Uprising of the Exiled (Splintered Galaxy Book 2) Page 15
“I thought you weren’t leaving until the morning?” Eiur said as he saw Veloshira’s fingers key in the password.
“I thought so too,” she said. “Watch the state news and events feed on the knowledge network; you’ll have your answers there.” The door opened, and she entered.
Veloshira sat down in one of the chairs in the cockpit and grinned at seeing that there was so much more space in here compared to a transport. Ten people could easily fit inside, not counting the pilot and copilots who would be sitting in their chairs. She was curious to see what the rest of the ship looked like, but the lives of the imperial family were in danger, along with her apprentice Jazz. Losing all of them when she had a chance to do something about it would create a form of guilt she refused to accept for the rest of her life.
Her fingers inputted a long string of commands into the flight control terminal in front of her. The Silver Raven began to hum and hover away from the floor and then launched out of the Assassins’ Guild pyramid and into the night sky. The imperial palace quickly came into view as she zipped up her black trench coat armor and slowly reduced speed. It was a fast ship, and she didn’t want to overshoot the entire city.
… … …
►► Silver Raven, Paryo
► Uemaesce System
“Silver Raven, you are entering a combat zone. Please turn around at once,” said a voice over the ship’s internal communicator.
Veloshira activated a holo window that displayed a 3-D image of the outside of the Silver Raven. Six interceptor fighters closed in behind her, and she transmitted back, “I was asked to assist in the conflict here.”
“We have the situation under control. Your help, while appreciated, is not needed,” said one of the interceptor pilots. Veloshira saw two more interceptors come down from the skies via the forward windshield. They placed themselves directly in front of the Silver Raven. “Please turn around.”
Sorry, I got other plans, she thought.
The two triangular-shaped interceptors made a sudden full 180-degree turn and unleashed storm of green plasma. “Oh fuck!” Veloshira yelled and then keyed in a command for the Silver Raven to take evasive action.
Veloshira was delighted to see how fast the controls reacted as the ship flipped and accelerated upward to avoid getting shot. To her surprise, it wasn’t even necessary, the two interceptors shot down two of the six interceptors that were behind the Silver Raven, and then they continued to assault the remaining four. The fighters entered a deadly and decisive dogfight, all the while ignoring the Silver Raven…for now.
“Your definition of ‘under control’ is amusing,” Veloshira transmitted. There was no reply.
She continued on course, toward the largest city on Paryo while her holographic status screen updated with new data. Two interceptors were in pursuit of her and entering weapons range fast.
She activated her communication implants. “Jazz, I’m going to be late.”
“Why?” Jazz asked.
“I’m being chased by two interceptors whose loyalty to the empire I question,” she said. “If this ship gets shot down before I get the chance to see how it flies in space.”
“Onatiasha isn’t aboard. You’ll be fine,” Jazz transmitted.
“What does Onatiasha have to do with state of this ship?”
“Ask Phylarlie.”
… … …
►► Imperial Capital Airspace, Paryo
► Uemaesce System
Di’aria’s psionic body floated just outside the middle spire of the imperial palace up in the exosphere of Paryo. Her eyes were shut as he focused on keeping her barrier strong and active; should it fail, the effects of the extreme coldness and vacuum of space would be the end of her. She guided her psionic mind to scan the tower and the area in general for something that seemed out of the ordinary, such as Y’lin, Kroshka, and Hasiv taking cover from this incursion in the imperial family’s home.
A ship was coming in…fast, along with two fighters. Di’aria’s mind touched the cold surface of the ship and its designation, Silver Raven. A vision of a lone Hashmedai woman dressed in assassin attire with pale white hair and skin manifested in her brain. This was the pilot of the Silver Raven. Her mind began to scan the two interceptors behind it. Her thoughts were reflected back. A mind barrier was blocking her, which she found to be…odd. Fellow Hashmedai ships should allow her psionic mind access, unless a strict security lockout was programmed into the mind barrier…or it was reprogrammed to block all Hashmedai, basically making it work like a Radiance mind barrier. They weren’t supposed to go that far...
Her eyes reopened, and her body floated toward the three incoming ships as her glowing cybernetic implants shined light on the clouds below her.
… … …
►► Imperial Palace, Paryo
► Uemaesce System
Kroshka pushed another sofa directly in front of the doors to her chamber. Y’lin, Hasiv, Eeladen, and two royal guards armed with plasma polearms were present. Kroshka’s head scanned her chamber, looking for anything that could be used as another obstacle.
Eeladen placed his hand on her shoulder and said, “You’ve done enough. Please let Talo, Ryi, and me handle it from here.” The two armored polearm-wielding men nodded in agreement.
Kroshka looked up at Eeladen, Onatiasha’s replacement after her demotion. He was a tall guardian about the same age as her with long brown hair and cream-colored skin. He wore full heavy combat armor and was armed with the standard issued equipment for guardians, arm-mounted shield generator and a one-handed plasma sword with a tractor beam attached to it.
“One last thing,” Kroshka said.
She raised her hand toward the door, while her eyes shut to focus, enabling her to tap into the dim energy the gem hanging around her neck possessed. A blue shimmering barrier formed along the door, but its light was slowly fading away. Kroshka sighed as her eyes opened to her less than impressive shield. The cold hands of her mother embraced Kroshka’s hand. Her red gem began to dazzle with a crimson aura. The barrier Kroshka placed around the door started to glow a bright solid purple.
“Had Akeia had these gifts, he’d still be alive today,” Y’lin whispered into Kroshka’s ear. During their display of talents, Eeladen and the two polearm guards, Talo and Ryi, became wide-eyed. Three more people now knew of the imperial family’s secret abilities—three more people who needed to never speak a word about this or face Y’lin’s wrath.
… … …
►► Silver Raven, Paryo
► Uemaesce System
Green plasma orbs hurled toward the Silver Raven as it made sharp turn away. The tower of the imperial palace was in view, but it would have to wait until Veloshira figured out a way to deal with her attackers. Not knowing the full capabilities of the ship, she sent the Silver Raven into a dogfight against two interceptors. Carefully timed rolls put the interceptors in front of the Silver Raven; well-timed turns on their part caused them to avoid the subsequent weapons blaze from the Silver Raven. Veloshira cursed as the aerial dance repeated with similar results. Neither ship could get a shot to connect.
Jazz’s voice bellowed on her communication implant, “Veloshira, what’s taking so long?”
“I’m a little busy right now. I can’t get rid of these pests,” she said cutting him off. There was mild irritation in her voice.
“Do a barrel roll or something.” Jazz said.
In the distance, Veloshira saw a psionic woman with red hair descend from the skies. Their psionic arms were glowing orange as they gathered psionic power. Friend or foe? Veloshira wondered and then made the Silver Raven make a sharp turn and observed what happened next.
… … …
►► Imperial Capital Airspace, Paryo
► Uemaesce System
Di’aria’s glowing arms conjured and launched two balls of white fire toward one of the interceptors chasing the Silver Raven. The light from the blast briefly lit up the darkened skies. Th
e fire traveled at a speed so fast it was impossible for the interceptor to dodge it. Another bright explosive flash radiated from the battlefield as the fireballs slammed into the shields of the interceptor, the blue protective barrier flicked rapidly.
The Silver Raven was no longer under fire, one interceptor broke off its attack and descended toward the tower, while the one that she shot made a course change—directly toward Di’aria. She smiled as the interceptor’s green bolts embarked on a journey toward her and then blue light consumed Di’aria, she vanished then reappeared behind the interceptor via her jump port. She flung more white fireballs at the aft section of the interceptor; its shields once again rippled blue. A 180-degree turn caused the two to once again see face-to-face, and so Di’aria teleported below the craft and continued her assault while continuing to light the skies with her mighty powers.
“You cannot defeat me,” Di’aria murmured to herself. Whoever the pilot was eventually agreed, as they changed course once again, away from Di’aria.
Her mind scanned the fleeing interceptor; its shields were down. One strong blast on its engines should do the trick. Di’aria shut her eyes and entered a quick trance. A single white fireball, half the size of her, shot toward the interceptor. The fighter set its nose upward in an attempt to avoid the blast as the flame neared. Di’aria snapped her fingers upon witnessing the maneuver, and the fireball changed course and started to climb upward to its target. An explosion melted and ripped the interceptor to pieces. It was so powerful and bright that it almost seemed like the sun was up.
Di’aria looked down and saw the Silver Raven closing in on the remaining interceptor. The interceptor was focused on firing its weapons toward the tower. Not good, she thought and then began to concentrate. She scanned the tower with her mind, hoping to sense the presence of the imperial family. Five people locked in a room were sensed. That might be them.
… … …
►► Imperial Palace, Paryo
► Uemaesce System
Jazz and Zhinbryo followed Onatiasha’s led down a decorated hallway that connected to sleep chambers for the imperial family and high-ranking personnel. As they turned the corner, Jazz saw six faux Hashmedai and a male Hashmedai psionic standing in front of a door. One of them was tampering with the door access panel on the side. This has to be it, Jazz thought.
The trio took cover behind the wall that connected the last stretch of hallway to the chambers. Onatiasha’s five fingers rose in the air for Jazz and Zhinbryo to see. She lowered one, then another one. It was a countdown.
Three.
Two.
One.
Their ambush caught their enemies off guard with deadly results. “Surprise, mothafuckas!” Jazz yelled in English.
Two of the faux Hashmedai fell into a bloody puddle below them, while another two vanished from sight with blue light. The psionic teleported himself and them away, leaving behind two more targets.
An explosion rocked the entire floor and the walls behind the three shattered. Air from the outside world howled and began to blow Onatiasha, Jazz, and Zhinbryo toward the hole. One of Onatiasha’s hands held on to the remains of a support beam, preventing her from being dragged out farther. Jazz and Zhinbryo weren’t so lucky and fell toward the bottom floor through the damaged floor.
A psionic barrier was erected instantly where the wall once was. As Jazz got to his feet, he saw the reason for the wall collapse; an interceptor hovered right in front of him from the outside. Its blinding headlights forced Jazz and Zhinbryo to shield their eyes, and then later run as the ship began shooting the barrier. It was a tough barrier, but Jazz wasn’t keen on taking any chances. A secondary barrage of plasma shots could be heard, and a quick peek behind revealed the Silver Raven. Veloshira’s long-awaited rescue had come at last.
The interceptor pulled away as the blue ripples from its shields slowly began to fade. A combination of plasma from the Silver Raven and white fireballs from a psionic rained down on the craft, destroying it, and then the psionic barrier vanished. The Silver Raven now hovered outside the cavernous hole in the wall. Jazz saw Veloshira through the cockpit’s windshield. She was waving for him and Zhinbryo run over.
… … …
“Get in now!” Kroshka yelled to Eeladen, Talo, and Ryi.
Both Kroshka and Y’lin combined their gifts to conjure a large psionic bubble shield. The door protecting them was breached, and the shield around it shattered by an unknown psionic force that was on the other side of the door. Kroskha, Hasiv, and Y’lin stood inside the bubble while Eeladen had his shield active, deflecting a hail of bullets aimed at him by two gunmen. Talo and Ryi had their polearms drawn and glowing green.
Kroshka saw Eeladen hesitantly look back at her and to the door again. She could tell he really wanted to stand his ground and play the part of the strong guardian. But now as not the time, the bubble she and her mother created was strong enough to protect them all, and would probably last longer than the batteries within his suit and arm shield generator. Talo and Ryi stepped back as requested into the bubble, Eeladen waited a bit longer, and then stepped back to join everyone else with a reluctant feeling in his steeps.
The two gunmen took advantage and leaped into Kroshka’s chamber, spent bullets piled on the floor next to the psionic bubble as the two men unloaded their rifles. Onatiasha’s presence appeared behind them suddenly, she was armed with a rifle much like theirs. She opened fire, sending the body of one of them to the ground as bits of his brains and skull splashed across the bubble from her focus fire. The last remaining gunman looked back, then ran into Kroshka’s bedroom, avoiding all shots Onatiasha directed at him.
Onatiasha cursed under her breath and then proceed to slowly walk toward the bedroom with her rifle extended forward. She ducked suddenly as a body covered in white flames flew through the air. By the time the body hit the wall, only smoke and ashes remained. Out from Kroshka’s room stepped a psionic woman, with short red hair.
… … …
►► Silver Raven, Paryo
► Uemaesce System
Veloshira hands carefully piloted the Silver Raven away from the imperial palace while Jazz and Zhinbryo walked into the cockpit.
“What do you think, Jazz?” asked Veloshira.
“About the ship or your timing?” he asked with a slight chuckle.
“Onatiasha, we need to find out if she is OK,” Zhinbryo said.
“Agreed,” Jazz said, then pointed at the hole in the tower. “She should be on the floor we fell from.”
The cockpit was illuminated with blinding blue light. As the light subsided, a male psionic with long black hair and two Hashmedai armed with magnetic rifles appeared. These must be the men Jazz was talking about, Veloshira thought.
“Fuck off already!” Jazz yelled as he saw the men and then turned to face them, ready for a fight.
Veloshira’s fingers quickly inputted a command into the Silver Raven’s control terminal. The ship turned to the side, causing everyone on board to fall toward the wall as she temporarily shut off the inertia dampers. There was another blue flash immediately afterward. The psionic vanished, but his two partners remained. The Silver Raven recovered from the sudden roll, and everyone got to their feet, minus their weapons, which had fallen from their hands. Perfect, she thought, then activated her cloaking device.
Jazz tackled one of the Hashmedai to the floor, and the two entered a nonstop roll toward the aft end of the ship, punching each other in the process. Zhinbryo and the remaining Hashmedai in the cockpit engaged in the ancient art of hand-to-hand combat. Zhinbryo’s claws deployed while the other man failed to do the same—one sure way to identify a fake Hashmedai. The two continued to exchange blows, oblivious that Veloshira had positioned herself behind the faux Hashmedai. When the time was right, she armed herself with her plasma daggers and then powered them on.
Her cloak dropped instantly, while her hands thrust one dagger in the back of the faux Hashmedai. He screamed in pa
in as the plasma burned him from the inside out as hot blood squirted out. Her hand guided the second dagger cross the back of his neck. A fountain of blood poured out from the stump where his head was once located; some of it sizzled as it touched the sides of the blade that was still stuck in his back.
… … …
Jazz and his faux Hashmedai adversary fell down to the cargo hold in the lower deck. The two unarmed men, unaffected by the sudden and unexpected drop, leaped to their feet to continue their relentless slugfest. A swift kick to the face sent the faux Hashmedai backward to the wall. Jazz’s eyebrows raised at the sight that came next; his claws were deployed. This was a real Hashmedai.
“Surprise, mothafucka!” the Hashmedai yelled in English, much the way Jazz did earlier.
The Hashmedai charged at Jazz while hissing his fangs at him. Jazz’s fingers reached for his cloaking device button, but he wasn’t fast enough. The Hashmedai, punched, clawed, and kicked Jazz repeatedly. He couldn’t get near enough to activate the cloak. An upper cut from the Hashmedai launched Jazz backward. As he fell to the ground, his hand hit a toolbox from a nearby table. Jazz and the contents of the box hit the ground. He took advantage of the new twist of events, and he reached his hand over, grabbing on to the first object he came in contact with, a Hashmedaian wrench. The tool spiraled through the air, impacting across the forehead of the Hashmedai with a furious thud sound. The blow sent him backward, only he didn’t get up. Jazz, on the other hand, did.
Jazz ran over and extended his arms outward, and placed the Hashmedai in a choke hold, a deadly choke hold. The Hashmedai struggled for air, air Jazz refused to let it have. Its arms flailed about, its claws started to scratch away at every inch of Jazz it could come in contact with. Jazz stood his ground, showing the Hashmedai no mercy, and then its arms fell limp and lifeless.