by Finn Gray
Just then, Inola Bonebrake spoke up “Commander, I’ve got two Mongoose on RADS and both are sending out Imperial confirmation codes. They’re contacting us right now.”
“Put them on the comm.”
“Kestrel, this is Sabre, do you copy?”
Begay smiled. Serena Sabrakami. She had once spent a night in his brig but she was a damn fine pilot.
“Copy, Sabre. Tell us you can get us the hells out of here.”
“That, I can. Sending jump coordinates right now. Our barrels have run dry so we won’t wait for you.”
“See you on the other side,” Begay said.
A palpable sense of relief swept across the bridge.
“Beginning jump preparation now,” helmsman Martin Chee said.
“Reapers are almost within range,” Nez said.
“Fire one missile salvo,” Begay said.
The command went out and a moment later, a deep rumble thundered through the ship as Kestrel’s port guns opened up. A handful of bogeys vanished from RADS. Too few.
Over the comm, Nez’s voice filled the ship, instructing the crew to prepare to jump.
“Reapers are launching missiles,” Bonebrake said.
“Prepare for impact.” Begay tensed. It felt like he had given that order quite a few times recently.
A klaxon blared, warning of the impending contact. Begay watched RADS as the missiles closed in. With so much energy devoted to the QE drive, shields were at twenty-five percent.
“Don’t worry, Sir,” Nez said, reading his mind. “The old girl can take a pounding.”
“You shouldn’t talk about your mother like that.”
Nez grinned. “Screw you, Sir,” she said.
“Impact!” Bonebrake shouted.
The deck shook as the first wave of Memnon missiles struck home.
The lights on the bridge flickered. Begay had only a moment to wonder if he had been wrong. Perhaps the Memnon missiles were capable of dealing out more damage than he had believed. Maybe Kestrel had suffered some previously undetected damage in the battle over Hyperion.
And then the world swam before his eyes. Even with the dizzying feeling that came with a jump, exultation flooded through him. The world went gray. His stomach did loops.
And then everything was solid again.
“Report!” he shouted, clinging to his console for balance.
“I’ve got hits all over RADS.” Chee paused. “They’re our ships. We’ve found them!”
“Put me on the comm,” Begay called over the jubilant cries of his bridge crew. “This is the commander,” he began, his voice filling the ship. “I am pleased to announce we have returned safely to the fleet!”
Chapter 36
Facility C, Soria
It was a real shower with plenty of hot water and all the water pressure you could want. Rory closed his eyes, laid his head back, and imagined the radioactive filth of Soria sluicing away. He lowered his head and let the stream run down his aching back.
“This is better than sex,” he groaned.
“Maybe the way you do it,” a voice said.
He turned around, hands instinctively covering his tackle. Cassidy had entered the showers.
“When did you become shy, Plowboy? We’ve been showering together for weeks.” She began stripping off her soiled clothing.
Rory turned away. “It’s not the same,” he said. “That was always in a group, and this isn’t a barracks.”
“Would you feel better if I invited Trent in?”
Rory laughed. “No, I don’t guess so.”
“You have got quite the farmer’s tan,” Cassidy said, grinning at Rory.
It was true. Rory’s arms were deeply tanned, his torso a few shades lighter, and his legs pale. Then again, he had grown up on a farm, so it fit.
“Look who’s talking,” he said. Cassidy’s face and arms were nut brown, and her untanned flesh a creamy light brown.
Cassidy stepped up to the nozzle on his left and turned it on. She closed her eyes and smiled beatifically as she stepped into the stream. She let out a low moan of pleasure.
“That might be the best thing I’ve ever felt,” she said.
Rory glanced in her direction. Her dark hair, long and lustrous before being shaved, was growing back. Now it was short and spiky, and he kind of liked it. It fit her prickly personality.
Rory turned away so as not to stare. He had never thought of Cassidy as beautiful before. And whywas he thinking about that now, with the memory of Jemma still fresh in his mind.
Because it’s the end of the world, he thought. And Jemma is gone.
He nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt soft hands on his shoulders.
“Relax, will you?” Cassidy said with a note of derision in her voice.
“What are you doing?”
“Washing your back. You’re going to do me in a minute.” She began vigorously soaping his back with firm, circular motions.
Rory felt his body go rigid. It was not that he didn’t enjoy the sensation. If it had been any other woman in the world, he might not have reacted this way. But this was Cassidy. She had been his closest friend throughout training. She was one of the guys.
Behind him, Cassidy let out a small laugh.
“How big is that stick up your butt? You are ramrod straight.”
“No, I’m not,” Rory said, his hands instinctively moving to cover his package.
“That is not what I’m talking about. I meant that you are incapable of relaxing and enjoying something as simple as having your back washed. Now,” she began, adopting a tone of command “I want you to close your eyes, take a deep breath and relax. You and I have been through hell. We deserve to forget what is happening out there, even if it’s only for a little while.”
Rory could not agree more. He did as instructed, shutting out all other sensations and focusing on the feel of her hands on his back, the warm water washing over him. He found himself drifting away. Cassidy worked her hands down his back, over his hips, and along his sides. He felt himself begin to react.
Don’t get excited, he told himself. Think about something else.
As Cassidy’s hands climbed his chest, he mentally tried to list all the Mayall cup winners he could remember since his birth. Peacock Islanders MC, Inter Vatome, Azata Blades, and then Vatome again two years running…
Cassidy’s hands moved up to his shoulders and began to knead them. Rory sighed and let out a low groan of contentment. It felt good to simply lose himself in the moment.
“That’s it. Now you’re relaxing,” Cassidy said softly. Her fingers worked their way up his neck, and then to the base of his skull.
“I think I might fall asleep standing here,” he said
“Don’t you dare.” She slapped him on the ass. “You still haven’t done me.”
“You want me to do you?” he said, then forced a laugh.
“Shut up.” She began to shampoo his hair, short fingernails tracing lines across his scalp, and sending shivers down his spine. “You like that?”
Rory could only manage a low rumble in his throat in reply.
“You men are all too easy.” She rinsed his hair then gave him another smack on the backside. “Now, you do me.”
Rory felt just a touch of unease as he put his hands on Cassidy’s naked body. It’s just a shower, he told himself. He filled his palm with liquid soap and began washing her back. He worked his hands down the length of her spine, keenly aware of soft flesh over firm muscle. Cassidy let out a tiny sigh. The sound set shivers running through him. His hands reached the base of her hips and slowly she leaned back against him. Gods! What was going on? Was she… Did she…
Slowly, Cassidy turned. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressed her body against his. She pulled him tight.
Rory held her close, surprised by this turn of events. They had never been anything but friends. Before he could decide whether or not this was a good idea, he realized she was shaking.
And then Cassidy began to sob. Her shoulders heaved, her body shook.
Rory had no idea what to do. He was more surprised by this turn of events than he had been when he thought she wanted to hook up with him in the shower. Cassidy was one of the hardest people he knew. He could not remember ever seeing her cry.
“Oh my gods, Plowboy,” she sobbed. “What are we going to do?” Rory found himself utterly at a loss. “The war is lost, our planets are ruined. There’s nothing left to fight for,” she went on. “What’s the point of any of it?”
“We can still live our lives,” he said, for lack of a better answer.
“Where? Down here in this secret base beneath our poisoned planet? Why bother?”
“I don’t know,” Rory admitted, “but I know I’m not ready to give up.”
Neither of them had anything else to say. They just held each other tight. They were still standing there long after the hot water was gone.
Chapter 37
Battlecruiser Dragonfly
Dominic Graves sat in the briefing room and stared at the screen mounted on the wall. To his left sat Lina and Sabre. He still hadn’t decided how he was going to handle the fact that she had abandoned her post in order to make a run to the Scarn Nebula. The fact that she had saved the day complicated things. That was life with Serena Sabrakami. The woman was infuriating, sometimes insubordinate, but gods, did she ever get the job done. To his right sat Iku, Dragonfly’s science officer and Teddy Zartler, one of the pilots who had discovered the mysterious facility on the asteroid.
“Tell me how you found this place,” Graves said.
Zartler described the flight deep into the nebula as they fled from the Memnons. “And then we picked up a weak signal that led us to the asteroid,” he said.
“I’m trying to decrypt the signal,” Sesay Iku, Dragonfly’s science officer, said. The skinny, dark-skinned man shifted impatiently in his seat. “It appears to be language of some sort, but I haven’t deciphered it yet.”
“How about the strange piece of tech we found?” Teddy asked.
“I think it’s essentially a tablet,” Iku said, “but I don’t know if we’ll be able to turn it on, much less read what, if anything, is stored there.”
“You can’t just plug it in?” Teddy asked.
Iku shook his head. “I wish it were that easy, but we have to figure out how it’s powered, if the hardware is sound, if the software is functional, how to connect it with our own hardware, and that’s all before we attempt to translate their language.” Frustration burned in his brown eyes and he let out a huff of exasperation. “I’m afraid it’s going to be a long-term project.”
Graves nodded. “Understood. How about the video from the facility?”
“I’ve downloaded Smoke’s helmet cam footage. I can play it for you now.” He pressed his tablet and they all turned their attention to the screen on the wall. The video was shaky, dizzying at times to watch, and dark even after enhancement. Still, Graves could not take his eye off the screen as the pilots made their way through the odd facility. It was difficult to describe the sensation he experienced as the scenes played out before him. The place was utterly alien, and yet he felt as if he had been there before.
“It’s strange,” Lina said. “It almost looks like one of our facilities, and yet it feels alien somehow.”
“That’s exactly what it felt like to be there,” Zartler said. “The people who built it, or at least the remains of the person we found, appeared human, but I’m certain it was not built by our civilization.”
“I guess no one bothered to explore the inside of the nebula,” Lina said.
Graves nodded. The idea that such a facility could exist in a known location like the Scarn Nebula, and manage to escape notice, was disturbing. If there was one place like this there could be more.
“This is where we entered the living quarters,” Zartler said as the scene changed.
A human skull appeared on screen. The skeletal remains were clad in a jumpsuit. A few personal effects lay scattered about. And then the camera focused in on a small carved figurine.
“It really does look like Aquas,” Lina said, holding up the figurine, which and been passed along to her by Zartler.
“The pilot who recovered it really wanted to be the one to present it to you,” Zartler said. “I think he has a thing for you.”
“Have some respect!” Sabre snapped. “You’re speaking to the Empress.”
“I apologize, Majesty,” Zartler said.
“It’s all right,” Lina said. “And I’m not technically her Majesty just yet.” She frowned, slowly turned the figurine. “And we are certain this is not an Aquarian facility, perhaps a very old one? Much of what we are seeing vaguely resembles older versions of our own tech, or things that at least look familiar.” She pointed to the screen where the camera had fallen upon a primitive keyboard.
“As certain as I can be at this point,” Iku said. “We’re just beginning the process of examining the artifacts and data you’ve collected.
“Did the colonizers believe in Aquas?” Sabre asked, looking at the figurine.
“Why do you ask?” Graves asked.
“If the colonizers brought their religion to Aquaria, that means that somewhere out there is a world, perhaps many worlds, who worship the same gods that we do.”
Graves nodded, scratched his chin thoughtfully. They knew maddeningly little about the colonizers. So little, in fact, that it seemed obvious there had been a cover-up sometime in the past. But what was being covered up?
“I’m no expert, but the sea serpent bracelet we found reminds me of artifacts I’ve seen in museums,” Teddy said. On the screen a golden bracelet inlaid with aquamarine gems shone in the light of the pilots’ headlamps.
They watched as the pilots made their way into the room that looked like a temple. Graves could not deny that it resembled the reflecting pool inside the ancient Temple of Aquas on Hyperion—except for the fact that the pool itself was cut from black meteorite rather than white marble. And there was no water. He watched as the pilots examined the strange thing they called the pool. It was bizarre. The place was obviously made to resemble ancient architecture but the columns were constructed of more modern materials. And then on screen, Teddy attempted to activate it. Lights flickered, the pool filled with a glowing blue mist.
“I can’t believe you turned it on,” Iku said flatly.
“I wanted to know what it did,” Teddy said. “It might have been our only chance to try and find out.”
“Maybe if you hadn’t destroyed the facility…” Iku said.
Teddy shrugged, seemingly unaffected. “We weren’t going back anyway. Not with the Memnons there.”
“I probably would’ve done the same thing myself,” Sabre said, not looking at Zartler.
“There’s no ‘probably’ about it,” Graves said, frowning at his pilot.
“It doesn’t matter now,” Lina said, brushing back her lustrous hair. She looked bone-tired. “At least we have this footage.”
On the screen, things began to fall apart—literally and figuratively. The light in the pool shattered like glass. Energy burst forth from the columns that surrounded it. And then the ceiling began to collapse.
“And you have no idea what the purpose of the pool was?” Graves asked. “Did the controls give you any clues?”
“Not really, Commander. Each column had a symbol inscribed upon it that correlated with a symbol on the controls, but that’s all,” Teddy said, then turned his attention back to the screen. The footage was quite shaky, hard to look at for very long. “There’s not much to see after this. We got the hells out of there and made it back to the nebula just in time to save Sabre’s ass.” He turned and grinned at the other pilot, who scowled back at him.
“Only after I had bailed out our patrol ship,” she replied.
&nb
sp; “Cut the crap. You both did your jobs. I’ve got no time for juvenile one-upsmanship,” Graves said.
“Sorry, commander,” Zartler said. Sabre also mumbled something that might have been an apology. Graves knew not to expect more from her.
“You did very well,” Lina said. “I think what you have found could be more important than you know.” She cast a meaningful glance at Graves. Something was clearly on her mind. “Anything else you think I need to know?”
Iku cleared his throat. I have examined some of the signage in the facility, compared it to known languages and alphabets. A few of their letters bear a passing resemblance to some of ours.”
“Are you suggesting our language evolved from theirs?” Lina inclined her head in the direction of the screen.
Iku shrugged. “Or both branched from a shared root. Of course, it could be a coincidence, although I consider that unlikely.”
Lina nodded, then looked around the table. No one spoke.
“If there’s nothing else,” Graves said, “you are all dismissed.”
Zartler and Iku stood and headed for the door. Sabre remained seated.
“Am I still on babysitting duty, Sir?” She asked.
“You are one more impertinent remark away from the brig,” Graves said. “Try me if you don’t believe me.”
Sabre’s cheeks turned red as a pomfruit. “Sorry, Sir.”
“To answer your question, no, you are no longer on guard duty. You are unsuited to the post.”
“I agree completely,” Sabre said. She turned to Lina. “No offense intended, Highness or Majesty or whatever I’m supposed to call you.”
“No offense was taken,” Lina said. “In the future, should you serve as my guard again, kindly assign a replacement for yourself before abandoning me without warning.”
Sabre’s tightlipped expression twitched between a grin and a frown. She made a hasty bow, snapped a salute at Graves, then hurried out the door.
“She is one of a kind,” Lina said.
Graves nodded. “That she is. What is it you want to speak with me about?”
