Star Alliance (19 page)

“One day we’re going to have to sit down with them and get a better understanding of how all this Mardoxian business works. Is it safe? And what are the risks? That type of stuff,” Hicks said.

They came to the atrium, where sunlight streamed in, with prisms of light forming rainbows on the floor and ceiling. But the massive, ornately carved glass doors wouldn’t open. Gaarokk positioned himself on one door, while Hicks, Redford, and Nikolai grabbed the other door. They grunted with effort, and the doors started to open. Once they were open enough, the others moved in to help push them the rest of the way.

“Looks like this place is running low on power. We’re lucky we didn’t get stuck in the elevator shaft,” Redford said.

They returned to the transport platform, and Ezerah checked it.

“The power cores are almost depleted. Is it possible for you to pilot the shuttle here?” Ezerah asked.

Kaylan shook her head. “It’s not designed to maneuver through an area like this. Tight quarters.”

“We’ll have to chance using the platform then,” Gaarokk said.

Ezerah unfurled her wings and hovered nearby while the rest of them got onto the platform.

Gaarokk stood at the controls and looked to make sure everyone was aboard. “This might turn into a rough descent. Make sure you hold on.”

The crew of the Athena spread out and grabbed hold of the railing. Kaylan glanced at the bronze platform and tried to ignore the aging state it was in. She couldn’t see an alternate method of getting down, so she held her breath as the platform lurched up and over the edge. They hovered for barely a second before the platform began hurtling toward the ground. The wind blasted her long brown hair back as she clutched the railing and looked over at Gaarokk. The Boxan was frantically trying to get the control console to respond. Kaylan gritted her teeth and held on. They needed to stop or they were all going to die.
 

Gaarokk’s hands slipped off the console, and the Boxan lunged for the railing. Kaylan inched over to the console and pulled herself up. She glanced down at the interface and couldn’t read any of the Nershal symbols. The status on her internal HUD showed that it was working on a translation.

“What do I press?” Kaylan shouted.

The ground was rushing up to meet them.

Gaarokk said something, but Kaylan couldn’t make it out.

Kaylan looked back at the console, and her HUD flashed the translation. Kaylan immediately slammed her palm on the symbol for stop, and the platform pushed up against her feet as it slowed down and then slammed into the ground in a bone-jarring halt. Kaylan was thrown back, but Gaarokk grabbed hold of her hand, keeping her close to him. Sparks spewed forth from the console. Kaylan gasped for breath and regained her feet, glancing around at the rest of them. They appeared shaken, but no one was hurt. The platform must have had some type of emergency repulsors to keep it stabilized.

Brenda came over to her and gave her a quick check. “We were lucky, but you more so. If Gaarokk hadn’t gotten to you . . .”

“What happened?” Redford asked.

“The control console became unresponsive,” Gaarokk said. “I think it shorted out.”

Redford frowned. “If it shorted out, how did it come back on?”

Ezerah flew down to them. “I shouldn’t have let you take such a risk. I should have gone and found another transport for you to use.”

“You couldn’t have known,” Kaylan said. “We’re fine.”

“I tried to reach you, but I couldn’t catch up,” Ezerah said.

Hicks and Katie came over to them. “We should get to the shuttle,” Hicks said.

Kaylan nodded. The shuttle was only a few hundred yards from where they were standing, but before she moved toward it, Kaylan glanced up at the dizzying heights they’d fallen from. Suppressing a shudder, she returned her gaze to the others and noticed Gaarokk watching her.

“Are you injured?” Kaylan asked.

“No,” Gaarokk answered and seemed to be considering something.

“What is it? The platform malfunction wasn’t your fault,” Kaylan said.

“I just don’t understand how you got it to stop. The console was dead,” Gaarokk said.

“No it wasn’t. When I crawled over to it, the screen was on. I just couldn’t read the symbols,” Kaylan said.

Gaarokk looked as if he were going to say something else but then reconsidered as the group started moving toward the shuttle.

They closed in on the shuttle, and the AI opened a comms channel to Kaylan.

“Commander, the Athena is picking up a planet-wide broadcast,” the AI said.

“Okay, I’ll let the others know,” Kaylan said. She glanced at Gaarokk, who had moved on ahead. “Athena, did you experience any comms issues with us?” she asked.

“Comms blackout occurred approximately thirty minutes ago and was reacquired fifteen seconds ago,” the AI said.

Kaylan frowned. “Are you sure? Didn’t you just help translate a Nershal control console?”

“Negative, Commander. I’ve been trying to re-initiate communications since you went offline and have only reestablished comms just now,” the AI said.

Kaylan’s eyes widened and she glanced back at the platform wreckage. If the AI hadn’t helped her with the control console, how was she able to get the platform to slow down enough for them to survive the fall? She looked at Gaarokk. The Boxan knew
something
had happened, but she got the impression he wasn’t sure exactly what.
 

Kaylan climbed aboard the shuttle and went to the pilot’s seat. She told the others about the planetary broadcast, but they wouldn’t be able to watch it until they returned to the Athena.

Kaylan engaged the shuttle’s engines and they lifted off. Hicks retracted the landing gear, and flight status indicators became green across the board. She engaged the main thrusters, propelling the shuttle forward. Kaylan increased their speed and angle of ascent. They quickly made it to the upper atmosphere, and the shuttle achieved breakaway velocity. They continued to climb until they broke through Nerva’s thermosphere and entered outer space. A comms signal alert showed on the shuttle’s HUD, and Kaylan opened it.

“Commander, we have your signal,” Vitomir said.

“Acknowledged, Athena,” Kaylan said.

“Were you successful?” Vitomir asked.

Kaylan smiled. “We know where he is,” she said. Her mind flashed back to where she’d last seen Zack, surrounded by mutants, and she hoped he was okay. “We’ll debrief when we get back. Shuttle out,” Kaylan said.

Hicks looked back at Ezerah. “Are planetary broadcasts common occurrences on Nerva?”

“It depends, but given the current state of unrest, perhaps this broadcast is more important than others,” Ezerah said.

Hicks nodded and turned back around.

Kaylan guided the shuttle toward the Athena. “Well, this confirms that the engine upgrades for the shuttle work as expected,” she said.

“Please don’t tell me you had doubts,” Hicks said.

“This was the first field test on a planet that has gravity comparable to Earth’s. All the preliminary tests in the world can’t replace an actual field test,” Kaylan said.

Within the hour the shuttle was docked with the Athena. Emma Roberson and Brenda Goodwin headed directly to the science lab. Kaylan knew Emma had a number of samples they’d gathered from Nerva to work through, in addition to their work on the Boxan samples. The rest of them gathered on the Athena’s bridge.
 

“Commander, ship traffic around Nerva has increased by thirty percent. Nershal military vessels are starting to launch inspections,” the AI warned.

“We don’t want that,” Hicks said.

“Agreed,” Kaylan said, heading to the commander’s chair on the bridge. She laid in a course for Selebus.

“Commander,” Gaarokk said. “I would advise taking it slow at first. It would be best to put some distance between us and Nerva before increasing speed.”

Kaylan stopped what she was doing and glanced at Hicks, who gave her a nod. “Okay, I’ll gun the engines when we’re far enough away.”

Gaarokk frowned. “I’m not sure I understand.”

“She means we’re going to go really fast,” Katie said.

Kaylan double-checked her calculations. “Estimated time to Selebus is about three hours. We need to figure out a way to inform Kladomaor.”

“I think I can help with that,” Gaarokk said.

*****

Kladomaor had hardly left the bridge during the past cycle, but Boxans could go cycles without rest if they needed to. In this case, he stayed because they were on the offensive for once, fighting their true enemy. It was an opportunity he shared with his loyal crew.
 

The armament for his stealth ship was largely passive in nature. He’d deployed drones that wouldn’t activate until the Xiiginn warships came near. Thanks to Ma’jasalax’s efforts, their intel on the precise location of the Xiiginn warships was as accurate as if they’d used their own active scanners; however, using their scanners would also alert the Xiiginns to their presence. The Xiiginns strongly suspected they were in the Nershal star system, but until he showed his presence they couldn’t declare it to the Nershals. For this reason, he wanted to avoid confronting any Nershal ships.

“Sir, the Nershals are consolidating their ships near Nerva and Selebus,” Triflan said.

Kladomaor glanced at his tactical officer and nodded. He turned toward Ma’jasalax. “Still think letting the Humans go off to Nerva was a good idea?” he asked.

The Mardoxian priestess gave him a placating look. “You already know it is.”

“They need to flee Nerva now before the Nershals start a blockade,” Kladomaor said.

Kladomaor watched as Ma’jasalax closed her eyes for a moment.

“You have the Xiiginns chasing ghosts, but I would advise that we start withdrawing our position further in this system,” Ma’jasalax said.

“What have you seen?” Kladomaor asked

“I don’t see the Athena,” Ma’jasalax said.

“Then what would the purpose of withdrawing into the system be?” Kladomaor asked.

“If we’re going to lend tactical support to the Athena, we need to be closer to them,” Ma’jasalax said.

Kladomaor pressed his lips together, taking a moment to consider. “Navigation, plot a course further into the system. Tactical, activate beacon 46B suite.”

Kladomaor glanced at Ma’jasalax, and she smoothly returned his gaze. They’d been doing this mental Shar match for a while. Shar was a game of strategy, and he had to admit that she was an effective player.

“Course laid in, Commander,” Varek said.

“Execute,” Kladomaor responded.

“Beacon suite 46B has been activated. Confirm broadcast,” Triflan said.

Kladomaor turned back toward Ma’jasalax and waited.

“They haven’t changed course or heading,” Ma’jasalax said.

Kladomaor nodded. “It appears the Xiiginns grow tired of this game. Passive scan broadcast from suite 46B.”

The broadcast would limit the beacon’s operational efficiency, but it would present a more enticing target.

“Engage our passive scanners,” Kladomaor said.

The main holoscreen switched on and showed three Xiiginn warships in the outer system. The other one was currently at Nerva. Too bad Mar Arden wasn’t on one of these ships. Kladomaor might have been tempted to take it out.

“Confirm, single Xiiginn warship breaking off to investigate the beacon,” Triflan said.

“Acknowledged. Set suite to detonate payloads the moment they’re within range,” Kladomaor said.

Ma’jasalax moved over to be next to his command couch.

Kladomaor rose out of his seat. “Please sit,” he said.

Ma’jasalax started to protest.

“You yield nothing by taking your ease for a few moments. Please, it’s an honor for me to have one of the Mardoxian sect sit in my chair,” Kladomaor said.

“Flattery will get you nowhere,” Ma’jasalax said.

“Fine, then would you just allow me to do something courteous to show my appreciation for all you’ve done to assist me and my crew?” Kladomaor said.

Ma’jasalax considered this for a moment and then sat down. Kladomaor didn’t know if it was just Ma’jasalax or others of the Mardoxian sect, but they were a stubborn group. Ironically, he was positive Ma’jasalax had the same opinion about him.
 

“Commander, two Xiiginn warships have changed their headings. Designation for the warships are Zeda-2 and Zeda-3,” Varek said, and updated their flight paths on the main holoscreen.

Kladomaor narrowed his gaze. The new heading put them almost on an intercept course. “Ready course update on my mark,” Kladomaor said.
 

“Waiting orders, Commander,” Varek said.

“Tactical, activate beacon suites 48 through 52,” Kladomaor said. The status for those beacons updated on the main holoscreen.
 

The Boxan crew waited in silence to see what the Xiiginn warships would do.
 

“One Xiiginn warship changing course. Zeda-3 is maintaining heading,” Varek reported.

“Acknowledged,” Kladomaor said.

Kladomaor waited. If the Xiiginns truly knew where he was, they wouldn’t have gone to investigate the other beacons, but the fact that one was inbound confirmed for him that the commander was experienced. The Xiiginn warship drew steadily closer to their position, and he could sense the growing tension on the bridge. Kladomaor calmly watched the holoscreen.

“Commander, confirm detonation of beacon suite 46B,” Triflan said.

“Acknowledged,” Kladomaor said.

Ma’jasalax rose from the command couch and stood at his side.

“Wait for it,” Kladomaor said.

“Only if the warship has taken damage,” Ma’jasalax said.

“They did,” Kladomaor said.

“Commander, Xiiginn warship, designation Zeda-3, is slowing down. It looks like they’re turning around and heading toward Zeda-1,” Triflan said.

The tension drained from the bridge.

“Execute course update,” Kladomaor said. “Let’s bloody them some more. Configure remaining beacons to detonate payloads upon contact.”

His orders were carried out.

“Commander, we’re receiving a planetary broadcast communication from Nerva,” Triflan said.