Balance (The Neumarian Chronicles) (3 page)

The ship
pitched then another explosion jolted us, sending the craft into a spiral. I checked the fracture along the back wall and choked at the sight. The narrow, half-meter crack had now spread to three meters. The mist no longer seeped in, it flooded in.

Holding my breath, I lunged for the far wall and hooke
d my arm around the handrail then concentrated on mending the bulkhead without melting the entire ship. I’d gained a lot of control, but with my emotions running so high, I was worried. Swallowing hard, I settled myself. Connecting with the metal, I heated it and pushed energy into the gnarled pieces of steel and bronze. Like a blowtorch, I fused the metals together, sealing the gap.

Father righted himself and crawled back into his chair. A large gash covered his right temple. “Report,” he yelled.

Gradually, those who were conscious inched and slid to their stations.

“Reports of blue mist throughout the engine room and crew quarters. All corridors are sealed. Multiple casualties reported, sir.”

“Send medics to the bridge,” Father ordered.

I managed to get to my feet.

You saved us. Both you and Raeth.

T
he pride in his voice warmed my heart. His affection no longer felt forced and stilted. We had come a long way in such a short time.

I winked.
I think that gash rattled your brain, sir
.

I shuffled back to my station. Fallon lifted Lieutenant S
cott and her head rolled into an awkward position, neck broken. I fought to keep my emotions in check. At least it was quick. Fallon brushed past, his battle expression shielding his real feelings.

Several others assisted the wounded and moved the dead.

I stared at the screen. More fighters were heading our way.
How can we win when these fighters willingly die to stop us
?

My father swiped blood from his brow.
Once it was an ancient and honorable practice. Now, if they don’t die in battle as ordered, their families are tortured then publicly executed.

That’s barbaric.

Yes, but effective
.

I forced my gaze away from the death surrounding us and pressed my face to the viewfinder, but only saw blackness. “Telescopic capabilities are out.”

“Our main torpedo bay is inoperable,” a voice said over the com.

“Sick bay’s beyond capacity
. Send wounded to the mess hall,” another voice said over the speaker.

The lift doors opened. Two people—covered in blood, sweat and dirt—dragged a body each onto the lift, blocked it open and hauled in two more.

The com officer tapped his ear. “Sir, Lieutenant Briggs and Corporal Ryder Arteres have been recovered.”

Raeth beamed a smile my way
, but our joy was short-lived. One glance at the monitor showed me the situation below hadn’t improved.

If we
didn’t do something fast, the emperor would take us down, all of us. The
Freedom
, Captain Paulson’s ship, and all of the remaining buildings in the city. And Ryder’s rescue would be for nothing.

Chapter Three

Through the smoky haze, I saw the
Freedom
crash land into the channel below. With a skip, it settled into the waves, with Captain Paulson’s ship providing coverage, shooting down and ramming small fighters on a collision course with the downed
Freedom
.

“We won’t survive much longer,” I muttered.

“C-can’t use powers with mist,” Raeth warned, seeming to know I’d tried twice to melt the emperor’s ship.

She was right, the remaining blue mist stood as an impenetrable shield.

Penton walked past me, the now, infamous look of a major idea churning in that exceptional mind of his spread across his face. His thin torso, and gangly limbs had no doubt protected him from the queen’s draft. Thankfully, as she’d trolled through the environs of poor humans in search for troops and those to join her maniacal scientists, his appearance had masked his brilliance and he was overlooked. Had his deep and hidden belief in the Triune saved him…and us? Without him, we would have died several times over in the last seven months.

Gripping the special sidearm he’d constructed for me, I had a gut feeling Penton
would once again save us all from this hellish and losing battle with one of his ideas. But knowing Penton hated being the center of attention, and not wanting to send him running from the bridge, I sent a message to my father through his open channel.

Ask Penton to share his thoughts. He’s got an idea. I see a Penton Special on the horizon. Trust me, he can save us all.

I heard his gun misfired.

Mart sabotaged that weapon
,
I shared.

Why?

Long story. Now isn’t the time.

Good point.
“Corporal Nezan,” Father called without facing the scared young man.

His eyes darted to mine and
I averted my gaze. Busted.

He straightened to attention. The cuffs of his pants rose high enough to show his mismatched socks. Poor Penton
. They probably didn’t have anything in his size back at the Arc. Heck, he was the boy with no last name. Nezan, Neumarian for unknown, had been given to him for military purposes. I’d been so caught up in my own mess that I never thought to check on him.

“Yes, sir,”
Penton said nervously.

“I hear you are a weapons expert.”

“I’m not—”

“Are you saying my intel is faulty
, son?”

“No, sir. I just meant—”

“This battle is going south quick. We need your expertise,” my father urged him.

“G-got any P-penton Specials for large
aerial battles?” Raeth smiled with pride, nudging him to accept his brilliance.

“I’
ve been working on something, but it’s only experimental,” Penton warned.

Harrison paused, still facing the front, his hands on his hips.

Trust him
, I spoke through my thoughts to my father.

“I believe it’s time for us to take a chance.”

Penton fidgeted with his belt, hiking up the holster hanging too low on his hips. “There’s one problem.”

“What?”

Penton let go of his belt, letting it sag, and faced my father. “All our ships must land, or be a minimum of several hundred meters away from the battle.”

“That would leave the council unprotected.”

“Yes.” Penton stated, without further explanation.

“How long will i
t take to deploy your weapon?” my father asked.

“Only a matter of minutes for it to power up, but I have to be on the ground to deploy it.”

“Wh-what?” Raeth nearly fell out of her chair.

“It’s the only way, and I’m the only one with the knowledge to set off the weapon.” Penton argued.

“Will it harm you?” I asked, ignoring the hustling of battle all around us. My concern rested on my best friend’s fear-coated gaze locked on the man she loved so dearly.

“No. It won’t harm people, only machines. I’ve not yet figured out how to launch it from a moving ship without setting it off and causing the craft to fall out of the sky itself.”

“You c-can instruct someone from the com,” Raeth offered.

Harrison turned to the com operator who shook his head. “Not a good idea. Communication with the ground is spotty at best.”

“You c-can speak with your m-mind,” Raeth tried again, her eyes pleading with my father.

“No. I’m unable to penetrate the
remaining mist lingering on the ground. If the emperor sets off any more of those blue mist bombs, we’re in trouble. We can’t send a Neumarian down. It has to be a human, a human that knows how to operate the weapon.” He maintained the posture of General Bellator, but spoke in my father’s softer voice. Raeth had worked her charm on him at some point, for him to take the time to elaborate on his orders.

Raeth rocked
then turned to her station. “Remember, you have to p-put me back t-together.”

Penton’s shoulders slumped and he moved to Raeth’s side. “Nothing will happen to me. I have you to come back to, and that’s all the armor I need.” He stepped back and nodded. “I
’ll prepare the device and go to the docking bay.”

“You’ll need a p-pilot.” Raeth hopped up on her one leg.

“No, Corporal Arteres. I can’t risk you with the mist. Ask Pilot Windslow to make the jump to the surface with you. He’s one of our best human pilots.”

Penton nodded, turned on
his heel with a dramatic about-face, and marched to the lift, taking Raeth’s heart with him.

I wanted to comfort my friend, but we all had a job to do.
Putting aside thoughts of Ryder, trusting the council to keep him safe, I kept watch for more suicide fighters. One of the pilots manning the controls sopped the blood away from his eye with a rag and took reports from the navigator at his side, who operated her controls with one arm, her other hanging limp at her side.

Open a channel between Raeth and I. S
B-06 can’t take much more damage. I’ll call out the craft she’ll compensate with coarse alterations.
I
requested of my father.

His
father’s gaze traveled over me, before he returned to the captain’s chair.
It’s about time. You back with us now?

Yes, I get it. Emotions buried like a good soldier
, time to fight and save your ass.

His shoulders and back
shook twice, but I heard his chuckle in my mind.
Watch the language, young lady.

Really?

I had to say it once since I never had a chance to when you were young.

Point taken. Let’s get out of this mess
first then you can try to parent me all you want.

My father pressed buttons on the side console of his chair.
Sounds like a plan.

The banter didn’t feel forced like our
usual conversations. Perhaps that was a step in the right direction.

Raeth, can you pilot?
I wasn’t giving her a choice really. I knew she needed something to focus on, besides Penton’s dangerous situation.

Yes. Let’s clear the sky.

Just what I was thinking. The less fighter pilots the more chance Penton has to succeed and stay safe.

We’re ready,
I
announced to my father, disregarding the fact he’d already heard our conversation.

Harrison leaned forward in his chair
. “Ensign Maloy and Barkok report to the mess hall for treatment.”

“Sir, with respect
, we’ll remain at our post. You need us,” the shorter man, Ensign Maloy replied.

“I have it covered. Go.”

The two at the center console glanced at each other then rose, Ensign Maloy wavering. Barkok steadied him then helped him to the lift. Raeth already controlled the ship from the terminal.

“Sir, instruct our own fighters to remain away from our ship
,” I said. “If one needs to board, give me warning. I’m taking down anything metal in the sky close enough that the mist won’t interfere.”

“Understood. Give the order.” Harrison told the com operator.

I sat back and connected with my gift, no longer scared of the power within me. Even if I melted a few things on our own ship, it would be minimal damage compared to what those fighters did.

At first, I couldn’t connect. The mist’s interference kept me limited. The heat within that small corner of my body where my gift bubbled
finally zapped to my fingertips, out my body and clipped a plane.

Raeth, port side.
My voice sounded shrill in my own head. Calming my speech to a moderate tone, I said,
I can’t give exact coordinates with this static in my head.

Just tell
me which s-side. We’ll do our best.

Another plane broke through the mist and I shot a boulder of fire at it, disintegrating it into dust seconds before it rammed our stern.

“She’s amazing, she’s definitely a Bellator,” I heard Fallon say from behind me. He’d returned from helping them carry bodies from the bridge to the mess hall, but I didn’t respond, remaining focused on the world outside our craft.

“Corporal Bellator
, straight ahead,” Fallon said. “A clear spot through the mist. There. You see the emperor’s docking bay? Those fighters have one purpose, launch and ram. They have limited maneuverability and fuel, forcing them to return to the ship if they miss the target and make another run. Can you disable it?” Fallon asked.

As if my gift split in
two, my right hand targeted a fighter at our starboard side while my left concentrated on the emperor’s docking bay.

My fingers drew power from the edge of the console, melting the metal and drawing more power. I pinpointed the spot that would cause the most damage to the Emperor’s ship and shot fire to
the bay door. My power weakened. Split between two areas, there wasn’t enough energy intake to compensate for the output.

With a glance at the viewfinder, useless since
one of the fighters rammed the cameras, I grabbed hold with both hands and drained it to slag. Ignoring the fighters outside, I shot the energy straight to the docking bay. An eruption of smoke, orange and blue flame filled the entire side of the ship.

The energy
had been so powerful it shot me backwards, knocking Fallon to the ground. He recovered and propped me back into my seat. The ship banked a hard right and rose.

“Pilot Windslow requests disembarkation.”

“Granted.” Harrison replied.

Raeth swung the
SB-06
around and lit the sky with gunfire before she steadied and swooped down closer to the ground. Still connected, I felt the small craft leave our ship, as if a piece of my hair was yanked from my scalp.

Two fighters gave chase, ducking in and out of the mist
, too close for a precision zap without risking Penton’s ship. I held my breath, willing him to land safely. Once he did, I’d blast those metallic beasts from the sky.