Wrath of the Void Strider (31 page)

The sides of his jaw bulged.  “I can think of no flaws.  Please, proceed.”

Simiri’an regarded Gavin and Valerie.  “What say you?  Are you ready to proceed?”

“Yes,” answered Gavin, and he quietly cleared his throat.  “It’s only fair, after all.”

“Sure,” said Valerie, and her mind raced.  Leaning in close, she whispered, “Can you make a gravity bridge big enough to get us out of here?”

He raised his brow.  “I… don’t know.”

Their responses caused some confusion within the ranks of their captors.  After a moment of discussion, Simiri’an said, “The guard you killed has been stripped of his name, his history expunged from our own.  It must be replaced by something of equivalent value.  The balance demands it.”

“That much is obvious,” Gavin asserted, and he stood a bit taller as he cleared his throat.  “But my value is inherent, and I’m saddened that you discarded Thirili’on so readily.  If he was once found worthy, doesn’t that place him at an even level with me?”  He exhaled nervously.  “Am I increasing the value of the ithiral body by simply fulfilling an equivalency?  If the answer is no, aren’t we all both worthy and unworthy?”

Onlookers discussed in a murmur at first, and it quickly escalated to a full blown din.  At last Rithiri’on raised his hand and shouted, “Silence!”  Lengthy, well-manicured horns jutted from the back of his head, and the pallid flesh of his jowls had a brittle appearance.  “It seems the expanse brings us a philosopher in initiate’s clothing.”

“It’s a good integration,” muttered another.

Rithiri’on flashed the speaker a warning glare before advancing close to Valerie.  “It’s a good integration if this is indeed a philosopher, and not a corruptor!”  He stood two heads shorter than her.  “Which is it, initiate?  The paradigm compels you to answer!”  With zealous fervor, he thrust his finger toward her ribs.

With her thumb, she pointed to Gavin.  “He speaks for us both.”

The stout ithiral spun on his heels.  Thrusting his finger in Gavin’s face, he spat, “Speak your truths, corruptor!”

Gavin leaned away from the accusing digit.  Wearing a sagacious look, he thoughtfully tapped his chin.  “No corruptor can speak in whole truths, and time alone has the authority to distinguish the corruptor from the philosopher.  For what is enlightenment, but a facet of growth?  And what is growth, if not a point in the circle?”  Apprehensively, he took in the mix of hope and rage in the sea of faces.  He started to say something more, but instead closed his mouth and bobbed his head slightly before slowly drawing a large circle in the air.

Black leather creaked, and the ithiral masses regarded Gavin expectantly.

For a drawn moment, he chewed on his lower lip.

Suddenly, Valerie leaned in and tapped a point on the circle.  The gathering erupted in quiet applause and quickly took to excited chatter.  Gavin and Valerie looked to each other with relief, though their hearts still pounded.

“It appears they are both philosophers,” Simiri’an defiantly asserted.

Defeated, Rithiri’on faded into the crowd, grumbling to himself.

A guardsman approached and lifted away his helmet, revealing a head covered in green and blue spots.  “Welcome to Battle Station
Draconian
!”  Anxiously, he extended his hand, palm down.

Gavin took his grip and shook, again prompting a round of uneasy whispers.  “It’s a fine starship.”

The soldier practically jerked his hand away.  “You challenge much today, valued philosopher,” he nervously laughed.  “Perhaps we can provide you with some objects to occupy your worthwhile contemplations?”

“What a fine idea!”

With an overly innocent smile, Valerie tapped the teleport device and said, “Perhaps a few more of these wondrous transport bands?”

·· • ··

Aboard the
Sanguine Shadow
, Zerki stood triumphantly alongside her companions.  They had stormed the bridge, leaving no ithirals alive, and Cajun now tended to Krane’s and Collins’s wounds.  Her comm light flashed urgently, and she tapped it on.  “Zerki speaking.  Go ahead.”

“Captain,” Filan huffed.  “Thank God!”

“We’re coming for you,” said Zerki.  “Hang tight!”

“No, we’re alright!  I mean, come down if you want to, but the guards are dead.  You should’ve seen D’Arro fight, Captain.”  She hooted, and the speaker cut out momentarily in mid cheer.  “It was awe-inspiring!”

“D’Arro’s
alive
?”

“He is!  You should’ve seen him, Captain.”

Grinning for a moment, Zerki reached for the ceiling and whispered, “Thank you!”  Sobering quickly, she asked, “How many did we lose?”

The sounds of excited chatter in the background carried through the comm.  Somberly, Filan reported, “They pushed three of us out the hangar.  I think maybe a dozen more got hurt in the fighting.”  She added, “Buck is in pretty bad shape.”

Zerki looked to Cajun as he sedated Collins and wrapped his head.  Gently, he set a blanket over his chest and turned his attention to Krane.  “I’ll send someone down as soon as possible.”

At that moment, Stone checked in, reporting the successful restoration of the radiation nullifier.  He immediately volunteered to triage the injured crew members.  Zerki thanked him graciously and turned the bridge over to Taryn.  She and Takeo joined Stone in the forward hold.

Racing to her side, Takeo lifted Filan off the ground and spun her around in his arms.

Zerki embraced D’Arro tightly.  “Buck needs help,” he said when they parted.  He was drenched in sweat, covered in dark blue ithiral blood.

“I know,” said Zerki, and she nodded toward the wounded, haggard man.  “Stone’s taking care of him.  Any sign of Val or Gavin?”

D’Arro shook his head.  “Filan says they were taken back to the battle station.”  His shoulders sagged.  “And I got more bad news.”

“I don’t know if I can take any more bad news.”

Wincing as he spoke, D’Arro muttered, “They took out the PLA.”

Zerki shifted her weight.  “Are you sure?  It looked fine from outside.”

D’Arro nodded.  “They harvested the lasers.  Even if we find replacements somewhere on the surface, it’ll take days to install them.  ‘Course, without Gavin, we’re dead in the water, anyway.  For all we did, we might’ve only bought ourselves a few more hours.”

“I refuse to accept that.”  She glanced outside as the hangar doors drifted closed and locked into place.  “We have surprise on our side.  Now we just need a plan.”

·· • ··

Aboard the
Draconian
, Gavin and Valerie made their way to one of the shuttle bays, ahead of a crowd that followed in their wake.  Her forearm was draped in teleport bands.  “Think you can fly one of those things?” she asked as the hangar came into view.  Beyond a vast pane of sloped glass, they saw a tarmac full of smaller starships and dozens of armed guards.

Gavin blew out through puffed cheeks.  “I hope so.”

She squeezed his arm close against her side.  “I’ll pretend you said yes.”

The crowd at their back suddenly fell silent.  Behind them, Ithiri’on roared, “
Corruptors
!  Even now, you seek to abandon us!”

Startled, Gavin and Valerie turned around.  The crowd parted hastily to allow their leader passage.  “I’ve already had this debate,” said Gavin.  “Who are you to challenge the value of a philosopher’s truth?”

“Spare me your serpent’s words,” he barked.  “I am a master of truths.  Your poison falls upon me like seeds upon the rocks, and they will never take root.”  He bared his teeth.  “Fools!  You are unique amongst the vermin of your galaxy, and I offered you initiation!”  From his belt, he drew an ornate silver gun, trimmed with tiny rails and encrusted with glittering gems.  Pointing it at the deck, he said, “But it seems even the most extraordinary of maggots can only ever be flies, in the end.  I deem you unworthy, fit only for extermination.”

Valerie looked to one of the soldiers.  “Kill him,” she whispered, but the soldier collapsed.

Ithiri’on smiled thinly.  “They hear only my voice now, corruptor.  Your influence holds no more sway, and I have issued a station-wide order to shoot both of you on sight.  There’s not a place on the
Draconian
that you can hide.”

Gavin glanced backward.  They were still so far from the shuttle hangar.  Looking at the teleport bands, he whispered, “What’s the range on one of those things?”

“Not far enough,” she breathed, and she clung tightly to his arm.

Swallowing hard, Gavin returned his attention to the
Draconian
’s leader.  “Okay, look, we’re sorry.  We just want to get back to our friends.  We didn’t mean to insult anyone.”

“Oh, you’ll see your friends very soon,” he vowed, and he raised his gun.  “You’ll be waiting for them when they join you in the
Oblivion of the Meaningless
!”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Gavin stammered, and he held up his free hand.  “Just
wait
!”

The power indicators along the side of Ithiri’on’s gun lit up.

“Gavin,” Valerie whispered, and she closed her eyes as she held him tight.

“No,” he growled.  “No, we are
leaving
!”  Staring fixedly at the space directly in front of him, he sensed the familiar gravity well of the
Sanguine Shadow
.  Closing his eyes, he wrapped a sphere of unseen force around them both, and with Valerie’s arms around him, they fell through the very fabric of space.

They crashed down within the star freighter’s bridge, and Taryn jumped.

“Gavin?” she gasped.

Valerie pushed away, her eyes wide as she watched Gavin getting to his feet.  “They’re coming,” he said, and he hurried for the jump rig.

Taryn gripped him, spinning him about on his heels.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Gavin, we can’t jump,” she breathed.  “They gutted the PLA!”

He smiled hopefully.  “We may not need it anymore.”  Hurrying to the comm, he leaned over and called for Zerki.

“Gavin, is that you?  Where are you?  Is Val with you?”

“Yes,” he answered.  “Valerie’s with me on the bridge, but I need to know where we’re going—right now.  The ithirals are on their way, and I don’t think they’re going to bother kidnapping us again.”

She cleared her throat.  “Who are the ithirals?”

“They fly the battle station.”

“Understood.”  Zerki fell silent for a drawn moment.  “Gavin, they took out our jump system.”

“I know, I know.  Taryn told me.”  He drew a steadying breath.  “Captain, I figured out how make gravity bridges.  Where are we going?”

After considering, she answered, “Set course for Ry’lyeh, Gudrun system.  Ask Jenn to call it up.  It’s a preset on every Union starship.”

“That’s the seat of the Union Star Fleet,” said Gavin.  “Our Union that gleefully threw us under a train, remember?”

“I remember,” she huffed.  “We don’t have any other options left.  That battle station wants us dead.  Lodoxol’s made sure we’ve got no ground to go to.  The Star Fleet’s our best chance.”

Gavin nodded.  “Gudrun it is.”

He relayed Zerki’s order to Jenn, and she programmed their destination into the jump rig.  He settled in, studying the telemetry data as it was displayed.  Gavin closed his eyes, sensed the gravity well cradling Ry’lyeh, and he breathed out.  The
Sanguine Shadow
fell through overlapping points in space, much to the surprise of her crew.

An instant later, she appeared in Ry’lyeh’s voidspace.

Chapter 20

The space surrounding Ry’lyeh was a measured ballet of warships in motion as Krane discussed landing options with a space traffic controller.  In the mess hall, Gavin sat with Valerie, Taryn, Takeo, Filan, Fogg and Cajun.  Beaming, Cajun said, “It just opened up, and
zff
!”  He gestured one hand swooping through the other.  “Here we are!  I’ve never experienced anything like it.  I swear it felt like we were freefalling.”

Valerie asked, “You’ve never been on a roller coaster?”

Cajun shook his head.  “No way!  Too scary.”

“Well, I saw Krane light up the directional thrusters after we got here,” said Taryn, “and we were definitely in motion before that.”

Looking to Gavin, Takeo said, “So tell us what happened.”

“I’ll do my best.”  Gavin’s expression was thoughtful.  “We were literally falling through space, from deep inside the Nerthus gravity well to the edge of this one.”  Forming an arch with his forearms, he rested his jaw in the crook of his knuckles.  “I reached out for Ry’lyeh, and in that instant, the far planet’s spacetime distortions overlapped with Nerthus.  I formed a bubble around the
Shadow
, and we just fell through.”

“But, how did you make it?” asked Takeo.

Gavin shrugged.  “I don’t know.”

“The mind is an extraordinary thing,” said Cajun.

“No kidding.”  Gavin wistfully sighed.  “Speaking of minds, you should’ve seen Valerie back there on the battle station.  She whipped out some pretty terrifying mental domination on the ithirals.”

“Is that true?” asked Taryn.

Hunching somewhat, Valerie nodded.  “It’s no big deal.”

“No big deal?” Gavin lightheartedly challenged.  “You made a guy hold out his arm and—what?”

She silenced him with a steadfast glare.  “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Filan studied her posture.  “Are you alright?”

“It’s nothing.  I did what I had to do.”  Gazing at nothing in particular, she muttered, “But I’ll admit it was surprising.  I’ve never really been able to send before, and they were all so profoundly suggestible.  Childlike and naïve in some ways, and so eager to please.”  She shuddered and shook her head.  “I’m glad we got out of there.”

“You made a bridge to escape,” said Taryn.  “That’s how you got back to the
Shadow
.”

Gavin nodded.  “That’s right, but on a much smaller scale.”

“Fascinating,” said Fogg.  “There is great power in the imagination of men.  It is something I desire to explore more fully, now that I am in possession of an imagination.”

Gavin looked into Fogg’s obsidian eyes.  “This is going to take some getting used to.  How are you doing?”