Chapter Sixteen: Dissolution — Part 4

Shadow reached the ship about ten minutes behind the weapon’s shipment, holding Ferret’s hand like she would her own child’s. Ferret, for his part, looked pale and worried. He seemed to be hearing and seeing things that were outside of the sensitivity range of most people. Shadow was also upset, as she could feel a deep, concerned hum that seemed to be underpinning every thought in her mind. The hum came from the ground and through the air, as if the entire world were moaning in complaint. Shadow recognized it for what it was, the entire planet was resonating in response to the upcoming attack. The attack would be so terrible that on a causal level, it was having an effect on finite random processes, causing the very atoms of the world to synchronize, which in turn was affecting global conscious processes. Rather than focus on the physics behind prediction, Shadow made sure that the cannon got on board before locking the outer hatch. She secured all cargo as quickly as possible, and shouted orders to Roxy, who had put Ferret under drone detainment, despite his presence with Shadow.

“Roxy, new security list. Ferret is now a member of the crew, having the same access to the ship as do all other crewmembers. Get the engines on-line. We’ve got to get off this rock and heading elsewhere.” Shadow sent Ferret to his room and as she took the pilot’s seat, asked Roxy for a status report. “Where the hell is Didi?” She asked, after several moments’ consideration

“Didi’s in her room, and in no condition for company. I’ll let her know that another man has been brought aboard. That should thrill her to no end, the little hussy.” Roxy giggled.

Shadow looked wryly at the video lens even as her hands worked over the controls. “What horrible things have you been doing in my absence?”

It took Roxy a moment to answer. “Sorry, I was teasing Didi. What was it you just asked?”

Shadow repeated her question.

“Didi tried to get Zach out of his clothes, and I wouldn’t let him on ship.”

“He didn’t seem interested, did he?” She added, wondering where Zach’s tastes might lie.

“He looked like a trapped man, so I helped him get away by putting him on the business end of the ship’s security system.” Roxy said.

“It wouldn’t be that you have a crush on Didi now, would it?” Shadow asked, going more on empathy than intuition.

Roxy remained quiet for a moment. “What if I did?” She asked quietly.

“I’d say that you’re acting awful strange for a girl. Must have something to do with you being stuck in a crystal for so long.” Shadow locked down her restraining harness, adding, “Still, there is something about her.”

Even as the Mercy rose off its platform and shot out of the hangar doors, Roxy began shouting orders to the crew to keep their footing. Still tying down panels, and working rapidly across a badly shifting floor, Xeti kept his senses tuned to the cargo bay. Shadow had left in such a rush that the supplies in many of the panels had been thrown free of their cabinets, and Xeti did his best to keep them from harming others as they bounced around the cabin. Even as the Mercy broke atmosphere, Roxy put the ship on alert, repeating the signal dispatched from the surface of Grid. Still wet from a quick shower, Didi rushed to the copilot’s seat and strapped herself in, a couple of towels wrapped around her head and waist.

“You’re in a hurry.” Shadow said.

“It’s a planet-wide alert, so it must be serious.” Didi said, rubbing her hair dry and tossing the towel in a seat behind her.

“The Hub’s under direct Chran assault. Nuclear force is predicted.” Roxy said. “And as usual, Shadow knew beforehand.”

“We won’t be safe until we’re on the other side of the Chran insurgence fleet.” Shadow said.

Working as a team, Didi and Shadow brought the skimmer into full maneuverability. The skimmer pushed through the open hangar doors and straight into space. Didi looked forebodingly through the rear port view as the Hub shrunk behind her.

“What’s got you so down?” Shadow wondered.

“I hope Zach gets away.” Didi said.

“Zach’s long away, if he listened to me, as was any of the other associates who took my warning. Worry more about your duties. You’re in training as a copilot, act like it.” Shadow said, throwing the reserve thruster levers full forward.

The skimmer’s forward screen lit up with red dots, every one of them representing an approaching Chran ship. The assault generation was bigger than any Shadow had ever seen, and organized as only a Chran attack could be. She began thinking of ways to get through the front line in one piece. No matter where she pointed her ship, she would find herself within range of hundreds of ships.

“Why aren’t we laying fire to clear a path?” Didi asked, trying to find the weapon’s console.

“We’ve got pulse deflectors,” Shadow started adjusting course toward the larger, heavier juggernauts, “We don’t have weapons. The cannon’s not installed.”

Didi made a suggestion, her hands trembling with fear. “Let’s go transgalactic.”

“This close to a planet, are you crazy? We’d implode for sure.” Shadow said.

“How else are we going to get through that mess?”

“We fly fast and hard, so they can’t get a solid lock on with their weapons. They’d be crazy to try to stop us by getting in our way.”

“I’ve never known the Chran to act with any sense of self-preservation.” Didi said, watching the radar blur with the sudden increase in speed.

“You’ve never seen them when I’m around.” Shadow let out a growl and slammed the thrusters forward so hard that the knucklebones rattled.

With General MacPhearson’s fleet behind them, firing on anything that looked threatening, and the Chran swarming in to capture the Hub, firing on anything that wasn’t Chran in origin, Shadow’s pulse deflectors were nearly depleted by the time she forced her skimmer between two massive destroyers and through the back side of the enemy line. Four Chran fighters diverted sluggishly to engage her, fired a few half-hearted rounds in her direction, and then shifted back to their original tasking. Shadow managed to get through the enemy and out of system with minimal damage. Shadow activated the ship’s transgalactic drive, and vanished in a flash from the local system. She grabbed Didi by the hand and dragged her back into the cargo bay, smelling blood and fear. Didi, whose towels had come off in the copilot’s chair, had lost the ability to blush. Shadow traced the path of pain to an unexpected source. Ferret emitted a feeling entirely too close to the emotions of somebody dying, and she moved toward that feeling of death, worried, suddenly, that she had been happy for her success too soon. She found Xeti standing over Ferret in the still trashed cargo bay. Ferret was strapped to a medical table, unconscious, Xeti working over him with a first aid kit.

Author’s note: Transgalactic is a reference to a trademarked brand product within the story that by Shadow’s time is nearly eight centuries old. It is tied to a company that was ultimately absorbed by Earth’s Unified Transition Movement. In the end, this company became a minor transportation department for the technological branch of the Cynosure. Shadow’s Transgalactic Drive is actually alien in origin, and far more powerful than anything made by the company whose influence on space travel permanently affected the unified language of the Cynosure. As a testament to Truth In Advertising, neither Shadow’s Drive System, nor anything created by that original corporation is capable of crossing the vast reaches of space between galaxies.

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