Equilibrium of Terror: Part 1 (Splintered Galaxy Book 3) Read online

  Stolanei’s blood soaked body emerged from the river. Pain radiated throughout his chest and legs from where he was shot, small psionic barriers had to be conjured over his wounds to prevent further blood loss, limiting his gifts for the time being.

  In the distance, he saw the transport he was flung out of hovering above the tram station. There were heretics aboard no doubt. Gods, what have they done with Chloe? Alive? Dead? He had no idea, which made his next action a tough one to perform. That transport had to be taken out. Whatever the heretics were planning it needed to be stopped right now. He raised his hand toward the transport, and charged their cybernetics. A purple orb of plasma grew just outside of the reach of his hands, then launched toward it.

  It smashed into it, creating a small explosion, sending it into a small uncontrolled spin. If Chloe was still alive, she better take cover.

  … … …

  ►► Courelia upper levels, transport approaching spaceport tram platform, Rasi

  ► Barnard’s Star system

  The sudden loss of control of the transport created a perfect opportunity for Chloe to regain the upper hand, especially since one of the rogue rangers lost their footing and fell outside of the opened door. She released her hand from the side handle bars and leapt for her rifle. As her hands grabbed it, the remaining ranger not in the cockpit rapidly charged toward her while the transport started to make a recovery from its tumble. She spun around on the floor quickly to create some distance between them before leaping back to her feet.

  There was no time to fully plan her next course of action. Make a choice and go with it. She pulled the trigger of her rifle the instant she managed to aim it forward. A barrage of bullets ejected and shot toward the ranger in the cockpit. His shields took the first wave of bullets, then failed after the second torrent, causing his head to explode, spraying blood and fragments of the insides of his head across the windshield and controls. The transport once again started to lose control, Chloe hung on tightly to the handle bars on the ceiling while the last ranger, in a panic, ran back toward the cockpit. With his back turned, Chloe quickly gazed outside. The transport’s tumble put them closer to the streets, close enough for her to leap to safety.

  She missed her protect suit already as her body plunged toward the surface. The low gravity slowed her descent.

  She landed, her shields absorbing most of the impact from the fall. Above her the transport slowly regained control once again, while Dargonea flew out toward the river. There was a person trying to swim back to the shore. It was Stolanei, and Dargonea hovered above him, plasma balls from her arms rained down, impacting against his psionic shields, what remained of them.

  … … …

  ►► Courelia upper levels, Spaceport tram platform, Rasi

  ► Barnard’s Star system

  Destiny tried her best to keep low behind the scared passengers after the doors were forced open. She saw Jainuzei outside with his rifle aimed forward, trying to sneak in a head shot. She wasn’t going to give him that chance. He’d have to gun down all these people if he wanted her.

  Minutes later Destiny heard people screaming louder, and it wasn’t because of her. Something else was going on outside. Someone had Jainuzei engaged in combat judging by the sounds of aggressive steps and shields buzzing as they took big hits. She looked up over the shoulder of one passenger, it was Veloshira.

  Veloshira and Jainuzei circled each other, both of them armed with plasma daggers. Veloshira lunged at him swinging hard and fast with her Hashmedai speed and reflexes. Whoever this Jainuzei person was, he was armed for every situation, including dagger fights with an assassin. His fluid moves and flawless parries suggested this isn’t his first time. But enough watching, this was the chance Destiny was waiting for. She shoved everyone aside and ran out into the fray unloading her pistols at Jainuzei, his shields flicked and rippled, they have to be getting low, plasma daggers and two ePistols, no personal shield could take that kind of punishment for that long.

  Jainuzei slowly backtracked while his large nimble hands replaced his dual daggers with a magnetic pistol in one hand and one-handed sword in the other. His sword play parried Veloshira’s relentless thrusts and slashes, while the pistol he aimed at Destiny shooting at her as she dove and rolled away from his bullets. Jainuzei’s aim wasn’t good in this state, how could he? There was too much for his brain to handle, deflecting dagger strikes, aiming a pistol, and back pedaling to keep as much distance between them, it was too much.

  Jainuzei’s body became frozen in time as he back stepped onto one of Veloshira’s cloaked stasis mines. Finishing Jainuzei off as tempting as it was, carried too many risks, namely the Javnis psionic who was still at large. Escape, that was what they really needed to focus on for now. After a brief laugh, they started to make their run back toward the spaceport a kilometer away. Looking back during their sprint, Destiny saw Jainuzei break free from the stasis net seconds later much to Veloshira’s surprise. He armed himself with his rifle once again.

  … … …

  Chloe let her rifle rip loose shooting at Dargonea once her image appeared within her targeting scanner. Dargonea’s psionic shields flicked purple as each bullet hit her, forcing her to think twice about her assault against Stolanei. She heard Dargonea scream in frustration as her shields continued to take hits from Chloe’s rifle, seconds later she teleported away. Chloe’s head scanned above with her rifle. She expected Dargonea to reappear behind her, or perhaps behind a building setting up an ambush. Zero targets found according to her rifles targeting scanner. She ran toward Stolanei as he lay on the shore, slowly breathing. Her battle instincts still hyper vigilant, still expecting some kind of sorcery from the deadly psionic still in play.

  “Can you teleport?” she asked him as she arrived.

  “I can’t,” he said. “My mind is reaching to Karklosea now, she’ll get us out.”

  … … …

  ►► Silver Raven at Courelia spaceport dock, Rasi

  ► Barnard’s Star system

  Destiny stopped shy of stepping foot into the cockpit of the Silver Raven. She was winded, gasping for air as the run she and Veloshira made had no place to stop and take a breather. Veloshira on the other hand seemed unaffected. She didn’t even seem to be out of breath. Her entire body was drenched in sweat though, but that was more because of the humid temperatures outside of the Silver Raven, Radiance loved the heat.

  “Holy shit, Destiny,” Eupiar said, realizing they had made it back alive.

  Destiny gave her a simple wave as she stood in the lounge, leaning on one of the tables. Eupiar ran toward her and offered a comforting hug, while Veloshira returned to her chair.

  “What’s up with Jazz?” Destiny asked.

  “They took him,” said Eupiar. “He’s lost somewhere underground, I could trace but…”

  Destiny looked at Veloshira. She was starting a preflight check of the ships systems. “Is she leaving?”

  “Yes,” Eupiar said, returning to her seat in the cockpit. “And I happen to agree, the whole Radiance comms network lit up, they’re going nuts looking for us and trying to figure out exactly what happened.”

  Destiny joined the others already in the cockpit, the chilly air hit her face, and for once it felt relaxing. Though she wouldn’t be able stay in there long, the dress she wore was still damp from the swim earlier. Might be a good idea to get out of the stupid outfit, she thought. “Do what you can to keep track of him,” Destiny said.

  “On a good note, this means he might be alive. If he was dead they would have left him, right?”

  The interior of the Silver Raven rumbled slightly as it took off and flew toward the spaceport entrance. It passed through its force field, keeping the atmosphere from the outside world separate from the arcology the city was built inside. In a matter of minutes the white and brightly lit interior of the habitat was swapped for the darkness of the skies of Rasi, while the faint glow of Barnard’s Star hung with the stars like a
full moon on Earth.

  No one spoke much about Jazz. She could tell by their body language that they were concerned for his safety, and worried that leaving the planet might put him at greater risk. But what other choice did they have? Destiny retreated toward Jazz’s quarters to change out of the wet dress while tiny beads of weightless water floated away from it as they entered space.

  … … …

  ►► Courelia spaceport dock, Rasi

  ► Barnard’s Star system

  “Is this your idea of victorious?” Dargonea said looking at the vacant landing spot where the Silver Raven was once parked.

  “I was careless,” said Jainuzei “I did not think Hashmedai would be out here, let alone an assassin.”

  Dargonea began to focus using her psionic mind to tap into the security cameras that were monitoring the spaceport. Footage of the last ship to depart beamed into her brain, the design the look of the ship everything about it she memorized. From there she took that image and used her ESP to scan for it in space. It couldn’t have gotten far even at sub light speeds they only left minutes ago.

  “There,” she said, still in her trance. “I sense a ship of an unknown design, not far from Rasi.”

  “Contact the Abyssal Pelican and tell them to track it at once!”

  Dargonea’s telepathy connected to one of the many psionics aboard the Abyssal Pelican. Before she could project her thoughts, another psionic from the order cut in with a message of their own. “What have you done?”

  “Carrying out our duties.”

  “The union has all their forces in the area performing a massive sweep,” the psionic said.

  “I’ll teleport us back up to the Pelican.”

  “No, they might detect you two coming aboard. Get to the lower cities and stay out of sight for a bit before someone catches on who we really are. Keep them guessing as to where you ran off to until things calm down.”

  She finished the mental exchange with her thoughts and knowledge regarding the Silver Raven and its current spot in the system. And verbally gave Jainuzei the update on the situation.

  “Let us move out then,” he said. “I guess today was officially your last day aboard the Abyssal Explorer?”

  “Being passed up for apprenticeship was the last straw for me anyways.”

  “We have many psionics aboard the Abyssal Pelican that will be more than happy to take you under their wing,” he said as her cybernetic implants began to glow. “And they are all loyal to the order.”

  A blue teleportation light flashed, and they vanished. Minutes later, two transport ships with Radiance Union rangers landed and began to conduct a search of the area for suspected heretics.

  CHAPTER 7

  ►► Eternal Eclipse region, Oyuri

  ► Barnard’s Star system

  The imposing and never moving shadow of Oyuri’s eclipse covered a remote outpost within the center of it. It was a small research station off limits to most of the explorers on the planet as a Lyonria city was long rumored to be buried somewhere close to the region. Every day, well day as far as Radiance people were concerned, multiple hovercrafts were deployed from the research station to comb the cool and sandy region for signs of the rumored lost city.

  On board each hovercraft was a team of scientists with expensive scanning equipment, and a detachment of rangers in case looters or pirates tried to take what they wanted. For the last several years however, the only thing that had been found was rocks and sand covered in a layer of frost thanks to the lack of light from the eclipse hanging over head. Now then the odd Lyonrian tool and remains of a bulkhead were discovered buried beneath the frozen sand.

  After six hours of searching without a break or meal, all hovercrafts except for one were recalled to the outpost. The one that wasn’t recalled had a special mission kept secret from the rest of the research team. A mission secretly funded by the Celestial Order.

  A small tent was pitched directly in the center of the region affected by the eternal eclipse. Life support systems were attached to the sides of the tent, while an airlock entrance provided access for the order loyal explorers. Those on the outside of the tent all wore environment suits and possessed hand held scanning tools. Several rangers with helmets and full combat armor stood watch as the hovercraft’s engines powered down.

  Three figures stepped out of the hovercraft, one of them being Scholar Ary Odelea. Her jittery fingers held onto her data pad as she was escorted away from the hovercraft toward the tent. Each and every foot print she along with the others made brought her closer to the tent, and thus amplified the anxiety in her belly. The order still didn’t trust her entirely since she agreed to help them. They considered her more of hired help rather than a devoted worshiper, she was fine with that.

  She wasn’t completely sold on Telinei’s speech back on Earth, but yet those voices that called out to her the moment she entered his lab. They told her to do things, she wouldn’t normally do, like put a bullet in Telinei’s head, her old instructor back at Veromacon University. They insisted she take that little girl away and place her in the arms of a human woman that was directly in front of the building where Telinei had his secret lab. Gods, what was that girl’s name again?

  Odelea saw the airlock’s door slide open through her helmet’s visor. She, along with the other two, removed their helmets once the all clear was given and the secondary doors swung open. Her wavy red hair was free at last to breathe and hang low on a world with somewhat normal gravity for once. Inside the tent was another group of order members, monks by the looks of it.

  A woman lay on a bed in the middle surrounded by dozens of candles that burned brightly. She had long black hair and wore an alluring black lace gown with tiny hand gloves with black stockings. Odelea was instructed to step closer to the foot of the bed. As she did in a timid manner, she looked at the woman’s face. And recognized it. Her hands slapped across her mouth as she tried to hold back the emotions. It was the girl from Earth, the one she recovered from Telinei’s lab. She was much older, but this was her. And the order has her back.

  Is this why they insisted on me coming here? She thought. Oh, gods please help me, they’ll kill me if they found out what I did.

  The woman spoke as Odelea searched her data pad for information on this human woman. Nothing came up, whatever the order was doing, it was so secret that even most of its members weren’t aware. Or maybe it was because they didn’t trust Odelea?

  The woman spoke. “Below, down below, under the sand, darkness and rubble. Under the ancient buildings, under buried knowledge, they rest. They wait for the seer to waken them, pull them into our plane of existence. Six, eight, five one, one, one, seven, plus minus seven, four, three.”

  Everyone in the tent was alerted to the sound of her voice and began writing down what was said in their data pads. The woman then rose from the bed and gleamed at Odelea with delight.

  “Odelea’s eyes look at me, but she doesn’t know that my name is Hannah, she wonders why she’s been brought here, and what the mention of my last reveal of information was.”

  Hannah hit the ground and stepped toward Odelea, paying no mind to the candles below her. Amazingly she didn’t step on or knock any of them over. Hannah’s thin hands stroked the side of Odelea’s face and she spoke again. “You were right to bring me this one.” Hannah then moved in closer, whispering into Odelea’s ears. “You can’t resist the call of those voices.”

  Odelea took a step backwards from Hannah, her anxiety turned into fear and a higher sense of self preservation.

  “Is this it then?” one scientist asked after reviewing his data pad.

  “Of course it is!” Hannah shouted toward him. “Dig here, and don’t stop.”

  “You truly are a gift from the gods!” said one of the monks.

  “Orange juice,” Hannah said to the monk.

  “What?” Everyone else looked at Hannah in confusion.

  “I require Orange juice! And pancakes, extra fr
uit.”

  “We are a long way from Earth—”

  “I’m aware of that! Just make it happen!” Hannah shouted then faced Odelea with a smile. “And an apple for her, she never got the chance to taste one.”

  Nobody was moving and Odelea could see that Hannah was getting more frustrated with each passing second. Finally, one monk stepped forward and said. “Do as the seer desires!” A small group advanced toward the airlock. Odelea wondered exactly how they planned to get what Hannah requested. Goods from Earth never got shipped out here directly.

  “I have work I must return to on Rasi, may I leave?” Odelea asked.

  A monk said. “Your task here is finished.”

  What task? I haven’t done anything.

  “Since we’ve found it,” the monk said to Hannah. “Do you wish to return to Rasi as well?”

  “No. Kasidey must deliver a present for me! And it must be here. It will be here.”

  “Kasidey has been out of the system for months now, we have no idea how long she’ll be gone for.”

  “The ship Kasidey uses is faster than most, she’ll be back before we know it.” Hannah returned to her bed, extending her arms and legs out as if she was floating on the surface of water. “I have dreamt it, it will happen.”

  … … …

  ►► Kasidey’s Transport

  ► Interstellar space

  Whigli’s eyes shut as he and Chidorli’s likeness embraced him, he lay on the bed to his quarters. Her soft skin and breasts brushed against his cybernetic chest as she tossed a sticky towel on the floor. Her tongue danced with his, before moving down toward his neck as he ran his right hand through her long green hair while his left hand traveled across her sensitive back. It then moved down past her firm behind and reaching down toward his hard shaft, it was still wet from the previous thrusting he gave for the last twenty minutes before his epic climax. But as with all Hashmedai men, one climax wasn’t the end. He guided his shaft back inside of her as she sat back up, his hips pumped up and down, holding on tight to her waist.

  She lacked the cybernetic implants Whigli remembered Chidorli having, not exactly a bad thing, gave him better view of her young and slender body. The one he always dreamed of having before their augmentation at the psionic training facility on Paryo. Her entire body quivered slightly as her hands squeezed onto her breasts, while his manhood felt the after effects of her climax.