Star Alliance (25 page)

“That’s a good sign,” Hicks said.

“How is that a good sign?” Redford asked.

“It means they’ve escaped. If the facility had been fully intact when we got there, we would have had to go in and break them out,” Hicks said.

“Now we just need to figure out where he is,” Kaylan said.

Gaarokk stood at the back of the bridge, his bushy brows pushed forward in concentration. The AI had given the Boxan access to their systems so he could help.

Kaylan glanced at the holodisplay over at the conference table, which showed the nearby ships orbiting Selebus. There was a Xiiginn warship that had followed their trajectory from Nerva. It seemed that the Xiiginns had finally figured out they were here. She checked the comms status for any frequency Zack would use to contact them, but it was silent.

Abruptly, the comms channel chimed into the silence, drawing everyone’s attention.

“Athena, this is Kladomaor. Have you found him?” the Boxan asked.

“The facility where Zack was being held has been destroyed. We’re closing in on Selebus now,” Kaylan said.

“Understood. We’re on approach to Selebus but on the far side from your position. We have hostile warships following. By now you must realize that their warship is tracking you. Whatever you intend to do, do it fast, and we’ll support you as best we can,” Kladomaor said.

Kaylan raised a brow and felt the beginnings of a smile. “Thank you. We’re going to—”

“Commander,” the AI said. “The Xiiginn warship is accelerating.”

“The Nerva battle cruisers are calling for the warship to stand down,” Gaarokk said.

Kaylan brought up the navigation interface and checked their approach vector. The Athena was using every ounce of speed available, and they would need to fire breaking thrusters soon. She glanced around the bridge at the crew. Their lives were in her hands, and the next decision she made would affect all of them.

“Kladomaor, are you still there?” Kaylan asked.

“We’re here,” the Boxan replied.

“We’re going to make a pass over the vicinity where Zack was being held. If we can’t get a signal, we’ll need to leave quickly,” Kaylan said, her chest tightening as the words left her mouth.

“We’ll make sure you get as much time as we can possibly give you. We’ve reached out to Udonzari, and his forces are in the same area. Zack might be with them. The comms chatter indicates there’s fighting on the planet’s surface,” Kladomaor said.

The comms channel closed, and the bridge was silent.

“I don’t get it,” Redford said. “Why the sudden change of heart from Kladomaor?”

Kaylan glanced at Katie, who was hovering at the back of the bridge. Neither of them wanted to think about leaving Zack behind, but they might have to.

“We can question it later,” Hicks said. “We just need to know they’re doing everything they can to help us, so now we have a chance to find Zack. We should get to our stations. Vitomir and Brenda, you’re with me in the shuttle.”

“I’ll be in the Beagle,” Katie said.

Kaylan nodded and the others left the bridge.
 

Ezerah came to her side. The Nershal had been quietly observing them since they’d left Nerva. Kaylan glanced at Ezerah. After experiencing how the male Nershal soldiers behaved, the females seemed to her to be more reserved. At least that was the case with Ezerah.

“That must have been difficult for you to do,” Ezerah said.

Kaylan swallowed away the thickening of her throat. “It was the right call,” she said.

“That is the burden of being in command,” Ezerah said.

The status on the main HUD showed the breaking thrusters firing, but they didn’t feel a thing on the bridge. The blue-green planet loomed in the window and looked so peaceful from up there.

“We’re in position,” Hicks said.

“Beagle is ready to go,” Katie said.

Kaylan acknowledged and brought up the different comms interfaces. They were all flat-lined. Kaylan sighed.
Come on, Zack, I know you’re out there
.

Gaarokk cocked his head to the side, his eyes going wide. Bright flashes from beyond the ship snagged her attention.

“The Nershals opened fire on the Xiiginn warship!” Gaarokk said.

Kaylan brought the camera feeds onto the display. She magnified the image as much as she could. Bright beams of energy were coming from the two Nershal cruisers, tearing into the larger warship. The Xiiginn warship rolled to its side and fired a massive energy beam. Gaarokk gasped. The beam tore through the Nershal battle cruiser and emerged on the other side. Smaller orange flashes came from the cruiser, and it stopped firing.
 

Kaylan’s lips parted.
 

The second ship kept firing at the warship while maneuvering away from the beam.
 

Kaylan opened all of the comms channels and patched the others in so they could listen. “Zack, if you’re out there, please respond,” she said.

Garbled static was the only sound. Kaylan kept repeating herself, her voice growing a little more desperate with each iteration. Kaylan gripped the table, her muscles going rigid and her head bowed. She wanted to scream. Her eyes became misty and she squeezed them shut, trying to listen for some sign that Zack was there. The Nershals were dying in the start of a rebellion against the Xiiginns, and the Boxans were ready to face death so the Humans could have this chance to rescue Zack. He had to be there. She sucked in a deep breath and forced down the ache in her chest so she could focus.

The garbled static rose in pitch for a moment, and Kaylan’s eyes snapped open. She scanned the comms channels to see which one had the signal. A channel spiked again.

*****

Zack watched as Etanu tried to restore power to their escape pod. The Nershal had put on his helmet so their oxygen would last longer. Zack glanced at the PDA wrapped around his wrist. The silver casing had cracked and he hardly dared touch it for fear it would stop working altogether.
 

The pod slowly spun, and their view changed from that of the blue-green planet with the gas giant looming nearby to that of deep space. He glanced out the canopy, squinting to get a better view.

“You need to take a look at this,” Zack said.

Etanu looked up and out of the canopy. Bright flashes blazed like a lightning storm in space. “There’s a battle being fought.”

Zack glanced back at the Nershal, wondering what he must be thinking, but Etanu looked down at the exposed guts of the slip fighter’s electrical systems.
 

“None of the primary systems respond. I don’t think I can fix this from inside,” Etanu said.

“And you can’t get outside because of me,” Zack finished.

 
They were silent for a few moments, and Etanu wouldn’t look at him.

“Faint comms signal detected,” the AI said from Zack’s PDA.

“Is it the Athena?” Zack asked.

“Unable to confirm at this distance, but it is highly probable,” the AI said.

Zack took control of the comms system. “Athena, this is Zack. Please respond.”

He closed his eyes and focused all his attention on the static. With no power to their escape pod, his PDA with its measly capabilities was their only lifeline. The static pulsed, and Zack opened his eyes.

“Athena, if that’s you, we can hardly hear you,” Zack said.

The static in the comms signal became louder as the signal became stronger.

“Zack, this is the Athena,” Kaylan’s voice said over comms.

Zack shared a look with Etanu and cried out. Warmth filled his chest and he felt his eyes become misty. “Kaylan, I’m so glad to hear your voice. We’re in trouble. We’re in an escape pod, but it doesn’t have any power. My PDA is damaged, and I’m not sure how long it will last,” Zack said.

Zack had to repeat himself a few times because of the weak signal, but they were on their way, and his heart felt as if it would burst out of his chest when the silver-and-white hull of the Athena came into view. He couldn’t stop smiling and could hear the relief in Kaylan’s voice.

Etanu watched the Athena come closer to their position and frowned. “
That
is your ship? It doesn’t look big enough to house a Cherubian drive.”

“I don’t know what that is,” Zack said.

Etanu glanced at him. “Never mind. We still need to get you aboard your ship.”

Zack nodded. “Athena, I don’t think the escape pod is going to fit in the airlock. Any ideas on how we can get aboard?” He explained that he didn’t have a spacesuit and warned them about the slip fighters in the area.

The flashing from the space battle stopped, drawing their attention. Kaylan told them about the Nershal battle cruisers engaged with the Xiiginn warship.

“Can your ships beat the warship?” Zack asked.

Etanu swallowed and shook his head. “It would take more than two of them.”

Zack felt his stomach drop. The Xiiginns were likely on their way here right now. He opened a comms channel to the Athena. “We don’t have much time, do we?”

He heard the sound of hushed voices for a moment. “No, we don’t,” Kaylan said.

Etanu gestured toward Zack’s PDA, and he nodded his permission for the Nershal to speak. “Athena, can you position your craft so we’re as close to the airlock as possible?”

“What good will that do?” Zack asked.

“The closer we are, the better the chance we can jump from the pod to the airlock,” Etanu said.

“Are you insane? If we open that canopy, I’m dead!” Zack said.

“We’ll be dead if we don’t,” Etanu said.

“The Athena isn’t designed to maneuver that way,” Zack said.

“He’s right, Etanu. We can’t move the Athena like that, but we can move the pod to our airlock,” Kaylan said. “Katie?”

“Already on my way,” Katie said.

“You guys seem to be forgetting that I don’t have a helmet,” Zack said.

“Calm down,” Etanu said. “You will not die instantly. The battle-mesh will protect your body. If we’re quick, you will survive.”

The Beagle 4S swooped into view. It was a small, one-man spacecraft developed for satellite salvage and repair. Zack took in the sight of the white hull and tried to slow his racing pulse. The Beagle leveled off, and he had a clear view of Katie Garcia in the cockpit. She smiled at him.

“Hey, you. We’ll get you aboard in a minute,” Katie said.

Zack’s breathing became shallow. With the Athena being so close and Katie right outside, he wasn’t sure if he could keep it together.

“Zack,” Katie said. “Look at me.”

He looked at her.

“You’re going to be fine. You can do this. Etanu is right. You won’t die from brief exposure to space,” Katie said.

Zack swallowed hard and took a deep breath. “How much time do I have?”

“Not more than fifteen seconds,” Katie said.

Zack’s mind worked through the calculations, taking into consideration the distance they needed to be from the airlock. There was hardly any room for error.

“Understood,” Zack said.

“Athena,” Katie said. “Confirmed, the pod will not fit in the airlock.”

“Acknowledged,” Kaylan said. “Get them as close as you can. Hicks and Brenda will be ready to receive you.”

The Beagle 4S rose, disappearing from view, and a few moments later Zack heard something latch onto the back of the pod. He knew there were three robotic arms that extended from beneath the pilot’s seat, and he waited for the other two to latch on.

“I’ve got them,” Katie said. “Nice and easy now.”

Zack tried to glance behind them but couldn’t see anything. The escape pod was slowly being pushed toward the Athena. Etanu reached to the side of his seat and pulled out a container. He opened it and took out some dark green fabric that was rolled together.

“What’s that for?” Zack asked.

“They’re healing packs. The microfiber will offer you some protection from the vacuum of space. I need you to wrap it around your head, and be sure to cover your eyes,” Etanu said.

Zack took the fabric. It felt spongy and dense. He vaguely remembered from his astronaut training that minimizing exposure to the vacuum of space could mean the difference between life and death. He wrapped the squishy fabric around his neck, working his way up. It felt cool against his skin, and he felt all his little cuts and scrapes tingle. The tension melted away from his forehead and neck, and Zack wondered if the healing packs had some type of painkilling effect. He didn’t cover his eyes yet, wanting to keep his sight until the last possible second. He had just enough fabric to circle it around his head twice more, and he imagined he looked like some type of green mummy. Zack looked over at Etanu.

“Good,” Etanu said. “Here, put on your gloves.”

Zack heard the sounds of his own breathing, and he tried to keep it slow and steady. The others were waiting for him. He knew that if there were any other way to safely get him aboard, Kaylan would have insisted. He trusted them.

“I’m ready,” Zack said.

“Not long now,” Katie said.

The Beagle 4S guided the pod toward the airlock near the top of the ship, and Zack recalled that this was nearest to the med bay. The pod was guided above the ship, and Katie brought them to a halt at an angle. Once the canopy opened, they would have a clear shot to the airlock. Hicks waved to them from inside the airlock, and the door opened.

Zack glanced beyond the ship, and his heart was in his throat. “Watch out!” Zack shouted in a half-startled cry.

Barreling toward their ship was the biggest ship he’d ever seen. Black scorch marks were peppered across the massive gray hull. The Xiiginn warship was like the leviathan of the skies—a behemoth, with angular planes and gun turrets strewn throughout the hull.

Etanu reached over and shook him. “Cover your eyes. When I tell you to exhale, you must expend all the breath in your body.”

Zack nodded and wrapped the fabric around his eyes, closing off his view of the warship.

“Katie, get out of here,” Zack said.

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll just make sure you get to the ship. Etanu, let me know when you open the canopy. I’ll use the thrusters to hold the pod in place. The little bit of atmosphere in the pod should give you a boost,” Katie said.