by Angie Arland
“He was always a hero,” Reece said low.
“That, he was,” Aiden said.
Doctor McNeill moved to Reece’s side and laid a hand on the co-pilot’s shoulder. Reece looked up at him and nodded thanks.
The doctor had been sitting out of Aiden’s view on the other side of the tactical table, and now he felt chagrined he’d forgotten about the man being in the hub. McNeill had maintained complete silence through it all.
McNeill dabbed at his eyes and strode to Kellanie before leaning down. “Now that we’re out of danger, I have something interesting to show you regarding the tank we recovered. Aiden, if you and the captain could join me in the cargo hold, I’d like to present my data to you both.”
“Can it wait, doctor?” Aiden asked.
He frowned. “It’s rather critical. I believe I’ve found the source of the organic particles detected in the debris.”
“I’ll meet you there in a few ems,” Kellanie said.
The doctor gave a succinct nod and left the Command Hub without another word.
Aiden gazed around at his crew…what remained of them. He would grieve losing the others in private, once they returned to the fleet.
Kellanie came to stand beside him as he undid his harness. “Your crew has great respect for you, Aiden.” She looked tired. “Well-deserved too.”
Aiden looked at the dinnarei, who had her back to them as she recalibrated the tactical table to bring the volumetrics back online. “Not sure I can say the same for yours,” he whispered. “You must have your hands full with that one.”
“Flea is distant…and cold…and insubordinate from time to time, but she just needs a little time to adjust. You know what that’s like. Look, Aiden…” She put her hand on his arm. “I really am sorry for my past…mistakes. If there’d been more time before the blast hit, I was ready to shout it out like your two idiots. I really hope one day you and I can move forward again…as family. You and I are kind of all we have now.”
Aiden still wasn’t ready to forgive. By holding Kella responsible for the deaths of Lauren and Sam, it kept them alive in some weird way. He needed to work on that. He stood, and her hand dropped from his arm.
“We should go,” she said. “The doctor is waiting. If it’s that important, we should both hear what he has to report.”
“I’m going to pass for now. You go have fun with the doctor.” Doctor McNeill was anything but, so he’d let her suffer through his jabber about particle physics. She could give him the short version afterward.
“Take command until I return? Get us heading back to Fleet Command?” Kellanie raised her brows.
“Happy to.” Aiden smiled at her.
Kellanie gave him a dazzling smile back. Lauren’s smile. Then, she turned and left the hub. Aiden watched her leave. One day he would forgive her, just not yet. They’d made more progress in the last few days than they had in seven cycles though. That was something.
He noticed Ryder watching him with red-rimmed eyes. She stood with both Karson and Reece. Aiden nodded his thanks to her, and she sniffled and gave him a somber smile.
“Sir,” Flea hailed him. “Something is coming up on the display.”
“What is it?” He walked to the table and the rest of the crew did the same.
“It appears the Terudithan escort has deployed a small ship.” The dinnarei looked at him. “It’s on an intercept course.”
“No disrespect, sir, but what the bloody hell?” Karson growled. “Won’t they give us a break?”
“Seems we’re still not out of the woods,” Aiden said.
Everyone at the table looked at him questioningly.
“It’s an old Earth saying…look, never mind. Cendent, do we have anything we can use?”
Flea scanned the display atop the table. “They are coming at great velocity. We need to accelerate immediately.”
The blast doors slid shut. “Who did that?” Aiden asked, another sinking feeling of déjà vu overcoming him. “Eve, this is Captain Aiden Lomax. Open all blast doors.”
“Unable to comply.”
“Eve,” Flea hailed the ship, “request for full authority access, Cendent Nitaya Lan’rei. I order you to open the blast doors.”
“Unable to comply.”
“Eve is no longer responding to manual commands either, sir.” Harper said from his console. “I’m locked out.”
“What’s going on?” Karson asked but was ignored.
“Allow me.” Flea tapped a series of commands into the tactical table’s core access console. She scowled, looked at Aiden and shook her head.
“There’s no other manual override?” he asked.
“None. We’ve tried everything,” Flea said. “And I suggest we accelerate immediately.”
“If we can,” Aiden replied.
“Aiden, why is the cargo bay door sealed?” Kellanie’s voice came over the comms. “It’s not responding to my commands. Is this some sort of joke to lock us in here?”
“We’ve lost control of Eve,” he told her. “The blast doors are sealed, and we can’t access the core. But that’s not all, there’s a small enemy vessel on an intercept course.”
“I can try a hack, sir,” Harper suggested.
Aiden nodded. “Do it.”
“Why would they send a ship so small?” Reece asked.
“I have no damn idea.” Aiden said, watching the volumetric display as the shuttle converged on them. It didn’t fire but, rather, moved into position alongside them, matching course and speed.
“Vessel proximity alert,” Eve said.
“No kidding!” Karson yelled at the ceiling.
“Hull impact,” Eve said.
“Harper!” Aiden exclaimed. “Any luck on that hack? We need the blast doors open!” Aiden’s heart thumped in his chest.
“I’m trying, sir, but Eve keeps overriding my commands,” Harper said, fingers tapping at his console in quick succession.
Aiden looked at the display of the enemy ship attached to their hull. “What in the hell are they doing? Wait, what section is that?”
Flea strode quickly to the Command console. “The cargo bay door is opening.”
“They’re boarding us?” Karson said.
“Kellanie, Dr. McNeill, do you copy?” Aiden called over the ship’s comms.
“Sir, the enemy are inside the ship,” Flea stated. “They’ve opened the cargo bay door.”
“Already? Shit! Help me with this damn display. Can you bring up video for—”
“Yes, sir.” Flea sent the display to the large smartscreen. Kellanie and Doctor McNeill stood by the cryo-tank. Terudithan soldiers swarmed through the open hull.
“Oh, hell…” Harper held his hand to his mouth.
The soldiers raised weapons at Kellanie and McNeill, backing them into the wall. They both raised their hands.
“No…” Ryder whispered.
A terudithan in white approached the tank holding the woman. The alien accessed a console that looked like it was projected over the front of the tank.
“Zoom in on the tank,” Aiden said.
Flea nodded. The video zoomed in as the uniformed squid swiped at holographic symbols projected on the glass. The woman inside opened her eyes in shock, then closed them again. Aiden leaned in to the display to see exactly what the terudithan had done, then he asked Flea to pull back the feed for a wider angle. The tank hovered a few inches above the deck plating. Soldiers proceeded to move the tank with an inbuilt device, guiding it onto their vessel.
Aiden pursed his lips as the enemy ushered Doctor McNeill and Kellanie through the breach and off the ship into their own vessel. “You sons of bitches,” he growled.
The enemy ship disengaged from their hull, leaving the cargo bay door open.
“The doc and Captain Leigh…” Harper said, his shoulders hunched.
“I don’t believe it,” Ryder added. “Why would they do that?”
“The tank,” Aiden said. “They came for the t
ank. Why else go to all that trouble? Think about it, they never recover their own soldiers or tech, but she must be important to them.”
“Who the hell is she?” Reece asked.
“That hardly matters right now. They got what they came for,” Aiden said. “Then some.” He threw himself down into the Command chair, his mind racing. He couldn’t afford to linger on thoughts of Kellanie in the terudithan’s clutches. That would only paralyze him. He needed to think.
The blast doors raised with a clank, making Aiden jump.
“Yeah, thanks, Eve,” Karson said, then beneath his breath added, “Piece of crap.”
Flea raised one eyebrow at the remark but declined to look over. Her face tightened as she gazed at the volumetric display. “The enemy vessel is not returning to the disabled escort ship,” she said.
“Track it,” Aiden commanded. “I want to know exactly where they’re going.”
“Yes, sir,” Flea replied. “We should apprise Fleet Command of our current…situation.” She glanced towards Ryder at the Comms console.
“Negative, Cendent.” Aiden frowned, wondering where her allegiance lies after losing her captain.
She hesitated. “It is Fleet protocol to follow–”
“Screw protocol!” Aiden felt dizzy. He realized he was tired and starving and couldn’t remember the last time he ate or slept. A numbness settled over his mind as he tried to process what had happened. Nothing made sense.
“Then what are your orders, sir?” The Cendent scowled.
The last thing Aiden needed right now, was a rogue dinnarei on his hands. “For now, maintain present course and speed, and continue tracking the vessel.” He stood. “I…need to think.”
Everyone was looking at him. “Karson, take command.” Aiden didn’t wait for a response. He hesitated before the exit, inhaled slowly, then left the hub.
Forty
William McNeill screamed a terror-stricken cry as two Terudithan soldiers dragged him by his upper arms into a cavernous room lined with squirming cocoons. His body shook in terror as pain burst through his chest, forking down his left arm and up into his jaw.
William’s eyes were everywhere, flicking from the Terudithans laboring over each human-sized cocoon to the fireball of light at the peak of the factory. His mind a swirl with a multitude of unanswered questions, were the aliens growing clones? Was there a queen that seeded each cocoon? What was the purpose of the hydrogen sphere?
And the one question that plagued Fleet Command scientists for cycles, where do terudithans originate from? No one knew, no one had ever returned to tell, all tortured and killed—or so they assumed.
McNeill’s chest gave a squeeze, and he knew. None of it mattered now. He was dying, either at the aliens’ hands or because he was in the throes of a heart attack. Tears slid from his eyes. His legs weakened. His heart slowed its lifelong pumping.
They entered an open area, and the soldiers pushed him to the floor. On all fours, he tried to catch his breath yet could only manage to hyperventilate. His vision tunneled and all he saw before him were curled and dry cocoon flakes.
The pain in his chest grew, and he heaved as he fought for air.
The soldiers pulled him to his feet. A creature like nothing he had ever seen before, ten-feet-tall with an exoskeleton covered in a type of green moss, crawled toward a dinnarei female on the ground in front of him. She wore the plain orange robes of a farming clan. He watched as the creature hoisted her up in its pincer-like front legs. It drew back two of its eight neck tentacles and shot them into her. The Dinnarei’s eyes flew open.
McNeill shook, and his hands flew to his chest, blood pooling in his arteries. He vomited.
The female’s body shriveled. The creature lifted her into the air and placed her feet-first into an open cocoon. In that moment, William McNeill knew; everything they thought about Terudithan origins was wrong. They don’t feed on humans or dinnarei or any other species in the galaxy. No, they’re genetically modified by the mantis-like creatures into terudithans.
Humans are fighting their own. Fighting their loved ones—their brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, children—fighting their own families. Not just fighting; killing, and with such violence and, sometimes, pleasure. They died protecting us, fighting for us, and they died in vain.
William’s pitiful life flashed before him. The new algorithm he stole from Doctor Garcia meant nothing…all the research, the endless hours of study, meaningless. Terudithans were employing biological annihilation, altering the human genome to their own. The soldiers were merely…bacteria, and to kill a bacterium you needed to find its source.
The mantis-monster came at him. Its eight legs moved as though on stilts.
Pausing before him, it levelled its large bulbous head to his. Beady eyes blinked as the creature prodded his chest with a tentacle. William withdrew his senses into himself, the first stage of death; pulling the filaments of energy back to the subconscious mind ready to release the soul, transforming to the afterlife. White hot pain seared his chest, and he hardly noticed the warm blood oozing down his neck as the creature punctured his arteries.
William McNeill, a man of science, cried out; his last thought: To know your enemy, you must become your enemy.
Forty-One
Alone in the medical bay, Aiden cradled Spero’s head, allowing his tears to flow freely into her soft fur. Her tail wagged, swishing across the sterile medical gurney, giving him a small measure of comfort.
The look of panic and uncertainty in Kella’s eyes as the cargo hold was stormed by Terudithan soldiers haunted his thoughts. It’s not what he wanted for her, hell he wouldn’t wish that upon his worst enemy. She was right all along, he was a complete idiot for not forgiving her. Dumbass!
To his astonishment, Zoe was already on the mend, thanks to the AI’s robotic medical arm performing the necessary surgery on her leg. The medical report said she had a ninety-eight point-three percent chance of survival which was good news. But the damn space crab tore through the high-tech armor like it was paper. Add to that the faulty tether release on his suit. He’d ream out plenty of people once they returned to fleet. If they didn’t throw him in the brig first.
He tried not to imagine what horrors the Doctor and Kellanie faced; then the image of Mason lying on the deck like discarded trash, flashed across his mind.
Spero whimpered.
Pulling up from the hound, he wiped his eyes on his uniform sleeve and gently extracted his arm from under her head. “Sorry, girl,” he sniffed. “I couldn’t even protect you.”
The way the dog vaulted into the air, trying so damn hard to protect him not once, but twice, was astonishing. The fact that she survived the attack brought him immense relief, but he knew he was a selfish bastard for keeping her onboard in the first place. The time had come to give her up. It was ultimately his decision, but this was her last mission. He’d miss her terribly, his best friend, buddy and support dog. Spero deserved a good life and she’d get that, living out the rest of her days in the K9 retirement unit being pampered and spoilt.
Mister Finnegan’s bravery surprised him the most. The old man didn’t give a second thought to save his grandson and the crew.
Once they returned to the fleet, he’d resign his commission and hand himself over for disciplinary action. He’d be stripped of his rank and military position then be scanned into Central Holding for all eternity; a virtual neverland of nothingness. But he deserved every damned moment. Fool!
Now, he had the task of facing his crew, seeing the anguish in their eyes and the uncertainty of whether or not they could trust him again. Hell, he wasn’t sure he could trust himself again. He doubted they would ever forgive him for his betrayal, his stupidity. They’d emerged from one close call on the asteroid only to be thrown to the proverbial wolves once again. All in the space of a few days.
He looked across to the other gurney. Grimes looked peaceful; her pale face bruised down one side from the battering she’d endu
red. Tendrils of damp hair clung to her temple. Moving to her side he pushed the strands from her face. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you.” He whispered. “You’ve always had my back, but I failed you when you needed me the most.”
The overhead comms system burst to life, startling him.
It was Ryder. “Captain, we’ve received a direct communique from Fleet Command.”
Aiden straightened and squared his shoulders. Back to business. “Patch it through to the med bay.” He planted his hands on his hips and waited for the inevitable.
“Change course immediately and rendezvous with the Ancora, coordinates to follow. Keep Fighting Forward. Command out.”
Aiden blinked. “That’s it?”
“Yes, sir.” Ryder said. “Cendent took the liberty of setting a new course, as per fleet orders.”
Aiden paced the floor. They’d lost too many good people. People he considered more than mere crew. Kellanie didn’t deserve a fate worse than death, even with their less-than-stellar history. He cringed recalling their more recent sparring match and wished like hell he could undo the shit he’d said.
Then the Fleet motto popped into his mind, Keep Fighting Forward. Over the cycles, Fleet personnel had added, no matter the cost, which meant, do anything damn thing to survive. Did that include risking an entire crew to save a few lives? He knew exactly what he had to do but wasn’t sure if the crew were up to the task. What if they no longer trusted him?
The medical bay door rolled open. Karson hesitated at the threshold. “Sir?”
Aiden turned to find Karson hovering in the doorway, uncertainty plastered on his face. He’d expected to see worse. Much worse.
“Sir, if we can find a way to-“
“I agree.”
“What?”
“We’re not going to rendezvous with the Ancora.”
“We’re not?” Karson’s frown turned into a huge grin.
Aiden relaxed a little at his response. “Nope.” Aiden shook his head. He was already knee deep in shit so he may as well dig a little deeper. An idea formed in his mind. An idea that had to work, no, this is going to work, but this time he wasn’t prepared to jeopardize the anyone else.
