Transmission Lost (47 page)

Seirin-143 opened its mandibles slowly, and then clacked them together once.
~Very well,~
it said, in just as monotone a voice as ever.
~If that is what you wish, you are our hosts, after all. We wish you luck in the hunt. If there is anything we can do, please let us know.~

-I will. In the meantime...-

-Admiral Me'lia!- the facilities chief said suddenly. Everyone looked to him, and they saw that he was staring at his tablet. The Ailian's ears were pricked forward, his eyes locked intently on the screen. -Forgive my interruption, but the sensors in one of the hangar bays just went crazy!-

Admiral Kris leaned forward, her tail twitching as she stared at the male officer. -Probably a malfunction. The major doubled the guards on the entrances. As skilled as Lieutenant Me'lia is, I doubt she could take a double guard unit on her own.-

The security lieutenant shook his head. -It's not from the entry doors, m'lady. I'm talking about the security sensors in the air duct system of the bay. They're much more sensitive than the air duct sensors in the rest of the base, to detect leaks from the ships. The sensors in Auxiliary Bay Four just registered an obstruction.-

Ara'lana smacked a hand down on the table. -It has to be her! That's why our search teams haven't found her. She's been moving through the air ducts.- She looked to her chief of hangar security. -What's in Auxiliary Bay Four right now?-

The major shrugged. -Nothing of serious consequence. The Pteryd ship is being housed there, but I doubt Lieutenant Me'lia would be able to pilot it. Everything else in there is in various states of disassembly, for maintenance. Those that are not are short-haul transports and fighters, nothing capable of leaving the system on their own. There's nothing in there she could...- Suddenly, the major's eyes widened and her ears laid back flat against her feline head.

-What is it, Major?- Admiral Kris barked at her.

-The
Kre'la'ris
,- the hangar chief said. -One of our fast-attack patrol ships. It was in the bay for an overhaul of its main engines. I received notification this morning that the work had been completed, and they were going to transfer it back to the fleet before the escape drew personnel to other duties. That ship is fully armed and ready to fly.-

Ara'lana stood up quickly, jabbing a finger in the facilities chief's face. -Lieutenant, take a special response team down there right away. We know that she's armed and she has special forces training. I don't want any chances to be taken.- The lieutenant nodded and got up from his seat, rushing out of the room.

******

As quietly as Aria could manage, she kicked one side of the air vent cover below her down and out. Luckily, the panel didn't detach all the way, and just swung away from the ceiling by one edge. Hanging out of the open vent by her claws for a moment, she then dropped down to the floor, landing lightly on all fours. Her tail hanging loosely to the floor, Aria peered around at her surroundings. She was in a hangar bay, and she'd landed behind a ship that was recognizable to her as an Ascendancy light-load transport, despite its bloody red paint scheme. A two-person ship normally used for carrying small loads of supplies between larger vessels in a fleet formation, the transport's engines were currently in pieces on the hangar floor.

Still, she had been fortunate to find her way to a hangar at all. Though the ships she could see from her position seemed to be disabled for maintenance, she might be able to find one which was in good enough shape to fly. Drawing the heavy pistol she had liberated from Major Tal'in, Aria crept around the edge of the ship. The hangar appeared to be lightly occupied, if at all. She supposed that they were more concerned right now with guarding the entrances, and that most of the personnel who might otherwise have been inside were searching for her elsewhere. Aria focused her own attention on searching for a ship she could pilot.

After a few minutes of searching, Aria was starting to despair. The only ship she had found in the hangar that looked as though it would be flyable was an unusual vessel, recognizable to her only from pictures she had seen during her military training: a Pteryd light corvette. Composed of curved surfaces and bulbous compartments, the ship was decidedly out of place among the angular, aerodynamic forms of the Ailian vessels. Aria immediately discounted it as an option. Though the ship was a perfectly fine one as far as its integrity, she had no idea how to pilot a ship of Pteryd design.

Then, just when she was about ready to give up and crawl back into the air duct system, Aria hit the jackpot. Threading her way in between the scattered parts of two fighter craft, she found herself looking at a ship that made a wave of nostalgia wash over her body. Majestic and intimidating in its jagged, predatory design, the ship before her was one of the hundreds of fast-attack patrol craft that could be found in the fleets of the Ascendancy. Walking up to it, Aria laid her furred hand on the smooth external armor. Though painted red like the rest of her mother's vessels, the ship was identical to the
Cha'la'fa
, the patrol ship that she had been piloting when she'd first met Jack.

-Looks pristine...,- Aria said to herself. She walked around the ship, examining it closely. The vessel seemed to be in working order, with no panels out of place or pieces missing. Coming to the entry hatch, she placed her palm on the sensor meant to open the door. Nothing happened. -Well, that was expected.-

Rolling her eyes, Aria pried a claw into a small recessed panel near the entry hatch and pulled it away. She got to work fiddling with the wiring behind the panel, seeing what she could do with it. After  so long piloting this class of ship, she had a keen understanding of the wiring inside of it. Concentrating as she was, she almost dismissed a quiet sound behind her out of hand, but then she paused.

-What was that?-
she thought, turning her head. Looking over her shoulder, all Aria could see was the clutter of ships awaiting repair. Her pointed feline ears pricked up, listening for the sound again. She could have sworn that she had heard it, like something skittering along the floor. But whatever the sound had been, it did not repeat itself.
-I need to get this ship up and running quick.-
The Ailian turned back to the door controls, continuing her work with the under-panel wiring.

The sound returned, louder this time, just as she was putting on the finishing touches, and Aria whipped around. Before she could even register the object swinging in her direction, she was struck squarely in the face by something that felt as hard as steel. The blow threw her against the side of the patrol ship, and the back of her head smacked against the armor with enough force to make her vision go black for a split second.

Her eyes cleared just as she felt cold, strong fingers wrapping around her neck. What she saw sent a shock of terror through her body. The Pteryd that had her by the throat was much different from the representative, Seirin-143. This one had designs scrawled on its carapace in black dye, and its razor-sharp mandibles were blackened as well. Aria had only heard stories from older soldiers who had fought in the border conflicts, but even so she knew that she was facing a Pteryd warrior. One that looked like it wasn't too interested in taking her back to her cell.

-Let...me...go!- Aria managed to choke out, swinging one arm down to reach for the pistol she'd stowed in her belt. The Pteryd was too quick, swinging up one of its middle legs to pin her arm to her side. Quickly running out of air and desperate, Aria kicked out with her own leg, swinging for the soft underbelly of the insectoid alien. Her foot connected, and the Pteryd gave a sharp buzzing squawk from its mouth. Its grip loosened slightly on her neck, giving Aria the chance to draw a deep breath.

Bringing up her free arm, the Ailian grabbed the back of the Pteryd's head. Snarling, she bared her fangs and headbutted the creature mercilessly. The impact set her ears ringing, but more importantly she heard a sharp crackling sound and another squawk of pain. The pain she felt in her own head set her blood boiling, and she smashed her skull into the Pteryd's a second time. This time the insect let her go, stumbling backwards and buzzing angrily.

~You'll regret that, Ailian,~
the Pteryd said. Its monotone psychic voice sounded strained. Aria saw that her headbutts had cracked the shell on its head. Black blood was streaming from the spiderwebbed cracks, dripping down its face. As Aria watched, the Pteryd clacked its mandibles menacingly, taking a shaky step back towards her.

-I've regretted a few things in my life, but this will not be one of them,- Aria said in a low, dangerous growl. She drew the heavy pistol from her belt, leveling it at the Pteryd. -You would have done well to bring something more to this fight.-

~My death will be of no consequence,~
the Pteryd said. Aria found its voice to be maddening with the lack of emotion it betrayed.
~We are legion. And you will never make it away from this base. It is too well secured, Ailian.~

-Noted.- Aria fired once, the sound of the shot from the heavy pistol echoing around the hangar as the round transited the Pteryd's head. She watched the insectoid wobble once on its feet, then crumple to the floor, one of its legs twitching jerkily in its final death throes.

Aria brought a hand to her aching throat, feeling where the creature had choked her. She was fired up enough to feel the disappointment of not having been able to test the enemy more fully in combat, but she was in a hurry. Tucking the pistol away again, she turned back to the panel. Connecting the final wire, she replaced the access panel and then hit the door switch. The entryway slid open, and Aria rushed inside the ship, sealing the hatch behind her and re-scrambling the lock. If anyone tried to come into the ship, they would have to take at least as long as Aria had needed to get inside.

Rushing up to the cockpit of the patrol ship, Aria sat in the pilot's chair. -Alright, let's see here...,- she muttered. The controls were identical to her old ship, and her hands knew what to do by muscle memory. With a few flicks, she felt the familiar hum and vibration of the ships engines starting up, and the heads-up display initialized on the front viewport. Keeping an eye on the readouts, Aria waited for the ship to power up fully.

Before Aria was ready for take-off, she heard the comm system chirp. She ignored it, continuing to wait for the patrol ship to come to full power. As the power levels climbed, the Ailian flipped the proper switches to power up the shields, navigation computer, weapons, and hyperspace engines. All the while, the comm system kept chirping incessantly. Finally, Aria reached over and pressed the switch to answer the call.

-Go ahead, whoever you are,- she said. Aria wrapped her hands around the controls, flexing them and hearing the subtle changes in pitch as the maneuvering thrusters fired off. They seemed to be in working order.

-You know who it is, Aria,- growled the voice of Ara'lana. -Power down that ship and walk out, unarmed. You have no hope of escaping. Even if you manage to get airborne, my fleet and that of my human allies is above the planet. You'll be destroyed before you can get a kilometer outside of the atmosphere.- There was a brief pause, and then Ara'lana continued to speak. -My people have the ship surrounded, and they'll override the door lock before long. If you surrender before they have to come get you, I'll let you live.-

Aria actually allowed a laugh to escape her muzzle. -I am far past believing anything you say.- She goosed the engines, hearing a low roar rumble through the ship. -You might want to have your people get away from me, now, unless they'd like to hitch a ride on the hull through vacuum.- She switched off the communication system before Ara'lana could respond. Moments later she heard a smattering of thuds against the outside of the ship as whoever was outside in the hangar opened fire with small arms. Aria smirked at their futility, knowing that even the heaviest of Ailian infantry weapons could do little to the armor of the ship.

Pulling up on the controls, Aria lifted off from the hangar floor. She spun the ship around to face the hangar doors. They were closed, of course, and Aria knew that she probably had no way to get them open. By the conventional method, anyway. Fortunately, she wasn't even dreaming of trying the conventional method. Calling up the patrol vessel's targeting computer, she focused the crosshairs on the doors. Selecting the proper weapons setting, Aria fired. Four low-yield missiles streaked out from their pod and connected with the doors. The explosions buffeted the ship and scattered debris across the hangar, but her shields protected her. Without allowing the smoke from the missile strikes to clear, Aria punched her accelerator and streaked forward. After a brief screech of metal on metal as she scraped the jagged hole through the hangar door, Aria was free.

What she saw outside was a completely unfamiliar landscape. Aria had been correct in some of her thoughts from before. She was
not
on Lirna, but just which planet she
was
on she had no idea. Her patrol ship was skimming over a snow-covered base, numerous buildings rising here and there. From the looks of things, the majority of the base was underground. Startled Ailians on the ground below looked up at her as she flew overhead. A few of them raised weapons and even managed to get shots off at her, but they missed hopelessly as she raised her speed and pointed her ship's nose at the sky. As her altitude increased the color of the sky darkened from light to deep blue.