The Anuan Legacy: Book 1 of The Anuan Legacy Series

by Traci Ison Schafer

  “She’s already working on that.”

  “Good. I want to know as soon as the teams are ready.”

  “As soon as I know, you’ll know. Commander out.”

  The rough metal frame of the window gouged into my flight suit, but it didn’t tear. After a couple more seconds of maneuvering, and with only a minor cut on my hand to show for it, I was free.

  CHAPTER 44 -

  VICTORIA

  Flakes of snow flitted around us, whipping into swirling frenzies when gusts caught them. With Gaige now through the motel window, I could see the look on his face. Conner’s expression matched Gaige’s. Sheer terror. I knew they’d been fed some new information through their fancy suits.

  Gaige grabbed me by the shoulders. “We have to run.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “There are two other teams closing in on us. Brian probably didn’t know. We just figured it out ourselves. We have to run!” Gaige spoke fast, his voice panicked.

  “Okay, I’ll run.”

  “No, you don’t understand. We’re much faster than Kians. You’d never be able to keep up. I’m going to have to carry you.”

  The words hadn’t completely left his mouth before he scooped me up as if I weighed nothing, and everything became a blur. Smears of grays and blacks and browns whipped by in the moonlight as we ran through the woods. My stomach rose and fell, dipped and turned. I felt like I was on the most chilling amusement park ride that had ever been made. Only, I didn’t like thrill rides. Almost unbearable pain pressed at my temples and behind my eyes, and my stomach grew nauseated.

  “Conner, she’s not doing well!” Gaige yelled as we slowed to a stop.

  I moaned. The pressure in my head felt like it might split my skull in two.

  Gaige sat me down on a fallen tree trunk.

  I grabbed my head with both hands. “Ow.”

  “Motion sickness,” Conner said. “She’s not used to that speed.”

  I could barely hear him speak through the ringing in my ears. I bent forward and placed my head between my knees to steady the spinning. “My head is killing me and I feel sick.”

  A quick flash of light put an abrupt stop to my pain and nausea.

  “Is that better?” Gaige asked.

  I lifted my head and paused for a moment, waiting for the stabbing sensation that had consumed my brain only seconds before to return. It was gone. Not even the smallest twinge of discomfort or nausea remained. “Yes. What did you do?”

  Gaige held up a small, thin cylinder about the size of a pocket flashlight. “It can elicit various effects on the human body.”

  “That’s what you used on the guards, isn’t it?” I asked.

  “Yes, it is.” Gaige flipped the side of the cylinder open, pressed a small button inside, then closed it again and handed it to me. “Here, take it.”

  I took the object from his hand. A soft hum emanated from it and all the muscles in my body relaxed. “What’s it doing?”

  “It’s going to help ease the stress our speed causes your body. Hold on to it tightly.” He took my hand and firmly closed my fingers around the object he’d given me. “Are you ready to try again?”

  I felt so relaxed with the object in my hand that I would have probably tried anything right then. I noticed the snow, beautiful snow, turning to slivers of tiny ice crystals. Beautiful ice crystal. “Gaige, the snow is so beautiful, isn’t it? It’s dancing. Dancing and sparkling. Conner, look at the snow. Like tiny little pieces of glitter.”

  “It’s working, Conner. Let’s go.” With glitter raining down on us, Gaige lifted me into his arms and we were off again.

  CHAPTER 45 -

  BRIAN

  Sitting in the empty motel room, I’d talked as long as I thought I could get by with. I now had to figure out a way to end the charade. I searched the room for ideas as I continued to ramble on. A distant rumble of cars quickly grew louder. Did they leave early? I peeked through the crack at the edge of the curtain to see several black SUVs pulling into the parking lot. Shit!

  “No, don’t hurt me!” I picked up a lamp and threw it against the wall. The ceramic base crashed so loudly it covered the noise of the incoming vehicles for a brief second. I grabbed the piece of paper on which I’d written the message to Gaige and put it in my mouth. Spreading myself out amongst the scattered shards of blue glass, I chewed the note into a mushy blob and choked it down.

  The door burst off its hinges and launched into the room, nearly landing on top of me. A flow of men—suits and a few military—rushed in with guns drawn, yelling warnings at me not to move. Two of the civilians jerked me off the floor and slammed me against the wall. My hands went out reflexively and caught the wall just in time to prevent a full-blown face plant. The others spread out through the room looking for Tori, Gaige, and their friend.

  One of the men who had shoved me against the wall twisted my right arm behind my back. Whether it was the fight-or-flight instinct ingrained in my DNA, old training creeping back from a world I’d left behind, or just plain being fed up with the whole situation, I swung my left elbow backward in the direction of the guy’s head. A spray of blood flew from his nose and he grabbed his face with both hands, freeing my right arm. Before the other guy could react, I delivered a right hook to the side of his chin that hit his nighty-night spot perfectly. He dropped to the floor with an umph.

  Too bad it wasn’t me against the two of them. Even with muscles that hadn’t been used like that in years, I’d have taken them. A room full of spun-up men—now coming at me with guns aimed at my face—not so much. The last thing I remembered was being knocked on the head.

  CHAPTER 46 -

  GAIGE

  Conner and I zigged and zagged through the woods. We had to be cautious. At our speed, we could easily take a misstep and crash into a tree. Victoria rested peacefully against my chest, oblivious to much of anything, thanks to the medical device she held in her hand.

  “Gaige,” Tas said. “One of the groups just arrived at your last location, and the other is coming toward you, only about a mile away. They’ve now been instructed to use any means to keep the three of you from escaping—even shoot to kill, if necessary. Don’t chance making it to the shuttles if you’re not sure you can.”

  “The medical teams?” I asked, panting hard. Those teams were critical. If I couldn’t keep Victoria safe on Earth, I had to make sure I kept her safe, and alive, on the ship.

  “They’re in place,” Tas answered.

  CHAPTER 47 -

  VICTORIA

  We broke free of the woods and came to a stop in a wide-open field with Gaige and Conner throwing strings of their Anuan garble back and forth. Gaige looked off across the open landscape like a parched man seeing his mirage just out of reach. He put me down, took the device from my hand, and flipped it off. My euphoric state faded and reality settled back in.

  “I need you to listen to me very carefully,” he said. “We can’t risk making it to the shuttles, but I can get you to our ship until we can sort all this—”

  “Yes.” I didn’t need to hear any more.

  “I would never leave you in the middle of a mess like this. If you don’t want to go, I’ll stay here. We’ll figure something out.”

  I grasped his hands and interlaced my fingers with his. “You know that’s not the answer.”

  “I know.” He tightened his grip on my hands. “But going to the ship could be a difficult adjustment for you.”

  Two paths stood before me: the road I’d been on and the road I needed to follow. Even if it was only a temporary reprieve, that path called to me and I had to take it.

  “That’s my choice, Gaige. No matter what that means. Now do what you need to do.”

  CHAPTER 48 -

  GAIGE

  There was no more time to discuss. Deep down, I knew it wouldn’t matter anyway. Victoria had made her decision. Now I had to act and act fast.

  “We’re a go! All three of us,” I said to Mis
sion Control. “Repeat. Three to transition. We’re abandoning our attempt to make it to the shuttles. Withdraw the rescue team and have the captain bring the ship close enough for a transition. Coordinate our positions and send us directly to sickbay. Inform Zada to be ready. Put a lock on Bri—the scientist, too. But don’t transition him unless his life is in danger. If that happens, transition him to isolation, so I can discuss the situation with him and The Council before doing anything permanent.”

  “The captain already has the ship in place,” Tas said. “Cloak is holding for now. Trigget’s coordinating your positions for transition to the ship. Estimated time, five seconds.”

  Three vehicles skidded to a halt in front of us. Men scrambled from them, guns already drawn. My eyes darted fast as I counted them—thirteen. We couldn’t defend ourselves against that many, even as quick as we were. And I couldn’t take the chance of leaving Victoria exposed to attempt it.

  The fear in Victoria’s eyes cried out to me. I stepped in front of her, positioning myself between her and the gunmen. I had to protect her. At any cost.

  CHAPTER 49 -

  VICTORIA

  The shots came fast and loud. So loud. Fear numbed my body, but pain found its way through in one hot blaze. I wanted to remain upright and tried to do so, but my head became light and my body wouldn’t obey. Despite my struggle to stay standing, my legs gave way beneath the dead weight of my body. I didn’t feel myself hit the ground, but I must have, because I stared up at the stars now. I searched among them, wondering which one Gaige had said was his home sun. The pinpoints of light grew distant and dim. I said goodbye to the path I’d chosen, to everything, and my world faded to black.

  CHAPTER 50 -

  GAIGE

  Shots blasted out in rapid succession, echoing in a soul-vibrating mingle of hollow reverberations through the cold, empty air. Conner dropped to his knees beside me, clutching his stomach. Searing pain ripped at my chest with such force it threw me backwards—into no one. Victoria, who had been behind me, where I thought I’d have her blocked from harm, lay on the ground bleeding.

  The ship’s weapons system fired in a blinding white flash, putting a quick stop to the shooting. A last resort, but in this case a necessary one. All the men who’d been shooting at us toppled to the ground like toys. Probably only stunned, but stopped nonetheless.

  I bent over and picked Victoria up off the hard, frozen earth. Cradling her limp body in my arms, Earth faded away and sickbay formed around us.

  “She’s been hit!” I yelled, watching Victoria’s face for any signs of consciousness. There were none.

  “Here, Gaige. This bed.” Zada turned quickly, her long, dark ponytail snapping around behind her.

  I followed Zada. An entire medical team surrounded us, medical wands already scanning over Victoria. Another team surrounded Conner, lifting him from the floor. The remaining teams waited on standby for whatever Victoria or the rest of us might need.

  I laid Victoria on the bed, letting her head down gently. Blood covered her right arm and side. I moved to her left side so I wouldn’t be in Zada’s way, and held Victoria’s hand.

  “Please, Zada. Fix her.” The words came out so small and distant that they seemed to come from another person. I leaned close to Victoria and whispered in her ear. “I’m here, Victoria. You’re going to be all right.” I couldn’t bring her there to die. I couldn’t.

  Zada cut Victoria’s coat off and tore open the sleeve of her sweater to expose a deep wound that sliced across the side of her arm. Blood flowed from the gash but looked like it may have slowed since soaking her clothing. Or maybe I only hoped it had.

  “Zada?”

  “We can fix this, Gaige. She’s lost some blood, but it all came from this one laceration, nothing else. The shock of the situation was probably harder on her than this injury. She’ll be fine.”

  I found relief in Zada’s diagnosis, but only for a moment. “And, aside from the wound?”

  “You had already figured out her extrasensory abilities are strong. We’ve confirmed that. The numbers from our scans for internal-external energy flow are high. Very high. You’ve only seen a fraction of what she could be capable of, with the right training.” Zada stayed focused on Victoria, not looking up at me once while she spoke. She lifted Victoria’s arm straight up and shot a blast of cold air onto it from her medical wand. “She’ll be soaking in our energies. Trying to manage all of us at once will most likely throw her into an emotional overload. It will be a situation we’ll have to watch closely until she adjusts. But first, the laceration. I’ve got this. You need to get to a bed.”

  “No. I’m not leaving her.”

  “Gaige—”

  “No. I’m fine.” I felt bad cutting Zada off. She’d only been trying to help, but I had no patience for anything at the moment. “I’m sorry, Zada. Just let me see her healed. Then you can do whatever you want with me.”

  “Can Miccan at least assess you and give you something for the pain while you wait? You won’t have to leave that spot.”

  My next breath sent a sharp pain through my side, causing me to appreciate Zada’s persistence. “That’s fine.”

  Zada motioned to Miccan. “Go ahead and do what you can with Gaige while he stands there.”

  Miccan and her team started scanning me with their medical wands while I stayed with Victoria and watched Zada treat her.

  Zada laid Victoria’s arm back onto the bed and held her wand over the top side, where the gash began. She ran the device’s laser slowly along the cut until she reached the other end, on the backside of the arm. The wound seamed itself together as the ray passed over it and the bleeding stopped.

  “Done,” Zada said. “It will heal perfectly.”

  “Thank you, Zada. You don’t know how much . . .”

  “Yes, I do. I know this has been a long time coming.”

  Overjoyed that I hadn’t lost Victoria, I still couldn’t let go of the tension that knotted itself at the base of my neck, knowing the physical injury was only part of her battle.

  Miccan and her team finished scanning me. “Nothing life threatening. A few broken ribs are the worst of it. We’ve stabilized and numbed the areas.” Miccan stood silent then, waiting for Zada’s instructions.

  “Gaige, she’s sleeping,” Zada said. “Why don’t you go ahead and have your injuries healed.”

  “Just give me a few more minutes with her. Please.” I squeezed Victoria’s hand. “Then you can do what you need to.”

  “All right. Let me know when you’re ready.” Zada released Miccan and her team and then checked Victoria again before moving to another part of the room.

  Conner lay in the bed next to us. A full body healing laser was making passes over him, moving slower as it crossed his stomach. The beam receded into the ceiling and the computer announced that his injuries had been healed. His team seemed to be pleased with the results and disbursed after giving him one more scan with their medical wands to check his status.

  “Conner, are you okay?” I asked.

  “Well, I’ve had better days. But they tell me I’ll live. Is Victoria all right?”

  “They’re watching her.”

  “Hello Captain, Commander.” I heard Zada say.

  I looked back to see my Dad and Tas entering sickbay. Dad’s coloring—black hair and tan skin like my own—was usually only slightly darker than Tas’s, with his brown hair and similar skin color. Except for today. Today, Tas’s coloring held a pale quality about it. And something else was off. The men had been such close friends for so many years that they normally even held themselves with a similar strong, authoritative posture. Probably because they’d been built from many of the same experiences. But today, Tas’s sturdy veneer showed a slight crack.

  Tas and Conner exchanged nods, a silent how are you, son and I’m okay, then Tas came to a stop at Victoria’s side. “How is she?” Tas asked.

  I studied the pink ridge running across the side of her arm.
Soon, it would be no more than a thin line. Ultimately it would be gone completely, or close. “Physically fine.”

  Tas didn’t say another word, just stared at Victoria like he was looking at a ghost. I supposed, in a way, he was.

  After saying a quick hello to Conner and seeing that he was well, Dad put a hand on my shoulder. “The rest will happen in time.”

  “You had to deploy the weapons,” I said. “I can’t believe a simple mission ended up coming to that.”

  “Yes,” Dad said. “I knew you and Conner were protected. And you were doing a good job of shielding Victoria, but—”

  “But, not good enough.” I looked down at Victoria, lying helpless on the sickbay bed.

  “It’s superficial, Gaige. Victoria will be fine. But they weren’t going to stop. Even in the suits you could have only taken so much. And the plasma shields protecting your heads wouldn’t have held up for the repeated blasts they were hitting you with. Their attack had to be stopped to give us time to get you out of there alive.”

  “How did they track us like that?” I asked, still keeping my eyes on Victoria. “And the other teams? Why didn’t we know?”

  “We’re not sure,” Dad answered.

  “Kians couldn’t have managed that on their own.” I said. “We should have been able to easily pick up their transmissions—all of them. They don’t have the technology to block our surveillance methods the way they did. And how did they know where we were every step of the way? Do you think someone has broken the accord and assisted the Kians beyond their own abilities?”

  As I bombarded my father with questions, Tas stood in silence opposite me, still staring down at Victoria.