly into the library out of habit.
The conversation with Aquaria from yesterday still swam in her head. Did the commander plan on cohabitation or annihilation?
If it was the latter, the commander asked her to represent a civilization that would ultimately spell the natives’ doom. She was more than a delegate. She was a spy, a bringer of death. Shriveling inside, Eri wondered if she possessed such cool callousness. A thousand doubts clouded her mind. This mission struck a dissonant chord inside her. Even though it came directly from the commander, it wasn’t right.
Thatched tree huts were hardly the handiwork of a mechanically advanced society. Commander Grier was overreacting to the threat, and Eri was her pawn. But did she have a choice?
You’re going to have to decide…
Whether or not to warn them…
That’s only a decision you can make for yourself…
She had no idea her sister was a closet rebel. All those pretend games they had played as kids suddenly had new meaning. One question rose above the rest. How deep did Litus’s alliances lie? For once, Eri was glad she wasn’t paired with someone like him, because she wanted a partner who shared her dreams, someone who was able to open up and tell her how he felt.
A burly man passed by, flicking his ID badge to open the arena portal. Eri stepped into a jungle. She reached out and her hand passed through a thicket of vines, feeling thin air. Holograms. Designed to resemble the environment they headed into. A shiver ran up her spine.
She moved to the center of the arena where a group of men and women congregated. Some were lieutenants in training, others special ops, and a few were the commander’s highly trained bodyguards. All were built like they could wrestle a bull to the ground and eat its guts raw. She felt like a mouse cowering in their shadows.
A whisper hissed from the crowd of giants. “What’s she doing here?”
“She’s a linguist.” The other voice dripped with sarcasm.
Eri turned to identify the speaker. A man with a buzz cut and bristles on his chin looked down at her like she was some annoying cleaning droid. “Going to talk to the aliens, huh?” He held up his gallium crystal void ray with large ionic chambers on either side, a weapon almost as long as she was tall. “Here’s my medium of negotiation.”
Everyone chuckled. Eri must have paled because one woman with thick eyebrows taunted her. One small braid stuck out the top of her shaved head. “Don’t worry, we won’t let them hurt you.”
“Enough, Mars.” Litus’s voice resonated across the arena. He walked through a fern cluster to meet them. “We have a small team of ten and everyone’s here. Let’s get the show on the road.”
The crowd quieted. Litus’s leadership skills impressed her. She’d never seen him in action before. Wouldn’t Aquaria feel lucky with her pairing now?
Litus waved his arm in an arc. Thatched tree huts littered the canopy. The scout droid flew down from a branch, collecting samples from the jungle floor. “These are pictures shot from our satellite droid on Haven 6. Pictures taken before this happened.” He pointed to a section of the jungle. An arrow whizzed through the air and Eri ducked. The man behind her didn’t flinch as the shaft flew through his body and out the other side.
Holograms.
Embarrassment flooded her and her cheeks burned. Someone laughed, but Litus’s glare stifled any further derision. He raised an eyebrow at Eri. “Good instincts.”
Another arrow followed, and a portion of the wallscreen fizzled out and went blank.
Litus turned to the crowd. “The video input feed was disabled. That’s all the info we have.”
The man with the buzz cut stepped forward. “Arrows. You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“It does seem primitive, Tank. Still, you can never be too careful. That arrow knocked out our scout in one hit. That’s why the commander is sending us first. Our mission is to collect as much data on our new environment, and on those who inhabit it, as possible. Eridani Smith is our interpreter, and everyone, and I mean everyone—” Litus glared at Tank. “Must listen to her.”
Mars’s voice purred like a lioness. “Why the target practice, chief?”
Eri watched Litus’s reaction carefully. Yes, why the humongous laser guns?
Litus shifted, bringing the gun down to his waist. “Like I said, we can never be too careful. We’re invading their planet, taking over their home. We don’t know how our visitation will be received. There’s a good possibility we’ll have the same welcome party as this unfortunate satellite droid.”
Taking over? Eri raised her eyebrows, sizing him up. Did he just give away an element of the plan? Or was he being overly dramatic to warn them of what the creatures might think?
Litus held up his weapon. “Everyone’s laser is set for practice mode, which means you are shooting harmless light. But try to take this as seriously as possible. We wouldn’t want friendly fire once we landed, so let’s not shoot each other today.”
No matter what the mission was, Eri questioned having her own laser. Would a leader of state attend a meeting with a laser gun? No. Having a weapon might make her a target.
Rustling disturbed the leaves behind her and Eri whirled around. “What is it?”
“A targe
t.” Litus stepped over to her and offered her a hand laser. “I’ve already input the code.”
She took the laser in both hands and the weight dragged her wrists down.
Litus stood aside as a gray figure darted in and out of the foliage. “Target anything that moves.”
Her weapon buzzed, vibrating her fingertips and warming the palms of her hands. Shots pinged around her, and she backed up against a holorock and cowered.
Litus joined her, crouching. “Eri, your weapon is set and ready to go.”
The gray humanoids flitted by as the team followed them in a trail of fireworks. The smell of burned dust spiked her anxiety. “But I’ve never fired at anything before.”
“You’ve got to try.”
“I can’t do it, Litus. I’m…frozen with fear.” She hoped she sounded convincing.
Litus checked the surrounding area before turning back to her. “Believe in yourself, Eri. That’s the only way you’ll make anything happen in your life.”
Eri shifted from foot to foot, wishing she could turn into a hololizard and slither underneath a holorock.
A gray humanoid sprung from the ferns but Litus continued, oblivious. “Or else you’re just cosmic dust on the ring of a planet, waiting for gravity to pull you along the same old circular path.”
Tank slid on his knees, firing, but the humanoid zigzagged against the changing stream. As it neared, its face came into view, making Eri shiver. The holographic image had no eyes or mouth, just a sheen of twilight for a face.
Is this what the aliens will look like? If so, could she bring herself to even utter a single word to them?
As the battle raged, Eri thought Litus would raise his own laser and stop the rampage, but he didn’t notice the stray opponent lunge in his direction. There was no time to warn him.
Eri snapped her laser up and fired, the shot blasting her backward through the holorock. She slid on her back, feeling the gun pulse in her hands as it recharged. The smell of singed electrical wires choking her, she cringed and covered her face with her arms.
When she gathered the courage to open her eyes, the gray humanoid lay on his back. Litus walked over to her, respect and astonishment shining in his eyes.
Even Tank shouted a hoot of support. “Go, linguist.”
Litus seemed to reassess her as he offered his hand and pulled her up. “You have more spunk than you let on.”
Chapter Four
Quest for Knowledge
Weaver trudged through the dense undergrowth, failure eating away at his insides like poison. Swamp water sloshed into his boots, making his toes curl with a damp chill that spread up his legs. He shivered, and the familiar feeling of inferiority hovered over him. Too long he’d lived in its shadow.
As he followed the battered army home, he replayed the battle. How did I fail? His bows had penetrated his former village’s defenses, giving the men the lead time needed to scale the wall. Nothing could beat the Death Stalker’s scope and aim.
Except Striver. Once again his brother had outshined him tenfold. By felling the first three ropes, he’d weakened the pirates’ resolve. Death by leechers was a nasty, painful end, and Striver’s aim guaranteed some would fall. If only his men had pushed through, letting the first wave of ropes go down while other attackers sprang up. The Lawless claimed they ate ferocity for lunch, yet they had the most spineless weasel worm hearts he’d ever seen.
He had to remind himself the pirates’ shortsightedness was why he thought he could lead the Lawless, manipulating them to his own ends. Only then would he feel powerful. After he gained control of the Lawless tribe, he’d show his village how they should have chosen him, not Striver, to lead.
An unsettling snake of discomfort slid across his shoulders. First he had to report to Jolt.
People scurried from the tree huts, shouting to the survivors as they passed. Weaver didn’t reply. They’d learn soon enough who’d died and how deeply they’d failed. These lands were ruled by a dictator, not a democracy like the do-nothing Guardians and the weak-minded council. He reported to one man alone.
The husk of a spaceship protruded from the ground just beyond the last cluster of fern huts. Cold, harsh metal cut through the soft leaves like a razorblade, reminding Weaver of the power of technology.
Two bodyguards nodded as Weaver passed. Snipe, the younger man on the right, shifted his predatory eyes under heavy lids, looking as mean as a cornered swamp boar. Crusty, the older man on the left, cracked a sad half smile, as if Weaver paced to his death.
Weaver stifled a shudder. I can handle Jolt. He still needs me. Stepping underneath the perpetually open hatch, he mustered his courage.
Torches lit the inside of the ship, casting flickering light on control screens long dead. The putrid scent of dank moss and rusty metal hung heavy in the air. Water dripped everywhere, forming muddy puddles on the chrome floor.
Jolt slumped in the cockpit, gazing through the cracked glass of the sight panel on a dead-end course to nowhere. He swiveled in the age-old captain’s chair, the plastic cracking as he moved.
The flickering torchlight illuminated half his pockmarked face and tightlipped frown. He ran his hands over a laser gun with photon chambers clogged with dirt. Hundreds of years ago, the gun had pulsed with energy. Now it was an empty trophy, a remnant of a bygone time.
“Humans were once a mighty superpower. We ruled Earth with our weapons of mass destruction, creating grand wars and great, mighty leaders. I’ve heard the stories passed down by my ancestors. The same people who once flew this very ship. Now, thanks to your technohoarding friends, all we have left are sticks and stones. They sit on top of lost technology, and they won’t let us access it, won’t let us progress beyond our primal means.”
Jolt turned so the reddish light bathed his entire face. “Your weapons failed.” A scar above his forehead twitched with his pulse, reminding Weaver of a weasel worm. His muddied brown hair twisted up in spikes.
Weaver bowed, gazing at the scuffed chrome floor. “For now.”
“You promised me access to the S.P. Nautilus, and instead, we lost seven men.”
Boy, the scouts ran quickly. Weaver had guessed word would reach Jolt before he could explain. He’d prepared for such a fight. He straightened, standing tall enough that he could reach the dangling wires above him. “Your army is a bunch of cowards who scramble at the first sign of death.”
Jolt lurched and lunged, shoving his face into Weaver’s. His lips quivered as his bitter breath fell on Weaver’s cheek. “No one insults me and lives.”
Weaver didn’t flinch. He had to stand his ground, or Jolt would turn him into a pile of mush on the chrome floor. “It’s not an insult. It’s the truth.”
Cold pricked Weaver’s skin. He glanced down. Jolt had snuck an obsidian blade against his gut, slicing into his shirt.
“Give me one reason not to kill you right now.”
Weaver’s gaze strayed to the blank control screens. “Look at this ship. The circuits are corrupted beyond repair. Only I know the exact coordinates of the one working spaceship on Refuge, complete with data files on both the space pirates of Outpost Omega and the Guardians’ advanced technology from their home world. Only I can scratch the codes and mimic the claws of the Guardians to get you in.”
“It does me no good on this side of the fence.” Jolt narrowed his eyes. “All this failure has got me thinking. Who’s to say you’re not a spy?”
Weaver put both hands on his hips, jutting his thumbs through his belt loops.
“Nothing worth having is without risk.” He hated quoting his father, but the old man had been right about some things, even if he’d favored Striver over Weaver since birth.
Jolt eased, slipping his blade into a side sheath. “Of that, you’re right. I’m giving you one more chance to prove yourself. Meanwhile, I have my eye on you. No ship, no place here in our lands. I can’t let you crawl back to your brother’s cheery little village. You know too much.”
“I’d rather die than go back.”
Jolt smirked. “So be it. But all in good time. I have another project for you.”
“If it has to do with that scout droid you found last week, you can count me out. There’s no way I can get it running again after your huntsmen skewered it. My expertise is with bows, not technology.”
Jolt eyed him. Weaver cocked a brow. He had his ways of finding information.
But Weaver’s knowledge of his secret didn’t seem to intimidate Jolt. Something more profitable than a scout droid stirred in the depths of his dark eyes. He savored his words. “No, it’s something much, much better.”
…
The scent of smoked boar filled the air. Wooden flutes trilled, accompanied by the heavy beat of leather drums. Striver stood apart from the festivities, watching Guardians thread strings of flowers through the trees in the twilight.
“You don’t care to celebrate?” Phoenix appeared from the branches above him, proving to Striver that he could never truly be left alone. Although sometimes he resented the constant attention leadership thrust upon him, tonight the Guardians’ presence soothed him. At least someone else noticed the discord slowly twining through their everyday lives.
Striver leaned against a wood railing. “What’s to celebrate? The attack was too close this time. One of our men died.”
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