The Lost Star: The Complete Series, page 46
Then the red mannequin burst into sparks. They scattered over the walls, tumbled across the floor, and sank into the leather of his boots, a terrible stench escaping into the air.
Rather than stand there and celebrate, Hunter twisted on his foot and shoved down the corridor with all the speed his body could muster.
He was determined to buy his brother some time.
…
Captain Harvey McClane
He was sitting on the edge of his seat. It was dangerous. With one single shake, he’d fall to his knees.
But he couldn’t push back, and God knows he couldn’t push to his feet.
Hunter.
He’d heard Hunter’s voice.
Somehow the Mandalay had been transported into the Barbarian sector.
And now they were in a pitched battle with some strange class of Barbarian cruisers.
His crew worked frantically, and even though it was a hard battle, the Mandalay was up to the task.
“I’ve never seen that class of cruiser before,” Hutchins spat.
He’d given her the task of figuring out what was going on.
“There’s nothing like it in the Coalition databases. All three heavy cruisers are equipped with some frankly incredible weapons. We’re plugging away at them, but it’s harder than it should be.”
“Keep it up – we can’t lose this battle,” Harvey snapped.
He locked his gaze on the Queen. A massive mining transport, its hull was a patchwork of different metals, gun turrets and pulse cannon drives crammed into every nook and cranny.
Despite its size and power, it was no match for the Barbarian cruisers pinning it like wild wolves.
But on board was his brother, and Harvey had no intention of letting Hunter go again.
Not this time.
…
Ava
The Prince was distracted.
They finally arrived in the lost star system.
Though Ava had no access to a viewscreen, she didn’t need one.
The second they crossed into this section of space was the second her mind virtually exploded, tingles racing down her body, a heady pressure spilling from her chest and virtually locking her in place.
Her whole left arm had been injured when her final lock exploded.
It had torn through her tunic, ragged scraps flapping at her elbow as the Prince continued to tug her along through the expansive, clean, white corridors of his cruiser.
She didn’t bother to ask where Hunter was.
Not this time.
His grip around her wrist was too strong to fight.
That didn’t mean she wasn’t looking for an opportunity.
As they jogged along the smooth floor, her gaze darted from left to right, eyes scanning as she searched for anything that could give her an advantage.
The Prince had crammed the medical device into her left hand and kept his fingers locked around it as he pulled her forward.
Something happened as she held it. Not only could she feel its powerful energy streaming through her circulatory system – she felt something else, too.
It was insidious at first, but she became all too aware of it as it climbed into her mind.
Doubt.
Nerves.
A fear that truly weakened her.
… It seemed proximity to the device – especially touch – altered her mind somehow. It had a tangible effect on her mood, withdrawing her inwards, closing her down.
At first she hadn’t been able to believe that she – a powerful priestess – had been so easily fooled by the Prince’s ploy. She had sat quietly in her room for five full days until she’d started to question.
Even now as she was aware of the medical device’s effects, she couldn’t completely push past it.
She felt more and more fear sparking in her mind. She desperately wanted to pull her hand back and throw the device against the far wall.
She couldn’t.
“Nearly there,” the Prince said under his breath, voice terse as it echoed down the corridor.
In another step, they turned a corner and reached an airlock. It was massive, a huge white silver door with a mechanical lever on the front.
As the Prince reached it, he brought up his right hand and swiped it to the side.
Silently, smoothly, the door began to open.
Even before she saw a crack of what lay beyond, her stomach lurched. Terror grew through her gut so quickly, it felt like an explosion taking root.
She clutched her free right hand to her chest, pushing under her collar and driving her fingers hard against her suddenly sweaty skin.
“This is it,” the Prince said, not turning to her, his voice low as if he was speaking to himself. There was an undeniable ring of victory to it.
And as she saw him stride towards the now half-open doors, she caught his reflection in the smooth metal.
True triumph lifted his features, setting them aglow, making his luminescent eyes like pits of fire.
It was enough to distract her as the doors finally swept open.
Beyond, they revealed a planet.
Her room aboard the Prince’s cruiser did not have windows. For the past week, she’d had no real idea of where they were.
Now, as another rush of fear shot through her body, she realized they’d already reached one of the planets of the lost star system.
Yes, she did not have access to a star chart. She didn’t have access to a navigational panel. She couldn’t confirm that she was truly in this mysterious, lost star system.
And yet her body could.
As her eyes locked on the view beyond the now open door, her heart almost ripped itself in half.
If it weren’t for the Prince’s terrifyingly strong grip around her left hand, she would have fallen to her knees.
… She couldn’t… she couldn’t describe the powerful sensations that rushed and roared through her. It felt like she had swallowed the most potent storm in existence, and now it tore through every cell in her body.
It had such an effect on her that energy began to discharge from her right hand.
The Prince sliced his gaze towards her and muttered a curt, “Control yourself, or I will.”
She didn’t say a word.
She stared as he led her through the open airlock and out onto a clear white metal ramp.
They had not landed on the planet itself. Rather, they were in the atmosphere, their ship encased by darting tufts of cloud.
As she took one resounding step forward, a burst of nimbus peeled over the top of the ramp and shifted past her, cold droplets collecting over the bare skin of her arms.
As they took several more steps, they reached the end of the ramp.
The Prince did not hesitate. He took one powerful stride forward.
Before Ava could fear he was going to push her right off the edge and down into the tumultuous sky below, a light bridge formed under his feet.
The bridge formed in an instant. Crackling electric blue with an orange stripe up its center, it shot out through the sky. Its formation produced a burst of air powerful enough to push back the racing clouds, if only for a second.
Her eyes widened as she saw far off into the distance for the first time.
The crackling blue and orange light bridge sliced towards a massive metal orb-like structure in the sky to the far left, no more than a kilometer or two in the distance.
… It was huge. Round like a planet, its outside was completely smooth apart from a strip of crystal-clear blue-white light that ran horizontally around its diameter. The light did not stay in the same place but rather shifted, dancing around the orb in a distinct beat, like the thrum of someone’s heart.
As soon as her gaze locked on that orb, she gasped. The sound tore from the center of her chest. Though it came from her own voice, it felt as if it originated from some place beyond.
It was so startlingly clear. For a second, she felt as if she was connected to something beyond herself.
The Prince let out a snide laugh. “It’s your first time on your true homeworld, priestess. I would have thought you’d have a stronger reaction to this. Maybe you aren’t as powerful as I hoped,” he said quietly.
Again it didn’t seem as if he was speaking to her. He was becoming distracted more and more easily. And as he became distracted, he dropped the act.
She saw through to the cruel, hateful creature beyond. The one who obviously needed her for some indiscernible purpose.
As she tugged her head back and locked her startled gaze on the orb once more, she realized the purpose lay within.
The Prince wasted no time. He dragged her across that light bridge, through the cloud, and towards the orb in the distance.
2
Lieutenant Hunter McClane
Hell. This ship was hell. He lost track of all time as he fought off the mannequins.
They didn’t stop. They kept surging towards him, rushing through every wall, spurting through the floor, pushing down the corridors. They were like a violent storm that had formed in the ship.
The Queen kept jolting from side-to-side, as presumably outside the battle still raged.
All he had was hope that the Mandalay was out there, fighting.
“Come on, Harv, come on,” Hunter spat as he spun around yet another corridor and saw yet another mannequin lurch towards him.
The Queen couldn’t take too much more. Hunter kept coming across sections that had been blocked off by structural shields, the hull plating beyond gouged out like chunks of skin ripped off by rabid wolves. He could see atmosphere venting into space as chunks of metal and neural circuitry snapped off and emptied out into the void.
He thought every second would be his last, but somehow he held on, and so did the Queen.
He twisted around yet another corridor, this time to see Nylex.
He was standing just outside of the now broken doors into main engineering.
The massive metal blast doors were nothing more than torn scraps of metal sheeting that covered the floor.
Half of the armor had been torn from Nylex’s back and side, blue-green blood splattering it as it lay by his feet.
But the massive Hagovan still stood, yellow eyes wide, face pressed in anger as a truly powerful roar ripped from his throat and powered down the corridor, shaking the walls and floor.
One of those massive red mannequins surged forward, wrapped its arms around Nylex, and grappled with him.
Despite the fact Hunter knew that even the briefest touch from one of those red hands could burn, Nylex didn’t fall.
He kept roaring, locking his arms further and further around the mannequin’s body, sparks crackling off and jumping over the floor, sizzling to a stop in Nylex’s own blood.
Just as Hunter ran forward, he saw another one of those red mannequins pull itself out of the wall behind Nylex. Silently, it produced two red swords and sliced towards Nylex’s head.
Hunter had half a second to react.
He pitched backward and threw his electro sword at the mannequin.
Despite the fact the Queen took that exact moment to lurch powerfully, his aim was true. The electro blade swung through the air with an eerie whistle and slammed right into the center of the red mannequin’s head.
There was a second. Then it exploded in sparks.
The explosion was so powerful that it affected the other red mannequin, pushing it back and giving Nylex time to round his massive shoulder and slam it into the mannequin’s gut.
Another bloodcurdling, spine-shaking roar tore from Nylex’s lips. Then he rounded a hand into a fist and punched the mannequin right in the face.
It was pushed back, limbs jolting from the force of the move.
Hunter threw himself forward, skidded to his knees, and rolled past Nylex. He punched to his feet, grabbed his electro blade up, and spun around just as Nylex locked a hand around the mannequin’s throat and shoved him towards Hunter.
Hunter didn’t need to be invited twice.
He thrust forward and slashed at the mannequin’s legs, one after the other.
There were two mini explosions, sparks spurting out and burning Hunter’s fingers and hands. He just gritted his teeth and bellowed through the pain as he jolted forward, locked both hands on the hilt of the electro sword, and sliced it right through the mannequin’s middle.
Once again, as with all the other red mannequins, there was just a split second where it made eye contact with him. And in that split-second, Hunter saw something that shouldn’t be there. It felt as if time and space stretched and a window opened to the beyond.
It felt as if he saw something he shouldn’t. As if he glimpsed something that simply couldn’t exist in this reality. A force so alien, so powerful it simply wasn’t compatible with life.
But in another second, the red mannequin exploded into sparks, and any glimpse of the beyond died with it.
Hunter jolted back and shook his head. Then he locked his attention on Nylex.
Nylex brought one of his massive shaking hands up and secured it over his badly injured right shoulder. He locked his attention on Hunter and grinned. “Got here just in time.”
“You’d have been alright on your own.”
“If by alright, you mean dead… I concur.”
“How many more have we got? How’s engineering?” Hunter asked.
“There are no more in engineering. I think we’ve dented their numbers.”
Hunter let out a silent prayer that Nylex was right. But while he allowed himself to indulge in faith every now and then, he was also a practical man. He twisted around and pushed through the broken engineering doors. Instantly he had to bring a hand up and half lock it over his eyes as a thick acrid cloud of gas swept up to meet him.
“The cooling vents are broken. Don’t worry, though – this gas is only mildly corrosive and will take at least five minutes of exposure to kill you.”
Sure, that was nothing to worry about.
Hunter kept his hand half locked over his eyes and tried to draw in only as much air as he needed to live.
He threw himself at the closest communications panel and used it to access the ship’s internal sensors.
“You’re right,” he breathed through a sigh of relief, then promptly choked on the acrid gas. Wiping a hand over the spittle that had formed at the corner of his lips, he nonetheless nodded in victory. “There are no more mannequins left on board.”
Nylex said something in his own language, but from the exact tone, Hunter realized it was likely an expletive – a relieved one.
Before Hunter could choke and die, seconds after ridding the ship of the last mannequin, he locked a hand firmly over his mouth and rushed out into the corridor beyond the engineering bay.
He didn’t stop. He was far enough away that the acrid smoke could no longer burn his lungs.
Then he allowed himself to virtually buckle over as he locked a sweaty, burned, bloodied, bruised hand on the wall.
He sucked in relieved breath after relieved breath. But although he could be proud of this victory, he hadn’t forgotten the Queen was still involved in a pitched space battle. Though she hadn’t lurched from any new volleys recently, that didn’t mean they’d won.
There was only one way to find out.
He pushed to his feet, just as Nylex walked up behind him. “Do what you can do in engineering. I’m going to go see Ross and figure out just what’s going on.”
Nylex nodded low. Then he made direct eye contact with Hunter. “You saved my life, human. I won’t forget that.”
Though Hunter wanted to rush to the secondary bridge, he knew enough about Hagovans not to ignore this moment. They were often brutal, but they could be the most loyal friend you would ever make. So Hunter nodded low and returned Nylex’s direct gaze. “You are welcome.”
With that, Nylex broke off, turned, and jogged back to engineering, every step shaking the floor as if a succession of anvils had been dropped on it.
Hunter sucked in one more calming breath as he pushed forward. He did not stop sprinting until he reached the secondary bridge.
It opened just as he reached it, Captain Ross likely watching the corridor through the camera feed and realizing he wasn’t a mannequin.
As soon as Hunter rushed in, he realized it was over.
He realized it was over because Ross was not standing alone on the bridge.
One Captain Harvey McClane was standing with him.
Harvey looked up and locked his eyes on Hunter.
Neither of the brothers said a word as they pushed forward and hugged.
It was brief, and Harvey quickly took a step back, surveying his brother in disbelief.
Hunter began laughing, almost uncontrollably. “I can’t believe you got here in time. And how did you get here? How did you find me?”
“It’s a long story, brother. First things first, are we still in danger?”
Hunter looked at Ross, and Ross looked at Harvey. “You bet you’re still in danger. The galaxy’s on the line.”
With that resounding statement hanging in the air, Harvey coughed.
This battle may be over, but the war was yet to begin.
3
Ava
She had to get rid of this medical device. She had to find some way to destroy it before it tore through her mind completely.
Now she’d noticed its effect on her mood, she couldn’t ignore its insidious control.
With every step, her heart pounded harder, and her thoughts filled with fear. And as her thoughts were overcome with fright, her reasoning mind began to shut down.
No wonder the Prince had always insisted she keep this device close to her – it was the perfect tool to manipulate somebody, to keep them weak.
But Ava was not weak.
A point she was determined to prove.
She clenched her teeth as he pulled her forward, their footsteps heavy against the bridge of light.
They were coming upon the orb. It was less than 200 meters away now.
The clouds did not move freely around the structure. Perhaps it had some electrifying effect on the air around it because the sky was clear for a circumference of 500 meters or more.
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