Epic: Book 03 - Hero (45 page)

Looking to his right, he scrutinized Egor. The slayer’s vicinity looked clear. Panning to the left, he gave the same look to Nicolai and Auric. They looked clear, too, if not faintly distorted from Scott’s angle. He turned back ahead.

Then he froze.

Nicolai and Auric were faintly distorted. Slowly, Scott looked back to the left. The slayers came to view, but their forms weren’t entirely clear. There was a contour line cutting straight through their abdomens. There was a faint shimmer by their heads. Lowering his eyes, Scott saw the indentation in the snow—right between him and his slayers. It stretched behind and ahead, barely visible, but there. “Everyone, freeze.”

A Noboat. They’d wandered right past it from both sides—it had been between them the entire time. He saw Auric turn to face him.
If it’s a trap, don’t let on that we know.
“Auric, keep looking ahead. Everyone, look like you’re scanning the area.” Scott moved his own head in mock survey. “Nobody act on what I’m about to tell you. Act oblivious.” The last thing he wanted to do was trigger an attack. “There is a Noboat between Romanov, Broll, and myself. If you react to it, the Bakma inside may attack. They are aware of our position.” They had to be. By this point, there was no doubt.

“
Commander,” said Egor, “I see another one ten meters to the southwest.” He growled in frustration. “
Now
it is obvious.”

That was the infuriating aspect of Noboats. They were notoriously hard to find until they popped up out of nowhere. It was as if the brain had to be convinced they were real.

There are two Noboats. That’s at least fifty warriors. We could easily already be dead.
He looked at the crashed transport.
They want us to go to the ship. That’s what they’re waiting for. It’s unfolding just as Esther said. They’re probably wondering why we’ve stopped our progression.

Scott adjusted his comm once again for Pelican Squad. He had a theory to test, and a strong suspicion that this time he’d get a reply.

“
This is Commander Remington of the Fourteenth, contacting Captain Gabriel. We are twenty-five meters from your position.” It didn’t matter now if he revealed where they were. The Bakma already knew. “We have come across
no
Bakma activity. We will not proceed farther until you confirm that you’re receiving our transmissions. We do not wish to be fired upon.” It was a bogus concern.

It took almost ten seconds, but Gabriel answered. “This is Rex Gabriel of the Pelican. We have received your transmission. Please continue your approach.”

Now Scott knew that Esther had been absolutely right. Pelican Squad was playing into the trap. Scott had been using the same comm frequency, so there was no reason why Gabriel wouldn’t have responded until then. It was all becoming clear.

“
I copy, Captain Gabriel,” Scott said. “Stand by, and we’ll resume our approach shortly.” He closed the channel before Gabriel could respond, readjusting his comm to include both the Fourteenth and the Vindicators above.

“
This is Commander Remington with an urgent transmission. We are walking into an
untriggered
ambush. We have identified two Noboats on the ground, one within meters of our position.”

“
Meters?”
asked Travis, surprised.

Scott continued. “I have reason to suspect that there are Bakma inside the Vulture. If we react outwardly to that suspicion, we may trigger an attack.” They could never fight off fifty Bakma, but the Bakma didn’t want them dead. If they did, they would have killed them already. “Vindicator flight, are you receiving this?”

“
Affirmative, Commander Remington.”

It was obvious why the Noboats hadn’t been discovered from the air. They’d landed carefully, without damaging the trees. “I am sending you coordinates for the location of the two Noboats.” He relayed the positions. “On my mark, engage from above. Make no indication of your awareness until then. You may not hear from me for several minutes—or longer.
Only
if the exterior situation shows open volatility do I request you to fire without my consent.”

The pilots affirmed.

“
Travis, get airborne. Tighten your orbit around our location, but do not intrude. Be prepared for swift evacuation.”

“
Yes sir.”

“
We’ll continue our approach until we reach the transport. We have made contact with Captain Gabriel. They’ve kept us alive for a reason, and I want to find out what it is.”

Dostoevsky’s voice cut through the comm. “We have reached the other crashed Vulture, Remington. There are no Bakma here. We have one survivor.”

“
Commander,” Esther said through the comm, “I now count
four
Noboats in the area.”

Scott’s stomach lurched.

“
Three are clustered closer to you,” she went on. “The fourth is by itself, directly in front of me—I’m coming towards you from the opposite direction.”

Esther had circled all the way around. She’d traveled ten times farther than Scott and his crew.

She sighed through the channel. “I’m sorry, sir. I should have spotted them sooner.”

Though she couldn’t see it, Scott shook his head. “You were right on the money, Esther. This one’s on me.” He was sure there were smarter approaches he could have taken to the situation, but now they had to press on. “Continuing onward.”

They were being lured in by the Bakma. But it was the Fourteenth, not the Bakma, who had the advantage. They had the advantage because they were walking to a trap completely aware, with a flight of Vindicators ready to pounce.

Scott continued to speak to Esther. “Relay the coordinates of all four Noboats to the Vindicators.”

“
Yes, sir.”

Over the past several days, the question had been lingering in Scott’s mind: who was he really? He was irritated at Captain Gabriel and his crew—had Scott been threatened as a hostage, he’d have replied with resistance. But more than irritation toward Pelican Squad, he felt outright anger at the Bakma. He was angry at their invisible arrogance. Scott and anger didn’t mix well.

He focused on the Vulture’s bay door. They were now within meters of the ship’s hull. Nicolai, Auric, and Egor closed in behind him; Svetlana and William hung back.

“
I don’t know who’s through this door,” Scott said, “but they have
no
idea who we are. Let them think they have us outdone. They think they’re in control, so let them be. When I give the word, take control back.”

The Nightmen affirmed.

“
Commander,” said Esther through the comm, “I’m ready to move in.”

Scott placed his rifle in the prone position. “Remington to Gabriel—you can open the door.”

27

Friday, November 18
^th
, 0011 NE

1311 hours

As soon as the Vulture’s bay door lowered, the reality of the situation became clear. Captain Gabriel was kneeling on the floor of the transport, moppy blond hair shrouding his eyes. A plasma rifle was pointed at the back of his neck. He was a hostage.

But that had been expected.

Four Bakma crowded the troop bay, their plasma rifles aimed at Scott and his teammates. Two Ithini were there, as well. The aliens were in control.

But that had been expected.

Blood was splattered on the walls. Several EDEN corpses were piled in the corner. They’d either died in the crash or been killed by the Bakma.

That had been expected, as well.

It was what Scott realized next that he
hadn’t
expected—that caught him completely off guard. Captain Gabriel was the only live human there. There were no other EDEN soldiers in the ship besides the captain and the handful of corpses. The six aliens outnumbered the Pelicans, both dead and alive.

“
I’m sorry, mate,” Gabriel said. “There was nothing I could do.”

Assault rifle raised, Scott spoke through his mechanized helmet. “Captain, where is your crew?”

“
They’re on one of the Noboats, I have no idea why or which one. They were taken as soon as we crashed.”

Scott’s veins burned with anger. He’d just ordered an airborne assault on the grounded Bakma ships. On his mark, Vindicators would fire. He’d inadvertently given them the order to attack Pelican’s captives inside the Noboats.

The Bakma behind Gabriel spat,
“Ta-gash resh. Nakassa tu`shaeck.”
It shoved the captain in the back of the head.

Gabriel winced. “They want you to come in and close the door.”

“
You speak Bakmanese?” Scott asked.

“
No.”

“
Then how do you know that’s what they want?”

Scott felt it right then—the moment he posed Gabriel the question. It almost felt physical, but it wasn’t. It was almost like a jolt of the mind. He looked at the Ithini to Gabriel’s right. Its eyes were slowly widening. That feeling, that mental prod—it was from the alien. “What did you just do?” Scott asked the Ithini. “Did you just do that?”

“
Jubeea iche’raal, potaeka.”

What happened next defied all Scott’s logic. He knew what the Ithini was saying. He didn’t understand the alien language, but he knew what the words meant. The aliens wanted him to come inside. If he complied, no one would be killed.

Ithini were the only species known to be telepathic. They could connect with others via the mind. Scott knew in that moment that he was connected. It was the first time it’d ever happened to him.

“
What’s he telling you, mate?” Gabriel asked.

Scott’s mind went numb. It felt used in a way that made him feel nauseated.

The Ithini spoke once again.

“
They want us all to come inside,” Scott said. “If we do that, nobody dies.” He was simply repeating what he felt in his mind. He began to feel lightheaded, but not to the point where he couldn’t negotiate. “No,” he said to the Ithini. “I will come inside, alone. My teammates will be allowed to leave.”

“
Scott!” Svetlana whispered behind him.

The Ithini opened its mouth, but Scott held up his hand. “You’re on my planet, you play by my rules. We can compromise or we can get nowhere. It’s all up to you.” The Ithini angled its head oddly at Scott, then Scott felt their connection sever. His nausea subsided.

The Bakma behind Gabriel looked at the Ithini. It was a slender Bakma, but it wore the insignia of a ranked officer. Its black and brown armor bore various designs. But was it in charge, or were the Ithini? As thoughts of the Ithini Control Theory flashed through Scott’s mind, the two aliens began to converse.

“
Rashae mu`addma. Kon`ribilsib,”
the Ithini said.

The Bakma’s face contorted in anger. Roaring, it grabbed the Ithini by the head and flung it straight back. Scott jumped as the frail alien crashed against the wall.

He realized it right then and there. The Ithini weren’t in control at all. They weren’t even on equal ground.

The Bakma leader turned to the second Ithini, a somewhat smaller one, and barked out several words.

Scott felt the prick again in his mind, and the sickening sensation returned. He was connected again—but it wasn’t an Ithini that spoke to him now.

“
You will not advance,” said the Bakma. The words were in Bakmanese, yet Scott understood them in his head. It was as if the alien was speaking in English. “Any attempt at coercion will end in death.”

Scott’s eyes opened wide. The Ithini hadn’t connected itself to him; instead, it had connected him to the Bakma. The lightheaded feeling swelled and grew stronger.
What do I do? Do I just speak?
“What do you want?” Scott asked.

“
You are unlike the warriors called EDEN.”

The Bakma was referring to the Nightmen. To hear the Bakma refer to human military factions was…strange.

“
We are to bring you to Khuldaris, where you will be evaluated.
Tu`hessa lach th’en
…”

The alien’s words trailed into gibberish in Scott’s head. Scott felt his nausea dig deeper as his stomach convulsed. He felt pulled to the ceiling, despite the fact that his feet were grounded. His understanding of the Bakma phased in and out.

“
Daash Khuladi l`gnassa ju-kelaas vasch Golathochs’
interference
. Tu` will horissa rassha tul-nok salassa. Tu`vich kava
indication
esh
allegiance
, tuush-nae`cennas lae
judgment
.”