She vanished before Drew could respond. He laughed so hard he blew snot out of one nostril. It was just like Mom to say he was going to save the world.
“Not the world, Drew. The world can take care of herself. You need to worry about humanity. We’re teetering on the brink of self-annihilation. You’re the only one who can stop what’s coming.”
He took a hit and looked back at the TV.
WNN news started again, Connor looking deep into the camera lens. “As the stock market plummeted yet again today, we have more sobering news. Reports are coming from our agents in China claiming that China has amassed a large fleet and is sailing out of Zhanjiang. Chinese President Biming Chen was there to witness the spectacle, calling this 'a historical event'. The North Korean leader, Kim Kye Kwan, was by his side. Chinese President Biming Chen never made clear which historical event he was speaking about.” He cleared his throat. “As of now, we don’t have any reports as to where the fleet will be going or why. All we know is that this is the largest fleet to ever leave the Zhanjiang Naval Base. Our attempts to contact China, Russia, and Britain for any information in regards to the fleet have been met with silence.”
“They aren’t wasting any time. We are free game,” Drew said. His mom didn’t reappear, but he knew he was supposed to go somewhere; do something. Reluctantly, he put down his bong and got dressed. “Don’t say I never listen to you, Mom. I’m listening all the time.” He slipped his sneakers on. “Now, where to?”
6
Starship Atlantis - M-Quadrant, Solar System
She felt Jaxx lasso her heart. Buttmuncher. Was it longing? Did she miss him? No, she hated him. That turd, Kaden Jaxx, had gone through weeks of deep-regression, remembered all the shit they’d been through when they were up against the half-human, half-lizard freaks known as Kelhoons, but still failed to offer up an apology. He could take his 'cord of protection' and shove it up his backside.
Rivkah ducked as Fox pulled the trigger, a stun dart zapping past her ear. The electric charge stung as it whizzed by. She rolled as another shot popped out the stun rifle, missing her.
She jumped to her feet. Another shot and she flipped, avoiding it, inching closer to Fox like a gymnast with a mixed martial artist’s heart, the special pineal gland abilities quickening her reflexes, focusing her mind more.
The other men took aim but it didn’t matter. She dodged again and again. Rivkah focused on the team’s focal point; Fox. He stood in the middle, two soldiers at his sides. She pulled up every emotion she had: her father’s verbal assaults when she hightailed working for him at the construction sites and went straight to the Navy; her first step into Disneyland and the wide-eyed childhood glee when she went on the space rides; the time she actually had an attraction to the weasel Jaxx; and more. She screamed and blasted it toward his solar plexus, flinging her hands outward as if throwing everything she could muster.
It knocked her back, the intense force too much for her too handle. It came from her without thought, without her own will, as if the power controlled her. She landed on her back, and slid, her shoulder smacking into a wall.
Dazed, she pushed to her feet and shook her head. “Dammit, Jaxx. What did you turn me into?”
Fox lay on his side, and the men had tumbled backwards. He twisted and pressed his palm on the ground, his rifle in the other hand. She jumped and kneed Fox in the chin, “Oomph!”
She swiped the rifle and pulled the trigger several times, connecting point blank to everyone in the chest. Their bodies writhed and twitched, temporarily paralyzed.
She dropped the weapon and pulled off Fox’s badge and flipped it over. There was an ID chip on the other side. It might come in handy. With a weak movement, he reached for it. She kicked his arm to the side. “Close those eyes of yours, Foxy, and sleep for a while.” She smashed a blow against his temple with her free hand.
He kicked at her and she tumbled slightly, but righted herself. He sprang to his feet and threw a wide, arcing punch. He connected to her lip, and blood flew. She reeled back as he spun into a roundhouse kick. She ducked, the rush of the shoe slicing through the air, missing.
“You’ve got a little kick in you after all, old man.” He wasn’t much older, but she knew men hated that term.
She twitched. Her heart pumped and skipped a beat, the strange power coursed through her more as if someone turned up the volume. She screamed as her muscles convulsed and spasmed. The lights above sparked and shattered. Glass fell on top of her.
She twisted, and slammed an elbow across Fox’s cheek. He dropped and rolled to the side, bumping into one of his own downed men.
Rivkah blinked as her vision faded. Then black. She backed up, her back against the wall. “What the hell?” She rubbed her palms over her eyes and opened them. Her vision had changed and she now peered through Jaxx’s eyes. He was hacking through a corridor three stories up, bent on a mission of his own. The cord he’d created between the two had tripled in size. He was calling on the energy of the stars to rage through him and feed her need. He was with her, in this fight. She felt a sharp pull, a magnetic draw to him. She had to find him. To do so, she had to end this with Fox, and right now.
Her vision returned and Fox stood, bent over and breathing heavily. His chin down, his eyes up. “What in the world are you? A science experiment gone wrong?”
“Probably.”
He heaved and lowered his hands then glanced at his help. Useless. He grimaced. “Now, Rivkah. Calm down. We’re not going to hurt you. You’re on a starship and—”
She lunged forward and jabbed him in the face, glancing his nose. His head whipped back.
“The hell you weren’t going to hurt me.”
Fox wiped his nose with his thumb, then rubbed the blood off on his shirt. “You know what? I’ve about had it with you.” He unsheathed a knife from his belt and held it out in front of him.
“That’s going to backfire, Fox. I suggest you turn around and walk the other way.” She lowered her eyes, ready for the kill.
He lurched forward, thrusting with his knife.
Rivkah kicked low and away, avoiding the thrust, hitting him in the stomach and knocking the wind out of him. He dropped the knife and landed hard on the floor, gasping for breath.
She heard heavy boots coming. More soldiers. She went for one of the stun rifles and snagged it into her hands. She backed up and ran around a corner.
The footsteps pounded louder. Men shouted orders. They’d come upon Fox and his men. He’d point in the direction she went.
She waved Fox’s badge over a control panel next to a door. It opened, and she ducked inside. The door shut.
Outside the room, the elevator doors hissed open. More footsteps, more soldiers. She closed her eyes and let her mind race after the newcomers. She stopped on someone’s energy signature she knew well. He was a brute of a man; ambitious, bloody, not to be crossed.
Colonel Slade Roberson.
Fox paced the floor, hand on his shoulder radio communicator, barking orders. He let his finger off the device and curled his lips. “I’m done with her, Slade. No more experiments. I’m going to slit her throat if it’s the last thing I do.”
Slade crossed his arms. “You’re done with her? I asked you to keep her in her goddamn room. Under your watch she has escaped every freakin’ time.”
“You can’t keep a wild animal caged, Slade. You need to put them down.” He touched his forehead. “One between the eyes.”
Slade leaned in, eye to eye. He spoke slowly. “Listen to me and listen clearly. You lose her again, you lose your job. Understand?”
Fox flattened his lips and inhaled sharply. “Aye, Colonel.”
Slade leaned closer, lips next to Fox’s ears. “And, Fox. Shoot to kill. But, most importantly, keep her brain intact.”
Fox gave him an odd look, nodding.
Slade pulled away. “We can at least experiment on Rivkah’s pineal gland and whatever else Doctor Donny had on his clipboard before he d
ied. I have another scientist studying Donny’s notes as we speak.”
Commotion came from down the hall and Fox pressed on his comm device. “What do we have?”
“Sir, we’re scouring the halls. We don’t have anything.”
He pressed the comm device again. “We have a new order. Shoot to kill, but aim for the chest. We leave her brain in one piece.”
Rivkah opened her eyes and slid into a cooling duct, disappearing from view. They might want her glands or whatever, but they were going to have to catch her first. And no one catches a ghost.
7
Starship Atlantis - M-Quadrant, Solar System
“Admiral Quarters is past the grand deck lobby and the President’s Suite.” Shaughnessy tipped his head to the side. “Follow me.”
Jaxx’s steel-tipped shoes echoed off the walls of the lobby’s alabaster marble. He slipped his shoes off and padded after Shaughnessy, hoping his sweaty footprints would evaporate as soon as they’d cleared the grand deck. Wouldn’t do to leave a trail. They snaked through swanky hallways and past Doric columns which held up plaster friezes of the ancient gods. Zeus reclined, in his usual way, on an insubstantial cloud; Poseidon stormed the churning waves with his trident at the ready; and Aphrodite graced their path with rose petals, limes, pomegranates, and sea shells. Someone had spent a lot of damned money making sure the corridors leading to the Presidential Suite looked suitably presidential.
“We’re here.” Shaughnessy perspired and looked more pasty than usual. The side of his neck pulsed in fast succession.
“How are you going to get us in?” said Jaxx.
Shaughnessy punched in a code. “I hacked his code the first hour on the ship.” He grinned, sweat dripping off his cheek. “I hacked the President’s, too.”
The door opened and slid upward. Stepping inside, the door closed behind them. “Why would you hack their codes?” said Jaxx.
Shaughnessy shrugged as they crept deeper into the Admiral’s Quarters. “Because I could.”
In front of them was a Lectern, something Jaxx had never seen before. It was round with computer chips, lenses, and lights sitting under a thick glass.
Jaxx rubbed his hands together and looked over his shoulder and at the door. Slade was on his way. He’d left Captain Fox to hunt Rivkah and headed towards them. “Hurry. Turn it on. Slade’s heading this way.”
“How do you know?”
“I just do. Now, speed it up.”
Shaughnessy nodded and put his hand under the table and the display lit up, a holographic image of a keyboard and folder icons projected above the table.
Jaxx looked over his shoulder again, pinching the ridge of his nose and squeezing his eyes tight. “I don’t know what I’m looking at.”
“Patience.”
“I don’t know if I have time for patience at the moment.” Jaxx’s heart picked up speed. He didn’t know how, but Slade felt closer.
Shaughnessy touched an icon. “We just pull up the terminal.” He typed something to the right of the command prompt. 'Adaptive Boost'. A new icon appeared inside the hologram, one with a rainbow of lights turning into a spiral. He moved his finger over the icon, tapping on it, his finger partially going through. “This will detect energetic anomalies. It’s like a space Doppler system, detecting Alfven waves, which are magnetic waves from coronal mass ejections from the sun. In a sense, it locates any possible space turbulence, or plasma turbulence, that this ship may pass through and tells the ship’s captain where to steer clear.” He snuck a look at Jaxx. “That’s what you’re looking for, isn’t it? You’re looking for energetic anomalies that suggest a portal…”
Jaxx was impressed. He’d always known Shaughnessy was smart, but he’d seriously underestimated just how smart his friend’s brain ticked. He hadn’t said a word about believing the glyphs indicated a potential portal, but somehow Shaughnessy had worked it out on his own.
Jaxx smiled. “Do you think the captain or anyone else sees any vortexes from this Doppler program?”
“If they saw energy that swirled in one place, then you betcha they have. My guess is they don’t know what the hell it means because they aren’t scientists, so they’d just steer clear of it...” He pressed on another holographic icon. “Here, I’ll show you the Alven waves.”
Jaxx glanced at the door. “No need. Just have to know exactly where those vortexes are.” He tapped his finger on his leg, willing Shaughnessy to pick up the pace.
Here Jaxx was, taken from Earth and onto this flying cruise ship to steal him to Callisto. He’d figure out the pyramid power blueprint and Slade and the politicians would live happily ever after on his back. But Callisto most likely had inhabitants. In Jaxx’s mind, ancient Atlanteans populated the Jupiter moon. Currently, he didn’t know for sure. No steel bullet proof evidence. But if so, whether they were hostile or not didn’t matter because Slade no doubt had it in mind to take out whatever stood in his way. If by chance establishing a new government, a new world bothered the Atlanteans—if they existed—a war may ensue. And Jaxx doubted Slade and these cronies would survive, unless Slade had something evil up his sleeve. And the more Jaxx got to know this guy, the most likely Slade did.
All of this seemed too much for Jaxx. It happened so quickly, so he took a deep breath. He couldn’t get out of this mess at the moment, so slowing the craft down by potentially masking any energy anomaly may be his best bet. Until he figured out what to do next.
“You really think we need to do this?” asked Shaughnessy.
“The scientists may have learned from my models. If they decipher what I just did, they could send us to Jupiter now.”
“I don’t know, Jaxx. Would save us a long trip.”
“What if people resided on Callisto? Do you think Slade would be all open arms and excited? No. He’d want them out of the way so they didn’t interfere with his plans. I know the guy. He gets what he wants, when he wants, and if he doesn’t, he finds a way. And that way usually involves some type of violence.”
“If people are on Callisto now, they no doubt have more fire power and better technology than us. Slade wouldn’t gamble everything he’s strived for with a fight.”
“That’s why I need to understand his plan. He’s got an ace up his sleeve, but what is it?”
“We don’t even know if there’s a presence on that moon anymore?”
“There’s a lot we don’t know, so we search.” Jaxx gestured to the Lectern.
The hologram displayed Mars, stars, and waves of energy pulsing off the ship’s course. Shaughnessy jabbed a finger at one of the energetic waves. “Those are Alfven waves. Imagine plucking a guitar string. You send waves up and down that string. That’s what you’re seeing right there, except a finger ain’t plucking that string. The sun is.” He swirled his finger on an energy pattern next to Mars. “And you see that?”
Jaxx’s eyebrows rose. That had to be a vortex—one of the star portals. It spun clockwise. It was faint, but there. “The vortex.”
Shaughnessy smiled. “Yep, your star portal.”
Jaxx eyed the door yet again. He swallowed. Slade came nearer. “How do I map this and keep it on hand?”
“And do what with it?”
“Actually, if I want to see the map in a starfighter, how do I put this in a helmet’s system or in the starfighter’s holographic display console?” There had to be a reason the Secret Space Program had taught him to fly starfighters. Perhaps this was it. Perhaps it was finally coming together. Perhaps he was the bridge between Callisto and Earth? He was the one who would bring a lasting peace?
Shaughnessy shot Jaxx a look, his lips pressing together. “Don’t do it, Jaxx. I like you better alive than dead.”
“If I can investigate before everyone gets there, the better.” Jaxx put his hands on his hips. “Or, better yet, if I need to escape or if all hell breaks loose and the ship is falling apart, you and I can get out of here in a transport craft and slip through one of those star portals. I can
fly these things, you know. Like a damned boss.”
“All right.” He let out a loud sigh. “The Adaptive Boost program is in every craft, though no jock pilot ever uses it. Just command the holographic display for Adaptive Boost. The program will come up.” He leaned on the edge of the Lectern, accidentally pressing a button.
The display beeped on. An admiral came on the holographic screen.
Jaxx lurched back, waiting for the admiral to ask them who they were, what they were doing, and why Slade wasn’t in the room. Instead, the admiral was already in discussion, as if they had accidentally joined in on a three-way call.
Jaxx turned his ear toward the screen. He could hear two other people talking in the background. He listened intently. It was Slade but he couldn’t make out the other person. They were talking with this admiral.
Jaxx jabbed Shaughnessy with his elbow. “What are we looking at?”
“A past recording of—” Shaughnessy’s chin nearly hit his chest as the holovid relayed pictures of a ship breaking apart above Callisto.
The holovid blipped out.
Shaughnessy shut the Lectern off, his face pale. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Did you see that?” Jaxx grabbed Shaughnessy by the shoulder.
“I saw a fleet ship going down in flames. I saw guns, strafing, blasters, nukes.”
Jaxx’s breaths shook. It wasn’t that the ship had been blown out of the sky. It was that panel, sliding off the side of the ship; the nuclear warhead easing its way out of the dock. “We have to warn them. We have to warn those on Callisto that we’re coming for them.”
Shaughnessy’s went rigid. “I’m sorry, Jaxx. We can’t. I can’t allow that. They were hostile. They blew up that big ship. We don’t know—”
Ascendant Saga Collection: Sci-Fi Fantasy Techno Thriller Page 31
