The Zahkx Alliance: A Sci-Fi Dystopian Adventure (Dominion Rising Book 2)

by Katherine Bogle

  “If all they have are cattle prods, then I’m sure we’ll do well with guns,” Selene snapped.

  “Come on, Selene. It’d be stupid to run in there without a plan.” Lanny sighed.

  “Fine, tomorrow night then. We have all night and day to come up with a plan.”

  Flik ran a hand through his hair. “It’s going to take more than a day to get ready for something this big. We’ll need a real ship, real weapons, and a real good idea of where Rikkard will be when we go to get him.”

  “Selene, we know how much Rikkard means to you. He’s our leader,” Darius said. His brows pulled up, and he reached across the table to squeeze her hand. She’d forgotten Darius had a sweet side to him. “We’ll get him back, but let’s be smart about it.”

  Rem nodded in agreement.

  It seemed everyone was against her rush-right-in tactic. Her heart sank and she leaned back in her seat, dread welling inside her. “Fine.”

  Selene worked her jaw back and forth. If they wanted a plan, she’d give them one, but getting a new ship and new weapons wouldn’t be easy if they had no money. What was worse, Selene was stuck in this useless clone form with no strength, no speed, and no muscle memory.

  Her fists balled on her lap. She needed a new body if they were going to rescue Rik. She needed her body. But to get her body, she needed Rikkard, the only man she could count on to always watch her back when things got dangerous.

  But if she couldn’t get her body back, what could she do? Get another clone made? No doctor in the city would make her a new body when she looked exactly like the interim president of the United Americas. She’d be lucky not to be locked up on sight.

  They could try the black market cloners that she was sure the smugglers had used in the past, but that’d cost money, and if they didn’t have money for supplies, they definitely wouldn’t have thousands of credits to clone her, let alone the cost of all the mods she’d need.

  Selene froze, and her heart skipped as an idea came to mind. There was one person, and one place she knew of that’d have clone pods she might be able to use. Her heart raced and she looked up. The others gazed off in thought until she slammed her fist on the table.

  The group startled and all eyes fell on her.

  “I’ve got an idea,” she said. “I can’t get Rik without my body or a suped-up clone.”

  Rem nodded. “Okaaay, but where are we going to find a clone pod to make you a new body?”

  “Pirates.” Selene smiled, feeling just a bit victorious.

  The others looked at one another as if she’d gone crazy.

  “Remember Captain Erock and the pirates who jacked those cloning pods from Rik and I?” She waited for Darius and Rem to nod. “What do you think the chances are he kept at least one of those for himself?”

  Both of their eyes widened in understanding, and smiles crept across their faces, but Flik and Lanny still looked sceptical.

  “You want to tango with pirates?” Flik asked.

  “Yep.” Selene grinned and stood, her hands braced on the table. “The Captain owes me a favor.”

  Flik and Lanny exchanged concerned glances, but it was too late. Darius and Rem were already on board, which meant it was three against two, if this was a democracy. Without an actual leader, what other way did they have to make choices?

  “Look,” Selene began. “I can’t save Rik in this body.” She motioned at herself. “It’s weak as hell, and if I don’t get something stronger, I’ll be a hindrance to any mission. It isn’t just Rik we need to save.” She knew this wasn’t fair, but she had to get them on board. “It’s Sav too.”

  Flik narrowed his eyes at her, while Lanny’s widened. Flik knew exactly what she was doing, but whether he believed it or not, she meant it. She wanted to find Sav and bring him home too. The man had saved her once, and it was time for her to return the favor.

  “Fine.” Flik sighed. “What’s your plan to find these pirates?”

  Selene froze. She hadn’t quite gotten that far yet.

  “Wait, Captain Erock is the guy you’re talking about?” Darius asked. Selene nodded. “I know some of his crew. They come into Radley’s all the time. I bet I can slip them some information to call out the captain.”

  Selene grinned. “I knew your sparkling personality would come in handy one of these days.”

  Darius choked on a laugh, and slapped the table. Selene crossed her arms and sat back down.

  “A pirate captain isn’t going to come after just anything, though,” Flik reasoned, his mouth set in a firm line. He didn’t like this one bit.

  “You’re right,” Selene said. Her mind raced with ideas. “It’ll have to be something big enough that Erock will want badly enough to come for himself. If we don’t get Erock after us, the crew isn’t going to let us live long enough to see the captain.”

  Flik blanched. “You really think this is such a good idea then?”

  Selene shook her head. “Nope, but it’s the only one we got. I’m not going to ask you two to risk your lives for this anyway.” She looked at Flik and Lanny. “We can handle it, and you two can be backup just in case anything happens.”

  “I don’t like this, Selene,” Flik said.

  “I don’t either. I don’t want any of you to get hurt.” She looked at them all. “If anyone isn’t comfortable being on the ship, then I’ll go alone.”

  Darius snorted and Rem rolled his eyes.

  “We’re not letting you go alone,” Rem said.

  “Can you imagine how much bragging we’d have to listen to if we let you go by yourself?” Darius asked. “There’s no way I’m staying behind.”

  Selene grinned. She knew she could count on them. “All right boys, it’s time to catch us some pirates.”

  The next day, they had a plan, a stolen hovercraft, and information casually slipped to some drunken cohorts of Captain Erock’s the night before. Once they were at the pick-up site, Rem would be able to find out if any spies lurked, but for now, they had to hold onto hope.

  Selene scanned the desert from the co-pilot’s chair of the stolen ship. Rem sat at her left in the captain’s chair, navigating their way across the desert to an old airport hangar a few miles from Bakura. It was the perfect location, easily recognizable, vacant, and with hardly anywhere to hide.

  She tapped her fingers on her thigh as they banked out of the sky, down toward the airport. Two hangars sat on one side, surprisingly still standing, while a row of what she assumed had once been more hangars, sat on the opposite side of the runway, drowned in an ocean of sand.

  “Bring us down over there.” Selene pointed at the two above ground. Darius and Lanny would be hiding inside with their supposed cargo. Though they’d stolen a ship, and some weapons, they weren’t about to go through the work of stealing some loot for the pirates too.

  “You got it, Captain.” Rem grinned over his shoulder, and Selene narrowed her eyes. Cheeky little bastard.

  The thrumming of the hover propellers slowed as they descended from the sky. Wind picked up sand, battering the sides of the ship until they came to a complete stop. Rem cut the propellers, and left the engine on standby in case they needed to take off in a hurry.

  “Ready?” Flik called from the back of the hovercraft.

  “Yeah, one sec!” Selene called back. She unbuckled herself and stood by Rem’s chair. The command console curved around the inside nose of the ship, and Rem’s fingers flew across it. “Any sign of them yet?”

  Rem pursed his lips as he scanned the three-dimensional screens popping up in front of him, rows and rows of numbers scrolling down the screen. He read each of them, much to Selene’s constant surprise. Rem didn’t quite have an eidetic memory, but his was close.

  Slamming his finger down on one last key, Rem brought up a map of the area. Glowing red dots marked the three of them in the ship, as well as Darius and Lanny inside the hangar. But to the far back end of one terminal, and inside the main airport itself, three more glowing dots appear
ed.

  “Three spies,” Rem confirmed. He grinned and flicked the screen to the left. The three-dimensional screen continued to hover over the console while another screen remained in its place. “I’ll keep an eye on them and contact you if there’s much movement.”

  Selene nodded. “Sounds good.” She checked the comset stuck in her ear just to be sure. “Darius, do you read me?”

  Through a bit of static, Darius’s voice answered, “Loud and somewhat clear, boss.”

  “Good. We’re coming out.”

  “Roger.”

  Picking up her new laser rifle from the back of her co-pilot’s chair, Selene exited the cockpit and raced down the short hall before emerging in the cargo hold.

  Flik had already lowered the door, and stood at attention, peering out the back, his gaze roaming the sand dunes between hangars.

  “Hey,” she said, trying not to scare him. “Three spies. One in the back of the hangar and the others in the main building.”

  Flik nodded. “Easy enough.”

  “Let’s go.”

  Together they descended the cargo door onto the sand. Selene’s boots sank as soon as she hit the ground, and it was much more of an effort to trudge through than she remembered. The fact that it was hard to walk through sand only further confirmed her need for a new body.

  Heat waves rose from the earth, and a light breeze threw grains of sand at her clammy hands. She wiped them off on her pants, but it was no use. Without her temperature-regulating suit, she was warm as hell, and there’d be nothing she could do about it until they returned to the cruiser.

  After a few minutes of slogging through sand, the pair arrived at the half open hangar door.

  “Hello?” she called inside. If one of the spies was in the hangar, they had to act as if they didn’t know each other, and this was just a typical business meeting. They’d exchange credits, take their loot, and go.

  “In here!” Darius rumbled.

  Flik slipped inside first, followed by Selene. Sweet shade descended upon her shoulders inside the darkness of the doorway. Skylights rained light down upon the center of the hangar in square shapes. Sand drifted from the openings, dusting their shoulders and hair.

  “Darius?” Flik asked. His face was a mask, no emotion showing on his normally expressive features.

  “That’s me,” Darius said, his voice gruffer than usual. “This is my partner Lan.”

  Lanny nodded, and wiped his hands on his pants. At least she wasn’t the only nervous one. All it took was one wrong move for the spies to see they knew each other, and it was all over.

  “I’m Flik. You spoke with Selene on the phone.” Flik motioned back at her, and Selene nodded, doing her best to appear as stone-faced as Flik.

  “Yeah, she promised me fifty-K for this shipment.” Darius slapped the top of the large crate sitting next to him. Hoverplates kept the single box aloft, while another five sat behind it.

  “Fifty, eh?” Flik slid her a displeased look.

  Selene shrugged. “That’s what it’s worth, ain’t it?” She slurred an accent over her words. Flik raised a brow at her, and his cheek twitched as if he wanted to smile.

  “My partner clearly doesn’t know the price of Dominion-grade rifles.” Flik looked back at Darius and Lanny. “I think forty-K is fair.”

  Darius’s face scrunched up. “Your partner promised fifty. I want fifty.”

  Flik shrugged. “Forty or bust.”

  Darius growled, his face contorting in rage. Lanny laid a hand on his arm. “Forty-five,” he said.

  Flik glanced at Selene, and Selene looked back at him. Flik stepped forward and offered his hand. “Deal.”

  Darius sighed and grumpily closed the space between them to shake hands. “Deal, yah scammer.”

  Flik smirked, and nodded back at her. Selene stepped up and took the hoverplate controller from Darius, who shook his head and crossed his arms, continuing to play his part as Selene and Flik quickly returned the crates from the hangar to their cargo hold.

  “Movement in the airport,” Rem said over coms.

  Selene froze at the door of the hangar. She didn’t dare say a word, and quickly continued back inside to get the last box.

  “I hope you guys are almost done, because they’re coming your way.”

  Staying at the same pace was agony as Selene pushed the last crate out the door and up the ramp. Sweat drenched her back and matted her hair. She ground her teeth as she stepped out of the sun and into the shadows.

  Flik flashed a card over a small screen Darius held, delivering credits directly to his account, or so it would appear. In reality, only ten credits were being exchanged, but any spies watching would never see that.

  “Hurry,” Selene hissed over coms. Now that she was out of sight, she could at least communicate with her team.

  Flik walked painfully slow from the hangar back to the ramp. The second he was in the hold, he slammed his hand against the close button. He barely waited until the door was halfway up before his façade dropped and he stared wide-eyed at Selene.

  “Let’s go!” Selene raced back to the cockpit, where Rem was already starting the propellers.

  “What took you guys so damn long?” Rem snapped. “Didn’t you hear me say the spies were moving?” His voice rose as he slammed codes into the command console.

  The propellers revved hard, and Rem took off fast. Selene stumbled, and Flik caught her shoulders.

  “We should buckle up,” Flik suggested.

  Selene nodded. “Let’s.”

  Taking her seat, Selene buckled in, and typed in a few commands of her own, bringing up one screen—a three-dimensional view of the area—and a second one with the red glowing dots. Darius and Lanny were already gone, flying in the opposite direction while the three spies grouped together in the hangar.

  Her heart raced as she flicked away the screen and widened the view of the area. The satellite view showed the hovercraft rising up, and the small cruiser Darius and Lanny commanded flying off. Once they were gone, nothing but sand moved on the expanse of desert.

  “Did it work?” Rem asked. He glanced at her as he urged the ship forward.

  Flik sat in a chair behind her, buckled in even as he craned over her shoulder, his breath hot on her neck.

  Selene shivered. “I don’t know.”

  They flew higher, up over the desert, back towards Bakura. They were meant to reconvene at the naval ship, though they’d be taking a much more direct route than their partners in crime to avoid suspicion.

  “Anything?” Flik asked.

  Selene shook her head, and zoomed out further. She froze. A large vessel, similar to the scrap ship she’d seen the first time she’d encountered the pirates emerged at the edge of her screen, bolting towards them.

  “Looks like we got their attention, boys.” Her heart thudded faster. It was time. Erock was bound to be on that ship. There’s no way he’d leave a lesser admiral, or whatever he called his lieutenants, to captain that monstrosity.

  A nervous grin spread on her face as Rem continued to glance at her and the screen.

  “You’re sure this will work?” Flik asked.

  “Damn straight it will,” she said.

  The hull of the ship rumbled and shook the cabin.

  “We’re taking fire!” Rem said. They picked up speed, the pressure pinning Selene against her chair.

  “Turn on artificial gravity!” Selene commanded.

  Rem hit a button, and they all relaxed in their seats.

  “Speed up like we’re trying to flee. Dodge a few shots if you can.”

  Rem nodded. He wasn’t the best flyer on their team, Rikkard was, but Rikkard was in a work camp, and they had to rescue him.

  The ship shook back and forth, and a few laser lights flashed by them as Rem dodged left and right. But as expected, the pirates weren’t aiming at their vital areas; instead they aimed for the propellers. Even one hit would bring them down.

  Another shot flashed b
y and crashed into a sand dune.

  “Get closer to the ground,” Selene said. “We want to lessen the impact as much as we can.”

  “Got it.” Rem didn’t dare slow the propellers; instead he banked downward in a sudden nosedive.

  “Rem!” Selene cried.

  Rem laughed as he pulled up, skating inches from the sand.

  Selene’s heart raced and her fingers turned into claws over the arms of her chair. “That’s not funny!”

  “It was kinda funny,” Rem chuckled. They coasted close to the ground, again dodging more shots. Sand exploded ahead of them to their right, then their left. It battered the windshield, but did nothing to slow them.

  “All right, time to let them get a shot in.” Selene glanced at Flik, then Rem. “Brace yourselves.”

  Flik nodded and Rem held onto his chair with one hand, while driving with the other. He kept them mostly straight for a solid five seconds.

  BOOM.

  The ship lurched forward, the entire hull shaking before they fell from the sky, crashing nose first into a large sand dune. The windshield cracked, and some of their gear flew across the hull.

  Her seatbelts slammed against her chest and neck, and air exploded from her lungs. Selene struggled to breathe as the artificial gravity failed, and all the pressure of the belts dug into her skin.

  She held on for dear life until the cruiser slowly stopped, half buried in sand.

  Pulling the belts away from her chest, Selene sucked in a breath. Sweat dripped down her forehead, and she wiped it away with the back of her hand.

  “Damn. That wasn’t so bad,” she said.

  “Everyone all right?” Flik asked.

  “Yeah,” Selene and Rem confirmed.

  Selene undid her belts and got up carefully, bracing herself on the console. They weren’t at a huge slant and it’d be much easier to climb out. It felt like old times as she glanced at the other two, half-expecting Rikkard to be there with a gash across his forehead like the last time they crashed headlong into the desert. But only Rem and Flik stared back at her, both unbuckled and standing, no injuries in sight.