Episode 27: Thy Watchmen
Shiori crouched behind a low sand dune. A breeze swept across her visor, scraping it with a whisper of sand. A few itchy grains sneaked through the gap between the base of the visor and her combat suit collar. None of them wore the EVA equipment they'd fought in back on Brumis. The deep sand and higher gravity here made that impractical. At least they had breathable air on this planet.
Lines of Gatlantean tanks topped the next rise, nearly a half-mile away. Her visor counted fifty-four. Armored, one primary weapon, no secondary armaments apparent.
The silvery patch fixed to the back of her neck crinkled, and its overly sticky adhesive tugged a loose bit of hair from her ponytail. She rubbed her stinging scalp, but she was glad to have the particle shield, even if it needed some design adjustments. Being run through by dark matter bullets was the last thing they needed, and it appeared the enemy already had similar protective technology, or they'd have seen signs of casualties.
Further down the line, Knox crouched beside Captain Wildstar. It had been the right call to send the Marines out to meet this tank contingent. With Argo heavily damaged, and using the Tigers too risky, this was the best option. Their platoon had faced these tanks before on Brumis. Now, they knew the enemy's weaknesses, their strengths, strategy. They were prepared, and that was the best weapon they could hope to have.
Cloud cover darkened the sun. Rolling green cumulo-nimbus stacks resembled pre-war Earth weather patterns consistent with tornados. Wind kicked up, sweeping Shiori's hair around the sides of her face and sending sand pelting into her back and legs.
The multi-missile launcher Captain Wildstar had brought was ready to fire, but waiting for the enemy to get far enough into the strike zone seemed to be taking too long.
Beside her, Williams' focus never wavered from the oncoming enemy. Likely, he was rehearsing what he'd do the moment those tanks were within reach. They all did it—laid out their first steps in their heads—but thinking too far in advance was inadvisable. To try to lay out every step would result in second-guessing, and one too-long pause could mean death. Better to concentrate on one thing at a time. They all knew the objective. Take out the enemy. It didn't matter if they lived to recount the tale. This was their job, their sworn duty, and they would accomplish it or give their lives in the attempt.
"Firing missiles in five." Knox's voice came over Shiori's earpiece before trails of light streaked toward the tanks and destroyed or flipped ten of them. But the rest of the tanks didn't even pause. They rolled over their destroyed fellows and opened fire. "Engage," Knox said.
Shiori drew bead on one of the frontmost tanks. They were over a quarter mile away, but she'd hit farther targets. All of them had. She fired three rounds into the tank's reinforced body. Each shot left a scorch mark and little else.
She loaded a grenade launcher and waited until the tank was within range. With a controlled squeeze of the trigger, she dropped a grenade precisely where she'd intended. A half second later, it exploded, rendering the tank no more than a pile of scrap and sending shrapnel biting into two other enemies.
Only forty-three tanks left.
"Second missile round firing in five," Knox said.
Six more tanks fell to missiles.
Thirty-seven to go. With nine Marines, plus Captain Wildstar, that made less than four apiece.
Shiori downed another tank, and Amagi, Kurata, and Furahashi took out three more, lowering the number to thirty-three.
"Third missile round is away." Knox announced the last wave they'd be sending before the tanks were too close to risk another.
Ordinance fell into the enemy's ranks, destroying four more.
They'd narrowed the margin from four-to-one to three-to-one. Not stellar, but better than it had been. They'd come through far worse. They'd make it through this too.
She slotted another grenade and took aim.
Feria took the route to Hydroponics. When they'd landed less than an hour ago, she'd expected to be sent out immediately. But since the Tigers were grounded until Wildstar ordered otherwise, she'd been assigned to help with emergency repairs. Peter had briefed all the pilots on what was going on outside, but he'd said little else, and she hadn't had time to ask questions before Wildstar sent her and the rest of the Tigers to help in assigned areas.
Since Nova had mentioned the Jeshurunian, Bahn, in a few notes recently, Feria was glad to be assigned to Hydroponics. Lately, all questions concerning Bahn or Silesia had gone unanswered, and Nova had been less than liberal with the details she'd volunteered.
When she reached the bay doors, they opened slowly, and the lights inside flickered.
Lt. Hayden and the rest of the on-duty science team members greeted her. "Noble. Good to see you. I got the notification you'd be helping us out." She swept a hand around the bay. Tipped equipment, broken tubs of soil, scattered supplies, and hesitant lighting were the least of their troubles. A piece of bulkhead from another part of the ship had sheered through one wall and jutted at least ten feet into the bay. Its edges, once smooth, had been mangled into forbidding spikes. "We can use all the help we can get."
The bulkhead piece had just missed a nearly human-shaped plant, and Feria was almost sure the thing's prickly leaves moved aside when she approached. A partition lay on the floor nearby. Its frame was bent in four places, and whatever screen had once been attached to it was shredded.
There was no sign of anything resembling the spindly house plants she'd seen in both Nova's and Wildstar's quarters.
"Where do you want me to start?" Feria said.
"Right there would be great." Hayden's gaze flickered to the strange plant before racing to the other side of the bay. "Just… clear up around here first. We'll join you in a few minutes." She hurried to help another of her team lift a crashed cargo sled—a job that should have only taken one person.
As Feria righted a tub of soil and scooted it out of the way, she found two smashed trays of seedlings. Shards of synthiglass surrounded tiny mounds of soil. Intact, empty trays were nearby. If she was careful, she could save these seedlings.
She fetched two new trays and swept pieces of glass away from the first seedling. Her standard-issue gloves saved her from any stray glass as she scooped the seedling into its new tray. Within a few minutes, she had both trays filled and returned to their places under the sun lamps.
Once the seedlings were re-homed, she grabbed an all-vac and cleared the remaining dirt spots and bits of glass from the floor.
"You have compassionate hands." The voice was deep and rough.
Feria almost dropped the all-vac. Everyone else was still at the front of the bay. Unless one of them came to the back without her notice… "You're not supposed to be hiding back here, whoever you are." She slowed her steps and adjusted her grip on the long-handled vacuum.
"I'm not hiding, I assure you." Rustling accompanied the statement. And was that… a hint of mirth? "Please, do not be afraid."
Feria picked up the all-vac mid-handle so she could swing the heavier end in case this stranger turned out to be of the more nefarious variety. They'd already had a murderer loose aboard ship. They didn't need some other nut case complicating things. "Who said I was afraid?" She turned a calculating half-circle, checking every possible hiding spot.
"I did not say you were presently fearful, only that you need not become so." The voice emanated from the plant. Two arm-length appendages sprouted from it and hung at its sides, like wilted tree boughs. A third section bloomed from the top of the plant, almost like a tilted head. Fine needles covered the plant's leaves and skin, and just looking at them made Feria itch. There were only two beings aboard who even came close to fitting this description.
"Wait… Bahn?" She whispered. Nova had mentioned he looked different than he used to, but Feria hadn't expected something so… divergent.
"I apologize. You know my name, but I do not know yours."
Feria let go of the all-vac, and it dropped the six inches to the floor, sending a ringing clatter through the bay.
At the front of Hydroponics, Hayden and her group whipped around like startled cats.
"Sorry," Feria called. She offered them a nonchalant wave and pointed to the all-vac. Once the others' attention was off her, Feria brushed stray strands of her straight, black ponytail over one shoulder. "I'm Feria Noble—a friend of Nova's."
"It is good to meet you." Bahn's cordial tone wasn't nearly as shocking as the fingerlike digits that sprouted from one appendage and reached out to her as if he expected her to shake the offered "hand."
Her stare earned her an instant of awkward silence.
"I apologize," Bahn said before absorbing every needle protruding from his hand and fingers. "There. I believe that will no longer cause discomfort."
When she didn't take the hand, Bahn said, "I thought this was an acceptable form of Eratite greeting. Both Gamilons and Iscandarians have similar gestures. Perhaps I am mistaken."
"No." Feria clasped his strange hand. "I'm sorry. I was just… surprised."
He released her hand after only half a second. "My appearance is unsettling to you." He subtly tilted his head toward Hayden and her group, who were fastidiously concentrated on their cleanup. "The Shift is upon me, and I was unable to explain it before it took hold. It is a mark of honor among my people for one of us to have opportunity to attain this form."
"Nova told me a little about you," Feria said. She forced herself not to step away from Bahn. "You're Iscandarian?"
"Not precisely." Bahn recounted his sprouthood aboard a ship that had departed Earth centuries before; he told of his rooting on Ya'ar Jeshurun; and finally, his transfer to Iscandar and subsequent reassignment to watch over Wildstar.
During the telling, Feria cleaned up as much as she could without straying too far from Bahn. When he finished his story, she said, "I can't imagine having seen all that. You've been around thousands of years—longer than any empire on Earth." She'd seen proof of pieces of Bahn's story during her brief time aboard the ship Shambleau last year. The white rose coin Lorelai—Shambleau's leader—had given her was still tucked safely inside a hidden pocket in her flight suit.*
"Perhaps, one day, we will return to Erats." Longing filled Bahn's voice.
An update from Peter came through on her comm. "Wildstar's taken the Space Marines out to meet a contingent of Gatlantean tanks."
"We are planetside?" said Bahn.
Feria nodded.
"Is the atmosphere breathable?"
"Looks like it." She held up her comm screen in Bahn's direction.
"I know this planet. It is Telezart." Bahn's leaves rustled. "We have come to the Diviner's world."
"Diviner?" The name struck another memory from Feria's time aboard Shambleau. A story Lorelai had told her. Something about a young woman who could control dark matter.
"Yes," said Bahn. "She is legendary among the Gatlanteans. It is she who destroyed this world one hundred year ago."
"A hundred—She must be dead then."
Bahn shook his head just enough to make his leaves rustle again.
"You okay back there?" Hayden called from the front as she picked up a fallen compost bin.
"Fine," Feria called back before putting the all-vac back in its wall-mounted rack. "Almost done."
Bahn continued his explanation. "The Diviner is the product of genetic manipulation. Those adjustments gave her unintended long life. She yet lives. That is undoubtedly why the Gatlanteans are here. They seek to contain her. Her power is too great for them to overcome, so they wish to lock her away." His posture tensed. "If they cannot risk the Diviner being free, they must have something of great magnitude planned. This is most troubling."
"We came out here because of a vision of a woman and two unexplained attacks on Earth. Now you're saying we've walked into the middle of a century-old conflict between a galactic power and this Diviner person?" said Feria.
"That would seem the truth," Bahn replied. "Though you should speak with her directly. I sense there is more to this than a simple scuffle between old enemies."
Feria's comm buzzed again. "Wildstar and the Marines have engaged the Gatlanteans. They're outgunned but holding. I just wish there was something I could do. Cleaning up glass and picking up dirt just feels less than helpful right now." She pocketed her comm.
"My time of healing is nearly at its end. The Shift has accelerated my regeneration to the point that I am more than well enough to lend my aid. If only I had a way to leave the ship," Bahn said.
The cargo sled Hayden had righted still sat empty half-way between Feria and the bay door. "If I get you outside, can I come with you?"
Bahn pressed both palms together and gave her a slight bow. "It would be my honor to serve alongside you."
"Then looks like you're going for a ride." Feria retrieved the cargo sled and wrestled Bahn's planter onto it, amidst stares from Hayden and the rest of the Hydroponics group.
Nova woke in a small room in the medbay. The white walls were almost too bright, and when she blinked her vision clear, she discovered a shimmery white, hip-to-knee sleeve covering one leg. A sling hung from the ceiling, and her sock-covered foot settled into it.
Traction. Lovely.
She fished through the drawer in the bedside table and found her comm along with a fresh uniform. The only thing that hadn't been replaced was her jacket. Several ship-wide alerts filled her comm's lock screen: a serious hull breech, a warp, a landing notice, Derek and the Marines' heading out to meet a Gatlantean tank contingent. Had they reached the planet they'd been heading for before the Gatlanteans attacked?
Data on the planet they'd landed on was accessible to anyone, but for now, the only designation attached to this world was an EDF ID number, assigned when they entered sensor range. A few auto-generated reports indicated breathable atmosphere, arid climate, mountainous regions, and other land formations. Ruins covered the planet. Most seemed to have been destroyed at least a century ago. Other than that, there was no information on what might have caused such widespread destruction.
She set her comm in her lap.
With careful fingers, Nova checked the length of her leg and found the break site. Mid-femur. Anterior. It didn't hurt—for now. Likely the result of the IV line in her opposite arm.
She sat up as far as traction allowed and pulled her robe around the breathable white med-gown she wore. Last time she'd been in here more than an hour as a patient, she'd been unconscious, oblivious to the chill air. Now she wished she had another blanket.
The door opened, and Penny stepped inside, tray in hand. Mimi skirted in behind her and hopped onto Nova's bed. "You're awake." Penny's voice was almost neutral, but she couldn't hide the hints of concern in her expression as she set the tray on the table. A sealed cup of water and a Nutrigel serving were its only contents. "When Captain Wildstar called us to the bridge, we didn't know what to expect. According to XO Sandor, you passed out after a hairline break turned into an open fracture. If you knew you were hurt, why stay on the bridge?" She brushed auburn waves behind one ear, exposing even more of her many freckles. The medical corps emblem stamped on her white scrubs seemed to stare at Nova.
"I thought I'd be all right." Nova coaxed Mimi close enough to stroke her tabby fur and was rewarded with purrs and a handful of shed cat hair before Mimi settled beside her and curled into a warm ball.
"All right? You broke your leg and got knocked around enough to send bone through skin before you passed out in the middle of a battle. You could have gotten yourself and everyone else killed!" Penny sat in the room's single chair and laced her fingers. She was good at hiding the fear in her voice, but she was too late to conceal shaking hands.
Nova covered Penny's hands with hers. She was right. Staying had been a mistake. Miki tried to convince her to go, but she hadn't listened. Derek had offered her a chance to leave too, and still she'd refused. If she could take it back, she would. "I'm sorry… Was… anyone else hurt because of me?"
Penny shook her head. "We lost a few in the attack, but you couldn't have prevented any of those deaths. We have more wounded than we're used to, but they'll all heal. Some will take longer than others though." She tipped her head toward Nova's leg. "Used to take almost six months for a break like this to heal. Lucky for you, Dr. Sane keeps more than the basics on hand. You're looking at three months, tops. As long as you don't overdo it and re-injure yourself."
"What about duty shifts?"
"Dr. Sane says two to three weeks, depending on how your recovery goes. You've got at least a week of traction. Can't get out of that."
The thought of sitting by while everyone else put their lives at risk to protect Earth was almost maddening. She wanted to throw on her uniform and get back to her post. But she couldn't do that. Not only was it unwise, but if she tried, she either wouldn't get far, or Penny and Hanson would bring her straight back.
Penny's comm buzzed. "Got to see another patient. You need anything before I go?"
She had her uniform, socks, her comm. Her boots stood upright next to the bed. Silesia! "The plant in my room. Can someone bring it?"
"Soon as we get a second, I'll send Hanson. It could be a few hours though. We're still pretty packed from… everything. We might even need to put someone else in here with you."
"I understand." Nova wrapped an arm around Mimi. The cat's fur was soft and clean, and just having her close by blunted the sting of unshed tears.
Penny left, and for a brief second, Nova caught a glimpse of the crowded med bay. Men and women clustered in groups based on their injuries. Some seemed to have nothing more than bad scrapes and bruises, while others held bleeding limbs. One woman wearing the green and white of the navigation corps held onto a mostly severed finger, and an engineering crewman had a metal rod embedded in his thigh.
Their injuries might not be her fault. But if she'd listened to Miki and Derek, she'd be able to help them now. Instead, she was stuck here, unable to do anything except watch. And pray.
The ground rumbled beneath Shiori as she took aim at another oncoming tank and shot her grenade. She hit the sand before the explosion sent shrapnel flying. A second tank went down under a concentrated rifle burst from Kurata. They'd learned on Brumis that these things had a weak spot near the edge of the left tread.
Rousing admiration from the others buzzed over the radio as Amagi and Williams both took out tanks the same way Kurata had.
Knox handed Captain Wildstar a grenade, got to a higher vantage point atop a boulder jutting from the sand, and signaled Wildstar to throw. The young captain slung the grenade a little too far, but he succeeded in blowing off the back half of the targeted tank. When no one emerged, Knox and Wildstar investigated.
Shiori held position as shells exploded around her.
"They're unmanned." Wildstar's voice. "I repeat. The tanks are unmanned." That explained the reckless charge.
Only twenty left, and the Marines had suffered no casualties and only one injury—LaGrange's arm, hit by shrapnel. Otherwise, they were all right. A relief after the Brumis massacre. Today, they'd had the benefit of knowing the enemy was coming, and this time, they'd been prepared.
Fifteen minutes later, it was over.
When the battlefield was quiet, Knox, Shiori, and Wildstar met at the top of the nearest sand dune to survey the damage. Broken tank shells lay everywhere.
"Something's not right," said Wildstar. "This was too easy."
He had a point. Fifty-four unmanned tanks making a charge was not the best offensive strategy.
Wildstar edged down the sandy slope and waded to the crest of a taller dune. The instant he topped the ridge, he dropped to the sand. "We've got another problem," he said over the radio.
Shiori and Knox reached Wildstar's position in under thirty seconds, but during that half minute, the ground began to shake.
On the other side of the dune, a domed machine rose from the sand. It towered at least five times Shiori's height, and the weapons ringing its dome could have bested the previous round of tanks easily. Atop the dome sat an omni-directional cannon. Its only blind spot would be a target directly beneath it. Six legs, three to either side, supported this new monstrosity, and each leg ended in an armor-piercing tip.
Knox gripped his rifle. "Looks like a crab. Let's treat it like one. Nagakura, take Kurata and Williams. Wildstar, Amagi and Harrison. I'll take Furahashi and Ortega. Nagakura and I will get it tipped over. That'll take out their cannon and give us opportunity to immobilize it. Only hard part's going to be dodging those guns. Which is where you come in, Wildstar. Draw their fire. Keep 'em so occupied they never think to look down."
"Consider it done," said Wildstar, before Knox relayed instructions to the rest of the Marines.
All three teams spread out before the enemy mecha crab topped the sand dune. It stalked toward Argo, its dome rising and falling with each rattling step.
Shiori waited for Knox's signal to move in. Her group would need to disable or destroy at least one leg—preferably two—on their side of the mecha.
When the crab passed her group's hiding place, Wildstar, Amagi, and Harrison raced from behind a pile of rocks and took several shots at the mecha's dome. They did no damage, but they did draw the machine's attention. While it was distracted, Knox's group made the first strike. They were under the crab quickly, and Knox, Furahashi, and Ortega shinnied up the far three legs, careful to avoid the pinching joints. Each Marine planted an explosive where the leg joined the dome base before sliding down and taking cover.
Knox blew the explosives.
A huge boom shook the sand and left clouds of smoke and sparks.
The mecha stopped, and Shiori hoped any moment to hear the thing crash. But instead of the creaking of broken metal, the area was silent.
When the smoke cleared, the mecha stood unharmed.
"Not a scratch," Knox said over the radio. His frustration was unmissable. Like her, he'd expected to at least dent armor.
Shiori's team would have to up the yield on their explosives. And she could target the weapon placements just above the legs. Kurata and Williams could do the same. She laid out her plan for Knox, then said, "We're going in."
She half expected Knox to veto her, but all she got was grudging silence followed by, "Do what you have to do."
Shiori, Kurata, and Williams charged the enemy. After Knox's assault, the mecha's crew were ready for multiple attack vectors, and they fired on Shiori and her team.
They made it under the crab without casualties, but the mecha started moving an instant after they reached it, and they had to run to keep up.
Shiori leaped onto a moving leg and climbed. It was more challenging than Knox had made it look, but she reached the top and grabbed the base of a gun emplacement. She curled both arms around the barrel and edged toward the end, hoping they wouldn't fire this particular gun while she was attached to it.
When she reached the barrel's opening, she stuffed an explosive as far inside as she could reach. Kurata was already on his way back to the ground, and Williams was seconds behind Shiori.
Before she and Williams made it down, two hidden guns popped from the underside of the mecha and targeted them. With a shout, Kurata took shots at the new weapons, damaging one and drawing occasional fire from the other. Shiori made it unscathed, but Williams took a hit to the leg.
They made it to cover, Shiori and Kurata each supporting one side of Williams. Immediately, Shiori triggered the explosives. The guns they'd targeted smoked, and one curled an inch or two, but it was far from the blow she'd hoped for. They needed more firepower, or they'd never take down this thing.
"Fall back to the missile launch site," Knox ordered.
Everyone obeyed, and when they were all safely in place, Wildstar and Knox armed the launcher with the last round of missiles they'd brought. These would hit harder than what they'd tried before.
Every missile hit its mark, but unlike the tanks, the mecha only sustained minor damage. It wasn't even enough to stall the thing. If they couldn't stop this machine, it would rip through them and head straight for the wounded Argo.
They needed a new plan. Fast.
It was only twenty minutes before Hanson brought Silesia to Nova's room. He secured the Jeshurunian atop the bedside table and put Nova's water and Nutrigel into two cup holders molded into the bed rail opposite the table.
"You should drink those." Hanson pointed to the full cups. "If you don't, I'll have to tell Acre. She'll set a recurring alarm on your comm for every two minutes, and it'll be the most annoying sound she can find."
"I'll be sure to finish them both." Nova gave Hanson a half-hearted smile and pointed to Silesia. "Thanks for bringing her."
"No problem. Call us if you need anything." Hanson left to attend one of the non-critical patients still waiting to be seen.
Mimi continued to sleep at Nova's side, but the cat twitched in her sleep, probably dreaming about chasing a fat pigeon.
"Silesia?" Nova tapped one of the Jeshurunian's little green shoots.
"You are wounded," came Silesia's thin whisper. "What has happened?"
Though it pained her, Nova recounted the events that had brought her here. She expected Silesia to chide her for being careless, but the Jeshurunian was silent. "You're not going to say anything?"
Silesia's sparse leaves shook. "You are aware of your error. My pointing it out again would serve no purpose. The guilt you bear for your part in this event reminds me a bit of Queen Starsha when she was younger. She too was unsure of many a step—often wondered if she'd done the right thing. Her people died around her as she watched. It was the most difficult thing I, in my centuries, have ever witnessed. Even her sister met death before her eyes. Though I did not witness that event, it might surprise you that Desslok of Gamilon did, and he too shouldered blame for something he could not have prevented."
Nova had heard the account of Sasha's death from Starsha nearly a year and a half ago, but the queen had neglected to mention Desslok was present for the event.* It was just one more tragedy Starsha and Desslok shared, and Nova was sure there were others Starsha hadn't mentioned. "I… didn't know that. It must still be strange for you to be here instead of Iscandar, or back home on Ya'ar Jeshurun."
"In a way," Silesia said. "But there are so many reminders here of Queen Starsha. Every time I find one, I am gladdened, and one of those reminders is the way you look at Captain Wildstar." Silesia extended a leaf toward Nova's hand and brushed it lightly before retreating. "It is akin to the look in Queen Starsha's eyes when she speaks of Desslok of Gamilon."
Nova's cheeks burned. She'd pushed back thoughts about Derek since the Iscandar trip, and it had only grown harder over the past few weeks, especially since he'd come to share her faith. "It's not like that." The protest was feeble at best.
"You have told the story of how Desslok responded when he first met you," said Silesia. "I heard you speak of it to your friend, Feria. Do you remember how he looked so often at Iscandar? How his attention always wandered back to Starsha? From what I have seen, your case is much the same."
Nova feigned interest in her Nutrigel and sipped the top quarter of the cup while her embarrassment faded from red to pink, though she couldn't hide it entirely. "We're friends. And he's my captain. He's probably upset with me right now, anyway." She absently rubbed her broken leg.
"He is your friend and your superior. On those fronts, you are correct. But he trusts you—cares for you. He's even shown you exceptional consideration as of late."
Derek had trusted her judgment about Deun and walked her to the medbay after the accident in the brig. He'd consulted her on the matter with Bahn. Asked her help in uncovering the truth about Mazer's plane. Trusted her to make the call earlier about her own well-being… "I guess he has."
How would she respond if Derek didn't come back from his mission with Knox and the rest of the Space Marines? She had no doubt Desslok would be irreparably crushed if Starsha died.
Starsha had been devastated when she'd thought Desslok dead—though part of her grief stemmed from knowing the horrifying fate of the Gamilon Leader's soul. How she must have mourned his passing when she'd heard of his supposed death at Gehenna's Bridge during the Argo's return trip from Iscandar.
"Silesia, does Starsha know Desslok's not dead?"
Silesia rustled. "I do not know. It is possible she has been informed, but to my shame, I have not asked, and I am unable in my present state. Even if I could, I would not trust Adrianna to speak truthfully to Queen Starsha." Sadness wilted her leaves.
"I'm so sorry about your friend." Nova mirrored Silesia's earlier gesture and brushed a leaf in a show of empathy.
"It is not your fault. Treachery was Adrianna's choice. I only pray she sees the folly of it before she inflicts more damage to those she professes to care for. With a source inside the Palace of Iscandar, the Gatlanteans are capable of far more than previously."
Nova put down her Nutrigel. "I hadn't thought of that."
"But they will have. Let us pray no other ill comes of this misbegotten alliance."
The med bay air seemed colder. To fight it, Nova tucked one hand under Mimi and hid the other in the folds of her robe as she sent up a silent prayer for protection for them all.
After weathering stares from Hayden and the rest of the Hydroponics crew as she transported Bahn out of there, Feria sneaked him into the hangar. The low gravity made transporting him to the bay door much different from the trek over here, and she still had to get outside without anyone's notice. For now, all the other pilots, including Peter, were in other areas of the ship, so it would take at least a minute or two for someone to find them if opening the bay door set off alarms.
She checked atmospheric conditions on her comm. "Wind's kicking up. Cloud cover's getting thicker too. If this didn't look like a desert, I'd say we were in for rain."
Bahn shook his head. "There has been no rain to fall upon Telezart since the cataclysm that destroyed its surface." Bahn pointed to the manual override for the door. "The earth trembles beneath me. We must make haste. There is trouble outside."
Feria pulled the lever, and the bay door cranked open wide enough to allow a fighter plane through.
"That will more than suffice." Bahn reached for the edge of the ramp, and his form sharpened, becoming more human in appearance than before as his upper arms, shoulders, neck, and head took on distinct shapes.
"I'm coming with you. Or did you forget?" She eased Bahn's tub of soil to the deck before he went through the low-gravity barrier and crashed.
"I did not forget." He reached out a hand to her. "But you will need protection from harmful dark matter particles—a remnant from the cataclysm. This ship is shielded, but once you step outside its hull, you forfeit that protection. I can provide you a haven if you'll allow me. In exchange, you will help me combat the Gatlanteans alongside your captain and the Space Marines."
"What exactly are you proposing?" It had been forty seconds already. If someone was coming to check on them, they had barely another minute to get outside, but caution demanded at least basic questions.
"I will cover you, like a suit of armor, and protect both of us from the dangers that still inhabit the atmosphere here. You will control me, wield my strength as your own. When you speak, I will speak with you. We will become a unit until we step foot back inside this ship. There is only one limitation to my mobility. I must not completely leave the ground. At least one root must remain anchored at all times, else I will soon die."
She didn't relish being completely covered by a living organism, but something about Bahn seemed trustworthy. She took his hand.
Bahn stretched a root out of his planter and sank it into the sand at the base of the ramp. The rest of him rose from the tub of soil, leaving crumbles of dirt on the metal ramp. The hand Feria had hold of had already covered her fingers, wrist, and arm, and within seconds her whole body was clothed in thick green. A transparent, membranous plate wove across her face, allowing her to see just as she would if she wore an EVA suit, and Bahn's body seemed to be producing oxygen and absorbing the CO2 she exhaled, so breathing was no trouble.
"What's the plan?" Feria said as she hurried down the ramp and into the Telezart wilderness. So far, no one had come to investigate the open bay door, but that could change any second, and she didn't want to be around when someone showed up.
As soon as she cleared Argo's shadow, a red dome, heavily armed and armored, came into view. Smoke rolled off it, but it appeared undamaged. Even a missile barrage did nothing to it.
"When you said trouble, you weren't joking," Feria said. "That thing looks like it should have starred in a horror film. 'It Came from the Reef.'" She grimaced. "How do we get over there without being seen? You don't exactly blend in."
"We must dive," Bahn said. His voice was quiet, and it seemed to emanate from right behind her, much like the radio in an EVA suit. "Our task seems straightforward. Ordinance is of no use, so we must take that machine apart."
"You can do that?"
"We can do that. You are not afraid of enclosed spaces, correct?"
"No. Why?" Before Feria could press the question, Bahn sank into the sand. Walls of brown and gray hurtled past as they swam through the earth. Everything around Feria rumbled with their passing, and she briefly wondered if she'd made a fatal mistake.
"Be prepared. Upon surfacing, you will aim for their legs, and I will neutralize their armaments. Simply point vigorously and concentrate on any weak points. My form will understand your intention."
She still wasn't sure she'd been smart to come out here, but with some of her fears allayed, she and Bahn surfaced right underneath the Gatlantean mecha.
Feria found a leg and sent a green tendril at the bottommost of its three joints. The vinelike appendage dug into the mechanical joint, invading it until the two leg segments screamed in their efforts to flex. Feria clogged the upper two joints before concentrating on another leg, this one on the opposite side from the first.
A gun emplacement on the underside of the machine targeted them before Feria was finished incapacitating the thing's fifth leg.
Bahn dove into the ground, ripping off the tendrils stuck between the machine's leg joints. They surfaced behind the mecha instead, and Feria caught sight of Wildstar and the Marines, safe behind an outcropping of boulders. The missile launcher they'd used earlier was in pieces, and at least two Marines were wounded. The best thing she could do for them now was take this thing down.
In an attempt to free its joints, the crab mecha shot its own legs, blowing one off in the process, but clearing two more—just enough to allow it to drag along.
Bahn's low growl reminded Feria of an angry wolf. He dove into the sand a third time, coming up right in front of the machine. "We will speak now." He told her the words. "Begin now."
Feria's voice melded with Bahn's and echoed across the barren wastes. "Interlopers, violators of the Diviner's quarter, you will face judgment for your trespass." This was good. The Gatlanteans wouldn't know who Bahn was—at least, she hoped they didn't—and they'd already seen what he was capable of. "Leave this place. The Diviner does not desire your presence."
The response was less than enthusiastic, and Feria had to pull Bahn's body out of the way an instant before the mecha shot a hole straight through them.
"Don't think they're leaving," Feria said.
"It was worth trying," said Bahn before he surged ahead and plugged the offending gun's barrel. Vines snarled into the weapon's inner workings and disabled it.
What must this look like to Wildstar and the Marines? A human-shaped cactus fighting a giant crab? She'd have laughed if she weren't in mortal danger.
She renewed her assault on the mecha's legs, immobilizing the last three while Bahn disabled the front half of the machine's weapons. He shoved tendrils, roots, and vines into every barrel, knotted them in place, and ripped them apart from the inside. He even took out the hidden undercarriage weapon.
From her vantage point a hundred feet in front of the mecha, the machine's crew was visible. Some darted around in panic; others stared, but all shared the same slack-jawed shock. Some seemed to pray while others appeared to spit undisguised oaths.
She wasn't used to seeing the enemy's face. From her usual place in the cockpit, she rarely saw the person behind the machine she'd targeted, unless she got too close to an enemy fighter, and even then, she was concentrating too hard on staying alive to absorb the details of her would-be-killer's face.
But now… This seemed far more personal. Her throat seized.
As if Bahn had heard her thoughts, he said, "If we do not protect your ship and crew, these Gatlanteans will be your end. I do not revel in the taking of life, either, but we have little choice in this instance."
"I know," Feria said. "But that doesn't make it any easier."
"Nor should it." Bahn wrapped the mecha's cannon and fixed the barrel straight backwards, so it would do no harm should the Gatlanteans fire it. He jammed a crawling mass of vines into the cannon's mouth and shoved until the dome's top cracked, and the cannon detached.
The sudden weight shift tipped the machine to one side, and with its legs inoperable, it collapsed into the sand.
Bahn separated himself from the wreckage and reached for the main hatch. Before he touched it, a Gatlantean with a scar across one cheek threw the door open, and he and a dozen more armed soldiers poured out.
Bahn whispered another three sentences for her to say.
"The Diviner wishes to be left alone." Her voice was just as formidable this time, if not more, since the Gatlanteans were in a better position to hear her clearly. "Take your people. Go and do not return." Bahn pointed to the clouded sky.
The scarred man cursed and raised his weapon as he spoke.
"I can't understand him," Feria whispered.
"But I can," Bahn said. "He is a general to someone named… Prince Zordar." Bahn's tone darkened, but he didn't explain. "He wishes death upon us, along with several other unpleasant ends. But he also says we're too late. The Diviner has been contained. I'm unsure of his meaning, but it sounds as though she's still alive, else he'd have said plainly that she was dead. I have one final message for them."
Feria spoke as Bahn asked. "Are you fool enough to believe you can cage the Diviner? Your traps and snares have no effect on her. Take all that you brought to this world and leave. Resist, and you will face death—at my hand or the Diviner's."
The Gatlantean general swore enthusiastically enough to nullify the need for translation.
All thirteen men raised their weapons.
Feria swept an arm, and Bahn's form knocked the lot of them to the ground.
Bahn roared at them for good measure, and ten of the thirteen fled.
The general's eyes burned with anger. He'd lost his firearm in the fall, and it lay several feet away. He brandished a knife and took a fighting stance. The two men behind him watched.
The Gatlantean rushed Bahn and Feria, gashing Bahn's leg, but not cutting deeply enough to hit Feria. He dodged Bahn's attacks and darted in and out but couldn't land another blow. Instead of rushing in again, he pulled a packet of powder from inside his chest armor plate and downed the entire thing. In seconds, it was like he'd inhaled fire. The man moved so fast Bahn couldn't defend.
Pain stabbed Feria's side when the Gatlantean's knife punctured Bahn's torso. Blood seeped from the wound until Bahn grew a pressure dressing over it. It wasn't pleasant, but she'd had worse.
Despite the Gatlantean's fervor, he wasn't moving with wild abandon. He'd probably trained for this, learned patterns his body could follow even under the influence of whatever substance he'd taken. "Give me full control again. I can predict his movements."
"But you are wounded," Bahn protested.
"I'm not glass. And he's repeating the same moves he just made seconds ago." As if to prove her point, the man stabbed for Bahn's side again. Feria dodged nimbly this time.
"I yield to you," Bahn said.
With Bahn's responsiveness and superhuman strength and her memory and speed, facing the Gatlantean proved as simple as watching for openings. When she found one, Feria darted in, grabbed the man's knife arm, and squeezed until the blade fell into the sand. Bahn scooped up the knife and absorbed it. Perhaps Sandor would look at it later.
The Gatlantean spoke again, and Bahn translated. "I will not be disarmed by an abomination." The man's free hand withdrew an explosive.
Bahn was too slow to stop him from activating it, but he was quick enough to wrap the man's hand to the device and fling him to the other side of the wrecked mecha. The other two Gatlanteans sprinted up a dune.
When the general was in midair, Bahn burrowed into the sand. Less than a second later came the explosion followed by silence. By the time Bahn resurfaced, the only sign left of the man was one uniform sleeve and a stray, scorched boot.
Feria didn't even have to walk back to the Argo. Bahn's roots rumbled through the sand and transported them effortlessly. They passed Wildstar and the Marines who looked on in stunned silence but followed them back to the ship.
Derek stepped into the medbay alongside Knox and Nagakura. The two Marines wounded in the exchange with the Gatlanteans were being treated along with the last of those wounded before Argo landed.
Feria had said she needed to talk with him about something. "I'll be back in a few minutes," he said to Knox and Nagakura before heading for Feria's assigned bed in the back of the medbay with the other non-criticals, but all he found was an empty cot and Feria's flight jacket.
"Dr. Sane, have you seen Noble?"
Sane pointed toward the patient rooms. "She went to see Nova."
Derek hadn't planned on seeing Nova until this was all over. He didn't know what to say to her. How could he tell her she'd not only put the crew in danger, but that she'd terrified him?
He stopped outside Nova's door.
"You going in, or were you planning to stand there all day?" Dr. Sane triggered the door and shoved Derek inside.
Nova was sitting up in bed, robe pulled close against the cool air. Feria sat on the edge of the chair beside the bed, and she kept a hand over her treated stab wound as she talked with Nova. In the corner, behind Feria, stood Bahn, back in his tub and looking nothing like he had less than an hour ago. He and Silesia spoke in whispers of air woven through their leaves.
When Derek entered, everyone fell silent, and Nova kept her eyes on Feria or Mimi, who was cat-loafed in her lap.
"Captain." Feria stood slowly. "Good to see you're okay."
"You too. You'll have to tell us how you ended up outside, wearing a Jeshurunian instead of cleaning up in Hydroponics. And didn't you have something to tell me?"
Feria's eyes darted to Nova. "Yeah. But it can wait a minute. I'll be outside." She squeezed Nova's hand before heading out. When she passed Derek, she whispered, "Don't be too hard on her. She's beaten herself up pretty good already."
Once Feria was outside, Derek took the chair. Having Bahn at his back made him slightly uneasy, especially after what he'd just witnessed outside, but he'd brought Feria back decently whole, and he'd saved them all, so he'd earned a bit more trust.
Doing his best to ignore the Jeshurunians, Derek clasped his hands and leaned forward, eyes on the edge of the bed instead of on Nova. "I… think we need to talk about what happened on the bridge."
He caught her nod in the corner of one eye before daring a glance her way. "Did you… want to say anything?"
Nova traced Mimi's tabby stripes with both hands, and unshed tears glinted in her eyes, but she shook her head.
Before he lost his nerve, Derek said, "You're an officer, and I need you to look out for others, whether that means staying at your post or handing it over to someone more able. If you'd told me you needed a replacement after Saijo left, I'd have manned radar myself if I had to." He captured her hand, and she looked up, startled. "Anything to keep you safe."
Despite the room's chill, her cheeks pinked.
"I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you. When you were in a coma on the way back from Iscandar, I was so afraid you'd never wake up. It killed me to be powerless to help you. When I accidentally hit you instead of Deun back in the brig, it made me sick, and seeing you limp and unconscious at your post earlier made me want to abandon that captain's chair and go to you. But I couldn't do that, Nova. I had to make sure this ship and as many people as possible made it through that fight alive." He gently squeezed her hand and held her gaze. "Please, don't make me choose like that again."
A smile—faint, but genuine—broke through her sadness. "Okay." She stopped petting Mimi. "But only if you promise me the same thing."
Her counter scrambled him, and his comm buzzed before he'd recovered enough to reply.
It was Sandor. The message read, "The Gatlanteans are leaving. I sent out a survey drone, and it found a door near where the tanks originated. Looks like whatever we're searching for is there."
Derek sent back, "Be there in a minute." To Nova he said, "I've got to go. I expect you better as soon as possible."
Nova let go of his hand as he stood to leave. "Yes, Captain." She gave him an informal salute, and her smile brightened.
As he stepped out of Nova's room and headed for Sandor up on the bridge, he couldn't believe he'd been so bold as to say what he had, but her response had been just as daring. Maybe it was time to consider acting on his earlier statements and start spending more time with her.
He wrested back his focus. Thoughts of Nova would have to wait until they had a moment's peace, and his conversation with Feria would need to happen after he'd talked with Sandor. Hopefully it wasn't more important than whatever was behind that door.
Episode 27 Notes:
* Feria's encounter with Lorelai Loer and Shambleau can be found in The Sands of Time Are Sinking, Book 2, Cure Seekers, episodes 89-94.
* Sasha's death is recorded in The Sands of Time Are Sinking, Book 1, The Right of Kings, Chapter 41: The Imager.
The title for this episode was taken from Isaiah 52:7-9
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!
Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion.
Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.
