by Sarah Noffke
“Gin, are you coming?” called a voice from far away.
The alien tilted forward, narrowing his eyes like something was wrong. He turned his head in the direction of the voice. “Yeah, I’m coming.” The engineer shook his head, then continued back toward his friend.
“We need to be fast,” whispered Eddie.
“Copy,” said Julianna.
Eddie leaned his weight against the crate, pushing it through the space. It lurched forward, easily gliding down the aisle and into the oppressive heat of the outside. Red cracks, flowing with lava, ran along the ground, sending heat toward his feet. Eddie moved swiftly, conscious to not make a sound.
Julianna signaled Pip right on time, opening the hatch for the Q-Ship. Eddie loaded his crate, sliding around just in time to give Julianna the space to push her crate up the ramp and into the ship.
“Two down…” he whispered to the empty space.
“Two to go,” replied Julianna.
They bounded out of the ship and back to the warehouse just as the Q-Ship soundlessly took off, flying to meet the shuttle where crew members would unload the crates and send them to QBS ArchAngel. If they only got those crates to the main ship, then they were in great shape. However, anything else they stole would put a wrench in the Brotherhood’s production. The more Q-Ships Eddie had, the better his squad would become.
Sweat ran down Eddie’s head, dripping into his eyes. He ignored the hole in his boot from the damn lava. One more misstep and his foot would take the burn. He’d have to ask Hatch to make socks out of the new armor.
Despite the inconvenience, they successfully loaded four more crates onto the Q-Ship in only a few short minutes. Not bad, thought Eddie, once they had the equipment loaded.
Eddie slid behind his next target, a crate halfway toward the back of the long warehouse. He’d have to push this one farther than all the rest.
Footsteps echoed across the concrete floor, making him straighten. Engineers and mechanics had bustled by as they worked, but all of them were too far away for it to be an issue.
“The main meeting is letting out,” said Lars in his ear. “I can only keep the sensors down for another couple of minutes. The staff member I’m covering for will be back from break in a moment.”
Now or never, Eddie thought. He saw a cloaking device slap onto the side of the crate next to his. Julianna was already hard at work.
Eddie pulled his own device from the bag at his hip, placing it on the side of the crate. In quick succession, he slammed two more devices onto the box, but it didn’t disappear like before.
“Those meetings are soul sucking,” a voice rang nearby, drawing closer.
“Tell me about it,” another voice sang.
Eddie froze behind his crate, sensing the pair were just in front of them. He couldn’t push his crate out until they cleared the space.
“Gin, what are you looking at?” asked someone.
“The supply crates…” Gin said, stepping forward.
Eddie stuck his head out to find the Kezzin from before narrowing his eyes in Eddie’s direction, although he couldn’t see him.
“What about them?” asked the mechanic behind him.
“I could have sworn there were more,” said Gin.
“Oh, man, the heat is getting to you,” said the other Kezzin.
“I’m not kidding. Before I thought something was off, but now I’m certain of it.” Gin’s voice drew closer.
The other Kezzin laughed. “Crates don’t just disappear. You’re imagining things. They say it’s the lava. It can play tricks on the mind.”
Gin shook his head, pulling his gaze away. “Yeah, maybe you’re right.”
“Come on,” said the Kezzin. “Let’s grab something to eat before we’ve got to get to work.”
“Sure,” said Gin, absentmindedly turning, but keeping his focus on the crates.
“Fuck,” whispered Eddie into the comms.
“Fuck is right,” returned Lars. “You have one minute to get out of there before I’ve got to flip back on the sensors. I’ll meet you at the Q-Ship.”
“Copy,” replied Eddie. He grabbed the last two devices in his bag and stuck both on the crate. It levitated and disappeared along with the one beside it. He pushed it forward, but then slammed into the crate. Something was wrong. Eddie threw his weight into the crate and it reluctantly moved. It felt off balance as it pushed forward.
The crate suddenly made a shushing sound as he pushed it. Eddie halted, looking down. The crate was leaving a scratched path that would only get worse, the further he pushed.
“You’re dragging,” said Lars in his ears.
“Damn it, that’s too loud,” he whispered.
“I’ve got you covered. Give me a second,” Lars’ voice rang over the comms.
A hand reached out and wrapped around Eddie’s wrist, pulling him over a few feet. “Take my crate,” Julianna said, barely audible.
That was a good idea. The crate would be heavier if it was dragging and Julianna would make quick work of it, ensuring it didn’t rest on any lava long enough to get damaged.
A second later, a static filled the air in the warehouse. It was loud at first, accompanied by a screeching noise.
“Important informational updates,” a voice began overhead.
“What’s that?” asked Eddie, pushing the crate in front of him forward.
“The updates. They’re prerecorded and play every morning. Looks like they already ran, but they’ll just think it’s a glitch that they’re running again. Get going,” said Lars over the comms. The speaker made just enough noise to cover the shushing sound made by Julianna pushing the crate.
“Nice,” whispered Eddie, throwing his weight into the crate as it slid over the threshold of the warehouse. He turned, putting his back into the crate. A path snaked after the crate that Julianna had taken over. The scratching sound was drowned out by the voice relaying updates through the overhead speakers.
A head ducked out from a door on the side of the warehouse. “Why are the announcements playing—”
The figured stepped out of the room completely, his eyes on the path left behind by the crate. It was the same Kezzin who had been suspicious before. He spun around, his fist clenching by his side.
“Sound the alarm!” he yelled through the open room.
The announcements seized. Lars must have been out of the security room or he’d been caught. Eddie sped up, his feet working double time to push the crate farther, faster.
An alarm sounded, ringing through the base. The crate Eddie was pushing flickered, and then became solid.
“Fuck,” said Eddie. He turned to look over his shoulder. Armed soldiers spilled out of the warehouse and the surrounding buildings. Their eyes fixed on the crate sitting on the edge of the field bordering the aircraft facility.
“Get out of there! Your location has been compromised,” said Julianna over the comms. She must already have loaded the ship with her crate.
The ship was only twenty yards off.
Soldiers charged in Eddie’s direction, their guns at the ready. One line took aim at the crate but didn’t fire. There wasn’t anything but a stack of supplies to fire at. Then a figure broke free from the line of armed guards.
“Stop! In the name of the Brotherhood, I order you to stop!” a Kezzin yelled.
Eddie was about to abandon the crate and haul ass for the Q-Ship when he recognized the guard. It wasn’t a crazy protective soldier trying to stand up for the Brotherhood. It was Lars!
Eddie slammed his weight into the crate, pushing it quickly over the next several yards. Then Lars joined him, and the crate sped forward, reaching the ramp in only a few seconds. Easily, they slid it up the ramp, and as soon as they’d cleared it, the ship lifted into the air. Shots rang out at that same moment as Kezzin fired in their direction.
The ramp closed as they finished pushing the crate into place. Breathless, Eddie stumbled for his seat. Julianna was already in positio
n, controls for the guns in her hand.
“Oh, thanks for joining us, guys,” she said.
“You didn’t think I’d keep you waiting, did you?” he asked.
“You could have left that crate behind,” said Julianna.
“Well, thanks to Lars, I didn’t have to.” Eddie strapped himself in. “And thanks for taking my crate that malfunctioned.”
“You’re welcome.”
Eddie looked Julianna over. She wasn’t even sweating, unlike him. “You made that look easy.”
“Well, you handled the crates pretty well for a normal human.”
“Mostly normal.” Eddie took over the controls from Pip.
“We have a missile headed in our direction,” informed Pip.
“They’re sending a missile blindly out, hoping to hit us?” asked Eddie.
“No, from internal messages, I learned the Kezzin have heat seeking missiles,” said Pip.
“Fuckers figured out another way to deal with our cloaks,” said Eddie, igniting the thrusters and pivoting the ship to the side.
Julianna locked onto the missile and sent a rocket after it.
“Three more missiles have been deployed,” said Pip.
“That’s fine. If they want to play, we’ll play.” Julianna let loose a barrage of rockets, all locked on the missiles.
Eddie had been flying steadily, waiting for Lars to finish strapping the crates into place.
“All secure,” sang Lars, popping into his seat and strapping on his safety belts.
“Party time is what you mean!” Eddie tapped the button, initiating the second thruster. He pulled back hard on the control, rocketing the ship upward at a sharp angle before rolling it to one side.
“Yeah!” rang Julianna, scanning the radar. “All clear on rockets, Pip?”
“All clear,” affirmed the E.I. “That was fun!”
Eddie gave Julianna a sideways look, a question in his eyes as he leveled the ship out, setting the coordinates for QBS ArchAngel. “Yes, Jules, that was fun, wasn’t it?”
The strange look Julianna gave Eddie mirrored his confusion. An E.I. didn’t label experiences fun. He must just be copying the excitement of the crew.
“Pip, what else did you learn when scanning the internal messages?” asked Julianna.
“There were specs for a large weapon called a tri-rifle. It has the capabilities to kill, stun, and destroy. The range of the weapon supersedes our current weapons,” informed Pip.
“Fuck! That sounds like a valuable weapon. It must be the one Ray De’ft is selling to Vas,” said Eddie.
“That’s why we’ll have to be the ones who get our hands on it. Also, we could use a new weapon. I’m pretty tired of having to use outdated guns just so we’re not tied to the Federation,” said Julianna.
“Agreed, Whiskey.”
“Did you just call me Whiskey?” asked Julianna.
“I’m trying out call signs.”
“Keep trying,” she said.
“Don’t you worry. I’ll find the perfect one for you,” said Eddie with an exaggerated wink.
“I’m certain you won’t,” she responded, smirking.
Lars leaned forward. “While stationed in the security facility, I learned the new commander is a Kezzin by the name of Tremaine Lytes.”
“Do you know anything about him?” asked Julianna.
“Yes, unfortunately, he makes the old commander, Orsa, look like a nice guy. Tremaine’s units are the ones who search out and force Kezzin to serve the Brotherhood. It appears his recruitment efforts have paid off for him and gotten him a promotion.” Lars’ voice was full of bitterness.
“We all know the Brotherhood serves General Vas,” said Eddie.
Julianna nodded. “Now we just have to find out who he works for.”
“You think Vas works for someone? How do you know this isn’t just a part of his evil plans?” asked Eddie.
“Everyone works for someone,” said Julianna. “Even the Federation works for the colonies. The colonies work for the people. It’s a reciprocal system. We just have to find out who is the most powerful in their cycle and take that one out.”
“Damn, Jules, that makes sense. I like the way your brain works,” said Eddie.
“Then you should remember that I hate being called Jules,” she responded, cocking her brow.
Eddie winked. “We both know you like it. I can tell.”
“Oh?” she asked. “How’s that?”
“If you really didn’t like it, you’d deck me every time I said it,” he answered, grinning.
She couldn’t help but laugh. “Fair enough.”
Chapter Ten
Landing Bay, QBS ArchAngel, Paladin System.
The crew had already unloaded the crates the Q-Ship delivered to the shuttle. Hatch tapped on a pad, reviewing the supplies. He brought his eyes up to stare at Eddie and Julianna when they disembarked.
“How’d we do, Doc?” asked Eddie.
Crew members pulled the two other crates from the back of the Q-Ship.
Hatch eyed the new additions and pursed his mouth. “This will do, I guess.”
“Aw, are you still mad about the booster? I brought back the ship in pristine condition this time,” said Eddie.
“That’s yet to be determined.” Hatch bustled over, doing a rough inspection of the Q-Ship.
Jack strode across the landing bay, the crew members he passed straightening to attention. “As you were,” he said. He halted in front of Julianna and Eddie, his eyes studying the crates. “Nice work. Six crates. That should do it. Were you spotted?”
“Not with any discernable information, but one of the crates did lose its cloak, which gave us away,” said Julianna.
“Probably placed the cloaking device wrong.” Hatch hurried over to the two crates that had been unloaded from the Q-Ship.
Julianna cleared her throat, straightening. “I placed those myself. You said the technology wasn’t one-hundred percent reliable.”
“That I did, Julie. My apologies,” said Hatch.
“Hey, why don’t I ever get any apologies?” asked Eddie, frowning.
“Because you’re an idiot.” Hatch busied himself, checking over the supplies.
“Commander Fregin, have you uploaded the information Pip acquired from the stronghold?” asked Jack.
Julianna was quiet for a moment before nodding. “He said that the transfers to ArchAngel will be completed within the hour.”
“Very good. I’m certain we’ll have access to a lot of important information,” said Jack.
“Yes, we already have some details on the weapon that’s trading hands, as well as having identified the new commander for the Brotherhood,” said Julianna.
“Well, I’d say that was a successful afternoon. You and your team deserve a break. We will be arriving at Onyx Station in a few hours. Why don’t you all take a day off to rest up? Enjoy yourself. As soon as the details on the meeting with Ray De’ft are confirmed, then you’ll be off again on another mission,” said Jack.
“Sir, have Chester and Marilla made progress with finding the meeting location?” asked Julianna.
“Not yet. But the meeting is in three days, and I’m confident we’ll have enough information to intervene by then. In the meantime, you all wash up and take some R and R.”
“I think the chief is implying we should get drunk to celebrate.” Eddie leaned over and whispered loudly in Julianna’s direction.
She gave him an irritated look, scrunching up her nose. “I think he’s implying that you need a shower.”
“Hey, lava makes me sweat. Sue me.”
Julianna lifted her arm and sniffed. “Same goes for me. Blasted lava. What a horrific planet.”
“Yeah, why can’t the Kezzin pick a nice beach resort for one of their bases?” joked Eddie.
“That actually reminds me, there’s supposed to be a new bar on Oynx, one that has a surfing simulator,” said Julianna.
“What’s surfing?�
� asked Eddie.
“Damn, you’re sheltered,” Julianna said with a laugh.
“I just need you to teach me, Jules. Teach Teach, would you?” he asked, clasping his hands together like he was begging.
“Tough luck, pal!” she said, waving a hand and taking off.
“Oh, come on! Teach Teach! That’s funny shit!” Eddie cast a look back at Lars, who was helping to move the crates. “Let’s go, Lars. We’ve got drinks to drink and bar fights to fight.”
“Captain Teach…” Jack said with a warning on his face, looking totally serious.
“You know I’m kidding, Chief!” said Eddie.
Wave House. Deck 26. Onyx Station, Paladin System.
The three strolled into the restaurant, which strangely had sand on the floor.
“Why would they put sand on the floor?” asked Lars, stepping carefully like he was walking on lava again.
“It’s to round out the experience of being on a beach. It’s called ambiance,” said Julianna.
“Oh, that makes sense, although I’ve never been on a beach,” admitted the Kezzin.
Eddie tapped Lars on the shoulder, leaning forward. “Be careful, she’ll call you sheltered.”
“If you only heard the things I called you behind your back,” Julianna said with a half-smile.
“Damn, this woman is cold,” said Eddie, frowning.
“Only to the people who matter the most,” said Julianna, winking at him.
At the back of the restaurant was a large slide covered in water, with jets at the bottom that created a steady wave. A guy started forward wearing only trunks and carrying a flat oval shaped board. He stepped into the water at the arch of the slide, setting his board down. He stepped onto it and rode down towards the jets before catching a current and riding back towards the arch. From there, he cut the board to the right and left, riding the water in a way Eddie had never seen before.
