“What the fuck?” the second shouted. He raised his rifle, and squeezed off a shot, the whine of his weapon ringing in the enclosed space.
Using the other guard’s body to shield herself, she thrust him at the one who’d shot, and they both stumbled back into the wall, giving her enough time to grab a pistol from the guard’s belt and shoot him straight through the forehead.
She took a second to catch her breath, then plucked a keycard from the front of one of their shirts. Selene swiped it across the panel beside the door, and it whooshed open, revealing a bright interior.
Selene stepped into the cellblock, and a myriad of gasps met her ears. All of her friends stood, staring at her with wide eyes.
“Your rescue is here,” Selene said. Her heart pounded as she crossed to the first door housing Sav and Flik.
They stared at her like they’d seen a ghost.
“What?” she asked.
“Have you looked in the mirror recently?” Sav said it like a joke, but his words fell flat.
Selene looked down at herself. Blood drenched the front of her, and when she reached up to touch her face, she realized it was speckled with red as well. She must look like a damn horror show.
“Selene, what the hell happened?” Rikkard asked from the cell next to theirs.
She looked up. “Don’t worry, most of it’s not mine.”
Before anyone could formulate a response, Selene unlocked Sav and Flik’s cage before opening the other two. Her friends piled out slowly, still looking at her like she was a bomb about to explode.
Adrenaline pushed through her veins, keeping her going as she went to the bins lining the wall. She pulled out her equipment, strapping on her utility belt, before replacing her knives and pistols, then chose one of the identical laser rifles and flung the strap over her shoulders.
Pain shot through her as the strap pressed against her chest. She quickly pulled it away, relieving the pressure, but not before a gasp escaped her.
“Selene?” Rikkard squeezed her shoulder and carefully spun her to face him. His eyebrows furrowed with worry and his lips parted to speak.
“Don’t,” she said. Pulling her shoulder free, she quickly slid the strap from her back. She’d just have to carry it. “Later.”
Rikkard’s gaze trailed from the bloody line on her cheek, down to her neck, chest and stomach. His hands curled into tight fists as he met her gaze with fire in his eyes.
“He’s dead,” Selene said. Her jaw felt tight as she said it. “Pate is dead.”
“What?” Ivy gasped.
Selene met her widened eyes, and nodded.
“Thank Aldar,” Ivy breathed. Steven clamped a hand on her shoulder, and they embraced quickly before separating.
“That’s not all,” Selene continued. She sucked in a deep breath before explaining what she’d seen the Darri do, and what their present goal had to be.
“Shit,” Flik said.
“I’ll second that,” Darius grumbled.
“That’s not good,” Rem said. “Not good at all.”
Selene shook her head. “I know. But we’ll figure out what to do next after we get this ship under our control.”
Flik perked up. “We can use it to get back to Earth and meet up with the pirates.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
“The crew must be in a panic,” Rikkard said. “We can use that panic to get to the control room and turn this ship around.”
Selene nodded. “A little bit of force will go a long way I suspect.”
“Let’s gear up,” Ivy suggested.
The others agreed and a few minutes later they all had their gear strapped on and were heading out the door past the two men she’d already killed. A few of her comrades’ gazes lingered on the bloody slashed throat of the first, but Selene had confidence they all knew it was necessary and wouldn’t judge her for it, especially after she’d been strapped to a table and cut up.
Rikkard and Flik led the way down the hall back the way they’d come in. They moved quickly, but quietly, stopping at each corner to peek around and make sure the hall was clear before stepping into it. They’d nearly reached the hatch they’d entered from when boots pounded ahead.
“Pate was just found in the lab,” a man said, his voice holding no love for the former president. “He’s dead, and the girl he had in there escaped.”
“Shit,” another voice said. “We’ve got to find her before she gets to the cellblock.”
Selene flashed a grin as the two soldiers rounded the corner at a jog. “Hello, boys.” She raised her rifle to her shoulder and shot one clean through the forehead, while Rikkard took the other in the heart. Their bodies slumped to the ground with a thump.
“Let’s keep moving,” Flik urged quietly, trying to whisper while making sure they all got the message.
Nodding in understanding, Selene stepped over the dead soldiers and they continued down the hall as a team, moving more like a silent kill squad than a band of smugglers, science experiments, and former rebels.
A siren suddenly blared overhead, only two chimes before cutting out. A robotic female voice came over a speaker: “Alert. Alert. Please proceed to your stations.”
Selene scoffed. It was a little late for that wasn’t it? Though she imagined with all the sudden power cuts, it might have taken awhile to get the alarm system back up and running.
More boots pounded the hall, and Selene exchanged a look with Rikkard. They pressed up against the wall at the corner alongside Flik, who hurriedly motioned for the Icarus to watch the corridor from the way they’d come while the rest of them took on the coming threat.
Once they were agreed, Selene crouched low, her pulse racing as she waited. When a man stepped around the corner, Flik was the first to dispatch him before laser fire burned the back wall, leaving charred black on the gray metal.
“Who goes there?” someone shouted.
Selene bit back a laugh. They weren’t trolls in some fantasy dungeon.
No one said a word as Flik quickly glanced around the corner, swore, then leaned back.
“The control room is up ahead, but they know we’re coming. Four men at the end of the hall I think. They’re ducked into some alcoves so there could be more,” Flik explained.
Selene nodded. “We’ve dealt with worse.” Far worse.
Flik’s lips twitched up. “True.”
“I have one of these.” Darius brandished a grenade in hand.
“Darius!” Selene balked. “We’re in fucking space!”
Darius raised an eyebrow and flipped it around in hand. “It’s an impulse grenade.” He said it slowly, like she was an idiot.
Selene inspected the small black ball with blue lines zipping through it, and a pin at the top. An impulse grenade would send out a shock wave when it landed, pushing everything in its path back hard. She grinned, and grabbed the grenade from him. “Don’t mind if I do.”
“Hey!” Darius narrowed his eyes. “Come on, I wanted to use that.”
Selene flashed a not-so-sorry smile, and joined Flik at the corner. She peeked around to get a judge for the distance she needed to throw it. About twenty feet, give or take.
“Fire in the hole!” Selene tossed the grenade and ducked back around the corner.
“What?” someone asked further down.
“What the hell does that—”
Whoever spoke was cut off as a sharp burst of energy flared out, sending her ears ringing even at this distance. Several loud thumps hit the hall hard before a few softer ones made her think they’d hit the floor.
Flik peeked back around, then motioned for them all to follow. They moved down the hall to find the four guards passed out inside alcoves beside a pair of large metal doors with an ‘X’ sliced through the middle.
“The control room should be right through here,” Flik explained.
Selene nodded. “Everyone should get back in these alcoves. They probably know we’re coming.”
“Got an
other one of those?” Flik asked as they retreated a few steps into the alcoves. There wasn’t much space in the metal nooks, and Selene had to squeeze in beside Rikkard and Sav, while the others did the same.
“Sorry, that was the only one,” Darius said.
“Damn.” Flik was the only one to stay out, hovering beside a panel next to the door.
Another grenade would have helped them quickly take out the control room, and all of its personnel. They had no idea how many people manned the room, or how many soldiers and guns they had with them. But right now, they didn’t have much of a choice but to take the risk.
A rumble shook the ship, and Selene exchanged a look with Rikkard. It was now or never.
Selene nodded for Flik to open the door. He returned her nod as she raised her rifle to her shoulder, taking a deep breath to steady herself as she aimed down her sight. The whine of charging filled the quiet, and they all stood stock still as Flik swiped the keycard she’d given him over the panel, then ducked back as fast as he could.
Laser fire sizzled on the metal grated floor and walls as the Dominion soldiers unleashed on the hall.
Selene held her finger up to her lips, and pressed her back against Rikkard, trying to stay as far out of sight as possible. The others seemed to get the hint. If the soldiers didn’t see them, they might be more likely to wander out.
After a solid thirty seconds of laser fire, someone called a ceasefire.
“Where the hell are they?” someone questioned.
“Where are our men?” another asked.
“They were right outside…”
Selene’s heart raced as the metal floor clanged with someone’s heavy step. Long, painful seconds passed as they waited.
“The door can’t open by itself.”
Selene glanced across the hall at Flik. The soldiers weren’t coming out. They weren’t stupid enough to risk the openness of the hall. She gritted her teeth, and raised her rifle, ready to jump out. Flik met her gaze, and with a quick nod, he made motions at everyone to jump out on the count of three.
“Maybe Richards hit the button inside,” someone said, their voice high with worry.
Flik counted down with his fingers, each dropping in sequence.
Three.
“Close that damn door!” a deep voice ordered.
Two.
“But sir!”
One.
Selene leapt out of her hiding spot, spying three Dominion soldiers in the doorway, outlined by bright displays in the control room, and lasers shooting through space outside the curved window beyond.
The Dominion soldiers turned with wide eyes as Selene squeezed off a shot, burning through the chest of one, the impact sending him flying back as several other holes burned through the others.
The smugglers raced over the threshold into the control room. They spread out on either side, taking out four more soldiers who turned their weapons on them.
Two women, and four men were left, none dressed like the soldiers, but they all carried pistols on their hips. They must be the regular crew.
“Hands up!” Flik ordered.
“No one move, and you’ll all live,” Selene added.
Rikkard shot her an annoyed look. He’d much rather kill them all and get it over with, but Selene wasn’t about to kill a bunch of civilians. One of them was even human.
Six pairs of hands shot up in the air, and stayed there, trembling as they eyed the group of what they might assume were mercenaries.
“Take their weapons.” Flik glanced at Rem and Darius, who nodded and began systematically searching and relieving the crewmen of their weapons.
All the while, the rest of them kept their weapons trained on each crewmember in case they were to get any bad ideas.
“Clear,” Rem said.
Rem and Darius stepped away from the men and women, placing a pile of pistols and a couple of knives on a table by the door.
“How much security is left on the ship?” Sav asked gruffly.
One of the men sitting in a larger chair than the others with a control panel circling him, turned to face them. Selene recognized him as the captain that Pate had spoken to earlier.
“This is a bad idea,” the captain said. “You know it’ll only end with your deaths.”
Selene scoffed. “If you hadn’t noticed, there’s a lot more going on here than the takeover of your damn ship.” She motioned with her rifle to the outside.
Moon debris continued to pelt the now still ship. Though it was mostly smaller pieces, a few larger ones were coming their way.
“Rik.” Selene shot him a look.
“I’m on it.” Rikkard raced down the steps at the edge of the room to one of the crewmen’s seats near the front window. “Move,” he commanded, and the woman leapt up and aside so he could sit. Rikkard took over the ship’s navigation with ease, while Rem found a spot near him to man the guns in case they needed to take out any larger pieces of debris. Smart.
“Tie them up,” Flik continued. He glanced at the Icarus, who nodded, and proceeded to herd the remaining crewmen to the edge of the room, tying their hands with the same zip ties that had been used on them earlier. Once their hands were secured, the Icarus forced the crewmen onto their asses, lining them up against the back wall. “Keep an eye on them.”
Ivy nodded, and glanced at Steven and Jared in some silent sign to obey Flik for now.
Selene returned to the main door of the room, closing it before she relieved the captain of his seat, sending him over to the Icarus before she sat down. The fabric was surprisingly warm and soft beneath her, and she wiggled to get comfortable before crossing a leg over the other and placing her hands on the armrests, which were like two long pieces of metal with holoscreens imbedded in the wide pieces.
Raising an eyebrow, Selene clicked around the ship’s system, bringing up a three-dimensional screen that hovered around eyelevel. She clicked over to communications and turned her broadcast ship wide.
“Attention Dominion lackeys.” Selene smiled to herself as her voice filtered through the overhead speakers. “Your ship is now under our control. Your crewmen are safe, including your captain… for now. Make any attempts at breaching the control room, and they won’t stay safe for long.” She put as much venom behind her words as she could. She didn’t want to kill anyone else, but she would if she had to. “Return to your barracks, or quarters, or whatever until you receive further instructions.” She cut off the feed with a flick of her fingers.
“Rem, can you access surveillance?” Flik asked. He went to sit at another large control panel that curved in front of three seats on the lower part of the room.
“Already working on it,” Rem said. His fingers flew across the keys in front of him, and then a large holoscreen popped up in front of Flik’s control panel.
“Thank you,” Flik said.
“Don’t mention it!” Rem turned back to his weapons as Rikkard weaved them through debris and made a wide turn back toward Earth.
Selene’s breath caught and her eyes widened as she took in the surface below. Beige, gray, and black occupied most of the surface along with some darker blue. White clouds floated around the upper and lower atmosphere, but it was mostly clear over the Atlantic Ocean.
Debris rained down around them as Rikkard increased their speed, flying fast toward the glowing atmosphere.
“This is going to be a shit storm,” Sav said. He stood near her chair.
She nodded. “You’re telling me.”
The entire ship shook as a piece of rock smashed into the side of it, sending them off course from their nearly straight dive.
“Shit!” Rikkard spat. He twisted the controls, righting them just barely as alarms sounded and red lights flashed inside the control room.
“We’re almost there!” Rem said.
The Atlantic was coming up at them fast. After the last thirty minutes or so descending like a bat out of hell towards Earth, they were finally slowing up enough to twist and
head east. It’d be a damn long flight back if they didn’t get out of the hellfire raining down upon the ocean, and with their impending doom looming, they needed to return to the United Americas now.
“I think I see the end of it!” Darius pointed into the distance.
Selene gritted her teeth, her fingers wrapped tightly around the arms of her chair. Her nerves were frayed like live wires, and she didn’t dare say a word for fear another shake of the ship might make her bite her tongue off.
Artificial gravity was down, and they all clung to their seats, strapped in to keep from flying in every direction. They’d even allowed their crewmen captives to sit, if only so the smugglers didn’t have to deal with bodies flying around the control room.
“You’re right,” Sav exhaled. “That’s the end!”
Selene clicked the commands on the arm of her chair to bring up a rendering of their present location. They were near the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, and with the rotation of the Earth, that meant the impact would get worse further east, but if they could get to the United Americas, they should have some time to prep and get the hell off the planet before the entire thing went up in flames.
Before gravity went down Rem had done some explaining. With all the smaller debris hitting the Earth first, it would create some fallout wherever it hit: tsunamis, storms, fires, and a chaotic shockwave. That was just the smaller pieces burned up by the atmosphere. The large pieces, when they finally hit, would decimate the planet, and destroy every lifeform that wasn’t dead from the initial onslaught.
Selene swallowed hard. They had maybe twelve to sixteen hours to prepare—that was Rem’s best estimate. It wasn’t looking good, especially when it’d take them another hour or two at full speed to get back to land.
She shook her head, cold sweat dripping down her back. They had to warn people, had to get them to flee Earth. As much as she had wanted to save it, Rem had assured her there would be no stopping the second Apocalypse from ravaging Earth.
“We’re clear!” Flik shouted.
The Darri Commission: A Sci-Fi Dystopian Adventure (Dominion Rising Book 3) Page 19
