“But it’s like a fortress,” Flik said. “It might as well be a battleship that happens to have the information we need on it.”
“We’ve done some crazy stuff before, but this is next level,” Rem said.
Selene gulped. She did not like the sounds of that. “Any idea how to get on and off unnoticed?”
Flik narrowed his eyes like she was crazy, but Rem’s shoulders tensed, his eyes far away—thoughtful.
“Rem?” she asked. “What is it?”
Flik looked at Rem, and soon the rest did too.
“Well, we might be able to get on the ship relatively unnoticed if they’re distracted by something big enough,” he said.
Selene’s eyebrows rose. “How big?”
“About the size of this ship.” Rem slid a glance at Erock, who did not look pleased.
“Now you’re trying to involve my crew in your crazy schemes?” the captain growled.
Selene smiled. “Oh, come on. What are you so afraid of?”
“A Dominion battleship.”
Selene sat back. “I suppose your fear is well placed.”
The captain sighed and shook his head. “Any idea what their weapons are like?”
“The usual laser cannons, tractor beam, and plasma rays.” Rem hid his head in his arms again. “Nothing we can’t handle right?”
Erock looked at her with wide eyes and Selene smiled sheepishly. “Hey, you have those nifty shields, right?” she said.
The captain nodded. “Yes, but they only last for so long before they need to be recharged. We’ll be left wide open while they do.”
Selene looked at Rem. “Could you take a look at them and see if you can do something about that?”
Rem looked up. “Yeah, I can look.”
“So while the pirates cause a distraction, we sneak inside?” Rikkard asked. He already knew exactly where she was going with this.
“Yes,” Selene said. “But I have a feeling they’ll know we’re there as soon as we open a door.”
“It’d be next to impossible to hack the security on this ship,” Flik said, confirming her suspicions.
“Impossible you say?” Rem sat up straight, his eyes flashing. “I like a challenge.”
Selene grinned. That was the Rem she knew.
“All right.” Erock sighed. “While you crazy kids head into the ship, I suppose I can cause a distraction… but I won’t send my men inside that deathtrap.” He met her gaze, his jaw hardening. “My men aren’t trained for this shit.”
Darius scoffed. “And you think we are?”
Erock shrugged. “Better trained than mine.”
Selene looked at Rikkard, who glared at the pirate captain. He didn’t like that Erock was going to sit back while the rest of them did the hard work, but then again, she couldn’t blame Erock either. From what she’d heard about pirates, they mostly took on smaller grade ships, boarding and stealing from those they could manage. They wouldn’t be up for a crazy heist, and if anything, they’d most likely get themselves killed.
She sighed. It’d be better for Erock’s crew to stay on his ship. That way they wouldn’t get in the smugglers’ way. “That’s fine,” she said.
Rikkard shot her a look. He really wasn’t pleased with her decisions lately.
“We’ll need a better plan than ‘attempt to sneak on the ship unnoticed’ though.” She gave Rem a meaningful look.
“I’ve got some ideas.” He stroked his chin like an old-school movie villain.
“Good. We’re going to need them.”
“I’ll need a few days to get gear together, especially if your boy is going to have a look at our shields,” Erock said.
“Boy?” Rem squeaked, indignant.
Selene nodded. “That’s fine. We have something we need to do in the meantime.”
Everyone looked at her, and Selene figured it was time to explain. She filled them in on whom Ivy and the Icarus were, along with how Pate had kidnapped a good chunk of them from the Dominion and was holding them somewhere in the desert.
Rem took Selene’s phone to get a lock on Ivy’s location, while Captain Erock regarded her with annoyance.
“You want to bring more people on my ship?” he asked.
Selene shrugged. “Yep.”
“I know I said you were welcome to stay, pretty…” He looked at the rest of them. “But I didn’t mean all of you.”
Selene laughed. “Come on, Erock. The Icarus are like a small army. They’re strong. Just as strong as me, but with more military training.” Erock raised his eyebrows, but let her continue. “They’ll be warriors for our cause. They have just as much hate for the Dominion as we do—maybe even more. They’ll stop at nothing to bring down the Dominion.”
Erock sighed, defeated. “I can see your point.”
“We won’t be crowding your ship forever,” she said. “So just bear with us a little longer.”
Erock sighed and leaned back on his chair. “I suppose I should enjoy the quiet while I can.” His gaze slid across the table to Eria, who watched them all closely, not saying a word while she took in this new information. She met Erock’s gaze, and at the prompt of his eyebrow, she smiled, and together they stood. “I’ll leave the rest of you to your fun then,” Erock said. “Good luck rescuing your… friends.” He chuckled and left the office, Eria following close behind.
Selene couldn’t help rolling her eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest. This was hardly the time to be sneaking off for a private rendezvous, yet she couldn’t really blame them. Who knew how much time they had left if this all didn’t turn out.
She shook her head, dread chilling her insides. Don’t think like that. Everything would turn out fine. They’d save the Icarus, and then they’d save Earth.
“Found her,” Rem said.
Selene looked up, her heartbeat speeding up. “Ivy?”
Rem nodded. Selene stood and came around the other side of the table, leaning between Flik and Rem to check out her phone’s screen. A three-dimensional map popped up, hovering a few inches about the phone’s surface. The image gave an aerial view of a lab sitting on the open desert with a dirt road leading away to a small town nearby.
“That’s near the Old Boston Outskirts, isn’t it?” she asked.
Rikkard stiffened on the other side of the table, and Selene shot him a questioning look. This was the second time he’d reacted that way when the Old Boston Outskirts came up.
“It is,” Rem said. “Private security from the looks of it.” He set the phone down and zoomed in so they could see the black speeders crowding a small parking lot on the southern edge of the building. “No Dominion issued vehicles by the looks of it.”
Selene smiled. “That’s a good sign. So we were right. He’s not working with the Dominion anymore.”
Flik tensed. “That might just make them more dangerous.”
“Are we sure the Icarus aren’t working with Pate?” Sav asked. His face shadowed with concern. They both knew all too well what the Icarus could be like.
“Bring up Ivy’s messages,” Selene said.
Rem flicked the screen back to the home page, and clicked on the message box. It took a few minutes for him to scroll through the messages, but once the others read through them, it was obvious they knew they needed to help.
“All right,” Sav said. “Do you think we can trust her?” He met her eyes, the emerald of his gaze startling on his dark skin.
She nodded. “With this, I think so.”
“What are we waiting for then?”
Selene smiled, and straightened. “Let’s save us some Icarus.”
The cruiser flew out over the desert, the propellers kicking up sand as they arced over a tall sand dune, and up into the sky. Selene and the others gathered in the cockpit of the cruiser. Rem flew, while the rest stood or sat in the few chairs in the control room.
“Activate artificial gravity,” Rikkard said.
“Aye, aye captain.” Rem mock-saluted before t
yping out a string of commands on the curved dashboard. Keys lit up at his touch, and the sway of the floor ceased, making it easy to stand straight.
“Thanks, Rem,” Selene said.
All the same, she took the co-pilot’s chair, removing a small module from the dash and placing it on the floor between the rest of them. Flik sat in the chair behind her, and Sav in the one beside him, while Rikkard stood at her shoulder, and Darius hovered between Rem and Sav.
“All right, here’s what we have of the lab schematics.” Selene tapped the module with her boot, and a three-dimensional screen popped up, hovering about a foot over the ground. The screen stretched about the length of her arm in every direction. She flicked her fingers across it, focusing on a blue and white schematic of a four-story laboratory building.
“It’s very big.” Darius tilted his head as he leaned down to inspect it. Cold blue light lit his cheeks.
“Nope,” Flik agreed. “That’s a good sign.”
Selene nodded. “I think so too. Pate hasn’t had a lot of time to gather security so it shouldn’t be too heavily guarded.”
Rikkard shook his head. “He’s got the Icarus. He’s going to have as much security as he can.”
“Maybe,” Selene said. She worried her lip between her teeth. Rikkard could be right.
“I have to agree with Rikkard,” Sav said. “If Pate has gone through all the trouble to kidnap them, he’s going to have them well guarded, even in a small facility like that.” He motioned at the screen.
Selene pursed her lips as she thought it over. “You have a point.”
“Agreed,” Flik said. “There are only three exits, not including the roof.” He pointed at the front entrance, then to one on the back, and another on the west side of the building. “I’m thinking all but the front entrance will have alarms rigged if we try to open them.”
“The roof might too,” Rikkard said.
“Rem, do you think you can deal with any alarms?” Selene looked at the tech whizz, who glanced back over his shoulder.
“Definitely.” He flashed a smile, though the warmth didn’t quite reach his eyes.
Her brows furrowed as the others continued.
“Heading in the roof entrance might be best then,” Flik said.
“Wait a second, we don’t even know where they’re keeping the Icarus,” Sav said.
“No, we don’t.” Selene sighed. “But we have to assume it’s somewhere around the center of the building.” She motioned at the second and third floors, around the middle where there were clusters of smaller rooms, almost like cells. “This looks like where they might keep them.”
“Do we have time to access their security footage to check?” Darius asked.
Selene glanced up at Rem.
“We have less than ten-minutes until arrival,” Rem said.
“So, that’s a no.” Darius shook his head.
“That’s okay,” Selene assured him. “I have an idea.” Selene zoomed the image back out, and flicked her fingers across it to flip the screen to a real-time aerial view of the facility. A few small shadows walked in a circle around the perimeter, and several speeders occupied the small parking lot out front, along with two larger cruisers. Aside from that, the landscape around the lab was clear. “You see this?” Selene pulled her fingers outward, manipulating the image so they zoomed in on the rooftop access. “Beside the door.”
Rikkard raised his eyebrows. “The air filtration system.”
Selene flashed him a wicked smile. “If I remove the grate, I can slip inside and figure out where they’re keeping the Icarus.”
Rikkard narrowed his eyes. “Alone?”
Irritation flashed through her. “Yes, alone. None of you will be able to fit in there.”
They all took turns glancing at each other and assessing their height and weight. After a few moments, they all did the same to her. Being small happened to have its perks occasionally. The only other crewmember that might fit was Rem, but she needed Rem as her eyes in the sky.
“Good idea,” Flik said. “While you work out where the Icarus are being kept, we can distract them.”
Selene shook her head. She only planned on bringing Rikkard, Sav, and Flik with her. That’d leave Rem and Darius together on the ship. She wasn’t about to let the three of them head into a firefight with a bunch of private security if they didn’t have to.
“I have a better idea.” Selene zoomed the image back out. “Instead of causing a distraction inside, we cause a distraction outside.” She pointed to each side of the building. “Before we lower to the roof, Rem, I want you use the forward cannons to shoot out part of each wall. Try to aim for different floors if you can.”
Rem looked back, his eyebrows raised into his white hair. “I can do that.”
“Good.” Selene smiled. “That should get security inside to check out the holes we create, giving us lots of clear halls to make our way to the center.”
Flik grinned. “I like the way you think.”
Rikkard regarded her with a raised eyebrow. She wasn’t normally this cautious. Most of her plans involved running in gun first and asking questions later. But as some of their recent missions made her realize, sometimes coming up with a plan that didn’t involve a bunch of firefights could save the lives of their friends. She winced internally as Sarah and Lanny’s faces flashed before her eyes. She quickly pushed the images away, but not before her fists clenched with determination.
No one else. We’re not losing anyone else.
“Good plan.” Darius clapped a hand on Rem’s shoulder, making Rem squeak in surprise. “I’ll stay here with the weirdo.”
Rem’s mouth dropped open. “Weirdo?” he squawked.
Darius chuckled. “Someone needs to man the guns and fly this thing while you keep an eye on the inside.”
Understanding blossomed on Rem’s face. “Oh. Gotcha.” His eyes darkened, and Selene’s eyebrows furrowed. She knew exactly what he was thinking. Lanny’s death was still fresh on everyone’s mind, but especially his.
Rem turned back to face the front of the ship, worry clouding his face.
“Hey, it’ll be okay,” she said. “Darius will be here with you. Just see if you can hack their cameras and keep an eye on us.”
Rem’s jaw hardened, and he nodded curtly. His fingers tightened on the steering handles, his knuckles going white.
Selene sighed, and exchanged a meaningful look with Darius. He nodded brusquely. He’d keep an eye on Rem, and make sure Rem’s spirits were up.
“All right, anything to add?” she asked the others.
“Let’s try to make it out alive,” Flik offered.
Sav narrowed his eyes. “Obviously.”
Selene smiled. Nerves crept beneath her skin and cold sweat dampened her back. She couldn’t bear to lose any more of them, and she hoped desperately that they’d all make it. They hadn’t had long to plan their mission, not with the Icarus’ lives in the balance. Who knew what kind of hell they were enduring under Pate’s control.
Over the edge of the sand dunes marking the darkened desert, lights flooded the laboratory.
“There it is,” Selene said, nodding at the windshield.
She grabbed the module from the floor, inserting it back into the command console before twisting in her seat. She yanked up the gun system; a pair of handles popping out from below the dashboard, and rising to meet her elbows. Her fingers wrapped around the handles, and the cockpit shook slightly as the turret on the base of the cruiser dropped from the hull.
“Take us in, Rem,” she said.
“Hey, I thought I was supposed to do the shooting.” Rem narrowed his eyes.
Selene flashed him a grin. “I changed my mind.”
Rem scoffed and turned back to face the desert. Pressing the steering handles forward, they dove at the lab. He aimed at the southern side first, bringing them in fast.
Selene’s entire body tensed and her fingers hovered over the triggers atop her handles. The
gun screen popped up in front of her, giving her a clear image of the lab from the view of the gun below. “Let’s do this.”
Rem spun the controls, and suddenly the cruiser faced the front side of the lab. Selene aimed, and slammed her thumbs down. Red lasers shot from the turret, blazing through the dark night and crashing into the wall of the laboratory.
Cement flew in every direction, and Rem yanked the controls up, forcing them back into the sky, sailing just over the debris.
“Again!” Selene commanded.
They banked hard, and flew back, now facing the back of the building. Selene aimed and fired. Again, cement exploded, but this time from the second floor. Plaster littered the sand, and smoke rose from the hole she’d created.
“Next!”
Rem turned abruptly, and Selene thanked Aldar for artificial gravity. She didn’t have a seatbelt on, and without it, she’d have been thrown across the dash.
They dove at the side of the building, and Selene delivered another devastating blow to the top floor. Rem pushed the cruiser harder until they came around the last side of the building, and again, she rained down devastation.
Breathing heavily, Selene sat back. “Excellent.”
Rem flashed her an adrenaline filled smile.
Selene stood. “All right, time to go.” She turned from her chair, and motioned for Darius to take her seat. “Here you are.”
“Thank you, madam.” He gave her an exaggerated bow before slipping into her usual seat.
Selene laughed, and the others stood to join her, nervous smiles all around. Her grin died. She had to remember, they were there for a reason. They’d done mission after mission like this before. This was no different. We can do this.
“Let’s go,” she said.
Flik and Sav led the way to the cruiser’s cargo hold, mostly clear of crates since they had no idea how many Icarus there were. The door to the hold opened, and they all stepped inside.
Lights flickered on overhead, stirred by their presence. Sav tossed out harnesses to each of them, which they quickly put on, tightening them around their hips before attaching their ripcords to the large front buckle. When she was sure she was harnessed in tightly, Selene grabbed her rifle from the wall and stepped up to the lift in the floor. It was hard to discern from the rest of the grated floor, but Selene knew it well from their last trip.
The Darri Commission: A Sci-Fi Dystopian Adventure (Dominion Rising Book 3) Page 4
